Indiana University researchers have developed a highly efficient biomaterial that catalyzes the formation of hydrogen by splitting H2O and creating hydrogen and oxygen. The resulting fuel can be used to power vehicles that essentially run on water. According to the research team, a modified enzyme gains strength from being protected within the protein shell — or “capsid” — of a …
Researchers Develop Glycerol-free Biodiesel Process
Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago have figured out how to produce biodiesel without making the by-product glycerol. This article from Chemistry World says the scientists, led by Tobin Marks, developed the method. The process uses a tandem catalytic system, consisting of metal triflate and supported palladium catalysts, to selectively break down triglyceride esters into carboxylic acids, which can be …
Report: Renewables Fastest Growing US Power Source
According to GlobalData, non-hydro renewable energy will be the fastest growing power source in the U.S. through 2025. Installed capacity is expected to increase from 121.9 gigawatts (GW) in 2015 to 216 GW in 2025. “US Power Market Outlook to 2025, Update 2015 – Market Trends, Regulations, and Competitive Landscape,” finds the strong rate of growth suggests that the current …
Study Raises Doubts About Dev of New Fossil Fuels
A new study is raising doubts about future development of new fossil fuel resources. Published in Global Environmental Change and authored by Richard Heede and Naomi Oreskes, the report looks closely at the potential of global warming emissions that could be unleashed from carbon reserves held by the globe’s largest fossil fuel producers. Some key findings of the study include: …
Military Jets Could Fly High on Roadside Gumweed
Researchers in Nevada are finding a way to turn a roadside weed into a high performance military jet fuel. This article from the University of Nevada, Reno, says the school’s Glenn Miller is leading the effort in a project that refines roadside gumweed into biofuel. “The plant grindelia squarosa, known as curly top gumweed, has extractable hydrocarbons with the potential …
Texas A&M Developing Biofuel, Forage Crop
Researchers at Texas A&M University are developing a crop that will double as a bioenergy and livestock forage source. This news release from the school says Dr. Russ Jessup, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research perennial grass breeder in College Station, is introducing a new biofuel-biomass feedstock hybrid that is a hybrid “similar to seedless watermelons, seedless grapes and other sterile …
U of W Research Converts Poplar Trees to Biofuels
New research from the University of Washington is laying the foundation to use woody biomass from poplar trees into sustainably produced biofuels and biochemicals. A five-year $40 million dollar study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is in its last year and results will seed a wood-based cellulosic ethanol production facility. ZeaChem, one of the industry partners in …
Biofuels Capacity to Grow to 61B Gallons by 2018
According to new research, global biofuels capacity will grow to 61 billion gallons per year (BGY0 by 2018. Ethanol and biodiesel will continue to dominate with 96 percent of the capacity in 2018, but novel fuels and novel feedstocks will be major drivers of capacity growth, according to Lux Research. The study finds that novel fuels and novel feedstocks will …
Molecular Swiss Army Knife Improves Algae-Fuel
A molecular Swiss Army knife may hold the key to making blue-green algae biofuel and biochemical production more viable. A research team from Michigan State University (MSU) fabricated a synthetic protein that both improves the assembly of the carbon-fixing factory of cyanobacteria while providing proof of concept for a device that could potentially improve plant photosynthesis or be used to …
Tokyo Scientists Increase Algal Oil Production
Hiroyuki Ohta, a researcher at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, together with scientists based at institutions across Tokyo, Japan, have discovered a way of increasing the oil production in algae. The oils are used to create biofuels and biochemicals and researchers are looking for ways to increase the production of triacylglycerols in the Nannochloropsis algal strain NIES-2145. Triacylglycerols, or TAGs, …