A new chemical process may help unlock biofuels from trees and plant waste in a shift from using food crops such as sugar cane to generate fuel, scientists said Thursday.

They said they found an enzyme that helped break down chitin, a stiff material similar to woody cellulose that is found in the skeletons of crustaceans -- such as lobsters or crabs -- as well as insects.

"We regard this as

Manisha Pande / New Delhi September 13, 2010, 0:56 IST

Having grown up in Baithania village of Bihar, Gyanesh Pandey knows how erratic electricity supply can be. Today, the 34-year-old, along with his friend Ratnesh Yadav, has found a way to generate electricity with rice husk.

KOCHI: The lakhs of rupees spent by the Kochi Corporation to set up biogas plants in the city have gone down the drain as the majority of them are inoperative.

Left over food and vegetable waste discarded in the garbage could soon be used to generate bio cooking gas (alternative to LPG) in the Capital.

KOCHI:  The preparation of the draft plan for the
second phase of development of the Brahmapuram solid waste treatment plant has
been completed.

According to the plan, the civic
body will construct a unit to produce crude oil from plastic waste and a
substation to generate electricity from the waste in the second phase of
expansion.

M.J. PRABU

If the talks between the Abu Dhabi-based NRI group and government succeeds, Kochi will get its first electricity project which generates power from solid waste.

Loro Group, an endeavour by NRIs in Abu Dhabi, is planning to start the plant in association with Irish company

Pune City anchor: Rudra Environmental Solutions to set up plant in Dhankawadi; will duplicate it in all 14 wards if successful

Up against a mountain of plastic waste in its jurisdiction even after a ban on use of plastic bags below 50 microns in thickness, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is planning a pilot project to convert plastic to fuel.

Saran Renewable Energy is bringing power to the people in Bihar
Tapash Talukdar

TEENAGERS IN Saran district of Bihar have found a new idol. Their elders may still want them to become an engineer or a civil servant, but they would rather turn entrepreneur and do something for their villages, just the way 32-year old Vivek Gupta did.