by Michael Eggleston* (Advanced Biofuels USA) On October 9th the 10th European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and the Bioeconomy kicked off in Brussels, Belgium, giving participants the opportunity to take part in a stakeholder workshop held by the European research project COSMOS
bacteria
Back TO HOMEMichigan State University Scientists Work to Make Biodegradable Plastic from Sunlight
(Fox47News/MSU Today) Michigan State University scientists are proposing a new way to economically produce biodegradable plastics with sunlight and help from an ancient microorganism. The team, led by Taylor Weiss, a postdoctoral researcher in the Ducat MSU-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory labat the MSU-Department of
November 01, 2017 Read Full Article
Better Together: A Bacteria Community Creates Biodegradable Plastic with Sunlight
by Igor Houwat, Taylor Weiss (Michigan State University) ... “But this pair has complementary strengths: the cyanos are constantly producing sugar, and the bacteria are constantly beefing up on it, which encourages the cyanos to keep producing.” Looking ahead, Taylor wants to
October 25, 2017 Read Full Article
Methane for Supper: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Industrial Microbes
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) iMicrobes designs and builds microorganisms, including industrial strains of bacteria and yeast to produce chemicals from natural gas and carbon dioxide. Their green, bio-based methods are “more cost effective than sugar or oil, helping to make
October 20, 2017 Read Full Article
Getting to the Point (Mutations) in Re-Engineering Biofuel-Producing Bacterial Enzymes
(Newswise/U.S. Department of Energy) Researchers from Spain, Poland and Ireland have developed a new computational method to rapidly screen the effects of point mutations in bacteria to make biofuel production more efficient -- Converting fibrous plant waste, like corn stalks
September 15, 2017 Read Full Article
How Two Microbes Joined Forces to Produce Bio-diesel from Carbon Waste
by Tv Jayan (The Hindu) JNU researchers discover bacteria from Rajasthan, Ladakh, use them as catalysts -- Using microbes growing in two diverse climatic conditions, Indian scientists have found a way to convert carbon-rich waste materials into bio-fuel. A team of
September 15, 2017 Read Full Article
Fermentation Frontiers: Top 10 Trendlines in Industrial Biotech Fermentation
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The most visible advanced industrial fermentation target for a number of years has been cellulosic ethanol, but the targets are diversifying and cellulosics themselves are shifting gears from process to feedstocks. There’s a fervent ferment
September 06, 2017 Read Full Article
Cyborg Bacteria Outperform Plants When Turning Sunlight into Useful Compounds
(American Chemical Society) ... “Rather than rely on inefficient chlorophyll to harvest sunlight, I’ve taught bacteria how to grow and cover their bodies with tiny semiconductor nanocrystals,” says Kelsey K. Sakimoto, Ph.D., who carried out the research in the lab
August 29, 2017 Read Full Article
Industrially-Relevant Strains: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Biological Upgrading of Sugars
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The US Department of Energy has a goal of developing industrially-relevant strains to meet titer, rate, and yield targets for fuel precursors for the 2022 BC Platform cost target goals of $3/GGE. A project led by
August 09, 2017 Read Full Article
Deinove, Flint Hills Enter New Stage of Animal Feed Partnership
(Deinove/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Deinove, a biotech company that discovers, develops and produces high-value compounds from rare bacteria, notably from the Deinococcus genus, announces the start of the second phase of the animal nutrition research and development project initiated with Flint Hills Resources
June 09, 2017 Read Full Article
ORNL: Bacterial Boost for Biobased Fuels
(Oak Ridge National Laboratory/Biomass Magazine) "Electrical” bacteria are the key ingredient in a new process developed by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory that recycles wastewater from biofuel production to generate hydrogen. The hydrogen can then be used
May 10, 2017 Read Full Article
Bacteria Take a Deadly Risk to Survive
by Ilse Frederickx. Translated by Katrien Bollen (KU Leuven) Bacteria need mutations or changes in their DNA code to survive under difficult circumstances. When necessary, they can even mutate at different speeds. This is shown in a recent study by the
May 03, 2017 Read Full Article
Advances in Biofeedstocks and Biofuels, Volume One: Biofeedstocks and Their Processing
