Process – Advanced BioFuels USA

Upgrading Biomass with Selective Surface-Modified Catalysts

(Brookhaven National Laboratory/Phys.Org) Scientists have designed a catalyst composed of very low concentrations of platinum (single atoms and clusters smaller than billionths of a meter) on the surface of titanium dioxide. They demonstrated how this catalyst significantly enhances the rate of breaking a particular carbon-oxygen bond for the conversion of

March 27, 2020 Read Full Article

GasTechno and INFRA to Commercialize Integrated Gas-to-Liquides Production System

(GasTechn0/EIN Presswire) Gas Technologies LLC and INFRA Synthetic Fuels, Inc combine technologies to convert natural gas and renewable natural gas into low carbon renewable fuels. — Gas Technologies LLC (“GasTechno”), and INFRA Synthetic Fuels, Inc., (“INFRA”), have invested $USD 100MM in R&D and recently combined technologies to develop an integrated

March 26, 2020 Read Full Article

The Secret Sauce: Industry Partnerships Key to Advancing Bio-Based Chemicals and Fuels

by Asanga Padmaperuma (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) … Today, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories study the development of chemicals and fuels with the use of cost-effective, renewable carbon sources, while working closely with the bioenergy industry. In support of the DOE mission, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) experts in

March 25, 2020 Read Full Article

Pandas, Slugs and Ants Hint at Shortcut to Greener Biofuel

by Thin Lei Win (Thomson Reuters Foundation) … Scientists believe the animals’ unique ability to break down tough plant material, including bamboo, could provide clues to ramping up production of plant-based biofuels, one substitute for the fossil fuels that drive global warming. Researchers at Aarhus University, in Denmark, are searching

March 25, 2020 Read Full Article

Path Finder: Pfleger Lab Uses Bacteria to Convert Biomass into Sustainable Chemicals

by Jason Daley (University of Wisconsin – Madison) … In addition to transportation fuels, petroleum is refined into hundreds of petrochemicals used in everything from plastics and pharmaceuticals to carpets and fertilizers, and currently there are no easy ways to produce most of these chemicals without using oil. But Jay and

March 25, 2020 Read Full Article

ANDRITZ Successfully Starts up the World’s First Fossil-Free Biomethanol Plant at Södra, Sweden

(ANDRITZ) International technology group ANDRITZ has recently started up the world’s first biomethanol plant using ANDRITZ’s self-developed A-Recovery+ concept at the Södra Cell Mönsterås pulp mill in southeastern Sweden. The plant has an annual production capacity of 6.3 million liters of biomethanol from forest biomass. The fossil-free biomethanol can be used

March 25, 2020 Read Full Article

Cielo’s JV Partner Secures 80 Acre Site for Renewable Fuel Facility Near Medicine Hat, Ab

(Cielo) Cielo Waste Solutions Corp. (CMC.CN)(CWSFF) (“CIELO”/”Company”) announces that Renewable U Medicine Hat Inc. (“Renewable U Medicine Hat”) has informed CIELO that it has secured an agreement in principle to purchase 80 acres of land in Cypress County, Alberta, which is near Dunmore, approximately 3 kilometers southeast of Medicine Hat. Renewable

March 25, 2020 Read Full Article

Cielo Solicits Waste Feedstock for Nova Scotia Renewable Fuel Facility and Provides Operations Update

(Cielo) Cielo Waste Solutions Corp. (CSE:CMC)(OTCQB:CWSFF) (“Cielo” or the “Company”) announces that Renewable U Halifax Inc. and the Company are actively seeking sources of waste feedstock for the planned Joint Venture Renewable Fuel Facility (“Facility”) that will be located in, or within, 150 km of Halifax Nova Scotia. (See Press Release

March 23, 2020 Read Full Article

The Competitive Edge: Vertimass LLC

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Vertimass seeks to commercialize novel catalytic technology for low cost conversion of ethanol into hydrocarbon fuels to overcome obstacles that limit ethanol use in gasoline for light duty vehicles and open up new ethanol markets for aircraft and heavy-duty vehicles as well as for chemicals. Vertimass

