biofuel

Yeast research takes a step toward production of alternatives to gasoline
02/18/2013 - 15:44

In the search for renewable alternatives to gasoline, heavy alcohols such as isobutanol are promising candidates. Not only do they contain more energy than ethanol, but they are also more compatible with existing gasoline-based infrastructure. For isobutanol to become practical, however, scientists need a way to reliably produce huge quantities of it from renewable sources.

 

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How a microbial biorefinery regulates genes
02/15/2013 - 10:09

Digesting lignin, a highly stable polymer that accounts for up to a third of biomass, is a limiting step to producing a variety of biofuels. Researchers at Brown have figured out the microscopic chemical switch that allows Streptomyces bacteria to get to work, breaking lignin down into its constituent parts.

 

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Avoiding virus dangers in ‘domesticating’ wild plants for biofuel use
02/15/2013 - 10:00

In our ongoing quest for alternative energy sources, researchers are looking more to plants that grow in the wild for use in biofuels, plants such as switchgrass. However, attempts to “domesticate” wild-growing plants have a downside, as it could make the plants more susceptible to any number of plant viruses.

 

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'Zoomable' map of poplar proteins offers new view of bioenergy crop
01/29/2013 - 12:35

Researchers seeking to improve production of ethanol from woody crops have a new resource in the form of an extensive molecular map of poplar tree proteins, published by a team from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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Biofuel breakthrough: Quick cook method turns algae into oil
10/31/2012 - 10:25

It looks like Mother Nature was wasting her time with a multimillion-year process to produce crude oil. Michigan Engineering researchers can "pressure-cook" algae for as little as a minute and transform an unprecedented 65 percent of the green slime into biocrude.

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Napiergrass: A Potential Biofuel Crop for the Sunny Southeast
09/27/2012 - 13:28

Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum) is fairly drought-tolerant, grows well on marginal lands, and filters nutrients out of runoff in riparian areas, according to William Anderson, a geneticist in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit in Tifton, Ga. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA priority of developing new sources of bioenergy.

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