((University of Groningen/EurekAlert!) Micro-organisms, such as bacteria or algae, offer numerous potential solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change. They can capture and store carbon, for example in soils and oceans, or break down the potent greenhouse gas methane. Additionally,
microbiology
Back TO HOMESymposium on Biomaterials, Fuels and Chemicals --- May 4-7, 2025 --- Milwaukee, WI
This is a special conference of the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. The first Symposium on Biomaterials for Fuels and Chemicals was held in 1978 and hosted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Oak Ridge, TN). It was the first technical
November 26, 2024 Read Full Article
BioVeritas Launches into Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Soaring Past the Constraints Facing the Industry Today (October 25, 2024)
(Biofuels Central) BioVeritas, LLC, a leading sustainable fuels and biochemicals company redefining the future of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), today (October 25, 2024) announced that it is launching The BioVeritas Process™ for SAF. This breakthrough technology converts biomass via fermentation into volatile fatty acids (VFAs),
October 29, 2024 Read Full Article
Stellenbosch University Pioneers Biofuel Research for a Sustainable Future
(The Newspaper) At the turn of the millennium, Professor Emile van Zyl, a pioneering microbiologist, embarked on a mission to propel research and training in biofuels at Stellenbosch University (SU). Recognizing the urgent need for sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels, Van
September 26, 2024 Read Full Article
The ABCDE Chain: Acetogens, the Baltic forests, Clean fuels, Dorpat, the Enlightenment
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... If you have gleaned from earlier editions of The Digest that acetogens can make the useful chemical acetate from waste carbon and green hydrogen, you’ve remembered it well. If recall is sketchy, may I recommend All
June 10, 2024 Read Full Article
Transforming Plants into Allies in the Fight against Climate Change
(U.S. Department of Energy/Oak Ridge National Laboratory/EurekAlert!) ... At the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, scientists are leading research to transform plants into key drivers of decarbonization, from creating biomass crops for new fuels to enhancing the ability
June 07, 2023 Read Full Article
First Experimental Confirmation that Some Microbes Are Powered by Electricity
(Leibniz-Institut für Naturstoff-Forschung und Infektionsbiologie - Hans-Knöll-Institut (Leibniz-HKI)/Phys.Org) In microbial electrosynthesis, microorganisms use CO2 and electricity to produce alcohol, for example. How this process works biologically, however, has only been speculated about, until now. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Natural
June 01, 2023 Read Full Article
First in Technology, First in Commercialization, First in the Hearts of the Bioeconomy: a Presidents’ Day Look at LanzaTech
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... The timelines of the company’s development may have been pushed back here and there by pandemic, but the patience of LanzaTech’s worldwide cadre of fans was rewarded when news arrived from the Financial Temples of
February 22, 2023 Read Full Article
From Bacteria to Biofuels - Virtual Field Trip
(Wisconsin Science Festival) Jack Williams is a microbiologist from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center who investigates the ways bacteria change and react when producing biofuels. Take a virtual tour of a microbiology lab, to learn how scientists transform bacteria found in soil
November 25, 2022 Read Full Article
The Business of Their Biology, the Biology of Their Business: 10 Years after IPOs, How Are Amyris, Gevo, Codexis Doing?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It’s been more than 10 years since the celebrated IPOs of Amyris, Codexis and Gevo showed that the second wave of industrial biotechnology (after the first wave of ethanol companies) was producing mature companies of size
August 10, 2022 Read Full Article
$2.5M for Food-Chain Microbiome Research Could Impact Agriculture, Biofuel Systems
by Marc Arakaki (University of Hawai'i News) World-renowned microbiome research at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa received a major boost by the National Science Foundation. The five-year, $2,499,432 grant will support new research led by School of Life Sciences Professor Anthony Amend and his team to study how microbiomes
January 18, 2022 Read Full Article
Wander: An Abridged Ph.D. Memoir Essay
by Olatomiwa Bifarin (Bifarin V Substack) Wander is a memoir written by Olatomiwa Bifarin about his Ph.D. experience in the United States. In this 5000-plus-word essay, he tells his story of completing a Ph.D. program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at
January 10, 2022 Read Full Article