March 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Taking on All of the Biomass for Conversion

by Tao Zhang (Science Magazine) The old saying that “you can make everything from biomass except money” sums up the huge challenges of converting lignocellulose into fuels and chemicals in a cost-competitive manner. Most efforts separate its more readily processed cellulose and hemicellulose components from lignin. However, upgrading the methoxylated

March 19, 2020 Read Full Article

PNNL Brews Up Batch of Biocrude Oil

by Asanga Padmaperuma (U.S. Department of Energy/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) … Spent grain is also an attractive feedstock for producing high quality biocrude oil that can be refined into transportation fuel. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers recently achieved a Department of Energy milestone by producing 10 liters of biocrude

March 18, 2020 Read Full Article

‘Green Hydrogen’ Project Planned in Oman

(Trade Arabia) Plans to set up a large-scale ‘green hydrogen’ project in the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has been unveiled, according to a report. The main promoter of the project is DEME Group, a Belgiium-headquartered conglomerate with international interests in dredging and reclamation, marine engineering, environmental remediation and of late, in

March 11, 2020 Read Full Article

CEA-Led Consortium Launches 2.6 MW Rotterdam Green Hydrogen Project

by Henry Edwardes-Evans (S&P Global Platts) 2.6 MW high temp electrolyser from Sunfire; H2 to be used in biofuel production; Supported by EU Horizon funds — CEA, Neste, Paul Wurth, Engie and Sunfire are to build a 2.6 MW high-temperature electrolyser for green hydrogen production in Rotterdam, the project partners said Tuesday. The

March 11, 2020 Read Full Article

ENGIE Invests in Hydrogen Technology Platform H2SITE

(ENGIE) ENGIE, through its corporate venture capital arm ENGIE New Ventures, announces its strategic investment in H2SITE. Headquartered in Bilbao, Spain, H2SITE is a spinoff created by Tecnalia research and technology center and Eindhoven University of Technology. It aims at commercializing a membrane reactor based system able to produce high purity

March 11, 2020 Read Full Article

Safran to Study Biofuels Production in Southwest France

(Safran) Safran Helicopter Engines is joining Euralis, Teréga, ACD (Aquitaine Chimie Durable), Chemparc, Agri Sud Ouest Innovation, Xylofutur, CCI Pau Béarn, Pau and Pays de l’Adour University and the Aerospace Valley consortium to study the feasibility of producing aviation biofuels in southwest France. A Letter Of Intent (LOI) has been signed

March 11, 2020 Read Full Article

From Tree to Money Faster and More Efficiently than Ever: Futurity to License MetGen’s Award-Winning METNIN™ Technology for Lignin Valorization

(MetGen) Futurity, whose mission is to outperform oil with trees through the production of advanced chemicals and materials from plantation forestry in New Zealand has finalized a licensing agreement with the Finnish company MetGen Oy. Cooperation will allow the development of a full range of high value lignin-based products including resins

March 11, 2020 Read Full Article

Sekab and Vertoro to Build Large-Scale Demonstration Plant to Produce a New Platform for Sustainable Fuels, Chemicals, and Materials

(Sekab) A new demo plant in Örnsköldsvik will be the first in the world to produce a 2G platform for sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials, coined GOLDILOCKS®, from pulp and paper industry residues. The plant will be built by the Swedish chemical and clean tech company Sekab together with the Dutch

March 9, 2020 Read Full Article

Neste Invests in Sunfire, Leading Technology Developer of High-Temperature Electrolysis and Power-to-X Solutions

(Neste) Neste, the world’s leading provider of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, and an expert in delivering drop-in renewable chemical solutions, has acquired a minority stake in the German cleantech company Sunfire GmbH. Sunfire is a leading developer of high-temperature electrolysis technology. The company’s patented technology allows the production of renewable

March 9, 2020 Read Full Article

Seaweed-Lined To-Go Containers, Pepsi’s Molded Pulp 6-Pack Rings, Hydrogen-Powered Arctic Station, “Infinite” Toothbrush, and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of March 5th

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Sit back and just imagine, hanging out at the new International Arctic Station that runs on solar, wind, and hydrogen power, sipping on a Pepsi 6-pack that came in molded pulp rings, eating lunch from a seaweed lined food container, wearing your cool Skechers kicks made

