Researchers from Idaho’s three largest public universities are seeking to create ethanol from the Gem state’s agricultural waste. And they have a realistic shot at converting potato, sugar beet and other agricultural waste – perhaps even cow manure – into
by Andrea Zippay (Farm and Dairy) A rather low-budget, low-input crop may be a boon to northwest Pennsylvania farmers. Camelina sativa, an oilseed from the Brassica family, is a valuable crop for biofuel production. Already in production in Crawford County,
On January 30, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) announced up to $25 million (subject to appropriations) in funding for research and development of technologies and processes to produce biofuels, bioenergy, and high-value biobased products. Projects eligible
Following three years of research, a team of energy, biotechnology and agribusiness veterans today announced the formation of SG Biofuels, a San Diego, CA-based plant oil company specializing in the development of Jatropha as a low-cost, sustainably produced source of
Japan Airlines (JAL) became the first airline to conduct a demonstration flight using a sustainable biofuel primarily refined from the energy crop, camelina. It was also the first demo flight using a combination of three sustainable biofuel feedstocks, as well
Also known as gold-of-pleasure or false flax, camelina, the main feedstock used for the recent Japan Airlines test flight, is good candidate for a sustainable biofuel source, given its high oil content and ability to grow in rotation with wheat
A team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Delaware and Yeshiva University, has developed a new catalyst that could make ethanol-powered fuel cells feasible. The highly
Southerners may best know sorghum as sweet, biscuit-topping syrup. But the small grain’s uses range from a dependable, drought-tolerant food crop to biofuel source, says a University of Georgia researcher who led a team that recently sequenced the plant’s genome.
Research is under way to pinpoint the enzymes produced in the four-spotted gribble’s stomach, and the genes that control them, so that the process can be applied to woody biofuel crops such as willow. The investigation is being carried out
At the University of Nottingham, two of six research projects being run by the national £27m BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre hope to lead the way in the development of sustainable bioenergy fuels — Ethanol and Butanol using non-food crops, such
On January 26, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) a contract to help develop an alternative to petroleum-based jet fuel from agricultural and aquacultural feedstocks. The contract is worth up to $25 million
A patented Michigan State University process to pre-treat corn-crop waste before conversion into ethanol means extra nutrients don't have to be added, cutting the cost of making biofuels from cellulose. READ MORE
The “self-shading” phenomenon for algae results in a layer that limits the amount of algae per acre that can be grown and harvested. The Light Immersion Technology developed by Bionavitas fundamentally changes this equation by enabling the algae growth layer
A Michigan State University study finds that the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions may be significantly less than other studies have indicated. The researchers found that the carbon “pay back” time – the theoretical amount of time it takes for the
Following a successful start-up in the fourth quarter of 2008, POET Research Center in Scotland, S.D. is now producing cellulosic ethanol at a pilot scale, completing a crucial step toward development of commercially viable cellulosic ethanol. The Scotland plant is
On January 7, 2009, Continental Airlines flew a successful demonstration out of Houston in partnership with Boeing, GE Aviation/CFM International, and Honeywell’s UOP. One of the Boeing 737’s two engines was powered with standard A1 aviation fuel. The other ran
Cornell plant scientists have invented a new method that uses manure and other farm byproducts to remove toxic hydrogen sulfide from biogas -- a renewable energy source -- derived from the breakdown of animal waste. READ MORE
Verenium operates one of the nation’s first cellulosic ethanol pilot plants, an R&D facility, in Jennings, Louisiana and has recently entered the start-up phase at its 1.4 million-gallon-per-year demonstration-scale facility. Stacks of crushed sugar cane stalks pile up waiting to
U.S. scientists say they can turn E.coli, a strain of bacteria present in the human digestive tract, into a fuel that is twice or three times more efficient than ethanol. The scientists, attached to the University of California in Los
A New Zealand Air passenger jet partially powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel successfully completed a two-hour flight December 30 to test a biofuel that could lower airplane emissions and cut
California scientists say they can use E.coli, a strain of bacteria present in the human digestive tract, to make a fuel that is twice or three times more efficient than ethanol. READ MORE: Article 1 | Article 2 | Abstract
ZeaChem, a company that uses the microbes in termite guts to make ethanol, announced it has raised $34 million to build its first plant. The biorefinery, which could be located in Boardman, Ore., will begin operating next year, making 1.5
Switchgrass grown for biofuel production produced 540 percent more energy than needed to grow, harvest and process it into cellulosic ethanol, according to estimates from a large on-farm study by researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. READ MORE: Article |
U.S. Department of Energy, December 22, 2008 The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the issuance of a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for up to $200 million over six years (FY 2009 – FY 2014), subject to annual appropriations, to
University of New Brunswick forestry professor Paul Arp has devised a tool that shows how removing the forestry sector's leftovers - the biomass - will affect how much wood the Crown forests produce sustainably by looking at the soil, water
Researchers at Texas A&M have developed a new modeling tool to help prospective biofuel producers better estimate sorghum crop yield potential in a given region under various conditions. READ MORE.
