Although the production of biofuels does not necessarily reduce our carbon footprint, they do reduce our reliance on politically volitile crude oil. This article argues the fact that corn acreage is bettr spent on producing biofuels then cheap junk foods.

Why Venture Capitalists are Bullish on Biofuels | Business | GreenBiz.com.

Related articles:

• Venture Capitalists Shift Direction on Biofuels… Again (eon.businesswire.com)
• Algae Biofuels Still Years From Commercialization: DoE (treehugger.com)
• Doubled Yield For Bio-fuel From Waste (tech.slashdot.org)
• New technique improves efficiency of biofuel production (physorg.com)
• Japan Aims to Make Biofuel from Straw (risingsunofnihon.com)
• New technique improves efficiency of biofuel production (eurekalert.org)
• Concerned scientists call for cellulosic biofuel sweeteners (businessgreen.com)
• EU biofuels ‘should be certified’ (news.bbc.co.uk)
• Solazyme Wins No. 1 Sustainable Biofuels Technology Award at World Biofuels Markets Conference in Amsterdam (eon.businesswire.com)
• The VC Shakeout (jeffnolan.com)
• What VCs look for in a leader: Vision and fundraising skills (techflash.com)

DOE ARPA-E Oil Fuel Alternatives – Synthetic Fuel Research – Popularmechanics.com.

These intiatives by the DOE are promising.

Related articles:

• ClearFuels and Rentech Integrated Bio-Refinery Project Awarded $23 Million Grant by U.S. Department of Energy (eon.businesswire.com)
• Rentech and ClearFuels Integrated Bio-Refinery Project Awarded $23 Million Grant by U.S. Department of Energy (eon.businesswire.com)
• Rentech Sponsors NASCAR’s First Green Mission Team (eon.businesswire.com)
• ClearFuels Announces Development of Co-Located Commercial Scale Biorefinery Facility for Renewable Synthetic Fuel Production in Tennessee (eon.businesswire.com)
• Enerkem takes $51 million for advanced biofuel projects (green.venturebeat.com)
• Engineering challenges in algae energy (slideshare.net)
• ClearFuels Signs Cooperative Agreement for $7.7 Million First Round of DOE Biorefinery Funding (eon.businesswire.com)
• ‘No idea’ where deep water oil is drifting (cnn.com)
• Department of Energy Awards $4 Million to Planar Energy Under Its Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy Initiative (eon.businesswire.com)
• DOE’s Chu looks to past for energy breakthroughs (news.cnet.com)
• ARPA-E funds fuel-making microbes, batteries, carbon capture (news.cnet.com)
• ARPA-E backs battery and biofuel researchers with $106M in grants (techflash.com)
• US grants $106m for clean energy research projects (newstatesman.com)
• US government throws $106m at “disruptive” clean tech (businessgreen.com)
• Rentech’s Synthetic Jet Fuel Powers First U.S. Commercial Flight on Certified Alternative Fuels (eon.businesswire.com)
• Rentech Schedules Fiscal 2010 First Quarter Conference Call (eon.businesswire.com)

From the website: “Biotechnology for Biofuels is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal featuring high-quality studies describing technological and operational advances in the production of biofuels from biomass.”

A few times a month this open access journal publishes scientific abstracts in advances of Biotechnology for biofuels and we will post links to them here on alt.energy review. The latest is from November 4th, 2009:

Laboratory-scale method for enzymatic saccharication of lignocellulosic biomass at high-solids loadings

Related articles:

• Another Reason for Open Access (mt-soft.com.ar)
• 57 college presidents declare support for public access to publicly funded research in the US (scienceblog.com)
• Some fine musings on OA (gabriellacoleman.org)
• Open Science And Closed Science: Aren’t Papers Supposed To Be A Part Of The Conversation? (techdirt.com)

]]> http://altenergyreview.com/2009/11/biotechnology-for-biofuels/feed/ 0 http://altenergyreview.com/2009/08/biocentric-energy-holdings-investment-in-algae/ http://altenergyreview.com/2009/08/biocentric-energy-holdings-investment-in-algae/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:45:26 +0000 Michael http://altenergyreview.com/?p=434

BioCentric Energy Holdings Production Update – Yahoo! Finance.

