Process – Advanced BioFuels USA

The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guides to Biogas

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) An organization well worth knowing in the world of biogas, or renewable methane, is the indefatigable group organized as IEA Bioenergy Task 37, an international working group which covers the anaerobic digestion of biomass feedstocks including agricultural residues, energy crops, organic-rich waste waters, the organic fraction of

October 14, 2019 Read Full Article

The Potential of Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) Routes for Biofuels Production

(Netwerk Betreibstoffe/BEsustainable Magazine Autumn 2019) Hydrothermal Liquefaction is one of the most promising technologies for the conversion of sustainable biomass into renewable transport fuels. Five European research and innovation projects and the Norwegian National Centre Bio4Fuels are jointly organizing an expert workshop to discuss state-of-the-art, developments and applications of this technology.

October 11, 2019 Read Full Article

WEBINAR: Drop-In Biofuels: The Key Role that Co-Processing Will Play in Their Production

(IEA Bioenergy/Netzwerk Betreibstoffe) Presentation online This webinar presents the 2019 update of the 2014 IEA Bioenergy Task 39 “drop-in” biofuels report. It reviews the status of technologies, the progress of the various technical approaches and updates the successes, challenges and obstacles that have been encountered during the commercialisation of low

October 11, 2019 Read Full Article

Chemical Catalysis Pioneer James Dumesic Wins International Energy Prize

(University of Wisconsin-Madison) Prolific biofuels researcher James Dumesic has been named the winner of the 2019 Eni Energy Transition Award. The internationally renowned Eni Awards were established in 2007 to recognize excellence in energy and environmental research. The Energy Transition Award honors recent research and technological innovation that promote the transition

October 11, 2019 Read Full Article

Undergraduates Participate in Bioenergy Research at GLBRC

(Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center) Each year, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) hosts a group of undergraduate students to participate in the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, designed to immerse students in research. This summer, 11 undergraduate students joined laboratories at Michigan State University and the University

October 11, 2019 Read Full Article

Scientists Mimic Natural Decay to Break Down Plant Material for Biofuel Production

(Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center) Inspired by bacteria’s role in natural plant decay, researchers at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and Michigan State University have mimicked a bacterial pathway to break down the toughest parts of a plant in preparation for biofuel processing. The new method, published August 16 in ChemSusChem, uses

October 11, 2019 Read Full Article

Catch & Kill: The Velocys, Oxy, Cemvita, Carbon Engineering, BHP, Ginkgo Chase to Catch Waste, Kill Emissions, Armed with New Organisms to Liberate Value

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Mississippi, Velocys’ Bayou Fuels project has signed with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures to capture carbon dioxide from Velocys’ planned Bayou Fuels biomass-to-fuels project in Natchez, Mississippi, and securely store it underground in a geologic formation. OLCV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Occidental, will take,

October 11, 2019 Read Full Article

National Science Foundation Continues Its Support of Morgan State University STEM Research With Nearly $500K Grant Award

(Morgan State University) Funding Will Enhance Biofuel Production in Cyanobacteria Using Nanoparticles, While Preparing the Next Generation of Minority Biotechnologists — Morgan State University’s School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences (SCMNS) has announced its receipt of a $499,999 grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Excellence in Research (EiR) grant will

October 10, 2019 Read Full Article

The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Fuel Pretreatment of Biomass Residues for Thermal Conversion

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) For some time it’s been widely thought amongst the Digestsceni that there’s a need to ‘demonstrate to market actors and policy makers how existing bioenergy chains can be made more fuel flexible, efficient and cost effective through the application of (a combination of) pretreatment technologies,”

October 10, 2019 Read Full Article

Faux Snow, Faux Fur, Wool Surfboards, Green Hydrogen, Hawaiian Algae, Next-Gen Mirai: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of October 10th

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This week there’s faux snow, there’s faux fur, wool-based surfboards and seaweed pods filled with a burst of Glenlivet whisky. Not to mention some biogas based fuels cells, an algae-based solar startup, news on the next-gen Toyota Mirai, and a skincare line that harnesses the

October 10, 2019 Read Full Article

Trash to Treasure: Scientists Convert Municipal Waste to Biofuel Precursors

by Emily Scot (Berkeley Lab) As the need for energy security grows, scientists are investigating nonfood biomass sources that can be used to create valuable biofuels and bioproducts. Among these sources is municipal solid waste (MSW) — in other words, trash that’s produced every day around the world in significant amounts.

