Biofuel News

Duckweed is a tiny floating plant and often seen as an unwanted weed. Now it seems as if the plant could have an economic value: as a source for biofuels.

A research team has developed a new source of renewable energy: a biofuel made from genetically engineered yeast cells and ordinary table sugar. This yeast produces oils and fats, known as lipids, that can be used in place of petroleum-derived products.

Scientists have replicated the process whereby fossil fuels were created. Instead of this taking several millennia the process has been completed in under sixty minutes.

The goal of making cheap hydrogen fuel has been often discussed. Given that some bacteria make hydrogen as a by-product, scientists have looked towards microbes for some answers.

Scientists trying to understand how the castor oil plant produces some very fatty beans from which oil is refined into biodiesel have found the plan to be more complex than previously realized.

A research team have engineered a yeast to consume acetic acid, a previously unwanted by-product of the process of converting plant leaves, stems and other tissues into biofuels.

Scientists have managed to create 580 mg of gasoline per liter of cultured broth by converting in fatty acid. The process uses microorganisms.

Giant pandas Ya Ya and Le Le, located at the Memphis Zoo, could provide a solution for biofuel production. Scientists are searching the feces from the pandas for useful microbes.

The hunt for the most efficient and, ideally, most environmentally friendly biofuels continues. One possible source for triggering 'power cells' is a common tree fungus.

Tiny marine creatures called tunicates are being studied in relation to biofuels. Tunicates are seen as a potential source of cellulose, which can be used to produce ethanol.