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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Over 10 years (2007–2017), three Bioenergy Research Centers produced multiple breakthroughs in the form of deepened understanding of sustainable biomass production practices, targeted re-engineering of biomass feedstocks, development of new methods for deconstructing feedstocks, and engineering of microbes for more effective production of a diverse
New Mexico
October 18, 2019
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by Josh Siegel & Abby Smith (Washington Examiner’s Daily on Energy) New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and eight other U.S. mayors released a policy “playbook” Thursday for how cities can cut emissions from the transportation and building sectors. The mayors say if the largest 100 U.S. cities took these recommended actions, total combined emissions
October 10, 2019
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(Algae Biomass Organization) Four student scientists were recognized with the Algae Biomass Organization’s Young Algae Researcher Awards for their contributions to fields of algae biology and engineering at the 2019 Algae Biomass Summit, held in Orlando, Florida, September 16-19. The awards are presented at the annual conference to recognize outstanding research
October 3, 2019
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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
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(Sierra Club) Today, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that New Mexico will join 14 other states in adopting clean car standards requiring new cars sold in the state to emit fewer greenhouse gases. They also mandate an increasing percentage of cars sold in the state to be zero emissions. The governor
September 25, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Algae has a lot of recent federal support, and this presentation takes us there. The Advanced Algal Systems is working on a host of strategies to focus on enhacing productivity, feedstock, quality and robust yields while developing higher-value bioproducts. Alison Goss Eng, Program Manager, Feedstock
August 21, 2019
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(Science Daily/U.S. Department of Energy Los Alamos Laboratory) New DNA analysis has revealed surprising genetic diversity in a bacterium that poses a persistent threat to the algae biofuels industry. With the evocative name Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus, the predatory pest sucks out the contents of the algae cells (thus the vampire reference) and
August 2, 2019
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by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis (Washington Post) The agreement could have vehicles hit 50 miles per gallon on average by 2026 — Four automakers from three continents have struck a deal with California to produce fleets that are more fuel-efficient in coming years, undercutting one of the Trump administration’s most aggressive climate policy
July 25, 2019
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(Los Alamos National Laboratory/Phys.Org) New DNA analysis has revealed surprising genetic diversity in a bacterium that poses a persistent threat to the algae biofuels industry. With the evocative name Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus, the predatory pest sucks out the contents of the algae cells (thus the vampire reference) and reduces a productive, thriving, green
July 23, 2019
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by Jonathan Male (U.S. Department of Energy) Algae is a fast-growing industry that needs a skilled workforce of scientists, researchers, and engineers to advance algae technology and the commercialization of algal products to support the bioeconomy. With funding from the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office
July 22, 2019
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(UPS) Seven-Year 170 Million Gallon Equivalents Purchase from Clean Energy Fuels Corp. Will Reduce GHG Emissions by More than 1 Million Metric Tons — UPS (NYSE: UPS) today announced an agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp.(NASDAQ: CLNE) to purchase 170 million gallon equivalents of renewable natural gas (RNG) through 2026. This is the largest
May 23, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) New Mexico Consortium is non-profit corporation formed by 3 NM universities to facilitate research collaborations for universities, industry & Los Alamos Laboratory. They are looking to algae as a solution where cell factories could produce energy in a carbon neutral way with a primary focus on
May 21, 2019
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(Solutions from the Land) … The swelling momentum of state leadership pushing forward climate issues and solutions, as well as growing engagement with the challenges of climate change on Capitol Hill, shows there is a surging opportunity for stakeholders from the ag and forestry sectors, which are among the biggest industries
May 15, 2019
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(Growth Energy) Today, Growth Energy announced that New Mexico is the newest state to offer consumers greater choice at the fuel pump with the availability of E15 – a fuel blended with 15 percent renewable ethanol. The latest in this market expansion is a Murphy USA station in Albuquerque – now
May 3, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Sandia National Laboratories shares a famous acronym with Saturday Night Live but the work they have done is key to the future of the bioeconomy, having delivered essential science and technology to resolve the nation’s most challenging security issues for over 60 years. One piece of
April 26, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Researchersfrom several labs and universities like Georgia Tech, Sandia National Labs, University of Dayton, and others are working together on Engine Optimized Sustainable Drop-in JET High Performance Fuels (HPF). Anthe George manages the Biomass Science and Conversion Technologies department at Sandia National Laboratories and gave this illuminating
April 17, 2019
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by Babetta (Babs) Marrone (Los Alamos National Laboratory) For several years, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) scientists have been taking advantage of the molecular tools that naturally reside within microbial cells. Although microbes use these tools to carry out their metabolism and other life-sustaining processes, scientists can use these tools to produce
