A team of engineers from MIT has created genetic circuits in bacterial cells that can not only perform logic functions, but also remember the results. These functions can then be encoded within the cell’s DNA and can be passed on in other cells for dozens of generations. The research, which was outlined in the Feb. 10 online edition of Nature Biotechnology, states that this breakthrough could allow for more efficient controls in biomanufacturing, as well as the programming of stem cells into other cell types.

Read the rest of MIT Team Creates Genetic Circuits From Bacteria That Remember Logical Functions

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: bacterial cells, biodiesel, biofuels, Biological engineering, Boolean logic, Circuits, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (eecs), genetic circuits, Logic gate, MIT, stem cells, Synthetic biology

Now there is something better you can do with that viscous mess of cooking oil instead of sequestering it in a can or pouring it down the drain. The UK-based company Biobot offers the Biobot 20, a tabletop processor that converts household oil waste into something a bit more useful. The Biobot 20 helps small producers refine their excess vegetable oils into fatty-acid methyl ester (FAME) through a conversion process known as transesterification. Close to carbon-neutral, biodiesel is a great way to become independent of the fossil fuel industry and take transportation into your own hands.

Read the rest of The Biobot 20 is a Tabletop Biodiesel Processor for Waste Cooking Oil

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: biobot, biobot 20, biodiesel, catalyst, fatty acids, fuel, gas, methanol, process, refine, sodium hydroxide, sodium methoxide, transesterification, UK, vegetable oil, Waste

Thanks to scientists harnessing the power of chemistry, you may one day soon fly in a plane fueled by plants. An article published in the journal Nature last week describes a new technique developed by researchers at UC Berkeley that can create biofuels powerful enough to be used as jet fuel. Created using bacterial fermentation and chemical catalysis, the amped up biofuel is ten times more powerful, and it can serve as a viable power source for large industrial vehicles and airplanes.

Read the rest of New Chemical Process Produces Biofuel Strong Enough to Power Jets

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable energy", acetone, biodiesel, biofuel, carbon, chemical catalysis, chemical process, Clostridium acetobutylicum, ETHANOL, fermentation, green fuel, green jet fuel, jet fuel, Nature, plane, renewable energy, renewable jet fuel, uc berkeley, westfalia

A team of Utah State University researchers have set a land speed record in their class with a dragster powered by cheese! The Aggie A-Salt Streamliner runs on yeast biodiesel derived from the industrial waste of cheese production. However despite its dairy-based origins, the hot rod performed impressively at the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association’s 2012 World of Speed event and broke the land speed record for one-liter engine vehicles.

Read the rest of Cheese-Powered Dragster Breaks a Land Speed Record in Utah

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Aggie A-Salt Streamliner, biodiesel, biodiesel vehicle, biofuel, Cheese, cheese biofuel, cheese fuel, dragster, green vehicle, speed record, Utah, utah salt flats, utah state, Utah State University

Egyptian teenagers are on a roll lately – if they’re not proposing the next-generation of space propulsion systems, then they’re figuring out how to use the country’s plastic waste for fuel! Sixteen-year-old Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad has found that an inexpensive catalyst could be used to create $78 million worth of biofuel each year. Egypt’s plastic consumption is estimated to total one million tons per year, so Azza’s proposal could transform the country’s economy, allowing it to make money from recycled plastic.

Read the rest of 16-Year-Old Egyptian Scientist Finds Way to Turn Plastic Waste Into $78 Million of Biofuel!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: aluminosilicate, Azza Abdel Hamid Falad, biodiesel, biofuel, catalyst, egypt, egyptian teenager, plastic recycling

Read the rest of Exquisite Alila Villas Uluwatu is the Ultimate Eco-Resort in Bali

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "grey water reuse", "sustainable architecture", Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali, Bali resort, biodiesel, Bioswale, eco resort, environmental resort Indonesia, Green Building, indonesia, Indonesian eco resort, local materials architecture, native plant landscape architecture, natrual cooling design, salt water pool

A few years ago, there were rumors that a futuristic oceanographic marine vessel would be constructed with the sole aim of exploring the world’s oceans. Known as The SeaOrbiter, it would serve as a scientific laboratory as scientists explore the places that cover two-thirds of our planet and contain 80% of all life on Earth — the oceans. Now it appears the dream is becoming a reality, as the SeaOrbiter team has announced that construction will begin by the end of the year!

