Backers of algae, especially for biofuel production, say while the Department of Energy provides millions for universities to do research through the DOE Biomass Program, commercial enterprises are being left by the wayside. And they say that isn’t fair, and after 60 years of looking at the green microbes, researchers have developed nothing. In this edition of the Domestic Fuel …
Closer Look at EPA Biodiesel Winner
Recently we told you about how students at Loyola University had won the EPA’s P3 Award (People, Prosperity and the Planet) for their greener way, through a wetland and a distillation process, to treat and reuse byproducts of biodiesel. Our friend Ron Kotrba at Biodiesel Magazine looked a little deeper into what their innovation actually was: I reached out to …
Hydropower May Cause Unintended Consequences
Findings from scientists from Oregon State University (OSU) conclude that small hydropower projects, supported by various nations and also the Kyoto Protocol to reduce GHG emissions, may cause unintended and potentially significant losses of habitat and biodiversity. The findings were reported in the journal Water Resources Research, in work supported by the National Science Foundation. An underlying assumption that small …
Study: Alt Fuels Developing Faster Than Expected
According to a new study commissioned by a coalition of investors, utilities and makers of alternative fuels, the alternative fuels market has developed faster than anticipated. Electric vehicle sales are beating early projections, the surge in natural gas supply is helping decrease the carbon intensity in trucking, and consumption of biodiesel and renewable diesel supplies are growing rapidly, according to …
Colombians Find Algae with Biodiesel Potential
Researchers in Colombia have found a couple of strains of freshwater algae that could be good for biodiesel. FIS.com reports that the scientists at the National University of Colombia (UNC) believe Scenedesmus ovalternus and Chlorella vulgaris will produce biodiesel with less impact on the environment. Luis Miguel Serrano Bermudez, Master in Chemical Engineering at the UNC and one of the …
World Bank: Crude Oil Biggest Driver of Food Prices
According to a recent study by the World Bank, “Long-Term Drivers of Food Prices,” oil prices are the biggest driver of higher food prices. The study, using data from 1960-2012, applied an economic model to five internationally-traded food commodities (maize/corn, wheat, rice, soybeans and palm oil) and studied the impact of several food-price drivers. These included energy prices, exchange rates, …
Climate Change Raises Stakes on US Biofuels Policy
According to a new study by Rice University and the University of California at Davis, if the climate continues to evolve as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the U.S. stands little to no chance of satisfying its current biofuels goals. The study, published in journal Environmental Science and Technology suggests that in 40 years, a hotter planet …
Researcher Explores Using Tobacco for Biodiesel
You can’t smoke it … well, you SHOULDN’T smoke it … but you might be able to burn it. A researcher from the University of California is working on getting more oils out of tobacco plants so it can serve as a feedstock for biodiesel, providing a green fuel source while finding a market for tobacco growers without it harming …
U of Wyoming Inks Deal to Get Into Algae Biz
The University of Wyoming has signed a deal that gets it into the algal biomass industry. The school agreed to give PlanktOMICS Algae Bioservices, run by a pair of university researchers, space and support to research how to develop patent-pending processes in exchange for a cut of the profits down the road: PlanktOMICS principal partners Stephen Herbert, a UW professor …
New Yeast Strain Could Cut Cellulosic Ethanol Costs
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have developed a new strain of yeast that could cut the costs of cellulosic ethanol production. This Agricultural Research Service (ARS) news release says the work is being done at the agency’s National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill. ARS molecular biologist Zonglin Lewis Liu and his colleagues determined that this …