R & D Focus – Advanced BioFuels USA

Prehistoric Microbes Valorize Carbon Dioxide under High Pressure to ‘Green Gas’

(Krajete GmbH/TechXplore) A completely new kind of bioreactor for the biological production of methane has enabled the use of extremely high pressure levels for the first time—and set new efficiency standards for the conversion of CO2 and H2 into methane. This significant improvement compared with conventional bioreactors is down to billions of

January 27, 2020 Read Full Article

DOE Project at U of I Will Measure Bioenergy Crop Carbon Emissions

(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment) The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $3.3 million grant to a multidisciplinary research team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to develop a precise system for measuring greenhouse gas emissions from commercial bioenergy crops grown in central

January 27, 2020 Read Full Article

The New Carbon Economy: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Waste Carbon Utilization and Management

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Electrification and batteries can’t remove the need for carbon,and a more sustainable economy is not a low-carbon economy as much as it will be a renewable carbon based economy, according to Ian Rowe, Technology Manager at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office. Check out

January 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Turning CO2 into Fuel

by Andrew Myers (American Energy Society) … Recycling CO2 emissions themselves as researchers at Stanford University are doing has shown some promising results. They are turning carbon dioxide from car exhaust pipes and other sources into fuels like natural gas and propane. Several recent studies have shown some success in

January 27, 2020 Read Full Article

JKUAT Alumni and Innovator Turns Water Hyacinth into Biofuel

by Patrick Amunavi (farmers.co.ke) Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology alumni, and Innovator, Erick Gathirwa Kariuki, has developed a biofuel innovation by harnessing the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) into a bioethanol product that can be used as cooking fuel in households. Erick Kariuki, who graduated in from JKUAT with a Bachelor

January 24, 2020 Read Full Article

How Plastic Can Fit in a Circular Carbon Economy: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Recycling and Upcycling Plastics

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) We’ve seen the staggering numbers, 78 million tons of annual plastics production, 98% virgin feedstock, and only 14% gets collected for recycling. So what do we do about it? Jay Fitzgerald from the Bioenergy technologies Office (BETO) office gave this engaging presentation that will get

January 24, 2020 Read Full Article

Flying High on Biobased Waste Oils: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to SkyNRG’s SAF

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) SkyNRG recently announced the first dedicated European SAF production unit, but how do we accelerate market growth for sustainable aviation fuel? That’s a question SkyNRG is tackling by talking about challenges with scaling up and how to meet those challenges head on. Check out Misha Valk,

January 24, 2020 Read Full Article

Capture Carbon Dioxide to Reduce Climate Change

by John R. Snyder (Post Register) … That is, to reverse climate change, carbon dioxide currently in the atmosphere must be removed and new emissions of CO2 must stop. … Carbon dioxide from coal and industrial plant emissions and the atmosphere can be captured, stored and recycled into most of the

January 23, 2020 Read Full Article

WPI Professor Expands Green Energy Research with $2M DOE Grant — Chemical Engineer Works to Turn Yard Waste and Food Waste into Biofuel

by Sharon Gaudin (Worcester Polytech Institute) Chemical engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are broadening attempts to convert waste into environmentally friendly biofuels, lowering reliance on fossil fuels, cutting the amount of municipal waste going into landfills, and reducing water pollution and unhealthy emissions from petroleum products and landfills. Michael Timko, associate

January 23, 2020 Read Full Article

Shell Uses Plastic Waste to Produce Resin Feedstocks

by Stephen Moore (Plastics Today) Shell says that it has successfully made “high-end” chemicals using a liquid feedstock made from plastic waste using a pyrolysis process that is considered a breakthrough for hard-to-recycle plastics. The initiative advances Shell’s ambition to use one million tonnes of plastic waste a year in its

January 23, 2020 Read Full Article

Dept. of Energy’s View on Transportation and National Energy: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Sustainable Transportation

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) With 3 trillion vehicle miles in the U.S. and 11 billion freight tons, transportation is key to our way of life, and the Department of Energy realizes it hits our national energy usage in many ways. That’s why they are researching it all levels from components

January 23, 2020 Read Full Article

Living Robots, Fungus Homes, Biobased Aquaculture Ropes, Biopolymer Food Films, and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of January 23rd

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It was a week of lots of deal-making, like edible straw startup Loliware’s raising of $5.9 million to scale production, and deal-breaking, like Itaconix and Nouryon’s break-up over biobased chelating agents for detergent applications. But it was also a week of innovating like the development of

