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Research and DevelopmentNews article: http://dailyfusion.net/2013/12/petrobras-embrapa-developing-sugarcane-ethanol-production-tech-25380/ Petrobras, a Brazilian multinational energy corporation, and Embrapa, a state-owned company affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, have signed a technical cooperation agreement that seeks to develop new sugarcane production technology for the ethanol market in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. The state of Rio Grande do Sul imports sugarcane ethanol from other states to meet its own needs. The project will evaluate varieties of sugarcane that are better adapted to the soil and climate in this state, taking into consideration the issues of productivity, pest resistance and tolerance to cold and drought. The project also aims to develop and recommend a production system model based on studies of fertilization and planting periods, among other regional factors. In addition, it will provide an agro-climatic zoning for cane sugar in a temperate climate. The project will be funded by Petrobras, with technical and scientific support from its Research Center (Cenpes). The R&D component of the project will be carried out by Embrapa's Temperate Climate Agricultural Research Center, located in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul.
Journal reference: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature12771.html News article: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/12/20131203-bal.html A team of scientists from Bio Architecture Lab (B.A.L.), has developed an engineered yeast that can efficiently metabolize the sugars in seaweed and ferment them into ethanol. Bio Architecture is a California-based company focused on the production of biofuels and biochemicals from macroalgae (seaweed) with the application of synthetic biology and enzyme design. B.A.L. scientists reported in the journal Nature the engineering of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to enable it to break down and ferment alginate and mannitol, the most abundant sugars in brown macroalgae. Conventional industrial microbes like S. cerevisiae can metabolize mannitol, but not alginate which comprises 30 to 60 percent of the total sugars in brown macroalgae. The inability of industrial microbes to catabolize alginate results in a substantial loss of product yield. The BAL scientists integrated the gene encoding an alginate transporter from the marine fungus Asteromyces cruciatus into a S. cerevisiae strain, along with the necessary bacterial alginate and deregulated native mannitol catabolism genes. This enabled the engineered yeast strain to efficiently metabolize the alginate monomer 4-deoxy-L-erythro-5-hexoseulose uronate (DEHU) and mannitol. The yeast was capable of ethanol fermentation from mannitol and DEHU, achieving titers of 36.2 grams per liter and yields up to 83 percent of the maximum theoretical yield from consumed sugars.
News article: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/12/20131201.html Journal reference: http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/content/6/1/173/abstract Researchers at Imperial College London have demonstrated that ethanol production from bamboo in China is both technically and economically feasible, as well as cost-competitive with petrol fuel. Bamboo, just like other grasses used for biofuel production, has complex polymeric composition that hampers enzymatic breakdown and release of sugars that can be fermented into ethanol. Pretreatments are used to enhance the release of these usable sugars for ethanol production. In their study, the Imperial College London team performed liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment at temperatures of 170 to 190 degrees Celsius for 10 to 30 minutes, followed by enzymatic breakdown of complex sugars with a commercial enzyme cocktail at various loadings. The data were then fed into a techno-economic model to determine the production cost of bioethanol. The economic analysis showed that the lowest enzyme loading had the most commercially viable scenario, primarily due to the significant contribution of enzyme to cost, which at higher loadings was not defrayed adequately by an increase in the amount of sugar released. The analysis demonstrated that bamboo ethanol would be competitive with gasoline at the pump in scenarios with enzyme loadings of 60 FPU/g glucan and lower. However, in a prospective scenario with reduced government support (tax break or subsidy), this enzyme loading threshold would be reduced to 30 FPU/g glucan. In the United Kingdom, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has awarded funding of £1.15 million ($1.88 million) to Robert Gordon University (RGU) and University of St. Andrews researchers for a four-year project aimed at utilizing solar energy to produce ethanol from cellulosic waste products. The proposed project aims to produce ethanol from cellulosic waste instead of food crops, including cellulose rich straw and recovered paper, using photocatalysis combined with the fermentation process in a single reactor. Photocatalysis - the use of a catalyst to accelerate a photoreaction by generating free radicals - will be used to release sugars from cellulose which will then pass through a semi-permeable membrane before being fermented into ethanol. Previous attempts to harness cellulosic waste have used extreme treatment conditions to release the usable sugars, with enzymes, acid and alkali explosion, wet oxidation and steam explosion being combined with high pressures and temperatures. Such procedures are expensive, energy demanding and generate hazardous waste. The latest research approach has multiple advantages such as using a catalyst that is low cost, non-toxic, self-cleaning, recoverable and activated by harvested sunlight.
