A new bacterium dubbed the Q Microbe may be the much sought after solution to the difficult and expensive process of converting cellulose, such as wood waste, switchgrass and corn cobs, into ethanol.  The development of cellulosic ethanol using the Q Microbe could reduce the price of ethanol by 20%, according to analysts.  This is because the Q Microbe can extract sugar from cellulosic feedstocks in one step, while enzymes under study must be manufactured in a lab to be effective and require a less ef

(WCCO) Minneapolis As the president asked Americans to cut back on fossil fuels in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, the University of Minnesota is leading the way.

Super-fermenting Fungus Genome Sequenced; To Be Harnessed For Improved Biofuels Production Science Daily — On the road to making biofuels more economically competitive with fossil fuels, there are significant potholes to negotiate. For cellulosic ethanol production, one major detour has being addressed with the characterization of the genetic blueprint of the fungus Pichia stipitis, by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and collaborators at the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL). 

Science Daily — Using corncob waste as a starting material, researchers have created carbon briquettes with complex nanopores capable of storing natural gas at an unprecedented density of 180 times their own volume and at one seventh the pressure of conventional natural gas tanks.

 Solar energy is the light alternative to a carbon-rich energy diet, and it may be the only renewable energy that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, engineers say. 

"Wind can play some role, as can biofuels and geothermal, but they are all too small," said Erin Baker of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "The three really big players are solar energy, nuclear power and carbon capture and storage."