Tag: biofuels
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Three U.S. Corporations Start Energy Technology Fund
Three American energy corporations –- General Electric Co. (GE), NRG Energy Inc., and ConocoPhillips -– have begun a joint venture that aims to fund emerging energy technology companies. The companies have committed $300 million to the collaboration, called Energy Technology Ventures, with plans to support some 30 venture- and growth-stage companies over the next four…
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Genetic Researchers Identify Enzymes for Biofuels
Researchers have used large-scale DNA sequencing to characterize the genes and genomes of plant-digesting microbes isolated from the rumen — pre-stomach — of a cow, and identify the most promising enzymes for breaking down cellulose in the biofuel switchgrass. The team from the Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute, several universities and national labs, and…
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Biofuel Developer to Build Commercial-Scale Ethanol Plant
Mascoma Corporation, a biofuels company in Lebanon, New Hampshire, said today it has secured financing to build a commercial-scale refinery to produce wood-based cellulosic ethanol. The company says the plant, located in Kinross Charter Township, Michigan, will be one of the first of its kind. Mascoma Corporation was founded by Lee Lynd and Charles Wyman,…
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Engineering Prof. Computes Available Biofuel Crop Lands
A detailed land analysis by researchers at University of Illinois in Champaign found that biofuel crops cultivated on available land could produce up to half of the world’s current fuel consumption, without affecting food crops or grazing land for livestock. Engineering professor Ximing Cai and two colleagues published their findings last month in the journal…
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Ethanol Company to Open Demonstration Biofuels Refinery
Algenol Biofuels Inc. in Bonita Springs, Florida says it plans to build a pilot-scale biofuels refinery adjacent to its recently opened laboratories in Fort Myers, Florida. The 36-acre facility will demonstrate Algenol’s technology, which produces ethanol directly from carbon dioxide using blue-green algae. Algenol says the Lee Road facility in Fort Myers brings together the…
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Baking Soda Improves Oil Output from Algae
Sodium bicarbonate, the familiar baking soda found in households worldwide, can increase the production of oil precursors from algae, according to researchers at Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman. However, for baking soda to work with algae, it must be added a precisely the right time, and pinning down that time was a big part…
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Fuels Developer Claims Large-Scale Hydrogen from Algae
OriginOil Inc. in Los Angeles, California, a developer of a technology to transform algae into renewable fuels, says it has used solar energy to produce hydrogen from algae at a level comparable to conventional photovoltaic solar panels. The company used its Hydrogen Harvester device to generate the hydrogen. The device, according to the company, achieved…
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Math Model Developed for Biofuels Development
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) created a techno-economic model that can help accelerate development of biofuels to compete with gasoline. This online, wiki-based model is designed to help researchers pursue promising strategies for cost-efficient biorefinery operations The JBEI team at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in California designed the model…
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University, Entrepreneurs Advance Biofuels for U.S. Military
Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York joined today with two entrepreneurs to advance the use of biofuels by the U.S. armed forces as an alternative energy source. The entrepreneurs, John Fox and Wayne Arden, have proposed producing biodiesel in Afghanistan as a way of reducing risks to American troops and building a new, sustainable industry…
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Report: Loose Governance in Oil Company/University Agreements
The Center for American Progress (CAP), a progressive issues analysis organization in Washington, DC, reviewed 10 agreements between universities in the U.S. and oil companies where the companies offer to fund energy research, particularly in alternative fuels. The report finds several areas where the agreements have the potential to compromise academic freedom and limit the…