March 6, 2020 Read Full Article

New Catalyst Recycles Greenhouse Gases into Fuel and Hydrogen Gas

(Science Daily/The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)) Scientists have taken a major step toward a circular carbon economy by developing a long-lasting, economical catalyst that recycles greenhouse gases into ingredients that can be used in fuel, hydrogen gas, and other chemicals. The results could be revolutionary in

March 5, 2020 Read Full Article

Gevo Secures Funding from Queensland Waste to Biofutures (W2B) Fund

(Gevo) Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) has been awarded part of The Queensland Waste to Biofutures (W2B) Fund to support the development of waste to biofutures projects in Queensland, Australia. The W2B fund provides targeted funding for pilot, demonstration or commercially scalable biorefinery projects in Queensland that use conventional waste streams or biomass

March 3, 2020 Read Full Article

Japanese Consortium to Study SAF Production Using Fulcrum Bioenergy’s Technology

by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Japan, Japan Airlines, Marubeni, JXTG Nippon Oil and Energy and JGC Japan have agreed to jointly conduct a feasibility study on Sustainable Aviation Fuel production and sales in Japan through the use of industrial and municipal waste, including plastic waste. In this joint study, the

March 3, 2020 Read Full Article

The Competitive Edge: AmericaBio

(AmericaBio/Biofuels Digest) … Our company develops technologies for the deconstruction of forest and also agricultural biomass for sugars that are used for production of renewable fuels, typically ethanol, and higher value products such as Omega-3, SCP, xylo oligosaccharides (XOS), acetic acid, animal feed proteins. We have a research base in

March 3, 2020 Read Full Article

New Ecological Process for Producing Cheaper Biofuel

(Institut national de la recherche scientifique/Phys.Org) Professors Rajeshwar Dayal Tyagi and Patrick Drogui, researchers at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), have developed a new approach to biodiesel production that uses microbes, sewage sludge, and a biofuel byproduct. … Plants have been turning to microbial biodiesel, which can

March 3, 2020 Read Full Article

A Novel Biofuel System for Hydrogen Production from Biomass

(Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology/Phys.Org) A novel technology has been developed for hydrogen production from the process, which involves electron that is produced during the decomposition of biomass such as waste wood. The result produced after biomass decomposition is a high value-added compound, and it is a two-stone technology

March 2, 2020 Read Full Article

KIST Develops Biofuel Production Process in Cooperation with North American Researchers

(Korea Institute of Science and Technology/EurekAlert!) Clean biofuel produced using genetic engineering and environmentally friendly solvents. International joint research by Korean, US, and Canadian research teams raises anticipation of the development of sustainable biofuel production technology — Biofuel is often touted as a clean fuel, but the fact that it is

March 2, 2020 Read Full Article

Vow ASA Enters Plastic to Fuel Deal with Test Plant in the Oil Refining and Petrochemical Industry

(Vow ASA/Globe Newswire) Vow ASA, through its subsidiary ETIA, has been awarded a contract to provide a pyrolysis testing unit for processing of waste plastics and polymers for Unipetrol in the Czech Republic. Unipetrol is a part of PKN ORLEN group, a leading player in the fuels and energy markets.

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Biomass Sugars to Hydrocarbon Biofuels: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Enzymatic Hydrolysis Development Efforts

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Reducing cost and improving manufacturability of the biomass sugar platform through Continuous Enzymatic Hydrolysis (CEH) technology is one of the goals for NREL. James D. McMillan from NREL shared the latest research developments at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) 2019 Project

February 26, 2020 Read Full Article

Optimizing Co-Product Production: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Alkaline-Oxidative Pretreatment of Woody Biomass

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Two birds with one stone – if you can get BOTH a clean sugar stream for the production of hydrocarbon fuels AND lignins that can feed multiple product streams, then you are talking economic viability. Eric L. Hegg from Michigan State University, shared the latest research developments

February 21, 2020 Read Full Article

Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production Pathway Approved by ASTM

(Biofuels International) ASTM International has approved a new production pathway for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), created by Applied Research Associates (ARA) and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG). The new production pathway, which is called catalytic hydrothermolysis jet (CHJ), is expected to help meet the global need for more sustainable aviation fuels.