January 23, 2020 Read Full Article

Military Researching Ways to Suck Carbon From Air to Make Fuel

by Bobby Magill (Bloomberg) Military could use carbon captured from the air and sea water to make fuel; Pentagon involvement could speed up commercialization of technology — Technology that would suck carbon dioxide from the air and ocean water could be more quickly scaled up to address climate change now that

January 22, 2020 Read Full Article

NEDGIA Promotes Certificates of Origin for Renewable Gas in Spain

(NGV Journal) NEDGIA, the gas distributor of the Naturgy group, participates as a partner, representing Spain, in the REGATRACE (Renewable Gas Trade Center in Europe) European Consortium. This initiative, in which 15 organizations from ten European countries participate and which is co-financed by the European Commission within the Horizon 2020 Research

January 22, 2020 Read Full Article

EU Invests €11M in Nouryon-Led Green Hydrogen Project in the Netherlands

by Jim Lane (Hydrogen Digest) A consortium comprising Nouryon, Gasunie and four other partners will receive an €11-million European grant towards their proposed green hydrogen project in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The project is a front-runner among several hydrogen initiatives aimed at cutting carbon emissions and will be a significant milestone in

January 22, 2020 Read Full Article

Novel Protein Positioning Technique Improves Functionality of Yeast Cells -Expected Improvements in Cell Surface Engineering across a Variety of Fields-

(Kobe University) A research team at Kobe University has developed a method of artificially controlling the anchorage position of target proteins in engineered baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The group, consisting of academic researcher INOKUMA Kentaro, Professor HASUNUMA Tomohisa (both of the Engineering Biology Research Center) and Professor KONDO Akihiko et

January 22, 2020 Read Full Article

Cellulosic Mixotrophy: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Novel Platform for Algal Biomass

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) There’s a lot of flat, dry land in the U.S. but researchers at Arizona State University and others are looking at how that land could support biofuel production. How about evaporation-resistant reactors coupled with thermotolerant, high-productivity mixotrophic algae? Check out this Slide-Guide from P.I. Peter Lammers

January 22, 2020 Read Full Article

Fueling the Future: Diesel Fleets Will Continue to Thrive with Biodiesel

(National Biodiesel Board) Attendees hear from industry leaders representing the Fuels Institute, the National Truck Equipment Association, and major OEMs — Attendees at the National Biodiesel Conference and Expo received an enlightening glimpse into the future as industry leaders from the Fuels Institute, the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA), and major

January 22, 2020 Read Full Article

New Study Finds ‘Insignificant’ Link between US Biofuel Policy and Deforestation in Southeast Asia

(Biofuels International) A new study carried out by economic modelling experts from Purdue University in the US has found the impacts of US biofuel policy on deforestation in Malaysia and Indonesia to be insignificant. The study, titled ‘US Biofuel Production and Policy Implications for Land Use Changes in Malaysia and

January 21, 2020 Read Full Article

UNT Scientist Unlocking the Secrets of Plant Energy

(University of North Texas) Kent Chapman, a University of North Texas Regents Professor and director of the UNT BioDiscovery Institute, is questioning decades-old assumptions in plant biochemistry to find better ways of storing and using lipids, the energy molecules found in all plants. “Biofuels are the future and lipids are the key,” said Chapman.

January 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Walking the Fine Line: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Maximizing Anaerobic Digester Output

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Everyone wants to lower their risk. But how do you do that? Just ask John Forcier from Forcier Consulting Engineers and an Associate at Lee Consulting, who gave this illuminating presentation at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco. He shared how manures and WWT sludge have

January 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Smile! It’s PhotoSeed! Traited Genetics that Improve Photosynthesis and Seeds: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Maximizing Anaerobic Digester Output

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Imagine technology that is applicable across several crops that can enhance yield and improve seed composition including soybean and canola. No need to imagine as ZeaKal shared at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco with this illuminating presentation on their PhotoSeed technology and the latest results

January 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Cannabinoid, Meet Biochem – Lygos Acquires Librede to Scale up and Commercialize Cannabinoid Production

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … In California comes the hot news that Lygos, who you may know for their sugar converting advanced biotech platform, has acquired Librede, Inc., an emerging synthetic biology company focused on cannabinoid products for the consumer market. Say what? A specialty chemicals company acquiring a

January 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Genetic Modification of Poplar Trees Saves Air Quality

(National Science Foundation) Some trees, such as poplars, emit gases that worsen air pollution and alter climate. Poplar trees are sources of biofuels and other products, including paper and plywood. — Poplar trees are widely used in commercial products, but, like several other tree species, they emit gases to the atmosphere

