Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have reportedly developed a two-step method to convert the cellulose in raw biomass into biofuel. The process, published in a recent Journal of the American Chemical Society issue, uses untreated, inedible biomass as the starting material. According to a story from the University of Wisconsin, the first step in the process is the conversion …
Catalyst Could Jump Start Ethanol Fuel Cells
Researchers have developed a new catalyst that could make ethanol-powered fuel cells feasible. The research was done by a team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Delaware and Yeshiva University, and was published online in the January 25 edition of Nature Materials. According to the researchers, the …
Unlocking Genome Unlocks Sorghum’s Ethanol Potential
Scientists have mapped the genome of sorghum, and the discovery could open the door for even greater use of the crop in biofuel, especially ethanol, production. This story from the USDA’s Radio Newsline says since sorghum grows in drier climates and is more resistant to disease than corn, researchers are looking at ways to transfer some of sorghum’s traits over …
Michigan State Patents Cellulosic Ethanol Process
Michigan State University (MSU) has patented a process to pretreat agricultural waste products that would dramatically reduce the cost of making biofuels from cellulose. According to a university release, The AFEX (ammonia fiber expansion) pretreatment process, developed by MSU chemical engineering professor Bruce Dale, uses ammonia to make the breakdown of cellulose and hemicellulose in plants 75 percent more efficient …
Ethanol Use for Hydrogen Research
A research team in New Mexico is studying the possibility of putting biofuel into a fuel cell. According to director of the University of New Mexico’s Center for Emerging Energy Technologies Plamen Atanassov, they hope to “link the world of biofuels with the world of fuel cells.” A major grant from the Department of Energy’s EPSCoR program brought together research …
Plant Shut Off Could Be Key to Cellulosic Ethanol
Keeping on a mechanism in plants that naturally shuts down cellulose production could play a key role in enhancing biomass production for plant-based biofuels. Purdue University researcher Nicholas Carpita says they have discovered that small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) play a normal role in plant development by shutting off genes involved in primary cell wall growth in order to begin development of …
Sweet New Crop for Ethanol
A Seattle-based biotechnology company is working on developing a crop that is somewhat of a cross between corn and sugar cane. According to a story in the Kansas City Star, Targeted Growth has been testing “sugarcorn” in test plots in Illinois and Indiana. Sugarcorn is a takeoff on a type of maize grown in the tropics, which grows traditional ears …
Soybean Genome to Further Biodiesel
Researchers have released a draft of the soybean genome, and the information is expected to have a big impact on biodiesel development. This press release from the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) says this is expected to help the research community come up with new breeding strategies to get the most out of one biodiesel’s most …
Corn Growers Research Non-Fuel Ethanol Use
Ethanol production can yield some non-fuel uses that have yet to be realized. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has been researching efforts that produce ethyl lactate from reactive distillation. Ethyl lactate is a general all-purpose solvent as well as a common ingredient in pharmaceutical preparations, food additives and fragrances, and it is typically derived from petrochemicals. The reactive distillation …
Biomass Conversion Technology Development
A Texas company is moving forward with technology that converts non-food biomass into chemicals that can be processed into ethanol and other renewable fuels. Terrabon has developed and is currently licensing its MixAlco™ biomass conversion technology to commercial customers. The company will dedicate its research facility on November 7 in Bryan, Texas to test the scaled-up commercial feasibility of the …