Projects will help develop sustainable, renewable biofuels in the U.S. As part of the Obama Administration's comprehensive plan to address rising gas prices, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a total of $47 million
BioChemicals/Renewable Chemicals
Back TO HOMEMove Over, Soylent Green — Algae Will Soon Be in Everything
by Ariel Schwartz (Fast Company/EIN News) Remember a few years ago when everyone decided that using algae as a biofuel feedstock would be the best thing ever? Well, progress on that front is moving so slowly that companies have realized that
May 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Selective, Nickel-Catalyzed Hydrogenolysis of Aryl Ethers
by Alexey G. Sergeev and John F. Hartwig (Science) Selective hydrogenolysis of the aromatic carbon-oxygen (C-O) bonds in aryl ethers is an unsolved synthetic problem important for the generation of fuels and chemical feedstocks from biomass and for the liquefaction
May 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Reducing Oil Dependence and Creating a Better Environment: The Promise of a Bio-Based Society
by Steen Riisgaard (Huffington Post Green) ...More complicated types of biomass -- corn cobs, wood chips, waste paper -- are far more difficult to turn into energy. But this type of biomass--known as "cellulosic biomass" -- is plentiful and renewable.
May 03, 2011 Read Full Article
SUNY Researchers Optimizing Efficient Biobutanol Pathway
by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine) A team of researchers at State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry are experimenting with different strains of microorganisms to efficiently ferment sugars, extracted from woody biomass, into biobutanol and
May 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuel Research Could Lead to New Source of Ingredients
(ManufacturingChemist.com) Researchers at Glyndwr University looking at the commercial potential of high-sugar perennial rye-grass as feedstock for the production of bio-ethanol and other chemicals will also consider the fibre’s potential for pharmaceutical applications. High-sugar perennial rye-grass has the potential to
April 29, 2011 Read Full Article
LanzaTech, LCY Partner for Chems, Biofuels Plant Construction
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In New Zealand, LanzaTech is partnering with China’s LCY Chemical Corporation to identify key bio-based chemicals to produce for global fuels and chemicals markets. Mr Lee says LCY plans to investigate alternative bio-C2 to C5
April 07, 2011 Read Full Article
The Band Wagon: Investors, First Gen Biofuels, Oil Companies Join the Advanced Biofuels Parade
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) “Coming out of graduate school at MIT in the late 1990s,” Biofuel Energy CEO Scott Pearce recalls, “everyone was flooding into technology companies, dot coms, and I went back into the boring energy space. I
April 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Food and Fuel Debate Important to All Ethanol
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Biofuels Digest) ...This faux debate is as important to future ethanol producers as it is to existing ethanol producers. And those looking to capitalize on starch-based ethanol’s public relations struggles need to be cognizant
March 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Companies to Produce Edible Ethanol Co-Product
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) ...Prairie Gold (PGI) of Bloomington, and GTL Resources USA of Itasca, Illinois have agreed to collaborate on the construction of a zein protein production plant. Zein is a high valued co-product that can be produced from
March 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Amyris Lands More Production, Distribution Agreements
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...(T)he company (Amyris) entered into a manufacturing agreement with Paraíso Bioenergia S.A., a renewable energy company producing sugar, ethanol and electricity headquartered in São Paulo State, Brazil. Under the agreement, Amyris will construct fermentation and
March 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Dyadic International Introduces Advanced Biofuels Enzyme AlternaFuel® CMAX™ at the World Biofuels Markets
(Dyadic International) Dyadic International, Inc., a global biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of enzyme and protein products for the bioenergy, industrial enzyme and biopharmaceutical industries, announced today the introduction of its most advanced biofuels enzyme, AlternaFuel®
March 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels at the Crossroads
