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 …
Researcher Honored for Biodiesel Byproduct Innovation
A researcher from India is honored for her work to use a biodiesel byproduct to replace chemicals usually used in biodiesel production. The National Biodiesel Board and the American Cleaning Institute honored Dr. B.L.A. Prabhavathi Devi from the Centre for Lipid Research at CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, India with the 2013 Glycerine Innovation Award Annual Honor for using …
Producing Biodiesel from E. Coli
Researchers in the United Kingdom have figured out how to produce biodiesel from E. coli bacteria. This news release from the University of Exeter says the work with Shell Oil makes a product almost exactly the same as petroleum diesel, removing any blend limits other biodiesel forms might require: Professor John Love from Biosciences at the University of Exeter said: …
Report: More Wind & Solar = Reliable Grid
According to a new report by Synapse Energy Economics prepared on behalf of the Civil Society Institute (CSI), if the U.S. ceases to burn coal, shuts down a quarter of existing nuclear reactors the trims its use of natural gas by 2050, the resulting increased reliance on wind, solar and other renewables will not result in a less reliable electricity …
Research Turns Swine Manure into Biocrude Products
Researchers at the University of Illinois have come up with a way to turn swine manure into a biocrude oil, as well as growing algae biomass, capturing carbon, purifying wastewater and recycling nutrients. This news release from the school says Yuanhui Zhang and Lance Schideman, both professors in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, have combined their years of …
U.S.-Israel Bio-Energy Challenge Heads to DC
More than a dozen of Israel’s top academic and industrial biofuels research scientists and innovators will be arriving in Washington this week to begin a week-long dialogue with their American counterparts at the U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA), as well as with the Navy, FAA and the private sector. The group be meeting with White House officials …