http://www.isaaa.org/kc/A weekly summary of world developments in agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA).en-usFri, 16 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0800http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=8938An international team of scientists from Taiwan (National Chiayi University) and the United States (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Washington State University) report the development of transgenic rice plants which can express high levels of a cellulolytic enzyme in its biomass, without severely impairing plant growth and development. Ce...Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0800News and Trendshttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=8939Scientists from different research institutions in the United States (including the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Joint Genome Institute (United States Department of Energy, DOE), Joint BioEnergy Institute and the University of California, Berkeley) report the use of "lignin-baited ‘bio-traps', to investigate the microbes and enzymes responsible ...Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0800News and Trendshttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=8940In order to reduce the pretreatment cost of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel ethanol production, the use of low-lignin feedstocks is one of the strategies being considered. Pretreatment is usually the first step in the bioethanol conversion process, which essentially deconstructs the plant cell biomass, prior to ethanol production. It is often a...Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0800Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Productionhttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=8941Researchers from the Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil) report the results of both morphological and chemical-composition changes in sugarcane bagasse after a two-step sequential pretreatment involving the addition of acid and alkali. Pretreatment is usually the first step in the production of biofuel ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass. The proce...Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0800Biofuels Processinghttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=8942Acid treatment is a common and non-expensive method for the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel ethanol production. One of the possible effects of acid pretreatment, however, is the formation of compounds which might be inhibitory to ethanol fermenting microorganisms. The dehydration of hexose and pentose sugars in the biomass after...Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0800Biofuels Processinghttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=8943Biodiesel is essentially a mixture of compounds known as "methyl esters"and it is usually produced by the acid- or base-catalyzed reaction between methanol and plant oil. This reaction is often referred to as the "transesterification" reaction. "Homogeneous" acid or alkaline solutions which are conventionally used as catalysts in the transesterific...Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0800Biofuels Processinghttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=8944A recent report by the National Centre for Biorenewable Energy, Fuels and Materials (United Kingdom) suggests that "the UK needs significant investment in a new generation of biofuels to meet its renewable transport targets." Under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED),the UK has a 10% legally binding renewable energy target. Under the Fuel Quality ...Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0800Biofuels Policy and Economics