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Methane Fermentation of By-products -Alternative to Increasing Net Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol
29 08 2008 Many studies show that the net energy balance for ethanol production using corn as the biofuel feedstock is not as good when compared to sugarcane or lignocellulosic biomass. Net energy balance is the difference between the energy output obtained from utilizing the biofuel and the energy input used to produce the biofuel. The higher the value, the ...
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Scientists Use Novel Nanocatalysts for Gasification of Biomass to Ethanol
29 08 2008 Aside from the fermentation route, ethanol can be produced from biomass via the thermochemical route. This usually involves the thermal treatment of the biomass at high temperatures (in an oxygen-controlled environment) to produce ‘synthesis gas”, which is mainly a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The synthesis gas is then processed into et...
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Discovery of Chloroplast Protein Opens Way to New Tailored Bioenergy Crops
29 08 2008 Chloroplasts are components in plant cells which capture light energy, and orchestrate the photosynthetic conversion of water and carbon dioxide into sugars, the raw material for plant biomass. Scientists from Michigan State University (MSU, in the United States) have discovered a protein in the plant chloroplast which may help offer insights on ho...
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Omega-3-Fatty-Acid-Rich Algal Fish Feed Produced from Biodiesel By-Product
29 08 2008 Glycerol is a 3-carbon compound produced as a by-product in the production of biodiesel. Although this by-product can be utilized by the food, pharmaceutical and personal hygiene industries, excess amounts of glycerol would remain unutilized as the demand for biodiesel production increases. In order to address the anticipated ”glycerol glut”, scien...
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USDA and China Ink Biofuel Research Collaboration
29 08 2008 The United Stated Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China recently signed an agreement for biofuels research collaboration. Under the agreement both parties will collaborate toward the establishment of “processes and infrastructure for conversion of sweet sorghum and other feedstocks to ethanol”, ...
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Study Shows Reduced Pollution and Good Fuel Economy in Biodiesel-run Buses
29 08 2008 Scientists from Purdue University (United States) recently made a study on a local mass transit (bus) company to assess the impact of fuel switching from regular fuel (100% standard diesel, 0% biodiesel) to a 10% biodiesel blended fuel (B10) on bus operations. At the same time, the study also aimed to see if it was possible to obtain sustained bene...
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FAO Calls for Studies on Genetic Resource Info of Underutilized Bioenergy Crops
29 08 2008 The Global Partnership Initiative for Plant Breeding Capacity Building (GIPB), a cross-sectoral collaboration of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO) has announced a call for “Studies and Analysis on Harnessing the Potential of Selected Underutilized Bioenergy Crops”. The GIPB realizes that many of the underutilized bioener...
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Biological Diversity Convention Invites Submissions on Sustainable Biofuels
29 08 2008 The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has announced a call for “submissions for information on experiences on the development and application of tools relevant to the sustainable production and use of biofuels”. This includes relevant information (based on research and monitoring experiences) on the positive/negative impac...
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US DOE JGI Reviews Role of Genomics in Cellulose-based Biofuels Development
15 08 2008 The role of genomics in the development of cellulosic biofuels was recently reviewed by Director Eddy Rubin, of the United States Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (US-DOE-JGI). Recent studies have indicated that cellulose-based biofuels (“cellulose ethanol”) have good potential for reducing global dependence on fossil fuels. Consequently...
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Furanics: Alternative Carbon-based Biofuels from Direct Conversion of Cellulose
15 08 2008 The utilization of cellulosic biomass for biofuel production commonly goes through the biochemical route of pretreatment/saccharification (breakdown of cellulose into component- sugars), followed by fermentation of the sugars into ethanol. Although “cellulose ethanol” production technology provides a good energy yield and a good “carbon balance”, t...
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Draft Guidelines for Biofuel Sustainability Standards Announced
15 08 2008 The steering committee of the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) has announced the release of draft guidelines (“Version Zero”) on the “Principles for Sustainable Biofuels”. The RSB is a multi-stakeholder initiative of the Energy Center, Swiss Federal Technical Institute (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland. The guidelines contain “international st...
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Scientists Call for More R and D in Cassava for Food and Energy Security
15 08 2008 The UN-FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) website reports that cassava scientists at a global forum have called for “a significant increase in investment in research and development needed to boost farmers’ yields and explore promising industrial uses of cassava, including production of biofuels”. Cassava is an important staple ...
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Genomic Clearing House for Bioethanol Crops to be Established
15 08 2008 The Michigan State University (MSU) (United States) has received funds from the United States Departments of Agriculture and Energy for the establishment of an “easily accessible, web-based genomic database” for bioenergy crops that can be utilized for ethanol production. The project is headed by C. Robin Buell, associate professor of plant biology...
