…BRISK (Biofuels Research Infrastructure for Sharing Knowledge) is rooted in the recognition that engineering new production processes for fossil fuel alternatives is among the most promising technological fixes for reducing carbon emissions. A European network of 26 leading universities, hosted by KTH, the BRISK programme is designed to cross-fertilise experimentation in thermochemical biomass conversion by funding the movement of researchers among at least 60 test facilities and pilot plants stretching from Turkey and Greece in the south to Scandinavia and the UK in the north.

Established last autumn, BRISK began accepting proposals for trans-European research projects in April.

…BRISK aims to give researchers the tools to answer fundamental questions about every step in conversion of biomass to fuels: preparing the feedstock, reaction processes such as pyrolysis or gasification, treatment of the resulting products, and catalytic processing.  READ MORE

“We think the model will help policy makers and forest managers make informed decisions to maintain forest productivity while minimizing the environmental impact of managed forest plantations,” says Dr. Shiying Tian, a Postdoctoral Researcher at NC State, and lead author of a paper on the model, just released in the Journal Of Environmental Quality. “It also will help us understand how these forest systems will respond if we see changes in temperature or precipitation related to climate change,” says Dr. Mohamed Youssef, Assistant Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at NC State, and co-author.

…The new model is timely, due to a number of emerging uses for forest land. One example, the national interest in identifying new means of growing biofuels crops, like switchgrass, by planting it in the space between trees in commercial forests. DRAINMOD-FOREST will help determine whether such an “inter-crop” method is viable and sustainable. Would it hinder tree growth? What would the environmental consequences be? “We could also use the model to determine the viability and environmental impact of introducing new commercial tree species,” Tian says.  READ MORE  Abstract

It is widely accepted that one of the causes of detrimental climate change is the emission of greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane in to the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels.

Consequently, in recent years, scientific studies into the development of low-carbon technologies to meet our energy needs have become increasingly popular. Chris R. Somerville, F1000 Faculty Member and Philomathia Professor of Alternative Energy at the University of California, Berkeley, and Heather Youngs, a senior analysis fellow in the Energy Biosciences Institute at UC Berkeley and Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry at Michigan Technological University, describe recent research into ways that the body of plants, rather than the seeds, can be improved for use in making next-generation biofuels, in an article published today in F1000 Biology Reports: Development of feedstocks for cellulosic biofuels.

In their article, Somerville and Youngs argue that advances in the technology used to produce and extract plant biomass to be burned directly or converted to liquid fuels may allow the expansion of productivity to a scale large enough to meet the demand for an estimated 30% of all liquid transportation fuels.

The article also addresses some of the concerns associated with the development of biofuels, in particular, that land used to grow plants for biofuels, means less land for other purposes. However, Somerville and Youngs point out that recent scientific advances raise the possibility that non-edible plants can be engineered or bred to grow on the approximately 600 million hectares of land worldwide on which agricultural production has been abandoned, and used to produce biofuels, without significant effects on food production or the ecosystem.

“Many of the concerns about the use of food crops for biofuels do not apply to the use of the inedible parts of plants that are the focus of our review”, said Chris R. Somerville said. He continued: “New dedicated energy crops are a particularly promising area of research.”

The expansion of biofuel production is a topic with complex economic, ecological, environmental and political concerns. Many advances in our understanding of how to produce biofuels sustainably are arising from interdisciplinary research. Many more will be needed to reach the scale required to reduce the environmental impacts of transportation in an acceptable manner.  READ MORE and MORE (USA Today) Abstract   PDF Report

OriginOil, Inc., developer of breakthrough technology to convert algae into renewable crude oil, and Algasol Renewables, a technology company with a unique patented technology for low-cost cultivation of micro algae for biofuels and high value products, today announced that they intend to collaborate on the development of an integrated algae growth and harvesting system. By bundling their products, the two companies plan to achieve new levels of cost and performance in micro algae cultivation for biofuels and high value products.

“Algasol’s patented system focuses on how to grow algae in floating bags, and their testing has indicated this can be much more efficient than other cultivation methods,” said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil’s CEO. “Now with NASA and Lawrence Berkley working with Algasol, we are excited and eager to contribute our own breakthrough harvesting system to help us collectively achieve a cost breakthrough in the race to compete with petroleum.”

Algasol’s floating bags or photobioreactors (PBRs) can operate in the ocean or in salt water ponds on land. Because they float, Algasol believes their PBRs achieve optimal light exposure with outstanding productivity results and avoid the high temperature and excess salinity often encountered in solar growth systems. Algasol has received a patent in 70 countries for its unique method of floating bags using relative water density.

“With customer demand for an integrated algae production process rising, we need to offer our customers a means of harvesting as well,” said Miguel Verhein, executive director of Algasol Renewables. “We plan to recommend OriginOil’s field-proven chemical-free, high flow and low-energy harvesting system, and once available, the integrated biocrude system they are developing with the Department of Energy.”

