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News and Trends
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v463/n7282/full/nature08747.html The bioenergy website reports the completion of the gene sequencing of a model grass by an international group of scientists under the "International Brachypodium Initiative". The full study is published in the journal, Nature (URL above). The genome-sequenced "model grass" is called Brachypodium distachyon, "the first member of the economically important Pooideae subfamily, which includes wheat and barley". Brachypodium is also said to have ideal qualities that make it a model "for functional genomics studies in temperate grasses, cereals, and dedicated biofuel crops such as Switchgrass": (a) ease of cultivation (simple growth requirments), (b) short life cycle, (c) self fertility, (d) smaller genome size which "makes it easier to find genes linked to specific traits, such as stem size and disease resistance". John Vogel, a lead author and molecular biologist with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that Brachypodium is "easier to grow than many grasses, takes up less laboratory space, and offers easy transformation". This means that "scientists can insert foreign DNA into it, to study gene function and targeted approaches for crop improvement in the transformed plants". Related information: http://www.brachypodium.org/
http://www.news.napier.ac.uk/press/articles/article_10647.htm The City University of Hongkong (CityU), in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University (Scotland, United Kingdom), will establish its first Biofuel Research Center, under CityU's new School of Energy and Environment. "The center will address the rising global demand for sustainable and non-fossil-based fuels and Hong Kong's urgent need to develop sustainable solutions to accommodate its ever-increasing volume of waste matter." Edinburgh Napier University will assist the City University of Hongkong in the recruitment of academic personnel for the center. Both universities will open student/faculty exchange programs, and collaborate in joint research projects (between both universities as well as with private industries in Hongkong and Mainland China). Professor Johnny Chan Chung-Leung, Dean of the City University of Hongkong's School of Energy and Environment, said, "This center represents a key development for the School of Energy and Environment at CityU. We expect that it will become an important hub for scientific research in the area of biofuel, which will eventually lead to the commercialization of new technologies and enhance our professional education to benefit various sectors of society, including the government, industries, academia and the general public.". Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Production
http://dev.biologists.org/content/137/5/767.abstract?sid=11ce2b0f-f4ab-48e2-9b84-0d0690aa14bf Scientists from the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester (United Kingdom) report the identification of genes that control the rate and orientation of vascular cell division in plants. From investigations of growth in vascular bundles of the model plant, Arabidopsis, lead scientists, Professor Simon Turner and Dr. Peter Etchells, found that the genes PXY and CLE41 directed the amount and direction of cell division. They also found that the "over-expression of CLE41 caused a greater amount of growth in a well-ordered fashion, thus increasing wood production". The bioenergy website reports that the scientists "plan to use their research to increase plant biomass in trees and other species, thus helping meet the need for renewable resources". The research findings are published in the journal, Development (URL above).. Biofuels Processinghttp://www.thebioenergysite.com/news/5472/turning-beef-fat-into-biofuel A collaborative R&D project participated by Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) and the University of Minho is underway for developing solutions for reducing the production costs of meat, as well as solutions for converting animal waste into valuable products, including biofuels. According to professor and head researcher, Manuel Fonseca Almeida, there are three forms of waste recovery currently being tested by the team of researchers from FEUP and the University of Minho: medical biomaterials from animal bones, biogas and organic fertilizers. The FEUP is targeting the project on the production of biomaterials from animal bones for bone regeneration in humans, FEUP Professor Manuel Fonseca Almedia says that some of the animal bones can be used as biomaterials for human bone regeneration, "for example cattle bones as the tibia". The University of Minho team, on the other hand, is focusing on non-bone waste materials. "The constituents of protein products (e.g., leftover meat, greaves and rind), by anaerobic digestion can produce biogas". The residue after anaerobic digestion can be used as organic fertilizers.. http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/content/pdf/1754-6834-3-3.pdf Researchers from the Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP, France) report a comparative kinetic analysis of beta-glucosidase enzymes from two fungal sources: Aspergillus niger (Novozymes SP 188) and Trichoderma reesei (BGL1). Beta-glucosidase is one of three major types of cellulose-degrading enzymes (collectively called "cellulases") which act synergistically in the degradation of cellulosic biomass to glucose. (The glucose is eventually fermented to biofuel ethanol). Beta-glucosidases catalyze the final reaction in the cellulose degradation step, the release of glucose from a small cellulosic fragment called "cellobiose". The researchers fitted the enzyme reaction data with a kinetic model called "Michaelis-Menten" kinetics, incorporating competitive inhibition. The results showed that the SP 188 beta-glucosidase (Aspergillus niger) had a lower specific enzyme activity and was more sensitive to glucose inhibition, compared to BGL1 (Trichoderma reesei). The researchers mention that the results can help define "optimal enzymatic cocktails" for new beta-glucosidase activities. The study is published in the open-access journal, Biotechnology for Biofuels (URL above).. Biofuels Policy and Economics
http://www.epa.gov/OMS/renewablefuels/ The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) announced the finalization of an "expanded" National Renewable Fuel Standard Program, commonly called "RFS". The RFS is a component of federal energy legislation (the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007) in the United States, setting the number of gallons of renewable fuels to be used in the country's transport fuel supply each year. It includes biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel. The revisions in the finalized RFS program (as mentioned in the US-EPA website) include: (1) revised statutory requirements establishing "new specific annual volume standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel that must be used in transportation fuel", (2) revised statutory requirements to include new definitions and criteria for both renewable fuels and the feedstocks used to produce them, including new greenhouse gas emission (GHG) thresholds as determined by lifecycle analysis. In the draft version released several months ago, the EPA's method for indirect land-use" calculations in the lifecycle greenhouse gas analysis indicated that "corn ethanol was found to have a higher carbon footprint than an equal gallon of gasoline – and thus would not qualify under the RFS". Under the finalized version, the EPA ruled that corn ethanol produced from "new or expanded capacity from an existing natural gas-fired facility using advanced efficient technologies" complies with the 20% GHG emission threshold, and would qualify under the finalized RFS. The agency cited the following as bases for the new decision: (1) "significant new scientific data available to the agency", (2) "rigorous independent peer review", and (3)"extensive public comments".. http://www.bic.org.my/?action=news&do=display&go=Policy&id=290110Star-0 The Malaysian Biotechnology Information Center reports that there have been delays in selling biodiesel nationwide in Malaysia . However, Malaysia is still committed to this initiative and the mandatory biodiesel blending programme might be deferred to next year. The B5 biodiesel which is a mixture of 5% palm oil and 95% diesel will be initially sold in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Johor sometime this year. Due to the high palm oil price, only seven biodiesel plants are in operation out of the 91 approved license holders. The biodiesel plants which are in operation are in Pasir Gudang, Kuantan, Lumut and Lahad Datu. Biodiesel is expected to cost an additional 4-5 cents per liter due to blending and transportation cost. Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said the government might reduce biodiesel blend mandate to B3 to save on subsidies.. |
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