Researchers from Michigan State University have engineered “molecular Velcro into cyanobacteria with the result being a boost to the microalgae’s ability to produce biofuels and potentially other products. The MSU scientists designed a surface display system to attach the blue-green algae to yeast and other surfaces. Early results show that this technology may prove the efficiency of harvesting algae and …
#Algae Food & Fuel Can Reduce GHG Emissions
New research has found that using microalgae to produce food and biofuel can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study was led by Michael J. Walsh, a research fellow in Bentley University’s Center for Integration of Science and Industry, and found that algal food and fuel coproduction can help to improve both land and water-use efficiency while reducing GHG …
Researchers Create Better Algae Oil Producers
Researchers have discovered a way to make algae better oil producers without sacrificing growth. The team, led by James Umen, Ph.D., associate member at Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, found a mutation in the green alga Chlamydomonas that substantially removes a constraint that is widely observed in micro-algae where the highest yields of oil can only be obtained from starving …
CYCLALG to Develop Algal Biorefinery
A European research and development (R&D) consortium is seeking to develop an algal biorefinery. The three-year project, estimated to cost 1.4 million euros, of which 65 percent is being provided by ERDF funds, is a partnership of six organizations in the Basque Autonomous Community including Navarre and France -NEIKER-Tecnalia, National Centre of Renewable Energies (CENER), Tecnalia Research & Innovation, Association …
Cologne Scientists Cultivate #Algae for Less
One of barriers that keep the cost of algal products from being competitive is cultivation. But in the near future, these costs could go down with research from scientists in at the University of Cologne. Professor Michael Melkonian, an algae specialist, along with his team have developed a new method that could make harvesting algae easier and thus reduce the …
DOE Invests in Algae
The U.S. Department of Energy has made it’s latest investment in the development of algae as a feedstock to produce advanced biofuels and bioproducts. The focus of the money is for companies who are working to overcome the barrier of high production costs through improvements in algal biomass yields. The DOE says the three companies who received funding will develop …
RIT & Synergy Biogas Partner on #Algae Project
A new project will be kicking off with partners Rochester Institute of Technology and Synergy Biogas to explore using microalgae to make biofuels as well as clean agricultural wastewater. The pilot program is headed up by Jeff Lodge, associate professor in RIT’s Thomas Gosnell School of Life Sciences, who will be utilizing a anaerobic digester located on Synergy Farms in …
BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge Winner Is…
And the BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge Winner is…Smithtown High School located in St. James New York. The students beat their competitors with the winning infographic entitled, “Cellulosic Ethanol: Fueling the Future”. The student team won the Director’s Prize for Excellence in Content, Design and Social Media Promotion and have been invited to present their infographic during the Bioenergy Technololgies Office’s (BETO) …
Research Uses Waste Papayas for Biofuels
Research led by the U.D. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists is looking at how to encourage algae in to producing oil from waste papayas and other unmarketable crops or byproducts such as glycerol. The lead scientist for the project is Lisa Keith, a plant pathologist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The experiments are taking place in Hilo Hawaii and …
Proposed Tax Credit Amendment for CO2 Capture
A new amendment has been proposed by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) that would provide a tax credit for technologies that are able to convert CO2 into products such as advanced biofuels, animal feed and biochemicals. The proposed language would create a new utilization tax incentive to complement section 45Q of the tax code, which already provides credits for the …