Read the rest of The SeaOrbiter: Futuristic Marine Research Vessel to Begin Construction

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "wind power", biodiesel, marine exploration, marine research, marine vessel, oceans, renewable energy, SeaOrbiter, The SeaOrbiter, USS enterprise, wave energy, wave power, wind energy

There’s a new hot commodity on the black market these days and you’d never guess what it is. It seems thieves across the country are cashing in by stealing used cooking oil from the back alleys behind restaurants, and reselling it to recyclers who then process it and sell the processed biodiesel to someone in the transportation industry. You’d think someone would start cracking down on these petty green criminals, but it seems police departments across the country are turning a blind eye to the unlawful acts. Classified as a misdemeanor in some areas, cops can’t charge the criminals with much more than a fine. In other places, however, some used cooking oil thieves are getting a much larger punishment.

Read the rest of Thieves Across the US Create a Black Market for Used Cooking Grease

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: biodiesel, biofuel, cooking oil, cooking oil arrests, cooking oil black market, cooking oil thieves, used cooking oil, yellow grease, yellow grease thieves

Researchers at the University of Louisiana recently discovered that alligator fat might be an alternative source of biodiesel, a clean burning fuel that is primarily produced from soybeans. The problem with soybeans is that they also supply food for both animals and humans, so eliminating the need for them in the production of biodiesel is good news for everyone. On average, the US burns 45 million gallons of diesel annually, and sourcing just one billion of those gallons from soybeans would consume up to 21% of the American crop. But with 15 million pounds of alligator fat going directly into landfills every year, they may have found the perfect replacement.

Read the rest of Researchers Find That Alligator Fat Could Be a New Source of Biodiesel

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: alligator fat biodiesel, biodiesel, biodiesel production, biofuel, making biodiesel from alligator fat, Rakesh Bajpai, University of Louisiana

Cargill, Shell and Honda — giants in the worlds of agriculture, petroleum and automotive manufacturing — have teamed up to fund a company called Virent that has developed an inexpensive process to turn woody plant waste into gasoline. The process can start with anything from corn stalks to pine waste — think pine cones and needles — and turn it into what they call Bioformate, a type of oil that can be used in current vehicle gas tanks. It is a non-food crop option for turning plants into biofuel, and will be a major cornerstone for three powerhouse companies.

Read the rest of Cargill, Shell and Honda Team Up to Make Gasoline from Pine Cones and Corn Husks

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: biodiesel, biofuel, gasoline from corn husks, gasoline from pine waste, shell biofuel

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) released a statement this week warning that current government subsidies and policies surrounding biofuels could push an estimated 35 million people into poverty. The group of physicians is trying to bring to light the fact that most biofuels are currently being made from food crops, like corn, and that subsidies — which are heavily lobbied for by farm interest groups — push more farmers to grow food crops for fuel which in turn raises the price of food around the world. They’ve estimated that the current way of doing things could cause 192,000 excess deaths per year from hunger.

Read the rest of Doctors Say Biofuel Subsidies Could Cause 192,000 Excess Deaths a Year

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: biodiesel, biodiesel crops, biofuel crops, biofuel hunger, biofuel poverty, biofuels, biofuels from food, biofuels in africa, crops for biofuel, food issues, food scarcity, how biofuel is made, where biofuel is grown

In an effort to salvage all of the cooking oil used annually in Barcelona, city officials have begun handing out free “OliPots” oil pots in an attempt to get more citizens to deposit the material for eventual reuse. The new recycling initiative aims to reclaim as much of the used cooking oil as possible, in turn keeping it from contaminating local water in addition to providing an alternative ingredient for soap, biodiesel and even paint!

Read the rest of Barcelona Promotes Kitchen Oil Recycling By Giving Out Free ‘Olipots’

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: bio fuels, biodiesel, city recycling initiatives, cooking oil fuel, green fuel, Green points, kitchen oil recycling, Oilpot, recycling Barcelona, recycling kitchen food, water contamination

Designed by Yi Liu, Luo Jing and Jiang Yu-ning for the 2010 Seoul International Design Competition, the Green Transformer is a solar powered device that can help to remove valuable bio-oil (fuel often used in cars) from pools and ponds. As the Green Transformer floats on the surface of the water is collects algae, where algae is then combined with specific chemicals that draw bio-oil from other substances. The oil is then stored within the device until someone comes to collect it.