February 28, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) is working to address key questions like what fuels engines really want, what fuels work best and what will work in the real world. John Farrell from NREL gave this illuminating overview of their work thus far on answering those
February 6, 2019
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(FuelCellsWorks) The U.S. Department of Energy announced $98 million in funding for 40 new projects as part of OPEN 2018, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA‑E) latest open funding opportunity. These funds will support some of America’s top energy innovators’ R&D projects as they seek to develop technologies to transform the
November 22, 2018
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by Leyla Battista-Channell* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Auburn, Alabama: Home to the Auburn tigers, the “loveliest village on the plains,” and this year’s host to the Thermochemical Sciences Symposium. Previously held at other universities, why Auburn University this year? The Biosystems Engineering department at Auburn University has been on the rise
November 12, 2018
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(Quay County Sun) If all goes according to plan, a long-closed ethanol plant in Tucumcari may be converted into a methane plant and become fully operational by mid-2020. Tucumcari Bio-Energy Co. is hunting for investors and may begin converting the plant to methane gas production as soon as early 2019, said
October 8, 2018
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by Marianne Lavelle and Dan Gearino (Inside Climate News) Governors have the power to set the agenda on renewable energy or throw up roadblocks to its progress. It’s become an issue in several races this year. — Some of the most consequential elections for climate policy this fall could be the 36 governor’s
September 28, 2018
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by Lauren Colandreo (Bloomberg) … Last fall, Oregon enacted the Bovine Manure Tax Credit, which offers bovine manure producers and collectors a tax credit for each wet ton of manure collected to be used as a biofuel or to produce a biofuel. In recent weeks, the state enacted a new set of temporary
September 19, 2018
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by Bruce Lieberman (Yale Climate Connections) They think nutrients in farm runoff could feed algae for biofuel. — When fertilizer and pesticides run off farmland, they can contaminate waterways with nutrient pollution. Davis: “A classic example is the Mississippi Basin.” That’s Ryan Davis of Sandia National Laboratories. He says a lot of
August 30, 2018
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by Chris Barncard (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Some chemicals used to speed up the breakdown of plants for production of biofuels like ethanol are poison to the yeasts that turn the plant sugars into fuel. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and several Department of Energy laboratories have identified two changes to
August 13, 2018
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In New Mexico, the state’s Museum of Natural History and Science has launched an online exhibition called Bio-AI that allows users to grow an algae crop—or fail and lose the crop—using an online game “Growing Green Goop” as a way to increase awareness about algae R&D in
August 7, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) From Portugal comes the news that SilicoLife was awarded with a SME instrument phase 1 grant for the commercial evaluation of its BUTANOVA technology, a new biological process to produce n-butanol. BUTANOVA technology consists on a novel and proprietary metabolic pathway designed computationally by SilicoLife and
August 3, 2018
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by Andy Stiny (Santa Fe New Mexican) … And those lawn clippings? They could be used to convert algae into a mass-produced, economical biofuel to be used in cars, trucks and airplanes. Molecular biologist Amanda Barry and a team at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Bio-energy and Biome Sciences group are
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The pace of invention and change is just too strong, we’ve realized, to highlight annual or even quarterly or monthly rankings and summaries of significant product and service advances. For now, we’re going to be tracking these on a weekly basis to keep pace with the
July 28, 2018
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(Los Alamos National Laboratory/Phys.Org) Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and partner institutions provided today the first published report of algae using raw plants as a carbon energy source. The research shows that a freshwater production strain of microalgae, Auxenochlorella protothecoides, is capable of directly degrading and utilizing non-food plant substrates,
July 19, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Lignin has developed into a sustainable and very satisfactory alternative to fossil fuels. But applications have been needed. Firstly, applications that work, then applications that pay, then applications at scale. Let’s see how that work has been coming along. Applications that work Nylon, plastics, chemicals. This
July 13, 2018
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by Tom Rickey (Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory/Phys.Org) Last month a rocket thundered off a NASA launch pad in Virginia, destined for the International Space Station. Nestled among the 7,400 lbs. of supplies was a handful of seeds designed to open new windows into our knowledge of how plants grow in space
July 6, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What is the Feedstock Conversion Interface Consortium and why does it exist? The Why is simple. #1 issue plaguing High and Low Temperature IBR projects is consistent operability of preprocessing and primary deconstruction. In response, researchers have joined together from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, DOE,
July 6, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The meanest, nastiest, ornierest, heat-seeking organism ever found that munches biomass and other microbes that got a booster via the DOE’s $40M grants for advanced microbes R&D. And aromatics without the mess, a sky-vacumming organism and much more. As we reported last week here, the U.S.
