New energy-efficient method could revolutionize production of biofuels

September 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists in Singapore and Switzerland have suggested that converting the trash that fills the world's landfills into biofuel could cut global carbon emissions by 80 percent. Biofuels produced from crops have proven controversial because they require an increase in crop production that has its own severe environmental costs.

August 26th, 2009 LONDON - A new study has determined that biomass production for fuel or electricity generation will have the biggest impact on landscape and habitats. According to a report in Nature News, the broad analysis of potential US energy and climate-mitigation scenarios compared the land and habitat impacts of various energy mixes - from nuclear power to biofuels - resulting from an array of policy options.

July 31st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Engineers have developed a new method for creating high-performance membranes from crystal sieves called zeolites, which could increase the energy efficiency of chemical separations up to 50 times over conventional methods and enable higher production rates. Researchers led by chemical engineer Michael Tsapatsis of the University of Minnesota reported this discovery.

July 29th, 2009 DOE makes available energy loan subsidiesWASHINGTON — The Energy Department is making available $36 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects and for modernizing the electricity grid. The department said Wednesday it will accept applications for the financing support over the next 45 days.

July 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A research conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois (U of I) has determined that using electrolyzed water rather than harsh chemicals could be a more effective and environmentally friendly method in the pretreatment of ethanol waste products to produce an acetone-butanol-ethanol fuel mix. When ethanol is produced, distiller's dried grain with solubles (DDGS) is a waste product.

July 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has determined that new technologies are essential to make the conversion of biomass to biofuels more cost-effective. The study was conducted by Dr.

July 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Forestry researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) have said in a new report that widely sought efforts to reduce fuels that increase catastrophic fire in Pacific Northwest forests will be counterproductive to another important societal goal of sequestering carbon to help offset global warming. The study showed that even if the biofuels were used in an optimal manner to produce electricity or make cellulosic ethanol, there would still be a net loss of carbon sequestration in forests of the Coast Range and the west side of the Cascade Mountains for at least 100 years - and probably much longer.

June 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has indicated that despite certain uncertainties, 'up' is precisely the direction an Iowa State researcher believes agriculture is headed for at least the next 10 years. Wally Huffman, professor in agricultural economics and Charles F.

June 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at Rice University have warned that the US must be careful that the new emphasis on developing biofuels as an alternative to imported oil takes into account potential damage to the nation's water resources. "The ongoing, rapid growth in biofuels production could have far-reaching environmental and economic repercussions, and it will likely highlight the interdependence and growing tension between energy and water security," according to a report titled "The Water Footprint of Biofuels: A Drink or Drive Issue?" The report, written by Pedro Alvarez, the George R.

May 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at Queen's University, Belfast, have discovered a new eco-friendly method of dissolving wood using ionic liquids that may help its transformation into popular products such as bio fuels, textiles, clothes and paper. Dr Hector Rodríguez and Professor Robin Rogers from the University's School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering worked along with The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, to come up with a more cost and energy efficient way of processing wood.

May 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at Queen's University, Canada, have discovered a new eco-friendly method of dissolving wood using ionic liquids that may help its transformation into popular products such as bio fuels, textiles, clothes and paper. Dr Hector Rodrmguez and Professor Robin Rogers from the University's School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering worked along with The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, to come up with a more cost and energy efficient way of processing wood.

April 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, US, have discovered a potential chink in the armor of fibers that make the cell walls of certain inedible plant materials so tough, a find that could lead to a cost-effective and energy-efficient strategy for turning biomass into alternative fuels. The researchers identified potential weaknesses among sheets of cellulose molecules comprising lignocellulosic biomass, the inedible fibrous material derived from plant cell walls.

April 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has found that biofuels can hasten climate change, and it will take more than 75 years for the carbon emissions saved through the use of biofuels to compensate for the carbon lost when biofuel plantations are established on forestlands. If the original habitat was peatland, carbon balance would take more than 600 years.

March 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has indicated that with adequate financial and political support, renewable energy technologies like wind and photovoltaics could supply 40 percent of the world's electricity by 2050. This research was presented at a press conference by Peter Lund of the Helsinki University of Technology's Advanced Energy Systems in Espoo, Finland, ahead of the scheduled congress session titled, "Renewable Energies: How Far Can They Take Us?" "Our findings demonstrate that with global political support and financial investment, previous notions that the potential for renewables was in some way limited to a negligible fraction of world demand were wrong," said Lund.

February 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have completely sequenced and analysed the genome of sorghum, a major food and fodder plant with huge potential as a bio-energy crop. The genome data will help scientists in optimising sorghum and other crops not only for food and fodder use, but also for biofuels production.