Much of the organic material in the waste stream of food processing plants consists of simple sugars and starches. This represents a waste of a valuable resource. A process that could convert these simple sugars into a valuable feedstock or commodity would have immediate application. Researchers at the Biodesign Institute of Arizona State University...

Biofuel production from photoautotrophic biomass is a promising energy solution; also attractive is the carbon-neutral nature of resulting biofuels made with CO2 fixation. Strains of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. are promising candidates, with high biomass yield and robustness over a wide range of temperatures, salinity, and pH. For highest...

As a result of cytotoxicity and/or poor net yields, microbial biofuels may typically only accumulate to low final concentrations in culture media. Their efficient, rapid, and thorough recovery from the culture medium is a universal challenge to the biotechnology industry. Solid-phase adsorption is commonly employed to provide high efficiency separations...

Cyanobacteria are a promising source of biofuels. They have higher growth rates and greater solar energy capture efficiency than multi-cellular plants. Traditional downstream recovery of the cell membrane lipids from cyanobacteria, however, typically requires cell lysis followed by solvent extraction. This can account for 70-80% of the cost of biofuel...

Photosynthetic bacteria potentially provide a source of lipids that is relatively easy to harvest and convert into biofuels. To increase the efficiency of this system it would be beneficial to use a bacterial strain that produces lipids that are readily converted to biofuels, such as neutral lipids. Hence, there is a need for a photosynthesizing...

The availability of aviation fuel is subject to potentially unstable oil markets. Oil rich crops and algae are promising biological systems for cost-effective and sustainable production of biodiesel, but biodiesel produced from currently available oil crop-based feedstock is not suitable for aviation fuel because of its lower energy density and...

Biofuel precursors are typically extracted from algae via mechanical pressing and/or solvent extraction. Some problems associated with these methods include capture of only a small fraction of the biofuel, slow processing time, and handling of hazardous and often flammable solvents. Other industrial processes involve dewatering algae, using such...

The two greatest challenges facing the world in the 21st century are environmental degradation and sustainable energy. Global warming due to increased greenhouse gases, along with widespread water pollution with nutrients (such as nitrogen and phosphate) and other contaminants are major environmental concerns. Conventional techniques for pollution...

The two greatest challenges facing the world in the 21st century are environmental degradation and sustainable energy. Global warming due to increased greenhouse gases, along with widespread water pollution with nutrients (such as nitrogen and phosphate) and other contaminants are major environmental concerns. Conventional techniques for pollution...