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The study of different types of lignin and the different modes of production by the plants could allow more efficient use of biomass
Crucial information for a possible shift in production from biomass biocombiustibili was discovered by sequencing the DNA of the plant species of Selaginella moellendorffii .
“When we burn coal, burn the ancestors of Selaginella , “said Jody Banks, Purdue University botanist who first proposed to the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) sequencing of the plant as part of the scientific program of 2005.
As explained by Igor Grigoriev, senior author of the study, published online in Science Express , the genome of Selaginella fills a huge gap in the evolution of plants among the green alga Chlamydomonas , sequenced by JGI in 2007, and angiosperms with the vascular system.
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The analysis allowed to understand the role of some 30,000 genes that encode enzymes that break down biomass into simple sugars, the first crucial step for biofuel production
Cattle feed on grass is what is observed for millennia. From this diet – allowed only to those animals capable of degrading cellulose and hemicellulose, substances without any nutritional value for most organizations – ruminants are able to extract all that is needed to feed themselves, their offspring and the humans who raise them.
Now just the ruminants, or rather the set of organisms that dwell in the rumen, are providing researchers with crucial information that will accelerate in future large-scale development of biofuels.
In a recent survey, whose report is published in Science, the techniques of large-scale DNA sequencing have enabled scholars of the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the ‘ Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) to characterize the genes of microbes isolated from the rumen of cattle.
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In an energy context marked both by the need to develop renewable energy more environmentally friendly and the medium term exhaustion of oil resources, micro-algae is a future challenge for biomass production and biofuels. Aware of the benefits of this technology, France and Germany are intensifying their efforts in R & D in the field of algocarburants.
A mission of French experts in Germany, held talks Scientific Service of the Embassy of France in Germany, was the opportunity to make an overview of the main German initiatives and to establish the groundwork for potential collaborations Franco German-sector level of technological innovation.
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Biofuels from algae appear as a promising alternative to fossil fuels. However, some problems remain to be overcome: the feasibility for productivity, downstream processes (harvesting, extraction of components) … The main obstacle to their development, as we mentioned in a previous report [1], is the economic viability of the process for obtaining them.
In late June 2010, the Obama administration announced funding of $ 24 million for research on the subject. This money has benefited three research groups working on the production of biofuels from algae: Algal Biofuels Consortium on Sustainable in Arizona, the Consortium for Algal Biofuels Commercialization in California and Cellana, Consortium LLC in Hawaii. In this context, researchers at Montana State University (MSU) have identified a compound having the ability to increase production considerably algal oil precursor in the synthesis of biodiesel: sodium bicarbonate.
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The Miscanthus, a kind of herb useful as a raw material for the production of biofuels could play a dual role in combating climate change, thanks to its strong ability to make the carbon is retained in soils for thousands of years .
Should scientists used genetically modified crops to produce biofuels, in order to enhance their ability to capture CO2 in the atmosphere? “This strategy could be applied to the scale necessary to mitigate climate change?
These questions and possible answers are part of a new analysis done by Christer Jansson, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, both centers in the United States.
The analysis explores ways in which the said crops could help combat the alarming buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
At the heart of the analysis is the idea that crops for biofuels can combat climate change in two ways.
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The issue of biofuels and incentives to develop this sector in the United States is again in the spotlight and at two levels. Scientists from Oregon State University have recently published an article challenging the regulations on the use of GMOs for perennial crops for biofuel production. In addition, the secretary of the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture), today announced a series of measures to promote production of biofuels and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), meanwhile, decided to authorize the use of fuel blends containing up to 15% ethanol (E15).
On the other hand, recent results of midterm elections, dated November 2, 2010, announcing a tidal Tide Republican prove moderately positive for the biofuels industry. While the issue of biofuels and in particular those of the second and third generations are supported bi-partisan, conservative Democrats (Blue Dog Coalition) who are strong advocates of bioenergy have lost many seats compared to the Liberal Democrats.
