GAVE
Climate neutral gaseous and liquid energy carriers
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GAVE is a government programme that supports the development and introduction of climate-neutral fuels in the Dutch transport sector.
The programme's most important task is to support the implementation of the European Renewable Energy Directive into Dutch national legislation with respect to biofuels.
This EU Directive states that, by the year 2020, 10% of the energy used in the transport sector must be derived from renewable energy.
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| GAVE news |
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Nano-research supports biofuel innovation
Date published: Jul 24, 2010 |
Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have developed nano-research methods to accelerate future biofuel production innovations. The researchers are trying to sketch the cell walls of leaves at nano-meter level. They are focusing on the plant family known as Zinnia. Their latest results have been published in the journal Plant Physiology.
The Zinnia family consists of one-year plants with lace-shaped leaves and coloured flowers. This plant's main characteristic is that the leaves and seeds consist of many singular green cells with chloroplasts. The plants can easily be cultivated in a water-rich soil. During the first phase of the cultivation, a tube-like structure is developed, with lots of xyleem, which contains high levels of cellulose and lignin. Many current biofuel studies already focus on substances.
Using various microscopic techniques, the team was able to sketch a single cell. Not just the cell, but also its sub-structure, the cell organisation and the chemical composition have been visualised. This technique also allowed the amount of lignocellulose to be defined.
The researchers hope to gain a better understanding of where cellulose and lignin can be found in plants. This would bring the development of innovative methods for biomass treatment another step closer. A pre-treatment is required before the cellulose can be converted into biofuel.
Source: LLNL |
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