January 17, 2020 Read Full Article

Negative B20 Effects Foreshadow B30 Problems: Bus Operators

(Jakarta Post) Bus operators have complained that 20 percent blended biodiesel (B20) has caused their engines to run poorly, providing a cautionary message for future developments as Indonesia envisions a future with unblended pure biodiesel to fuel vehicles across the country. Young Indonesian Autobus Entrepreneurs Association (IPOMI) head Kurnia Lesani Adnan told tempo.co that

January 17, 2020 Read Full Article

A Simplified Way to Turn Food Waste into Hydrogen Energy

(Purdue University) … Purdue scientists developed a method to improve the production of hydrogen from food waste using yeast. Until now, the production of hydrogen for use as clean fuel has largely been through bacterial degradation of food waste, which can lead to slow production rates and complex pre-processing of the

January 16, 2020 Read Full Article

Waste2Tricity Awarded Grant for Pioneering Waste Plastic to Hydrogen Technology

Waste2Tricity, the UK technology company developing pioneering hydrogen production from waste plastic, has been offered a conditional £1.25m grant for its planned Plastics to Hydrogen Facility at Protos, near Ellesmere Port. The grant award follows a successful application to the £4.1m Energy Fund competition, run by Cheshire and Warrington Local

January 16, 2020 Read Full Article

Who’s the Mystery Date? Green Hydrogen for Renewable Diesel’s Stealthy Project

by Jim Lane (Hydrogen Digest) From Planet Houston we’ve heard that ENGlobal inked a $20 million to supply process modules that will be used to construct a complete hydrogen production facility. The plant will be a major component of an otherwise unidentified renewable diesel facility with an expected maximum production of

January 16, 2020 Read Full Article

FastOx Commercialization: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Sierra Energy’s Gasification Tech

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The U.S. Army has a FHL installation and there is an FTL demo, but did you know Sierra Energy has an online gasification calculator tool that you can use too? Check out this Slide-Guide from Sierra Energy’s VP of Engineering, Daniel Dodd where he shares

January 16, 2020 Read Full Article

Salmon Waste to Power Jet Airliners

by Vince McDonagh (Fish Farmer) Waste from salmon farms in Norway may soon be used to power jet airliners – including those carrying seafood to Asia. — Millions of kroner is being invested in the large Biokraft biofuel plant near the town of Skogn in Central Norway to produce ‘green’ gasoline

January 15, 2020 Read Full Article

SUN-to-LIQUID – Renewable Transportation Fuels from Solar Energy

(SUN-to-LIQUID) The SUN-to-LIQUID project develops an alternative fuel technology that promises unlimited renewable transportation fuel supply from water, CO2 and concentrated sunlight. The project, which is funded by the EU and Switzerland, can have important implications for the transportation sectors, especially for the long-haul aviation and shipping sectors, which are strongly dependent

January 15, 2020 Read Full Article

Microorganisms Fed with Toxic Gas to Produce Biofuel

(University of Borås/Phys.Org) Today, various processes are used to convert organic waste into biogas. By combining two different processes, it is possible to obtain even more of valuable substances such as hydrogen and methane. The key is to make the most of the microorganisms that do the work. Forest waste containing

January 14, 2020 Read Full Article

The Science Is Clear on Renewable Wood Energy

by Brian Rogers (Future Forests + Jobs/Biomass Magazine) … And over the past year, the facts have been piling up in favor of bioenergy, as international authorities and university scientists settle the debate once and for all: Renewable wood biomass energy is a key part of solving climate change. The

January 14, 2020 Read Full Article

How to Make It Easier to Turn Plant Waste into Biofuels

by Todd Bates (Rutgers University/Phys.Org) Researchers have developed a new process that could make it much cheaper to produce biofuels such as ethanol from plant waste and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Their approach, featuring an ammonia-salt based solvent that rapidly turns plant fibers into sugars needed to make ethanol, works

January 14, 2020 Read Full Article

Union Drives Forward on Fuel Issues: NFUS Presses Politicians to Find Solution to Biofuel Problems

by Bob Carruth (National Farmers Union Scotland) NFU Scotland is pursuing high level solutions to the machinery problems many Scottish and UK farmers have been experiencing linked to the biofuel content in fuel. Fuel is a reserved issue and the Union is therefore seeking support from both the Scottish and

January 14, 2020 Read Full Article

From Woody Biomass to Renewable Fuels: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Red Rock Biofuels’ Lakeview Project

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Red Rock’s Lakeview site broke ground in July 2018 but what’s the status now? Just ask Red Rock’s Jeff Manternach, Co-founder and CFO, who gave this illuminating presentation at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco. He shared the latest photos and details on their Lakeview site

January 13, 2020 Read Full Article

White Paper – Solutions for More Sustainable Transportation, Fuels and Chemicals

(Axens/BioMarket Insights) The chemicals and transportation fuel sectors are facing multiple challenges: reducing their dependence on petroleum resources with cost competitive solutions and addressing today’s environmental concerns – sustainability and lower greenhouse gas emissions. But as the bioeconomy grows, we are seeing more of these barriers to growth fall away.