October 10, 2019 Read Full Article

Refuel as You Sail with Hydrogen

by Nick Savvides (American Shipper Freight Waves) … Madadh (pronounced Maddy) MacLaine, CEO of Zero Emissions Maritime Technology, Ltd. believes that hydrogen’s time has come. MacLaine is also a founding member of the Zero Emissions Ship Technology Association, which was established in 2018 to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels.

October 8, 2019 Read Full Article

The Truth About Hydrogen

by Patrick Molloy and LeeAnn Baronett (Rocky Mountain Institute) … There are four major sources for commercial production of hydrogen, three of which require fossil fuels: steam methane reformation (SMR), oxidation, and gasification. The fourth source is electrolysis, which separates water into its constituent elements (hydrogen and oxygen) using electricity. When

October 8, 2019 Read Full Article

What You Need to Know about Using FPBO on Your FCC Unit

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the liquid energy market, it’s no longer enough to have fuels which are “affordable and available but not sustainable”, or “sustainable and available but not affordable”. We’ve lived for a long time on “two out of three” – now, customers and governments around he world

October 8, 2019 Read Full Article

The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Commercializing Conventional and Advanced Transport Biofuels from Biomass and Other Renewable Feedstocks

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Several of the better known IEA Bioenergy rock stars — there are four and possibly five in this set, from the US and Canada, so we’ll put them sort of on a par with Neil Young and Crazy Horse for representing somethng tuneful, must-know and

October 8, 2019 Read Full Article

Biomass Pioneer Secures £2.3m to Launch Demo Plant

(Mercia Asset Management) A Teesside business which has developed a new way to generate fuel and chemicals from waste biomass has secured a further £2.3million investment to commercialise its technology. Nova Pangaea Technologies has completed a funding round led by NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and

October 4, 2019 Read Full Article

US Patent Granted for Enzymes Developed by ICGEB-DBT Bioenergy Group

(International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology) A new cellulase preparation discovered by scientists at ICGEB, New Delhi has received a US patent award. This discovery is likely to provide a better alternative to the available option on the market for commercial cellulase enzyme to produce ethanol for second generation (G2)

October 4, 2019 Read Full Article

Valmet to Deliver Biomass Pretreatment System to PRAJ Industries in India

(Valmet) Valmet will deliver biomass pretreatment system to PRAJ Industries for their second-generation bio refinery project which is under execution in India. The delivery is planned for the year 2020. The order was included in Valmet’s orders received of the third quarter 2019. The value of the order will not

October 4, 2019 Read Full Article

Tolerating Even More: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Improving Yeast Tolerance to Lignocellulosic Feedstocks

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Wouldn’t it be great if we could boost fermentation of high-toxicity biomass hydrolysates? Well, folks are working on this via enhanced biocatalytic tolerance. At the recent DOE BETO 2019 Project Peer Review, Felix Lam and Gregory Stephanopoulos from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, shared how they

October 4, 2019 Read Full Article

Velocys Wins $0.5 Million Order in Japan for Fischer-Tropsch Technology

(Biofuels International) Velocys has secured a purchase order and technical service agreements with Toyo Engineering (Toyo) for its biomass-to-jet fuel technology in a demonstration facility in Japan. The company has also secured an advanced deposit for the use of the same technology by Toyo in a subsequent commercial plant, Velocys

October 3, 2019 Read Full Article

Engineering Thermophiles to Produce Drop-in Fuels from Syngas: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Syngas Bioprocess

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Drop-in fuels from syngas are in. Syngas feedstocks are relatively inexpensive and diverse, thermophiles have several unique advantages, and end products have value as fuel and solvent applications among others. Sounds like win, win, win, right? But the big question that Kiverdi and NREL are working

October 3, 2019 Read Full Article

“The Mindset Is There, We Need the Technologies and to Integrate Them: The Time Is Now”: Looking at Enerkem’s Evolution and the Rise of the Circular Economy

