Advanced BioFuels USA – Truly Sustainable Renewable Future

Great Plains – The Camelina Company and the EERC Poised to Produce 100 Percent Renewable Jet Fuel from Camelina

Great Plains-The Camelina Company has studied the science and agronomy of camelina for over 10 years and for the past three years has contracted with growers throughout the United States and Canada to grow the crop. Currently, the company is

October 02, 2008 Read Full Article

Novel Fungus Helps Beetles to Digest Hard Wood

by Amit Avasthi and Vicki Fong (Penn State University, gantdaily.com) A little known fungus tucked away in the gut of Asian longhorned beetles helps the insect munch through the hardest of woods according to a team of entomologists and biochemists. Researchers

September 29, 2008 Read Full Article

From Sugar To Gasoline: 'Green Gasoline' Crafted From Sugar and Carbohydrates

Following independent paths of investigation, two research teams are announcing this month that they have successfully converted sugar-potentially derived from agricultural waste and non-food plants-into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and a range of other valuable chemicals. READ MORE

September 19, 2008 Read Full Article

Chesapeake Cellulosic Biofuels Report Released

The Report of the Chesapeake Cellulosic Biofuels Project Next-Generation Biofuels: Taking the Policy Lead for the Nation was released at the Cellulosic Biofuels Summit held on September 4, 2008 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “This publication represents the culmination of a year-long effort

September 18, 2008 Read Full Article

Fusion Enzymes for Biofuels

C2 Biotechnologies, LLC of Germantown, New York (C2B) harnesses the power of biology to fuse different proteins, specifically, enzymes with desirable characteristics, into one product using a fusion enzyme technology platform. Download PDF or READ MORE

September 15, 2008 Read Full Article

Green Auto Racing? How Can that Be?

On August 28 and 29, a group of well-connected “car guys” (male and female) got together to discuss the future of personal transportation in the world. They did so through the prism of international car racing, hosted by the Motorsport

September 07, 2008 Read Full Article

Comments on Implementation of Title IX, Energy Authorities of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008

by Robert Kozak, President, Atlantic Biomass Conversions, Inc.; Board Member, Advanced Biofuels USA Title IX Implementation: Overall Goals First and foremost I urge whichever Administration takes office in January to honor the intent of Title IX legislation, to assure that the mandatory funding

September 05, 2008 Read Full Article

80% of British Biofuels are Unsustainable

by Fred Pearce (New Scientist) Biofuels have received another environmental black mark. A survey commissioned by the UK government found that over 4 litres in every 5 supplied at British pumps fail to meet basic industry standards for sustainable production. Manufacturers

August 29, 2008 Read Full Article

Agriculture’s Role in Fueling the BioCar of the Future

Until recently, Americans thought very little of filling up our gas tanks. Gas was gas. Where it came from was of little concern, as long as it powered our cars to get us where we needed to be, when we

August 28, 2008 Read Full Article

$2.00/gal Bio Diesel Fuel Ready for Production

Several thousand gallons of bio diesel fuel that meets ASTM specification D-975 have been produced, road tested in diesel vehicles and declared ready for volume production, according to Harrison Dillon, President and Chief Technology Officer, Solazyme, Inc. South San Francisco,

August 28, 2008 Read Full Article

Department of Defense Advanced Aviation Biofuels Program

The Defense Department has been directed to explore a wide range of energy alternatives and fuel efficiency efforts in a bid to reduce the military's reliance on oil to power its aircraft, ground vehicles and non-nuclear ships. The goal of

August 06, 2008 Read Full Article

Giant Grass Miscanthus Can Meet US Biofuels Goal Using Less Land Than Corn Or Switchgrass

ScienceDaily (Aug. 4, 2008) — In the largest field trial of its kind in the United States, researchers have determined that the giant perennial grass Miscanthus x giganteus outperforms current biofuels sources – by a lot. READ MORE

August 04, 2008 Read Full Article

FAA Selects X PRIZE Foundation for Grant to Spur Renewable Aviation Fuels and Technologies

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced July 10, 2008, that the FAA has selected the X PRIZE Foundation to develop a strategy to create monetary incentives for developing renewable aviation fuels and technologies to stem the affect of pollutants from

July 25, 2008 Read Full Article

Lufthansa Aims to Use Some Biofuel

The German airline, Lufthansa, plans to cut 25 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions by 2020. Luftansa announced plans to clean up emissions at the airline, aiming to use 10 percent biofuel in its fleet by 2020. The company set a series

June 30, 2008 Read Full Article

Crawford County Farmers Growing Camelina for Biofuel

(Farm and Dairy) In most places in the East, they’re still talking about the coming biofuels revolution. But in Crawford County, Pennsylvania — thanks largely to Penn State Cooperative Extension — farmers already are involved in it. The local extension office

June 15, 2008 Read Full Article

Getting Real About Oil

Presidential hopeful John McCain said it this week and he can't deny it. The war in Iraq is about our dependency on foreign oil. He's right and he needn't apologize for it. And look where it's gotten us five years later.

