In Kansas, researchers from Kansas State University studied biomass particle size and enzymatic hydrolysis sugar yield in two different sugar yield definitions (cellulose-based and biomass-based) and found they were not consistent depending on how sugar yields were defined.
In Tennessee, researchers at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have discovered that an enzyme from a microorganism first found in the Valley of Geysers on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia in 1990 can digest cellulose almost twice as fast as the current leading component cellulase enzyme on the market. If the enzyme […]
In North Carolina, researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a simple, effective and relatively inexpensive technique for removing lignin from the plant material used to make biofuels, which may drive down the cost of biofuel production. The researchers began by making a number of liquid salts called “protic ionic liquids” or PILs. These […]
In Maryland, a researcher from Morgan State University received a $100,000 Maryland Innovation Initiative grant to begin development of a method to produce biofuel from cyanobacteria in naturally available salt water. Dr. Sitther will lead a team of bioengineers in developing a salt tolerant strain, which when scaled-up, will offer a sustainable, efficient, environmentally conscious, […]
In Montana, as the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA) analysis of western Montana finishes up, the Bioenergy Alliance of the Northern Rockies (BANR) is gearing up to study the northern Rocky Mountain region. “We’re looking at forest residuals – post-harvest residuals – and BANR is focusing on the beetle-killed areas,” said NARA spokesman Charles Burke, […]
In Michigan, researchers from Michigan State University and Ford tested 12 potential biofuel compounds in mixtures with three diesel fuels and one jet fuel to determine the effects of different functional groups on low temperature properties. Functional groups evaluated include diesters, esters, ketones, and ethers; alkanes were used for comparison.
In Singapore, researchers at the University of Singapore have released a numerical study of the effects of piston bowl geometry on combustion and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with biodiesel under medium load condition.
In the UK, researchers from the Department of Chemistry at York have discovered a family of enzymes that can degrade hard-to-digest biomass into its constituent sugars. Reported in Nature Chemical Biology, the new research was led by Professor Paul Walton and Professor Gideon Davies at York and also involved Professor Bernie Henrissat, of CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, […]
In Montana, scientists are researching the production of oil-producing algae, as well the feasibility of commercial-scale biofuel production based on microbes discovered in Yellowstone National Park. Part of a multi-institutional project funded by a grant through the Sustainable Energy Pathways program at the National Science Foundation, it is one of many algal biofuel research projects […]
In Switzerland, a recent study shows that farmers can help protect grassland biodiversity by varying management intensity over time, despite trends in research demonstrating intensification of agricultural land use threatening biodiversity. The study compiled an index of “multidiversity,” which measures total ecosystem biodiversity. The index showed that overall biodiversity declined, particularly with rarer species, with […]
