Green Options » sugarcane

Sequencing the Sugarcane Genome: The Holy Grail of Biofuel?

Bryan Nelson — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:22:38 +0000

Australian scientists are aiming to finish sequencing the genome for sugarcane by this time next year. Once completed, it could lead to the development of a super biofuel.

Sugarcane is already being widely harvested as a biofuel, but with the genome mapped researchers could pinpoint exactly where in its DNA specific traits are found. Those traits could then be more precisely manipulated to create “supercane”– sugarcane richer in energy and more suitable for transformation into biofuel.

Cyanobacteria: The Next Big Biofuel?

Ariel Schwartz — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:08:26 +0000

Could cyanobacteria eventually become a more popular biofuel than corn, sugarcane, or even algae? Quite possibly. According to Science Daily, cyanobacteria can convert up to 10 percent of the sun’s energy into biomass.

This is a drastic improvement over the 1 percent rate of crops like corn and sugarcane, as well as the 5 percent rate of algae. With such a high conversion rate, cyanobacteria could replace a hefty amount of fossil fuels without taking up too much land.

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Suzuki’s Cars Will Run On 100% Ethanol in US, Brazil by 2010

Nick Chambers — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:44:28 +0000

According to the Nikkei Business Daily (via Tradingmarkets.com), Japan’s Suzuki Motor Company will begin selling cars that run completely on 100% ethanol in the US and Brazil by 2010. The company will begin the transition by first offering an E25 sedan for sale in Brazil this coming March.

Currently the most ethanol that a flex-fuel car can run on in the US is E85 — which is an 85% ethanol/15% gasoline blend. Suzuki’s move would mark a huge development in ethanol-powered vehicles, and a huge shift for Suzuki, which hasn’t had any alternative fuel-specific offerings in its lineup to this point.

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Greening How You Do Take Out: What Works (part 2)

Paul Smith — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:53:19 +0000

Welcome to part 2 of our restaurant greening guide. If you recall from last week, I wrote about Ike’s Quarter Cafe, a restaurant that has found a great balance of quality food, sustainability in their facilities, and a wonderful experience. For those of you considering greening your restaurant, or just in search of ways to make eating a less impactful experience, this week we focus on that which goes around the food. As in the utensils, cups, bowls, plates, and even the foil.

Ike’s Quarter Cafe has been in business for seven years as of this month, and in that time has had plenty of opportunities to try out the various green options available. And, lucky you, we’re going to tell you the best of breed that they’ve found!

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