(Scrivener Publishing) The most comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of all the possible aspects for biofeedstock processing and the production of energy from biofeedstocks. Audience Chemical engineers, petroleum engineers, process engineers, students in chemical engineering, biotechnology, petroleum engineering, agricultural biotechnology, applied microbiology, environmental
February 18, 2017 Read Full Article
Decoded Microbial Metabolism Explains Biofuel Yield
by Blaine Friedlander (Phys.Org) To unravel how intricate waste biomass converts to biofuels, a Cornell professor studied the bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum to decipher its metabolism. Understanding the bacterium's sugar-processing complexities may lead to improved biofuel yields. "It is recognized for over
January 20, 2017 Read Full Article
NREL Researchers Discover How a Bacterium, Clostridium thermocellum, Utilizes both CO2 and Cellulose to Make Biofuels
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) made the surprise discovery that a metabolic pathway to take up CO2 exists and functions in a microorganism capable of breaking down and fermenting
November 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Strategic Intent: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Fibria, Lallemand
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This season, The Digest is hosting the Strategic Intent webinar series, looking at the plans, progress and future milestones of strategic stakeholders in the Advanced Bioeconomy. In this slide deck, we looked at Fibria and Lallemand and
October 18, 2016 Read Full Article
New Brew in Quest for Biofuel
by Beth Miller (University of Delaware) Mixotrophy twist leads researchers to higher yields, lower emissions -- You don't have to be a beer lover to understand the chemistry behind new research emerging from two labs at the University of Delaware
October 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Sandia: Turning Ubiquitous Lignin into High-Value Chemicals
(Sandia National Laboratories/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Abundant, chock full of energy and bound so tightly that the only way to release its energy is through combustion—lignin has frustrated scientists for years. With the help of an unusual soil bacteria, researchers at
September 26, 2016 Read Full Article
How to Optimize Biofuel Production Through Plant Genetics and Alternative Ingredients
(AUSBIOTECH/Ag Funder News) ... Plant oils offer great potential to provide much-needed renewable replacements for petroleum-derived fuels and chemicals, due to their natural abundance. To harness this potential, plant oils must be engineered to ensure their structure is appropriate, and that
September 09, 2016 Read Full Article
OSU Researching Bacteria to Begin Biofuel Production Process
(Oklahoma State University/Biomass Magazine) The popular method of breaking down lignin to convert biomass into valuable biofuels and chemicals is done by using fungi. However, researchers at Oklahoma State University are turning that process on its head. Babu Fathepure, associate professor
June 06, 2016 Read Full Article
Start-up to Scale-up: An Interview with Global Bioenergies CEO Marc Delcourt
(ACS Green Chemistry Institute) Global Bioenergies is one of the few companies in the world and the only one in Europe to develop a process to convert renewable resources into hydrocarbons through fermentation. The company has focused initially on the
May 19, 2016 Read Full Article
Major Regulatory Milestones in First Quarter Set Joule Up for Commercial Success
(Joule/BusinessWire) EPA Qualifies Joule Ethanol Under Clean Air Act -- Joule, the pioneer of drop-in liquid fuels from recycled CO2, today announced major accomplishments in the first quarter of 2016 that are accelerating the commercialization of environmentally sustainable ultra-low carbon
April 08, 2016 Read Full Article
Biotech Breakthrough: Reverse Photosynthesis Could Be the Energy Source of Future
(I4U News) Danish researchers discover a process called reverse photosynthesis that can make chemicals and biofuels. The discovery has a potential to revolutionize industrial production -- Photosynthesis, as most of us know, is a process by which plants absorbs sunlight
April 05, 2016 Read Full Article
Lab Creates New Biofuels to Expand Alternative Energy Sources
by Allison Ong (Daily Bruin) ... UCLA researchers have been using bacteria, microscopic organisms responsible for disease and digestion, to convert living matter into liquid fuel. (Paul) Lin, a chemical engineering graduate student, is one of many students who work to
March 29, 2016 Read Full Article
Is It the perfect Energy Solution? Where Solar, Carbon Capture and Bio Collide
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) One of these days your personal transportation system might look like this. A solar or wind energy facility generates renewable electricity, which is converted into a solar fuel using electrofuel technology that converts CO2 and