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Enerkem has been famed as a plaform for producing ethanol from municipal solid waste. Yet, there’s methanol as a platform. There’s also the possibility of moving from syngas to ethylene. There’s methanol to olefins, which opens up potential to go from mixed plastic waste to

October 3, 2019 Read Full Article

World’s First Combined 2G Ethanol and Crude Lignin Oil Biorefinery Inches Closer to Reality

(PressAT/Vertoro) Sainc Energy Limited (Sainc), a London-based developer of biomass refineries, has entered into a definitive supply contract for 180,000 tons per annum of local olive tree prunings for its planned advanced bio-refinery at Villaralto, in Cordoba Province, Andalusia, Spain. The bio-refinery will produce second generation (2G) ethanol alongside so-called crude lignin

October 2, 2019 Read Full Article

Better Breakdown: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to PET Upcycling

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As frustrated as you may get with your pet sometimes, we aren’t talking about upcycling dogs and cats here, but PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic that is typically landfilled. One group at NREL and ORNL are working on developing cost-effective biological methods to better breakdown and upcycle

October 2, 2019 Read Full Article

$73 Million, 35 Projects, Who Won, for What and Why: The DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office 2019 Project Selections

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the U.S. Department of Energy has selected 35 projects totaling $73 million for bioenergy research and development support. Funded through the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, these projects will help reduce the price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower,

October 2, 2019 Read Full Article

Houston-Based Company Planning $100 Million Plant in St. Martinville that Would Use Sugar Cane Waste to Make Ethanol

by Kristen Mosbrucker (The Advocate) Praj Industries, a publicly traded bioenergy engineering business with headquarters in India, is laying the foundation for a $100 million plant in Louisiana that would use sugar cane bagasse as a fuel and raw material for making ethanol. The project, which could still be three years

October 1, 2019 Read Full Article

Magnificent Microbes: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Targeted Microbial Development

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The industry is always on the look for microbial pathways that are capable of producing high carbon efficiency intermediates that are amenable to economic bioconversion, separation, and catalytic upgrading to hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals. At the recent DOE BETO 2019 Project Peer Review, Min Zhang

October 1, 2019 Read Full Article

Convert CO2 into Raw Materials Using Nanoparticles

(Ruhr University Bochum (Google Translation)) Enzymes use cascade reactions to produce complex molecules from comparatively simple raw materials. The principle was copied by researchers. An international research team has converted carbon dioxide into raw materials using nanoparticles. The scientists at the Ruhr University Bochum and the University of New South

September 30, 2019 Read Full Article

Complete Production Chain from Biomass Residues to Fischer-Tropsch Products Successfully Validated

(VTT) Production of biofuel by gasification of biomass residues was successfully validated in the EU’s COMSYN project in September. The process performance was verified with bark in an 80 hour-long test run at VTT. The syngas conversion to Fischer-Tropsch (FT) products was conducted by IneraTec GmbH. The main focus of the

September 30, 2019 Read Full Article

Making Enzymes More Effective: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Enzyme Engineering

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Enzyme technology enables advanced biofuels. But can we do better? Can enzymes improve conversion? Can understanding enzyme structure, function, activity technology enable industrial enzyme improvement while reducing company R&D cost? Michael Himmel, Senior Research Fellow from NREL’s Biomolecular Sciences group gave this presentation at the DOE’s BETO

September 30, 2019 Read Full Article

The Effect of Feedstock Composition on Fast Pyrolysis and Upgrading to Transportation Fuels: Techno-Economic Analysis and Greenhouse Gas Life Cycle Analysis

by Pimphan A.Meyer, Lesley J.Snowden-Swan, Susanne B.Jones, Kenneth G.Rappé and Damon S.Hartley (Fuel) Process economics and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are evaluated for the conversion of eleven (11) biomass feedstocks to produce transportation fuels via fast pyrolysis and then pyrolysis oil upgrading via hydrodeoxygenation. The biomass consists of six (6)

September 27, 2019 Read Full Article

Bio-Sourced Materials: A New Milestone!

