Articles in R & D Focus
by Ariel Schwartz (FastCompany) Hemp, soy, mustard, sunflower and palm oil can all be used to make biofuels, so why not elephant dung and World War Two-era fungus? Copenhagen-based Danisco A/S is using the fungus, …
by Robert Ndong, Mireille Montrejaud-Vignoles, Oliver Saint Girons, Benoit Gabrielle, Roland Pirot, marjorie Domergue and Caroline Sablayrolles (Global Change Biology Bioenergy) In recent years, liquid biofuels for transport have benefited from significant political support due to …
by Jonathan Watts (The Guardian) Chinese firm behind ambitious plan to breed microalgae in greenhouse with the potential to absorb carbon emissions
…Developed by a groundbreaking Chinese firm, ENN, the greenhouse is a bioreactor that breeds …
by Jason Szep (Reuters) From the outside, the rustic red-brick mill on a bend in Maine’s Penobscot River resembles any other struggling American pulp and paper mill. But along with its usual business of pulp-making, the …
Amyris Brasil Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, Ltda., a wholly owned subsidiary of Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., today announced the opening of the Amyris Renewable Products Demonstration Facility in Campinas. The facility, located in the midst of the …
by Rudy A. Fernandez, Checkbiotech Rural households can increase their income by growing jatropha. Attesting to this is a study done by the University of the Philippines Los Baños-College of Forestry and Natural Resources …
Pacific Bio-Fields Holdings Plc said it has received approval to use 400,000 hectares of land to plant coconut trees in the Philippines to make alternative auto fuel, which it aims to sell to Japanese users …
The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Buckeye Technologies Inc. and Myriant Technologies LLC (formed by BioEnergy International, LLC) have announced plans for a research and demonstration plant that will explore ways …
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is issuing this RFI to solicit feedback on the Draft “National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap” Document. This Draft Roadmap was prepared by a working group commissioned by DOE. Feedback …
Jatropha has been labeled the most likely crop for future biofuels. However, it suffers from low seed yield and high plant growth. A comprehensive series of trials has been conducted in Indonesia using AuStar’s paclobutrazol to …
At the Paris Air Show, Boeing and a series of partners involved in four biofuels-based test flights released the data from the tests, and said that with the release they are on a path towards …
Green Gold Ray Energies, Inc., aims to double its jatropha crude oil output by 2011 through continuous increase yields of jatropha feedstocks, while the company increases its jatropha plantations. The jatropha plantations are expanding from …
Biofuels Manufacturers of Illinois believes that Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) has the potential to go from “weed to wonder-fuel”. The company is working with farmers, university and government researchers to transform Pennycress into an advanced energy …
Instead of bringing sufficient supplies of biomass to processing facilities, Atlantic Biomass Conversions, Inc., proposes taking decentralized enzymatic conversion units to the crops. Following the model of wheat harvesting combines that follow the harvest season, …
EdeniQ, a California-based technology company serving the global biofuels industry, announced that it has begun a multi-year, field-to-fuel trial to evaluate low-carbon, non-food energy crops, like switchgrass, in California’s Central Valley. The company’s pilot-scale field …
Emerging Markets has released Algae 2020 a 460-page study on algae biofuels markets, strategies and the commercialization outlook. The Algae 2020 study observes algal biomass can produce multiple fuels from a single feedstock, including biodiesel …
Biofuels Digest published a special report on algae biofuels and CO2 sources, including an analysis of power plant fuel gas.
“In the world of biofuels, algae is under the spotlight” writes Biofuels Digest special correspondent Sam …
Biofuels Digest summarizes conversations from its LinkedIn Group about development of Chilean coastal algae and biodiesel developments in other South American countries. READ MORE
An engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract worth around US$ 60 million for building a bio-ethanol plant was signed between the Petrolchemical and Bio Fuel Joint Stock Company (PVB) under the National Oil and Gas …
Agragen, a leader in using biotechnology to modify Camelina sativa to increase agronomically desirable traits, announces the acquisition of intellectual property rights that will increase oil content in the second generation oilseed crop. Through an …
Metso and UPM have developed a new concept for the production of biomass-based bio-oil to replace fossil fuels in heating and power generation. Test production will begin at Metso’s test plant in Tampere, Finland, in …
by Lisa Gibson, Biomass Magazine. Brazil could produce 4.6 billion to 8.2 billion liters (1.2 billion to 2.2 billion gallons) of biofuel from sugarcane residue by 2020, in addition to that made from sugar itself, …
“Novozymes’ latest products for second-generation ethanol production are much better than anything previously seen on the market,” says Cynthia Bryant, Global Marketing Manager, Biomass industry at Novozymes. “While this in itself is a giant leap …
ATI Petroleum, a petroleum exploration management and operations company, announced that the US Department of Commerce awarded the first patent on bioreactor technology to ATI Petroleum. The bioreactor technology was created through a collaborative effort with …
Lignol Energy Corporation a cellulosic ethanol and biorefining company, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Lignol Innovations Ltd., has been awarded $3.4 million in funding to produce cellulosic ethanol and other biochemical products from under-utilized forest …
Lignol Energy Corporation, a cellulosic ethanol and biorefining company, announced it has completed the first end-to-end production of cellulosic ethanol from its fully integrated industrial-scale biorefinery pilot plant in Burnaby, British Columbia.
