Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and CIMB Foundation are collaborating to educate the public through a "BioDiesel From Used Cooking Oil" Program.

The project aims to encourage the public to drop off their used cooking oil at collection centers in UPM where it will be processed into biodiesel. The used cooking oil should not have been used more than three times, and must be chilled and put into a container before being brought to UPM. With CIMB Foundation's contribution, RM1 will be given for each kg of used cooking oil contributed.

CIMB believes that one of the best ways to dispose used cooking oil is to reuse it as biodiesel to power vehicles such as buses. For now, the biodiesel produced is set for domestic use only. However, the foundation also encourages industries to adapt the technology on a larger scale.

The project is part of the CIMB's Community Link, which has implemented about 800 projects in Malaysia since 2008.

The phrase "Ttong-bonwi-hwapae" literally translates into "poop standard currency." Now, the South Korean government is investing 10 billion won over the next five years to turn this human waste-to-currency idea into reality.

A pilot project, headed by the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology last May at its Science Walden Pavilion established a laboratory with a lavatory that turns human waste into biofuel. In return 'donors'  were rewarded with a virtual currency called "kkul" or honey.

The sewage is dehydrated and converted into odorless powder, after which it is processed inside a bioreactor into methane gas and carbon dioxide. For every donation of this precious resource, the patron receives 10 kkul  which is equivalent to $0.43. Officials are trying to bring up the value of 10 kkul to about $3.12 by 2020. Their ultimate goal is to have the currency applied to larger communities and ultimately use the system to provide financial support to the socially disadvantaged.

Now with the government's endorsement, the Science Walden research team is planning to establish a Living Lab on the UNIST campus, which will be used as a new lab, as well as a living environment. Researchers will be able to experience and research in real-time how their own waste is used for heating, hot water, and kitchen appliances.

A new study from the Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory that ethanol produced using waste biomass, such as dead or dying trees, is more cost-effective and could have higher benefits in the long term than conventional ethanol production.

First generation ethanol is produced using food crops such as sugarcane and corn. Meanwhile, second generation ethanol is made from waste biomass, including agricultural residues and energy crops. The researchers compared production costs and greenhouse gas emissions for 1G and 2G ethanol and also predicted future trends between 2015 and 2030. The study also quantified the economic and environmental impacts considering current and future scenarios of sugarcane biorefineries.

Their results indicate that while 2G ethanol has higher production costs than 1G in the short term, it is competitive in the long term, and investment in 2G could increase ethanol production. The team estimates that using waste biomass for ethanol production could also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80%, which supports the commitment of the Brazilian government in its attempt to increase use of sustainable biofuels.

A team of researchers at the University of Cambridge has developed a method of using solar power to generate a fuel that is both sustainable and relatively cheap to produce.

Lignocellulose is the main component of plant biomass. It is made of strong, highly crystalline cellulose fibers, that are interwoven with lignin, and hemicellulose which act as a glue. This rigid structure gives plants and trees mechanical stability. Up to now, its conversion into hydrogen has only been achieved through a gasification process, which uses high temperatures to decompose it.

The new technology relies on a simple photocatalytic conversion process. Catalytic nanoparticles, which are capable of absorbing energy from solar light and using it to do complex chemical reactions, are added to alkaline water where the biomass is suspended. This is then placed in front of a light which mimics solar light. The solution then absorbs this light and converts the biomass into gaseous hydrogen which can then be collected.

The team used the method on different types of biomass in their experiments such as pieces of wood, paper and leaves. All biomass didn't require any processing beforehand.

A UK patent application has now been filed and talks are under way with a potential commercial partner.

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) has potential as a source of biofuel feedstock for lignocellulosic-based bioethanol production. However, diseases, such as stalk rot, can be an important concern and the potential impacts of diseases on biofuel traits are currently unknown. Kansas State University researchers tested the effects of Fusarium stalk rot and Charcoal rot on sweet sorghum biofuel traits assessed the combining ability of the parental genotypes for resistance to the two diseases.

Nineteen genotypes, including 7 parents and 12 hybrids, were tested in the field against Fusarium thapsinum (FT) and Macrophomina phaseolina (MP), which are pathogens causing stalk rot in sorghum. Plants were inoculated 14 days after flowering with FT and MP. Plants were thean harvested 35 days after inoculation and disease severity was evaluated. Grain weight, juice weight, Brix (°Bx), and dried bagasse weight were also determined.

On average, FT and MP infection resulted in significantly reduced grain weight and dried bagasse weight across genotypes. The general and specific combining abilities of parentals were found to be statistically insignificant.

Their study revealed the adverse effects of stalk rot diseases on biofuel traits and the need to breed sweet sorghum for stalk rot resistance.