energy.agwired.com

A trip to a Patagonian forest (that’s in South America) has produced the latest development in the biodiesel game.

Dr. Gary Strobel from Montana State University has found the endophytic fungus, Gliocladium roseum — a hydrocarbon-producing fungus he found growing in a tree in Patagonia — has been shown to produce many of the same hydrocarbons found in diesel. This story from Biodiesel Magazine says Strobel calls his discovery myco-diesel:

Strobel, a professor in the plant sciences and plant pathology department at Montana State University, explained that many organisms produce the shortest chain hydrocarbon, methane, and a number of organisms make longer-chain hydrocarbons that become increasing wax-like as the carbon chains get longer. However, in an extensive search of the literature, no other organism has been identified that produces as many short-chain hydrocarbons as Gliocladium roseum.

“How long it will take to make it practical to use is anybody’s guess,” Strobel said. “My son is doing the genetic profile and genetic sequencing. Perhaps these genes could be moved into other organisms like yeast or E coli that grow faster.” His son, Scott Strobel, is chair of Yale University’s Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry.

Strobel has published a paper on the subject due out in the November issue of Microbiology. He’s headed next to the rain forests of Borneo and then to Patagonia again to find more specimens to test.

You can read more about Strobel and his work on his Montana State web site: plantsciences.montana.edu/facultyorstaff/faculty/strobel/.

A California biotechnology company has opened a biodiesel plant that makes the green fuel from sugarcane.

This story from Cleantech.com says Emeryville, Calif.-based Amyris Biotechnologies opened the first of its two pilot plants in its home state with plans to open four commercial-sized plants in Brazil in the next couple of years:

The 2.4 million gallon-capacity pilot plant in Emeryville is only expected to produce enough fuel for testing, experimenting and securing certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and fleet operators. Melo said he expects EPA certification within 30 days.

Unlike traditional biodiesel from lipids and fatty acids, Amyris uses synthetic biology to reprogram microbes, or “bugs,” to function as living factories for the environmentally-friendly production of high-value chemicals.

Company officials say the fuel they produce closely resembles conventional gas, diesel and jet fuel.

It’s not very often that you hear about a biodiesel firm turning down $1 million in the form of a government grant, but a green fuel maker in Pennsylvania seems to have some practical reasons for saying “thanks, but no thanks” to the money.

This story from the Binghamton (NY) Press & Sun-Bulletin says Alternative Fuels Inc. turned down the $1 million Pennsylvania grant to start an algae biodiesel fuel plant but will still produce biodiesel in the state:

Late last month, [Richard Smith, the business’s principal] told the DEP he would not be using the grant and to make it available to someone else, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Charles Young said. The DEP asked for the request in writing and has not heard back from Smith.

Under a program initiated last summer, Smith also is eligible to receive 75 cents a gallon from Pennsylvania, or up to $1.9 million a year, if he produces at least 25,000 gallons of biodiesel a month, Young said.

The article goes on to say that Alternative Fuels does plan to take advantage of that conventional biodiesel credit.