(Michelin) The BioButterfly project launched by Michelin in 2012 has just achieved another milestone: the construction of France’s first industrial demonstrator capable of producing butadiene from ethanol. The goal is to replace the oil-based raw materials used in the company’s tires with bio-sourced molecules. — The BioButterfly project has just

September 27, 2019 Read Full Article

Expander, Vanderwell to Build Canada’s First Biomass/Gas to Liquids Plant

(Expander Energy/Canadian Biomass Magazine) Expander Energy Inc. is pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent (LOI) with Vanderwell Contractors (1971) Ltd., an Alberta family-owned company, to build Canada’s first commercial demonstration biomass/gas to liquids facility (BGTLTM project) in the Slave Lake, Alta., area. The plant will produce clean

September 27, 2019 Read Full Article

Algae and Bacteria Team up to Increase Hydrogen Production

(University of Cordoba/EurekAlert!) In line with the fight against climate change and the search for a sustainable future, the idea appears of a future society based on hydrogen used as a fuel. This biofuel of the future could be what cars and engines run on (they actually already do), but without

September 24, 2019 Read Full Article

Biorefinery: ‘The Potential for Farmers to Diversify Their Business in the Future’

by Emma Gilsenan (AgriLand) Biorefinery – which converts biomass to energy and other beneficial by-products – could potentially add more value to an outside block of land, according to UCD lecturer, Bridget Lynch. Speaking to AgriLand at the National Ploughing Championships this week, James Gaffey, a researcher in IT Tralee along with his

September 23, 2019 Read Full Article

Greasezilla Selected to Be the Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) Separation Technology for the Danbury Wastewater Treatment Center

(Greasezilla/Informed Infrastructure) Greasezilla™, the most cost-effective and ecological brown grease separator available, is pleased to announce it has been selected as an integral part of a new state-of-the-art FOG-to-Biodiesel receiving station for the Danbury, Connecticut Waste Water Treatment facility. Greasezilla’s patented solution separates FOG into its basic elements, sending the water back

September 23, 2019 Read Full Article

Algae Harmony with HTL: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Hydrothermal Liquefaction

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Converting algae to fuels is challenging. But PNNL is working on developing process models and techno-economic analysis to inform hydrothermal liquefaction algae conversion research for fuels and chemicals. Check out what Susanne Jones and others from PNNL shared as part of the 2019 BETO Peer

September 20, 2019 Read Full Article

Alcohol School: The Case for Fractionation

by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Vijay Singh, professor in Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told his Alcohol School audience Sept. 12 that he was going to “make the case for fractionation.” The conventional corn-to-ethanol production process does not maximize coproduct opportunities, he said.

September 19, 2019 Read Full Article

Alcohol School: Yancey Delivers D3Max Project Update

by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Minimizing feedstock cost is one rule for a successful cellulosic ethanol project, according to Mark Yancey, chief technology officer for D3Max. “That can be a very large component of your project costs.” Yancey spoke Sept. 13 at Lallemand Biofuels & Distilled Spirits’ Alcohol School, held

September 19, 2019 Read Full Article

UC Engineering Excels with $11.8m MBIE Endeavour Funding

(University of Canterbury/Scoop) … This research will develop a new process and materials to produce bio-hydrogen and capture carbon dioxide by using New Zealand wood biomass resources from log harvesting and wood processing. The bio-hydrogen produced could be used as transport fuel, a chemical feedstock for methanol, ammonia and oil

September 19, 2019 Read Full Article

Cars Soon Powered by Wood Thanks to Dutch Innovation

(BTG BioLiquids (btg-btl)) TechnipFMC and BTG-BTL to build bio-oil production in Sweden — Thanks to a Dutch invention, cars in Sweden will soon be powered by a fuel made from wood residues such as sawdust. TechnipFMC and the Dutch company BTG-BTL based in Twente will design and build a production

September 19, 2019 Read Full Article

Crown Opens New Global Headquarters and Innovation Center

(Crown Iron Works) … Crown Iron Works unveils its new Global Headquarters and Innovation Center in Blaine, Minnesota. The 68,000 square-foot, $12 million facility accommodates increased staff, and fuels technological advancements for the company and its customers through its state-of-the-art Innovation Center—a safety-first environment that supports and optimizes custom process

September 18, 2019 Read Full Article

Breakthrough at the Technion: Researchers Have Developed an Inexpensive, Environmentally Friendly and Safe Hydrogen Production Technology.

