Tag Bioenergy
At bioenergy crossroads, should corn ethanol be left in the rearview mirror?
New research shows that the carbon emissions from using land to grow corn can negate or even reverse any climate advantages of corn ethanol relative to gasoline.
Donohue to lead Wisconsin Energy Institute
Tim Donohue, a professor of bacteriology, has led the institute as interim director since 2017. WEI provides leadership in energy and clean technology research, scholarship, education and outreach.
Grassland conservation crucial to success of bioenergy
Protecting these natural lands right here in the U.S. offers an opportunity to make meaningful strides toward climate change mitigation while also improving wildlife habitat, water quality, and the delivery of many other ecosystem services.
New approach for breaking plastics down shows promise for ‘upcycling’ them
“Thirty percent of our plastic is ending up in the environment," says chemical and biological engineering Professor George Huber. "The current plastic infrastructure is not sustainable right now.”
Researchers create hybrids of six yeast species to combine useful traits
There may be many potential research and industrial uses for such hybrids, including studies in genetics, cancer biology, brewing and bioenergy.
Industry-ready process makes plastics chemical from plant sugars
New research describes an efficient and economically feasible process for producing HMF — a versatile plant-derived chemical considered crucial for building a renewable economy.
Engineered microbe may be key to producing plastic from plants
With a few genetic tweaks, a type of soil bacteria with an appetite for hydrocarbons shows promise as a biological factory for converting a renewable — but frustratingly untapped — bounty into a replacement for ubiquitous plastics.
Broad genome analysis shows yeasts evolving by subtraction
An analysis of the way yeasts evolved individual appetites for particular food sources may be a boon to biofuels research.
Researchers discover how to protect yeast from damage in biofuel production
The researchers found a strain of yeast with outstanding tolerance to ionic liquids, and identified a gene that makes a protein that works as a pump to remove toxins.
Better solvents = better biomass conversion for biofuels and bioproducts
UW-Madison researchers are pushing for a broader understanding of solvents used to convert non-food biomass to biofuels and bioproducts, which would help them to optimize biomass conversion reactions.
Bio-renewable process could help ‘green’ plastic
Plastics are often derived from petroleum, but Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center scientists at UW–Madison are developing new and renewable ways of creating them from biomass.
UW entrepreneurial pipeline lands Lactic Solutions in biofuels marketplace
When Jim Steele thinks back over the last seven years, from the early research on biofuels, followed by a dream of moving Lactic Solutions technology to the marketplace, he is thankful for the network of UW–Madison entrepreneurial experts.
DOE selects Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center for next-phase funding
Research at the UW-based center will shift to bioenergy crops such as switchgrass, poplar trees and sorghum that will be grown on non-agricultural land.
Newly identified gene helps time spring flowering in vital grass crops
The discovery may help plant breeders and engineers get more from food and energy crops.
Renewable plastic precursor could grow cellulosic biofuel industry
A team of chemical and biological engineers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has found a way to produce from biomass a valuable compound used in plastic production that they estimate could lower the cost of ethanol produced from plant material by more than two dollars per gallon.
Food scientist aiding fuel ethanol with new engineered bacteria
James Steele’s new company, Lactic Solutions, is advancing a judo-like remedy: using genetic engineering to transform enemy into friend.
‘Super yeast’ has the power to improve economics of biofuels
Scientists have found a way to nearly double the efficiency with which a commonly used industrial yeast strain converts plant sugars to biofuel.
With designer lignin, biofuels researchers reproduced evolutionary path
As one of the researchers put it, 'Nature was already doing what we thought we’d laboriously taught her to do.'
Lessons of lager: Yeast origin becomes a complex tale
The findings are important as yeasts are critical to many industries — brewing, fermenting other foods, making drugs like human insulin, and producing new biofuels.
Fundamental discovery slashes energy cost of chemical reactions
"We get two for the price of one," says researcher Shannon Stahl, "and we can save half a volt ... In a fuel cell, that is significant saving of energy."