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Chemistry Finding Could Make Solar Energy More Efficient

by Laura Arenschield (Ohio State News) Researchers have found a way to harness the entire spectrum of sunlight — Scientists for the first time have developed a single molecule that can absorb sunlight efficiently and also act as a catalyst to transform solar energy into hydrogen, a clean alternative to fuel

February 19, 2020 Read Full Article

Green Plains to Focus on High-Protein Feed Products

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Green Plains Inc. officials announces plans to transform into an ag tech-focused company that produces sustainable high-protein and novel feed ingredients in addition to biofuels during a fourth quarter earnings call held Feb. 11. “As 2019 continued to be a very challenging year for the

February 18, 2020 Read Full Article

A Sustainable Wood Biorefinery for Low–Carbon Footprint Chemicals Production

by Yuhe Liao, Steven-Friso Koelewijn, Gil Van den Bossche, Joost Van Aelst, Sander Van den Bosch, Tom Renders, Kranti Navare, Thomas Nicolaï, Korneel Van Aelst, Maarten Maesen, Hironori Matsushima, Johan Thevelein, Karel Van Acker, Bert Lagrain, Danny Verboekend, Bert F. Sels (Science Magazine) Profitability and sustainability of future biorefineries are

February 18, 2020 Read Full Article

Engineered Bacteria for Acetone and Drop-in Fuels from Syngas: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to LanzaTech’s Acetone Platform

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Sean Simpson and Michael Köpke from LanzaTech and researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory are working on developing and scaling up a novel technology platform for direct conversion of biomass syngas to acetone, which can be converted into a range of fuels and commodities via existing

February 18, 2020 Read Full Article

Catalytic Conversion at 93% Reduced Cost: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Vertimass’ Sustainable Jet Fuel from Biomass

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Vertimass had 300x scale-up in 12 months and increased liquid hydrocarbon yields from 36% to 80% in 8 months. And their tech can convert ethanol into jet fuel as well as diesel fuel additives and high value chemicals without adding hydrogen. Charles E. Wyman, PhD,

February 14, 2020 Read Full Article

NextChem’s Portfolio Will Include a New HVO Technology (Renewable Diesel) Focus on US Market

(NextChem) NextChem, the company of Maire Tecnimont Group focused on the Energy Transition, will cooperate with Saola Energy to license a technology for the production of Renewable Diesel, suitable for both small bolt-on facilities and large plants. A roadshow to promote the technology on the American market taking off today from

February 13, 2020 Read Full Article

Bringing Algal Biofuel Production to Scale: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Biocrude Production in Advanced Photobioreactor-Based Biorefinery

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Everyone wants more productive algal strains – but how do you get them? Can you advance the technology enough to get economical, large-scale algal biofuel production? Ron Chance and Paul Roessler, both of Algenol Biotech, shared this illuminating presentation at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies

February 13, 2020 Read Full Article

‘Reverse Fuel Cell’ Converts Waste Carbon to Valuable Products at Record Rates

(University of Toronto/EurekAlert!) Researchers develop enhanced device to transform CO2 into valuable chemicals 10 times faster than previous versions — Fuel cells turn chemicals into electricity. Now, a University of Toronto Engineering team has adapted technology from fuel cells to do the reverse: harness electricity to make valuable chemicals from waste

February 11, 2020 Read Full Article

Oberon Fuels, SHV Energy Partner up to Accelerate Renewable DME: Is This Tech a Carbon Removal Machine of Great Importance?

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) In California, Oberon Fuels and SHV Energy are partnering to accelerate the use of renewable DME to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation fuel. For Oberon’s path to scale, the partnership will include funding to augment a recent $2.9M grant from the California Energy Commission

February 11, 2020 Read Full Article

How Exactly Cyanobacteria Convert CO2 So Efficiently

(Ruhr University Bochum (Google Translation)) A research team was able to reveal the secret of the bacteria. In the future it will be possible to look at them. — With the help of sunlight, photosynthetic organisms use carbon dioxide from the air to build up biomass. Cyanobacteria are particularly efficient because they