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Good news: Advances in processing technology In the past year, we’ve seen costs coming down across the line. Last spring, new cellulosic ethanol enzyme collections appeared from the likes of Novozymes and Genencor, with the
March 21, 2011 Read Full Article
DuPont Leader: Renewables at the Heart of Clean Technology Market Opportunity
(DuPont) DuPont is uniquely positioned to deliver clean technology opportunities, including both advanced biomaterials and biofuels, DuPont Applied BioSciences President Craig F. Binetti told attendees at the Jeffries 11th Annual Clean Technology Conference. “We are meeting the growing demand for reducing dependence
March 17, 2011 Read Full Article
DOE’s Duff Warns that Asian Industrial Buildup Threatens “Our Way of Life” if US Does Not Reduce Oil Consumption
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) DOE’s Biomass Program Lead Engineer warns that, when it comes to biofuels, “it’s the economy, stupid”. In Georgia, DOE Biomass Program Lead Engineer Brian Duff, keynoting the BioPro Expo in Atlanta, said that “dependence on
March 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Why Make a $2 Fuel When You Can Make a $5 Chemical” – Cobalt CEO Rick Wilson
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...“I’m not saying that any of the companies, including us, should not be pursuing fuels. The markets are huge and the molecules work. But the country has got all its priorities screwed up. Here
March 16, 2011 Read Full Article
“Aviation Industry Needs to and Can Be First to Transition to Alternative Fuels”: Avalon 2011
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Australia, CAAFI executive director Rich Altman and Dr. Susan Pond of the US Studies Center at the University of Sydney, ... provided an overview of the Alternative Aviation Fuels Forum at the Australian International
March 14, 2011 Read Full Article
OARDC Helps Mansfield Company Produce 'Green' Polyurethane Foam, Jobs
(Ohio State University Extension) Waste is a terrible thing to waste. That’s the mantra guiding an OhioState University researcher and a bioenergy entrepreneur in the development of a brand-new, renewable source of polyurethane foam that’s expected to create up to 30 jobs in Mansfield, Ohio,
March 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Solazyme, Dow Ink 80 Million Gallon Renewable Oil Order from Algal Platform
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, Solazyme announced today the execution of both a joint development agreement and a letter of intent with Dow Chemical, to use Solazyme’s algal oils in next generation, bio-based dielectric insulating fluids key to
March 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Steel in the Ground
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) But this week in the little burgh of Boardman, Oregon (population 3,300), which happens to sit adjacent to the second-largest inland port in the western United States (the port of Morrow, on the Columbia
March 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces BioPreferred Final Rule
(USDA) BioPreferredSM Program Designates Eight New Biobased Product Categories; More than 600 additional biobased products now eligible for preferred Federal purchasing Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the designation of eight additional biobased product categories which are eligible for Federal procurement preference. With
January 20, 2011 Read Full Article
Top 10 Biofuels Predictions for 2011
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...For our 2010 batch of predictions, we give ourselves 6 marks out of 10. We gave ourselves 1 full mark for predicting the spread of Low Carbon Fuel Standard activity, the boom in renewable chemicals, a
December 31, 2010 Read Full Article
Using Yeast to Build a Better Plastic
(PR NewsWire) NYU-Poly Chemist Uses Yeast, Plant Oils to Produce Super-Durable Recyclable Plastic. Next Step: Transforming It into Biofuel Dr. Richard Gross, professor of chemical and biological science at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly), has developed a method for
December 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Special Feature: A Conversation with LS9’s New CEO, Ed Dineen
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Ed Dineen is taking over the reigns at LS9 from Bill Haywood, who led the company from 2008, and from a #25 ranking to #4 in this year’s 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy. Salutes to Bill,
December 09, 2010 Read Full Article
A.I.M. Interview: Gregory L. Bafalis, CEO, Aurora Algae
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) Since June of this year, Greg Bafalis has been CEO of Aurora Algae, formerly Aurora Biofuels, overseeing the Company’s strategy, operations, and high-level relationships. ...Aurora was founded in 2006 by three gentlemen from U.C. Berkeley.