One algae biofuel company’s recent results and current investment potential.

Related articles:

• Discover the greatest idea of this century – “How to convert CO2 emissions to biofuels using sunlight, water and Algae” (scienceblog.com)
• JB Hunt’s Big Rigs Are Big Boost For Algae (replacingoil.com)
• Rooftop Algae Cuts Emissions at MIT’s Power Plant (replacingoil.com)
• 2nd Algae Biofuel Summit 2009 takes place in India in September (energyrefuge.com)
• Exxon Employs Algae For Biofuel (blogs.thecarconnection.com)
• Algae: The next biofuel bet (thestar.com)
• Company Claims Potential Magnification In Bio Fuel Production (science.slashdot.org)
• Marine algae project launches with €6m in funding (lightbulbs.org)
• ExxonMobil to research algae-based biofuels with Synthetic Genomics (dailyfinance.com)
• ExxonMobil, genome genius Craig Venter sign on for algae-fuel race (dailyfinance.com)

Mini Ethanol Refineries Hit the Market | ClimateBiz.

The cost of entry for making your own ethanol in the garage has just been lowered significantly.

Related articles:

• Higher ethanol blends could help U.S. economy (biodieselinvesting.com)
• ‘Make your own ethanol’ refineries hit US market (businessgreen.com)
• Brazil expects 10% increase in sugar crops (biodieselinvesting.com)
• “Great ethanol scam” can easily cost you $1,000, says BW (autobloggreen.com)
• Ethanol production develops into “drink-or-drive” issue (biodieselinvesting.com)
• Petition Shows Support for Increasing Ethanol Blend (domesticfuel.com)
• Another Blow to Ethanol: Biolectricity Is Greener (time.com)
• Brazil debt slavery connected to sugarcane ethanol, says report (biodieselinvesting.com)
• Another Blow to Ethanol: Biolectricity Is Greener (time.com)
• Ethanol: Not dead yet (money.cnn.com)
• Barack Obama’s $1.8bn vision of greener biofuel (guardian.co.uk)
• Green fuel (news.bbc.co.uk)
• US ethanol producers urge Obama to up biofuel content of motor fuels (guardian.co.uk)

Biofuel from Canal Algae to Power Venice by 2011 : EcoWorldly.

The simplest of organisms can be converted into the one of the most water ratio efficient producers of biofuel.

Related articles:

• DOE To Fund Pilot & Demonstration-Scale Biorefineries (ecofriendlymag.com)
• Algenol and Sapphire Energy Pursue Algae as Fuel (industry.bnet.com)
• Green Investing Slows, Perhaps Marking Shift To New Biofuels (huffingtonpost.com)
• Engineering algae to make fuel instead of sugar (scienceblog.com)
• Venice to convert invading Chinese seaweed into electricity in £200m ecoproject (telegraph.co.uk)
• Saltwater Could Make Algae-Biodiesel Profitable (domesticfuel.com)
• Biofuels Production Could Do More Harm than Good (biodieselinvesting.com)
• Speak Out on Biofuels: Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels Wants Comments on New Standards (treehugger.com)
• Analysis Says U. S. to Lead Global Biofuels Production Well Into the Next Decade (biodieselinvesting.com)
• Biofuels, Indonesia: rainforest disaster (energyrefuge.com)
• Bug Helps Make Biodiesel (domesticfuel.com)
• Rolls Royce and British Airways Biofuels Program Suspended Due to Lack of Supply (gas2.org)

Sustainable Food – Change.org: Biofuel Hazard. The sad truth about ethanol, not exactly a long term solution. Only algae based biofuel is water ratio efficient

Related articles:

• Big Food’s War on Biofuels (treehugger.com)
• Corn-Based BioFuels Still Counterproductive (cleantechnica.com)
• New Analysis Suggests Biofuels Land Use Change GHG Impact Not as Large as Predicted (ecofriendlymag.com)
• Latvia Gets Government Subsidies, Triples Biodiesel Production (biodieselinvesting.com)
• California singling out biofuels unfairly say scientists (biofuelreview.com)
• Speak Out on Biofuels: Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels Wants Comments on New Standards (treehugger.com)
• Analysis Says U. S. to Lead Global Biofuels Production Well Into the Next Decade (biodieselinvesting.com)
• Obama Under Pressure Over Role of Ethanol in Energy Policy (usnews.com)
• Change.org Launches 7 Additional Cause Blogs (centernetworks.com)
• Want Obama To Take Action On Energy? Vote At Change.Org (barrier-busting.com)
• Biofuels: a burning issue (energyrefuge.com)
• Vilsack: Some Hard Choices on Ethanol (time.com)
• Rare crops needed to tackle world hunger (telegraph.co.uk)
• Biofuels, food prices and deforestation (energyrefuge.com)
• Biofuels Production Could Do More Harm than Good (biodieselinvesting.com)

How Green » Blog Archive » Wood-Boring Marine Bug Aids Biofuel Research.

Able to break down the wood cellulose, these pests may become our friends.

Related articles:

• Rainforest fungus promises biofuel breakthrough (businessgreen.com)
• Rainforest Fungus Makes Biodiesel, Not Soup [Biofuel] (gizmodo.com)
• Sacramento Transplant Entrepeneur Opens Sacramento’s Fifth Biofuels Station (biodieselinvesting.com)
• Rainforest Fungus Makes Biodiesel, Not Soup (gizmodo.com.au)
• Green jet fuel making headway, closer than thought (cleanbreak.ca)
• DOE To Fund Pilot & Demonstration-Scale Biorefineries (ecofriendlymag.com)
• Pier-munching gribble could provide breakthrough for second generation biofuels (guardian.co.uk)
• Japan Airlines trial biofuels on 747 flights (guardian.co.uk)
• April 15th is coming and the IRS has got your biofuel tax information ready (autobloggreen.com)

Jatropha, a succulent plan common in India, may be providing the next generation of biofuels.

Air New Zealand tests biofuel Boeing | Green Tech – CNET News.

Related articles:

• Air New Zealand Successfully Trials Weed Biofuel
• Passenger Jet Does Two Hour Journey on Veggie Oil!
• Air New Zealand tests biofuel Boeing
• Another Biofuel Airplane
• N.Z. airline flies jet partly run on veggie oil
• Air New Zealand’s Biofuel Jetliner Uses 50 Percent Jatropha Oil Blend
• Passenger Jet Does Two Hour Journey on Veggie Oil!
• Vegetable oil tested on NZ flight
• Letters: Bumpy take-off for aviation biofuel
• Air New Zealand jet completes world’s first second-generation biofuel flight

Even though oil is running out and current levels of consumption cannot be sustained, there are still hurdles ahead for the widespread use of biofuels, but they can be overcome.

19 Hurdles for Large-Scale Biofuel Use: Reflections from the Emerson BioRefinery Summit.

Related articles:

• Coffee Could Power Your Car, As Well As Wake You Up in the Morning
• Future Cars, Like Their Owners, Will Run On Coffee?
• Continental plans a first: commercial biofuel flight
• EnviroStat gadget holds cells inside force field
• Algae, Jatropha Tapped To Power Continental Airlines’ First Biofuel Test Flight
• Darpa, Dronemaker to Brew Algae-Based Jet Fuel
• 90-95% Cost Reduction in Algae Production Claimed by Solix Biofuels
• Energem Biofuels Ltd Wins Frost & Sullivan Award for Competitive Strategy Leadership
• Continental announces commercial jet biofuel flight