Category Archives: Biofuels

USDA Scientists Match Bioenergy Sites, Feedstocks

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story from the Agricultural Research Service. Scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have figured out a cost-benefit balance between identifying the best sites for building bioenery facilities in the Pacific Northwest and supplying those facilities … Continue reading →

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Cows educate scientists how to convert biomass into ethanol

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full post at Tainted Green. With the unrest in Egypt pushing up oil prices, biofuels should be more economically attractive. But world food prices are also surging, in part because of increasing demand for biofuels. Most biofuels in … Continue reading →

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Agave Plant Could Produce Both Tequila and Biofuel

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story at EcoGeek. The latest plant to gain biofuel feedstock status is the same one that fuels our margaritas.  The agave plant, most notably the source of tequila, could also soon be a new source of biofuel.

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Waste pop, beer first feedstocks for Canadian pilot plant

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story in Ethanol Producer Magazine. It will take in pop and beer and churn out ethanol–at least at first. By the end of February a $500,000 modular pilot plant will be set up for ethanol production in … Continue reading →

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SDSU studies cordgrass as potential biofuel feedstock

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story in Ethanol Producer Magazine. A team of researchers led by South Dakota State University plant geneticist Jose Gonzalez recently concluded research partially funded by the USDA and the U.S. DOE aimed at sequencing genes in a … Continue reading →

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Taking a Tip from the Gladiators

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story in the Southwest News Herald. Historians tell us that the ancient gladiators consumed barley for energy. In fact, it was such a key component of their diet that they were known as “hordearii,” literally, “barley men.” … Continue reading →

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Government Backs $1 Billion Plan to Make Gasoline from Wood

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full post at New York Times Green. The Energy Department has offered a Texas company a loan guarantee for a $1 billion project to build four small factories that would turn wood chips into an oil substitute. The … Continue reading →

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RAND report draws criticism

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story in Biorefining Magazine. A report recently released by nonprofit research organization RAND Corp. regarding military use of alternative fuels is drawing criticism from both industry and the military itself. The report, titled, “Alternative Fuels for Military … Continue reading →

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Advancing Biocrop Alternatives in the Pacific Northwest

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story from the Agricultural Research Service. ARS research has found that a Pacific Northwest farmer could grow enough canola on 50 to 70 acres along with an onsite crusher and biodiesel facility to supply the fuel needed … Continue reading →

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Small-scale enzyme research could have big biomass implications

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story in Ethanol Producer Magazine. Biofuels goals are more often than not measured by the millions of gallons, but some of the biggest accomplishments are first achieved on a much smaller scale. Researchers at the U.S. DOE’s … Continue reading →

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