In California, the fermentation process used to make cordite for bullets and artillery shells during WWI could be used to better ferret sugars found in biomass. A Berkeley Lab has been able to upgrade metabolic pathways for creating transportation fuels close to theoretical yields… up to a gallon of fuel from 16 pounds of sugars […]
In California, Ceres announced that the U.S. Agency for International Development has expanded its grant to the company to develop traits in rice for Asia. Based on Ceres’ success to date, USAID will provide an additional $3.5 million to Ceres over the next four years to extend field trialing and development of the company’s biotech […]
In Louisiana, the LSU AgCenter is investigating the potential production of switchgrass as a feedstock for biofuel production, especially in light of the fact that the grass is native to the Cajun prairie. The test plots are being co-planted with eastern cottonwood trees that could also be interesting feedstocks for the region.
In the Philippines, Xavier University has received a US$80,000 grant from the DOE to launch a research project that will seek to improve cassava varieties for use as ethanol feedstock and will develop a cassava-based pilot plant.
In Illinois, a new study commissioned by ADM Alliance Nutrition shows that dairy cattle can take a higher ration of DDGs than previously thought before milk quality starts to suffer. Traditional feeding included less than 10% DDGs in the dry matter feeding ration but the new study says that up to 30% of the dry […]
In Texas, algae can now be harvested, dewatered, and converted into biodiesel in a one-step process using resins, thanks to a recent project at the University of Texas at Austin. The use of Amberlite anion exchange resins have simplified the process and may be able to significantly lower the costs of processing algae. Researcher Martin […]
In California, Sapphire Energy and Institute for Systems Biology announced a strategic partnership to significantly increase oil yield and improving resistance to crop predators and environmental factors in order to further the advancement of commercialized algae biofuel production. “Sapphire is dealing with one of the most complicated problems known to humans: how to make fuel from […]
In Michigan, researchers at the University of Michigan’s engineering department can “pressure-cook” algae for as little as a minute and transform an unprecedented 65% of the green slime into biocrude. Researchers are using the green marine micro-alga of the genus Nannochloropsis.
In Brazil, Triton Chemicals’ system developed to increase ethanol production from corn in the US has been adapted to four power plants and eight others are investigating the technology in lab tests. Teamed with the Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira at the University of Campinas, the technology can increase ethanol production by 2%.
In Washington, a new study from the National Research Council says large-scale algae biodiesel production—as it is now—uses unsustainable amounts of water, energy and fertilizer, including carbon dioxide, nitrate and phosphate. GHG emissions from algae biodiesel may not even be lower than petroleum-based fuels. The NRC suggests continued research into algae to find better ways […]