March 23, 2016 Read Full Article
Team Explains the Higher Cellulolytic Activity of a Vital Microorganism
(Phys.org/National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) say better understanding of a bacterium could lead to cheaper production of cellulosic ethanol and other advanced biofuels. Their discovery was
February 10, 2016 Read Full Article
The Extreme 16: Strutting Microbial Terminators Pumping up the Pursuit of Sustainable Molecules
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Take it to the Extreme, with these microscopic wonders that are changing the way we pursue sustainable fuels, renewable chemicals and biobased materials. -- These days, researchers are turning up life forms trapped under hundreds of
February 09, 2016 Read Full Article
BESC Study Seeks Nature's Best Biocatalysts for Biofuel Production
(Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Researchers at the Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center are looking beyond the usual suspects in the search for microbes that can efficiently break down inedible plant matter for conversion to biofuels. A new comparative study
January 15, 2016 Read Full Article
Indiana University Scientists Create 'Nano-Reactor' for the Production of Hydrogen Biofuel
(Indiana University Bloomington) Combining bacterial genes and virus shell creates a highly efficient, renewable material used in generating power from water -- Scientists at Indiana University have created a highly efficient biomaterial that catalyzes the formation of hydrogen -- one
January 12, 2016 Read Full Article
NREL's Min Zhang Keeps Her "Bugs" Happy, Leading to Biofuel Breakthroughs
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Senior Scientist Min Zhang has a special relationship with Zymomonas mobilis, a rod-shaped bacterium that has bioethanol-producing capabilities. Of her 80 peer-reviewed papers and 21 U.S. patents in the field of biochemistry
December 15, 2015 Read Full Article
First Commercial! Construction Underway in Minnesota for Green Biologics
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... In Minnesota, construction is now underway at the Green Biologics bio-based n-butanol and acetone manufacturing facility in Little Falls, MN. The existing manufacturing site, formerly known as The Central MN Ethanol Cooperative (CMEC), was
December 04, 2015 Read Full Article
DEINOVE Successfully Reaches 2G Bioethanol Pre-Industrial Scale in a 300-Liter Fermenter
(DEINOVE) DEINOVE (Alternext Paris: ALDEI), a biotech company developing innovative processes for producing biofuels and bio-based chemicals from non-food biomass with its Deinococcus bacteria, announced today that it has produced 2G ethanol with an exceptional performance level in a 300-liter fermenter. The trials
November 24, 2015 Read Full Article
Largest Cellulosic Ethanol Plant in the World Opens October 30
(U.S. Department of Energy) The DuPont cellulosic ethanol facility, opening in Nevada, Iowa, on October 30, will be the largest cellulosic ethanol plant in the world. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) Director, Jonathan Male, alongside
October 27, 2015 Read Full Article
Seeking Better Biofuels
by Melody M. Bomgardner (Chemical & Engineering News) Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute transform biomass into energy-rich fuel molecules -- .. JBEI researchers are zeroing in on concepts that others have decided are too difficult or would take too
October 26, 2015 Read Full Article
Joule Achieves U.S. EPA Registration for CO2-Recycled Ethanol
(Joule/BusinessWire) Joule, the pioneer of liquid fuels from recycled CO2, today announced that its fuel grade Sunflow®-E ethanol has been registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for commercial use in E10 and E15 gasoline blends. “We are approaching commercialization
October 02, 2015 Read Full Article
DEINOVE and Tyton Forge Partnership to Commercialize Unique Solutions in the Green Chemicals Sector
(Globe Newswire/Benzinga) A technological and commercial partnership between Deinove and Tyton BioEnergy Systems, the leader in tobacco technology for green chemicals production -- T he synergistic technologies are expected to provide techno-economic benefits in the production of renewable chemicals by
September 09, 2015 Read Full Article
U Georgia Team Discovers Tungsten in Novel Bacterial Enzyme; Potential for Cellulosic Biofuels
(Green Car Congress) A team at the University of Georgia, Athens led by Distinguished Research Professor Michael Adams has discovered tungsten in what appears to be a novel enzyme in the biomass-degrading thermophilic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor bescii. Tungsten is exceptionally rare
August 17, 2015 Read Full Article
New Biofuel-Producing Bacteria Discovered