June 28, 2018
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(U.S. Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)-funded Algae Technology Educational Consortium (ATEC) is proud to announce its first graduates from the algal certificate program at Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. These first ATEC graduates received their Associate Applied Science Degree in Controlled Environment
June 27, 2018
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by Brent Erickson (The Hill/Biotechnology Innovation Organization) Since 2002, the farm bill has contained an energy title, with cost-effective programs that support private investment in renewable energy, biobased manufacturing and energy efficiency. The programs are extremely successful in helping businesses create employment and economic growth opportunities in rural communities across the
May 24, 2018
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(Sandia National Laboriatories/EurekAlert!) What does jet fuel have in common with pantyhose and plastic soda bottles? They’re all products currently derived from petroleum. Sandia National Laboratories scientists have demonstrated a new technology based on bioengineered bacteria that could make it economically feasible to produce all three from renewable plant sources. Economically
by Tim Albrecht (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The ethanol industry has polished its coproduction of distillers grains. Now, a handful of companies have found different uses for DDGS, or ethanol itself, that can provide new value-added coproducts for the industry. Ethanol is flexible and can be used to make chemicals for products
April 20, 2018
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) A coalition led by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the California Air Resources board has announced plans to sue the U.S. EPA over its failure to enforce existing landfill methane regulations. The coalition announced its plans on March 23 when it submitted a 60-day notice of
April 11, 2018
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(Greenbelt Resources) Greenbelt Resources Corporation (OTC: GRCO), an innovator of sustainable energy production systems, in collaboration with Biofuels & Energy, LLC (B&E), announced today the San Luis Valley Bioproducts Project, known as SLV Biopro. The project will feature Greenbelt’s waste-to-energy interconnected system (ECOsystem) designed to produce up to a half a million gallons of
March 30, 2018
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(Globe Newswire/Greenbelt Resources) Greenbelt Resources Corporation (OTC:GRCO) (Greenbelt), the developer of a sustainable ECOsystem model that transforms waste into revenue generating bioproducts, today announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Biofuels and Energy, LLC (B&E), a New Mexico-based project development company. B&E plans to utilize Greenbelt’s proprietary ECOsystem
March 15, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions (SBAR) is a multi-level research project that will cultivate two desert-dwelling crops, guayule and guar, for a sustainable bioeconomy. Combined, guayule (perennial) and guar (annual) feedstocks can provide biomass year round for biofuel production. Both crops are drought and heat tolerant,
March 15, 2018
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) On March 8, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., introduced companion bills that aim to dismantle the Renewable Fuel Standard and sunset blending obligations for conventional, advanced, cellulosic, and biomass-based diesel fuels. The acts, titled the “Growing Renewable Energy through Existing and
March 9, 2018
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by Betsy Lillian (NGT News) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $4 million to support three new cost-shared research projects focused on medium- and heavy-duty, on-road natural gas engines, as well as $3 million to support two new cost-shared research projects for advancing fluid power systems for off-road vehicles. These five
March 8, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The US Department of Energy has a key project called Co-Optima, which aims to determine key fuel properties that enable improved engine efficiency, provide key science to enable high efficiency combustion modes, and capitalize on unique properties available from bio-blendstocks. Within that project is an emphasis
February 21, 2018
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by Meghan Gordon (Platts) The American Petroleum Institute has come out against a campaign by small refineries to avoid their obligations under the US biofuel mandate, according to a letter released Tuesday. More than two dozen refineries with throughput of less than 75,000 b/d have reportedly petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions (SBAR) is a multi-level research project that will cultivate two desert-dwelling crops, guayule and guar, for a sustainable bioeconomy. Scale up to profitable production, however, requires feedstock improvements, expansion of cultivation, agronomic knowledge and practices, and economic crop residue utilization. Researchers
January 22, 2018
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by Cassie McClure and Suzanne Michaels (KRWG) Over the past decade, New Mexico State University (NMSU) College of Engineering Professor Nagamany Nirmalakhandan (known as Dr. Khandan) has investigated how algae – yes, that simple green stuff that grows in stagnant water – removes contaminants from wastewater. The specific microalgae used by
January 8, 2018
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by Mark R. Edwards (Algae Industry Magazine) t the recent Algae Biomass Summit in Salt Lake City Algae Foundation President Ira Levine shared this year’s advancements in algal-based education for K-14 and beyond. The past year has been an eventful year for the Algae Technology Educational Consortium (ATEC), which is chartered to design,
December 4, 2017
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by Jules Bernstein (Phys.Org/Sandia National Laboratories) A Sandia National Laboratories-led team has demonstrated faster, more efficient ways to turn discarded plant matter into chemicals worth billions. The team’s findings could help transform the economics of making fuels and other products from domestically grown renewable sources. Lignin, the tough material left over
November 10, 2017
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(University of Arizona News) The goals of the Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions Center will be to address the nation’s needs for biofuels and bioproducts, strengthen Arizona’s bioeconomy, and provide training for the next generation of scientists and engineers. The University of Arizona has received a five-year grant of up to
October 18, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Imagine, for example, a Boeing 777 flying non-stop between any two cities in the world. Or F-18A/F Superhornets adding significant weapon loads, or up to 30% to flight range. It’s like getting a new generation of aircraft without the multi-billion price tag. Gevo and Los Alamos
October 12, 2017
