The Nissan Motor Company has unveiled world's first Solid Oxide Fuel-Cell (SOFC)-powered prototype vehicle that runs on bioethanol electric power. The fuel cell prototype is part of Nissan's commitment to developing zero-emission vehicles.

The e-Bio Fuel-Cell prototype vehicle runs on 100-percent ethanol or ethanol-blended water to charge a 24kWh battery that can cruise more than 600km. Nissan will conduct further testing in Brazil using the prototype. Aside from its carbon-neutral emissions, the vehicle also offers low-running costs and the driving range of a gasoline-engine vehicle.

Due to the easy availability of ethanol and low combustibility of ethanol-blended water, the system is not heavily dependent or restricted by the existing charging infrastructure, making it easy to introduce to the market.

India is aiming to promote the production of ethanol from plant biomass like wheat, cotton and rice straw. India's union minister for Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari is set to promote ethanol production in the next few weeks. This comes after the government announced a 10% ethanol blending requirement to be mixed with petrol. However, Gadkari's announcement can be instrumental in increasing the ethanol blending to 22.5%.

The move is also expected to create demand for farm waste, which is currently just being burned away.

Twenty Latin American countries have pledged to continue "promoting" the development of biofuels, with support from multilateral financial institutions, during The Latin American seminar of Biofuels in San Salvador.

The forum, which closed last August 5, 2016, was organized by Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). Participating countries include Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Cuba, the six Central American countries, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and other Caribbean nations.

"There is a belief by the countries where it is increasingly necessary to promote the development of biofuels, it is a reality we can not look away and is fortunately gaining more support among those who need biofuels and as well as those institutions can support funds for their development, "said Alvaro Rios, secretary of OLADE.

The Inter American Development Bank (IDB) is also set to announce a program called "Green Energy" for the development of private business initiatives for ​​renewable energies in Latin America.

llinois Institute of Technology researchers have received a patent for a method to develop genetically engineered bacteria and yeast to increase bioethanol production from cellulosic material.

Ben Stark, professor of biology, developed a method to engineer ethanol producers Escherichia coli and Zymomonas mobilis to express Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb). Engineering microorganisms with VHb enhances the production of many useful bioproducts as well as improve microbial degradation of certain toxic chemicals.

Cellulosic and hemicellulosic-based bioethanols are the least common right now. However, bioethanol from these feedstocks has the promise of being much more cost effective and sustainable, producing less greenhouse gas, and having a less direct impact on the food supply than using corn starch as a source of sugar.

Biofuel production is prone to contamination with unwanted microbes. These invaders can outcompete the producer microbes for nutrients, reducing yield and productivity. Researchers at MIT and Novogy, a startup company, now describe a technique that gives producer microbes the upper hand against unwanted microbes.

Researchers engineered Escherichia coli with a synthetic pathway that allows it to convert melamine to ammonia and carbon dioxide. While contaminating organisms can extract nutrients from natural sources such as ammonia, they do not have the genetic pathways needed to use melamine as a nitrogen source. They tested the engineered E. coli strain against a wildtype strain and found that the engineered type rapidly outcompeted the control, when fed with melamine.

They were also successful in engineering Saccharomyces cerevisiae that uses cyanamide as a nitrogen source as well as a Yarrowia lipolytica that consumes potassium phosphite as a source of phosphorous. Like the engineered E. coli strain, both the engineered yeasts were able to outcompete naturally occurring strains when fed on these chemicals.

Since these engineered strains possess this ability when they are fed unconventional chemicals, the chances of them growing uncontrollably in a natural environment are extremely low.

A new research will test whether Plaxx, a fuel made from mixed plastic waste similar to crude oil, can be used as an alternative to crude derived fuels in industrial and marine engines. The research, funded by Innovate UK and the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council, will be led by Associate Professor Farid Dailami, Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL), as well as Recycling Technologies, the developers of Plaxx.

The research will determine if Plaxx can be used efficiently in diesel engines without increasing engine wear. It will evelaute Plaxx in terms of engine performance, emissions and engine wear on different engines over a range of conditions. This research will also be of interest to waste treatment companies and packaging manufacturers as its application will help transform waste into a profitable feedstock.

Researchers will also compare the performance of the fuel with standard diesel fuel to gauge its performance. This study aims to demonstrate to producers and users that Plaxx can be a viable alternative for their industrial and marine engines.