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Highlights of US Biofuels Market Analysis
15 08 2008 The bioenergy website gives some highlights of a study on the United States biofuel market by RNCOS, a market research and information analysis company. Some of the highlights regarding the US biofuels market are: (1) the US biofuel market captures 36% share in global ethanol production, and is ranked as the largest bioethanol producer, (2) the dev...
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Report Analyzes European Biofuels Challenge
15 08 2008 A report by Urmila Doraswami entitled, “The European Biofuels Challenge: Developments in European Union (EU) Policy and Industry Drivers”, gives an analysis of the challenges and drivers of the European biofuels industry within the EU legislation environment. The report traces the circumstances driving the growth of the European biofuel industry, ...
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Cellulosic Ethanol Production from Crop Residue May Be Counterproductive
25 07 2008 Crop residues (such as rice straw and corn stover) are potential feedstocks for cellulose ethanol production. Because of their relative abundance in many parts of the world, many countries are considering the use of crop residues as bioenergy feedstocks. However, studies by Ann Kennedy (a soil scientist from the USDA-Agricultural Research Service a...
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China To Construct Three Jatropha Biodiesel Plants
25 07 2008 The Chinese National Government has approved the construction of three state-owned jatropha biodiesel plants, with an annual total capacity of 170,000 tons. The three plants are PetroChina (60,000 ton facility to be built in Sichuan), Sinopec (50,000 ton capacity plant to be built in Guizhou), and CNOOC (60,000 ton plant to be built in Hainan). The...
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Research Grant for “Diesel Tree” Gene Study
25 07 2008 Chhandak Basu, assistant professor from the University of Northern Colorado, United States, has received a research grant to study the feasibility of using a diesel-like fuel (called “oleoresin”) from the “copaiba” or “diesel tree” as automotive fuel without further refining. The grant, amounting to about $100,000 (from the Colorado Office of Econo...
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Australian Kalpa Tree as Alternative Biodiesel Feedstock
25 07 2008 Australian biofuel company, PhytoFuel, is considering the use of the Kalpa tree (a tree native to Australia and resembling wisteria) as an alternative biodiesel feedstock. Company CEO, Marshall Mackay, says that the Kalpa tree produces a non-edible nut, with a seed of high oil content (about 30% oil yield). The oil is said to be suitable for making...
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Sustainability of Grasses as Bioenergy Crops
25 07 2008 Scientists from the Argonne National Laboratory of the United States Department of Energy (US-DOE) and University of Chicago are jointly looking into the sustainability of converting perennial forage crops into bioenergy (either direct burning or conversion to cellulosic ethanol). Argonne Laboratory scientists are planting varieties of switchgrass,...
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DOW and NREL Collaborate on Biomass to Ethanol Technology by ThermoChemical Route
25 07 2008 Biomass is usually converted to ethanol using the biochemical or thermochemical route. Cellulose from biomass is broken down into simple sugars and then fermented by microorganisms into ethanol in the biochemical route. The thermochemical route, on the other hand, usually involves the (1) thermal gasification of the biomass into “synthesis gas” (a ...
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“Near-Critical Water” Converts Lignin Into Biofuel Precursors
25 07 2008 When ligno-cellulosic plant biomass (for example, wood) is used for ethanol production, only the cellulose component is usually utilized. The lignin component is often left as residue and unutilized. Lignin molecules are generally composed of small hydrocarbon chains linked by carbon-oxygen-carbon bonds. The small hydrocarbon chains are potential r...
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New Study Finds Less Greener Picture for Tropical Biofuels
25 07 2008 A recent study by scientists from the University of Wisconsin, University of Arizona, and McGill University, re-examined the proposed “carbon debt models” for biofuel development, and highlighted the short-term risks in the expansion of tropical biofuels, by growing them in cleared carbon-absorbing forests. An earlier article by Joseph Fargione and...
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Taiwan Rolls Out 1% Biodiesel Mandate
25 07 2008 Taiwan Energy Bureau Chief , Yeh Huey-ching, announced the enactment of a “B1” mandate (a law requiring a 1% biodiesel blend on all diesel sold in the country), to be implemented in July 2008. The new law is expected to save Taiwan about 38.5 million liters of imported diesel and reduce its carbon emissions by 126,000 tons. Part of the biodiesel fe...
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Change in EU Biofuel Policy in European Energy Ministers’ Meeting
11 07 2008 The Biopact website reports a possible start in the change of EU (European Union) policy on biofuels, after a recent informal meeting of European Energy Ministers. One idea is for the EU to import liquid biofuels from Brazil, instead of producing these in Europe. The production of biofuels in Brazil is said to be 8% to 10% more efficient and 5% che...
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