January 10, 2020 Read Full Article

Indonesia Plans B40 Biodiesel Road Tests in April

by Bernadette Christina Munthe, Wilda Asmarini (Reuters) Indonesia’s energy ministry plans to start road tests for a biodiesel programme with 40% bio-content (B40) in April, a government official said on Thursday. Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, last year had increased the mandatory bio-content of its biodiesel programme to 30%, known

January 10, 2020 Read Full Article

Next Generation Biofuels for Sustainable Transportation

(The Engineer/Specialized Imaging) Specialised Imaging reports that the Institute of Heat and Mass Transfer at RWTH Aachen University (Germany) has invested in a Kirana Ultra High-Speed camera to undertake fluid-mechanical fundamental research underpinning development of bio-hybrid fuels for the next generation of sustainable transportation. Groundbreaking research at the University of Aachen Fuel Science

January 10, 2020 Read Full Article

Could GMOs Help Create Sustainable Food Systems?

by Katherine Baker (Planet Forward/Cornell University) … Surprisingly, there is no true precise or universal scientific definition of the phrase “GMO,” nor is there any regulation around its use for labeling in the United States, which may contribute to the large amount of public confusion surrounding the topic. Says Ronald:

January 10, 2020 Read Full Article

Corrosion Calamities: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Corrosion Resistant Materials for Bio-Oil

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Biomass liquefaction technology and bio-oil storage has enough challenges to deal with so being able to identify corrosion-resistant, cost-effective structural materials so that materials issues isn’t one of those challenges, can come a long way to help successful commercialization. Jim Keiser and his team from Oak

January 10, 2020 Read Full Article

California Has Big Clean Energy Ambitions, and Is Looking for Better Energy Storage to Realize Them DEADLINE February 4, 2020

by Kavya Balaraman (Utility Dive) The California Energy Commission (CEC) is putting up to $11 million on the table for developers of energy storage technologies other than lithium-ion batteries, according to a solicitation launched last month. The agency is looking for one group of projects based on emerging customer-side storage

January 9, 2020 Read Full Article

Decoupled Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting System for Centralized Hydrogen Production

by Avigail Landman, Rawan Halabi, Paula Dias, Hen Dotan, Alex Mehlmann, Gennady E. Shter, Manar Halabi, Omayer Naseraldeen, Adélio Mendes, Gideon S. Grader and Avner Rothschild (Joule) H 2 collection from distributed cells presents a critical challenge for PEC water splitting; Decoupled water splitting in separate O 2 and H

January 9, 2020 Read Full Article

From a By-Product of the Biodiesel Industry to Sustainable Production of a Valuable Chemical

(Tokyo Institute of Technology/Phys.Org) … However, biodiesel synthesis produces excessive amounts of glycerol (C3H8O3); it is estimated than the biodiesel industry in Europe alone produces a surplus of 1.4 million tons of glycerol, which cannot be sold to other industries. If glycerol could be used as a raw material to obtain more

January 9, 2020 Read Full Article

Licella and BioLogiQ Join Forces to Accelerate Commercialisation of Cat-HTR™ Technology in Australia

(Licella) Licella and BioLogiQ join forces to accelerate commercialisation of Cat-HTR™ technology in Australia, to chemically recycle post-consumption plastic that would otherwise not be recycled. — Australia consumes 3.4 million tonnes of plastic each year, of which only 9% is recycled1. Licella Holdings Ltd (“Licella”), global technology pioneer, is delighted to

January 9, 2020 Read Full Article

Dimethyl Ether – Zero Emissions, Carbon Neutrality?: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Oberon Fuels’ Renewable DME

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Dimethyl Ether – We know DME well, but do you know all of its advantages or about fuel-grade DME in North America? Did you know about Oberon Fuels’ small-scale DME production process and the latest on their pilot DME facility in Southern California? About Propane/DME

January 9, 2020 Read Full Article

Making Biodiesel Profitable Without Tax Credits?