November 21, 2010 Read Full Article
The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota Announces Recommendations for Minnesota’s Forestry Industry
(BioBusiness Alliance) The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota announces the release of Minnesota’s Forest Biomass Value Chain: A System Dynamics Analysis. The paper is the result of a yearlong project involving over 100 experts in the forestry community to develop a
November 10, 2010 Read Full Article
Algenol Biofuels Opens State-of-the-Art Labs in Lee County, Florida
(Yahoo! Finance/PR Newswire) U.S. Rep. Connie Mack and Lee County Commissioners Tammy Hall and Ray Judah join in celebrating new advanced research labs and integrated biorefinery that will diversify local economy and create clean energy jobs Algenol Biofuels Inc. celebrated the opening
October 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Dow Chemical Mulls Energy Field Stake
by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters) ...Dow, the largest U.S. chemical producer, consumes about 1 million barrels of oil and natural gas equivalents per day. The company is also doing research on several different kinds of alternative, cleaner energy, including algae and
October 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Avantium Builds YXY Pilot Plant for Green Materials and Fuels
(Avantium) Avantium announced October 14, 2010, that it has started with the construction of a pilot plant at the Chemelot site (Geleen, the Netherlands). The pilot plant will produce YXY building blocks for making green materials and fuels. Avantium has developed a novel and
October 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Dry Ice to be Manufactured from Ethanol Plant CO2
(The Andersons) Supply Agreement Reached between The Andersons Marathon Ethanol and Continental Carbonic Products, Inc. The Andersons Marathon Ethanol LLC (TAME), a partnership between The Andersons, Inc. and Marathon Petroleum Company LP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corporation, announced October 6,
October 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Glycos Biotechnologies Creates First Ever Metabolic Process for Synthesis of Biofuels and Biochemicals from Fatty Acids
(Glycos Biotechnologies) Breakthrough Further Expands Industrial Biochemical Company’s Diversified Feedstock Platform Strategy Glycos Biotechnologies, Inc. (GlycosBio), an emerging biochemical company pioneering metabolic engineering and microbiology innovations for the production of sustainable biochemicals, today announced it has created the first ever microbial
September 17, 2010 Read Full Article
The AIM Interview: OriginOil’s Brian Goodall
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) ... “I’ve always wanted to work on things that are really important, at least to the company where I’m working and, ideally, beyond that. I don’t mind how big the challenge is or how hard
August 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Secretary Chu Announces Six Projects to Convert Captured CO2 Emissions from Industrial Sources into Useful Products
(US Department of Energy) $106 Million Recovery Act Investment will Reduce CO2 Emissions and Mitigate Climate Change U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today the selections of six projects that aim to find ways of converting captured carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
July 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Profile in Commercialization: OPX Biotechnologies
by Jim Lane (Biotech Digest) This past April, ARPA-E announced a new grant round, and the largest single award in the round, $6 million, went to a group led by OPX Biotechnologies, in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and
July 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Petrobras and BIOeCON Announce Joint Technology Development for the Enhanced Conversion of Biomass to Next Generation Biofuels and Chemicals
(BIOeCON) Petrobras and BIOeCON announced their partnership in the joint development of a novel process for enhanced conversion of biomass, as found in agricultural wastes such as sugarcane bagasse, into chemicals that can be used to produce green plastics, or further
July 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Mechanical Engineering Students Take Their Professor’s Advice and Start an Ames Bioenergy Company
(Iowa State University) ...Fast pyrolysis quickly heats biomass (such as corn stalks and leaves) in the absence of oxygen to produce a liquid product known as bio-oil that can be used to manufacture fuels and chemicals and a solid product
July 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Iowa an Epicenter of Clean Energy Movement
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...“Iowa is rapidly becoming the development capital of the nation for the replacement of petroleum-based chemicals with bio-based chemicals,” according to a press release from the Iowa Department of Economic Development. Currently, the state has
July 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Hydrocarbon Fuels: Biobutanol's Contribution to Renewable Fuels Industry Growth
by Tyler Ames (Chief Science & Technology Officer, Butamax) Butamax, a product of a joint research program between DuPont and BP, is working to commercialize biobutanol. Biobutanol can be made from several feedstocks, has excellent fuel properties, and is compatible with
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Hydrocarbon Fuels: The Thermochemical Biorefinery
by Dan Burciaga (President & CEO, TRI) Burciaga discusses TRI's proprietary steam reforming gasification system, and its applicability to the production of biofuels, biochemicals, and renewable power. TRI's biorefineries are feedstock-flexible, controlled to maximize thermal efficiency, scalable, and potentially self-powered. The
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Iowa State University Researcher Develops Green, Bio-Based Process for Producing Fuel Additive
(ISU) A new green, bio-based method for producing a much-used fuel additive and industrial chemical that is currently made from petroleum products has been developed by an Iowa State University researcher. Thomas Bobik, professor of biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, invented a
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Amyris: Farnesene and the Pursuit of Value, Valuations, Validation and Vroom.