May 07, 2008 Read Full Article

Now Sunlight CO2 and Bacteria Equals Ethanol

(New Energy and Fuel) A new bacterium, a cyanobacterium that is energized by sunlight and excretes the sugars glucose and sucrose with some cellulose has been created by Dr. R. Malcolm Brown and Dr. David Nobles at the University of Texas

April 30, 2008 Read Full Article

Biofuels from Sugar Beets

Sugar beet pulp left over from sugar production is rich in 5-carbon (C-5) and 6-carbon (C-6) sugars that are ideal for the production of advanced biofuels. Atlantic Biomass Conversions, Inc., is currently developing "evolved" enzyme sets to release C-5 and

April 30, 2008 Read Full Article

Biofuels and the Energy-Water Nexus

by Ron Pate (Sandia National Laboratories) This presentation explores the demands of water on renewable energy development, including biofuels. READ MORE

April 28, 2008 Read Full Article

Juice: Alternate Fuels World Announcing the Advanced Biofuels Association

I recently spoke with Joanne Ivancic, the founder and director of the recently formed Advanced Biofuels USA ... (She) perceived that a whole contingent of biofuels developers were not being either recognized or represented. And surely she is right. Ethanol and biodiesel

April 27, 2008 Read Full Article

Advanced Biofuels USA Forms in Maryland to Lobby for Next-Gen Biofuels

In Maryland, a trade association has been formed to advocate and lobby in behalf of second generation biofuels. Advanced Biofuels USA will serve individuals, farm co-ops, start-up companies and commercial-scale producers a voice in influencing policy. Bob Kozak, president of

April 22, 2008 Read Full Article

Advanced biofuels organization formed

A Maryland-based nonprofit has been established to promote the interests of the advanced biofuels industry. READ MORE

April 21, 2008 Read Full Article

Biofuel Promotion Group Organized

A new organization aimed at promoting advanced biofuels industry has been founded in Frederick. Advanced Biofuels USA wants to bring to the forefront the interests of the developing advanced biofuels industry, founder Joanne Ivancic said in press release Wednesday. READ

April 17, 2008 Read Full Article

Breeding and Biotechnology Increase the Productivity and Efficiency of Maize

Mike Edgerton (Monsanto) from the Global Stewardship session at the Biomass 2008 conference. Download PDF.

April 17, 2008 Read Full Article

Ag Biotechnology Improvements for Dedicated Energy Crops

Neal Gutterson (Mendel Biotechnology) from the plenary sesssion at the Biomass 2008 conference.

April 17, 2008 Read Full Article

Designing Proactive Bioenergy Choices in a Landscape Context

Virginia Dale and colleagues (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) from Stewardship sesssion at Biomass 2008 conference. Bioenergy feedstock choices. Download PDF.

April 17, 2008 Read Full Article

Accelerating Production of Advanced Biofuels with Industrial Biotech Breakthroughs

From the open plenary session of the Biomass 2008 Conference. Download PDF.

April 17, 2008 Read Full Article

International GeneSyst Converts Municipal Waste to Ethanol

GeneSyst upgraded the weak acid hydrolysis process to convert biomass from municipal waste to fuel ethanol by making it a 'continuous (flow) process ' using the patented Gravity Pressure Vessel instead of the former 'pump and pressure' tanks (batch). READ

March 30, 2008 Read Full Article

Bio Aviation Fuel

by Jennifer Holmgren (UOP) This March 2008 presentation reviews biomass-based manufacturing technologies and aviation fuel requirements. READ MORE

March 29, 2008 Read Full Article

Graduate students and American Indian tribes work for biofuel solutions

March 14, 2008 In the midst of rising concern about energy sources, many are looking at local, waste-derived biofuels as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Most biofuel in the United States is made from plants, such as corn, and carried

March 14, 2008 Read Full Article

Alternative Fuels - Green Racing What Is That, And Is It Possible?

by Rob Fisher (Circle Track) ..."A little over two years ago at the SAE congress there was a meeting of a new technical working group. People from all over the racing community were at this meeting-tracks, sanctions, suppliers, engine builders,

