by May Wu (Argonne National Laboratory) The progress of technology development for conventional and advanced biofuel production processes in the U.S. has been reviewed by several groups over the last two decades (Warner et al. 2017; Mueller and Kwik 2013;
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Back TO HOMELignin and Carbon Dioxide Turned into Ethanol
by Becky Webb (Chemistry World) Process generates bulk chemical from two renewable carbon sources -- Scientists in China have developed a method to produce ethanol using the renewable resources lignin and carbon dioxide for the first time. The process uses a
October 31, 2019 Read Full Article
Alcohol, Biomethane and Ammonia Are the Best-Positioned Fuels to Reach Zero Net Emissions
(Maersk) A study by A.P. Moller - Maersk and Lloyds Register confirms that the best opportunities for decarbonizing shipping lie in finding new sustainable energy sources. Based on market projections, the best positioned fuels for research and development into net zero
October 25, 2019 Read Full Article
‘Artificial Leaf’ Successfully Produces Clean Gas
(University of Cambridge) A widely-used gas that is currently produced from fossil fuels can instead be made by an ‘artificial leaf’ that uses only sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, and which could eventually be used to develop a sustainable liquid
October 24, 2019 Read Full Article
City Fleets Run on Bio-Based Diesel Fuels, Meeting Sustainability Goals while Delivering Essential Services
(Diesel Technology Forum) Cities gain substantial emissions performance improvements, greenhouse gas reductions and cost savings by using the latest-generation diesel powertrains combined with bio-based diesel fuels -- More cities and counties in California are switching to renewable diesel and biodiesel fuels
October 22, 2019 Read Full Article
Cyanobacteria-Based Biofuel: an Innovative Platform for Clean Energy Production
by Viji Sitther, Behnam Tabatabai, Somayeh Gharaie Fathabad (Union of Concerned Scientists/Morgan State University) ... We are excited to announce that the Sitther Biofuel Research Group at Morgan State University has developed a technology to generate a cost-effective biofuel using a
October 18, 2019 Read Full Article
4 Carbontech Companies Making Products from Thin Air
by Jim Giles (Green Biz Group) ... Each of these examples has developed a process that uses carbon dioxide to create valuable products — turning waste into revenue, the essence of circularity. In different ways, these circular technologies also lessen
October 17, 2019 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Direct Air Capture
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Atmospheric CO2 levels have hit, er, stratospheric levels. The levels measured today were last recorded in 3 million B.C., and given the global concern about climate impact, a major industry is in the process of
October 15, 2019 Read Full Article
About Those Biobased Amines We Might One Day Dream up at Ptixar Amination
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Lately the amines, which in the simplest description are compounds with a bunch of nitrogen stuffed inside, have improved their reputation. For one, a number of Direct Air Capture technologies have been receiving big
October 15, 2019 Read Full Article
New Study Compares Potential of Different Decarbonisation Options in Road Transport
(VTT) Sustainable fuels could play an important role in reducing transport emissions even as electric vehicles become cheaper says a new study from VTT and the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. While electric vehicles are becoming cheaper, sustainable fuels could
October 11, 2019 Read Full Article
Catch & Kill: The Velocys, Oxy, Cemvita, Carbon Engineering, BHP, Ginkgo Chase to Catch Waste, Kill Emissions, Armed with New Organisms to Liberate Value
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Mississippi, Velocys’ Bayou Fuels project has signed with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures to capture carbon dioxide from Velocys’ planned Bayou Fuels biomass-to-fuels project in Natchez, Mississippi, and securely store it underground in a geologic
October 11, 2019 Read Full Article
The Most Detailed Map of Auto Emissions in America
by Nadja Popovich and Denise Lu (New York Times) Transportation is the largest source of planet-warming greenhouse gases in the United States today and the bulk of those emissions come from driving in our cities and suburbs. The (interactive) map ... shows
October 10, 2019 Read Full Article
UK Government's Climate Advisers Suggest a Pathway towards Net-Zero Aviation Emissions by 2050
(GreenAir Online) Emissions from international aviation and shipping must be included in the country’s net-zero emissions by 2050 climate target, says the UK government’s advisory Committee on Climate Change (CCC). However, the body accepts that even with improvements to fuel efficiency
October 07, 2019 Read Full Article
Board Now Leads the Way towards Sustainable Flying
(Board Now) Launch of SkyNRG’s ground-breaking program paves the way to sustainable aviation; 85 per cent reduction of emissions as a result of sustainable aviation fuel -- Today (October 3, 2019), a significant step will be taken towards sustainable flying. Dutch
October 04, 2019 Read Full Article
Researchers Develop Cheaper, Cleaner Way to Grow Biodiesel Producing Microalgae
by Gerard de Souza (Hindustan Times) The team of researchers has found that the species of microalgae Chlorella vulgaris NIOCCV grew well in a medium of seafood industry wastewater and was tolerant to different salinity regimes and higher concentrations of
October 03, 2019 Read Full Article
Engineering Thermophiles to Produce Drop-in Fuels from Syngas: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Syngas Bioprocess
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Drop-in fuels from syngas are in. Syngas feedstocks are relatively inexpensive and diverse, thermophiles have several unique advantages, and end products have value as fuel and solvent applications among others. Sounds like win, win, win, right?