by Etienne Sturm (Air Liquide/Biodiesel Magazine) Many U.S. biodiesel producers have faced financial challenges due to absence of the blenders tax credit, but a novel process can be retrofitted into existing facilities and improve economics by up to $1.30 a gallon. — Until recently, there have been four families of biofuels

January 9, 2020 Read Full Article

Coming Full Circle

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Celebrating 25 years, the Hawaii-based company that has built biodiesel plants across the U.S. and Japan has gone back to its roots, focusing on sustainability and local energy independence for the archipelago. … Once a process technology-focused company that built 13 plants in Hawaii, Japan,

January 9, 2020 Read Full Article

Innovations in Biodiesel Technology

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) New biodiesel process technologies continue to emerge, promising optimization of production through greater efficiencies and lower costs. — Crown Iron Works: … The global Minnesota-based firm has built 50 biodiesel plants around the world. Like any good engineering company, Crown continues to refine its biodiesel

January 8, 2020 Read Full Article

A Greener, Simpler Way to Create Syngas

by Matthew Chin (University of California, Los Angeles) UCLA, Rice and UC Santa Barbara researchers develop new method to produce vital industrial gas — Researchers from UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, Rice University and UC Santa Barbara have developed an easier and greener way to create syngas. A study detailing their work is published

January 8, 2020 Read Full Article

Biofuels Take up Little Space

(Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP)) Although the share of the area for biofuels production increased by 1 percentage point in 2018, it is still very small. Cultivated plants such as cereals, oilseeds, protein, sugar and fiber plants, fruit, vegetables, nuts, etc. are grown on 1.56 billion hectares

January 8, 2020 Read Full Article

Australian Tyre Recycler Signs Deal for First US Plant

(Green Distillation Technologies) Australian tyre recycler Green Distillation Technologies, which has developed world-first technology that recycles end-of-life tyres into oil, carbon and steel, has signed a deal to build their first plant in the United States, The agreement provides funding of up to US$100 million for the roll out of additional plants

January 8, 2020 Read Full Article

10 Reasons Why Algae Are Interesting: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Non-Isocyanate Polyurethanes for Carbon Capture Reuse and Sequestration

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Algae is a wondrous thing…and here are 10 reasons why. But that’s not all! What about polyurethanes? Fully renewable polyurethanes from unsaturated lipids and protein-derived amine cross linkers? Check out this Slide-Guide from NREL’s Philip Pienkos presentation at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco where he shares

January 8, 2020 Read Full Article

The Work Ahead

by Vijay Swarup (LinkedIn/ExxonMobil) … That further work means continued technology innovation. We have to keep finding and inventing solutions to the myriad of individual problems posed by the dual challenge. These different efforts – both within and outside of our own research labs – are all essential to moving

January 7, 2020 Read Full Article

Corn and Ethanol Markets: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Farmer Efforts to Drive the Renewable Economy

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The National Corn Growers Association is working hard to increase demand, improve productivity and environmental sustainability and more, but how are they doing this? How do their programs help drive the bioeconomy? What misinformation are they still dealing with regarding corn? Why do they think

January 7, 2020 Read Full Article

Cracking the Code of Bacteria: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to MicroByre’s Engineered Bacteria

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) “Working with only E.coli is like feeding dogs grass to make milk,” said Dr. Sarah Richardson during this presentation given at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco. With a background in genomes, she shared insight into why bioengineers have not domesticated more bacteria, how MicroByre combines

January 7, 2020 Read Full Article

Florida Is Fueled with Biodiesel

(National Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine) Florida Power & Light Co. embraces environmental stewardship as a core value and has used biodiesel fuel regularly for nearly 20 years—one vital component of its corporate responsibility strategy. The utility is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, the world’s largest producer of renewable power from wind

January 6, 2020 Read Full Article

Pioneering a Path to Cleaner Fuels and Fewer Emissions

by Matthew Menzies (University of Alberta) Unconventional greenhouse gas reduction research brings biology and chemistry together in engineering — … UAlberta engineering PhD candidate Fatemeh Bakhtiari Ziabari is investigating ways to eliminate atmospheric methane on an industrial scale while producing sustainable biofuels and biopolymers. To do so, she’s using microscopic bacteria

January 6, 2020 Read Full Article

Hydrogen Research Fuels New Solar Ideas for Green Energy

(Curtin University) New research led by Curtin University explores the use of methanol as a storage for hydrogen fuel, providing a potential green option for the extraction and creation of this zero pollution energy source. — Lead researcher ARC DECRA Fellow Dr Guohua Jia, from Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life

