Better methods for deconstructing biomass will lead to more efficient conversion to biofuels; however, this is one of the most complex processes in bioenergy technologies. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have already uncovered information about how woody plants and waste biofuels can be converted more readily into biofuels. Now the team may have come one step closer to …
Super Yeast Yields Better #Ethanol Economics
A new innovative “super yeast” could very well improve the economics of ethanol production. A collaborative research team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) have engineered a yeast strain that nearly doubles the efficiency of plant sugar to biofuel conversion. The team focused on the baker’s and brewer’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a microbe …
Nano-Spike Catalysts Convert CO2 Into Ethanol
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Lab have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide directly into ethanol. The team is researching an electrochemical process that uses tiny spike of carbon and copper to convert CO2 into ethanol. Their discovery involves nanofabrication and catalysis science. “We discovered somewhat by accident that this material worked,” said ORNL’s Adam …
Supercomputer Paving Way for Biomass to Biofuel
Supercomputing is being used to discover ways to make turning biomass into biofuel. The University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) project is led by Jeremy Smith, UT Governor’s Chair for Molecular Biophysics based in the Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology. He also is director of the UT-ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics. One of the …
Chevron, ISU Partner on Advanced Biofuel Project
Iowa State BioCentury Research Farm has entered into a joint project with Chervon, U.S.A. University engineers to develop a pilot plant to develop and demonstrate solvent liquefaction, an advanced biorenewables technology. The technology converts biomass into a bio-oil that can then be processed into biofuels or biochemicals and biochar, a fertilizer that has the ability to enrich soil. Iowa State …
Advanced Biofuels USA Wins Beets to BioJet Grant
Advanced Biofuels USA has received a grant to conduct a feasibility study of producing biojet fuel from Maryland grown energy beets. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has allocated $16,893 for the study that will review the technical, economic aspects and co-product opportunities of a project in development by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) along with Purdue University …
Research Focuses on Better #Biodiesel
A new study has been released by the Mineta National Transit Research Consortium at San José State University that looked at the generation of a number of pollutants during low-temperature combustion (LTC) of several types of biodiesel as compared to ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). The peer reviewed study found that not all biodiesel burns the same. Biodiesel produced using certain …
Research Finds Sweet Potato Potential as Food, Fuel
Researchers from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are looking at sweet potato vines as a source of biofuel feedstock and livestock feed. The vines are typically thrown out during harvest while the roots could serve as a source for biofuels. Post-doctoral researcher Wendy Mussoline said this could be a key finding for Florida’s ag industry …
#Biofuel Microbes Knock Out Invaders
A new paper published in the journal Science, MIT and Cambridge researchers at the startup company Novogy, have developed a new technique to that gives biofuel producers fermentation microbes that have the upper hand against unwanted invaders eliminating the need for antibiotics and other sterilization methods. The research was led by Gregory Stephanopoulos, the Willard Henry Dow Professor of Chemical …
Turning CO2 Into #Biofuels
Scientists from the University of Toronto (U of T) have discovered a way to turn carbon dioxide (CO2) into renewable fuels and chemicals through nanoengineering. Led by Professional Ted Sargent, Min Liu, PhD. and Yuanjie Pang, PhD, along with a team of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in U of T Engineering, have developed a technique powered by renewable energies …