Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado are developing ways to improve the production of algae-based biofuels and bioproducts.

The US Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office has announced its support for the project "Rewiring Algal Carbon Energetics for Renewables,", giving the project a $3.5 million grant. The overall goal of the project is to double the yield of biofuel precursors from algae.

In the project, scientists will aim to increase the algae yield through different approaches including increasing its productivity, optimizing the biomass composition, and separating different algal lipids to reduce the costs converting it to renewable diesel.

The scientists from NREL will be joined by specialists from Colorado State University (CSU), the Colorado School of Mines, Arizona State University, Utah State University, as well as experts from the industry.

The researchers will focus on the algae species Desmodesmus armatus, and how it will efficiently channel carbon dioxide into useful fuel intermediates. Other partners on the project will work on the algae-to-bioproduct life cycle, including modification of growing pond conditions, and separating algal solids from water to remove lipids.

The idea of recycling waste cooking oil into biodiesel fuel is nothing new. Researchers have studied the process and companies have recycled when possible. However, cost is often a determining factor for making the effort to recycle.

Dr. Joseph Smith, a Missouri University of Science and Technology professor believes that we need to make the process on a smaller-scale, for it to be a feasible local project for towns and cities. This prompted Smith and his colleagues to develop a small, modular facility that could start many small plants that would still benefit the entire industry.

However, waste cooking oil recycling projects also produces glycerol which, when mixed with salt and water, is relatively unused. Smith explains that their developed process eliminates salt production. The excess glycerol and water mixture can now be fermented to methanol to make more biodiesel.

Their research could lead to biodiesel-propelled vehicles and could boost several green technologies.

Production of olive oil creates a vast stream of wastewater that can foul waterways, reduce soil fertility and damage ecosystems. Hence, a study from Institut de Science des Matériaux de Mulhouse in France developed an environment friendly process that could transform this pollutant into "green" biofuel, bio-fertilizer and safe water for irrigation.

During processing, olives are crushed and mixed with water in mills. The oil is separated out of this mixture, and the olive mill wastewater (OMW) is discarded. The process developed by the Institute first impregnates OMW on raw cypress sawdust (RCS), another common waste product.

Then the mixture is dried and the evaporated water is collected. This water will be safe enough for irrigation. The OMW-sawdust mixture is then subjected to pyrolysis, turning it into combustible gases and charcoal. The researchers then collected and condensed the gas into bio-oil, a biofuel precursor. The charcoal pellets left can now be used as fertilizer.

These results indicate the possibility of converting OMW to green fuels, agricultural water source, and fertilizer.

In a biofuel refinery, co-production of valuable chemicals from both plant material and microbial biomass is desirable. Fungal production of steroids was among the first industrial transformations allowing corticosteroid production. The team of Claire M. Hull from Swansea University Medical School in Wales reports the co-production of ethanol and hydroxyprogesterone, an intermediate in corticosteroid production, by yeasts using perennial ryegrass juice.

Genes encoding the 11α-steroid hydroxylase enzymes from Aspergillus ochraceus (11α-SH^Aoch) and Rhizopus oryzae (CYP509C12) were transformed into two separate Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. Both recombinant yeasts exhibited efficient hydroxyprogesterone conversion. Ethanol yields of both recombinants showed ≥75% conversion of glucose to alcohol.

This study demonstrates the application of recombinant yeasts in biorefinery processes where co-production of value-added products is an attractive possibility.

Rice is one of the main agricultural products of Vietnam. Rice straw is a significant by-product, which, when used in a biorefinery, would contribute to the bio-based transformation of Vietnam.

To find novel efficient enzyme mixtures for the hydrolysis of rice straw and other agricultural residues, Vietnamese researchers led by George E.Anasontzis from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden screened 1,100 new fungal isolates for their CMCase activity. The samples were collected from soil and decaying plant tissues around Vietnam.

The team selected 36 strains and evaluated them for their cellulases, xylanases, and accessory enzymes' activities. Most of these isolates belonged to the genera Aspergillus and Trichoderma. The team also identified promising isolates, such as A. brunneoviolaceus FEC 156, A. niger FEC 130 and FEC 705, and A. tubingensis FEC 98, FEC 110 and FEC 644. The produced enzyme mixtures of these selected strains released a huge fraction of the sugar content of alkali-treated rice straw.

The team found that the black Aspergilli are efficient in saccharification. Strains with low amounts of cellulases and xylanases but has enzyme mixtures with high saccharification efficiencies indicating a synergistic effect, were also identified.