Articles in R & D Focus
by David Glass (D Glass Associates) One of the morning sessions at the Tenth Annual BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology put four of the companies in the forefront of commercial development of cellulosic ethanol …
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/The Energy Collective) …Incredibly, the American Petroleum Institute’s anti-RFS “training center” (yes, Big Oil has a “training center” apparently intended to spawn an army of certified RFS haters) has the …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Not quite a year after opening a demonstration facility, Switzerland-based specialty chemicals company Clariant AG announced that it has expanded the feedstocks successfully converted to cellulosic ethanol beyond wheat …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Renewable Fuels Association has spoken out to criticize a study published by Rice University and the University of California-Davis that claims climate change will increase irrigation costs for …
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/The Energy Collective) …Big Oil’s PR machine regurgitates these myths via conference calls with reporters, meetings with editorial boards, sham studies, paid advertising, social media and many other channels. Their …
by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) The car racing carnival came to Detroit this past weekend. The venue was Belle Isle, once a beautiful island park in the Detroit River that served as a verdant …
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) NASCAR’s sportscar racing division, GrandAm, and Green Racing aren’t words that you see together. For one thing, GrandAm competitors race on all-petroleum race fuel. Yet, GrandAm and the American Le …
(US Department of Energy) On July 31–August 1, 2013, the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Advanced Biofuels USA will co-host the Office’s sixth annual conference, Biomass 2013: How the Advanced Bioindustry is Reshaping American Energy, at …
Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Is the ultimate industrial fuel system going to be based on electricity, waste CO2 and brackish water – to return society to the days of energy abundance? It will take a …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A new proposed rulemaking from the U.S. EPA includes several possible modifications to the renewable fuel standard program, including categorizing as advanced biofuels ethanol produced from corn fiber and …
(University of Illinois/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Two University of Illinois scientists have developed an environmentally friendly and more economical way of pretreating miscanthus in the biofuel production process.
“We pretreat the biomass with switchable butadiene sulfone in the …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Every once in a while, I read something that really catches my attention. A study that found that distillers grains can help reduce methane output and increase milk production …
(Enerkem/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Enerkem Inc. announced the launch of a new research project with the government of Canada. The objective of the project is to develop new catalytic processes for the conversion of waste into …
(Alternative Fuels Americas/PR NewsWire) Alternative Fuels Americas, Inc. (AFAI) announced today (May 22, 2013) that it has successfully completed research trials targeting Jatropha trees as a feedstock source for profitably produced, sustainable biodiesel, and is …
by Tom Rickey (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) A new analysis shows that the nation’s land and water resources could likely support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based …
by Dan Seif (Mother Earth News/Rocky Mountain Institute) Advanced, non-food biofuels are gaining momentum in 2013 as several new plants have gathered the capital and momentum for large-scale production.
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Despite sparse media coverage, significant volumes of …
by Andrew Herndon (Bloomberg) Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), which has invested more than $100 million to develop algae-derived biofuels, is refocusing its research with Synthetic Genomics Inc. after almost four years of work failed to …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) DoD goes forward, after internal wrangle, with advanced biofuels program via $16M phase 1 investment.
With industry cost share, project totals $33M: aims for sub-$4, drop-in military biofuels.
In Washington, the DoD …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Beyond biomass, beyond fossil fuels, beyond light itself. And now, the direct production of drop-in biofuel blendstocks. All available from a microbial “cow”.
