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#Post#: 7520--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plant Based Products for a Sustainable civilization
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: July 20, 2017, 11:54 am
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Agelbert NOTE: Although the following post is about duckweed as
a bio-fuel source, it is just as important, if not more so, to
understand that duckweed is the ONLY plant out there that could
actually lower the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere. This, of
course, would be contingent on the banning of the burning of
fossil fuels. We know the corrupted powers that be don't want to
do that. >:( But even if they don't, they will soon be FORCED
to seek out the plant that is most likely to "sequester Carbon"
(what a ridiculous bit of jargon for absorption of CO2!) at a
rate that could start us on the way back to 280PPM of CO2
(Pre-industrial levels).
The geo-engineering techno-fix fossil fuel industry SCAM simply
will not work. But the fossil fuel industry corrupted
governments all over the world will probably try it, which will
certainly make some people rich while it makes things worse for
the biosphere.
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714183337.bmp
A massive Duckweed production campaign all over presently
non-arable land areas would work IF if banned the burning
fossil fuels completely.
[move]That would be the intelligent and prudent thing to
do.[/move]
So, we can count on our fossil fuel industry corrupted
governments to NOT do it.
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714183337.bmp
[center]I LOVE DUCKWEED!
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/earthhug.gif[/center]
[center]
HTML https://youtu.be/_i_2h2CoQII[/center]
[center]
HTML https://youtu.be/AVogwEYXGLo[/center]
HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/renewables/ethanol/msg217/#msg217
[center]Pond-dwelling powerhouse’s genome points to its biofuel
potential[/center]
Duckweed is a tiny floating plant that’s been known to drive
people daffy. It’s one of the smallest and fastest-growing
flowering plants ;D that often becomes a hard-to-control weed
in ponds and small lakes. But it’s also been exploited to clean
contaminated water and as a source to produce pharmaceuticals.
Now, the genome of Greater Duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) has
given this miniscule plant’s potential as a biofuel source a big
boost. In a paper published February 19, 2014 in the journal
Nature Communications, researchers from Rutgers University, the
Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and several other
facilities detailed the complete genome of S. polyrhiza and
analyzed it in comparison to several other plants, including
rice and tomatoes.
Duckweed, a small, common plant that grows in ponds and stagnant
waters, is an ideal candidate as a biofuel raw material.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/128fs318181.gif
;D Photo (at
link) by Texx Smith, via flickr
Simple and primitive, a duckweed plant consists of a single
small kidney-shaped leaf about the size of a pencil-top eraser
that floats on the surface of the water with a few thin roots
underwater. It grows in almost all geographic areas, at nearly
any altitude. Although it’s a flowering plant, it only rarely
forms small indistinct flowers on the underside of its floating
leaves. Most of the time, it reproduces by budding off small
leaves that are clones of the parent leaf. It often forms thick
mats on the edges of ponds, quiet inlets of lakes and in
marshes. It’s among the fastest growing plants, able to double
its population in a couple of days under ideal conditions.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/170fs799081.gif
These and other properties make it an ideal candidate as a
biofuel feedstock – a raw source for biofuel production. For
example, unlike plants on land, duckweeds don’t need to hold
themselves upright or transport water from distant roots to
their leaves, so they’re a relatively soft and pliable plant,
containing tiny amounts of woody material such as lignin and
cellulose. Removing these woody materials from feedstock has
been a major challenge in biofuel production. Also, although
they are small enough to grow in many environments, unlike
biofuel-producing microbes, duckweed plants are large enough to
harvest easily. ;D
S. polyrhiza turns out to have one of the smallest known plant
genomes, at about 158 million base pairs and fewer than 20,000
protein-encoding genes. That’s 27 percent fewer than Arabidopsis
thaliana – which, until recently, was believed to be the
smallest plant genome – and nearly half as many as rice plants.
Spirodela is one of the smallest plants in the world. Here (at
the link)it is displayed with other comparable plants.
“The most surprising find was insight into the molecular basis
for genes involved in maturation – a forever-young lifestyle,”
said senior author Joachim Messing, director of the Waksman
Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers University.
S. polyrhiza leaves resemble cotyledons, embryonic leaves inside
plant seeds that become the first leaves after germination. But
where other plants develop other kinds of leaves as they mature,
S. polyrhiza’s never progresses and continuously produces
cotyledon leaves. This prolonging of juvenile traits is called
“neoteny.” S. polyrhiza had fewer genes to promote and more
genes to repress the switch from juvenile to mature growth.