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Scientists from the University of Maryland will report in the Journal of Theoretical Biology that they have isolated several different strains of bacteria that make high concentrations of biofuels from cellulosic biomass or from carbon
August 17, 2015 Read Full Article
New One-Pot Process to Produce Gasoline-Grade Biofuel from the Bacterial Biopolymer PHB
(Green Car Congress) A team from the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, University of Hawaii at Manoa is developing a new one-pot process to produce gasoline-grade (C6–C18) hydrocarbon oil from polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)—an energy storage material formed from renewable feedstock in many
August 10, 2015 Read Full Article
The Consortium of Motile and Cellulose Degrading Bacteria Can Be Used for Solid State Cellulose Hydrolysis
(Phys.Org) Cellulose hydrolysis has many industrial applications in such fields as biofuel production, food, paper, cosmetic, pharmaceutical industries and textile manufacture. A novel approach to cellulose hydrolysis using a consortium of motile bacteria moving on solid surfaces and carrying microbial
August 06, 2015 Read Full Article
The Three Microb-eteers: Methanogens, Methanotrophs, Acetogens and Knallgas Bacteria
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Which microbes achieve a better, faster, cheaper transformation of the world around us? ... Down there in the mud, too small to be seen with the naked eye, are some of your new best friends.
July 31, 2015 Read Full Article
Ginkgo Bioworks: The Digest’s 2015 8-Slide Guide
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Who are they? “Nature’s biodiversity holds answers to challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more,” they say. “Organism Engineers at Ginkgo learn from Nature to develop new organisms that replace technology with biology.” ... “if
July 27, 2015 Read Full Article
Scientists Hijack Light-Loving Bacteria to Make High-Value Products
(Nanowerk News/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) Scientists have directed a common bacterium to produce more of a valuable fatty acid, lauric acid, than it typically does. The achievement is noteworthy not simply because of the increased production of fatty acid, which
July 20, 2015 Read Full Article
Making the Biofuels Process Safer for Microbes
by Scott Gordon (University of Wisconsin-Madison) A team of investigators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Michigan State University have created a process for making the work environment less toxic—literally—for the organisms that do the heavy lifting in the increasingly
July 02, 2015 Read Full Article
Joule Wins Key Patent for Direct Conversion of CO2 to Hydrocarbon Fuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Massachusetts, Joule, the pioneer of liquid fuels from recycled CO2, announced the issuance of an additional patent on the direct, continuous production of hydrocarbon fuels – extending its ability to target the highest-value molecules
June 17, 2015 Read Full Article
Direct Conversion of Plant Biomass to Ethanol by Engineered Caldicellulosiruptor bescii
by Daehwan Chung, Minseok Cha, Adam M. Guss, and Janet Westpheling (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) The ever-increasing demand for transportation fuels, the decrease in global petroleum reserves, and the negative impact of greenhouse gases resulting from burning petroleum
April 13, 2015 Read Full Article
Enhancing Microbial Lipid Production
(Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center) By revealing a novel molecular pathway involved in microbial lipid accumulation in the bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides, this study could lead to strategies for engineering microbes to increase the production of lipid biofuels and chemicals. Lipids derived
April 09, 2015 Read Full Article
Diversifying Products Creates New Opportunities
by Stefaniya Becking* (Advanced Biofuels USA) The “Waste to Biogas and Clean Fuels Finance and Investment” summit provided a myriad of opportunities to get the latest intelligence on biogas and the clean fuel industry as well as on the financing
March 20, 2015 Read Full Article
Metabolic Path to Improved Biofuel Production
(EurekAlert!/US Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Researchers with the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), a partnership that includes the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley, have found a way to increase the
March 05, 2015 Read Full Article
Deinove Strengthens Its Position in the United States
(AG-IP-News/Deinove) DEINOVE (Alternext Paris: ALDEI), a biotech company developing innovative processes for producing biofuels and bio-based chemicals by using Deinococcus bacteria as host strains, today announced in a press release that its patent, "High-performance metabolic bacteria ", has been granted