This production of cellulosic ethanol …
The government is not serious in supporting the development of biofuel as an alternative energy source in the country, a biofuel researcher said. “There is no point in developing biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel …
by Mike Levine. A radical twin-fuel engine from Ford, code-named “Bobcat,” that variably blends gasoline and ethanol on demand to realize diesel-like performance continues to make steady progress in its development, according to presentations made …
by Bas Vlugt. ‘The Sustainer is a containerised installation which can be used in rural areas to convert oil-bearing crops and seeds into edible oil and biodiesel. The seeds are stored in an integrated bunker …
In California, SG Biofuels announced that it has identified multiple strains of cold tolerant Jatropha capable of thriving in climates outside the crop’s traditional subtropical habitat. The strains are included among thousands of variations of …
by Ron Kotrba. A group of Spanish developers working under the company name Ecofasa, headed by chief executive officer and inventor Francisco Angulo, has developed a biochemical process to turn urban solid waste into a …
by Susan Wilson. Algae has been cultivated primarily as a source of biofuel, but Renewed World Energies (RWE) is taking it one step further. The company wants to clean up power plant and industrial plant …
by Susanne Retka Schill. Western Biofuels Inc. released the results of an independent validation test and announced plans to build a 1.4 MMgy demonstration plant for a new biofuel process. Fuel chemist Nicholas Irving, president …
Industrial-scale production of bioenergy from algae, or seaweeds, can be expected in 10 to 15 years, helping Europe to reach its green energy targets, the top official at a newly created bioenergy body said on …
Gold Star Biofuels a subsidiary of Gold Star Farms Ltd., is cultivating five million acres of land in Ghana to plant jatropha for the production of biofuels for export. According to the firm it has …
Ghana is becoming the Jatropha centre in Africa south of the Sahara. The attraction which the country has as a welcoming place for investors interested in the wonder plant, Jatropha which hopefully, would be the …
As part of an effort to develop a new collection of alternative fuels, ecologist Julie Jastrow and her colleagues from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago planted …
Every spring, the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Biomass Program hosts a FREE 2-day conference and expo exploring biomass as an energy source. The Biomass Program works with industry, …
SCIENTISTS in Wales are working on a ground-breaking £1m scheme to turn grass into fuel. The Assembly Government- backed “grassohol” project aims to develop a commercially viable way to make ethanol which is used as …
Velocys, Inc. (“Velocys”), has been awarded a $5 million commercialisation grant, applicable over a period of two and a half years. The grant will assist in commercialising the Oxford Catalysts Group’s microchannel technology for hydro-processing …
Biofuels Digest reports that in Ethiopia, Ardent Energy Group announced an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MOARD) of Ethiopia to transfer 15,000 hectares, approximately 37,000 acres, to AEG for the purpose …
by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The newly funded Center for Lignocellulose Structure and Formation at Pennsylvania State University will be home to investigations into plant cells to produce better biomass-based fuels. The U.S. DOE …
The intersection of Jackson Avenue and North Johnson Street looks like many in Central City. There are vacant lots overgrown with vegetation and strewn with debris alongside boarded-up, decaying houses optimistically donning “for sale” signs. …
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Fuels is developing biofuels that can be used to power both the mothership Eve that will launch the spacecraft from the stratosphere, while the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft will itself be designed to …
The Farm to Fuel® Summit has established itself as the major gathering place where stakeholders assemble each year to help advance the development of Forida’s bioenergy industry. In July 2009, leaders from the agricultural, government, …
Corn cobs are both economical and environmentally friendly as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol, university and government reports indicate, reaffirming POET’s strategy for commercializing its new technology. Removing corn cobs from fields for use in …
Waste Management, Inc. and InEnTec LLC announced the formation of S4 Energy Solutions LLC, a joint venture to develop, operate and market plasma gasification facilities using InEnTec’s Plasma Enhanced Melter (PEM™) technology. The joint venture …
With their sweet, refreshing juices and succulent interior, watermelons are a favorite summertime treat, especially around July 4th. But now this Independence Day favorite could become even more of a patriotic commodity. Agricultural Research Service …
Some researchers hope to turn plants into a renewable, nonpolluting replacement for crude oil. To achieve this, scientists have to learn how to convert plant biomass into a building block for plastics and fuels cheaply …
U.S. Freedom Bio Fuels, LLC, manufacturer of Biodiesel production equipment for the commercial end user, has developed a processor for converting animal fat to fuel. There BD65AF processor will produce 200 gallons of fuel per …