February 27, 2008 Read Full Article

Using Plants to Turn Solar Energy Into Useful Products: Framing the Biofuels Debate at the Proper Point on the Technology Curve

…It is difficult to argue with scientific measurements and peer review when they are discussing the first generation technologies, with little relevance of the overall shift towards renewables and greentech that is making all industry more energy efficient, improving water

February 14, 2008 Read Full Article

Pacific Ethanol Wins DOE Cellulosic Energy Grant

U.S. Department of Energy has included Pacific Ethanol in a matching award totaling $24.32 million to build the first cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant in the Northwest United States. The plant will employ a technology to produce ethanol from wheat straw,

January 30, 2008 Read Full Article

20-30 Percent Ethanol Inproves Fuel Efficiency in Some Cars, MnCAR Discovers

by Tim Krohn (Free Press/Minnesota State University) When Bruce Jones and his colleagues began a study on how higher blends of ethanol would affect gas mileage, he expected to prove conventional wisdom true: The more ethanol added to gasoline, the

January 30, 2008 Read Full Article

Who is Driving the Biofuels and Biobased Products Industry?

One of the common frustrations that these leaders face is that the research and government organizations come to them for ideas or product samples, but instead of treating them as the drivers of innovation, they are treated as one of

January 10, 2008 Read Full Article

The Third Domain: The Untold Story of Archaea and the Future of Biotechnology

(Science News) Until 1977, the known classes of life included eukaryotes and bacteria. When microbiologist Carl Woese announced the discovery of a third class, most academics scoffed. Yet today, barely 30 years later, archaea are known to be at least

January 02, 2008 Read Full Article

George Washington Carver and Henry Ford Shared a Bio-fuel (Ethanol) Vision

(The Auto Channel) Though worlds apart, George Washington Carver and Henry Ford shared a vision of a future in which agricultural products would be put to new uses to create products and industries. One idea both men worked on more than

December 30, 2007 Read Full Article

It Takes a Lot of Water to Grow a Corn Crop

by David Bennett (Southeast Farm Press) Last year, many Southern farmers found out just how much water a corn crop requires. “A good, high-yielding corn crop will use 22 or 23 inches of water,” says Emerson Nafziger, professor of crop production

December 30, 2007 Read Full Article

Nonwood Fiber Raw Materials and the Biorefinery

by Robert W. Hurter (HurterConsult, Inc.) The biorefinery is being touted as the way for the North American pulp and paper industry to reinvent itself. Feedstock for biorefineries includes virtually any biomass including forest waste, bark, fiber bearing sludge, construction waste,

December 29, 2007 Read Full Article

Transgenics Are Imperative for Biofuel Crops

by Jonathan Gressel (Plant Science) Petroleum dependency is a challenge that can potentially be partly offset by agricultural production of biofuels, while decreasing net, nonrenewable carbon dioxide output. Plants have not beendomesticated formodern biofuel production, and the quickest,most efficient, and

December 03, 2007 Read Full Article

Rain Forest for Biodiesel?

by Guido Reinhardt, Nils Rettenmaier, Sven Gärtner, ifeu-Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg GmbH (Chapter 2 and 4) Andreas Pastowski, Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie GmbH (Chapter 3) (WWF Germany) The study concludes that the use of tropical fallow land for planting oil

November 02, 2007 Read Full Article

Roadmap for Bioenergy and Biobased Products in the United States

The United States has become increasingly dependent in recent decades on imported petroleum to meet its energy needs. A portfolio of more diverse and domestic feedstocks for our nation's energy and chemical supply must be found to reduce our dependence

October 31, 2007 Read Full Article

'Sweet' Biofuels Research Goes Down On The Farm

(Science Daily) Oklahoma State University’s sorghum-related biofuels research is taking a localized approach, with the aim of making possible the effective production of ethanol in the farmer’s own field. Sweet sorghum can be grown throughout temperate climate zones of the United

September 30, 2007 Read Full Article

Salty Biodiesel Crops May Be Grown at the Beach

University of Delaware researchers are interested in developing a type of mallow, the seashore mallow, for biodiesel and ethanol production: And unlike soybeans and corn, which require annual plantings on valuable farmland to feed the growing appetite for biofuels, the

August 30, 2007 Read Full Article

Syngenta Introduces Tropical Sugar Beet for Food and Biofuels

Syngenta has introduced sugar beet in India for cultivation in tropical climatic conditions. Tropical sugar beet brings significant agronomic, environmental and output advantages to Indian farming and the Indian economy. The beet delivers similar output yields to sugar cane and

