Biofuels

UCR’s Charles Cai and a newly installed 20-gallon CELF reactor that will be used in the scale-up project. Credit: Stan Lim / UCRIn the process of converting plants into fuel, the initial phase — decomposing the plant material — has consistently posed the greatest challenge. Recent research reveals that incorporating an easily renewable chemical during the pretreatment phase could, at last, render the production of advanced biofuels economically viable and carbon neutral.For biofuels to compete with petroleum, biorefinery…

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Despite the fervor around electric vehicles and their potential to reduce the transportation sector's carbon footprint, 2023 projections suggest EVs won't edge out gas-powered vehicles for decades to come. With conventional vehicles likely to dominate the ground fleet for the foreseeable future, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign experts say cellulosic biofuels shouldn't be discounted.…

The UMA participates in an international study with the Future Power Systems Group of the University of Birmingham (UK) that investigates how to reduce pollutant emissions from vehicles without affecting engine performance. Credit: University of Malaga The University of Malaga (UMA) has participated in an international study with the Future Power Systems Group of the University of Birmingham (UK) that investigates how to…

Green rhodopsin proteins inside the blue cell walls help these yeast grow faster when exposed to light. Credit: Anthony Burnetti, Georgia Institute of TechnologyYeast is often known for its ability to ferment carbohydrates into products such as bread and beer, typically requiring a dark environment. Exposure to light in these situations can disrupt or spoil the fermentation process.However, a recent study published in Current Biology by researchers from the School of Biological Sciences at Georgia Tech presents a…

While speaking in today's Rajya Sabha session, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, revealed a new roadmap for India's green mobility revolution, which is based not just on EVs, but also biofuels, and alt fuels…

U.S. production of renewable diesel hit 5 million gallons a day for the first time in January, according to recent U.S. Energy Information Administration data, continuing a two-year boom.The biofuel is a key part of federal and state government plans to mitigate climate change by cutting carbon emissions. Production has swelled since 2021. Incentives from the Environmental Protection Agency and the state of California, combined with pandemic-depressed demand for conventional fuels, motivated many energy companies to start…

The CH4 website as it appeared in 2019, via the Wayback Machine.Screenshot: GizmodoStop me if you’ve heard this one before: A guy embezzled nearly $9 million by convincing investors he was turning cow poop into green energy—and then not building any of the machines at all.On Monday, 66-year-old Raymond Brewer of Porterville, California pled guilty to charges that he’d defrauded investors. Court records show that Brewer stole$8,750,000 from investors between 2014 and 2019 with promises to build anaerobic digesters, or…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is squeezing global oil supplies and inflation is jacking up prices at the pumps. Although petrol prices have started to fall in recent months, the situation has delivered a powerful reminder of the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. It also means biofuels are having a moment. The corn-ethanol industry boasts that blending its product into petrol is saving consumers money and creating jobs in the farming communities that supply its distilleries. Refiners producing renewable diesel fuels for…

Logan International Airport on November 30, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo: Chris Jackson (Getty Images)Airlines are working to lower their carbon footprint, but flyers are going to have to help foot the costs, the leader of an international airline trade group said this week. Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, called for more production of sustainable aviation fuel to speed up the industry’s green transition, Reuters reported. In an annual press briefing, Walsh said that…

Businesses and financiers are scrambling to tap billions of dollars in U.S. clean-energy incentives, spurring what executives and government officials say is a frenzy of deal making in the renewable-power and emissions-reduction sectors.At one of the first big clean-energy conferences since the U.S. passed legislation full of incentives for renewable power and other climate measures, corporate executives crammed into standing-room-only meetings on green steel and hydrogen fuel.  The event was a contrast to previous…