October 03, 2019 Read Full Article
French Study Says Biogas Is the Best Vehicle Fuel to Improve Air Quality
(EBA/NGV Journal) The decarbonization of transport is a major concern to limit the environmental and climate impact of the sector. The European Environmental Agency (EEA) has warned against the increase of CO2 emissions of new passenger cars since 2017 and recalls
October 02, 2019 Read Full Article
Synthetic Fuels Could Shrink Carbon Footprint
by Vicky Just (University of Bath/Phys.org) Synthetic fuels, made using carbon captured from the air, farm waste or biomass, could help the transport sector reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and meet "net-zero" greenhouse gas emission goals. A policy briefing by the
October 01, 2019 Read Full Article
Convert CO2 into Raw Materials Using Nanoparticles
(Ruhr University Bochum (Google Translation)) Enzymes use cascade reactions to produce complex molecules from comparatively simple raw materials. The principle was copied by researchers. An international research team has converted carbon dioxide into raw materials using nanoparticles. The scientists at
September 30, 2019 Read Full Article
Corn, Soybean Farmers Celebrate Ethanol, Biodiesel Choices at New Brownstown Fueling Station
( Indiana Corn and Soybean Checkoffs/WOWO) Without access to consumers, biofuels cannot grow. The Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) and the Indiana Corn Marketing Council (ICMC) joined Premier Energy and CountryMark to celebrate a new fueling station and convenience store at 1300
September 23, 2019 Read Full Article
Aviation Industry Encourages Long-Term Climate Action from Governments
(Air Transport Action Group) The aviation industry, alongside environmental groups, will request governments to set a timeframe for agreement on a long-term target to reduce CO2 emissions from air transport at a meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) starting
September 23, 2019 Read Full Article
Taxes on Polluting Fuels Are Too Low to Encourage a Shift to Low-Carbon Alternatives
(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) Taxing polluting sources of energy is an effective way to curb emissions that harm the planet and human health, and the income generated can be used to ease the low-carbon transition for vulnerable households. Yet
September 23, 2019 Read Full Article
Food and Feed: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to BioMar’s Algae
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Had algae ice cream lately? BioMar is working on getting that to become a reality by making algae in food and food mainstream. At the recent Algae Biomass Summit in Orlando, Florida, Vidar Gundersen, Global
September 20, 2019 Read Full Article
Grab It and Use It: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Carbon Capture
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) At the recent Algae Biomass Summit, John Litynski, Deputy Director of Advanced Fossil Technology Systems at the DOE gave this illuminating overview of the federal government’s role in CCUS and detailed some of the major
September 20, 2019 Read Full Article
UC Engineering Excels with $11.8m MBIE Endeavour Funding
(University of Canterbury/Scoop) ... This research will develop a new process and materials to produce bio-hydrogen and capture carbon dioxide by using New Zealand wood biomass resources from log harvesting and wood processing. The bio-hydrogen produced could be used as
September 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Heating Oil Industry Commits to Net-Zero Emissions by 2050
(New England Fuel Institute /Biodiesel Magazine) The Northeast’s heating oil industry has resolved to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050. This ambitious goal was set at the Northeast Industry Summit held during the 2019 Heating & Energizing America Trade
September 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Future Markets for Renewable Gases & Hydrogen: What Would Be the Optimal Regulatory Provisions?
