The search for cheaper ways to provide fuels to fit into old technology is one way to face up to carbon dioxide emissions. One solution is extracting sugars from cellulose, using enzymes, or better, a new acid catalyst.
Biofuel derived from microalgae, a piece in the clean energy puzzle? To renew oil from a plant that does not use up millions of square km of forest hasn't been our dream, but it should have been.
A new biogas power plant that produces enough power each year for 6,500 homes has begun operation in Belgium.
Making biofuel from waste. The Integrated Hydropyrolysis and Hydroconversion Process or IH2 can use any wood, cornstalks, algae from rivers, other plant material and solid municipal waste to generate fuel.
The competitive biofuel supply chain. A new study on how to maximise the biofuel supply chain has for the first time taken into account the selfishness of farmers.
Even as solar panels, wind turbines and biofuels are powering their way into the conventional energy scene, clean energy innovators cannot pause for breath. New energy solutions bring new challenges, and so researchers are increasingly turning to the exotic to make the green energy dream real.
Seaweed could replace oil and coal as a sustainable biofuel of the future, after scientists engineered a microbe that extracts sugars from seaweed (brown macroalgae) and converts it into alternative green energy.
Obtaining biofuel from forests has been shown to increase carbon emissions. Biofuel production is not without controversy; the food or fuel debate cannot be avoided in developing countries and the impact on water resources is unavoidable. The drive to find alternatives to fossil fuels has caused as many arguments as it has found solutions.
While some grasses may produce a good return in biofuel production, the amount of water they drink could make them unsuitable and costly in many conditions. A University of Illinois study carried out a detailed analysis effects on water supplies associated with growing miscanthus and switchgrass which have been tipped as a possible alternative to corn as a biofuel crop.
Bacteria lurking in the gut of bamboo-chomping pandas may help 'cellulosic biofuels' to leap a major hurdle for their wider use. Analysis of panda poop, presented at this week's ACS meeting, has shown that enzymes from the bacteria are excellent at digesting the cellulose in grasses, woods and stalks - and at everyday conditions, potentially opening the door for new biofuels that don't compete for land with crops for food.
Farmers expected to benefit from Green Energy revolution in Scotland. Wind Turbines can, for example be installed on agricultural or grazing land and provide an extra income-stream, yet only marginally reduce the area used for food growing. Similarly production of biofuels from agricultural waste maximises the return farmers can make on their investments.
Termites break up woody food to eat - one of the reasons they're such a feared pest - and, new research shows that the enzymes they use could also be used to produce biofuels. Research published online in the journal PLoS One, and is the first time that sugar outputs from termites have been measured.
Biofuels, once thought of as the great hope of the post-oil economy, have had a mixed press. While they're not oil, their production is often, itself, environmentally and socially damaging. A new tool from Swiss energy experts allows anyone to rate the sustainability of their fuels.
A major agricultural conference due to take place in the UK next week will focus attention on farmland crops which can be used to generate electricity. One of the biggest areas of interest will be the growth of energy crops for biomass power stations.
The benefits could be huge says a new study into producing aviation biofuels in America's Pacific North West, but to get things going the government must step in to give support. SAFN is the first group in America to look at such a regional strategy for an area that is home to Boeing.
A paper published in Science tomorrow outlines how the less-than-perfect natural process of photosynthesis could be boosted, by tackling areas of known deficiency. That could give plants being used for biofuels a leap forward - putting sustainable plant-based energy into the realms of reality.
Biofuels are predicted to be supplying over a quarter of the world's transport fuel market by the year 2050. As the world struggles with rising petrol and diesel costs, biofuels are increasingly being seen as the most viable alternative source. However, this will come at a cost.
Government policies that have pushed biofuels as part of the move to a greener transport system, have often pushed ethical concerns, for indigenous peoples, to one side. So says a new report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, on the ethical impact of the rush to biofuels. An internationally agreed ethical certification scheme is the way forward, say the authors.
Research into algae-based biofuel continues, but some researchers now believe that completing replacing fossil based fuels any time soon in out of the question. Moreover, it would be difficult to produce enough of it to replace diesel.
In an address at Georgetown University, President Barack Obama discussed the need for alternative energy standards and called for a significant reduction in the nation's dependence on foreign oil. Obama noted that there has been progress in the transportation sector, including the increased use of vehicles that are powered by biofuels and natural gas, as well as the auto industry's more efficient production methods involving traditional engines.
A consortium including Airbus and Tarom Romanian Air Transport has established a project aimed at developing a jet fuel made from a plant. The Romanian-based project aims to develop biofuel from the camelina plant, which would be a sustainable substitute to fossil-based jet fuel.
A new certification system will show consumers that the biofuels they use have been produced sustainably and with social responsibility says a producers group. The RSB Certification System was unveiled yesterday at the World Biofuels Markets 2011 in Rotterdam, promising to give producers a way into highly regulated markets like the European Union.
Biofuels produced in Africa but destined for use in Europe will result in up to six times the carbon emissions of fossil fuels, according to a new report. Some species of the succulent Jatropha genus are widely promoted as easily grown crops, and oil from the seeds is used extensively in many developing countries to produce biofuel. However, the new report contradicts the 'green image' of biofuels, which are widely considered to be a renewable alternative to fossil fuels.
A bit of genetic tweaking has produced a tenfold increase in the amount of biofuels bacteria can produce, pushing the process towards commercially viable levels of output. Bacteria produce the fuel and James C. Liao, UCLA's Chancellor's Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, who led the team managed to produce 15 to 30 grams of n-butanol per litre of culture medium by genetically modifying Escherichia coli (E. coli).
Report shows that clean energy is more economically viable than ever. This year's report from Clean Edge Inc, one of the world's leading authorities on clean energy and technology, shows that the clean energy market continued to expand unabated in 2010. Global revenue for solar, wind and biofuel energy climbed more than 35% in the last year alone.
Agave, the plant loved by tequila drinkers world-wide, may be about to add planet-saving to its many beneficial uses. Renewed attention is being focused on its potential to transform semi-arid scrub into a biofuel bounty - all with minimal burden on the environment. Filed under environmental issues: Biofuels/Energy.
Chemists at University of California, Berkeley, have found a new way of boosting the fuel output from bacteria which could see us driving microbe-fuelled cars in time. The new process pioneered by the team produces fuel 10 times faster than previous methods and, according to Chang, is another step on the road to producing biofuels on an industrial scale.
Microbes in brewery waste already saves brewers millions by producing methane and now scientists want to put these miniature workers to work on other useful tasks. Cornell scientists have been working with Anheuser-Busch Inbev, which brews Budweiser, to see if microbes which currently produce methane as they break down brewery waste can be put to other uses
Is algae the biofuel of the future? The biodiesel industry faces huge challenges in the coming years. Unless youre in a country such as Malaysia or Indonesia where there's the climate and suitable land to grow plantations for palm oil or similar plant biofuels, then your options are limited.