In Hawaii, the state legislature has approved a bill that would allow the University of Hawaii to undertake two years of research into hemp as a biofuel feedstock, but the approved bill has strengthened the language to ensure that marijuana is not used instead of hemp. The state’s House of Represented added $72,600 in research […]
In California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and UC San Diego are taking the lead in developing an energy source that has the potential to be both cheaper and cleaner than fossil fuels: algae biofuels. A new report issued by the U.S. DOE ranked algal biofuels research programs at UC San Diego as the two best in the […]
In California, growing agave and other carefully chosen plants amid photovoltaic panels could allow solar farms not only to collect sunlight for electricity but also to produce crops for biofuels, according to new computer models by Stanford scientists. This co-location approach could prove especially useful in sunny, arid regions such as the southwestern United States where […]
In Europe, the European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE) has announced the findings of a UN IPCC report, “Bioenergy and climate change mitigation: an assessment,” which is released today as part of the IPCC 5th Assessment Report. The report confirms that bioenergy has a massively positive role to play in society but more research is needed to […]
In Wisconsin, scientists are beginning to color in the margins of yeast ecology and genetics, identifying new strains in new environments and using the tools of molecular biology to ferret out traits that could aid industrial fermentation technologies. Writing in the journal Molecular Ecology, a team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor of Genetics Chris […]
In California, Stanford University scientists have found a new, highly efficient way to produce liquid ethanol from carbon monoxide gas. This promising discovery could provide an eco-friendly alternative to conventional ethanol production from corn and other crops, say the scientists. Their results are published in the April 9 advanced online edition of the journal Nature.
In North Dakota, researchers at Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan have just finished their first year in the field doing trials on oilseeds such as canola, rapeseed, camelina and mustard for aviation biofuels. Researchers are looking for feedstocks that don’t compete with food, are drought tolerant and can grow in wheat-producing areas.
In Spain, Neiker-Tecnalia has coordinated a research project to cultivate microalgae to produce lipids for obtaining biodiesel in a more cost-effective and more environmentally sustainable way. Researchers have optimized all the phases in the production process, from cultivation right up to transformation into biodiesel. The result is a quality biodiesel that is obtained when the […]
In Michigan, poplar trees genetically engineered for deconstruction may be a boon for biofuels, according to a Michigan State University study. “By designing poplars for deconstruction,” says Curtis Wilkerson, “we can improve the degradability of a very useful biomass product. Poplars are dense, easy to store, and they flourish on marginal lands not suitable for […]
In Michigan, what began 20 years ago as an innovation to improve paper industry processes and dairy forage digestibility may now open the door to a much more energy- and cost-efficient way to convert biomass into fuel. The research, which appears in the current issue of Science, focuses on enhancing poplar trees so they can […]