This week in California, a research team from …
(Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining) The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) has set a general binding target for the European Union to derive 20% of its final energy and 10% of its transport fuels from renewable sources …
by Peter Hannam (The Age) Whether it’s the use of organisms first found in the guts of rabbits in New Zealand or converting the mountains of rubbish disposed of by Londoners, airlines around the world are …
by Enos Shumba, et al (World Wildlife Fund for Nature) The bio-fuel debate has largely focused on large feedstock plantations that produce products for the export market. It has not acknowledged and seriously considered the …
by Lynn Yarris(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Joint BioEnergy Institute Researchers Develop Enzyme-free Ionic Liquid Pre-treatment
Advanced biofuels – liquid fuels synthesized from the sugars in cellulosic biomass – offer a clean, green and renewable alternative to …
(United Sorghum Checkoff Program) The Sorghum Checkoff in collaboration with the NCERC at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (formerly the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center) is pleased to announce a successful bench-scale evaluation of sweet sorghum juice …
(Algae Industry Magazine) An algae research proposal from Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center (FAPC) was ranked No. 1 of 28 plant-related research projects, resulting in $100,000 in funding …
(Edeniq/Yahoo! News) Visalia Plant Milestone Signifies Greater Commercial Viability for Cellulosic Ethanol and Sugars
Edeniq, a biomaterials and sustainable fuels company, today announced the company’s first demonstration plant, located at its Visalia, CA headquarters, has completed …
by Barry Cohen (National Algae Association/PR Log) The DoE has spent $2.5 billion on algae research but to date nothing has been commercialized. Why? Because their mission is to develop technologies. It’s not their problem or …
by Adam Wilmoth (News OK) OSU researcher Gerald Schoenknecht and his team recently completed genome sequencing for an algae that thrives inside active volcanoes. The researchers hope to use their findings to help make tough …
(Enerkem/PR NewsWire) Enerkem Inc. (www.enerkem.com), a waste-to-biofuels and renewable chemicals company, announces the launch of a new research project with the Government of Canada. The objective of the project is to develop new catalytic processes for …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … In an exclusive Digest interview, Shell’s VP for Alternative Energy, Matthew Tipper, reveals the company’s thinking about RFS2, their increasing re-focus on North America and the EU. Plus, Shell’s ambition …
by Yuca Waarts, Kor Zwart (LEI Wageningen UR) Recycling palm oil mill effluent, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and improving smallholder livelihoods are three important topics in debates on sustainable palm oil production. In Indonesia, Zebra Special Products …
(EurekAlert!) World’s cassava experts to wage war against cassava viruses; introduction into Nigeria, the largest cassava producer in the world, could result in drastic food shortages in this part of Africa
Cassava experts are reporting new …
by Heather Loney (Global News) The federal government is teaming up with two Canadian companies in a pilot project that would use algae to convert greenhouse gas emissions from the oilsands into biofuels.
The National Research …
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) During a call to discuss its first quarter financial results, Syntroleum Corp. announced that Dynamic Fuels LLC’s renewable diesel plant in Geismar, La., is expected to resume operations in July. …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Biofuels’s Montagues and Capulets were at it again last week — with a flurry of press releases about court decisions and commercial timelines regarding their respective isbutanol technologies.
At the heart …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) World’s #1 chemical company to produce renewable Butanediol using Genomatica’s process. The Digest has a one-on-one with Genomatica CEO Christophe Schilling to explore the deal in-depth.
In Germany, BASF announced that …
by Matthew Landau (Aquatic Biosystems) In 2010, Qatar University initiated an algal biofuel project funded by Qatar Airways, and Qatar Science and Technology Park with a 3-year budget of USD 12 million. Completion of the first …
(SB Wire/Eccotopia) Julian Moses, president of Symphony Trade and Investment 57 (Pty) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eccotopia Ltd.,http://www.eccotopia.com/, has announced that Eccotopia and Pacific Tree West are in the process of signing a …
by RP Siegel (Industry Market Trends Green & Clean Journal/ThomasNet.com) Four years ago, American LeMans kicked off its first green racing season. The program, which requires teams to use alternative fuels such as ethanol blends (E10 or …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Oil refiners have been waging a well-funded war on California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which requires oil companies to reduce the carbon pollution from gasoline and diesel by 10 percent …
(The Coordinating Research Council, Inc) This report documents and compares the results of detailed analyses of the physical and chemical properties of ten advanced alternative and renewable diesel fuels and four commercial ultra low sulfur …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …“Building on the first gallons of cellulosic diesel we shipped in March, we continue to make progress with operations at our Columbus facility,” said KiOR CEO Fred Cannon. “The on-stream …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Raises $80M at $10 per share; becomes first new industrial biotech company to complete IPO in more than a year. What went right and how? Is the IPO window re-opening?
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First …
by Jeff Dute (AL.com) Corporate America does not often invite the public into the research and development process of products that could potentially revolutionize how their vehicles are fueled, how plastics are made and even …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The sector’s perennial hottest company strikes again — with “potentially disruptive” new technology to change the positioning and performance of triglyceride oils.
In California, Solazyme and AkzoNobel announced an agreement targeting …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Gevo Inc. provided updated information on it Luverne, Minn., plant and patent dispute with Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC as part of its recent first quarter 2013 financial announcement.