“Because of the reduction in neoteny, there is an arrest in
development and differentiation of organs. So this arrest
allowed us to uncover regulatory networks that are required for
differentiation and development,” Messing said.
Also intriguing to the research team were which genes were
preserved over time and which were not. Many of the genes
responsible for cellulose and lignin production in land dwelling
plants were missing,
HTML http://www.clker.com/cliparts/c/8/f/8/11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png<br
/> and there were fewer copies of those that were present. Genes
for another compound related to cell walls called “expansins”
which are involved with cell wall and root growth were also
reduced.
Genes for starch production, on the other hand, were retained
and are probably used for creating starch-filled turions,
specialized buds produced by aquatic plants for overwintering,
enabling them sink to the bottom of ponds and revive in warmer
weather. Moreover, despite the reduced number of total genes, S.
polyrhiza has more copies of genes for enzymes involved in
nitrogen absorption and metabolism than in other plants. This is
probably linked to the plant’s ability to utilize excess
nitrogen in contaminated waters.
HTML http://www.clker.com/cliparts/c/8/f/8/11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png<br
/>
A thorough understanding of the genome and cellular mechanisms
of S. polyrhiza could greatly enhance current efforts to recruit
duckweed as a biofuel source.Messing estimates that duckweed
will be a viable biofuel source within the next five years and
points to Ceres Energy Group in New Jersey, which is already
producing electricity from duckweed.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/19.gif
Understanding which genes
produce which traits will allow researchers to create new
varieties of duckweed with enhanced biofuel traits, such as
increased reduction of cellulose or increased starch or even
higher lipid production. Starch can be directly used as a
biofuel source and it can be converted to ethanol, the way corn
is currently converted to ethanol fuel, but oils would have
greater energy than ethanol.
Duckweed is a relatively simple plant with fronds that float on
the surface of the water and roots that extend into the water.
In the flask on the left, you can see the dormant phase,
turions, that have dropped to the bottom. Photo (at link) by
Wenquin Wang
“Classical breeding or genetics does not apply here because of
its clonal propagation and rare flowering, but these organisms
can be transformed with DNA,” Messing said. “Therefore, new
variants can be created with modified pathways for industrial
applications. These variants would be an enhancement over what
can be done now.”
This genome was sequenced as part of a DOE Office of Science JGI
Community Science Program (CSP) project (formerly the Community
Sequencing Program). It exemplifies the collaborative approach
and innovative projects that the CSP enables among researchers.
Messing pointed to the study’s advances over previous research.
“The sequencing of this genome opens new frontiers in the
molecular biology of aquatic plants,” said Messing. “This
publication represents the single largest advance in this field
and a new milestone in plant molecular biology and evolution, as
previous studies were either classical botany or biochemistry of
photosynthesis. The placement of the Spirodela genome as a basal
monocot species will serve as a new reference for all flowering
plants.”
A video interview with Messing on the promise of duckweed can be
found here:
[center]
HTML https://youtu.be/PLVPfoKw2rs[/center]
The authors on the publication also include researchers from
MIPS/IBIS, Helmholtz Center Munich, Germany; University of
California, Davis; Georgia Institute of Technology; Brookhaven
National Laboratory; Donald Danforth Plant Science Center;
University of Jena, Germany, HudsonAlpha Institute for
Biotechnology; and the Leibniz-Institute of Plant Genetics and
Crop Plant Research (IPK), Germany.
The DOE Joint Genome Institute has announced a new call for
letters of intent for the 2015 Community Science Program, due
April 10, 2014. Details of the 2015 CSP call can be found at:
HTML http://bit.ly/CSP-15.
The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, supported
by the DOE Office of Science, is committed to advancing genomics
in support of DOE missions related to clean energy generation
and environmental characterization and cleanup. DOE JGI,
headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., provides integrated
high-throughput sequencing and computational analysis that
enable systems-based scientific approaches to these challenges.
Follow @doe_jgi on Twitter.
DOE’s Office of Science is the largest supporter of basic
research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is
working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our
time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
Filed Under: News Releases
HTML http://jgi.doe.gov/pond-dwelling-powerhouses-genome-points-biofuel-potential/
#Post#: 8204--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plant Based Products for a Sustainable civilization
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: October 27, 2017, 1:53 pm
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[center]Bamboo is, POUND FOR POUND, stronger than steel.
