Tough Little Bug Smashes Down Wall Between Us And Sustainable Biofuel

Tough Little Bug Smashes Down Wall Between Us And Sustainable Biofuel

Posted: 15 Feb 2013 05:37 AM PST

The biofuel fuel vs. food debate has really been getting a workout this year, especially in the U.S. where a historic, devastating drought has put the squeeze on corn ethanol. More sustainable biofuel crops like perennial grasses and shrub willow are under development, but the sugars in plants like these are locked away behind tough, woody cell walls, and getting at them can be a costly process. Now researchers at Brown University have found a bacteria called Streptomyces, which could be deployed as a microscopic “biorefinery” to get the job done.

Biofuel from Bacteria

With soft biomass such as cow manure, a microbe-based biofuel process can be relatively quick and inexpensive, and it is already being deployed commercially with a push from the Department of Agriculture’s AgStar program.

How U.S. Biofuel Policy Is Destroying Guatemala's Food Supply. ThinkProgress

How U.S. Biofuel Policy Is Destroying Guatemala's Food Supply
ThinkProgress
A new report in The New York Times highlights how biofuel policy in the United States and Europe has produced a rolling food catastrophe in Guatemala. The country once enjoyed a nearly self-sufficient level of corn production, but domestic producers ...
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As Biofuel Demand Grows, So Do Guatemala's Hunger Pangs
New York Times
Recent laws in the United States and Europe that mandate the increasing use of biofuel in cars have had far-flung ripple effects, economists say, as land once devoted to growing food for humans is now sometimes more profitably used for churning out ...
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The Quiet Clean Energy Innovation Revolution at the Department of Energy. Forbes

The Quiet Clean Energy Innovation Revolution at the Department of Energy
Forbes
Since 2009, clean energy leaders at the Department of Energy (DOE) have undertaken the difficult task of reforming it from within, the goal being to more effectively spur the development of advanced clean energy technologies. As President Obama's ...
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EU U-turn spells doom for food-based biofuels boom Reuters

EU U-turn spells doom for food-based biofuels boom

Reuters - ‎3 hours ago‎

"They (the changes) will reduce the price pressure on food and at the same time increase the pressure on car manufacturers to offer more fuel-efficient vehicles," said Hubert Weiger, chairman of German environmental protection lobby group BUND.

The Future of Renewable Power; Chu; DARPA-E The Atlantic

The Future of Renewable Power

The Atlantic-Sep 10, 2012

You make a persuasive case that under Steven Chu the Department of Energy shifted from a typical government agency to something like a ...

US Biofuels growing 50% per year

http://www.hydrogenfuelnews.com/biofuel-industry/855687/

Water-wise biofuel crop study to alter plants metabolic, photosynthesis process

Domestic Fuel See realtime coverage

Water-wise biofuel crop study to alter plants metabolic, photosynthesis process Phys.Org - ‎6 hours ago‎ They aim to apply this knowledge to biofuel crops. The team will develop novel technologies to redesign bioenergy crops to grow on economically marginal agricultural lands and produce yields of biomass that can readily be converted to biofuels.

Algae - 1000 to 500 times LESS LAND than crop biofuels

Airlines grapple with food vs. biofuel debate Chicago Tribune - ‎8 minutes ago‎ The European Union plans to impose a limit on the use of crop-based biofuels, in a major shift in the region's much-criticizedbiofuel policy, according to draft legislation seen by Reuters. The policy U-turn comes after studies cast doubt on the ...

New “Frankenstein” Switchgrass is Good News for the Navy, Too CleanTechnica

New “Frankenstein” Switchgrass is Good News for the Navy, Too

CleanTechnica - ‎5 hours ago‎

Despite aggressive pushback from anti-biofuel leadership in Congress, it looks like the U.S. Navy is well on the way to getting its biofuel after all. A new biofuel research project pairing the U.S. Department of Agriculture with the University of ...