by Jose Luis Moraga, Machiel Mulder and Peter Perey (Centre on Regulation in Europe) This report explores the economic outlook for renewable gases and hydrogen and proposes a regulatory framework for them. The report first analyses the technologies for the
September 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Replacing the Barrel: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Conversion Technologies
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Developing efficient and economical biological and chemical technologies to convert biomass feedstocks into energy-dense liquid transportation fuels, such as renewable gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, as well as bioproducts, chemical intermediates, and biopower is the primary goal
September 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Forest Products Industry Barriers to Producing Biofuels
(Biorenewable Deployment Consortium) BDC is a 501c3 organization focused on education and brokering partnerships in order to accelerate the deployment of economic bioprocesses and assist the forest products industry to get the most value from the tree. BDC membership represents
September 16, 2019 Read Full Article
VTT Says Materials and Chemicals the First Commodities to Be Commercialized by Carbon Reuse
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) In Finland, VTT published a new report called “The Carbon Reuse Economy – Transforming CO2 from a pollutant into a resource” and presents its view on how carbon can be turned from a pollutant into
September 16, 2019 Read Full Article
Scientists Turn Carbon Dioxide into Ant Venom Biofuel
by Hannah Osborne (Newsweek) Scientists have created a device that turns carbon dioxide into formic acid—a venom produced naturally by ants that can be used as a biofuel. The prototype electrolyzer, which runs on renewable electricity, produced the purified liquid
September 13, 2019 Read Full Article
Alternative Fuel Technologies Can Bridge the Gap
(Energy Transition Outlook 2019/DNV-GL) ... It is important to find technically feasible and cost-effective solutions for the deep-sea segment, accounting for more than 80% of world fleet CO2 emissions. Currently, the only technically applicable alternatives for this are liquefied natural gas
September 12, 2019 Read Full Article
How Synthetic Biology Can Help Build Sustainable Cities
by John Cumbers (Green Biz/SynBioBeta) Sustainability is in vogue, with businesses and cities jostling to improve their public image and produce goods and services using renewable sources. Yet cities exponentially swell and carbon emissions continue to increase. Global CO2 emissions rise
September 09, 2019 Read Full Article
New Data Confirm European Ethanol’s Vital Role in EU Emissions-Reduction, Food Security
(ePURE) Latest statistics from European renewable ethanol association members show record-high greenhouse-gas reduction compared to petrol, major domestic production of animal feed -- European renewable ethanol association (ePURE) members produced 5.81 billion litres of ethanol and 5.55 million tonnes of beneficial
September 06, 2019 Read Full Article
Rice Reactor Turns Greenhouse Gas into Pure Liquid Fuel
by Mike Williams (Rice University) Lab’s ‘green’ invention reduces carbon dioxide into valuable fuels -- A common greenhouse gas could be repurposed in an efficient and environmentally friendly way with an electrolyzer that uses renewable electricity to produce pure liquid fuels. The catalytic reactor
September 05, 2019 Read Full Article
CABA Comments on the CA Energy Commission's Updated Investment Plan for the Clean Transportation Program
(California Advanced Biofuels Alliance Comments) Re: Docket No. 18-ALT-01 - 2019-2020 Investment Plan Update for the Clean Transportation Program (ARFVTP) - California Advanced Biofuels Alliance Comments Dear Commissioners, Staff and Members of the ARFVTP Advisory Committee, I am writing on behalf of
September 03, 2019 Read Full Article
SoCalGas Project Uses Renewable Electricity for RNG Production
by Betsy Lillian (NGT News) Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and Electrochaea have commissioned a new biomethanation reactor system, which uses renewable electricity to convert hydrogen into pipeline-quality methane for use in homes, businesses and transportation. The pilot project is located at
August 29, 2019 Read Full Article
Leveraging First Generation Bioethanol Production Facilities Workshop --- September 25-26, 2019 --- Ames, IA
On September 25 and 26, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE's) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is planning to host a workshop / industry listening day to discuss research and development related to the
August 26, 2019 Read Full Article