(Technion–Israel Institute of Technology) The E-TAC water-splitting technology facilitates an unprecedented energetic efficiency of 98.7% in the production of hydrogen from water and has other key advantages over water electrolysis. A startup company, H2Pro, was founded based on this development and is working on its commercialization. Researchers at the Technion–Israel Institute

September 18, 2019 Read Full Article

Replacing the Barrel: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Conversion Technologies

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Developing efficient and economical biological and chemical technologies to convert biomass feedstocks into energy-dense liquid transportation fuels, such as renewable gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, as well as bioproducts, chemical intermediates, and biopower is the primary goal of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Conversion R&D team. As

September 18, 2019 Read Full Article

Use It or Lose It: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Waste Carbon Utilization

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) CO2 is one of those things you love to hate, but it’s there and it’s not going away, so if we don’t find a way to use it, isn’t it a missed opportunity? As part of the 2019 BETO Peer Review, Ian Rowe from the

September 17, 2019 Read Full Article

VTT Says Materials and Chemicals the First Commodities to Be Commercialized by Carbon Reuse

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) In Finland, VTT published a new report called “The Carbon Reuse Economy – Transforming CO2 from a pollutant into a resource” and presents its view on how carbon can be turned from a pollutant into a resource with a favorable impact on climate change. It

September 16, 2019 Read Full Article

Enzymes are Proteins: A Definitive Guide of 4000+ Words (Updated) — Enzymes are Proteins – The Guide Encompasses Introduction, History, Structure, Active Site, Enzyme Action, Functions, Models, Factors, Inhibitors, Classification, Nomenclature

by Hassan Kurd (Botnam) Enzymes are proteins that speed up the reactions by acting as catalysts. They increase the rate of reaction without being consumed or permanently altered by themselves. In Greek enzymes are divided into sections “En” which means “in” and second part is “zyme” means living. The study of enzymes is known as enzymology. (Enzyme

September 16, 2019 Read Full Article

Alcohol School: Innovations in Ethanol

by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Delivering the last presentation of the day for The Alcohol School Sept. 12, Scott Kohl, chief technology officer for Franzenburg, discussed several innovations in ethanol production. Yield, amylase formulations, fiber separation, coproduct fractionation, accelerated fermentation, genetically modified (GM) yeast and water conservation techniques made his

September 13, 2019 Read Full Article

ORNL Develops Method to Customize Microbes for Better Biofuel Production

by Kimberly A Askey (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a method to insert genes into a variety of microorganisms that previously would not accept foreign DNA, with the goal of creating custom microbes to break down plants for bioenergy.

September 13, 2019 Read Full Article

Scientists Turn Carbon Dioxide into Ant Venom Biofuel

by Hannah Osborne (Newsweek) Scientists have created a device that turns carbon dioxide into formic acid—a venom produced naturally by ants that can be used as a biofuel. The prototype electrolyzer, which runs on renewable electricity, produced the purified liquid fuel at high concentrations, potentially paving the way for a

September 13, 2019 Read Full Article

Sugarcane and Cotton Waste Turned into Fuels, Plastics, Feed

(Manufacturers Monthly) The potential to manufacture high-value products from sugarcane and cotton by-products is one step closer to realisation with an injection of funding from the Australian federal government into a project by Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Professor Ian O’Hara, of the Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities, will lead

September 13, 2019 Read Full Article

Friday Fun with Fungus: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Fungal Biotech for Biofuels

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Noone knows fungus like these guys. A PNNL team has been developing fungal genetic engineering tools for industrially relevant fungi (filamentous and yeasts) and applying them to development of biofuel and bioproduct bioprocesses in stirred tank reactors. Jon Magnuson from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory gave this

September 13, 2019 Read Full Article

Betting on Waste

(EurekAlert!/University of California – Santa Barbara) Most of the materials that maintain our modern lives — fuels, pharmaceuticals and other commodity chemicals — come from non-renewable sources. Over time the acquisition of these materials becomes more costly as their supplies diminish. A prime example is petroleum, from which we derive fuels

September 12, 2019 Read Full Article

Gevo Reaches Joint Development Agreement to Explore Converting Plant Sugars into Fuel

by Andrew Kessel (Proactive Investors) The plan is to investigate the potential of sugars and glycerol derived from cellulose to be converted into hydrocarbon molecules for use in fuels or chemicals –Gevo Inc (NASDAQ:GEVO), a renewable fuels company, announced Tuesday that it has signed a joint development agreement with Leaf