Two German scientists investigated the feasibility of replacing fossil fuels with biomass as the primary energy supply. Their paper, published in the journal Naturwissenschaften, posited a scenario in which degraded lands were planted with fast growing trees, which were then
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology are exploring the use of biomass or ethanol as a primary fuel in fuel cells instead of hydrogen to produce energy from electrochemical reactions with fewer emissions and greater efficiency than internal combustion
Researchers in Nevada are reporting that waste coffee grounds can provide a cheap, abundant, and environmentally friendly source of biodiesel fuel for powering cars and trucks. READ MORE.
Shifting more acreage to corn production may not be the best way to meet increasing renewable fuel production requirements, researchers at Michigan State University and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center are finding. Growing a variety of different crops is
California-based crop company Ceres Inc. has introduced two varieties each of switchgrass and high-biomass sorghum specifically designed to boost energy crop yields. Early buyers of the seeds include DOE-backed biofuels companies building demonstration cellulosic ethanol refineries as well as forward-thinking
A new working paper from Duke University finds that in the absence of a price signal for CO2, regular hybrids can lower lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions as effectively as plug-in hybrids, and at a considerably lower cost. READ MORE. [View
For every tonne of biodiesel made from vegetable oil, 100kg of thick, viscous glycerol is produced as a byproduct. The annual 6.8 billion liters of biodiesel production in the EU yields around 680,000 tonnes of crude glycerol. Although some of
by April Sorrow (University of Georgia) Half of all the fruit grown in Georgia is never eaten by people or animals. It rots in the fields. A University of Georgia researcher says that spoiled fruit could fuel cars. That wasted
University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists, in partnership with USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), have synthesized a new form of lignin that breaks down more readily than that which occurs in nature. Lignin is the mortar that holds cellulose (the thick, undigestable
by Dallas Hanks and Ralph Whitesides (Utah State University) ... Nearly all highway, airport, railway and military areas in the United States have fallow agronomic areas that require regular maintenance to keep them from becoming unsightly and unsafe. In addition
by Sam Bond (edie.net) A fungus that makes biodiesel as part of its natural lifecycle has attracted the attention of American scientists wishing to tap into its potential. The fungus has been discovered living in trees in the Patagonian rainforests
In 2006, Green Star started plans to construct biorefineries that produce ethanol from low cost agricultural waste products (wood chips, switch-grass, rice stalks, municipal waste, etc.) from biomass based on its proprietary process patents and production of biodiesel integrating Green
Great Plains-The Camelina Company has studied the science and agronomy of camelina for over 10 years and for the past three years has contracted with growers throughout the United States and Canada to grow the crop. Currently, the company is
by Amit Avasthi and Vicki Fong (Penn State University, gantdaily.com) A little known fungus tucked away in the gut of Asian longhorned beetles helps the insect munch through the hardest of woods according to a team of entomologists and biochemists. Researchers
Following independent paths of investigation, two research teams are announcing this month that they have successfully converted sugar-potentially derived from agricultural waste and non-food plants-into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and a range of other valuable chemicals. READ MORE
C2 Biotechnologies, LLC of Germantown, New York (C2B) harnesses the power of biology to fuse different proteins, specifically, enzymes with desirable characteristics, into one product using a fusion enzyme technology platform. Download PDF or READ MORE
On August 28 and 29, a group of well-connected “car guys” (male and female) got together to discuss the future of personal transportation in the world. They did so through the prism of international car racing, hosted by the Motorsport
Several thousand gallons of bio diesel fuel that meets ASTM specification D-975 have been produced, road tested in diesel vehicles and declared ready for volume production, according to Harrison Dillon, President and Chief Technology Officer, Solazyme, Inc. South San Francisco,
The Defense Department has been directed to explore a wide range of energy alternatives and fuel efficiency efforts in a bid to reduce the military's reliance on oil to power its aircraft, ground vehicles and non-nuclear ships. The goal of
ScienceDaily (Aug. 4, 2008) — In the largest field trial of its kind in the United States, researchers have determined that the giant perennial grass Miscanthus x giganteus outperforms current biofuels sources – by a lot. READ MORE
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced July 10, 2008, that the FAA has selected the X PRIZE Foundation to develop a strategy to create monetary incentives for developing renewable aviation fuels and technologies to stem the affect of pollutants from
(Farm and Dairy) In most places in the East, they’re still talking about the coming biofuels revolution. But in Crawford County, Pennsylvania — thanks largely to Penn State Cooperative Extension — farmers already are involved in it. The local extension office
(New Energy and Fuel) A new bacterium, a cyanobacterium that is energized by sunlight and excretes the sugars glucose and sucrose with some cellulose has been created by Dr. R. Malcolm Brown and Dr. David Nobles at the University of Texas
Sugar beet pulp left over from sugar production is rich in 5-carbon (C-5) and 6-carbon (C-6) sugars that are ideal for the production of advanced biofuels. Atlantic Biomass Conversions, Inc., is currently developing "evolved" enzyme sets to release C-5 and
by Ron Pate (Sandia National Laboratories) This presentation explores the demands of water on renewable energy development, including biofuels. READ MORE
Mike Edgerton (Monsanto) from the Global Stewardship session at the Biomass 2008 conference. Download PDF.
