Category: Research

US land could provide 25 percent of advanced biofuels requirement without carbon debt, indirect land-use costs

January 17, 2013 | Jim Lane

In Washington, a study published in Nature found that successional herbaceous vegetation, once well established, could provide up to 5.55 billion gallons of ethanol towards the US Renewable Fuel Stadnard mandates. The researchers performed quantitative modelling of successional vegetation on marginal lands, constrained by the requirement that each modelled location be within 80 kilometres of […]

Dyadic set to commercialize powerful new enzymes from DISCO project

January 16, 2013 | Jim Lane

In the Netherlands, Dyadic has commenced commercialization of enzymes developed by the EU-funded DISCO project coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The project’s results include lignin-tolerant enzymes and enzyme cocktails for processing spruce, straw, corn cob and wheat bran. The raw materials studied in the project were spruce, straw, corn cob and wheat […]

KSU gets $5.08 million from USDA to study camelina

January 15, 2013 | Meghan Sapp

In Kansas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has just awarded $5.08 million to a team of researchers, led by Kansas State University Distinguished Professor in Grain Science and Industry, Xiuzhi “Susan” Sun, to study camelina’s potential. Her research focuses on how plant- and grain-based materials such as oils, proteins and fibers can be used to […]

Portuguese researchers investigate carob pulp as biofuel feedstock

January 14, 2013 | Meghan Sapp

In Portugal, researchers at Algarve University have teamed with the local carob industry to explore the use of carob waste as a feedstock for biofuel. The project explores fermentation technology for the production of second-generation bio ethanol using the residue of carob pulp, which is high in sugar content.

Miscanthus reduces escape of nitrogen into the environment, according to study

January 13, 2013 | Isabel Lane

In Illinois, miscanthus and other biofuels crops actually reduce the escape of nitrogen into the environment, according to a study performed at the University of Illinois. The study compared miscanthus, switchgrass, and mixed prairie species against a traditional corn and soybean rotation, and discovered that certain perennial crops quickly reduce nitrate in the soil. The […]

Energy Commission Awards More Than $3.2 Million for Clean Transportation Projects

January 10, 2013 | Jim Lane

In California, the California Energy Commission today approved $3,270,066 for projects that will keep the state on track to a clean transportation future. The approved awards were made through the Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, created by Assembly Bill 118. The program, which is essential to fulfilling the state’s pioneering climate-change […]

VTT leads EU project to develop cellulosic enzymes

January 9, 2013 | Meghan Sapp

In Finland, the mainly EU-funded DISCO project coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed powerful enzymes, which accelerate plant biomass conversion into sugars and further into products such as bioethanol. The project’s results include lignin-tolerant enzymes and enzyme cocktails for processing spruce, straw, corn cob and wheat bran. The commercialisation of these […]

Texas A&M gets DOE grant to study lignin as biofuel feedstock

January 8, 2013 | Meghan Sapp

In Texas, the DOE has awarded Texas A&M a $2.3 million grant to study how to convert lignin into biofuel in a project that will combine mathematical and engineering design with microbial engineering. Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of British Columbia and Washington State University are also involved in the project.

Researchers find delaying flowering in miscanthus can boost production 50%

January 7, 2013 | Meghan Sapp

In the UK, researchers from the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences in Aberystwyth University working on the biofuel crop Miscanthus sacchariflorus, commonly known as Asian Elephant Grass, have shown that delaying flowering in the plant can result in a 50% growth increase. The discovery could have important implications for biofuel production, leading to […]

Study warns against air pollution caused by isoprene in trees

January 7, 2013 | Isabel Lane

In Norway, a study warns that biofuels actually worsen a type of air pollution caused by poplar, willow, and eucalyptus trees that all emit high levels of isoprene as they grow. This chemical forms toxic ozone when mixed with other pollutants in sunlight, and could due the cause of 1400 deaths in Europe by 2020. […]

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