Ten new government-funded research projects were announced today to help accelerate bioenergy feedstock production. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited a waste-to-energy bioprocessing facility under construction in Florida today to announce that the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) have awarded 10 grants totaling $12.2 million to spur research into improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of growing biofuel and bioenergy …
Rapeseed Research to Help Optimize Plant Oil Production
New energy department research is aiming to increase the use of plant oils as renewable resource by optimize the production of oil in the seeds. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a computational model for analyzing the metabolic processes in rapeseed plants — particularly those related to the production of oils in their …
Louisiana Moves Forward On Sugar-to-Ethanol Plant
Louisiana is one step closer to being the first state in the U.S. to boast a sugar-to-ethanol plant. The Louisiana Public Facilities Authority Board of Trustees has approved bonds worth up to $70 million to help build the plant in Lacassine. The plant is a project of Louisiana Green Fuels (LGF) and is 80 percent owned by Andino Energy and …
Scouting for Biofuels Crops in Indian Creek Watershed
The Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory is looking for the best biofuels crops to grow in the northeast Illinois Indian Creek Watershed. During a recent field tour of the watershed sponsored by the Conservation Technology Information Center, Argonne agronomist Cristina Negri said they are looking at alternative crops that can efficiently use nitrogen to grow on marginal land in …
SCS Offers Sugarcane Certification Program
The U.S. corn ethanol industry is not the only form of ethanol production often under fire. Brazil’s sugarcane industry is also accused of not producing the crop, nor the fuel, in a sustainable manner. As a result, the EU Renewable Energy Directive was created to address concerns including labor and environmental issues. In response, Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) has become …
Kelp Studied as Possible Biofuels Feedstock
Researchers at Aberystwyth University are looking at seaweed, more specifically kelp (Laminaria digitata), as a potential feedstock for biofuels. Lead Researcher, Dr. Jessica Adams, says that seaweed may be a viable feedstock, especially if harvested in the summer as suitability of its chemical composition varies by season. The research found that July is the best time to harvest kelp as …
USDA Announces Miscanthus Biomass Projects
Giant miscanthus will soon be grown for biomass energy in Missouri and three other states. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) today announced the establishment of two Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas in Missouri that will produce the dedicated energy crop miscanthus to be used for heat, power, liquid biofuels, and bio-based products. “We are …
Perdue AgriBusiness Assures Producers Barley Contracts Intact
Last month Osage Bio Energy announced that is would be selling its plant without going into production. Had the plant gone online, it would have been the country’s largest biorefinery using barley as its main feedstock. In light of this announcement, Perdue AgriBusiness is assuring its customers that it will honor all contracts for the 2011 barley crop. Perdue AgriBusiness …
ZeaChem Secures Biorefinery Feedstock Contract
It is a wood to biofuels kinda day today. ZeaChem has announced they have signed an agreement with GreenWood Tree Farm Fund (GTFF), managed by GreenWood Resources (GWR), to supply hybrid poplar woody biomass for its first commercial cellulosic biorefinery. The woody biomass is in close proximity to the proposed plant and when the plant goes into production, ZeaChem will …
New Study Assesses Wood For Biofuels
Wood waste has been one of the feedstocks most studied for viability as a biofuel. Today a new study evaluates the promise of wood waste biofuels by reviewing 12 technologies and 36 projects that convert wood to fuels including ethanol, butanol, diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel. This particular area of research has garnered strong public and private investment and drop-in …