A team led by Purdue University scientists is receiving a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office to solve the problem of biomass flow for biorefineries. Lignocellulosic biomass, often made up of materials such as corn stover and soybean hulls, often accumulates and compacts while moving through augers, forcing costly shutdowns for cleaning and repairs. …
HERO BX Opens Research Lab
Lake Erie Biofuels dba HERO BX recently cut the ribbon at their new research and development laboratory at Knowledge Park on the campus of Penn State Behrend. “This marks the culmination of an idea that began years ago,” said HERO BX Founder & CEO Samuel P. “Pat” Black, III, “where the work inside these four walls will serve as a …
New Research: Ethanol Reduces Emissions, Improves Air Quality
Separate studies conducted by North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the University of California Riverside show ethanol blends reduce toxic tailpipe emissions by up to 50 percent, significantly improving air quality and protecting public health. The Urban Air Initiative (UAI) commissioned both studies, which provide evidence that adding higher than the standard 10 percent ethanol blend to gasoline can significantly …
UF Joins New Center to Create Fuel from Plants
The University of Florida is one of 17 institutions partnering with the University of Illinois in the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) to develop efficient ways to grow, transform and market biofuels. UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences agronomy professor Fredy Altpeter will receive more than $4.2 million for his research during the next five years …
GRFA Calls on Increased Action for Climate Change
Bliss Baker, the President of the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA), has asked G20 leaders take last year’s Paris Accord even further. The first binding climate agreement needs to be scaled up in it’s ambitiousness to reduce emissions in the transport sector, Baker said, especially in light of a newly released report “Perspectives for the Energy Transition” from the International …
Program Improving Sorghum for Food and Fuel
A plant breeding program to improve sorghum varieties for biofuel production could now help meet growing food demands in Africa. The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center has announced a three-year $6.1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand and accelerate the development and deployment of advanced sorghum phenotyping and breeding technologies in support of improved varieties …
Molecular Velcro Boosts Algae to #Biofuel
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 …
Losing Topsoil? Plant Switchgrass.
Switchgrass, an energy feedstock that can be used for biofuel production, now has another benefit: it can improve soil quality and can be grown on farms that have lost fertile topsoil. According to new research from the University of Missouri (MU) College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources has found that switchgrass may be a promising option for growers who …
Study Shows People Will May More for #Biofuels
A new study has found that consumers are willing to pay more for second generation biofuels, in fact up to an 11 percent premium over conventional fuel. The research, “Consumer Preferences for Second-Generation Bioethanol,” was conducted by Washington State University (WSU) and published in the November issue of the journal of Energy Economics. “We were surprised the premium was that …
#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 …