February 26, 2015 Read Full Article
"Bionic Leaf" Uses Bacteria to Convert Solar Energy into Liquid Fuel
by Elizabeth Cooney (Harvard Medical School/Wyss Institute) Harvard scientists have created a system that could speed adoption of solar-generated fuels as a power source ... Now scientists from a team spanning Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Medical School and
February 17, 2015 Read Full Article
Indiana University Biologists Partner Bacterium with Nitrogen Gas to Produce More, Cleaner Bioethanol
(Indiana University Bloomington) Provisional patent filed for process using most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere Indiana University biologists believe they have found a faster, cheaper and cleaner way to increase bioethanol production by using nitrogen gas, the most abundant gas in
February 06, 2015 Read Full Article
How One Bacterium Could Help Ease Reliance on Food Crops for Biofuel
by Pete Spotts (Christian Science Monitor) A lowly bacterium, once sidelined in biofuel production, may help reduce production costs in converting crop residue and other non-crop plants into fuel. In the quest for affordable, non-food sources of biofuel, biologists are recruiting an
February 06, 2015 Read Full Article
Why Bacteria Could Be the Answer to a Future without Oil
by Jeff Errington (The Conversation) ... Historically petroleum has been used to develop the chemicals needed for products such as pesticides, food supplements and make-up. Although many of the building blocks required to make these chemicals occur naturally, trying to take those
January 07, 2015 Read Full Article
The 41 Weirdest Things Ever Used to Make Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Bunnies, liposuction fat, Prince Charles’ leftover wine, day-old whale, the human poo bus, fire ants dipped in hexane, old beer, raging fireballs, vibrating blobs, dope, and even the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Take your pick and,
December 31, 2014 Read Full Article
Biotech Program Inspires Interest in Science at Splendora ISD
by Stephanie Buckner (Cleveland Advocate) Splendora High School is continuing to stress the importance of career and technical courses by bringing students in on a cutting edge program and innovation in science. The multifaceted Biotechnology Program, which was funded with help
November 19, 2014 Read Full Article
Researchers Discover New Digestive Strategy in Shipworms
by Greg St. Martin (News@Northeastern) An international research team led by Dan Distel, director of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center of New England Biolabs at Northeastern University, has discovered a novel digestive strategy in shipworms. The breakthrough, the researchers say,
November 14, 2014 Read Full Article
Ethanol Production, Plagued by Yogurt Bacteria, Getting Viral Cure
by Elizabeth Summer (livescience.com/Phage Biocontrol, Inc.) The beneficial microbes that convert milk into yogurt and act in people's guts to promote digestive health cause big problems in ethanol fermentation tanks. When fermenting corn to create ethanol, lactic acid bacteria can contaminate the
August 06, 2014 Read Full Article
Engineered Microbe Could Ease Switch to Grass
by Kate Yandell (The Scientist) Researchers from the University of Georgia and at Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have engineered the thermophilic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor bescii to directly convert switchgrass into ethanol, according to a study published on June 2 in PNAS.
June 06, 2014 Read Full Article
Deinove Signs Bioethanol Research Deals with Suez, Abengoa
(Reuters Africa) French green biotech firm Deinove said on Tuesday it had signed research agreements with France's Suez Environnement and Spanish energy company Abengoa to develop bacteria-based second generation bioethanol. The company, which develops biofuels and other chemicals using a bacteria
June 04, 2014 Read Full Article
AFM-IR Used to Study and Optimize Biofuel-Producing Microbes
(AZONano.com) Anasys Instruments reports on the publication in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters demonstrating the use of AFM-IR used by French researchers to identify best microbes for biofuel production. While the debate over using crops for fuel continues, scientists are
March 04, 2014 Read Full Article
Monsanto and Novozymes Team Up to Provide Sustainable Bioagricultural Solutions
(Monsanto) The companies establish The BioAg Alliance to discover, develop and sell microbial solutions that enable farmers worldwide to increase crop yields with less input Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) and Novozymes (NASDAQ OMX: NZYM B) today announce a long-term strategic alliance to transform
December 11, 2013 Read Full Article
Reshaping American Energy—A Look Back at BETO’s Accomplishments in 2013.