August 28, 2007 Read Full Article

An Apple a Day Keeps the Gas Pump Away

by Jeremy Elton (Treehugger) A team of scientists led by James Dumesic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has discovered a way (subscription needed) to turn the sugar commonly found in fruits like apples and oranges into a biofuel with 40%

June 30, 2007 Read Full Article

A Research Roadmap for Making Lignocellulosic Biofuels A Practical Reality: Breaking the Chemical and Engineering Barriers to Lignocellulosic Biofuels: Next Generation Hydrocarbon Biorefineries

Based on the June 25-26, 2007 Workshop in Washington, DC, with Dr. George Hubner, University of Massachusetts--Amherst, Workshop Chair View the PDF

June 26, 2007 Read Full Article

Mediterranean Energy and Ecology Center Announces New Biomass Hydrolysis Process Test Results

BIOPOLYGEN Group of the MEEC, Israel, reports a successful completion of the first phase of its new biomass hydrolysis process tests and announces the plans to construct and demonstrate a small-scale pilot biorefinery for co-production of second generation ethanol, organic-mineral

June 15, 2007 Read Full Article

Biomass Recalcitrance: Engineering Plants and Enzymes for Biofuels Production

by Michael E. Himmel, Shi-You Ding, David K. Johnson, William S. Adney, Mark R. Nimlos, John W. Brady and Thomas D. Foust (Science Magazine) Lignocellulosic biomass has long been recognized as a potential sustainable source of mixed sugars for fermentation to biofuels and other biomaterials. Several technologies have

February 26, 2007 Read Full Article

University of California Berkeley, the University of Illinois and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Join Research Effort

(British Petroleum) BP today announced it has selected the University of California Berkeley and its partners the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to join in a $500 million research program that will explore how bioscience

February 02, 2007 Read Full Article

Making the Desert Bloom - with Fuel-Yielding Plants, Halophytes

A NASA scientist is confident that within five years commercial aircraft could be powered using a type of biofuel derived from saltwater plants, or halophytes, grown in desert areas and irrigated using sea water. While the concept may sound far-fetched,

January 20, 2007 Read Full Article

Biologist Finds Cell Wall Construction Pathway

Wood with altered properties and cheaper ethanol through more efficient production are two possibilities as a result of a find by a biologist at Washington University in St. Louis. Erik Nielsen, Ph.D., Washington University adjunct professor of biology in Arts

October 30, 2006 Read Full Article

Saab 9-3 BioPower Concept

(Left Lane) ...(T)he ground-breaking Saab 9-3 BioPower Hybrid Concept, which delivers zero fossil CO2 emissions, enhanced performance and a range of energy-saving features by combining the use of pure bioethanol fuel and electric power generation for the first time. As

October 30, 2006 Read Full Article

Citrus Peel Waste a Potential Source of Ethanol

Thanks to recent hikes in gasoline prices, there is a renewed interest in finding a cheaper way to fill up the gas tank. Researchers at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory in Winter Haven, Fla. have

April 30, 2006 Read Full Article

How to Beat the High Cost of Gasoline. Forever!

by Adam Lashinsky and Nelson D. Schwartz (CNN Money/Fortune Magazine) You probably don't know it, but the answer to America's gasoline addiction could be under the hood of your car. More than five million Tauruses, Explorers, Stratuses, Suburbans, and other vehicles

January 31, 2006 Read Full Article

Biomass as Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply

USDA and DOE put together this study finding that there could be adequate biomass to displace 30% or more of current US annual petroleum consumption. READ MORE

April 28, 2005 Read Full Article

Top Value Added Chemicals from Biomass Volume 1: Results of Screening for Potential Candidates from Sugars and Synthesis Gas

(US Department of Energy) This report identifies twelve building block chemicals that can be produced from sugars via biological or chemical conversions. The twelve building blocks can be subsequently converted to a number of high-value bio-based chemicals or materials. Building

December 29, 2004 Read Full Article

The Novel Pathway for ketodiene oxylipin Biosynthesis in Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) Tubers.

(PubMed) The new route of the plant lipoxygenase pathway, directed specifically towards the ketodiene formation, was detected during in vitro experiments with Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) tubers. Through this pathway (9Z,11E,13S)-13-hydroperoxy-9,11-octadecadienoic acid (13-HPOD) is reduced to corresponding 13-hydroxy acid (13-HOD),

November 30, 2004 Read Full Article

Biogas from Human Waste

(Consortium on RuralTechnology) Biogas plants have been accepted by now in the country~as a device for improving the quality of the life of the people. They help in recycling of the cattie wastes and produce both fuel and manure from