Springboard Biodiesel announced that it will provide its small-scale biodiesel processing system to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

The company will provide their BioPro 380EX and SpringPro T76, a small-scale biodiesel processing system designed to convert the base's used cooking oil (UCO) into ASTM-grade biodiesel that can then be used in diesel vehicles on base.

"Springboard is excited to provide this made-in-the-USA, clean technology solution to the U.S. military," said Springboard Biodiesel CEO Mark Roberts. The system will enable the base to produce high-quality biodiesel from used cooking oil, which is 90 percent cleaner than regular diesel.

"We're hopeful that the success of Bagram's small-scale biodiesel production initiative will resonate with other bases that want to copy the model," added Roberts.

Propel Fuels has launched Diesel HPR (High Performance Renewable) at locations across Northern California. Propel's Diesel HPR uses Neste Oil's NEXBTL renewable diesel, a low-carbon renewable fuel that meets petroleum diesel specifications for use in diesel engines. Propel will sell Diesel HPR at a price competitive with diesel.

"As California continues to lead the world in clean fuels, we need to insure that the benefits are shared by everyone. Renewable diesel provides significant immediate reductions in emissions that damage our health and change our climate, providing lasting health benefits for the disadvantaged communities that currently suffer the most from petroleum diesel pollution," says Bill Magavern, Policy Director for the Coalition for Clean Air.

Syngenta has signed an agreement with Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) to allow the latter to use Enogen corn enzyme technology at its ethanol production facility in Iowa.

According to David Witherspoon, head of Enogen for Syngenta, the alpha amylase enzyme found in Enogen grains helps an ethanol plant reduce the viscosity of its corn mash, and reduce the need to add a liquid form of the enzyme.

"This breakthrough viscosity reduction can lead to unprecedented levels of solids loading, which directly contributes to increased throughput and yield, as well as critical cost savings from reduced natural gas, energy, water and chemical usage," Witherspoon said.

Researchers in The University of Texas at Austin used metabolic engineering and directed evolution to develop a mutant yeast strain that yields more lipids. The strain could also be used in biochemical production of oleochemicals which are used to make a variety of household products.

Hal Alper of the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, and his team have engineered a Yarrowia lipolytica yeast with enhanced ability to convert simple sugars into lipids. Furthermore, the cells produced these lipids faster than the previous strain. Alper's lab is also studying the types of lipid products they can produce from the strain.

"Our re-engineered strain serves as a stepping stone toward sustainable and renewable production of fuels such as biodiesel," Alper said. "Moreover, this work contributes to the overall goal of reaching energy independence."

Their findings were published online in the journal Metabolic Engineering.

Researchers at the University of Georgia have discovered that manipulation of a gene in trees increases its growth and makes its wood easier to digest for biofuel production. They decreased the expression of the GAUT12.1 gene in Populus deltoids, a promising biofuel feedstock known to produce large amounts of biomass in a short time.

The genetically modified Populus deltoids were found to not only be less recalcitrant but also exhibited increased plant height and stem diameter compared to wild types. Further analysis revealed that the reduced GAUT12.1 expression resulted in reduced amounts of xylan and pectin, the major components of cell walls.

"This research gives us important clues about the genes that control plant structures and how we can manipulate them to our advantage," said study co-author Debra Mohnen from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Hardwood spent sulfite liquor (HSSL) is a by-product of acid sulfite pulping that is rich in xylose, which can be fermented to ethanol by Scheffersomyces stipitis. However, HSSL contains acetic acid and lignosulfonates that inhibit yeast growth. Ana Xavier from Universidade de Aveiro in Portugal aimed to use evolutionary engineering to obtain variants of S. stipitis with increased tolerance to HSSL.

A continuous reactor with gradually increasing HSSL concentrations was used for 382 generations. From the final population, a stable clone (C4) was isolated and characterized in 60% HSSL. The C4 isolate was then compared with both the parental strain and the final population. The final population and C4 were able to grow in 60% HSSL. The C4 also exhibited higher substrate uptake rates, higher ethanol efficiency and improved ethanol yield.

S. stipitis was successfully adapted to 60% HSSL and a stable isolate with improved activity in HSSL was also obtained from the final population. C4 will be crucial for the production of bioethanol using HSSL.