Advanced BioFuels USA

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …The rounds of applause at BIO have been loud and steady but the biggest ones were heard not for a presentation or a speaker — rather, BIO’s decision to stage the World Congress next year in Des Moines. It breaks a lengthy streak away from the industry’s heartland in the midwestern US. What has the industry cheering is the prospect for many of a “drive-in” World Congress, with so many companies within driving distance, including POET,  Dow, Cargill, ADM and Corteva’s dual HQs in Des Moines and Indianapolis. The airlines’ loss is the industry’s gain, and the kudos have been in plentiful supply.

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Why make FDME instead of FDCA? Stabilization, shipping and purification issues apply, for now, says DuPont.  The feedstock? Corn sugars.

It’s got the industry buzzing. Customers have become more jaded of late about embracing alternatives that are plant-based and nothing more. But, spending less on packaging? That’s a pitch with perennial appeal.

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“DuPont Biomaterials is focusing on performance first,” Saltzberg told The Digest. “That means high performance through application development. The other two legs of the stool? “Accessible & affordable through scalable supply” — and “Responsible biomaterials through Renewable Sourcing.”

When you compare the DuPont approach with the usual one, sustainability is there but not in the lead; it’s about performance edge instead of drop-in replacement. Why?

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At Queensland Life Sciences’ reception this week, the Queensland Government announced the appointment of former US Navy Director of Operational Energy Chris Tindal* as a special strategic advisor to the government for sustainable fuels. Tindal is also serving as assistant director of CAAFI and as an adjunct professor at Queensland University of Technology in a busy post-Navy career.

Organizations on the Move

Tindal and other Digesterati will be heading west early this week for Red Rock Biofuels’ groundbreaking ceremony for its first biorefinery this Wednesday in Lakeview, Oregon.  Once operational, each year it will convert approximately 136,000 dry tons of waste woody biomass into approximately 15 million gallons of renewable jet, diesel and gasoline blendstock fuels.  In addition to directly reducing carbon emissions, Red Rock’s usage of waste woody biomass as a feedstock will reduce the risk of devastating forest fires in the western United States.

IR1 Group LLC is the EPC Contractor for the project and on site construction is slated to begin in July with project partner Swaggart Brothers Inc., a subsidiary of Wood and based in Hermiston, Oregon.  Construction and commissioning are expected to take approximately 24 months to complete.

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Praj Industries joined the Queensland Renewable Fuels Association, and that QRFA signed an MOU with the Roundtable of Sustainable Biomaterials.

RSB and QRFA will work to boost the profile and importance of certification of biofuels in the region in order to support the objectives of developing low-carbon fuel opportunities and projects that assist with decarbonizing transport across Queensland, Australia and the globe.

“Globally we are seeing the impact of regional initiatives, like the Queensland Renewables Fuels Association,” said RSB Executive Director, Rolf Hogan. “Developing global partnerships are important to support connectivity between current and emerging stakeholders within our domestic supply chain,” added Larissa Rose, Managin Director at Queensland’s Renewable Fuels Association.   READ MORE

*Editor’s note:  Chris Tindal also serves as a board member to Advanced Biofuels USA.  Congratulations, Chris!