Scientists from the Sandia National Laboratories are studying if one of California's most polluted lakes can be turned into a source of algae biofuel. They are hoping that the Salton Sea Biomass Remediation (SABRE) project will help determine whether algae biofuels can help solve the US energy needs.

Salton Sea in Southern California currently has elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus due to agricultural runoff. Algae thrive in these conditions, causing a lot of environmental problems. Researchers from Sandia are now looking to use this algae as a biofuel source as well as to clean the lake.

The first phase of the project saw Sandia scientists test a new method for producing algae, called an ‘Alga Turf Scrubber' floway system. The system pulses water from the lake in waves across a sloped floway. The algae consume the nutrients, and clean water is released out the other side. Solar powered pumps power the system, while periodic farming of the algae can be done using farming equipment. By producing algae native to the area, the new system is more resistant to pathogens and predators.

In 2006, Idaho was devastated by the pale cyst nematode, a rare potato pest. While the pest problem was solved, bromide, a component of a highly toxic pesticide sprayed on farmlands, remains on the soil and some of the crops grown in it, including alfalfa grown for cattle feed. The extent of contamination was not realized until pesticide treatments stopped in 2014 after a farmer noticed side effects in cattle fed with crops grown in the treated soil.

Employees at Idaho National Laboratories Biomass Feedstock National User Facility have studied how farmers can benefit from contaminated alfalfa as a combustible fuel. The team transformed bales of alfalfa into pellets or cubes that can be used as fuel in coal-fueled plants. The INL team then monitored the air to determine if bromide was released at any point when alfalfa is processed into fuel.

Researchers found bromide was only released during an emergency procedure in the pellet-forming process. Burning the produced fuel also yielded no bromide to the air. It stayed in the ash, which can then be used to produce cement.

Although alfalfa can burn as a fuel, there's still work to be done as alfalfa fuel tends to "foul" burning chambers, leaving a material not unlike creosote caked in a home chimney.

Michigan State University researchers are experimenting with harvesting seed oil to make biofuels that could power jets and cars. Researchers show that the chloroplast, where plant photosynthesis occurs, participates in providing seed oil precursors.

Scientists have identified a new enzyme, PLIP1, or Plastid Lipade 1, that interacts with lipids inside the chloroplast. The enzyme was found to break down lipids that make up the chloroplast thylakoids. Leftover lipid products are then transported to the endoplasmic reticulum, a massive cellular factory, where they become building blocks for seed oil.

The team wants to increase the level of PLIP1 in biofuel-targeted plants to produce more seed oil. However, initial testing has unexpectedly led to a smaller plant with more oil per seed but fewer seeds, and higher defense activity. With oil production and plant defense functions appearing to not coexist well, the team are thinking of new ideas to bypass this limitation.

Trichoderma reesei is widely used cellulase production. However, its xylanase activity must be improved to enhance its ability to degrade lignocellulose. While several transcription factors play important roles in this process, Rui Liu from the Chinese Academy of Science want to focus on specific xylanase transcription factors that would regulate xylanase activity.

The team studied a novel zinc binuclear cluster transcription factor, designated as SxlR (specialized xylanase regulator). They found that it represses xylanase activity, but not cellulase activity. Further investigations revealed SxlR could bind to the promoters of xylanase genes (xyn1, xyn2, and xyn5) and directly regulate transcription and expression. Deletion of SxlR in T. reesei RUT-C30 generated the mutant ∆sxlr strain, which possesses higher xylanase activity as well as higher hydrolytic efficiency on pretreated rice straw.

This study revealed the transcriptional repressor of xylanase genes, Sx1R, which adds to the understanding of the regulatory system of cellulase and hemi-cellulase in T. reesei. The deletion of SxlR may also help improve the efficiency of T. reesei for lignocellulose degradation.