by Jim Lane (Biotech Digest) ...Amyris had its technological foundation nine years ago in the Keasling lab at Berkeley, when Jay Keasling and his team of post-docs pioneered a methodology to produce isopentenyl pyrophosphate, at rates with commercial potential, from
June 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Amyris Announces $133 Million Equity Sale, Partnerships, Investments, JVs with Total, P&G, Cosan, Soliance, M&G
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, Amyris Biotechnologies unveiled this week a stunning series of partnerships and investments from Proctor & Gamble, Total, Soliance, Cosan and M&G Finanziaria for the production and off-take of biomass-based chemicals and fuels. The
June 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Artificial Blood Vessels Developed from Jatropha
(CSIR India/The Economic Times) ...The Central Salt Marine Chemicals and Research Institute (CSMCRI) located in Bhavnagar district of the state has hit upon a process by which biodegradable polymers can be developed at almost zero-cost using one of the byproducts
June 25, 2010 Read Full Article
ZeaChem Breaks Ground on a Cellulosic Ethanol Biorefinery in Oregon
(EERE) ZeaChem, Inc. held a groundbreaking ceremony on June 2 for a new cellulosic ethanol biorefinery in Boardman, Oregon. Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol produced from non-edible biomass sources, such as agricultural residues, trees, or grasses. The demonstration-scale facility will produce 250,000
June 21, 2010 Read Full Article
LS9 Wins Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award
(LS9) Renewable Petroleum(TM) technology efficiently converts renewable raw materials into low-carbon fuels and chemicals. LS9, the Renewable Petroleum Company(TM), today announced that it has won the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) highest environmental honor for its revolutionary Renewable Petroleum(TM) technology that
June 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Industrial Ethanol Consumption in Brazil to Rise
(Agra-net.com) Ethanol demand by the chemical industry in Brazil is forecast to reach 2 bln litres in 2011, according to Antonio Padua Rodrigues, the technical director of Unica. This compares with 1.5-1.8 bln in 2010. READ MORE
June 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Where Are U.S. Green Jobs?
by Brent Erikson (BIO and RenewableEnergyWorld.com) ...Too often, though, resulting jobs are being created overseas, as other countries invest in green technology deployment. As a result, the opportunity to improve our economic competitiveness is lost. Targeting our policies to help
June 02, 2010 Read Full Article
LANXESS Invests in U.S. Biofuel & Biochemical Company
(Newswire Today!) LANXESS, the world’s largest producer of synthetic rubber, has invested in U.S. biofuel & biochemical company Gevo, Inc. as part of a proposed cooperation to produce isobutene from renewable resources. • USD 10 million investment in Gevo • Step toward securing
June 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Gonzalez Gets Award for Finding Way to Turn E. coli into Biofuel
by Christine Hall (Houston Business Journal) Escherichia coli, E. coli for short, is best known as the bacterium that can cause foodborne illnesses, but to researcher Ramon Gonzalez, E. coli can also be an alternative energy source. Gonzalez, the William W. Akers
May 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Avantium Launches YXY, the New Green Building Block for Materials and Fuels
(24-7 Press Release) Green solutions are the holy grail of industrial innovation today. Every company is anxiously looking for answers to the renewable challenges our world is facing. However, most of these solutions are not stimulating enough. They often build
May 20, 2010 Read Full Article
New Laboratory to Help Chemical Revolution
(University of York) A major new suite of laboratories, to be opened this week, will help scientists in the Green Chemistry group at the University of York to advance research into clean synthesis, catalysis, novel materials and the application of
April 26, 2010 Read Full Article
ZeaChem Validates Its Core Biorefining Technology
(ZeaChem) Company Produces Commercial Grade Ethyl Acetate ZeaChem Inc., a developer of biorefineries for the conversion of renewable biomass into sustainable fuels and chemicals, today announced it has produced commercial grade ethyl acetate, thereby proving its core technology platform. Ethyl acetate is
April 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuel and Tires from the Same Bug
by Michael Kanellos (GreenTechMedia) Isoprene’s a large-volume, high-energy fossil chemical. Genencor says it can get microbes to make it. ...Genencor, the industrial enzyme specialist, has engineered a microorganism that can produce a version of isoprene that is chemically identical to the
April 20, 2010 Read Full Article
Microbe to Make Bio-Degradable Plastic Discovered
by Vikas Bhargava/Ahmedabad (Outlook India) In a breakthrough, Bhavnagar-based Central Salt and Marine Chemical Research Institute (CSMCRI) has discovered microbe from Indian waters to manufacture bio-degradable plastic using a by product of Jatropha plant. "We have sucessfully made bio-degradable plastic from