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(Algae Industry Magazine) Colorado State University scientists and Arizona State University’s Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation are partners in a three-year grant of up to $3.5 million from the Department of Energy, aimed at improving how algae-based biofuels and bioproducts are made. The Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies
October 11, 2017
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by Kathy Cisar (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the selection of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to lead a new project, for up to $3.5 million, with the goal of reducing the production costs of algae-based biofuels and bioproducts through improvements in algal
October 4, 2017
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(U.S. Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the selection of one additional project, for up to $3.5 million, as part of the Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO’s) Advanced Algal Systems Program funding opportunity announcement (FOA). For Algal Biomass Yield, Phase 2 (ABY2), in Fiscal Year 2016, DOE awarded $15
September 26, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The US Department of Energy is supporting a project to develop a biological approach to depolymerize lignin for upgrading of aromatic compounds to co-products. Lignin valorization is key for meeting the DOE’s hydrocarbon fuel cost and sustainability targets in integrated biorefineries. Principal investigators Gregg Beckham
September 15, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Back in 2014, Sapphire Energy and the US Department of Energy embarked on a project to advance Sapphire’s (then) biomass production technologies across three priority areas to meet a target of 2,500 gallons of oil per acre per year by 2018. Productivity is directly related
August 24, 2017
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by Jules Bernstein (Sandia National Laboratory) … A Bay Area company has patented a group of three single-celled, algae-like organisms that, when grown together, can produce high quantities of sugar just right for making biofuels. Sandia is helping HelioBioSys Inc. learn whether farming them on a large scale would be successful. … HelioBioSys
August 22, 2017
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(Sandia National Laboratory) Sandia National Laboratories is testing whether one of California’s largest and most polluted lakes can transform into one of its most productive and profitable. Southern California’s 350-square-mile Salton Sea has well-documented problems related to elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural runoff. Algae thrives on these
by Tina Casey (Triple Pundit) … DOE is pushing ahead with another round of $8 million in funding aimed squarely at developing next-generation biofuel from algae, leading to “a bioeconomy that can help create jobs, spur innovation, improve quality of life, and achieve national energy security.” … Algae represents the next
July 19, 2017
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Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Op-Ed: Renewable Fuel Standard Good For Farmers, Consumers, Environment
by Dale McCall (Rocky Mountain Farmers Union/Brian Allmer Radio Network) America’s farming communities are facing an economic crisis. Not since the 1980s have farm incomes declined so far so fast. The Wall Street Journal called it the “next American farm bust” and noted that rural communities are grappling with the steepest economic slide since
July 7, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Los Alamos National Lab’s Dick Sayre gave this illuminating overview of the PACE project for Producing Algae for Co-Products and Energy at the 2017 DOE Project Peer Review sessions. READ MORE
June 21, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Think beyond nanotechnology. It’s Nanno Technology, as Qualitas’ nannochloropsis strain gets deployed in New Mexico at the old Green Crude Farm (now Green Stream Farms), as well as in Texas. In Texas, Qualitas Health unveiled a long-term partnership with commercial crop producer Green Stream Farms
May 30, 2017
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(Los Alamos National Laboratory) Neutron crystallography maps LPMOs that break down fibrous cellulose — Using neutron crystallography, a Los Alamos research team has mapped the three-dimensional structure of a protein that breaks down polysaccharides, such as the fibrous cellulose of grasses and woody plants, a finding that could help bring
May 19, 2017
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(Algae Industry Magazine) The Algae Technology Education Consortium (ATEC), a collaboration among the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Algae Foundation, universities, community colleges, and industry production companies across the United States, has successfully implemented the first semester of the ATEC curriculum at Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
May 10, 2017
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(U.S. Department of Energy/Sandia National Laboratories/EurekAlert!) A recent discovery by Sandia National Laboratories researchers may unlock the potential of biofuel waste — and ultimately make biofuels competitive with petroleum. Fuel made from plants is much more expensive than petroleum, but one way to decrease the cost would be to sell
May 9, 2017
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by Sarah Yang (Berkeley Lab) Joint BioEnergy Institute study targets LigM for its role in breaking down aromatic pollutants — A protein used by common soil bacteria is providing new clues in the effort to convert aryl compounds, a common waste product from industrial and agricultural practices, into something of
April 7, 2017
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(Algae Industry Magazine) For algal biofuels to compete with petroleum, farming algae has to become less expensive. Toward that goal, Sandia National Laboratories is testing strains of algae for resistance to a host of predators and diseases, and learning to detect when an algae pond is about to crash. An
March 10, 2017
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(U.S. Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announces the launch of its Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio), a research and development consortium dedicated to identifying and overcoming catalysis challenges for biomass conversion processes. Made up of seven DOE national laboratories, ChemCatBio will
February 28, 2017
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By Matt McGrath (BBC) Up to 16% of hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells spill liquids every year, according to new research from US scientists. They found that there had been 6,600 releases from these fracked wells over a ten-year period in four states. The biggest problems were reported in oil-rich North
(Associated Press/SFGate) Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory‘s Marine Sciences Laboratory are turning algae inside out to find the best biofuel possible. Dr. Michael Huesemann, a lead researcher, said algae is a promising clean energy but expensive to harness effectively. “The price of biofuel is largely tied to growth rates,”
February 13, 2017
