The requirement for a miniature, high density, long life, and rechargeable power source is common to a vast majority of microsystems, including the implantable devices for medical applications. A model biofuel cell system operating in human serum has been studied for future applications of biomedical and implantable medical devices. Anodic and cathodic electrodes were made of carbon nanotube-bu...

A major challenge when using microorganisms to produce bulk chemicals such as biofuels is that the production targets are often toxic to cells. Many biofuels are known to reduce cell viability through damage to the cell membrane and interference with essential physiological processes. Therefore, cells must trade off biofuel production and survival, reducing potential yields. Recently, there hav...

A key strategy for biofuel production is making use of the chemical energy stored in plant cell walls. Cell walls are a strong meshwork of sugar chains and other polymers that encircle each plant cell. Collectively known as lignocellulose, cell wall material represents the bulk of plant dry mass. Biofuels can be made by releasing sugars from lignocellulose and converting them into fuel; however...

Global threats of fuel shortages in the near future and climate change due to green-house gas emissions are posing serious challenges and hence it is imperative to explore means for sustainable ways of prevention the consequences. The huge need for sustainable energy has led to an increased interest in new energy resources, such as production of microalgae, for use as biofuel and its other appl...

Biofuel cells that generate electricity from renewable fuels, such as carbohydrates, must be reusable through repeated refuelling, should these devices be used in consumer electronics. We demonstrate the stable generation of electricity from a glucose-powered mediated biofuel cell through multiple refuelling cycles. This refuelability is achieved by immobilizing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotid...

Vascular tissues are important for transporting water and nutrients throughout the plant and as physical support of upright growth. The primary constituents of vascular tissues, xylem, and phloem, are derived from the meristematic vascular procambium and cambium. Xylem cells develop secondary cell walls (SCWs) that form the largest part of plant lignocellulosic biomass that serve as a renewable...

Environmental and sustainable economical concerns are generating a growing interest in biofuels predominantly produced from biomass. It would be ideal if an energy conversion device could directly extract energy from a sustainable energy resource such as biomass. Unfortunately, up to now, such a direct conversion device produces insufficient power to meet the demand of practical applications. T...

This study focuses on the characterization of the technical and economic feasibility of an enclosed photobioreactor microalgae system with annual production of 37.85 million liters (10 million gallons) of biofuel. The analysis characterizes and breaks down the capital investment and operating costs and the production cost of unit of algal diesel. The economic modelling shows total cost of produ...

The rapid expansion of biofuel production has generated considerable interest within the body of empirical economic literature that has sought to understand the impact of biofuel growth on the global food economy. While the consensus within the literature is that biofuel emergence is likely to have some effect on future world agricultural market, there is a considerable range in the estimated s...

the principle of having such advice, which is to separate it from policy. " Politicians on the science committees of both houses of parliament back the belief that the independence of scientific advisers should be built in to ministerial codes of practice. The House of Lords science and technology committee said that ministers must recognise " independent scientific advisory committees, and als...