by Mark Shwartz (Stanford University) The Precourt Institute for Energy and the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy at Stanford have awarded 12 faculty seed grants totaling $2.1 million for groundbreaking research on clean energy. Launched in 2010, the seed-grant program funds faculty research
cellulose
Back TO HOMEAlliance BioEnergy Plus Inc. Announces a Breakthrough in Cellulose to Sugar Conversion Rates and Efficiencies
(Globe Newswire/Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc.) Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc. (OTCQB:ALLM) (the "Company"), announced today that its’ subsidiary Ek Laboratories in Longwood, Florida, under the direction of Dr. Richard Blair, Dr. Peter Cohen and Dr. Zhilin Xie, achieved 63% conversion of Coastal
October 05, 2015 Read Full Article
Latvian Scientists Make Bioethanol and Furfural from Straw
by Olga Pavuk (The Baltic Course) Production of bioethanol is an alternative energy source of utmost importance in replacing ordinary fuel made from hydrocarbons. Latvian scientists have succeeded in producing bioethanol and furfural from plant waste – wheat straw. Co-generation
August 26, 2015 Read Full Article
Glucan Biorenewables: The Digest’s 2015 5-Minute Guide
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Glucan Biorenewables is producing furan derivatives from biomass. The furfural platform will be used to launch other value-added co-products: 5-hydroxyl-methyl furfural (HMF) and downstream derivatives The company’s TriVersa Process meets the need for a renewable, environmentally
August 24, 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
Mechanism of an Enzyme for Biofuel Production
(U-Tokyo Research) Missing link in microbial cellulose decomposition -- A University of Tokyo research group has revealed for the first time the three-dimensional structure and mechanism of action of a key enzyme of bio-fuel production, cellobionic acid phosphorylase (CBAP). This result is
August 03, 2015 Read Full Article
Promising Projects: A Report from BIO's World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology 2015
[caption id="attachment_63689" align="alignleft" width="300"] A plenary session at the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology (July 19, 2015, Montreal).[/caption] by Stefaniya Becking* (Advanced Biofuels USA) If one is looking for an international gathering of leaders in industrial biotechnology to expand their professional
July 31, 2015 Read Full Article
Unlocking Lignin for Sustainable Biofuel
(Oak Ridge National Laboratory/NewsWise) Lignin–hemicellulose simulation demonstrates potential for predictive modeling using NAMD -- Turning trees, grass, and other biomass into fuel for automobiles and airplanes is a costly and complex process. Biofuel researchers are working to change that, envisioning
July 08, 2015 Read Full Article
Taurus Energy and Partners in Tough Competition Awarded EU Financing for 2nd Generation Ethanol Project
(Taurus Energy) The EU-Commission has awarded 20 million EURO in financing for the development of a strategically important 2nd generation ethanol demo plant in France. The award is shared with French production companies CIMV (group leader) and ROLKEM, US enzyme
May 11, 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
Novel Pretreatment Could Cut Biofuel Costs by 30 Percent or More
(Science Daily/University of California-Riverside) Researchers have invented a novel pretreatment technology that could cut the cost of biofuels production by about 30 percent or more by dramatically reducing the amount of enzymes needed to breakdown the raw materials that form
February 27, 2015 Read Full Article
New Conversion Process Turns Biomass 'Waste' into Lucrative Chemical Products
(Purdue News) A new catalytic process is able to convert what was once considered biomass waste into lucrative chemical products that can be used in fragrances, flavorings or to create high-octane fuel for racecars and jets. A team of researchers from
December 30, 2014 Read Full Article
Applied CleanTech Transforms Wastewater Into Raw Materials and Generates Revenue For Major Waterboard In The Netherlands
(PR NewsWire/Applied CleanTech) Applied CleanTech (ACT) (www.appliedcleantech.com) had run a successful trial of its Sewage Recycling System (SRS) with the Dutch Waterschap Aa en Maas (WSAM), who just released its exciting report about the great commercial potential of sewage mining. The
December 15, 2014 Read Full Article
First Ionic Liquid Made from Plant Waste
by James Urquhart (Chemistry World) Ionic liquids – salts that are liquid at room temperature – could potentially be made more cheaply and greenly by recycling by-products from biofuel production processes, according to US researchers. These ionic liquids derived from biofuel
August 28, 2014 Read Full Article
$15 Million Available for Advanced Biofuels Payment Program
by Anna Austin (Biomass Magazine) The USDA recently issued a notice of contract proposals for its Advanced Biofuel Payment Program, which provides payments to producers to support and expand production of advanced biofuels. According to the NOCP, $15 million is available for
August 28, 2014 Read Full Article
Not Just Koala Chow: Genetic Secrets of Eucalyptus Tree Revealed
by Will Dunham (Reuters) Eucalyptus leaves are the main food supply for Australia's koalas, but there is a lot more to the tree than that. ... An international team of researchers this week unveiled the genetic blueprint of the tree species Eucalyptus grandis
August 06, 2014 Read Full Article
Enhancing Biofuel Yields from Biomass with Novel New Method
by Sean Nealon (UCR Today) A team of researchers, led by Professor Charles E. Wyman, at the University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering have developed a versatile, relatively non-toxic, and efficient way to convert raw agricultural and forestry
August 05, 2014 Read Full Article
Biofuel Advancement Threatened: How Can We Save the Renewable Fuel Standard?