September 11, 2019 Read Full Article

Contract Fermentation Update, Market Continues to Tighten

by Mark Warner (Warner Advisors LLC) … Contract manufacturing options are diminishing and the facilities currently operating are looking for more favorable commercial terms. If you are planning to scale a fermentation process through contract fermentation facilities, it is going to be a good time to bring your “A” game

September 11, 2019 Read Full Article

Spain’s First Industrial-Scale Biogas Biological Purification Plant Opens

(Edar Bens/NGV Journal) The facilities of Edar Bens SA (Wastewater Treatment Plant of A Coruña) now feature a pilot biogas purification module, the only one in Spain and one of the few that exists in the world. The new plant is part of the second phase of the Renewable Gas Mixed

September 9, 2019 Read Full Article

How Synthetic Biology Can Help Build Sustainable Cities

by John Cumbers (Green Biz/SynBioBeta) Sustainability is in vogue, with businesses and cities jostling to improve their public image and produce goods and services using renewable sources. Yet cities exponentially swell and carbon emissions continue to increase. Global CO2 emissions rise nearly every year (about 36 billion tons in 2014), with

September 9, 2019 Read Full Article

Highest Yield, Lowest Cost: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to 2nd Gen Mixotrophy for Biochemicals

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Shawn Jones from White Dog Labs shared this as part of the of U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office presentations on second-generation mixotrophy for the highest yield and least expensive biochemical production. Check out The Digest’s slides on how this project is working on

September 9, 2019 Read Full Article

Gevo Announces Breakthrough Development of Low-Carbon No Particulate Renewable Diesel

(GEVO) Converting Isobutanol or Fusel Oils to Renewable Diesel — Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) a leading renewable fuels and chemicals manufacturer, announced today that it has developed proprietary, breakthrough processes that converts either low-carbon isobutanol or low-value “fusel oils,” a mixture of alcohols that are byproducts from fermentation processes such as alcohol production,

September 6, 2019 Read Full Article

Biotech to Biochem: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Versalis’ Chemistry from Renewables

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Versalis, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eni, and while their history lies with traditional chemicals, they now have strategic guidelines for chemistry from renewables. Their biotech business unit is one of the ways they are integrating renewable chemicals into products like biofuels, biochemicals, bioherbicides, cosmetic products,

September 6, 2019 Read Full Article

Rice Reactor Turns Greenhouse Gas into Pure Liquid Fuel

by Mike Williams (Rice University) Lab’s ‘green’ invention reduces carbon dioxide into valuable fuels — A common greenhouse gas could be repurposed in an efficient and environmentally friendly way with an electrolyzer that uses renewable electricity to produce pure liquid fuels. The catalytic reactor developed by the Rice University lab of chemical and

September 5, 2019 Read Full Article

Biobased Battery, Starch-Based Gift Cards, Future Fashion, Plant-Based Flame Retardants, and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of September 5th

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This week is a merry mix of biobased innovations around the world. From the creation of artificial reefs made from PLA in Israel and Spain’s starch-based gift cards to the U.S. where biobased battery materials are reality in Washington state and where flame retardants made from

September 5, 2019 Read Full Article

India’s Rising Prowess in Bioeconomy: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Praj’s Perpective from India

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Product, processes and partnerships are what it’s all about in India right now with the country’s latest bioenergy policies and growing activity in the bioeconomy. Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman at Praj Industries gave this illuminating presentation at ABLC 2019 in Washington, D.C. on how exactly India

September 4, 2019 Read Full Article

Exxon Mobil’s Designed 2 Scale Challenge DEADLINE: November 15, 2019

(Designed 2 Scale Challenge) Algae-based feedstocks have shown tremendous potential in providing a safe, secure and locally available source of drop-in liquid fuels for the transportation sector. These feedstocks have the potential to not compete with conventional food crops and fresh water resources, and use marginal land for cultivation. Once

September 3, 2019 Read Full Article

Clariant Successfully Concludes Testing of Energy Crop Miscanthus at Straubing Plant for GRACE Project

