Researchers at several universities are looking at the potential camelina has as a feedstock for biodiesel or even using the oil as a straight drop-in fuel. This news release from Kansas State University says Timothy Durrett, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at KSU, has joined researchers from Colorado State University, the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and the University …
UIC Researchers Convert Waste Carbon to Fuel
University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) scientists, under the lead of Amin Salehi-Khojin, UIC professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, have synthesized a catalyst that improves their system for converting waste carbon dioxide into syngas. The syngas is a percursor of gasoline and other energy-rich products and this recent achievement in the the research team’s process has brought the production …
MSU to Develop Hardier Switchgrass for Biofuels
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have awarded $1 million to Michigan State University (MSU) to develop hardier switchgrass. The feedstock is a North American native plant that holds great potential as a biofuel source. The research team believes that if switchgrass would better survive northern winters, the plant could be an even …
Spinach May Be Powerful Fuel for Biofuels
Spinach may have super strength to unlock some of the mysteries of biofuel production. Purdue University physicists are part of an international group using spinach to study the proteins involved in photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert the sun’s energy into carbohydrates used to power cellular processes. “The proteins we study are part of the most efficient system ever …
DOE Allocates $31M to Establish FORGE
The Department of Energy (DOE) has allocated up to $31 million to establish a new program: Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE). The field lab will be dedicated to cutting-edge research on enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). EGS are engineered reservoirs, created beneath the surface of the Earth, where there is hot rock but limited pathways through which fluid …
Aviation & Marine Biofuels to Increase by 2024
According to research conducted by Navigant Research, the aviation and marine biofuels market will represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the global biofuels market. “Aviation and Marine Biofuels,” found that in the last five years, more than 40 commercial airlines worldwide have flown nearly 600,000 miles powered in part by biofuel. Much of the development in this sector center …
Biostimulation for Algae Growth Could Help Biodiesel
Growing algae for biodiesel seems like a viable option when you consider how oil-rich (and thus, feedstock-rich) the one-celled organisms can be. But while algae is one of the fastest growing organisms on Earth, getting enough growth out of the microbes to make the proposition commercially viable is the holy grail for algae-biodiesel producers. Researchers from AlgaStar Inc. have found …
UCR Helps Solar Energy Get a Boost
A recent article published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters by University of California, Riverside (UCR) chemists looks at the research focused on “singlet fission,” a process in which a single photon generates a pair of excited states. This 1->2 conversion process has the potential to boost solar cell efficiency as much as 30 percent. In addition to improving …
Turning Biodiesel By-Product into Valued Chemicals
Researchers have discovered a catalyst of precious metals that is uncovering some real treasure in a biodiesel by-product. Rice University says engineers at the school have found palladium-gold nanoparticles, used as catalysts for cleaning polluted water, are also surprisingly good at turning glycerol into valuable chemicals. Through dozens of studies, [Michael] Wong’s team focused on using the tiny metallic specks …
Researchers Look to Turn Fish Waste into Biodiesel
Researchers in Canada are looking at ways to turn waste from processing fish into biodiesel. This article from the Grand Falls-Windsor Advertiser says work by Dr. Deepika Dave, a research scientist with the Marine Institute (MI) of Memorial University, could create biodiesel from salmon waste while cleaning up the environment. The processing of salmon generates large amounts of solid wastes, …