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News and Trends
http://www.pnas.org/content/107/11/4919.full.pdf+html?sid=f6c8dd66-455e-4f2d-bb81-18a6e080ceb7 Furans are compounds that are inevitably formed after the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass (the first step in the production of "cellulose ethanol"). Pretreatment (using chemical or thermochemical treatments) breaks the lignin wrapping around the plant biomass, and breaks down the cellulose into simple sugars for ethanol fermentation. When formed in large amounts (after biomass pretreatment), furans (or furan derivatives like furural and hydroxymethylfufural (HMF)) can inhibit ethanol-fermenting microorganisms, and lower ethanol fermentation efficiency. Researchers from the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, the Netherlands) report the discovery of a bacterium which can degrade furan into harmless components, but leaves the sugars in the pretreated biomass intact. This represents a major breakthrough toward lowering production cost and increasing cellulose-ethanol production performance. The TU Delft researchers were able to isolate a Gram-negative soil microorganism, Cupriavidus basilensis HMF14, which can metabolize furfural and hydroxymethylfurural (both furan derivatives). They analyzed the genes of the degradation process, and successfully expressed them in a heterologous host, Pseudomonas putida S12. The use of furan degrading microorganisms during pretreatment, bypasses the detoxification step and can improve microbial utilization of sugars by ethanol-fermenting microorganisms. The full report is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (URL above)..
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/content/pdf/1754-6834-3-9.pdf Scientists from the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee (United States) report an attempt to increase transient gene expression in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L., a second generation biofuel crop). Genetic improvement in grass-based biofuel crops has the potential to produce crops which are "tailored" for biofuel processing (for example, varieties with low lignin content). However, grasses are said to be "recalcitrant to genetic transformation). Recently, there have been reports on the genetic transformation of switchgrass, after co-cultivation of the explants with Agrobacterium and biolistics ("gene gun" treated cells) of embryonic calli. The University of Tennessee scientists describe "optimization experiments and wounding treatments that significantly increased transient gene expression of a commercial reporter gene (GUSPlus, a variation of the beta-glucoronidase(GUS) gene) in germinating switchgrass seedlings". They determined the best treatment combination (i.e., type of Agrobacterium strain, acetosyringone concentration, and method of wounding) which increased both transient gene expression, and the likelihood of producing stable transormants. Details of the study are published in the open-access journal, Biotechnology for Biofuels (URL above).. Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Production
http://agron.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/102/2/513 A news release from the American Society of Agronomy reports a study by University of Minnesota scientists (United States), investigating the effects of landscape position on biomass productivity. With new opportunities for farmers to improve economic return through the cultivation of crops for food, fuel and feed, "an understanding of biomass productivity on specific landscape positions and environments' will be necessary. With this in mind, the University of Minnesota scientists "investigated differences in woody and herbaceous crop productivity and biomass yield as a function of landscape position at the field scale". They sleeved seven varying landscape positions to represent a range of topographical features common to the region with varying soil moisture and erosion characteristics. Within each landscape position, they planted a series of woody and herbaceous annual and perennial crops (alfalfa, corn, willow, cottonwood, poplar, and switchgrass). Among the highlights of the results (as reported in the American Society of Agronomy news release) are: (1) hillslope processes influence biomass productivity; corn grain and stover yield was lowest in flat and depositional areas that retain water for longer periods of time and highest on well drained summit positions, (2) willow productivity was among the highest at the depositional position and lowest at the summit position, (3) alfalfa and poplar productivities were highest at sites characterized by relatively steep slopes with potentially erosive soils. The full paper is published in the Agronomy Journal (URL above)..