During a …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Energy Information Administration has published updated data on alternative fuels and vehicles through 2011. The analysis addresses several alternative transportation fuels, including E85, hydrogen, electricity, natural gas …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The International Energy Agency Bioenergy Task 39 group recently published a report that outlines progress on more than 100 advanced biofuel projects under development worldwide. The report, titled “Status …
by Fritz Bush (The Journal) A Sibley East High School sophomore earned a spot at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ESEF) in Phoenix next month for his research on the use of anaerobic …
(Algae Industry Magazine) A Johns Hopkins University student team is working with a starter grant of $15,000 from the EPA to see if algae can consume nutrients from wastewater and produce clean bio-fuels and fish food. …
(American Chemical Society) Scientists today reported a discovery that could speed an emerging effort to replace ethanol in gasoline with a substantially better fuel additive called butanol, which some experts regard as “the gasoline of …
by Kathy Robertson (Sacramento Business Journal) Novozymes Inc. is staffing up to support a $2.5 million Department of Energy contract to find new and more efficient enzymes for turning corn leaves and stalks into fuel for …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The University of California-Davis Institute of Transportation Studies has published a new status review of the state’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS). The review is the second in a …
by Carlin Rosengarten (Fueling Growth) Nearly 30 years ago, Paul Woods invented the Direct to Ethanol technology that his company, Algenol Biofuels, utilizes today to produce ethanol from blue-green algae at its state-of-the-art commercial development campus …
(Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper) The Government of Canada is committed to investing in innovative clean energy technologies that create high-quality jobs, generate new economic opportunities and protect the environment.
To this end, on May …
(SEKAB) SEKAB E-Technology welcomes SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden’s (SP) engagement in the Biorefinery Demo Plant in Örnsköldsvik, previously known as the Ethanol Pilot. SP and SEKAB have signed an agreement, which ensures continued …
(North Dakota State University Extension/Farm & Ranch Guide) …At North Dakota State University, the feasibility of using new sugarbeet varieties, known as energy beets, for ethanol production is under study. Energy beets have characteristics very …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Norway, Norwegian Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen officially inaugurated the Borregaard biorefinery demonstration plant in Sarpsborg, which will produce green chemicals and sugars based on biomass from wood and agricultural …
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) As part of its ongoing review of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the House Energy & Commerce Committee recently asked stakeholders to comment on the impact of the RFS on the …
by Bill Scanlon (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Biofuels scientists are asking more complex questions about how molecules spin, bond, and break when enzymes attack plants — all in the name of quickening the process of …
(EnergyDigital) In the ethanol fuel market, the US takes the lead. Pilot and demonstration plants to commence in late 2013.
Ethanol is the most widely acclaimed alternative or additive for gasoline used for running vehicles, and …
by Chris Hanson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A study by Steffen Mueller, a researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago Energy Resources Center, and John Kwik, president of Dominion Energy Services LLC, surveyed ethanol producers …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) With a fresh investment from Brazil’s GranBio, American Process Inc. is poised to develop its first commercial-scale cellulosic biorefineries in both the U.S. and Brazil. API CEO Theodora …
(Algae Industry Magazine) The Japan News reports that in Miyagino Ward, Sendai, a project has started at a sewage treatment facility to extract a biofuel ingredient from wastewater using algae. This first of its kind …
by Matthew L. Wald (The New York Times) Faced with a crop of lemons — too much ethanol, a population of cars not tuned to burn it effectively and a driving public leery of the …
by Russ White (MLive) … Michigan State University leads research of bioenergies and biofuels through AgBioResearch and the Kellogg Biological Station and partnerships with coalitions such as the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and the Global …
by Ann Perry (US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service) A new strain of yeast that could help streamline cellulosic ethanol costs and production has been developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers. This …
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Enzymes could break down cell walls faster – leading to less expensive biofuels for transportation – if two enzyme systems are brought together in an industrial setting, new research …
by Kim McDonald (University of California at San Diego) New discoveries of the way plants transport important substances across their biological membranes to resist toxic metals and pests, increase salt and drought tolerance, control water loss …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Who’s behind the 8-ball, the algae optimists or pessimists? It all comes down to the pace of innovation in 8 cores.
… In a recent survey of its members, the Algae Biomass …
by Tim Radford (The Daily Climate) Charcoal and other forms of black carbon do not, as previously thought, stay where they are buried. They migrate to the oceans and recirculate the carbon they contain.
Climate scientists …
(National Public Radio/Associated Press) The Environmental Protection Agency has dramatically lowered its estimate of how much of a potent heat-trapping gas leaks during natural gas production, in a shift with major implications for a debate …
(Metso) Domtar has successfully started up a commercial-scale LignoBoost™ lignin separation plant at its Plymouth, North Carolina mill, in the USA. This is the first commercial installation of a LignoBoost plant in the world and the …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Promiscuous, because a zillion organisms know how to use photosynthesis, under a zillion set of circumstances, to turn simple and abundant molecular compounds — like carbon dioxide and water — …
by Min Zhang and Randy Schekman (Science Magazine) Most eukaryotic secretory proteins are directed into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by an amino-terminal signal peptide (leader sequence) and progress to the cell surface through vesicular flow via …
(Los Alamos National Laboratory/Biodiesel Magazine) …Los Alamos scientists and collaborators from The University of Guelph in Canada published an article in the scientific journal Nature Chemistry this week that could offer a big step on the path …
(Algae Industry Magazine) Nutrients PLUS (NP), a company headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Old Dominion University (ODU), in Norfolk, Virginia, have applied for a patent on recent discoveries they’ve made related to the use …
(American Chemical Society) The search for a less-expensive, sustainable source of biomass, or plant material, for producing gasoline, diesel and jet fuel has led scientists to duckweed, that fast-growing floating plant that turns ponds and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Produces Drop-In Jet Fuel from 100% Renewable Plant Sugars
In Wisconsin, Virent announced the delivery of 100 gallons of its bio-based jet fuel to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …The stock has not recovered much — but it’s remarkable the progress the company has made, all the same. Analysts are now expecting the company to bring its first production …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) A new study indicates that ethanol production is continuing to reduce its energy and environmental footprint.