Neal Gutterson (Mendel Biotechnology) from the plenary sesssion at the Biomass 2008 conference.
From the open plenary session of the Biomass 2008 Conference. Download PDF.
by Jennifer Holmgren (UOP) This March 2008 presentation reviews biomass-based manufacturing technologies and aviation fuel requirements. READ MORE
U.S. Department of Energy has included Pacific Ethanol in a matching award totaling $24.32 million to build the first cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant in the Northwest United States. The plant will employ a technology to produce ethanol from wheat straw,
by Tim Krohn (Free Press/Minnesota State University) When Bruce Jones and his colleagues began a study on how higher blends of ethanol would affect gas mileage, he expected to prove conventional wisdom true: The more ethanol added to gasoline, the
One of the common frustrations that these leaders face is that the research and government organizations come to them for ideas or product samples, but instead of treating them as the drivers of innovation, they are treated as one of
(Science News) Until 1977, the known classes of life included eukaryotes and bacteria. When microbiologist Carl Woese announced the discovery of a third class, most academics scoffed. Yet today, barely 30 years later, archaea are known to be at least
(The Auto Channel) Though worlds apart, George Washington Carver and Henry Ford shared a vision of a future in which agricultural products would be put to new uses to create products and industries. One idea both men worked on more than
(Science Daily) Oklahoma State University’s sorghum-related biofuels research is taking a localized approach, with the aim of making possible the effective production of ethanol in the farmer’s own field. Sweet sorghum can be grown throughout temperate climate zones of the United
University of Delaware researchers are interested in developing a type of mallow, the seashore mallow, for biodiesel and ethanol production: And unlike soybeans and corn, which require annual plantings on valuable farmland to feed the growing appetite for biofuels, the
Syngenta has introduced sugar beet in India for cultivation in tropical climatic conditions. Tropical sugar beet brings significant agronomic, environmental and output advantages to Indian farming and the Indian economy. The beet delivers similar output yields to sugar cane and
by Jeremy Elton (Treehugger) A team of scientists led by James Dumesic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has discovered a way (subscription needed) to turn the sugar commonly found in fruits like apples and oranges into a biofuel with 40%
Based on the June 25-26, 2007 Workshop in Washington, DC, with Dr. George Hubner, University of Massachusetts--Amherst, Workshop Chair View the PDF
BIOPOLYGEN Group of the MEEC, Israel, reports a successful completion of the first phase of its new biomass hydrolysis process tests and announces the plans to construct and demonstrate a small-scale pilot biorefinery for co-production of second generation ethanol, organic-mineral
by Michael E. Himmel, Shi-You Ding, David K. Johnson, William S. Adney, Mark R. Nimlos, John W. Brady and Thomas D. Foust (Science Magazine) Lignocellulosic biomass has long been recognized as a potential sustainable source of mixed sugars for fermentation to biofuels and other biomaterials. Several technologies have
A NASA scientist is confident that within five years commercial aircraft could be powered using a type of biofuel derived from saltwater plants, or halophytes, grown in desert areas and irrigated using sea water. While the concept may sound far-fetched,
Wood with altered properties and cheaper ethanol through more efficient production are two possibilities as a result of a find by a biologist at Washington University in St. Louis. Erik Nielsen, Ph.D., Washington University adjunct professor of biology in Arts
(Left Lane) ...(T)he ground-breaking Saab 9-3 BioPower Hybrid Concept, which delivers zero fossil CO2 emissions, enhanced performance and a range of energy-saving features by combining the use of pure bioethanol fuel and electric power generation for the first time. As
Thanks to recent hikes in gasoline prices, there is a renewed interest in finding a cheaper way to fill up the gas tank. Researchers at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory in Winter Haven, Fla. have
(Consortium on RuralTechnology) Biogas plants have been accepted by now in the country~as a device for improving the quality of the life of the people. They help in recycling of the cattie wastes and produce both fuel and manure from
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