Tag: Amherst
New path to low-cost, renewable plastic bottles
Tweet In Massachusetts, a team of chemical engineers led by Paul J. Dauenhauer of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a new, high-yield method of producing p-xylene, the key ingredient used to make plastic bottles from biomass. The process is inexpensive and currently creates the chemical with an efficient yield of 75-percent, using most [...]
Amherst researchers discover proxy molecule for cellulose R&D
Tweet In Massachusetts, Amherst researchers have discovered a small molecule, called α-cyclodextrin, that behaves the same as cellulose when it is converted to biofuel. Studying this ‘mini-cellulose’ molecule reveals for the first time the chemical reactions that take place in wood and prairie grasses during high-temperature conversion to biofuel. Using the faster computer simulations, they [...]
Sneak peek at electrofuels: Geobacter team aims for bio-based solution to solar energy storage
Tweet In Massachusetts, more information about the new category of electrofuels has become available from a research team at University of Massachusetts Amherst. The “Geobacter” team led by microbiologist Derek Lovley said that a combination of solar power, bacteria and carbon dioxide could provide a hybrid of solar and bio-power and also solve the most [...]