The study, entitled “2012 Corn Ethanol: Emerging Plant Energy and Environmental Technologies”, found that recent innovations in …
(Fresh Plaza) Bananas in poor condition could become a type of biofuel thanks to a study by the Canary Islands Technological Institute (ITC) with the support of the DISA Foundation.
Douglas Escalante (an intern of the …
(PorkNetwork) Iowa State University is conducting a nationwide survey of livestock producers’ use of feed-related coproducts from ethanol production. … Livestock producers are invited to take the survey online until June 19 at: http://humansciences.ethanolcoproducts.sgizmo.com/s3/ READ MORE and MORE (Ethanol …
by Andrew Noel (Bloomberg) Clariant AG (CLN) said it’s prepared to take on a partner and help fund a second-generation bioethanol plant to prove the effectiveness of its biotechnology and compete against Royal DSM NV …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Energy cane for California’s Imperial Valley? Canergy lines up Beta, CHS, Certis as partners for greenfield low-carbon fuel project slated for 2016 opening.
In California, Canergy announced that it has selected …
by Ben Messenger (Waste Management World) A method of using oxygen to convert lignin, a byproduct of biofuel production, into a form that could replace fossil fuels as a source of renewable chemical feedstocks has …
by Joao Peixe (OilPrice.com) China Eastern Airlines has just announced that it will begin operating commercial flights which run on 100% biofuel, having completed a successful trial of the renewable aviation fuel on Wednesday.
After an 85 …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …It used to be that the outskirts of Honolulu had the dual scent of diesel and pineapple processing — but now, all you really smell is the diesel. Sugarcane and …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Advanced Biofuels Corp. has bought a legacy 7 MMgy ethanol plant in Moses Lake, Wash., with plans to retrofit existing systems and install new pretreatment process equipment, converting …
(US Department of Energy) The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory have released a joint study on biochemical biorefinery sizing. “Investigation of biochemical biorefinery sizing and …
(The Wall Street Journal/Dyadic) …We are using that technology to produce enzymes for converting biomass into cellulosic sugars to produce second-generation fuels and chemicals, like ethanol, butanol, succinic acid, lactic acid, etc. We are also …
by Alisa Priddle (Detroit Free Press) An expansion of Hyundai’s eight-year-old technical center in Superior Township, east of Ann Arbor, will require 50 new jobs and enable more vehicle emission testing.
…The new testing chambers can …
(Brookhaven National Laboratory) Promising results are a step toward a range of renewable energy strategies fueled by Nature
In a paper to be published in an upcoming issue of Energy & Environmental Science (now available online), …
UPM, VTT and VV-Auto Group will start fleet tests of renewable domestic diesel. Biofuel will be produced by UPM, fleet tests will be coordinated by VTT and cars will be supplied by VV-Auto Group. Fleet …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Though there are exceptions among the archipelagoes with access to offshore oil assets — Indonesia comes to mind— but these are, in the main, exceptions to what might be described …
(Algae Industry Magazine) One of the major roadblocks to mass-producing algae for biofuels, observes researchers at the University of Michigan College of Engineering, is the need for fertilizer. Although algae have trouble reusing the nitrogen …
By Paul Brown (Climate News Network/ClimateCentral.org) Fossil fuel subsidies provided by both rich and poor countries to keep their citizens happy are holding back the world economy, accelerating climate change and damaging the health of …
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) On April 23 Joule Unlimited announced it was selected as a 2013 Bloomberg New Energy Pioneer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The award aims to recognize game-changing clean energy companies. …
by Brock Vergakis (Associated Press/The Washington Post) NASA researchers said Thursday that test flights conducted in California have shown a commercial jet could fly safely with a blend of jet fuel that includes a plant oil.
Scientists …
by H. Damon Matthews, Susan Solomon (Science Magazine) Understanding how decreases in CO2 emissions would affect global temperatures has been hampered in recent years by confusion regarding issues of committed warming and irreversibility. The notion that there will …
