As part of the Obama Administration’s comprehensive plan to address rising gas prices, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu have announced a total of $47 million to fund eight research and development projects that will support the production of biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products from a variety of biomass sources. These investments in clean, sustainable transportation fuels will help reduce U.S. oil imports…

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is urging the U.S. and Europe to back off the production of biofuels, as it could potentially cause roughly 200,000 deaths in underdeveloped nations. They claim that, since most biofuels are made using food crops, the increased demand would lead to higher food cost. Producing more corn to use in biofuel production, for instance, would cause the price of corn to skyrocket. To boot, it would also lead to more corn crops being planted which, in turn, would leave less space…

Experts agree that agave, a plant used in the production of tequila, can be a sustainable biofuel source because it would not compete with food crops or threaten water supply. According to research papers published last month in an issue of Global Change Biology Bioenergy, this plant can not only sustain high yields, but can easily…

Biofuels are an exceptional diesel and gasoline alternative, especially as technology advances and companies begin adopting more avant-garde methods of production. Based out of New Mexico, Sundrop Fuels has developed a hybrid solar-biomass refinery which will employ concentrated solar power (CSP) to heat plant remains and wood chips; in turn creating biofuel. By using solar power to supply the immense heat needed in biofuel production, the refinery will significantly increase…

As it turns out, soybeans are not only delicious and extremely beneficial for health reasons but are considered environmentally-friendly as well. As soy is renewable by nature, it has been used as an ingredient in a wide variety of biobased products – such as biodiesel that fuels vehicles, resins that go into the exterior panels of cars and farm…