That dirty motor oil that comes out of your car or truck engine during oil changes could end up in your fuel tank, according to a report presented here today at the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). It described development of a new process for recycling waste crankcase oil into gasoline-like fuel — the first, they said, that uses microwaves and has “excellent potential” for going into commercial use.

The Northeast Bioenergy & Bioproducts program is looking for people who are excited about the possibilities of biofuels and bioproducts. Through a collaboration of six universities, the program seeks teachers and interns who can explain or learn about those “bio” possibilities, offering three opportunities to future teachers and participants that range from a 12-week internship to varying length master teacher training workshops.

As a dedicated energy crop, some might describe field pennycress as that old, clichéd saying, “too good to be true,” but companies such as Arvens Technology and Alion Science and Technology assert they have proof to show that such a nontraditional crop, planted during harvest time and harvested during the planting season, can provide real benefits.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on March 14 that USDA is seeking applications to increase the production and use of renewable energy sources. Funding is available from three USDA Rural Development renewable energy programs authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the Farm Bill).

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., introduced the Securing America’s Future with Energy and Sustainable Technologies Act March 10. According to information released by Klobuchar’s office, the bill, known as the SAFEST Act, aims to develop and deploy safe, reliable domestically grown and produced energy by establishing strong, renewable energy and energy-efficiency standards, incentives for developing biofuels and biofuel infrastructure, and targets for the availability of advanced vehicle technologies.

During the meetings, principal investigators (PIs) will discuss their projects’ status, budgets, goals, accomplishments, challenges, and relevance to the Biomass Program and answer questions from expert review panelists. Webinar participants will be able to view slides and listen to the project presentations in real time. The results of Peer Review evaluations will form the basis for the overall Biomass Program Peer Review meeting on June 27–28, 2011. To learn more about the Biomass Program, visit the Program’s website. Results from the Program’s last two biennial reviews are available on the Plans, Implementations, and Results page.

Registering for the Webinars

The Biomass Program will host live feeds of the proceedings of the Analysis, Sustainability, Feedstocks, and Algae Reviews using GoToWebinar. Follow the links below to register:

• Analysis Peer Review, April 4
• Sustainability Peer Review, April 5
• Feedstocks Peer Review, April 6–8
• Algae Peer Review, April 7–8

Biofuels produced from crop biomass has long been seen as an environmentally sustainable source of renewable energy, but a study now questions whether the potential climate benefit of sugarcane ethanol is diminished when emissions from land use management are considered.

Those of us who consider the convenience of air travel an indispensable part of our work lives, but feel guilty about the level of greenhouse gas emissions involved, keep hoping for some kind of technological silver bullet that will allow us to have our cake and eat it, guilt-free.

In China they are experimenting with solar-powered lighter-than-air ships (not your grandpa’s Hindenburg) which allow access to remote areas without the need for expensive airport runways.

Here, where we already have extensive airport facilities with many billions invested, people are not about to make that kind of change so quickly.

There is is a bright spot on the horizon, however. San Francisco-based Solarzyme recently announced an agreement with the Australian airline Qantas, in which the airline agreed to purchase an unspecified amount of Solarjet, Solarzyme’s algae-derived aviation fuel. This follows on the heels of an order from the US Navy for 1500 gallons for testing purposes. (Last year, we ran a piece on Sapphire Energy, which is also producing algae based fuels and expects to generate one million gallons this year.)

Let algae do the dirty work.

Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology are developing biodiesel from microalgae grown in wastewater. The project is doubly “green” because algae consume nitrates and phosphates and reduce bacteria and toxins in the water. The end result: clean wastewater and stock for a promising biofuel.

The purified wastewater can be channeled back into receiving bodies of water at treatment plants, while the biodiesel can fuel buses, construction vehicles and farm equipment. Algae could replace diesel’s telltale black puffs of exhaust with cleaner emissions low in the sulfur and particulates that accompany fossil fuels.

Bioethanol from new lines of native perennial prairie grass could become less costly because of plant engineering by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and fermentation research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers describe their transgenic version of switchgrass as one that produces about one-third more ethanol by fermentation than conventional switchgrass. This improved plant feedstock will be able to generate more biofuel per acre, benefiting not only the transportation sector but also the growers and farming community.