February 10, 2020 Read Full Article

Plasma Blue Showcases Innovation in the Biodiesel Industry

by Amie Simpson (Brownfield Ag News) Plasma Blue, a company established by the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, is using a new technology involving electricity and liquid plasma to produce biodiesel. Tom Slunecka is the CEO of Plasma Blue. “Plasma Blue has the exclusive license to a new kind of technology that

February 7, 2020 Read Full Article

Brown Grease Separation Technology: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Greasezilla’s FOG – Fats, Oils, Greases to Fuel

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Yuck! There’s a $25 billion grease problem,from the underground blob in the U.K. to pretty much any public treatment facilities and liquid waste haulers, but Greasezilla has a patented system to help solve the grease trap waste problem. Find out the details of the brown

February 6, 2020 Read Full Article

Circular Solution for Bioplastics, McDonald’s Fryer Oil to 3D Printing Resin, Human Hair to Fertilizer, Crab Shells and Seaweed to Yarn, and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of February 6th

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The infinity symbol…a figure 8 on its side, a lemniscate…no matter what you call it, it signifies the concept of limitlessness or eternity which is what the bioeconomy has been doing lately in its limitless innovations. It’s been a big week for bioplastics with Danimer Scientific

February 6, 2020 Read Full Article

Green Energy Researcher at U of L Wins Grant

by Matthew Keck (Louisville Cardinal) Joshua Spurgeon, a University of Louisville renewable energy researcher, won the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. Along with the award, he will receive a $500,000 grant from the NSF that will go towards research and education over the next five years. Spurgeon is theme leader

February 5, 2020 Read Full Article

Enyzmes and Microbes Innovation: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Novozymes’ Biology Business

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) 20 product launches in one year is impressive and Novozymes is a world leader in biological solutions focusing on enzymes and microbes, but even leaders hit road bumps. While Novozymes had some improvement in the second half of 2019, they still had “unsatisfactory 2019 sales

February 5, 2020 Read Full Article

2020 Bioeconomy M&A Deal Review & Outlook

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Digest published today a 2020 Deal Review and Outlook Bioeconomy M&A visual guide that looks at the slurry of recent mergers and acquisitions in the bioeconomy like Lygos and Librede, NuSeed and Agrisoma, FinCo Fuels and GoodFuels, The Andersons and Marathon Petroleum, Aemetis and Goodland

February 5, 2020 Read Full Article

Could Bacteria Help Recycle Greenhouse Gases in the Future?

by Florence Schulz, translated by Daniel Eck (EURACTIV.de) Could bacteria assist in the recycling of greenhouse gases in the future instead of releasing them into the atmosphere? European researchers are working to reverse the metabolism of intestinal bacteria that feed on CO2 so that they form products that can be

February 4, 2020 Read Full Article

Researchers Completely Re-engineer Yeast to Make More Biofuel

by John Timmer (Ars Technica) Systems-level engineering of a living thing is remarkably complicated. A little while ago, we covered the idea of using photovoltaic materials to drive enzymatic reactions in order to produce specific chemicals. The concept is being considered mostly because doing the same reaction in a cell is often

February 4, 2020 Read Full Article

A Novel Biofuel System for Hydrogen Production from Biomasss

by JooHyeon Heo (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)) A novel technology has been developed for hydrogen production from the process, which involves electron that is produced during the decomposition of biomass such as waste wood. The result produced after biomass decomposition is a high value-added compound, and

February 4, 2020 Read Full Article

Velocys Contracts Worley to Deliver Technology Package for Waste-to-Fuel Projects

(Biofuels International) Sustainable fuels technology company Velocys has appointed engineering contractor Worley to manage the delivery of its fully integrated technology package. Worley will act as partner in the development of pre-feasibility, feasibility and front-end engineering design (FEED) packages for all of Velocys’ projects. This will enable Velocys to ‘leverage

February 4, 2020 Read Full Article

Methanogenic Microorganisms as Workhorses of the Industrial Bioeconomy

(Technische Universitat Dresden/EurekAlert!) The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the research consortium with a grant of more than two million euros. The Science Year 2020 has its focus on Bioeconomy with the aim of communicating state-of-the-art research on bio-based technologies and the associated concepts for a more

February 4, 2020 Read Full Article

Advanced Algal Systems: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Photosynthetic Production of Biodiesel by Cyanobacteria