USDA: new measures to support domestic biofuels
In the framework of the objectives set by the RFS2 (Renewable Fuel Standard), namely production, by 2022, 36 billion gallons of biofuels, including 21 billion from new-generation fuels, the following measures were announced by Tom Vilsack, Secretary of the USDA, 21 October:
1. The final regulations for implementing the CAPA, Biomass Crop Assistance Program would allow producers to develop new crops (ligno-cellulosic). The financial support will reach 75% of the costs of crop establishment and payment of an annual pension to help cover transition costs for existing crops.
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A group of Spanish researchers of the Centre for Research in Economics and Agribusiness Development ( CREDA ) is using econometric models to quantify the relationship between oil prices , biofuels and food in the USA , Brazil (both countries are the biggest producers in the world biofuels ) and Spain. The project will also consider social preferences for biofuels and determine their socio- economic implications .
The “green” character of biofuels has caused exponential growth rate of world output, which has doubled in recent years. This increase is mainly due to crude oil prices have hit record highs , the prohibition of the use of Methyl tert- Butyl Ether (MTBE , for its acronym in English ) as a gasoline additive in the U.S., and the increased profile policies related to energy security and climate change.
Although biofuels are produced from various materials of organic origin, at present, its main output is made from food agricultural commodities like corn , soybeans and sugarcane , which has prompted the demand for these raw materials for energy production , and direct competition with agricultural production for food and feed.
The team of researchers from the Center for Research in Economics and Agribusiness Development ( CREDA ) is conducting the project Price transmission between energy and food markets : the impact of biofuels to measure the relationship between oil prices , biofuels and food.
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Group researchers Chemical Process Technology and Biochemistry, University of Valladolid and the Laboratory of ACOR biodiesel plant in Olmedo work together on the recovery of one of the products obtained from the process of biodiesel , glycerin , alcohol which is the basis of many pharmaceuticals . As explained DiCYT Maria Teresa Garcia Cubero, one of the researchers of the group, ” for every hundred pounds of biodiesel produced ten of glycerin , a significant amount that the pharmaceutical industry can not continue .
Therefore, try to give new outlets for this product . “There are many treatment options and we opted for one that involves the procurement of high value-added products , such as the production of precursors used in the production of biodegradable plastics , “is proceeding . Through a project of the Ministry of Science and Innovation ( MICINN) , studying the transformation of glycerine in two alternative ways .
One is the chemical transformation of shape -selective catalysts that can be derived propanediol , which is the precursor to which they work, and the other is a biochemical transformation ” with microorganisms able to assimilate glycerol . While the first method gives 1.3 propanediol , the biochemical transformation as a product provides 1-2 propanediol. “This is similar isomers although slightly different properties , “explains the expert.
The research group working on this project with different microorganisms which are used to, aerobic and anaerobic , but not ” strict. ” “We need anerobiosis conditions (no oxygen ) to complete the body to function well , “said Maria Teresa Garcia Cubero.
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China and the United States launched on May 28 last, a research project on the development of biofuels destined for Chinese airlines. The study will focus on biofuels made from walnut oil or algae. A first flight could take place this year. This announcement comes after research partnerships promise contained in a high-level meeting between the two governments to cooperate closely in the field of renewable energy. This is problematic for both countries a key issue in the fight against climate change and could spur new industries.
At a conference on renewable fuels, David Sandalow, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy, said the “development of renewable energy is at the heart of our cooperation with China.” The two countries signed a series of research partnerships between Boeing Co., the U.S. government agency and Chinese research institutions and some state companies, including Air China Ltd. and PetroChina Ltd..
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The transfer to industrial scale production of ethanol from various sources of cellulosic biomass, is of three main elements: identifying and obtaining or vegetable raw materials with the highest concentration of carbohydrates, the establishment point grinding processes saccharification and economically viable to release simple sugars contained in these carbohydrates and identification of microorganisms with the gene to ferment all of these sugars. Results from recent studies conducted by researchers at the ARS / USDA have been the subject of articles in scientific journals such as Biotechnology and Bioengineering, the Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy and the Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. This research focuses on two types of projects: first the development of a protocol for the transformation of wheat straw into ethanol and secondly, the characterization of bacteria infecting plants producing ethanol and interfering with fuel production.
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