News tagged with switchgrass

ASU, Stanford examine implications of bioenergy crops

A team of researchers from Arizona State University, Stanford University and Carnegie Institution for Science has found that converting large swaths of land to bioenergy crops could have a wide range of effects ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Feb 01, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

From field to biorefinery: Computer model optimizes biofuel operations

Research into biofuel crops such as switchgrass and Miscanthus has focused mainly on how to grow these crops and convert them into fuels. But many steps lead from the farm to the biorefinery, and each could ...

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Jan 17, 2012 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Sunn hemp shows promise as biofuel source

Work by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests that farmers in the Southeast could use the tropical legume sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) in their crop rotations by harvesting the ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jan 04, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Switchgrass as bioenergy feedstock

Scientists examined current knowledge about the potential contributions of bioenergy production from switchgrass to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Their findings, published in GCB Bioenergy, conclude that the use of swi ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Dec 09, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study questions cost-effectiveness of biofuels and their ability to cut fossil fuel use

A new study by economists at Oregon State University questions the cost-effectiveness of biofuels and says they would barely reduce fossil fuel use and would likely increase greenhouse gas emissions.

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Nov 29, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 26 | with audio podcast

Toward more cost-effective production of biofuels from plant lignocellulosic biomass

In 1925, Henry Ford observed that fuel is present in all vegetative matter that can be fermented and predicted that Americans would some day grow their own fuel. Last year, global biofuel production reached ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 16, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Pretreatment, proper harvest time boost ethanol from switchgrass

Adding a pretreatment step would allow producers to get more ethanol from switchgrass harvested in the fall, according to a Purdue University study.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Aug 31, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Single microbial gene linked to increased ethanol tolerance

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers from the Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center has pinpointed a single, key gene in a microbe that could help streamline the production of biofuels from non-food ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Aug 15, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Novel gene increases yeast's appetite for plant sugars

For thousands of years, bakers and brewers have relied on yeast to convert sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Yet, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers eager to harness this talent for brewing biofuels have found ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 25, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists identify new implications for perennial bioenergy crops

A team of researchers from Arizona State University, Stanford University and Carnegie Institution for Science has found that converting large swaths of land to bioenergy crops could have a wide range of effects on regional ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Feb 28, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Advancing biocrop alternatives in the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest farmers could someday be filling up their machinery's tanks with fuels produced from their own fields, according to ongoing research by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Pellets reduce costs, but not enough for cellulosic ethanol producers

Despite reducing transportation and handling costs, pelletizing cellulosic biomass would not be cost-effective for ethanol producers, according to a Purdue University study.

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Nov 16, 2010 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Grasses have potential as alternate ethanol crop, study finds

Money may not grow on trees, but energy could grow in grass. Researchers at the University of Illinois have completed the first extensive geographic yield and economic analysis of potential bioenergy grass crops in the Midwestern ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 01, 2010 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Phosphorus runoff can be slowed by changing farming practices, researchers say

(PhysOrg.com) -- Two recent studies by Iowa State University researchers show that phosphorus runoff into Iowa's rivers, streams and lakes can be slowed by farmers changing how they plant and fertilize their ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 28, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Searching in the microbial world for efficient ways to produce biofuel

With the help of genetic materials from a cow's rumen, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are developing new ways to break down plant fibers for conversion into biofuel.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Sep 22, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0