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by Kenny Walter (R&D Magazine) … Scientists have studied these enzymes in pure cultures of microorganisms, despite the fact that microorganisms break down cellulose as communities in the environment. To examine this further, a multi-institutional team of researchers led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute
by Frances White (Renewable Energy World/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) A dozen glass cylinders containing a potential payload of bright green algae are exposed to hundreds of multi-colored lights, which provide all of sunlight’s natural hues. The tiny LEDs brighten and dim to mimic the outdoors’ constantly changing conditions. To further
January 17, 2017
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by Mike D. Smith (Chron.com) Natural Chem Group plans to redevelop a closed plant it acquired through a Spanish company’s bankruptcy and convert the facility into a biodiesel blending terminal. … Natural Chem officials said in a statement that the facility could generate 4.5 million gallons of B20 biodiesel monthly,
November 15, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Joule is advancing a production platform for Liquid Fuel from the Sun, expected to eclipse the scale, productivity and cost efficiency of any known alternative to fossil fuel today. Its transformative Helioculture platform directly and continuously converts sunlight and waste CO2 to infrastructure-ready diesel, ethanol
October 24, 2016
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by Terry Mazanec (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) … So the process removes and processes about 25 tonnes of earth to obtain each gram of Pt, valued at about $35. It is a very lucrative business. Biomass is much like the platinum mine. It can contain a variety of high value materials at
October 20, 2016
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by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) Dr. Tom Dempster works as a research professor – focusing on strain selection and development, biomass production, algal biofuels and high-value products, and air and wastewater bioremediation – at the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI) at Arizona State University. He also
October 19, 2016
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by Suzi Thaye (Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper) David Stapp’s invention is “fuel-agnostic” — … It’s a nice spot for CEO Stapp to concentrate on his pet project, the Peregrine Turbine, a jet engine that can run solely on biofuels, but will work also work quite well on conventional fuels like diesel fuel and
October 5, 2016
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(Sandia National Laboratories/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Abundant, chock full of energy and bound so tightly that the only way to release its energy is through combustion—lignin has frustrated scientists for years. With the help of an unusual soil bacteria, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories believe they now know how to crack
September 26, 2016
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by Janine Finnell (Advanced Biofuels USA/Leaders in Energy) I attended the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) “Bioenergy 2016: Mobilizing the Bioeconomy through Innovation” conference held in Washington DC from July 12-14, 2016. There were 17 breakout sessions on topics including bioenergy jobs; startup companies pitching business propositions to investors; advanced feedstocks;
July 26, 2016
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by Sarah Yang (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Carbon dioxide has emerged as a new secret ingredient in the recipe for making ethanol, and that addition represents a major step forward in streamlining the biofuel production process. The innovation comes from researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley
July 21, 2016
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(U.S. Department of Energy) The Energy Department today announced up to $15 million for three projects aimed at reducing the production costs of algae-based biofuels and bioproducts through improvements in algal biomass yields. These projects will develop highly productive algal cultivation systems and couple those systems with effective, energy-efficient, and
July 19, 2016
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(El Paso Herald Post) … On June 15, through a LEDA grant from the City of Tucumcari, ERD purchased the former ethanol plant at 1600 Rock Island Road. In partnership with Robert Lopez, a Tucumcari farmer, the company plans to reconfigure the plant as an integration of dairy farming, feedlots, municipal
July 5, 2016
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(U.S. Department of Energy) Recycling waste from biofuel production could lower cost for future biorefineries. — Ionic liquids (ILs) have been shown to be an excellent pretreatment solvent for biomass; the ILs prepare the plant matter to be broken down into its component sugars, which can be used in creating biofuels.
July 1, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Here, we profile 15 techs that offer incremental to profound shifts in the economics of the Gen-1 ethanol fleet, and have implications for everything from passenger cars to jets. #15 Vertimass and Byogy #14 Croda #13 Hummingbird #12 Alliance BioEnergy #11 GeoSynFuels #10 BioProcess Algae #9 xF
June 17, 2016
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(US Department of Agriculture) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $8.8 million to boost the production of advanced biofuels and sustain jobs at renewable energy facilities in 39 states. USDA continues to lead the way in promotion of advanced biofuel production,
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Ames National Lab, Argonne National Lab, Idaho National Lab, Los Alamos National Lab, the National Renewable Energy Lab, Oak Ridge National Lab, Pacific Northwest National Lab, and Sandia National Lab seek to build an agile biomanufacturing platform for biological approaches to
May 27, 2016
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(Associated Press/FuelFix) Oil drilling companies and royalty owners from the Texas Panhandle to New Mexico’s stretch of the Permian Basin are embarking on a grass-roots campaign to limit foreign oil imports, salvaging what they say is a major sector of the U.S. economy. … The grass-roots movement is pushing for the
April 21, 2016
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by Alan Neuhauser (US News and World Report) America’s fracking boom promised big paychecks, but thousands of workers were exploited, the Labor Department says. — … Despite booming industry profits and record oil and gas output – which together rejuvenated the country’s economy and transformed the U.S. into the world’s top
April 11, 2016
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(Joule/BusinessWire) EPA Qualifies Joule Ethanol Under Clean Air Act — Joule, the pioneer of drop-in liquid fuels from recycled CO2, today announced major accomplishments in the first quarter of 2016 that are accelerating the commercialization of environmentally sustainable ultra-low carbon fuel. These advancements include EPA approval of Joule’s Sunflow®-E ethanol process
April 8, 2016
