Posts Tagged ‘biomass’

Could the US say goodbye to crude oil?

PRINCETON (US) — The United States could eliminate its need for crude oil by using a combination of coal, natural gas, and non-food crops to make synthetic fuel, experts report. Continue…

Monday, December 3, 2012 17:24 - 2 Comments

Earth & Environment - Feb 29, 2012 14:07 - 0 Comments

Mutant cellulose yields biofuel more easily

IOWA STATE (US) — Genetic mutations to cellulose in plants could improve the conversion of cellulosic biomass into biofuels. (more…)

Science & Technology - Oct 4, 2011 9:49 - 0 Comments

Cheap sugars could be biofuel bargain

IOWA STATE (US) — Engineers have developed a way to make low-cost sugars from biomass, a discovery that has the potential to reduce the cost of producing biofuels. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Sep 27, 2011 11:14 - 0 Comments

Biomass link to plant diversity questioned

IOWA STATE (US) — New research calls into question a decades-old theory about the relationship between how much biomass plant species produce and how many species can co-exist. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 27, 2011 16:22 - 0 Comments

Cover crops don’t compete with corn

IOWA STATE (US) — Using a perennial cover crop on corn fields benefits soil and water quality, and may even increase farm profits, according to a new study that finds farms that do so can yield 200 bushels of corn per acre. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 22, 2011 14:43 - 0 Comments

To convert biomass, pretreat with ammonia

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Researchers have identified a potential pretreatment method that can make plant cellulose five times more digestible by enzymes that convert it into ethanol. (more…)

Termite guts act like biofuel refinery

PURDUE (US) — A cocktail of enzymes from the guts of termites may be better at getting around the barriers that inhibit biofuel production from woody biomass. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Dec 28, 2010 12:09 - 0 Comments

Biomass dilemma: Double crop or not?

IOWA STATE (US) — An experiment to test the benefits of double-cropping to grow more biomass for ethanol production yields mixed results. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Dec 22, 2010 12:07 - 1 Comment

‘Green’ fuel from red seaweed

U. ILLINOIS (US) — Engineers have developed a strain of yeast that can make short work of fermenting galactose—and in turn make red seaweed a more viable option for biofuel. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Dec 2, 2010 14:59 - 0 Comments

Fire and ice found in Antarctic cores

STONY BROOK (US) — Biomass burning in the Southern Hemisphere over the past 650 years appears to be the cause of a fluctuating pattern of carbon monoxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Nov 15, 2010 11:45 - 1 Comment

Is virus bad news for biomass?

U. ILLINOIS (US) — Researchers have confirmed reports of a new virus that affects switchgrass, a biomass crop being considered for commercial ethanol production. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Sep 9, 2010 14:24 - 0 Comments

Weighing the pros and cons of Miscanthus

U. ILLINOIS (US)—In the search for the perfect crop for biofuel production, Miscanthus has become the darling to many. But researchers are taking a closer look at its behavior in the field. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 17, 2010 14:20 - 2 Comments

Saving the Earth while feeding the world

STANFORD (US)—Advances in high-yield agriculture over the latter part of the 20th century have not only helped feed the planet, but have also prevented massive amounts of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere—the equivalent of 590 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Apr 23, 2010 10:14 - 2 Comments

Pressure cook algae to make better biofuel

U. MICHIGAN (US)—Heating and squishing microalgae in a pressure cooker can speed the oil-making process. Researchers are working to improve the method in an effort to develop affordable, carbon-neutral biofuels. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Apr 22, 2010 5:49 - 2 Comments

What would nature do (with all this CO2)?

U. MICHIGAN (US)—Is there an organism out there—or could one be created—that chemically breaks down the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into a useful form? A recent discovery has a team of scientists asking that question. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Apr 1, 2010 11:42 - 0 Comments

Parasites may threaten biofuel crops

U. ILLINOIS—Researchers have discovered widespread occurrence of plant-parasitic nematodes in Miscanthus and switchgrass, two plants used for biofuels. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Oct 23, 2009 17:25 - 3 Comments

Totally clean and green by 2030?

STANFORD (US)—Most of the technology needed to shift the world from fossil fuel to clean, renewable energy already exists. A new report suggests that implementing that technology requires overcoming obstacles in planning and politics, but doing so could result in a 30 percent decrease in global power demand. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Aug 31, 2009 11:52 - 1 Comment

Move over trees. Here comes the sun

UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — It’s time to take the middle men—the plants—out of the solar energy equation. A new area of energy research called artificial photosynthesis aims to do just that by overcoming one of the biggest obstacles in solar power: energy storage. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 23, 2009 12:32 - 1 Comment

Green revolution fueled by duckweed?

RUTGERS (US)—In the search for new biomass sources, researchers are turning their attention to duckweed, an unassuming and fast-growing aquatic plant, which they say has tremendous potential to clean up pollution, combat global warming, and feed the world. (more…)

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