Lab garners five commercialization grants

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and engineers have put together another first-rate year securing major grants through the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). “We did quite well, although the diversity of the research projects funded wasn’t as broad as last year,” said Rich Rankin, the director of the Lab’s Innovation and...

Lawrence Livermore scientists discover bacterial resistance to improve biofuel production

Resistance is not futile when it comes to a new method to more efficiently convert biomass to biofuels. New research by scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in conjunction with the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) suggests that a type of bacterial resistance may provide more efficient production of biofuels. The team identified the genetic origin of bacterial resistance...

Microbial who-done-it for biofuels

One of the keys to commercialization of advanced biofuels is the development of cost-competitive ways to extract fermentable sugars from lignocellulosic biomass. The use of enzymes from thermophiles -- microbes that thrive at extremely high temperatures and alkaline conditions -- holds promise for achieving this development. Finding the most effective of these microbial enzymes, however, has...

Lawrence Livermore work may improve the efficiency of the biofuel production cycle

By deciphering the makeup of a bacterium found in the soil of a tropical rain forest, scientists may have a better understanding of how to more efficiently produce biofuels. The production of liquid fuels derived from plant biomass offers a promising technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. While sugars stored within the plant cell wall, known as...