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by Mario Parker (Bloomberg Business) … Back in 2007, when crude oil was headed toward a record $147.27 a barrel, ethanol was being touted as a cheap alternative from abundant domestic resources. The U.S. is the world’s biggest corn grower and exporter. Then-President George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and
by Megan Elliott (Flying Magazine) First transcontinental flight using aviation biofuel in a certified light aircraft. — High-school science teacher Ross McCurdy is planning the first transcontinental flight using aviation biofuel in a certified light aircraft. McCurdy will launch from North Central Airport near Providence, Rhode Island, in a Cessna 182
The spring 2016 Algae Testbed Public Private Partnership (ATP3) workshop will occur May 16–20, 2016, at Santa Fe Community College, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the New Mexico Consortium Biological Laboratory. These unique facilities will give participants incredible insights into aspects across the algae value chain and the food, energy and water nexus. Lectures
March 10, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Sandia’s Bioenergy and Defense Technologies department, which is part of Sandia’s Biological and Materials Sciences Center, supports mission areas in biodefense, emerging infectious disease, and biofuels. The department conducts fundamental research in cell biology, immunology, and microbiology, largely through the development and use of advanced measurement technologies
February 9, 2016
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(Algae Industry Magazine) he Algae Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about algae, its biology, ecology, cultivation and commercial potential, has been awarded a three-year grant from the Department of Energy to develop a college degree in algal biology, technology and cultivation as well as an aquaculture
January 26, 2016
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(Joule/BusinessWire) Major milestones include acquisition of Red Rock Biofuels, expanded partner relationships, continued strong technology development backed by strong financing partners — Joule, the pioneer of drop-in liquid fuels from recycled CO2, announced today that it has gained significant traction in the acceleration and commercialization of environmentally sustainable ultra-low carbon fuel
January 22, 2016
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by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) For eight years, Joule has been working under the radar to develop and commercialize its CO2-to-fuel technology. — When it comes to ethanol production volumes per acre of land, Joule’s Helioculture technology leaves all other processes in the dust. “We can do several factors
January 18, 2016
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(Algae Industry Magazine) In any industry, a few incredible people make an enormous impact. The algae industry is fortunate to honor Algae Ambassadors that are great scientists and industry leaders. They are also superb educators for our next generation of algae scientists and business leaders. The Algae Ambassadors have inspired
January 11, 2016
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(Algae Industry Magazine) Dr. Richard Sayre, a scientist in the Bioenergy and Biome Sciences group at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the New Mexico Consortium, writes in the Santa Fe New Mexican about a new research project led by Los Alamos National Laboratory that seeks to drive algal biofuels to
December 22, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) xF Technologies Inc. is an Albuquerque, NM based company that has developed a thermochemical process to convert biomass into an advanced oxygenate that is compatible with gasoline, diesel and heating oil. xF Technologies plans to license the process technology to third parties and will not
December 15, 2015
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by Rob Nikolewski (Kansas Watchdog.org) … “I think we have to see how this thing plays out. In the short run, of course, it’s a devastating blow,” said Neal Gillespie, Stevens County Economic Developmentdirector. “In the long run, I think there’s a lot of value in that plant out there, and I
December 7, 2015
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by James Urton (University of Washington) … University of Washington scientists have sequenced the complete genetic makeup of one of these algae. As they recently reported in the journal PLOS Genetics, it is only the second time that researchers have sequenced the genome of one of these ecologically important and plentiful algae,
November 23, 2015
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(Technical University of Munich/Ethanol Producer Magazine) … Using neutrons, researchers have now investigated the reaction mechanism of an important class of enzymes: the glycosidases. The measurements were made at the neutron sources in Los Alamos and Oak Ridge (USA), as well as at the research neutron source FRM II of
November 3, 2015
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(U.S. Department of Energy) How is funding from BETO a part of the emerging bioeconomy in some states? Find out with our new state fact sheets. For select states, these fact sheets give information about efforts to develop the advanced bioenergy industry. The U.S. Department of Energy provides joint funding
October 29, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Sapphire is a venture capital backed company founded in 2007 for the purpose of growing and processing micro-algae into products that serve very large and diverse markets where the unique attributes of algae provide valuable solutions. Sapphire’s technology uses sunlight, CO2, non-potable water, non-arable land,
October 19, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the terrestrial world, oxygen is colorless, odorless, and try to get through an hour without some. In the Bioeconomy Cinematic Universe, oxygen is harder than steel, heavier than a black hole, and higher than the Himalayas. Here’s the why and what’s being done about
October 14, 2015
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by Devin Henry (The Hill) A group of senators is pushing the White House to issue a strong mandate for ethanol fuel. Fourteen senators — a mix of Republicans and Democrats, many from ethanol-producing Midwestern states — met with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough on Thursday to make their
October 5, 2015
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(Joule/BusinessWire) Joule, the pioneer of liquid fuels from recycled CO2, today announced that its fuel grade Sunflow®-E ethanol has been registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for commercial use in E10 and E15 gasoline blends. “We are approaching commercialization with a technology that is first of its kind,
October 2, 2015
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(EurekAlert!/US Department of Energy) New technique removes barrier to development of biofuel cells with efficient performance — With fossil-fuel sources dwindling, better biofuel cell design is a strong candidate in the energy field. In research published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Los Alamos researchers and external collaborators
September 29, 2015
