UF/IFAS researchers target eucalyptus as source of fuel for biomass production

University of Florida News


Published: May 6th, 2014


Read more

USDA, DOE research to develop plant feedstocks for bioenergy

AgProfessional.com

USDA | December 13, 2013

Read more

A Waste-Filled Proposition

Ethanol Producer Magazine

By Susanne Retka Schill | October 11, 2013

 

Read more

Scott signs bill repealing requirement that gasoline contain ethanol

The Florida Current

Bruce Ritchie, 05/31/2013 - 05:57 PM

 

Read more

Senate bill repealing ethanol requirement rewritten with only 'nice words'

The Florida Current

Bruce Ritchie, 04/09/2013 - 06:16 PM

 

Read more

Industry reacts to BP decision to cancel US project

Ethanol Producer Magazine
By Susanne Retka Schill
November 02, 2012

Read more

The October Surprise: BP Cancels Plans for US Cellulosic Ethanol Plant

Biofuels DigestJim Lane
October 26, 2012   Read more

TerViva and Mason & Morse Farmland partner for pongamia tree projects.

BioBased Digest
Tom Saidak
July 19, 2012

In California and Florida, TerViva and Mason & Morse Farmland are partnering to develop pongamia tree projects. The pongamia tree is native to Australia and India, and yields a nut crop harvestable with conventional shakers. The seed produced by the tree has a 40% oil content that can be easily refined into a very high-grade biodiesel, bio-jet fuel, or even other high-demand bio-chemicals like oleic acid. The remaining seedcake can then be used as a high-protein animal feed or a high-nitrogen fertilizer. TerViva is eyeing Florida’s thousands of acres of abandoned Florida citrus land as potential areas for their turnkey program in which they supply the trees and secure the off-take at harvest, with two citrus growers in Florida who are available to act as to project operators for planting, maintenance, and harvesting. Mason & Morse Farmland Group will source the Florida land for investors interested in a diversification like this.

Read more

Legume, sunflower, camelina rotation may intensify bioenergy yields, returns

Biofuels Digest
Isabel Lane
April 16, 2012

In Florida, combining the planting of a biofuels crop with a legume and a short-season oilseed crop may make an intensive and short rotation of crops economically profitable, according to research performed by plant pathologist Dan Chellemi.

During 2010, he added a legume cover crop, which would supply part of the nitrogen, into the rotation with sunflowers. Once the sunflowers were harvested, he returned with Camelina sativa, a deep-rooted 70-day mustard crop known for producing seeds with high oil and high protein content. Because camelina also is a good nutrient forager, Chellemi applied no nitrogen to the plots. Chellemi indicated that while the data is preliminary and not yet conclusive, results warrant continuing trials this season.

Read more

UF-led research team selected for $125 million joint U.S.-India energy project

University of Florida News Release
Friday, April 20, 2012

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A University of Florida-led research team has been selected to participate in a five-year, $125 million energy project involving the United States and India, U.S. Department of Energy officials have announced.

Known as the Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center, or JCERDC, the project is aimed at reducing energy consumption, cutting dependence on petroleum products and increasing use of renewable fuels.

The UF-led team will develop biofuels derived from inedible plant material. Two other research teams, led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, will focus on solar energy and energy efficiency of buildings, respectively.

Total funding for the biofuels project is about $21 million, including about $2.7 million in federal funding destined for UF.

Read more

Tree breeding technique identified for better bioenergy use

Ethanol Producer Magazine
By Holly Jessen October 12, 2011

Researchers from the University of Florida have found a way for tree breeders to create a new pine variety in about six years—less than half than the more than 13 years it takes without the genetic technique. The model allows researchers to accurately predict tree traits without growing it in an eight-year field test.

The plus for potential wood-to-ethanol producers is that the new method could enable faster development of trees for bioenergy. “If we can modify traits much faster, we can create more specialized trees that can be grown for different products than just pulp and paper and solid wood,” said Gary Peter, a professor in UF’s school of forest resources and conservation. “We can tailor them for energy conversion.”

Read more

Raising 'Sugar-Cane': Investigative Report

Public News Service
October 3, 2011

BELLE GLADE, Fla. - A battle being waged in the ethanol industry pits sugar against corn, and it reaches from Florida to the Midwest to Latin America. Florida is at the center of this "energy war," and this investigative report by Les Coleman examines the history, business and political links between sugarcane-based ethanol and ethanol distilled from corn.

The long arm of Florida "big sugar" reaches far outside the state and across international frontiers. Flo-Sun, through subsidiaries such as Florida Crystals and Domino Foods, has milling and refining operations around the world. The rulers of Flo-Sun are brothers Pepe and Alfonso Fanjul, based in Palm Beach, whose father came to the U.S. on the heels of the Cuban Revolution more than a half-century ago.