(US Department of Energy) BETO recently published a new two-page overview document that highlights significant Office achievements from 2013. One noteworthy success was the demonstration of two cellulosic ethanol production processes at a cost of $2.15 or less per gallon.
November 21, 2013 Read Full Article
Reconstructing the Microbial Diversity and Function of Pre-Agricultural Tallgrass Prairie Soils in the United States
by Noah Fierer, Joshua Ladau, Jose C. Clemente, Jonathan W. Leff, Sarah M. Owens, Katherine S. Pollard, Rob Knight, Jack A. Gilbert, Rebecca L. McCulley (Science Magazine) Tallgrass prairie is extinct across much of its former range in the midwestern
November 07, 2013 Read Full Article
Researchers Look to Grass to Make Gas
(Clemson University) Clemson University researchers focusing on switchgrass as a renewable fuel source are looking to fungi and bacteria — nature’s specialists in decomposing plants and animals into elements that can be reused to support life — to help make cost-competitive
September 04, 2013 Read Full Article
Patented Bacteria Capable of Producing Biodiesel More Efficiently and Cleanly than Current
(University of Seville) The invention, jointly owned by the University of Seville and Cordoba University, identifies in a mill gender microbial strain that produces biodiesel Terribacillus cleanly, with higher performance and lower production cost than the currently employed in the
August 27, 2013 Read Full Article
CALL FOR PAPERS: 36th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals April 28-May 1, 2014 DEADLINE: November 17, 2013
Abstract submission is now open for the 36th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals (SBFC). The 36th SBFC will be held April 28-May 1, 2014 at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Hotel in Clearwater Beach, Florida. The deadline for abstract submissions
August 23, 2013 Read Full Article
Bacteria and Fungi Together: A Biofuel Dream Team?
by Erin Brodwin (Scientific American) A group of researchers enlist fungi and E. coli to make the first biofuel of its kind ... The team took Trichoderma reesei, a fungi widely known for its ability to efficiently decompose the non-edible parts of plants, plus a specially
August 20, 2013 Read Full Article
As Key Partner Departs, Future Dims for Michigan Cellulosic Biofuel Plant
by Andy McGlashen (Midwest Energy News) The exit of its majority owner and operator leaves the future uncertain for a long-delayed project that has attracted at least $120 million in public financing to turn wood from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula into fuel
August 07, 2013 Read Full Article
12 Bellwether Biofuels Projects – Where Do They Stand?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Advanced biofuels – mirage or reality? In January we wrote: “When these 12 projects open for business (or not) in 2013, you’ll know for sure.” So, what do we know? ... We identified 12 “Bellwether projects” in
July 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Mighty Algae Could Lead to Biofuels Breakthrough
by Adam Wilmoth (News OK) OSU researcher Gerald Schoenknecht and his team recently completed genome sequencing for an algae that thrives inside active volcanoes. The researchers hope to use their findings to help make tough algae for use in manufacturing
May 14, 2013 Read Full Article
Engineering Algae to Make the 'Wonder Material' Nanocellulose for Biofuels and More
(EurekAlert!/American Chemical Society) Genes from the family of bacteria that produce vinegar, Kombucha tea and nata de coco have become stars in a project — which scientists today said has reached an advanced stage — that would turn algae into
April 08, 2013 Read Full Article
LS9: Hail and Farewell
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) One of biofuels’ most-celebrated technologies falters; the struggle to raise capital claims a high-profile victim. ...The company had been known for its awesomely promising technology, leisurely pace towards commercialization compared to synth-bio companies like Amyris, brutal
January 23, 2013 Read Full Article
Termites May Hold Biofuel Potential
by Michelle Wheeler (The West Australian/Yahoo!) New bacteria found in the gut of a WA termite could be used to develop biofuels, according to research by a University of WA honours student. Ghislaine Small, from the ARC Centre of Excellence