January 6, 2020 Read Full Article

Carbon X Prize: Transforming CO₂ into Valuable Products

(Carbon X Prize) The $20 million NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE is a global competition to develop breakthrough technologies that will convert CO₂ emissions from power plants and industrial facilities into valuable products like building materials, alternative fuels and other items that we use every day. The NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE

January 6, 2020 Read Full Article

NYC Is Heating up with America’s Advanced Biofuel

(National Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine) NYC requires all city fleet vehicles and equipment to use B20 biodiesel from April through November, and B5 from December through March. However, biodiesel has performed so successfully that the city has started some B20 use year-round. … In fact, NYC vehicles used more than 2

January 6, 2020 Read Full Article

FuelCell Energy Highlights Advances in Renewable Biogas Applications Using SureSource Fuel Cell and Proprietary Gas Treatment Systems

(Power Mag/FuelCell Energy) Improving reliability and efficiency of renewable biogas applications since first commercial shipment in 2003; Unique chemistry of carbonate fuel cell avoids de-rating power plant when using on-site biogas; Proprietary advanced systems developed by FuelCell Energy for cleanup and monitoring of on-site biogas; Proprietary cleanup skid increases the

January 3, 2020 Read Full Article

Zero Waste Scotland Promoting Insect Farming as Biodiesel Feedstock Source

by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In the UK, the Scotsman newspaper reports that Zero Waste Scotland is promoting the development of an insect farming sector to diversify its circular economy, biofuels are seen as one of the opportunities for insects. With grubs fed on food waste, they can then be raised

January 3, 2020 Read Full Article

Microbes to Materials: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Lygos’ Sugar Conversion

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) By taking a low pH yeast platform and adding in some BioFab and software, machine learning and artificial intelligence, you get new materials development, said Eric Steen from Lygos during his presentation at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco. Check out this slide guide to get

January 3, 2020 Read Full Article

Welcoming an Age of Sustainable Flight

(Neste) Lufthansa’s Katja Kleffmann tells Satu Dahl how the airline is succeeding in its bid to make aviation greener. Globally, we are witnessing a surge in sustainability innovation—from new forms of propulsion to smarter, more energy-efficient buildings. And one of those initiatives is sustainable aviation fuel. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to

January 2, 2020 Read Full Article

The Digest’s 10 Top Advanced Bioeconomy Markets & Predictions for 2020

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A mere “The Year in Rewind” as we sail into 2020? Not the good ship Digest! Instead, we dust off our crystal ball and offer our predictions for the year ahead. As the sunset of 2019 gives way to the dawn of 2020, once again roll the

January 2, 2020 Read Full Article

Forest Service Grants License for Biomass Conversion Technology

by Matt Thompson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Forest Service announced in November its intent to grant a license for technology that can efficiently fractionate lignocellulosic biomass to a Canadian company, Whispering Green Energy. And that license has now been granted, according to Gardner McBride, who does development for Whispering Green.

January 2, 2020 Read Full Article

Biofuel Company Anticipates February Start

By Ron Warnick (Quay County Sun) The president of a Tucumcari biofuels company said he anticipates construction will begin in February to convert a closed ethanol plant on the city’s north side into a methane-gas plant that will create 40 jobs for a one-year period. Robert Hockaday, president of Tucumcari Bio-Energy,

January 2, 2020 Read Full Article

Converting Waste to Synthetic Crude Oil: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Licella’s Thermochemical Tech

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Licella is transforming plastic and biomass waste into high value sustainable resources. Their Cat-HTR platform uses water at high temperature and pressure to transform wastes and residues to synthetic crude oil, chemically equivalent to fossil crude. Steve Rogers from Licella shared this illuminating presentation at

January 2, 2020 Read Full Article

Cellulosic Biofuel Technology: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Mercurius Biorefining

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Reaching high is something Mercurius is familiar with, esp. with their REACH technology. Standing for renewable, acid-hydrolysis, condensation, hydrotreating, their REACH technology works at low temperature, low pressure and enzyme free. According to Knud Balslev at Mercurius Biorefining, drop-in hydrocarbon jet fuel and diesel fuel are

January 2, 2020 Read Full Article

Washington, DC, Is No Longer an Option

by Dave VanderGriend (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Urban Air Initiative/ICM) Mid-level blends are the future of the ethanol industry, and the U.S. government can’t be trusted to promote their use. … An overlooked provision in the recent rule allowing year-round sales of E15 caps ethanol blends at 15 percent by making

December 31, 2019 Read Full Article

Valuable and Viable: Changes to the 45Q Tax Credit Increase the Monetary Value of Carbon Dioxide for Ethanol Producers.

by Andrew Duguid (Battelle/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Changes to Section 45Q of the U.S. tax code have made it easier for ethanol producers to take advantage of tax credits for capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions. However, producers must act fast to meet the Jan. 1, 2024, deadline to start construction.