Read more

UF technique to help pine forests adapt to climate change, bioenergy use

University of Florida News
Thursday, October 6, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A breakthrough in pine tree breeding will lead to forests better adapted to climate change and bioenergy use, University of Florida researchers report.

The improved forests will stem from a genetic technique the researchers have developed that can create new tree varieties in half the time it takes current breeding methods.

The technique, detailed in a study published online Wednesday by the journal New Phytologist, is expected to increase the security and competitiveness of the U.S. forestry industry.

Read more

University of Florida Jatropha Experiment to Be Aboard Space Shuttle Discovery Flight

Biofuels Journal
Date Posted: October 29, 2010

Gainesville, FL—A University of Florida researcher will have an experiment aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery for what could be its final mission.

Wagner Vendrame, an associate professor of environmental horticulture at UF’s Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, is known for his work with biofuels.

He’s been looking to develop new ways to propagate selected hybrids of the jatropha nut, because its oil holds great potential for use in biodiesel.

Read more

Termite saliva may hold key to biofuels

Alligator.com
Posted: Wednesday, September 1, 2010 12:30 am Updated: 12:54 am, Wed Sep 1, 2010.
Meredith Rutland, Alligator Contributing Writer

A tiny bug could help solve one of the world’s biggest problems.

UF researchers have found two enzymes in termite saliva that help break down wood into sugars that the bioenergy industry can use to produce fuel for cars.

The paper was published on the Internet in “Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology” in August.

Read more

UF research finds termite enzymes could be boon to cellulosic ethanol

University of Florida
Monday, August 23, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Termite spit may soon help fill our gas tanks. University of Florida researchers have isolated two enzymes termites use to break up lignin, a tough plant material that is major problem during the production of cellulosic ethanol.

Cellulosic ethanol is a fuel produced from the inedible portions of plants, material often discarded as trash. The process often involves genetically engineered microbes such as bacteria or fungi to break down sugars found in the cell walls of the plants.

Before the microbes can do their work, however, they must first get past lignin, the compound largely responsible for making wood “woody” instead of soft.

Read more

Global biofuels enzyme market estimated at $500 million for 2010, poised for rapid growth

Biofuels Digest
March 08, 2010

In Florida, enzyme cocktails are the subject of a review by Green Energy News, focusing on the 10+ enzymes which University of Central Florida researcher Henry Daniell has conconted to maximize the extraction of sugars from waste biomass, and Daniell has predicted that up to 200 Mgy of ethanol can be produced annually from Florida’s citrus waste. The research team’s nature-based enzymes, created by bacteria and fungi, are just a few of the new enzymes that have been shaking up the economics of cellulosic ethanol this year. Genencor has released its Accellerase group of enzymes, while Novozymes released its Cellic line of enzymes with a focus on driving celluloisic ethanol production costs to $2 per gallon. Verenium meanwhile, released Xylathin to improve the economics of producing enzymes from cereal grains.

Read the full story

Woody Biomass Economic Study published by Florida

Biofuels Digest
March 09, 2010

In Florida, the state government released its long-awaited “Woody Biomass Economic Study,” an economic impact analysis on the effects of granting financial incentives to energy producers who use woody biomass as fuel, including an analysis of effects on wood supply and prices and impacts on current markets and forest sustainability.

The study primarily looked at the impact of a Renewable Power Standard on the sustainability of the forest products industry and the forests themselves.

Read the full story

University of Florida Ethanol Plant Breaks Ground

DomesticFuel.com
Posted by Cindy Zimmerman – March 9th, 2010

Representatives from the University of Florida, Buckeye Technologies Inc. and the Florida Legislature broke ground for a new pilot plant to produce ethanol from cellulosic biomass.

Funded by a $20 million appropriation from the Florida Legislature, the plant will be built at the Perry, Fla. facility of Buckeye Technologies Inc., a manufacturer and worldwide distributor of cellulose-based specialty products made from wood and cotton. It is scheduled to be operational by spring 2011.

Read the full story

Researcher finds new, cheaper way to produce ethanol fuel from waste

Crunchgear.com
by Scott Merrill on February 18, 2010

Reducing gasoline dependency has been a hot issue for the developed world for some time now. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been very successful. Alternative fuel sources have been more expensive, or more toxic, to produce than gasoline, so gasoline is still the primary fuel source for many vehicles. New research coming from the University of Central Florida may be changing the game, though, with cheap and environmentally friendly ethanol produced from common organic waste products.

University of Central Florida professor Henry Daniell has developed a groundbreaking way to produce ethanol from waste products such as orange peels and newspapers. His approach is greener and less expensive than the current methods available to run vehicles on cleaner fuel – and his goal is to relegate gasoline to a secondary fuel.

Read the full story