(Clariant) INA has chosen Clariant’s sunliquid® technology to assess usability of miscanthus for conversion into lignocellulosic sugars & ethanol within the EU-funded GRACE project in which INA participates; About 30 tons of miscanthus were processed at Clariant’s pre-commercial plant in Straubing, Germany; sunliquid proved good performance with miscanthus feedstock during

September 3, 2019 Read Full Article

The Advanced Bioeconomy Report Q2 2019 Earnings: The Year of Living Endangeredly

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In hand we now have the latest earnings reports from what you might call the 8 Pathfinders – eight publicly traded stocks whose second quarter results offer insights into the health and performance of the advanced bioeconomy as 2019 heads towards its closing crescendos. Our 8

September 3, 2019 Read Full Article

Heavenly Trash – Dream in the Sky or Bringing It Down to Earth? Cielo and the Future of Waste to Renewable Diesel

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … Find out how Cielo (Waste Solutions) turns trash to treasure, why they love anything with cellulosic fiber, how they plan on becoming a multi-billion, yes, Billion, dollar company in five years, their plans for 40 plants, and more, all in an exclusive Digest

September 2, 2019 Read Full Article

SoCalGas Project Uses Renewable Electricity for RNG Production

by Betsy Lillian (NGT News) Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and Electrochaea have commissioned a new biomethanation reactor system, which uses renewable electricity to convert hydrogen into pipeline-quality methane for use in homes, businesses and transportation. The pilot project is located at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory

August 29, 2019 Read Full Article

Scientists in Mexico Trial Biogas Production from Seaweed

(Bioenergy Insight) A laboratory in Yucatán, Mexico has developed a prototype system that converts seaweed into biogas. Scientists started experimenting with sargassum after large quantities of the seaweed began washing up on the Yucatán coast. Raúl Tapia Tussell, head researcher in the renewable energy unit at the Yucatán Scientific Research

August 28, 2019 Read Full Article

Waste-to-Energy from Municipal Solid Wastes Report Released!

(U.S. Department of Energy) In the United States, municipal solid waste (MSW) is both a potentially valuable resource and often a significant disposal problem in many locations. The United States produced more than 260 million tons of MSW in 2015. This equates to roughly 4.4 pounds per day per person.1

August 28, 2019 Read Full Article

Canada Investing in First-in-Canada Forest Industry Technologies in Sarnia

(Government of Canada) Canada’s forest sector remains a vital source of wealth for Canadians, providing economic, social and environmental benefits. By investing in Canada’s forest sector, the Government of Canada is growing the economy while protecting our environment. Kate Young, Parliamentary Secretary for Science and Sport and the Parliamentary Secretary

August 28, 2019 Read Full Article

Insane in the Membrane: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Whitefox’s Membranes

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Whitefox uses membranes to carry out industrial water separation steps, including membranes for biofuels. Their first industrial installation was in Europe in 2002 for pharmaceutical grade ethanol, but installations now have expanded to industrial and potable alcohol, perfume reactors, and even Vitamin C facilities. Check

August 28, 2019 Read Full Article

Cool Catalytic Conversion: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Vertimass’ Hydrocarbons

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Vertimass’s catalytic conversion is so cool it can convert ethanol into fungible blend stocks in one step without added hydrogen. Their technology produces hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals from biomass – taking biomass through existing biofuels facilities and adding the Vertimass bolt-on catalytic conversion, it comes out

August 26, 2019 Read Full Article

9 Constellations to Watch: A Look at the Rising Stars in the Race to SAF

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … (T)oday we explore 9 of those constellations building around Sustainable Aviation Fuels. Some of them are young protostars in the earliest stage of stellar evolution, while others are like the Earth’s sun, a main-sequence mid-size star, and a few are superstars like, well,

August 26, 2019 Read Full Article

Commercializing Conventional and Advanced Transport Biofuels from Biomass and Other Renewable Feedstocks — Co-processing

(IEA Bioenergy Task 39) Many petroleum refiners in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia are thinking about upgrading bio-feedstocks using existing infrastructure. Approximately 40 refineries around the world have so far implemented or tested some type of hydroprocessing of mixed petroleum and bio-intermediate feedstocks, co-processing these feeds at biointermediate levels