Più-Biogas App Project Could Help Increase Biogas Yields
(Bioenergy Insight) BTS Biogas has partnered with the University of Padua in Italy to develop a research project which aims to increase biogas yield by at least 10%. ... In the current production process, there are no efficient methods for the real-time
December 14, 2021 Read Full Article
TWB® Start-Up Day: “Microorganisms: The Next Frontier” and Contest --- February 2-3, 2022 --- Toulouse, France
The 5th edition of TWB® START-UP DAY will be held on 3 February 2022 at the premises of TBS (Toulouse Business School) in Toulouse (France) – only face-to-face. The 2022 focus will be on “Microorganisms: the next frontier”. This event, organised by
December 07, 2021 Read Full Article
Microbes’ Sense of Community, Cooperation Could Improve Biofuels
by Elizabeth K. Gardner (Purdue University/Fence Post) Microorganisms can be neighborly — when breaking down complex plant fibers they divide the labor and are able to sustain a diverse community, as each member gets its share of food. Understanding how
November 19, 2021 Read Full Article
Using Microbes to Make Carbon-Neutral Fuel
by Talia Ogliore (The Source) Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered a new way to train microbes to make a readily usable biofuel. A team of biologists and engineers modified a microbe called Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1 (TIE-1) so that it can
November 04, 2021 Read Full Article
Crucial Step Identified in the Conversion of Biomass to Methane
(Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg) Researchers find the enzymatic link in the formation of methane from fatty acids by cooperating microorganisms -- Microbial production of methane from organic material is an essential process in the global carbon cycle and an important source of renewable
October 19, 2021 Read Full Article
Funding & Formation: The Digest’s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to Petri
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Like a petri dish, Petri funds and grows formation-stage startups at the intersection of biology and technology. They invest pre-seed and seed capital and work 1-1 with founders for 12 months or more to build their
September 09, 2021 Read Full Article
Auburn-Led Research Team Develops Biochemical Breakthrough for Renewable Fatty Acid Ester Production
by Jeremy Henderson (Auburn University) On-going, Auburn-led research into biofuel and biochemical production just got a lot more eyes on it. Supported by a $2 million U.S. Department of Energy award issued in 2018, as well as funding from the
September 08, 2021 Read Full Article
Fungus That Tastes Just Right: PNNL Researchers Study Plant Material in Soils that Offers Clues for Making Sustainable Bioproducts
by Allan Brettman (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) Discerning leaf-cutter ants know what food they like to eat. They turn up their scent-detecting antennae at some plant material in soils in favor of others that fungus has degraded just the way they
August 02, 2021 Read Full Article
God Speed the Right: A Bioeconomy in an Exciting, Turbulent Adolescence
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Fourteen years ago today, the Daily Digest debuted not very auspiciously with two readers and a goal to cover you: the people and technologies of the advanced bioeconomy. Since then we’ve published 36,400 articles to
July 27, 2021 Read Full Article
Are Microbes the Next Carbon Crop for Farmers?
by Mindy Ward (Farm Progress) Pluton Biosciences partners with Bayer for a carbon sequestration project. -- Barry Goldman has one goal — to find the next Bt-like row crop breakthrough but for carbon sequestration. “There are a trillion species of microbes, and the
April 28, 2021 Read Full Article
ORNL Joins Effort to Make Plastic More Recyclable
(Oak Ridge National Laboratory) From soda bottles to car bumpers to piping, electronics, and packaging, plastics have become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Advancements in materials have made plastics low cost, flexible, hygienic, lightweight, durable and readily available. While some
November 27, 2020 Read Full Article
Foundation Analytical Laboratory: Science Built, Client Driven
(Ethanol Producer Magazine) Focused on biofuels, Foundation Analytical Laboratory’s mission is to deliver exemplary customer service with scientific excellence. The Iowa-based company not only supports fleets and standalone ethanol plants, but biofuel input providers. After a successful career in the food
October 07, 2020 Read Full Article
Follow the Money: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Industrial Bioeconomy Revolution
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Will Canada transform? Or stand on the sidelines?That’s the question asked by Jeff Passmore, CEO of Passmore Group who shared this illuminating “Follow the Money” slide guide that asks how tenable is fossil fuel’s future?
