New Holland Agriculture is partnering with the State University of New York (SUNY) on a U.S. Department of Energy funded research project to develop ways to reduce the cost of delivering biomass for refinement. New Holland Agriculture will provide SUNY with an FR9080 self-propelled forage harvester with 130FB coppice header for use in the project. The forage harvester and header …
Bacteria Can Help Boost Ethanol Production
Microbes play an important role in ethanol production, and researchers in the Midwest are finding a way to get more out of the little bugs to get the most green fuel out of feedstocks, especially waste materials. This news release from the University of Wisconsin-Madison says scientists there teamed up with Michigan State University researchers to create a process for …
MIT Finds Way to Help Ethanol Yeast Thrive
Ethanol producers might get more production out of the yeast they use, thanks to researchers at MIT. This news release from the school says scientists have added potassium and an acidity-reducing compound to the yeast that helps it tolerate higher concentrations of the ethanol it’s making without dying. Aided by those “supplements,” traditionally underperforming laboratory yeast made more ethanol than …
Biofuel Perennial Crops Could Use Less Water
A new research report from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) finds that perennial crops grown on marginal land for biofuel use could use comparable water to that of corn. The report looked at how these crops could affect the balance of water between rainfall inputs, evaporation losses, and movement of soil water to the groundwater. The report cites …
New CESA Clean Energy Report Available
The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) has released a new report, “Clean Energy Champions: The Importance of State Programs and Policies“. The report provides a comprehensive look at the ways in which states are supporting clean energy as well as offers suggestions on how to further encourage growth. The report includes 31 case studies form 22 states covering various clean …
FPL and FIU to Build Solar Power Center
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and Florida International University (FIU) have solidified a partnership to build a commercial-scale distributed solar power facility that will both generate electricity for FPL’s 4.8 million customers and serve as an innovative research operation. The project includes the installation of more than 5,700 solar panels on 23 canopy-like structures that will be built this …
Report: Farmers Can Grow Food, Fuel
According to research conducted by Russ Gesch, a plant physiologist with the USDA Soil Conversation Research Lab in Morris, Minnesota, farmers can successfully and sustainably grow food and fuel. Gesch specifically looked at growing Camelina sativa with soybeans in the Midwest. Gesch’s study was recently published in Agronomy Journal. Camelina is a member of the mustard family and research shows …
Wash. State Researchers Make Biofuels from Fungus
Researchers at Washington State University are making a biofuel for jets from a common black fungus found in decaying leaves, soil and rotting fruit. This news release from the school says they hope to have a viable aviation biofuel in the next five years. The researchers used Aspergillus carbonarius ITEM 5010 to create hydrocarbons, the chief component of petroleum, similar …
Students Present Wood to Biofuels Design
Students at Washington State University have developed facility site designs for a potential liquid depot to process wood from slash piles in the Pacific Northwest. The liquid sugar can be used to produce chemical products including biofuels. Designs and findings were presented in a webinar. The students work together on real-world projects while attending the Integrated Design Experience (IDX) course …
New Report Highlights Bioenergy’s Sustainability
A new report shows the positive relationship between bioenergy and sustainability. The research from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and developed under the aegis of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) is based on more than 2,000 references and major studies taking a comprehensive look at the current bioenergy landscape, technologies and practices. Considering an extensive …