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by Mark Harris (The Guardian) In Las Cruces, New Mexico, a pilot project is using heat-loving algae to clean wastewater and generate energy … “Galdieria sulphuraria is one of the most interesting microorganisms on the planet,” says Peter Lammers, a professor in algal bioenergy at Arizona State University. “It grows in
September 24, 2015
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by Mark Harris (The Guardian) In Las Cruces, New Mexico, a pilot project is using heat-loving algae to clean wastewater and generate energy — … “Galdieria sulphuraria is one of the most interesting microorganisms on the planet,” says Peter Lammers, a professor in algal bioenergy at Arizona State University. “It grows
August 31, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What is the Earth Room Problem and how is osmotic shock helping us to solve it? You may have wondered to yourself — at some point between 2009’s Summer of Algae and now, in 2015’s Summer of Where Are the Gallons? — “Gee, I wonder what happened
August 27, 2015
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(Los Alamos National Laboratory) The key is a tunable switch made from a small non-coding RNA molecule that could have value for medical and even biofuel production purposes. — Tunable riboregulator switches for post-translational control of gene expression Recent work by Los Alamos National Laboratory experimental and theoretical biologists describes a
August 24, 2015
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(Office of Senator Tom Udall (D-NM)) In a letter this week to Office of Management and Budget (OPM) Director Shaun Donovan, U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Reps. Ben Ray Luján and Michelle Lujan Grisham called for prompt action on upcoming federal standards to curb natural gas
July 28, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … 31 Algae players, what do they make now, and how are they making out? … Here’s our company by company guide to 31 of the players on the scene — project developers and technology suppliers. … AlgaEnergy AlgaEnergy is a technology-based company specialized in the field
July 10, 2015
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(U.S. Department of Agriculture) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest up to $100 million in a Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership to support the infrastructure needed to make more renewable fuel options available to American consumers. Specifically, USDA will administer competitive grants to
May 29, 2015
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by Kelly Taylor (Chronicle Herald) … Still, ethanol does have some advantages, including lower net greenhouse gas emissions due to its recycling of carbon-dioxide emitted by today’s plants (or factories), as opposed to oil, which is releasing the CO2 of plants and animals that grew millions of years ago. … So,
May 29, 2015
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by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) The vision of developing a community college degree program to train a high technology algae workforce was launched at New Mexico’s Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) in 2009. Charles Bensinger assembled the program, with state funding, to start this trained labor pipeline to the
May 18, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Massachusetts, news arrives from Joule that the company’s CO2-recycled ethanol meets US and European fuel specifications. No one is dying of surprise that they would do so, but getting Joule fuels registered for commercial sale is an important step towards commercialization of the technology,
May 11, 2015
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by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) In January of this year, after six months of plummeting oil prices, Sapphire Energy CEO James E. Levine announced that the company – with eight years and $300+ million of investment into drop-in algal biofuels – “is moving forward with its vision of commercializing
April 24, 2015
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(Deming Headlight) Like other high school seniors, Sophia Sánchez-Maes of Mayfield High is weighing her options as she considers where she will go next. … Sánchez-Maes was a photonics research intern at the University of New Mexico’s Center for High Technology Materials in Albuquerque in the summer between her sophomore and
April 24, 2015
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By Emily Conover (Science Magazine) Sixteen-year-old Sophia Sánchez-Maes is all about algae. The slimy green stuff is an attractive candidate for biofuel production, but Sánchez-Maes wondered why the biofuel startups near her hometown of Las Cruces, New Mexico, weren’t having more success. “I’d heard all these stats about how awesome algae
March 30, 2015
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by Joby Warrick (The Washington Post) The methane that leaks from 40,000 gas wells near this desert trading post may be colorless and odorless, but it’s not invisible. It can be seen from space. Satellites that sweep over energy-rich northern New Mexico can spot the gas as it
December 30, 2014
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by Tim Reid (Reuters) … In Houston, Texas, the first oil industry layoffs have been announced, with realtors there predicting a sharp decline, up to 12 percent, in home sales next year. Alaska’s 2015 fiscal year budget revenue forecast will have to be lowered by almost $2 billion, according to
December 15, 2014
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by Joshua Lucero (Portales News-Tribune) More than two years after the Abengoa plant went off-line, Houston, Texas, based Natural Chem Group is looking to acquire the plant and resume operations. Roosevelt County Community Development Corp. Director Stan Livengood said the company is looking to acquire the Abengoa plant as part
December 9, 2014
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by Martin LaMonica (Xconomy) The list of advanced biofuel companies that failed to live up to their ambitions is long and discouraging. Joule Unlimited, though, appears to be making progress despite the headwinds of skeptical investors and, more recently, falling oil prices. The Bedford, MA-based company last week said that Serge
November 21, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) 10 hot companies, 10 hot slides explaining where they are, what they’re up to, and where they are going, and when and how and why. Here are new slides from the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference – ABLC Next 2014, as presented in San Francisco. We found
November 17, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A bolt-on technology for ethanol plants, costing less than $2 per installed gallon, producing a cellulosic biofuel additive that oxygenates diesel fuel at competitive prices? It’s early stage, but what’s not to like? The Digest looks at xF Technologies. … (F)rom the EIA: “Oxygenates
November 4, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The state of R&D so far. 4 NAABB advances have brought the cost of algae biocrude oil down to $7.50 per gallon. 3 roadblocks remain between today’s cost and $3.00. In our two-part series, we look first at the breakthroughs that have radically changed the costs and