December 27, 2012 Read Full Article
Study Finds Biodiesel from Algae, Yeast and Bacteria Can Displace both Petroleum Diesel and Soybean Biodiesel
(Green Car Congress) Biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester) derived from oleaginous microbes—microalgae, yeast, and bacteria—can effectively displace both petroleum diesel and biodiesel produced from plant oils, according to the findings of a new study by a team from Utah State
November 30, 2012 Read Full Article
Highly Efficient Production of Advanced Biofuel by Metabolically Engineered Microorganism
(Science Daily/The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)...Utilizing systems metabolic engineering, a Korean research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has succeeded in demonstrating an optimized process to increase butanol production by generating an
October 25, 2012 Read Full Article
World First: A DEINOVE Bacteria Transforms Biomass Into 2nd Generation Bioethanol
(PR NewsWire/DEINOVE) This breakthrough using Deinococcus could be the solution to a global issue: replacing fossil fuel with a fuel from nonfood biomass announced that its R&D team and its partners in the DEINOL program isolated and optimized a strain
September 13, 2012 Read Full Article
S&T Microbiologist Patents Process that Could Improve Biofuel Production
(Missouri University of Science & Technology) Biofuel production can be an expensive process that requires considerable use of fossil fuels, but a Missouri University of Science and Technology microbiologist's patented process could reduce the cost and the reliance on fossil
September 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Teaching a Microbe to Make Fuel
by David L. Chandler (MIT News) Genetically modified organism could turn carbon dioxide or waste products into a gasoline-compatible transportation fuel. A humble soil bacterium called Ralstonia eutrophahas a natural tendency, whenever it is stressed, to stop growing and put all its
August 30, 2012 Read Full Article
Bioengineered Bacteria Pump Out Fuel for Cars
(Innovation News Daily) A humble soil bacteria has become a genetically engineered factory capable of making fuel for cars. But the project still has to get out of the lab and scale up to industrial-size production. The MIT project aims to make transportation fuels 10
August 27, 2012 Read Full Article
Ethanol May Get a Boost through Breakthrough Process
by Angie Bergenson (Hydrogen Fuel News) ...A team of researchers from Michigan State University have been working to make ethanol a more attractive source of fuel for the country. The team has made a breakthrough which is claims will boosts
August 15, 2012 Read Full Article
Heat-Loving Bacteria Could Lead to Next-Generation Microbe
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Key proteins have been identified in a family of bacteria that help the microbes grab onto pieces of plant material in order to better degrade it. This was discovered during the examination of eight
July 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Hey Kids! Grab Your Scissors and Glue! Fun, Transformative Things to Do with Bacteria!
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Of all the microbes we know – and, basically, the human body is a boutique hotel for hosting them, with researchers now estimating that for every human cell in a body, there are at least
July 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Steven Chu Discusses 'All of the Above' U.S. Energy Strategy
by David Biello (CNET.com/Scientific American) The U.S. government aims to improve energy production from renewables to oil, but what does that mean in practice? Energy Secretary Steven Chu explains. ..."We're not going to be able to just drill our way out
March 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Extreme Biofuels and Those Heat-Seeking X Bugs
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Some of the first American visitors to Yellowstone, who began to record their journeys into the wilds of northwestern Wyoming during the early 1870s, noted the horrible taste of the water from the hot
February 16, 2012 Read Full Article
Can Bacteria Produce "Drop-In" Biofuels?