News release: http://news.illinois.edu/news/13/1204miscanthus_StephenLong.html Journal reference: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcbb.12077/abstract Researchers from the University of Illinois have published the results of the first long-term U.S. field trials of Miscanthus x giganteus, a tall perennial grass used in bioenergy production, showing that its yields are more than twice those of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), a popular perennial bioenergy grass. The average annual yield of Miscanthus grown in seven Illinois locations over a period of eight to 10 years was 10.5 tons per acre, compared with 4.5 tons per acre for switchgrass grown in side-by-side trials in Illinois, the researchers report. Miscanthus yields in Europe are about half of those reported in the Midwest. The study took into account differences in yield that were the result of annual weather changes (primarily heat and precipitation, both of which increased growth). The Illinois study also confirmed the earlier finding in Europe with regard to the comparable performance of Miscanthus in poor and fertile soils. The new findings appear in the journal Global Change Biology: Bioenergy. Production and TradeNews article: http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/en/business/agri-commodities/23919-biofuel-program-saddled-by-lack-of-feedstuff-study A study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) found that limited cultivation of sweet sorghum in the Philippines hampers the country's biofuel production program. Introduced in the Philippines in 2004, sweet sorghum was recommended as a suitable feedstock or raw material for ethanol production. The other source of ethanol in the country is sugarcane, but it is more profitable as a source of raw sugar. At least 11,000 hectares of sweet sorghum are needed to make a viable source of raw material for bioethanol. At present, the largest commercial plantation of sweet sorghum is in the northern region of Ilocos with only 25 hectares. JICA pointed out that the main reason for the limited feedstock cultivation is the limited local market for biofuel crops that can attract the local farmers. This can be addressed with a financial package from the government, according to JICA. The study also emphasized the country's strategic advantage for investors who are interested in the production of bio-ethanol owing to its mandatory purchasing system by oil dealers. The Philippine biofuel law mandates a minimum blend of 10 percent by 2012. News article: http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/9442/german-biodiesel-exports-up-this-year-eu-countries-absorb-most German biodiesel exports have skyrocketed this year, with 1.1 million tons (330 million gallons) shipped between January to September, almost 14 percent up on the same period in 2012, according to the German Federal Statistical Office (GFSO). GFSO has put the export surplus to over 672,000 tons (201.7 million gallons), significantly more than the previous year's 264,000 tons (79.25 million gallons). About 89 percent of the biodiesel was shipped to European Union countries with about a third going to the Netherlands. Nearly 100,000 tons (30 million gallons) went to the US for the first time. News article: http://www.ethanolproducer.com/articles/10517/dsm-dong-energy-report-improved-cellulosic-ethanol-yield Global science-based company Royal DSM, together with Denmark-based DONG Energy, announced that it has demonstrated on an industrial scale the combined fermentation of C6 and C5 sugars from wheat straw. The mixture resulted in higher ethanol yield compared to single fermentation system, which can significantly reduce the cost of bio-ethanol production from cellulosic raw material. DONG Energy, through its subsidiary Inbicon, develops technology for conversion and refining of soft lignocellulosic biomass into fuel, feed, and green chemistry products. In a two-month fermentation test that took place in DONG Energy's Inbicon demonstration plant in Kalundborg, Denmark, mixed C6 and C5 fermentation using DSM's advanced yeast was found to yield 40 percent more ethanol per ton of straw than traditional C6 fermentation. In this demonstration, DSM has successfully established a supply chain framework for C5/C6 dry yeast and shown its ability to produce and transport this advanced yeast for use on an industrial scale. Policy and RegulationNews article: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20131202-707958.html In Argentina, the government announced that it will require a 10 percent biodiesel blend in fuel burned for power generation in a bid to boost the struggling biofuels sector and increase the use of ‘green fuels'. The government also wants to increase to 10 percent the biodiesel blending requirement for local vehicles. Argentina is one of the world's top biodiesel producers, and has led exports in recent years. However, earlier this year the European Union slapped stiff anti-dumping duties on the shipments, causing exports and production to tumble. To compensate for the trade lost after the EU sanction, biodiesel producers have pushed for higher local blending requirements. Argentina has biodiesel production capacity of four million tons a year, with 850,000 tons currently going to the domestic market. U.S. ethanol companies are expecting mill closures and output cuts after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed reducing consumption targets for the first time. As a result of the cutbacks in ethanol blending in 2014 under the country's biofuel mandate, also known as Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS), as many as 20 ethanol plants face shutdowns, according to some industry players. Gasoline demand is expected to be 13 percent less next year than estimated in 2007 when the RFS was first implemented. The government's proposed target for next year is 12 percent lower than the 14.8 billion gallons the industry has the capacity to produce, according to industry data. Analysts predict that ethanol plants that have not yet recovered because of slumped corn production and record corn prices last year may not be able to resume output as a result of the lower mandate. To avoid plant shut down, the industry should be able to find export markets. News article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-02/brazil-considers-corn-ethanol-as-grain-prices-decline.html Brazil's government is exploring subsidies for ethanol production from corn after a record crop sent the domestic prices down. The country is also studying to develop a support policy for corn ethanol production which is likely the best outlet for corn surplus. Corn prices in Brazil have fallen as the country's production has doubled in the past 11 years. Domestic output reached 81 million metric tons in 2012-13 as farmers started planting two crops per season and used new technologies and more fertilizer. Production of ethanol from corn faces criticism within the government amid concerns over food prices and livestock feed costs. Brazil would consider financing ethanol distillers in remote corn-producing areas that are not connected to ports or anywhere near consumer markets. Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugarcane ethanol and ranks second after the U.S. in ethanol production. Events and AnnouncementsPress release: http://rsb.org/pdfs/workshops/December%202013%20-%20RSB%20Smallholder%20Workshop%20in%20Kuala%20Lumpur%20a%20Success%20Revised.pdf More than 60 participants from 15 countries attended a three-day workshop on "Sustainable Biomaterials for Better Livelihoods" in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The workshop, held on December 4-6, was hosted by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) with the help of The Boeing Company. The workshop aims to support small farmers in Southeast Asia by expanding their opportunities to grow feedstocks that produce sustainable fuels. The RSB and other partners launched this program to understand and address the challenges for smallholder farmers in accessing markets for sustainable biofuels and biomaterials. Through case studies and hands-on experience, workshop participants were able to identify smallholder barriers to market access and sustainability certification systems and integrate solutions to overcome those barriers. They were also able to develop strategies and mechanisms to scale up sustainable production and enhance sustainability and economic benefits of smallholder production. The Boeing Company is working closely with partners such as the RSB to ensure positive outcomes for the aviation industry, the environment and the people of Southeast Asia. SE Asia has great potential to develop a sustainable aviation biofuel industry that also offers opportunities for smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods. |
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