In Norway, a new study shows that 7% biodiesel blending is safe for human health but that raising the blend or adding in newer alternative fuels could pose health risks and requires further study. The country currently blends 3.5% biodiesel and will soon raise it to 5%. More on the story.
In Alabama, a University of Alabama Huntsville graduate student is is using Clostridium pasteurianum bacteria to ferment glycerol, a biodiesel waste product, into acetic acid, butanol, butyric acid, ethanol, and propanediol. Keerthi Venkataramanan, a Ph.D. biotechnology student, notes that glycerol disposal is problem for the biodiesel industry. Glycerol is produced at a rate of one […]
In Tanzania, the energy minister has released a 18-page document outlining guidelines for sustainable biofuels development amidst criticism of biofuels supposedly competing with the food supply. He urged small-scale farmers and other entrepreneurs to form groups or primary cooperative societies that could enter into contractual agreements with investors in the bio-fuel business. More on the […]
In Illinois, University of Illinois researchers have discovered that up to 15% biodiesel byproduct glycerin can be successfully fed to pigs, mimicking a corn/soybean diet. Researchers didn’t test it at higher levels because the efficiency of use of the energy may decrease so they don’t recommend using glycerin at levels higher than 15%. More on […]
In Japan, machinery maker Chiyoda Seisakujo has teamed with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)’s Shikoku research center and Kagawa Industrial Technology Center’s food research institute to produce ethanol from udon noodles. The residue remaining after taking out ethanol from the noodles will also be processed at a methane fermentation plant […]
In the UK, BP published for the first time a summary of its forward-looking analyses. In Energy Outlook 2030, BP projects that primary energy use will grow by nearly 40% over the next twenty years, with 93% of the growth coming from non-OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. Non-OECD countries are seen to […]
In New York, Accenture has concluded in a new report that China will scale-up faster than the US in alternative vehicles, but the US could lead a global biotechnology-based agricultural revolution that will generate a greater range of biofuel breakthroughs. The reduction in gasoline demand in the US could be up to 22 billion gallons […]
In California, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and Montana State University are collaborating on a project to modify an endophytic fungus – that lives between plant cell walls – to produce fuel-type hydrocarbons for transportation purposes. Sandia is collaborating with Professor Gary Strobel from Montana State University, a known expert in Ascocoryne sarcoides and other […]
In Germany, a recent study shows that GHG emissions for canola-based biodiesel can drop significantly depending on the fertilizer and diesel used during crop production, from approximately 29g CO2 equ./MJ biodiesel (default value) to approximately 21g CO2 equ./MJ biodiesel. The German Research Centre for Biomass (DBFZ) estimated a default value of 38% GHG emissions reductions, […]
In Indiana, researchers at Purdue University have found a genetic mutation that allows a plant to better endure drought without losing biomass. During drought conditions, a plant might close its stomata to conserve water which also reduces the amount of carbon dioxide it can take in, limiting photosynthesis and growth, but the discovery shows plants […]
