Laccases are multicopper oxidoreductases that can be used in biofuel cells to improve cathode performance by cathodic oxygen reduction. Here we present a laccase from the ligninolytic white-rot fungus Pycnoporus sanguineus that, in contrast to the Trametes versicolor laccase, can be produced in the absence of inducers in a standard culture medium. After 7days of cultivation the activity of this...

Among a variety of solution-based approaches to fabricate anisotropic films of aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs), we focus on the dielectrophoretic assembly method using AC electric fields in DNA-stabilized CNT suspensions. We demonstrate that a one-stop manufacturing system using electrode needles can draw anisotropic DNA-CNT hybrid films of 10 to 100 µm in size (i.e., free-standing DNA-CNT micr...

Biofuel cells (BFCs), which use enzymes as catalysts to harvest energy from green and sustainable fuels abundantly producible from biological systems, are promising next-generation energy devices. However, the poor stability and high specificity to only one fuel type of these bio-catalysts largely limits the practical use of current BFCs. In this contribution, we demonstrate a unique fuel cell ...

Enzyme-based biofuel cells (EBFCs) are systems that use a variety of organic compounds to produce electricity through oxido-reductase enzymes, such as oxidase or dehydrogenase as biocatalysts immobilized on electrodes. In this study, a single-chamber EBFC consisting of carbon electrodes that operating at ambient temperature in phosphate buffer, pH 7 is reported. The EBFC anode was based on gluc...

Likely changes in precipitation (P) and potential evapotranspiration (PET) resulting from policy-driven expansion of bioenergy crops in the United States are shown to create significant changes in streamflow volumes and increase water stress in the High Plains. Regional climate simulations for current and biofuel cropping system scenarios are evaluated using the same atmospheric forcing data ov...

With crude oil prices approaching $100 a barrel this autumn, following one of the worst global harvests in recent history, the idea that crops may be able to provide biofuels is one of the most contentious current agri-industrial topics. And it is presently having the greatest impact in the tropics, where ecosystems are already under unprecedented threat from human activity. Conservationists ar...

The demand for renewable energy use is continuously rising, since fossil fuels have been depleted and their extensive use has caused environmental issues, such as global warming [1]. Among renewable energy options, Biofuel have attracted attention in part because they are liquid fuels that can be easily used in motor vehicles, and in some cases with little or no modification of existing gasolin...

Recent energy security strategies, investment opportunities and energy policies have led to an escalation in biofuel consumption at the expenses of food crops and pastureland. To evaluate the important impacts of biofuels on food security, the food-energy nexus needs to be investigated in the context of its linkages with the overall human appropriation of land and water resources. Here we provi...

Biomass harvest may eventually be conducted on over 100 000 000 ha of US crop and forest lands to meet federally-mandated targets for renewable biofuels. Such largescale land use changes could profoundly impact working landscapes and the arthropod communities that inhabit them. We review the literature on dedicated biofuel crops and biomass harvest from forests to look for commonalities in arth...