Scientists to study plant 'switchboards'
A new four-year, $3.72 million grant to North Carolina State University will allow researchers to shed light on an important mystery - how genes impact the type and amount of "glue," known as lignin,...
View ArticleResearchers develop plant-based technology that helps biofuels, may fight cancer
(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, University of Florida researchers have developed plant-based technology that could reduce Americas dependence on foreign oil and may also help treat cancer.
View ArticleBattery team gets a charge out of lignin
(Phys.org) -- Creating energy from wood waste has progressed from novel idea to renewable energy work in development. Researchers from Poland and Sweden are using a waste product from the paper making...
View ArticleResearch on wood formation sheds light on plant biology
(Phys.org)—Scientists at North Carolina State University have discovered a phenomenon never seen before in plants while studying molecular changes inside tree cells as wood is formed.
View ArticleImmature switchgrass could help cellulosic ethanol industry
(Phys.org)—A gene that keeps switchgrass forever young could have far-reaching implications for the development of the plant as a biofuel crop, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)...
View ArticleWood completely broken down into its component parts
Crude oil is getting scarce. This is why researchers are seeking to substitute petroleum-based products - like plastics - with sustainable raw materials. Waste wood, divided into lignin and cellulose,...
View ArticleA new technology for producing hydrogen
The Ph.D. thesis of Aingeru Remiro-Eguskiza, a chemical engineer of the University of the Basque Country, deals with the quest for a process to produce hydrogen from bio-oil that has a lower impact on...
View ArticleMaking do with more: Team engineers plant cell walls to boost sugar yields...
(Phys.org) —When blessed with a resource in overwhelming abundance it's generally a good idea to make valuable use of that resource. Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant organic material on...
View ArticleImportant step in wood formation demonstrated by Bio4Energy scientists
A multi-national research team of researchers in Bio4Energy has been able to demonstrate an important step in wood formation: that a part of plants only forms after the cells that make them up die....
View ArticleUltrasound 'making waves' for enhancing biofuel production
All chefs know that "you have to break some eggs to make an omelet," and that includes engineers at Iowa State University who are using high-frequency sound waves to break down plant materials in order...
View ArticleHairpin turn: Micro-RNA plays role in wood formation
For more than a decade, scientists have suspected that hairpin-shaped chains of micro-RNA regulate wood formation inside plant cells. Now, scientists at NC State University have found the first example...
View ArticleA creature from an alkaline spring could improve biofuel processing
(Phys.org) —The only truly practical biofuels will be those made from abundant feedstocks like switchgrass, wheat straw, and other woody plants, whose cell walls consist of lignocellulose. After...
View ArticleAn enzyme to ease biofuel production
Limited availability of fossil fuels stimulates the search for different energy resources. The use of biofuels is one of the alternatives. Sugars derived from the grain of agricultural crops can be...
View ArticleThe key to the treasure in wood
(Phys.org) —In future, it could be easier to break down wood, as a source of raw materials, into its constituent parts. Chemists at the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim an der Ruhr...
View ArticleLignin-feasting microbe holds promise for biofuels
Nature designed lignin, the tough woody polymer in the walls of plant cells, to bind and protect the cellulose sugars that plants use for energy. For this reason, lignin is a major challenge for those...
View ArticleField trial with lignin modified poplars shows potential for bio-based economy
The results of a field trial with genetically modified poplar trees in Zwijnaarde, Belgium, shows that the wood of lignin modified poplar trees can be converted into sugars in a more efficient way....
View ArticleNew, simple technique may drive down biofuel production costs
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a simple, effective and relatively inexpensive technique for removing lignin from the plant material used to make biofuels, which may drive...
View ArticleSoil bacterium causes biofuel breakdown
(Phys.org) —Biofuels made from plant materials—also known as lignocellulosic biofuels—have promise as a source of sustainable alternative fuels thanks to soil bacterium known as Enterobacter...
View ArticleLignin breakthroughs serve as GPS for plant research
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed the equivalent of GPS directions for future plant scientists to understand how plants adapt to the environment and to improve plants'...
View ArticlePotentially safer, greener alternative to BPA could come from papermaking waste
A waste product from making paper could yield a safer, greener alternative to the potentially harmful chemical BPA, now banned from baby bottles but still used in many plastics. Scientists made the BPA...
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