http://www.energy.gov/news/6015.htm

Although the production of cellulosic ethanol (ethanol from cellulosic biomass) is said to have a good net energy yield and a better carbon balance (relative to other bioenergy feedstocks), there are some hurdles to make large scale production cost competitive. One of these hurdles involves the improvement of cost and performance of “cellulases”, the enzymes necessary to degrade the cellulose from the plant biomass into sugars suitable for ethanol fermentation. In an effort to make its cellulosic ethanol production capability competitive by 2012, the United States Department of Energy (US-DOE) announced an investment of $33.8 million within four years, to improve enzyme systems for cellulosic ethanol production. The four projects that have been identified for funding are: (1) “Development of Commercial Enzyme Systems for Lignocellulosic Biomass Saccharification (DSM Innovation Center, Inc), (2) “Enhancing Cellulase Commercial Performance for the Lignocellulosic Biomass Industry” (Genecor), (3) “Development of a Commercial-Ready Enzyme Application System for Ethanol” (Novozymes, Inc), and (4) “Commercialization of Customized Cellulase Solutions for Biomass Saccharification” (Verenium Corporation)..

---

http://www.biofuelreview.com/content/view/1436/

Algae have been identified as one of the potential sources of oil that can be processed into biodiesel. Among the advantages of algae as biodiesel feedstock are its high carbon dioxide fixing (capturing) ability during growth and its not being a “plant-based bioenergy crop”. The conventional method of algal oil production usually involves the cultivation of the algae, harvesting them and extracting the oil by physical or chemical methods. Since the algae are destroyed, cultivation must be redone for the production cycle to continue. A recent article from the Biofuel Review website reports the development of a continuous algal oil extraction strategy without destroying the algae. The proprietary technology, developed by International Energy, Inc, involves growing the algae, stripping off their oils and returning the “oil-stripped” algae into the cultivation tank where they regrow. In the process of regrowth, the algae can accumulate oil again for further stripping. Details of the oil stripping technology, was not mentioned. The advantage of this ”algae recycling” process is the time and cost saved in growing a new set of algae cells. Biomass regeneration time is minimized while enhancing oil yields..

---

http://vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPR30/Newsroom/Query.aspx?SiteName=DupontNew&Entity=PRAsset&SF_PRAsset_PRAssetID_EQ=109149&XSL=PressRelease&Cache=False

DuPont and BP are two companies that are active in providing energy solutions, and have been one of the first players to venture into the development of butanol as an advanced transport biofuel. As mentioned in many reports, butanol (a four-carbon alcohol) is said to have several advantages as a biofuel compared to ethanol (a two-carbon alcohol) in terms of energy density, fuel economy and anti-corrosion property. A recent press release on the DuPont/BP research partnership reports that an isomeric mixture of biobutanol can maintain high (or better) engine performance, even at blends higher than 10%, which is usually the ceiling blend for ethanol. (An isomeric butanol mixture, contains 1-butanol, 2-butanol and isobutanol, all having four-carbon atoms which differ only in the arrangement of the molecules). According to the report, vehicle testing data showed that a 16% blend of the butanol mixture (with gasoline) “delivers similar fuel performance compared to current 10 percent ethanol blend gasoline fuels, which importantly means that butanol can help achieve higher biofuel penetration without compromising fuel performance”. One of the partnership’s research thrusts is to look into advanced metabolic pathways of the butanol isomers. A full environmental life cycle analysis of the proposed biobutanol process has also been commissioned by DuPont and BP..