Molten Salts Give Biofuels a Boost

A new approach for breaking down cellulose could improve prospects for energy-efficient biofuels, Joint Bioenergy Institute researchers report. Although making biofuels from the cellulose in cell walls of switchgrass or wood chips should require less energy than making corn-based ethanol, finding efficient ways to degrade cellulose has been difficult. But molten salts can help break down the tough, energy-containing cellulose molecules without creating unwanted by-products. Full story.

NEW LAB-ON-A-CHIP TECHNIQUE TO BOOST JBEI RESEARCH
A microfluidics-based “lab-on-a-chip” technique that allows for much faster enzyme purification and analysis, provides a more automated engineering method, and uses smaller amounts of cell mass to produce proteins than current purification techniques has been developed by a team of researchers from JEBI partner institute Sandia National Laboratories. Research led by chemical engineer Anup Singh, who manages Sandia’s Biosystems Research Department, in Livermore, has yielded a new microfluidic technique that when combined with high-throughput cell culture methods, will allow thousands of enzymes and their variants to be purified and screened rapidly. This should be a significant boost for JBEI researchers in their search for enzymes that can efficiently break down cellulose into sugars. To read the Sandia press release click here.
To read the paper which was featured on the cover of the 2008 Volume 8 edition of journal Lab on a Chip, click here.

BIOFUELS: BEYOND ETHANOL
KQED's groundbreaking science series, QUEST, features "Biofuels: Beyond Ethanol," with Jay Keasling, Physical Biosciences Division Director and head of the Joint Bioenergy Institute. The episode examines why the Bay Area is ahead in America's race to create alternative fuels.

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You can watch the entire segment on the QUEST website:
http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/view/819