Algae Biofuel Rises From Grave To Haunt Fossil Fuel Stakeholders
After ExxonMobil walks away, algae biofuel gets another shot at success and the US Department of Energy is here for it.
non-food biofuel
BP Funds A New Biofuel Process That Turns Old Swords Into Plowshares
Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered that an old technique for making explosives can be redeployed to produce biofuel. The process involves an odd little bacterium called Clostridium acetobutylicum, which once upon a time was used to manufacture cordite, an explosive propellant for artillery shells and bullets. Aside from … [continued]
Oxymoron of the Day: Nocturnal Photosynthesis
Here’s one that almost slipped by us: last month, the US Department of Energy granted $14 million to an international biofuel research team headed by the University of Nevada, with the goal of developing a new strain of poplar tree that can perform nocturnal photosynthesis. That sure sounds like a … [continued]
Elephant Grass Could Be Secret Weapon in Biofuel Wars
Corn ethanol was once the undisputed darling of the biofuel industry, but the drought that withered last summer’s corn harvests down to the bone has highlighted the unsustainable tension between corn for fuel and corn for food, lending new urgency to the search for alternatives. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has … [continued]
Killer Bacteria Could Breathe New Life into Biofuel Production
Put this one in the category of every cloud has a silver lining: E. coli, the bacteria notorious for contaminating food products from lettuce to ground beef, could also play a key role in developing the next generation of biofuels. A team of scientists from Rutgers University is working with … [continued]
