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 in... Read more
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created a recipe for a renewable 3D printing feedstock that could spur a profitable new use for an intractable bio... Read more
A new family of enzymes has been discovered which paves the way to convert plant waste into sustainable and high-value products such as nylon, plastics, chemicals, and fuels. The discovery w... Read more
Researchers from the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at LiU have developed a fuel cell that uses lignin, a cheap by-product from paper manufacture and one of the most common biopolymers Ap... Read more
Using plants and trees to make products such as paper or ethanol leaves behind a residue called lignin, a component of plant cell walls. That leftover lignin isn’t good for much and often ge... Read more
Mountains of waste could lead to new U.S. manufacturing, jobs “We have overcome one of the industry’s most challenging issues by discovering how to make good quality carbon fiber from waste,... Read more
A recent discovery by Sandia National Laboratories researchers may unlock the potential of biofuel waste — and ultimately make biofuels competitive with petroleum. Fuel made from plants is m... Read more
Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels means turning to plant-derived biofuels and chemicals. But producing them cost-effectively from plants and other organic matter – collectively referred... Read more
Sandia researchers decode metabolic pathway of soil bacterium that thrives on lignin Abundant, chock full of energy and bound so tightly that the only way to release its energy is through co... Read more
When Orlando Rios first started analyzing samples of carbon fibers made from a woody plant polymer known as lignin, he noticed something unusual. The material’s microstructure — a mixt... Read more
Biodegradable plastics from a plentiful natural resource Wolfgang Glasser says he was hesitant at first when a start-up company asked him to be their chief scientific officer. But then the... Read more
In the future, genetically modified trees could be planted like an agricultural crop Researchers have genetically engineered trees that will be easier to break down to produce paper and biof... Read more
