http://www.isaaa.org/kc/A bi-weekly summary of world developments on biofuels, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA).en-usFri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0800http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/biofuels/default.asp?Date=6/26/2009#4372The Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently updated and approved the organization's energy policy. The ADB's "2009 Energy Policy", as with previous energy policies, serves to "guide ADB operations in the energy sector". Climate change, and the need for a clean, sustainable energy for Asia were primary considerations for the ...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0800News and Trendshttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/biofuels/default.asp?Date=6/26/2009#4373One of the top universities in the United States, Cornell University, recently opened its Biofuels Research Laboratory (BRL). The BRL is a US$ 6 million, 11,000-square-foot facility where multidisciplinary teams of Cornell University scientists will conduct research and development on economical and sustainable (non-food-crop-based) biofuels produc...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0800News and Trendshttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/biofuels/default.asp?Date=6/26/2009#4374Camelina, a crop historically grown in many parts of Europe for its seed oil, is resurging as a crop for cultivation as biofuel feedstock (biodiesel or jet fuel). A recent study by Dr. David Shonnard and Kenneth Koers of the Michigan Technological University (United States), measured the carbon dioxide emissions of camelina-based jet fuel over the ...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0800Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Productionhttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/biofuels/default.asp?Date=6/26/2009#4375The news site of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) announced the formal initiation of projects in Baluchistan province, for the planting of "three types of saplings that have the potential to produce bulk quantities of biofuel". According to PARC Chairman, Dr. Zafar Altaf, "We have identified three salt tolerant plants including Jat...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0800Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Productionhttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/biofuels/default.asp?Date=6/26/2009#4376In a recent article in the journal, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (India) and the University of Manitoba (Canada), propose the harnessing of diatoms for oil to be utilized in biodiesel or bio-hydrocarbon fuel production. Diatoms are unicellular algae, with cell walls made of silica. T...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0800Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Productionhttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/biofuels/default.asp?Date=6/26/2009#4377In the production of cellulose ethanol, lignocellulosic biomass can be pretreated by enzymatic hydrolysis to breakdown the cellulose molecules into sugars for ethanol.fermentation. The conversion of cellulose to sugars involves the reduction of the solid biomass by grinding, followed by the addition of cellulose-degrading enzymes (cellulases) in a ...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0800Biofuels Processinghttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/biofuels/default.asp?Date=6/26/2009#4378Hydrogen is considered one of the renewable energy sources of the future. It is a major component of fuel cells, which are presently being used in environment-friendly "hybrid cars". The production of biomass-derived hydrogen (by thermochemical or fermentative processes) puts into focus the use of renewable resources such as perennial grasses, fast...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0800Biofuels Processinghttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/biofuels/default.asp?Date=6/26/2009#4379The 2009 Annual Biofuels Country Report for Australia has been recently released by the Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Among the highlights of the report are: (1) Australia is a net energy exporter; it has uranium resources (estimated at 38% of global uranium resources) and rese...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0800Biofuels Policy and Economicshttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/biofuels/default.asp?Date=6/26/2009#4380An article by James MacDonald (from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan) describes an attempt to gather established emissions literature of various biofuels, and to identify discrepancies in the results. From a full fuel life cycle perspective, an analysis of the sources of the discrepancies, as well as pot...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0800Biofuels Policy and Economics