by Jan Koninckx (DuPont Industrial Biosciences/Renewable Energy World) Advanced biofuels are no longer a futuristic hope — they are here. This year, three companies including DuPont will turn on commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefineries, the result of billions of dollars in
July 09, 2014 Read Full Article
Supercomputer Exposes Biofuel Enzyme's Secrets
by Heather Lammers (National Renewable Energy Laboratory/Renewable Energy World Magazine) Thanks to newer and faster supercomputers, today's computer simulations are opening hidden vistas to researchers in all areas of science. These powerful machines are used for everything from understanding how proteins work
February 27, 2014 Read Full Article
Solar-Induced Hybrid Fuel Cell Produces Electricity Directly from Biomass
(Georgia Institute of Technology) Although low temperature fuel cells powered by methanol or hydrogen have been well studied, existing low temperature fuel cell technologies cannot directly use biomass as a fuel because of the lack of an effective catalyst system
February 24, 2014 Read Full Article
Extreme Energy, Supercritical Water, Nanostuff and Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) At the frontier of exotic temperature and pressures, even everyday materials like water begin to act strangely in ways that can drive energy transformation. New work in nanocatalysts may make those frontiers more accessible, and
November 06, 2013 Read Full Article
Wood Completely Broken Down into Its Component Parts
(Fraunhofer) Crude oil is getting scarce. This is why researchers are seeking to substitute petroleum-based products – like plastics – with sustainable raw materials. Waste wood, divided into lignin and cellulose, could serve as a raw material. A pilot plant
October 28, 2013 Read Full Article
Demystifying Cellulose
by Scott Mowrey (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A primer outlines the inherent challenges for biofuel production using biomass Raw cellulose from plant biomass is composed of six classes of materials with varying percentages and widely different physical and chemical properties: cellulose, hemicelluloses
October 16, 2013 Read Full Article
Official Inauguration of Borregaard’s Biorefinery Demonstration Plant
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Norway, Norwegian Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen officially inaugurated the Borregaard biorefinery demonstration plant in Sarpsborg, which will produce green chemicals and sugars based on biomass from wood and agricultural and forestry waste. ... The aim is
May 07, 2013 Read Full Article
Biofuels: Good, But How Good?
by Thomas W. Kerlin (ISA Interchange) ...Plants convert carbon dioxide and water into sugar via photosynthesis using energy from the sun. The sugar undergoes further transformations within the plant. Carbohydrates, compounds composed entirely of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, are produced.
March 06, 2013 Read Full Article
Insects' Gut Microbes Hint at Biofuel Breakthrough
by Li Jiao (SciDev.net) Deep inside insects' guts may lie the key to one of the biofuel industry's great challenges: how to cost-effectively turn tough plant waste into profit-making fuel. About 50 million tonnes of lignin are produced every year worldwide,
January 29, 2013 Read Full Article
Chlamydomonas Shown to Break Down Cellulose
(Algae Industry Magazine) Douglas Main reports on OurAmazingPlanet that researchers at Germany’s University of Bielefeld have discovered that when the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtiiis deprived of carbon dioxide, it can cannibalize other plants’ materials. According to the scientists,this is the first time
January 03, 2013 Read Full Article
Researchers Work to Unlock Secrets of Cellulose Production
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...University of Virginia researchers Jochen Zimmer, Jacob Morgan and Joanna Strumillo wrote a paper entitled "Crystallographic snapshot of cellulose synthesis and membrane translocation." It was published online in December in the scientific journal Nature and will
December 26, 2012 Read Full Article
Iowa State, Ames Lab Chemists Aid Study of Mutated Plants that May Be Better for Biofuels
(EurekAlert/Iowa State University) Genetic mutations to cellulose in plants could improve the conversion of cellulosic biomass into biofuels, according to a research team that included two Iowa State University chemists. The team recently published its findings in the online early
February 29, 2012 Read Full Article
Plant toughness: Key to Cracking Biofuels?
(EurekAlert/Stanford University) Along with photosynthesis, the plant cell wall is one of the features that most set plants apart from animals. A structural molecule called cellulose is necessary for the manufacture of these walls. Cellulose is synthesized in a semi-crystalline
February 23, 2012 Read Full Article
'Mini-Cellulose' Molecule Unlocks Biofuel Chemistry
(Science Daily) A team of chemical engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a small molecule that behaves the same as cellulose when it is converted to biofuel. Studying this 'mini-cellulose' molecule reveals for the first time the
February 20, 2012 Read Full Article
County Offers Incentives to Lure Chemtex
by Chris Berendt (The Sampson Independent) A $160 million ethanol biofuels plant would bring 65 new jobs and an opportunity for Sampson County to position itself on the forefront of alternative energy technology as the site of the first plant of
July 12, 2011 Read Full Article
UMass Amherst Biologist Will Improve Ethanol Yields from Energy Crops with Energy Department Grant
(University of Massachusetts Amherst) Detecting the genetic mechanism for how certain strains of the energy crop model systemBrachypodium can produce more ethanol than others is the aim of a new five-year, $750,000 Early Career Research grant from the U.S. Department
June 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Süd-Chemie to Build Germany´s Largest Plant for the Biotechnological Production of Biofuels from Straw
(Süd-Chemie AG) Süd-Chemie AG, one of the world´s leading specialty chemical companies for catalysts and adsorbents based in Munich is to build Germany´s largest plant to date for the production of climate-friendly, second-generation bioethanol, so-called cellulose ethanol, based on biotechnological processes. The
July 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Using Biofuel Tax Credits to Achieve Energy and Environmental Policy Goals
(Congressional Budget Office) The federal government supports the use of biofuels—transportation fuel produced usually from renewable plant matter, such as corn—in the pursuit of national energy, environmental, and agricultural policy goals. Tax credits encourage the production and sale of biofuels