In Sweden, the Swedish DOE (Energimyndigheten) has awarded $1.2 million in support of a shared 2nd generation ethanol research project to Taurus Energy AB in cooperation with the Department of Chemical Engineering at Lund University and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. The purpose of the project is to further develop the process technology for […]
In Germany, researchers at the Technical University of Munich have developed a new way to produce biodiesel from microalgae using a novel catalyst based on nickel on a porous support made of zeolite HBeta that produces saturated hydrocarbons suitable for use as high-grade fuels in vehicles. That’s opposed to many algae-based biodiesels that has too […]
In California, another set of researchers at the DOE’s Joint BioEnergy Institute has made a breakthrough on the production of bisabolane as a potential replacement for #2 diesel by determining the three-dimensional crystal structure of a protein that is key to boosting its microbial-based production.
In Mexico, researchers at the University of Puebla (BUAP) have begun experimenting with biodiesel production from castor oil, fuel that will later be used to run the university’s transport system. The pilot plant under development, which should see its first production this month, will produce up to 72,000 liters of biodiesel daily and will process […]
In Nevada, the University of Nevada at Reno will offer an online graduate certificate in renewable energy that provides an opportunity to study the policies and practices in the diverse alternative energy fields, beginning in the spring 2012 semester. The online, 12-credit certificate is designed for professionals, including business staff and managers, practicing engineers, government […]
In Georgia, University of Georgia researchers have found a way hijack the bacterial immune system to direct its homing system to a target of their choosing. Building on prior work from 2009, the researchers modified the bacteria’s immune system to specifically target and destroy the message for a protein that is responsible for resistance to […]
In the UK, two researchers at the University of Manchester have solved the problem of what to do with a global surplus of glycerol, a by-product from the biodiesel manufacturing process. The research was funded by the university, which has now secured a patent on the process. Dr. Constantinos Theodoropoulos and Prof. Colin Webb from […]
In South Carolina, scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have found that farmers in the Southeast could produce the tropical legume sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) and integrate it into their crop rotations by harvesting the fast-growing annual for biofuel. The study was conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Florence, SC, and […]
In Hawaii, BioTork annoucned that it has converted unmarketable Hawaiian papayas to fatty acids that can be refined into green fuels. This result is a first milestone in a developmental research project conducted in collaboration with the US Dept of Agriculture Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center (USDA-PBARC) and Rivertop Solutions. The objective of the project […]
In Brazil, a University of Iowa study indicates that Brazillian ethanol fuel producers create up to seven times more air pollutants than originally believed. The new study used survey data to calculate emissions from 2000 to 2008. The results show that pollutants and greenhouse gases were 1.5 to 7.3 times higher than the estimate from […]