Algasol recently entered into a partnership with NASA and the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. In addition, Algasol has collaborated and maintains a close relationship with Arizona State University (ASU), and is a cornerstone of the recently inaugurated Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI).

OriginOil is working with the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory to implement a downstream fuel conversion process which it plans to offer as part of the Algasol-OriginOil bundle.   READ MORE

Thanks to the UPS Foundation, all services provided by the Environmental Internship Clearinghouse are 100% free.

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The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the scientific basis for environmental decision-making by bridging the gap between science and policy to catalyze solutions.  The Council connects diverse communities and links scientific knowledge to the decision-making process.  For more information on NCSE, please visit  www.ncseonline.org.    READ MORE and MORE

In a quid pro quo arrangement, Panama Green Fuels has agreed to transfer agronomy practices and seed technology to the school, and to work with them to ensure knowledge is current and students have access to high-quality information and data. According to Panama Green Fuels CEO Adrian Harvey, his organization is a social enterprise formed specifically to assist low-income rural communities in Panama to grow biodiesel feedstocks.  READ MORE

…“When we started developing the model, we looked at all the important operations a feedstock or energy crop would go through before it was delivered to the refinery,” (Yogendra) Shastri says. Some of the most important of these steps are harvesting, post harvesting packing, such as bailing, grinding or pelleting, handling, storage and transportation. As a result, BioFeed is capable of optimizing more than 300,000 individual variables, including harvest schedules, equipment type, storage sizing, transportation attributes and the logistics involved with moving biomass from one place to another. BioFeed can also take into account regional factors, such as weather patterns, crop yield, farm size and transportation distances.

…The goal is to discover the best design for a particular biomass supply chain system.

… “We’ve devised it in such a way that we can apply it to different crops and different geographical regions,” Shastri says.

…In other words, you can change the data values as you run different scenarios for different crops, regions and production methods.

…“I anticipate that we will find ways to publish it in a way that can be distributed, but working with BP right now there are, of course, some intellectual property concerns,” Rodríguez says. “It’s not something that we’ll be rushing out the door with, but given the commercial interest, I think we are looking into that now.” Shastri says the team is working to develop a Web-based interface that would connect to the model. “The idea is that somebody could go on the Web and access the model through a user interface,” he says. “Hopefully in the future, when the model is commercialized, that will be one of the ways to make it accessible to members of the general public.”  READ MORE

The meeting will bring together leading scientists with key stakeholders from the energy, agriculture, plant biology, and algal biology sectors, to share, educate, inform and discuss the potential of a new green revolution in food and fuel. Our hope and goal is for the summit’s conclusions to be reported to senior policy makers at the USDA, DOE and DoD and will be used to help develop policy recommendations and guide investment decisions in future scientific collaborations.  READ MORE

GLBRC research on bioenergy cropping systems, for example, has shown that such crops lead to everything from a reduced need for insecticide (due to an increase in beneficial insects) to increased bird and grassland diversity. “It’s really exciting that these systems offer the opportunity to actually improve both landscape management and ecosystem services, or benefits, that we get from the land,” says Jackson.

…According to a study conducted by GLBRC researchers at Michigan State University, farmers and policymakers should wait before converting Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land to corn and soybean production.

…Alternatively, growing CRP grasses harvested for cellulosic ethanol would create no debt and provide immediate energy and climate mitigation benefits, he added.

Nationally, more than 30 million acres are set aside as CRP land, and they provide significant climate, wildlife and other conservation benefits, says Phil Robertson, a co-author and MSU professor of crop and soil sciences.

“Growing CRP grasses rather than using the land for corn or corn-soybean production could maintain these benefits indefinitely while providing a valuable bioenergy feedstock,” Robertson says. “It could be a win-win for farmers and the environment once a market for cellulosic biofuel develops.”

…A GLBRC team is working to solve biofuel supply chain issues by exploring a new intermediate structure for gathering, processing and converting biomass into cellulosic biofuels. The proposed structures, called Regional Biomass Processing Depots (RBPDs), could improve both the economics and the sustainability of the biomass supply chain by keeping a portion of pretreatment and processing closer to the farm.   READ MORE

The objectives of this training are:

1. Provide required training necessary to issue OSHA General Industry Standards — 10 hour Certification to workers entering the biofuels industry.
2. Provide information to potential employees regarding common hazards identified with startup and operations found in the biofuels industry.
3. Develop skills in hazard identification and preparation of job hazard analyses to identify engineering controls, work practices and personal protective equipment necessary to eliminate or control potential hazards.
4. Introduce potential employees/employers in the developing Biofuels industry to regulations applicable and resources available for safety and health hazards.   READ MORE