[/center]
[center]
HTML https://youtu.be/QqUS4JGbb3I[/center]
And, of course, UNLIKE steel, which requires polluting mining,
heating, beating and treating, we can grow as much as we need
(it grows quite well in MANY areas, including Puerto Rico, all
over the world) sustainably.
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png
#Post#: 12673--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plant Based Products for a Sustainable civilization
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: June 21, 2019, 7:36 pm
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HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-170218174357.png
[center]
HTML https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/uBvRgaxE3_q_ILZ5bvg4DPJXRS6SvqWd8RW1_PVgMWZBxZVQnTFJoo6M3y8Oc5FktdSh2y1K1x6EoWJWVQwDq0XmN7oc5Ctpyh7F1A80ob14ybFXgv031OWYign_=s0-d-e1-ft#http://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/shutterstock_73926781-3.jpg[/center]
[center]maersk containership Pres Panayotov /
Shutterstock.com[/center]
[center]Maersk Signs Up H&M for Carbon-Neutral Biofuel
Trial[/center]
June 20, 2019 by Mike Schuler
Danish shipping giant Maersk says fashion group H&M has become
the first company to sign up to trial a new carbon-neutral
offering that utilizes the use biofuel to eliminate carbon
emissions from shipping.
Maersk says the biofuel in the pilot project is the same blend
of used cooking oil and heavy which has been tested and
successfully validated in a trial driven in collaboration with
the Dutch Sustainability Growth Coalition (DSGC), and Shell his
year. It is also certified as a sustainable fuel by the
International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) body.
The new carbon neutral product will be made available to select
Maersk customers who are looking reduce or eliminate carbon
emissions from their supply chain.
Back in March, the containership Maersk Maersk set sail on a
round trip from Rotterdam to Shanghai using a blend of biofuel
produced from plant waste, marking the industry’s biggest tests
to date of the fuel.
“The biofuel trial on board Mette Maersk has proven that
decarbonized solutions for shipping can already be utilized
today, both technically and operationally. While it is not yet
an absolutely final solution it is certainly part of the
solution and it can serve as a transition solution to reduce CO2
emissions today. With the launch of this product, Maersk seeks
to help our customers with their goal of moving to sustainable
supply chains,” said Søren Toft, Maersk COO.
Maersk says the goal of the pilot is to ultimately unlock the
potential of sustainable fuels to the point where they are
commercially available. Maersk itself has actually set a target
of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050.
For H&M, the project offers the opportunity to reduce carbon
emissions from ocean transport.
“Our high ambition to become climate positive by 2040 requires
cooperation and engagement from all parties in the supply chain.
We want to use our size to be a force for good and enable
scaling innovative solutions, such as the carbon neutral ocean
product, for a greener commercial transport,” says Helena
Helmersson, COO H&M Group.
HTML https://gcaptain.com/maersk-signs-up-hm-for-carbon-neutral-biofuel-trial/
#Post#: 15103--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plant Based Products for a Sustainable civilization
DIR By: AGelbert
Date: January 7, 2020, 11:20 am
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[center]Plastic Pollution: What are the ֍ sustainable
alternatives? [/center]
6,106 views•Jan 5, 2020
[center]
HTML https://youtu.be/QBYLiH6n_t4[/center]
Just Have a Think
43.3K subscribers
Nowadays most of us know there's a global plastic pollution
problem. But how bad is it really? And how do we maintain our
current way of life without a material that exists in almost
every single product we consume? This week we take a look at
some very promising alternatives that could potentially replace
the vast majority of our current 🦕🦖
petroleum-based ☠️👎 plastic production.
Help support and influence the growth of the Just Have a Think
initiative here:
www.patreon.com/justhaveathink
Books Featured:
'F**ck Plastic : 101 Ways to free yourself from plastic and save
the world'
Published in the US by Rodale Books and in the UK by Seven Dials
'How to Live Plastic Free : A day in the life of a plastic
detox'
Written by Luca Bonaccorsi & Richard Harrington on behalf of The
Marine Conservation Society
Published in the UK by The Headline Publishing Group
Research Links:
HTML https://strawfree.org/
Agelbert NOTE: View video in separate browser window to see all
the links.
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