In Florida, as a hybrid of Saccharum officinarum and Saccharum spontaneum, sugarcane has the most complex genome of all crops. This complexity means that improving sugarcane through conventional breeding is challenging. Because of this, researchers turn to gene editing tools, such as the CRISPR/Cas9 system to precisely target the sugarcane genome for improvement. In their […]
In New York state, efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from transportation fuels are increasing demand for oil produced by nonfood crops. These plants use sunlight to power the conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide into oil, which accumulates in seeds. Crop breeders interested in selecting plants that produce a lot of oil look for yellow […]
In Illinois, researchers at Northern Illinois University and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory aim to financial incentive industry to capture its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by making the process profitable. The scientists have identified a family of tin-based catalysts that efficiently converts CO2 into ethanol, acetic acid or formic acid—commonly produced […]
In Colorado, NREL says building biocrude facilities next to existing refineries—instead of closer to biomass sources—can lower GHG emissions by as much as 150% depending on the exact infrastructure design. That is a striking reduction in emissions, and the researchers detail how industry engineers might achieve it with smart designs that let the facilities share […]
In the UK, Trade Winds reported that Greek owner Laskaridis Shipping is teaming up with experts at Cambridge University to study the actual decarbonization effect of new green fuels. The partners will collaborate with Greek optimization platform Metis for the research project run by the Cambridge Center for Advanced Research & Education in Singapore (CARES), […]
In New Zealand, a two-year research project has shed light on the promising opportunities for regional New Zealand to adopt short rotation forestry (SRF) for bioenergy production. The findings show that leveraging short rotation forestry will not only diversify regional economies, but also contribute to sustainable land management and generate environmental benefits as New Zealand […]
In Japan, a study by Osaka Metropolitan University found that persimmon tannin helps the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae grow 8.9 times better in ethanol, attributing this to the antioxidative properties of the tannin which reduce stress but do not protect cell membranes. The researchers explored persimmon tannin because it is known for its antioxidative properties. “In […]
In Colorado, according to an NREL TEA summarized in a recent technical report that collecting waste algae from localized, small-scale sources could result in surprisingly attractive, low- to no-cost feedstocks. That could serve as a near-term option for getting an algal industry off the ground without the need for multi-million-dollar dedicated algae farms. Sourcing algae […]
In Switzerland, researchers at ETH Zurich have engineered bacteria in the laboratory to efficiently use methanol. The metabolism of these bacteria can now be tapped into to produce valuable products currently made by the chemical industry from fossil fuels. Bacteria that feed on methanol, known as methylotrophs, are at the centre of these efforts. Containing […]
In Sweden, Umea University reported that a recent research on the production of cement and quicklime showed that the use of renewable fuels in the process can reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The university noted that the production of cement and quicklime are energy demanding and causes high carbon dioxide emissions. This is because the fuel, […]