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office’sBioenergy Technology Incubator 2 project is looking at how to directly produce ‘drop in’ ready biofuel (ethyl or methyl laurate) by cyanobacteria using CO2, water, and light as the main inputs. Check out the latest results of this project

February 4, 2020 Read Full Article

LADWP Helps Launch New Organization to Focus on Green Hydrogen

(Green Hydrogen Coalition) Today (January 21, 2020) marks the official launch of the Green Hydrogen Coalition (GHC), an educational non-profit dedicated to facilitating policies and practices to advance green hydrogen production and use in all sectors where it will accelerate a carbon-free energy future. Green hydrogen can be produced several

February 3, 2020 Read Full Article

Rapunzel, Rapunzel: Getting the Hydrogen We Need from the Garbage We Don’t

by Jim Lane (Hydrogen Digest) … In the case of municipal solid waste, there are a couple of reasons why hydrogen might be a smart target, and why gasification is the best route, where we use heat to convert mixed waste streams to carbon monoxide and hydrogen. With gasification, we

February 3, 2020 Read Full Article

Algae Makes Wastewater Valuable

by Navid Moheimani and Parisa Bahri (Naked Scientists) … Our team at Murdoch University Algae R&D Centre has developed a unique process that uses algae to treat effluent. The process involves first passing the effluent through an anaerobic digester, which converts the organic material in the waste into biogas (methane).

February 3, 2020 Read Full Article

ASTM Approves ARA’s Synthetic Kerosene Process for the Production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel

(GreenAir Online) A new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) specification has been approved for commercial airline use by standards development organisation ASTM International, with support from the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI). The new annex to the SAF specification D7566 establishes criteria for the production and use of catalytic hydrothermolysis jet

February 3, 2020 Read Full Article

INA 2G-Ethanol Plant Project Basic Engineering in Croatia

(De Smet Engineers & Contractors) De Smet Engineers & Contractors (DSEC) has started working on a Basic Engineering contract for the Croatian Oil & Gas Company INA, covering the OSBL portion of a 2G Ethanol (2nd generation) project to be built in Sisak, near Zagreb. The feedstock will be locally

January 31, 2020 Read Full Article

Food and Market Waste–A Pathway to Sustainable Fuels and Waste Valorization

by Miloud Ouadi, Muhammad Asif Bashir, Lais Galileu Speranza, Hessam Jahangiri, Andreas Hornung (American Chemical Society) Food and market waste (FMW) is one of the most abundant unrecycled products which poses waste management issues and negative environmental impacts. Thermo-catalytic reforming (TCR) is a pyrolysis based technology which can convert a

January 31, 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 31, 2020 Read Full Article

Light-Based Chemistry Could Increase Energy Density of a Renewable Fuel

(Photonics/Los Alamos National Laboratory) Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory used photochemical [2 + 2] cycloaddition to upgrade biomass-derived acetone — common nail polish remover — to higher-mass hydrocarbons, and produced a product that can be blended with conventional jet fuel for more energy-efficient flying. “We converted bio-derived acetone to

January 30, 2020 Read Full Article

Sustainable Synthetic Carbon Based Fuels for Transport

(The Royal Society) The need to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from all human activities has never been clearer. One area requiring urgent action is the transition from the use of fossil fuels for transport. Whilst the decarbonisation of electricity is progressing and many transport modes can feasibly be electrified,

January 30, 2020 Read Full Article

Interfacing with R&D and Industry: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to BETO’s Advanced Development & Optimization

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) We are always trying to optimize – optimize processes, efficiencies, cost, value, and more, but did you know that the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office has a program just for this sort of thing? The ADO or Advanced Development and Optimization program has several

January 29, 2020 Read Full Article

Clearing the FOG – Reclaiming Advanced Biofuel from Fats, Oils and Grease

by Ron Crosier (Downey Ridge Environmental Company/Biofuels Digest) … Critics of biofuels argue that biofuel feedstocks require vast amounts of arable land, water and other resources that would otherwise be used for food production. … However, a new means for generating biofuel focuses on reclaiming advanced biofuel from waste products. The

January 29, 2020 Read Full Article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Power House Energy Group) 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

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

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

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

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