April 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Motorists to Drive on World's First 'Green' Tires within Next 5 Years
(YahooNews, ANI) A revolutionary new technology that produces a key tire ingredient from renewable feedstocks rather than petroleum-derived feedstocks will enable motorists to drive on the world's first "green" tires within the next five years. The technology, described at the 239th
April 05, 2010 Read Full Article
BIO Asks Congress to Support Deployment of Biotech Chemical Platforms to Create Green Jobs
Federal tax policies should incentivize commercial deployment of advanced industrial biotechnologies, which can create jobs, reduce reliance on petroleum, and achieve greenhouse gas reductions. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today released a white paper on the growth and jobs potential
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
GlycosBio Technology Nears Commercialization
by Lisa Gibson (Biomass Magazine) Texas-based Glycos Biotechnologies Inc. is producing lactic acid and advanced ethanol in a pilot commercial-size facility with the capacity to produce 150,000 liters of chemicals. It’s a major benchmark in the company’s quest to commercialize
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Coskata Confirms 100 Gallon Per Ton, ZeaChem Confirms 135 Gallon Per ton, in Advanced Biofuels Updates
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Starting off the call, BIO section EVP Brent Erickson compared the scale up of the advanced biofuels industry to the scale up and evolution of the oil industry which took place over 120 years as
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Next Generation Bio-Based Chemicals Summit Review
by Pete Davey (Advanced Biofuels USA) Currently many of the world’s chemicals originate from petroleum based sources, causing a major dependence on petroleum that encompasses more than transportation fuels. Some of the chemicals currently derived from non-sustainable sources are the
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuel Leader LS9 Buys Demo Plant to Churn Out Renewable Diesel
by Camille Ricketts (Venture Beat) LS9, one of the biggest names in the burgeoning biofuels market, just took a giant step closer to making cost-effective renewable petroleum on a commercial scale. Armed with $25 million in capital raised in September, it
February 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Cereplast Expects U.S. Bio-Plastics Market to Top $10B by 2020
Cereplast, Inc., a leading manufacturer of proprietary bio-based, sustainable plastics, announced today that it expects the U.S. bio-plastics market to top $10 billion in sales by 2020. As of 2007, the U.S. bio-plastics market accounted for approximately $1 billion in
December 29, 2009 Read Full Article
Company Wants to Turn Fat into Fuel at Iowa Plant
by Amy Lorentzen (AP) A central Iowa plant could soon begin producing jet fuel from poultry fat. Bolingbrook, Ill.-based Elevance Renewable Sciences plans to build a $15 million plant in Newton, adding onto an existing biodiesel operation. The experimental operation plans
December 28, 2009 Read Full Article
Bioplastics: Tetra Pak tasks Braskem for Bio-Based HDPE
by Matt Defosse (Plastics Today) Demand for bioplastics increasingly is created by the pull of major brand owners and OEMs. In this instance, carton-creating giant Tetra Pak has tasked plastics and chemicals supplier Braskem to supply it with high-density polyethylene
December 02, 2009 Read Full Article
POET's 'Inviz' to Replace More Petroleum Products
POET is one step closer to gleaning the maximum value from each part of the corn kernel with a new ethanol co-product, "Inviz," which is set to replace petroleum-based ingredients in household products ranging from pill coatings to plastic packaging. Inviz
October 16, 2009 Read Full Article
Researchers Discover New Way to Deoxygenize Biomass
by Lisa Gibson (Biomass Magazine) University of California Berkeley and Berkeley Lab researchers have discovered a relatively inexpensive way to remove oxygen from biomass, which could pave the way for producing many of today’s petrochemical products from biomass. The one-step
August 03, 2009 Read Full Article
Lignol Energy Corp. and BAE Systems to Refine Biochemicals at Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
Lignol Energy Corporation, a technology company in the cellulosic ethanol and biorefining sector, and BAE Systems PLC announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to explore and develop commercial applications for biochemicals from the Lignol biorefinery process that have
July 28, 2009 Read Full Article
Industrial Biotechnology in China Amidst Changing Market Conditions
by Elizabeth Nesbitt (Journal of International Commerce and Economics) The increasing use of industrial biotechnology by the Chinese liquid biofuels and chemical industries is expected to help offset energy security and environmental concerns generated by China’s robust economic growth. The expanding use of bioprocesses