http://www.invest.vic.gov.au/060510Victoriantechnologyforabioenergyfuelledfuture Professor David de Kretser AC, Governor of Victoria, Australia, recently announced that Australian scientists developed a technology to "supercharge photosynthesis" in crops, for bioenergy applications. According to Executive Director of BioSciences Research at the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) in Victoria, Australia, Professor German Spangenberg, "the new technology re-programs the photosynthetic cells of grasses to produce and store more sugars known as fructans". Application of the technology to temperate grasses (such as perennial ryegrass and tall fescue) in field trials has shown (1) the doubling of plant yields compared to existing varieties and (2) the enhancement of energy content compared to the control. Professor Spangenberg says that "the technology had opened opportunities to enhance harvestable carbon yields and bioconversion efficiency of lignocellulosic biomass for applications in new dedicated bioenergy perennial grasses and other dedicated bioenergy crops".. http://www.thebioenergysite.com/news/6131/seaweedbased-biofuel-farm-to-rise-in-aurora The bioenergy website reports that Philipine Government's Department of Science and Technology and the Congressional Commission on Science and Engineering (Comste) are fine-tuning a partnership with the South Korean government to develop the country's seaweed industry for the production of ethanol and other high value-added products. The implementation of the project will be in two clusters: (1) in Northern Luzon, covering the provinces of Aurora, Isabela and Quirino, and (2) in Bohol, where a similar $5-million facility has been established to jump-start the cooperative venture. The seaweed-ethanol production technology was developed by the Korean Institute for Industrial Technology. The use of seaweed as a bioethanol feedstock is reported to have the following advantages compared to other feedstocks (i.e., lignocellulosic biomass): (1) seaweeds do not have lignin, and therefore costs for delignification pretreatment are avoided, (2) six harvests a year are possible, (3) seaweed cultivation absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, compared to the cultivation of other bioenergy crops, such as lignocellulosic biomass. Seaweed is also reported to have "many other useful by-products such as animal feed, fertilizer, soil conditioner and cosmetics, which offer excellent livelihood and agro-business investment opportunities". Invigoration of the coastal communities in the target provinces is seen as a potential benefit of the project.. Biofuels Processing
http://news.discovery.com/tech/ultrasound-speeds-biofuel-production.html Researchers from the Agricultural Engineering Department of the University of Missouri (United States) are investigating the use of ultrasound to hasten the production time for making biodiesel. Ultrasound is a high frequency sound which is inaudible to the human ear. Ultrasound waves are generated by a machine called, an "ultrasound generator". In the conventional method of biodiesel production, vegetable oil (such as soybean, or coconut, or jatropha) is mixed and allowed to react with an alcohol (often, methanol) and heated at high temperature for about one to two hours. Under the proposed process, an ultrasound generator transmits ultrasonic waves onto a mixture of oil and methanol. The ultrasound waves transmitted into the reaction mixture generate microbubbles, which eventually collapse. The microbubble-collapse is usually accompanied by momentary bursts of high temperature and pressure, which are sufficient to drive a chemical reaction. In the oil/methanol mixture, ultrasound releases the fatty acids from the oil, and biodiesel formation occurs when the released fatty acids react with the methanol. The ultrasound process can reportedly make biodiesel within 5 minutes. Assistant Professor Bulent Koc of the University of Missouri, has successfully used the technique on different vegetable and cooking oils, including soybean, sesame, peanut, and canola oils. He said that the main challenge with the use of ultrasonic waves, is to control of the heat generated, which can damage the ultrasound generator. The problem could be fixed by attaching a cooling system around the ultrasonic device.. Biofuels Policy and Economicshttp://www.biofuels-news.com/industry_news.php?item_id=2084 The Biofuels International website reports that some aviation industry stakeholder organizations have joined together to form the Brazilian Alliance for Aviation Biofuels. The alliance aims "to promote public and private initiatives that seek to develop and certify sustainable biofuels for aviation". The organizations include: Algae Biotechnology, Amyris Brazil, the Brazilian Association of Jatropha Producers, the Brazilian Aerospace Industry Association, Azul Brazilian Airlines, Embraer Association, GOL Airlines, TAM Airlines, TRIP Airlines, and the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association. The alliance believes that biofuels hold "the key for insuring the expansion of the aviation industry". The aviation industry, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), accounts for approximately 2% of the global carbon dioxide emissions. With increasing concerns surrounding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuels, aviation companies are becoming increasingly involved with a number of different projects in order to advance the development of sustainable aviation biofuels.. |
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