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Breakthrough Mathematical Model to Determine Optimal Design of Algae-Based Biorefinery

The combustion of fossil fuels drives the world's energy production, but it also emits carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases. In recent years, researchers have worked to cultivate alternative, renewable energy sources, including using algae-based systems.

25 Feb 2016

New Technique to Reduce Plant Lignin Could Help Lower Biofuel Cost

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown for the first time that an enzyme can be tweaked to reduce lignin in plants.

24 Feb 2016

New Sustainable Fuel Technology Could Help Limit Global Warming by Removing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

A team of University of Texas at Arlington chemists and engineers have proven that concentrated light, heat and high pressures can drive the one-step conversion of carbon dioxide and water directly into useable liquid hydrocarbon fuels.

23 Feb 2016

Anaerobic Gut Fungi Hold Potential for Cheaper Biofuels and Bio-Based Products

Nature's figured it out already, how to best break down food into fuel. Now scientists have caught up, showing that fungi found in the guts of goats, horses and sheep could help fill up your gas tank too.

19 Feb 2016

Researchers Find Bioenergy Crops Do Best in Regions with Higher Precipitation Rates

New research has identified regions in the United States where bioenergy crops would grow best while minimizing effects on water quantity and quality.

18 Feb 2016

Experimental Pretreatments Show Promise for Cost-Effective Ethanol Production

When the Ford Motor Company’s first automobile, the Model T, debuted in 1908, it ran on a corn-derived biofuel called ethanol, a substance Henry Ford dubbed “the fuel of the future.”

17 Feb 2016

Methane-Producing Microbes Could Extend Lifespan of Coal Seam Gas Wells

UNSW Australia-led researchers have discovered a way to produce a tenfold increase in the amount of methane gas emitted by naturally occurring microbes living in coal seams and on food waste.

17 Feb 2016

New Yeast Strain Helps Reduce Cost of Biofuels Produced with Ionic Liquids

An assistant research specialist at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) has designed a new strain of yeast that could improve the efficiency of making fuel from cellulosic biomass such as switchgrass.

15 Feb 2016

Innovative Method to Harness CO2 from Atmosphere for Methanol Production

Researchers from the USC Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute have succeeded in generating fuel from thin air. This is the first time that researchers have directly transformed carbon dioxide, present in the air, into methanol. This conversion took place at a relatively low temperature.

4 Feb 2016

CRISPR-Cas9 Tool May Accelerate Production of New Precursors for Biofuels, Specialty Polymers

A team led by a researcher at the University of California, Riverside has adapted the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system for use in a yeast strain that can produce useful lipids and polymers. The development will lead to new precursors for biofuels, specialty polymers, adhesives and fragrances.

27 Jan 2016