Read the rest of The Green Transformer Can Clean Your Pool and Fuel Your Car

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: algae, Algae Refinery, biodiesel, biofuel, Design, Green Transformer, Luo Jing and Jiang Yu-ning, Seoul International Design Competition 2010, Solar-powered algae refinery, Technology, Yi Liu

Algae is much more than that pesky goo in your fish tank – researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology are now using algae grown at wastewater treatment plants to synthesize biodiesel. Wastewater treatment plants regularly utilize algae to remove ammonia, nitrates and phosphates from wastewater before dumping into receiving water – using the tiny plants as a source of fuel is a brilliant way to get extra mileage out of the system.

Read the rest of Researchers Use Algae to Treat Wastewater and Generate Biofuel

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: algae, algae biofuel, biodiesel, Environmental Energy Technologies, green design, renewable energy, Rochester Institute of Technology, sustainable design, wastewater treatment

Singapore is now the proud owner of the world’s largest biodiesel plant, which can produce a whopping 800,000 metric tons of fuel per year. The plant, which is operated by Neste Oil, generates fuel from vegetable oils and waste animal fat from the food industry. Neste claims that fuel produced at the plant offers a 40% to 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuel-based diesel.

Read the rest of World’s Largest Biodiesel Plant Opens in Singapore

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: animal fat, biodiesel, biofuel, green design, neste, rotterdam, Singapore

Talk about sustainable multi-tasking. Not only have students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign created a device that cultivates algae for biofuel production, they’ve made it out of old computer parts! Dubbed Bio-Grow, the algae bioreactor features parts from an Apple G4 CPU tower, PVC pipes, acrylic panels, an Apple iMac CRT, and high density foam.

Read the rest of Bio-Grow Uses Electronic Waste to Make Algae for Biodiesel

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: algae, bio-grow, biodiesel, biofuel, eco design, green design, sustainable design

A Massachusetts company is moving forward on a test pilot facility for fuel sweating plant production — yes, that’s right these plants sweat diesel. They’ve created gene altered single cell plants that take sunlight and carbon dioxide and turn them directly into biofuel. It is kind of like fuel from algae without the extraction step. The plants’ byproduct is basically vehicle ready, which cuts down significantly on processing costs. Joule Unlimited says their fuel will be a clean, cost effective alternative to petroleum. Now all they have to do is prove their lab tested technology in the real world and we’ll be on the road to running on sweat.

Read the rest of Ground Broken on a Test Pilot Plant for Fuel Sweating Organisms

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: alternative energy, Alternative Fuel, biodiesel, biofuel, clean fuel, diesel, fuel, fuel sweating plants, joule, unlimited

Pig manure: it’s good for more than just smelling up pig pens. Researchers from the University of Illinois and Innoventor have figured out a way to make crude oil out of the pungent stuff — and one day, the process could even yield pig manure-derived biodiesel. Instead of taking 10,000 years to produce oil the old-fashioned way, the researchers have managed to produce their bio-oil in just one hour. We’re not the biggest fans of light, sweet crude in general, but it’s better than taking oil out of the ground, right?

Read the rest of POO POWER: Researchers Make Crude Oil Out of Pig Manure

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: biodiesel, crude oil, green design, pig fuel, pig manure, pigs, Poo Power!

We’ve seen biofuels made from some pretty strange substances — tuberculosis bacteria, watermelons, and chocolate, to name a few — but a new effort to gather biofuel from tobacco leaves might win the award for best use of a carcinogenic plant. Researchers at the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratory at Thomas Jefferson University recently discovered that tweaking the genes in tobacco plants can increase oil production up to 20 times, which means that much greater amounts of biofuel can be produced from the plants.

Read the rest of Tobacco: The Next Big Biofuel?

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: alternative energy, biodiesel, biofuel, green design, oil cigarettes, sustainable design, tobacco

We love seeing eco-upgrades that increase the efficiency of existing vehicles, but a select few are taking their customization to a whole other level. These cars and trucks may have slick paint jobs and fancy rims, but they also have some experimental features that are a far cry from your typical hybrid or biodiesel. Read on for our list of the Top 5 Pimped Out Eco Rides, featuring the most incredible souped-up vehicles that serve to promote alternative fuels!

Read the rest of Top 5 Incredible Retrofitted Eco Rides

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: biodiesel, car, conversion, eco ride, green design, Green Transportation, pimped, retrofit, suped up, sustainable design