EU to limit use of crop-based biofuels - draft law

Agriculture.com See realtime coverage

EU to limit use of crop-based biofuels - draft law Reuters - ‎22 hours ago‎ BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will impose a limit on the use of crop-based biofuelsover fears they are less climate-friendly than initially thought and compete with food production, draft EU legislation seen by Reuters showed. EU food crop-based biofuels targetedAgriculture.com EU proposal would limit use of crop-based biofuelsEurActiv

Biofuel Industry Will Produce up to 2.6bn Gallons by 2015

Environmental Leader

E2 Report: Biofuel Industry Will Produce up to 2.6bn Gallons by 2015 Environmental Leader - ‎1 hour ago‎ Biofuel production capacity has increased from 437 million gallons in 2011 to more than 685 million gallons in 2012, according to a new report from Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).

Algae biofuels 4x to 5x output per acre of Corn or Soy biofuels

Northwest Public Radio See realtime coverage

Algae biofuels The Seattle Times - ‎22 hours ago‎ The prospect of algae as a biofuel is gaining popularity because it is relatively simple to grow and, unlike corn and soy-based fuels, it doesn't compete with consumer usage in the food market. Local Biofuel Efforts Gets A Boost With Fat AlgaeEarthFix Matrix Genetics Snags Investment from Avista for Algae BiofuelXconomy

MIT Creates Superbug that Squirts out Biofuel

MIT Creates Superbug that Squirts out Biofuel CleanTechnica - ‎5 hours ago‎ A team of scientists at MIT has tweaked a common bacteria into producing biofuel the way a cow produces milk: without having to be squished.

Ethanol Stays in Gasoline Even If Mandate Ends

Providence Business News

Ethanol Stays in Gasoline Even If Mandate Ends Bloomberg - ‎7 hours ago‎ Still, the biofuel is 15 percent cheaper than gasoline with which it's mixed, known as RBOB, or reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending.

You Can't Fly an Airplane with an Algae Pond on It…Or Can You?

Triple Pundit See realtime coverage

You Can't Fly an Airplane with an Algae Pond on It…Or Can You? Triple Pundit - ‎7 hours ago‎ United's growing confidence in biofuels calls to mind presidential candidate Mitt Romney's now-infamous statement that “you can't drive a care with a windmill on it. United Joins Airline Biofuels GroupEnvironmental Leader United States : UNITED AIR turns Member of Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users ...Equities.com

China's jet biofuels: ready for take off? Cooking oil - Boeing

Biomass Magazine

China's jet biofuels: ready for take off? Financial Times (blog) - ‎19 hours ago‎ China consumes about 29m tonnes of cooking oil a year, and much of it, when the frying is over, gets thrown away. Boeing believes this “gutter oil”, as it is locally known, could turn out to be liquid gold.

2018 Global Biofuels Consumption to Reach 135 Billion Gallons, Report Finds

2018 Global Biofuels Consumption to Reach 135 Billion Gallons, Report Finds CleanTechnica - ‎9 hours ago‎ All the factors mentioned above have increased interest in advanced biofuels, including algae, palm oil, and jatropha seeds, according to the report.

Must the poor go hungry just so the rich can drive?

The Guardian

Must the poor go hungry just so the rich can drive? The Guardian - ‎59 minutes ago‎ Biofuels are the means by which governments in the rich world avoid hard choices. Rather than raise fuel economy standards as far as technology allows, rather than promoting a shift from driving to public transport, walking and cycling, rather than ...

Ethanol Producer Magazine

Global Biofuels (Bioethanol and Biodiesel) Consumption to Reach 135 Billion ... Virtual-Strategy Magazine - ‎6 hours ago‎ GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global report on Biofuels (Bioethanol and Biodiesel) markets. The global consumption of Biofuels (Bioethanol and Biodiesel) is projected to reach 135 billion gallons by the year 2018. Biofuels are fast ...

Summer 2012 State Of The Advanced Biofuels Industry: Hydrocarbons Lead The ...

Summer 2012 State Of The Advanced Biofuels Industry: Hydrocarbons Lead The ...

Seeking Alpha - ‎40 minutes ago‎

Every six months, the fine folks over at Biofuels Digest compile and publish a database listing all of the advanced biofuelsprojects that are either operating, under construction, or being planned around the world. The most recent version of this ...