by Umair Irfan (ClimateWire/Scientific American)Scientists are seeking help from microbes to produce road-ready biofuels ...As they move, breathe, eat and reproduce, bacteria produce byproducts like ethanol and hydrogen while feeding on simple sugars, starches and sunlight. The cells themselves can also
January 18, 2012 Read Full Article
The SuperFriends and Their Planet-Saving Microbial Biofuel Powers
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the world at large, they are generally called pests. We call them ‘magic bugs’. They are like the SuperFriends of Saturday morning cartoons – Nature has certainly endowed them with magic powers. ...Too often, public
November 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Post Oil: Electrofuels Are an Oil-Substitute Minus the Eons
(Christian Science Monitor) ... Pamela Silver and her colleagues aim to compress the oil-forming process to nearly instantaneous, with some carbon dioxide, a dash of electricity, and a lot of help from the diminutive star of her Harvard Medical School
October 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Joint BioEnergy Institute Scientists Identify New Microbe-Produced Advanced Biofuel as an Alternative to Diesel Fuel
by Lynn Yarris (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Researchers with the U.S Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have identified a potential new advanced biofuel that could replace today’s standard fuel for diesel engines but would be clean, green, renewable
September 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Salk Institute Researchers Have Built Artificially Enhanced Bacteria Capable of Producing New Kinds of Synthetic Chemicals
(Salk Institute) Bionic bacteria may help fight disease and global warming A strain of genetically enhanced bacteria developed by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies may pave the way for new synthetic drugs and new ways of manufacturing medicines
September 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Meet the Energy Superbugs: Extremophiles
by Eric Niiler (Discovery News) Rugged heat- and salt-loving organisms could unlock the secret to efficient biofuel production. THE GIST They don't need oxygen or sunlight and can survive acid baths and doses of radiation that would kill other organisms. With concerns over
September 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Cars Could Run on Recycled Newspaper
(R&D Magazine) Here's one way that old-fashioned newsprint beats the Internet. Tulane University scientists have discovered a novel bacterial strain, dubbed "TU-103," that can use paper to produce butanol, a biofuel that can serve as a substitute for gasoline. They
August 26, 2011 Read Full Article
NIST Finds that Ethanol-Loving Bacteria Accelerate Cracking of Pipeline Steels
(EurekAlert!) U.S. production of ethanol for fuel has been rising quickly, topping 13 billion gallons in 2010. With the usual rail, truck and barge transport methods under potential strain, existing gas pipelines might be an efficient alternative for moving this
August 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Lignin Munching Enzyme Discovered in Bacteria – Lower-Cost Route to Biofuels?
by Thomas Saidak (Biofuels Digest) In Canada, research carried out by teams at the Universities of Warwick and British Columbia have identified an lignin-breaking enzyme in bacteria which could be used to make biofuel production more efficient. The
June 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Biotech Deinove Eyes U.S., Brazil Ethanol
(Reuters) French green biotech firm Deinove, which hopes to use a 4 billion year old bacterium to develop the fuel of the future, is eyeing new projects in the United States and Brazil, its chief executive told Reuters. The company is in
April 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Bovine Bellies Yield Clues for New Biofuels
by Maggie Fox (Reuters) Researchers looking for better ways to make biofuels turned to experts at breaking down grass -- cattle -- and found more than a dozen new compounds in their guts that might help make new, cheap sources
February 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Bioengineers Develop Bacterial Strain That Could Increase Ethanol Production
(Wiley Press Room/Renewable Energy World) A team of Bioengineers in the United States have modified a strain of bacteria to increase its ability to produce ethanol. The research, published in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, reveals how adaptation and metabolic engineering can
December 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Where There's Bugs, There's Brass: UK Firm Lands $500m Biofuel Contract
by Shanta Barley (The Guardian) TMO Renewables wins contract with US firm Fiberight using its 'turbo-charged' GM bacteria that convert rubbish into biofuels. A British company that uses a genetically modified compost-heap bug to produce biofuel from rubbish has signed a
September 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Direct Production of Biodiesel from the Fungus M. circinelloides; Opportunity to Enhance Yield with Genetic Engineering
(Green Car Congress) Researchers in Spain have demonstrated the direct transformation of biomass consisting of the fungus M. circinelloides into biodiesel compliant with ASTM D6751 and EN14213 and 14214 standards. A paper on their work was published online 2 April