December 31, 2019 Read Full Article

Finding Environmental Markets Carbon Credits, Water Quality Markets Rebuild for Farmers

by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) When Ohio farmer Fred Yoder testified last month before the House Select Committee on Climate Change, the long-time no-till farmer and champion of climate-smart farming practices told lawmakers one of the best things that could happen would be to get back a carbon market that

December 31, 2019 Read Full Article

Predicting How Microbial Neighbors Influence Each Other

(U.S. Department of Energy) A new microbial network inference method reliably predicts interactions that depend on neighboring organisms. — The Science Microbes in the soil form networks, which in turn make up larger communities. As the environment changes, so do the microbes and their relationships. For scientists to design or control

December 31, 2019 Read Full Article

Carbon Recycling: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to LanzaTech’s CarbonSmart

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) LanzaTech is turning our global carbon crisis into a feedstock opportunity with the potential to displace 30% of crude oil use today and reduce global CO2 emissions by 10%. By recycling carbon from industrial off-gases; syngas generated from any biomass resource (e.g. municipal solid waste (MSW),

December 31, 2019 Read Full Article

Custom Chem: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Kiverdi’s CO2 and Syngas Chemicals

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)Kiverdi is taking carbon-rich waste and converting it to sustainable chemicals with their carbon engineering. With CO2 and syngas fed into their reactor, they are creating targeted chemicals like hydrocarbon monomers, esters, terpenes and more. Jason Husk from Kiverdi gave this illuminating presentation at ABLC NEXT

December 30, 2019 Read Full Article

A Planet on Fire: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Red Rock Biofuels’ Call to Action for Aviation Industry

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) “Facing catastrophic problems with the immediacy of wildfire and the sinister creeping of climate change is depressing. It is depressing enough to throw in the towel, to say I can’t make a difference, the problem is just too big for me to solve.” That’s what Jeff

December 28, 2019 Read Full Article

Capturing CO2 from Trucks and Reducing Their Emissions by 90%

(EPFL) Researchers at EPFL have patented a new concept that could cut trucks’ CO2 emissions by almost 90%. It involves capturing CO2 within the exhaust system, converting it into a liquid and storing it on the vehicle. The liquid CO2 would then be delivered to a service station and where

December 28, 2019 Read Full Article

Hemp, Inc. CEO, Bruce Perlowin, Featured in Havasu News Coverage about Kins Communities

(Hemp, Inc./Globe Newswire) Hemp, Inc. (OTC PINK: HEMP), a global leader in the industrial hemp industry with bi-coastal processing centers, including the largest multipurpose industrial hemp processing facility in the western hemisphere, announced today news coverage in Havasu News, a leading source for news, sports and opinions in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The

December 28, 2019 Read Full Article

Q&A: Building a Hydrogen Society with Panasonic

by Yoana Cholteeva (Power Technology) Hydrogen has been gaining popularity as an energy source with the potential to play a key role in building a clean, secure and affordable power future. Yoana Cholteeva sat down with Panasonic’s European CEO Junichi Suzuki and marketing director Max Fujita to talk about the

December 28, 2019 Read Full Article

Danish Government Funds Renewable Hydrogen Project for Clean Mobility

(Ørsted) The Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP), under the Danish Energy Agency, decided to support the H2RES demonstration project in Denmark, using offshore wind power to produce renewable hydrogen for road transport. The industrial partners (Ørsted, Everfuel Europe A/S, NEL Hydrogen A/S, GreenHydrogen A/S, DSV Panalpina A/S, Hydrogen Denmark

December 28, 2019 Read Full Article

Israeli Researchers Develop New Waste-to-Fuel Technology

(XinhuaNet) Israeli researchers have developed a new way to produce gas fuel from organic waste, using thermal treatment, Ben-Gurion University (BGU) in southern Israel said Thursday. The method is based on the decomposition of waste in water at temperatures above 347 degrees Celsius and pressure 221 atmospheres (supercritical water). The supercritical water

December 27, 2019 Read Full Article

Autothermal Pyrolysis: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Rethinking Thermochemical Processing

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Iowa State University is working on fast pyrolysis, and Robert Brown, Director of the university’s Bioeconomy Institute looks at how their work is making us rethink thermochemical processing. By looking at autothermal pyrolysis, and more, Brown shared this presentation at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco. READ