August 23, 2019 Read Full Article

From Chicken Kiev to ZEV: The Birth of Electro-Active Technologies, and Hydrogen Fuel for Zero Emission Vehicles, the Newfangled Way

by jmlhydrogen (Hydrogen Digest) From Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee comes news that Electro-Active Technologies has exclusively licensed two biorefinery technologies to convert organic waste into renewable hydrogen gas for use as a biofuel. The Technology The system combines biology and electrochemistry to degrade organic waste—such as plant biomass or

August 22, 2019 Read Full Article

Mimicking the Diving Bell Spider to Improve Carbon Conversion into Fuels

by Bob Yirka (Phys.org) A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in France has found a way to improve the conversion of CO2 into fuels by mimicking the behavior of the diving bell spider. In their paper published in the journal Nature Materials, the group describes using captured air bubbles to

August 22, 2019 Read Full Article

From Lignin to Value: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to MetGen’s Enzymes

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) MetGen are pioneers in industrial enzymes for lignocellulosic biomass and are trying to empower industries to get the most out of biomass with their enzymatic technologies. Alex Michine, CEO of MetGen gave this enlightening overview of MetGen’s ‘how’, the Sweetwoods project and its integrated biorefinery flagship, enzymatic

August 22, 2019 Read Full Article

New Catalysts, Improved Genetic Tools Bring New Opportunities: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to ORNL’s Biomass to Bioproducts

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Organisms are interesting creatures and genetic tools and biochemical pathway knowledge is changing the way we look at them. Brian Davison, Chief Scientist for Biotechnology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, gave this knowledge-filled presentation on how to leverage organisms for biofuels and bioproducts, consolidated bioprocessing, barriers

August 22, 2019 Read Full Article

Bioenergy Startup Licenses ORNL Food-Waste-to-Fuel System

(Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Electro-Active Technologies, Inc., of Knoxville, Tenn., has exclusively licensed two biorefinery technologies invented and patented by the startup’s co-founders while working at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The technologies work as a system that converts organic waste into renewable hydrogen gas for use as

August 20, 2019 Read Full Article

British Airways and Shell to Build Europe’s First Facility to Convert Rubbish into Jet Fuel

by Oliver Gill (The Telegraph) British Airways and Royal Dutch Shell have submitted plans to build Europe’s first plant that converts household waste into jet fuel. The duo will work with Velocys, a sustainable fuel specialist, on the site near to the Humber estuary in North Lincolnshire. It is hoped that around

August 20, 2019 Read Full Article

Replacing Crude Oil with Waste Plastics

(Neste) The aim is to proceed to an industrial scale trial during 2019. By 2030, Neste targets to process more than one million tons of plastic waste annually by 2030. Neste is already the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel from waste and residues and now it’s target is to

August 19, 2019 Read Full Article

How Floating Solar Farms Could Make Fuel and Help Solve the Climate Crisis

by Denise Chow (NBC News) “Solar methanol islands” could curb our reliance on fossil fuels that belch harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. — Huge solar farms floating in the ocean could be used to convert carbon dioxide in seawater into methanol, a fuel that can power airplanes, trucks and other long-haul

August 16, 2019 Read Full Article

SoCalGas and Electrochaea Announce Commissioning of New Biomethanation Reactor System Pilot Project

(Southern California Gas Co./PR Newswire) Innovative project with U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory converts renewable electricity into renewable methane for storage in existing natural gas pipelines — Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and Electrochaea today announced the commissioning of the nation’s first scalable biomethanation reactor system at the U.S. Department of

August 15, 2019 Read Full Article

No Carbon Left Behind: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to LanzaTech

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) LanzaTech has produced 5.5 million gallons of ethanol since start up and has compelling project economics to back it up. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech gave this ‘Carbon Smart’ overview of how LanzaTech is recycling carbon from industrial off gas biomass and MSW syngas and

August 15, 2019 Read Full Article

Aemetis Cuts Carbon Score of Keyes Ethanol Plant

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Aemetis Inc. released second quarter 2019 financial results Aug. 8. The company reported strong growth for its biodiesel business in India, outlined improvement projects underway at its corn ethanol plant, and discussed planned renewable natural gas (RNG) and cellulosic ethanol production. During an earnings call,