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News and Trends[Top]
Imaging Technique Probes Plant Cell Structure to Screen for Better Biofuel Crops Emily Smith, a researcher from the Ames Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy and a chemistry professor at the Iowa State University, has recently described a method for screening for better biofuel crops, which is based on a light scattering technique. According to the Ames Laboratory press release, Smith “plans to use Raman spectroscopy to study plant cell structure and to determine which crops offer the right combination of cell wall composition and degradation” for maximum bioconversion to bioethanol. Simply put, the Raman technique focuses a beam of laser light on the sample (i.e., the plant material). The beamed laser light interacts with the plant material, resulting in the scattering of light at frequencies and wavelengths that are characteristic of the molecular state of the sample. The analysis of these “light scattering signatures” provides the tools for the screening of biofuel crops. Smith will use the technique to determine the lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose contents of cellulosic biofuel feedstocks such as switchgrass, Miscanthus, poplar trees, and willow trees. With this technique, plants with low lignin contents can be identified. Lignin is a component of plants that hampers the effective enzymatic conversion of cellulose to sugars for ethanol fermentation. In addition, the study of the changes of lignin in plants over time, can help determine of the optimal harvest time for a given biofuel crop. Related Links: Mendel Biotechnology and BP Collaboration for Cellulosic Biofuel Feedstock Development A collaboration between Mendel Biotechnology (a company with expertise in plant science and plant genomics) and BP (a leading company in alternative energy development) has been announced. The agreement aims to develop “tailored” cellulosic plant material that can be used as feedstocks for cost-effective processing into biofuels. Mendel Biotechnology is active in research on the genetic switches that control many aspects of plant growth and function. By modifying the activity of these key genes temporally and spatially, it may be possible to “obtain significant improvements in plant productivity”, and plants that posses characteristics that are desirable for biofuel processing. Under this collaboration, Mendel Company plans to accelerate its established breeding program for perennial grass variety improvement. Breeding stations will be set up in Midwestern and Southwestern regions of the United States. In addition, there are also plans for establishing collaborations with Germany and China. Cosmo Oil Japan to Harness Yams as Feedstock in Proposed Biofuel Project in the Philippines A combination of factors has made the Philippines an attractive investment site for renewable energy projects, including biofuels. Among these are (a) favorable agro-climatic conditions; (b) central regional geographic location; (c) land and labour availability; (d) government support; and (e) legislative mechanisms that promote biofuels. The refinery giant, Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd, Japan, has proposed to build a US$100 million bioethanol plant and a US$50 million biodiesel processing plant in the province of Leyte, Philippines. A spectrum of biomass feedstocks are being planned for their bioethanol plant, to include sugar cane (99,000 hectares), and starchy root crops, like cassava (84,000 hectares) sweet potato (89,000 hectares), and yams (188,000 hectares). Yam is a starchy root crop belonging to the genus Dioscorea, and Cosmo Oil would be the first company to use yams as biofuel feedstock in a major biofuel processing facility. The project would add value to traditional survival crops like cassava and yams, and hopefully will contribute to improved income generation for farmers. For their biodiesel project, the planned raw materials are oil palm (17,000 hectares) and coconut (copra) (61,000 hectares). Related Links: Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Production[Top]
Ancient European Plant Is a Potential Biodiesel Feedstock A plant known to have flourished in Europe some 3,500 years ago has been identified as a potential bioenergy crop for biodiesel production. Camelina sativa, also known as “false flax ”,“ German sesame and “gold of pleasure”, is said to have a long history of use in Europe, mainly for the production of lamp oil, dating back to the Neolithic times. Its cultivation declined in the medieval period due to unknown reasons, and only recently it has been grown in limited amounts for its use in organic health products. However, there has been a renewed interest in the plant as a biofuel crop, which might trigger its mass cultivation. The properties that make Camelina a potentially competitive biodiesel feedstock are its (1) ability to grow in arid conditions; (2) low agricultural input requirements (fertilizer, pesticides, etc); and (3) an oil content (20% to 40%) comparable to that of other well known oilseeds such as canola and soybean. Targeted Growth, a biotechnology firm in Seattle, Washington, United States has initiated a “hyper-accelerated breeding program” with the purpose of increasing Camelina yields. The program is based on technology developed from previous studies on the growth of cancer cells that has been adapted for the growth of plant cells. The target of the program is to produce enough seeds for planting one million acres of Camelina by 2009. Related Link: New Attempts to Revive Algae-Based Biofuel Development Algae are considered as good carbon dioxide sequestering organisms, and can produce oil which can be converted into biodiesel. These are the features that make the development of algae-based biofuels an attractive proposition. However, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the United States abandoned its algae-for-energy program in 1996. One of the identified barriers was the “difficulty in replicating laboratory growth conditions” of the algae on a larger scale. Some American companies, like Solix and Live Fuels, have begun to address these barriers. These issues are discussed in a recent article in the journal Nature. Biofuels Processing[Top]
Slow Pyrolysis Process for Producing Biofuel and Soil Amender Wins UN Environment Award A company which developed a pyrolysis-based biofuel processing technology has won the World Environment Day Award of the United Nations Association of Australia. The company is BEST Energies, Inc., an integrated bioenergy solutions provider based in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Their process for biofuel production involves the slow pyrolysis (i.e., heating in the absence of oxygen) of biomass, that produces a liquid biofuel and a solid residue (char). The liquid biofuel can be used for transport applications, and the solid “biochar” or “Agrichar” has been successfully used as a soil amender. The attractive feature of the technology is the potential production of a “carbon negative biofuel”. A “carbon negative biofuel” means that the difference between the CO2 emitted during biofuel production and use is less than the CO2 sequestered during biomass growth. Since the biomass is heated in the absence of oxygen, no carbon dioxide is produced. The application of biochar to agricultural soils has been shown to “improve soil health indicators and increase crop yields and productivity”. Long term sequestration of the carbon in the char is reported to occur in the soil. The company has an integrated pilot plant facility in New South Wales, Australia. “Extremophile” Sparks Research into “Extreme Enzymes” for Biofuel Processing of Lignocellulosic Biomass “Extremophiles” is a term given to microorganisms that can grow and thrive in extreme environments, not normally survivable by other microorganisms. For example, extremophiles have been isolated in hot and acidic terrestrial volcanic springs. Interest in extremophiles stems from the idea that they may possess novel enzymes which can function under extreme conditions of temperature and pH. This property can be harnessed for many useful applications, as many of the commercially available enzymes are limited in function within a very narrow range of temperature and pH. Realizing the potential of these “extreme enzymes” for the bioprocessing of lignocellulosic biomass into ethanol, scientists from Sandia National Laboratories in the United States are looking into a microorganism called Sulfolobus solfataricus. This microorganism has been found to express cellulase enzymes which can function in sulfuric acid environments. Cellulases are enzymes which break down cellulosic biomass into sugars for fermentative conversion to ethanol. Using molecular biology, enzyme engineering and computational techniques, Sandia scientists are studying the genetic sequences encoding these “extreme-cellulases”. The aim is to develop a cost-effective and efficient process for the breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass for ethanol production. Lignocellulosic degradation to sugars for subsequent ethanol fermentation is considered one of the bottlenecks for cellulose ethanol production. Related Link: |
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