December 27, 2019 Read Full Article

The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Hydrogen Production in Germany

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What’s up with green hydrogen in Germany? What’s the German Climate Change action plan for 2050, and the role of renewables and hydrogen in that mix? What’s the NIP in both its phases, the hydrogen refueling infrastructure and more? Jan Wegener, Programme Manager Europe at NOW

December 26, 2019 Read Full Article

Biobased Barbies, Pineapple Waste Paper, 3D Printed Fruit, Super Bowl’s Fiber Food Packaging, and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of December 25th

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It’s Christmas morning for many and biobased Barbies are on the horizon with Mattel’s promise to use only recycled, recyclable, or renewable plastics in all products by 2030, starting with the Fisher-Price Rock-a-Stack made from sugarcane plastics. And soon you can write letters to Santa on

December 26, 2019 Read Full Article

Renewable Natural Gas Dominates Cellulosic Biofuels: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Iogen’s Cellulosic Biofuels

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Iogen is one of the top 5 registered producers of cellulosic biofuel in the U.S. and say that renewable natural gas dominates the commercial cellulosic biofuel business and that the market is more than just the RFS. Manure biogas, landfill biogas, those are all going up

December 24, 2019 Read Full Article

Industrial Biotech: What Does it Really Mean to “Begin with The End In Mind?”

by H. Brett Schreyer (Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc./Biofuels Digest) … The short answer is the sooner you start planning for your final process, the better. As a bio-product progresses through strain screening, bench-scale process development, piloting, and to large scale production, changes to the process become progressively more expensive. You don’t want

December 24, 2019 Read Full Article

In Europe, the Blend Is the Trend

by Emmanuel Desplechin (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Study shows that E10 can be successful in Europe in the near-term, while E20 can be Europe’s fuel in the future. — Europeans continue to push their national governments and the European Union to raise the stakes in the fight against climate change. Several

December 24, 2019 Read Full Article

Sasol Willing to Consider Using ‘Green Hydrogen’ to Produce Lower-Carbon Fuels

by Terence Craemer (Craemer Media’s Engineering News) South African energy and chemicals group Sasol, which is under increasing pressure to lower its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, has indicated a willingness to participate in demonstration projects aimed at deploying its Fischer-Tropsch assets in combination with ‘green hydrogen’, produced from renewable energy and water using electrolysis. Sasol’s current hydrogen-production methodology

December 23, 2019 Read Full Article

Finnair Participates in a Feasibility Study on Power-to-X Pilot to Advance the Development of Carbon Neutral Synthetic Fuels

(Finnair) Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT in Finland and a group of companies, including Finnair, have started a feasibility study for a synthetic fuels pilot production plant. The intended industrial scale pilot facility is based on power-to-x technology, and the target is to produce carbon neutral fuels for transportation. The pilot

December 23, 2019 Read Full Article

Hydrogen Tech’s Diversified Future: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Hydrogenics

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Hydrogenics is a unit of Cummins Inc. active in designing, manufacturing, building and installing industrial and commercial Hydrogen generation, Hydrogen fuel cells and MW-scale energy storage solutions. Based in Mississauga, Canada with manufacturing facilities located in Germany, Belgium and United States, the company offers PEM and alkaline

December 23, 2019 Read Full Article

Carbohydrate Industry Outlook: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Carbs and Sugars

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Ah sugar, sugar, you are my candy girl. Fluid Quip Technologies is talking about industrial sugar of course, and its many challenges and opportunities. Check out this slide guide from Neal Jakel, Partner/Strategy and Technology at FQT who shared this at ABLC NEXT in San

December 23, 2019 Read Full Article

A Look into the Maximum Potential Availability and Demand for Low-Carbon Feedstocks/Fuels in Europe (2020–2050) (Literature Review)

(Concawe) In light of the EU’s ambitious targets for achieving a lowcarbon economy by 2030, Concawe has completed a study of the long-term availability of low-carbon feedstocks and fuels, and the associated costs, based on a literature review. This article summarises the outcomes of the Concawe study. … This article

December 21, 2019 Read Full Article

Pearson Fuels Partners with World Energy to Deliver an Advanced E85 Flex Fuel

(World Energy/PR Newswire) Leading Low-Carbon Fuel Providers Offer the Market’s First and Only Ethanol and Renewable Naphtha Blend — Pearson Fuels, the largest distributor of E85 Flex Fuel in California, today announced a partnership to purchase Renewable Naphtha (RN) from World Energy, one of the largest and longest-serving low-carbon fuel suppliers in North