August 24, 2020 Read Full Article
The Bio Revolution: Innovations Transforming Economies, Societies, and Our Lives
(McKinsey Global Institute) Advances in biological sciences, combined with the accelerating development of computing, data processing, and artificial intelligence (AI), are fueling a new wave of innovation that could have significant impact in sectors across the economy, from healthcare and
July 07, 2020 Read Full Article
Greenprint for Biomanufacturing and Sustainable Supply Chains: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Biostrategy 2020 in a Post-COVID World
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As biology ravages the global economy, we have a once-in-a-lifetime, trillion-dollar opportunity to help shape how biology will also rebuild it, reports Synbiobeta. We can redefine the economy, supply chains, and manufacturing at local, state, national,
May 18, 2020 Read Full Article
Bits of the Batch: Researchers Use New Molecular Biology Tools to Identify Inhabitants of Ethanol Plant Bacterial Communities.
by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Lactic acid bacteria cells grow and reproduce much more quickly than yeast cells do, consuming the nutrients meant for the yeast in fermentation and producing organic acids instead of ethanol at a molecule ratio of
March 30, 2020 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 10 Top Advanced Bioeconomy Markets & Predictions for 2020
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A mere “The Year in Rewind” as we sail into 2020? Not the good ship Digest! Instead, we dust off our crystal ball and offer our predictions for the year ahead. As the sunset of 2019 gives
January 02, 2020 Read Full Article
Predicting How Microbial Neighbors Influence Each Other
(U.S. Department of Energy) A new microbial network inference method reliably predicts interactions that depend on neighboring organisms. -- The Science Microbes in the soil form networks, which in turn make up larger communities. As the environment changes, so do the microbes
December 31, 2019 Read Full Article
Auburn University at Montgomery Professor Ben Okeke Named Fulbright Scholar
(Auburn University) Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) Distinguished Research Professor of Industrial and Environmental Microbiology Ben Okeke has earned a Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant to study sustainable strategies for the production of renewable biodiesel fuels. His research study offers benefits for
November 19, 2019 Read Full Article
MicroNiche Engineering: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Microvi
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Microvi has a vision of safe water, sustainable chemicals and a clean environment for all. How they do this is through their exclusive MicroNiche Engineering platform which combines material science and microbiology to provide novel, fit-for-process biocatalyst
May 28, 2019 Read Full Article
Better Bugs as Drugs: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to SCIBAC
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) SCIBAC has developed a patented MERGE (Microbial Enhanced Recombinants Generated by Evolution) platform for strain improvement works by harnessing and directing a natural evolutionary process where different species can mate. Jeanette Mucha, CEO, Chief Science Officer and
April 29, 2019 Read Full Article
Methane to Chemicals: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to iMicrobes
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Industrial Microbesupgrades methane to various multi-carbon chemicals using synthetic biology. Noah Helman, CSO and Co-Founder of iMicrobes gave this illuminating overview of methane as a feedstock, the breakthrough in active MMO in E.coli that has allowed easier methane
March 21, 2019 Read Full Article
Scale-Up From the Microbes Perspective
by Mark Warner (Warner Advisors LLC/Biofuels Digest) On a biotechnology project years ago, one of the team members responsible for biological advancement referred to themselves as the microbial organisms “shop steward”, a reference to union representation. While it was somewhat in jest,
January 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Closing the Applications Gap: Checkerspot Closes $5M Seed Financing in Pursuit of High-Performance Biomaterials
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... (C)onsider this venture about Making the Right Stuff — that is, how you translate an entire generation of innovation in digital biology, biobased chemical engineering and advanced fabrication into actual stuff. Or, how you