October 14, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) 10 leaders, 10 enterprises, 10 paths to scale — what’s really key to making algae a commercial crop for feed, fuel and pharma, soon? This week at the Algae Biomass Summit, a pair of key sessions featured 10 of the leading companies in the algae
October 2, 2014
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(US Department of Agriculture) $105 Million loan guarantee provided through the Biorefinery Assistance Program Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA has closed on a loan guarantee to Fulcrum Sierra Biofuels, LLC to build a biorefinery to produce jet fuel from municipal solid waste. “This represents a huge step forward in
September 8, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Could a liquid fuel technology emerge that connects solar PV to the efficiency of electric engines — but, this time with long driving range and near-instant refueling instead of laborious recharging? And, could the liquid fuel be made from the very waste CO2 that bedevils
July 17, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … From Massachusetts, word arrived from Joule this week that the EPA has favorably reviewed the company’s Microbial Commercial Activity Notice for Joule’s first commercial ethanol-producing catalyst. This clears the catalyst for commercial use at the company’s demonstration plant in New Mexico, the company says. There’s
July 3, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Think algae biofuels are real and near? Or, think it’s a promotional scheme for attracting finance for nutraceuticals and academic bridges-to-nowhere? The barriers might be more, or less, daunting than you think. Let’s look at the recent data. Fortunately, there’s been much progress on the
May 27, 2014
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by Olatomiwa Bifarin* (Advanced Biofuels USA) With the impact of climate change becoming evident by the day, many of the United States iconic landmarks are at risk as never before. On the 20th of May, 2014, The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
by Stephen Mayfield (International Society for Applied Phycology Newsletter) I am often asked, “When will algae-based transportation fuels be commercially available?” My answer tends to be that they are available now, and have been since roughly 1900. In fact, algae-based fuels are the only kind you can buy! I say this somewhat
April 17, 2014
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By Alta LeCompte(Las Cruces Bulletin) On a tour Thursday, Jan. 23, of Sapphire Energy’s research and development facility in the West Mesa Industrial Park, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich addressed the unique nature of the advanced biodiesel industry and the challenge it poses for legislators.“Advanced bio-fuels are caught between the silos of agricultural
(Algae Biomass Organization) Analysis can reduce time, cost associated with site development The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, today (March 10, 2014) lauded a new publication from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in partnership with Sapphire Energy, “Siting Algae Cultivation Facilities for Biofuel Production
March 11, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Algae has been touted as the ultimate platform for fuels, chemicals, nutraceuticals, proteins — even cancer therapies. There’s been a rate of progress that would impress any devotee of Moore’s Law — and a series of wacky claims that would impress any devotee of P.T.
March 4, 2014
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(Virtual-Strategy.com) Changing the way the world looks at the source of hydrocarbons for biofuels and sustainable green chemicals, Endophytics LLC announces a new technology platform in Bozeman, Montana that is receiving attention from many throughout the industry. Endophytics, LLC recently announced their fungal biotechnology platform at the Harvesting Clean Energy
March 4, 2014
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by Milsa Vijayadharan* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Most of the oil that we drill out of the ground was formed by algae and other sea-borne flora that piled up at the bottom of the ocean over the course of millions of years, then got compacted and heated and transformed into petroleum.
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The story of Pareto Biotechnologies, RuBisCo, the pesky failures of evolution, and help for those who have fallen and can’t get up, via a right-sized approach. Not too high a goal, not too low. Not too much reinvention of the genetic code. Not too little.
December 16, 2013
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(Sapphire Energy/PR NewsWire) Agreement to Co-Process Algae Crude Oil with Conventional Crude Oil and Complete Fuel Certifications Sapphire Energy, Inc., one of the world leaders in algae-based Green Crude oil production, and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), an integrated energy manufacturing and logistics company, announced a strategic joint development agreement aimed at
December 10, 2013
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by Steve Byrns (AgriLife Today) Pecos is usually egg-frying hot, bone dry and much of the groundwater is brackish, but Texas A&M AgriLife Research personnel know the area is prime real estate for conducting algae research, something they’ve been doing successfully since 2007. They’re good at it too, so good that
December 6, 2013
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The 4th International Conference on Algal Biomass, Biofuels and Bioproducts provides direct interaction for attending delegates, with scientific and technical leaders in this field. Emphasis will be placed on the latest unpublished technical and scientific results, along with discussion and direct interactions with strategic partners and leaders in the field. The
November 19, 2013
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The 4th International Conference on Algal Biomass, Biofuels and Bioproducts provides direct interaction for attending delegates, with scientific and technical leaders in this field. Emphasis will be placed on the latest unpublished technical and scientific results, along with discussion and direct interactions with strategic partners and leaders in the field. The
November 19, 2013
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by Danilo Gusmão de Quadros* (Advanced Biofuels USA) During four days, from September 31st to October 3rd, people from 34 countries were reunited at the Hilton Hotel in Orlando, Florida, for a wide-ranging discussion of the advances and challenges of algae. The 2013 Algae Biomass Summit hosted by the Algae
(US Department of Agriculture) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the availability of $181 million to develop commercial-scale biorefineries or retrofit existing facilities with appropriate technology to develop advanced biofuels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) remains focused on carrying out its mission, despite a time of significant budget uncertainty.
October 22, 2013
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … It seems a long time ago now that, out of Dr. Steve Mayfield’s lab at Scripps and later at the University of California at San Diego, a series of discoveries made it possible, for the first time, that algae could be used a platform for
October 3, 2013
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