The Future of Hydrogen -- Seizing Today's Opportunities
(International Energy Agency) "Hydrogen is today enjoying unprecedented momentum. The world should not miss this unique chance to make hydrogen an important part of our clean and secure energy future." -- Hydrogen and energy have a long shared history – powering
August 23, 2019 Read Full Article
Mimicking the Diving Bell Spider to Improve Carbon Conversion into Fuels
by Bob Yirka (Phys.org) A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in France has found a way to improve the conversion of CO2 into fuels by mimicking the behavior of the diving bell spider. In their paper published in the
August 22, 2019 Read Full Article
Governors Ask EPA to Clarify Biogenic CO2 Not Regulated under CCA
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) Governors representing Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska and North Dakota recently sent a letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler urging the agency to clarify biogenic CO2 is not a pollutant subject to regulation under the Clean
August 21, 2019 Read Full Article
Lufthansa Innovation Hub launches the "Compensaid" Sustainability Platform and Focuses on CO2 Neutral Aviation Fuels
(Lufthansa Group) Travelers can use the new platform to replace the fossil fuel of their flights with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF); Airline passengers can reduce up to 80 percent of their CO2 emissions; "Compensaid" provides a transparent overview of a
August 21, 2019 Read Full Article
How Floating Solar Farms Could Make Fuel and Help Solve the Climate Crisis
by Denise Chow (NBC News) "Solar methanol islands” could curb our reliance on fossil fuels that belch harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. -- Huge solar farms floating in the ocean could be used to convert carbon dioxide in seawater into methanol,
August 16, 2019 Read Full Article
SoCalGas and Electrochaea Announce Commissioning of New Biomethanation Reactor System Pilot Project
(Southern California Gas Co./PR Newswire) Innovative project with U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory converts renewable electricity into renewable methane for storage in existing natural gas pipelines -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and Electrochaea today announced the commissioning of the nation's
August 15, 2019 Read Full Article
Aemetis Cuts Carbon Score of Keyes Ethanol Plant
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Aemetis Inc. released second quarter 2019 financial results Aug. 8. The company reported strong growth for its biodiesel business in India, outlined improvement projects underway at its corn ethanol plant, and discussed planned renewable natural
August 14, 2019 Read Full Article
Can They? Should They?: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to DOE’s Biofuels in Marine Engines
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The fuels market and demand for jet fuels is big, but what about the marine sector? After all, over 90% of all goods are shipped via marine vessels fueled with high sulfur (3.5 wt.%) heavy residual
August 12, 2019 Read Full Article
Hydrogen Production – How Much Will Be Sustainable, How Sustainable, When, and How?
(Hydrogen Digest) ... Creating another fossil economy, even if it uses groovy hydrogen, is not the aim of our industrial societies. We want new methods of production, new sources that justify the time, money and aggravation of building out a hydrogen
August 07, 2019 Read Full Article
Euglena Sets Sights as an Olympic Hopeful for Algae-Based Aviation Jet Fuel
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) Midorimushi – other than being a cool sounding Ninja name, it’s scientific name is Euglena. No, it’s not the latest superhero in a manga comic. It’s a kind of algae. In a magical sort of hybrid
August 05, 2019 Read Full Article
MARINER’s Magnificent Macroalgae: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to ARPA-E
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Oceans are the largest untapped growth opportunity for biomass and that macroalgae is the quintessential ocean crop, according to ARPA-E. But, it says that with the current state of technology, it will never scale to meet
August 02, 2019 Read Full Article
Solar Energy Becomes Biofuel without Solar Cells
(Uppsala University/Science Codex) Soon we will be able to replace fossil fuels with a carbon-neutral product created from solar energy, carbon dioxide and water. Researchers at Uppsala University have successfully produced microorganisms that can efficiently produce the alcohol butanol using carbon
August 01, 2019 Read Full Article
Zimbabwe Plans Production of Carbon Dioxide in 2020
(TVC News) Triangle Limited, Zimbabwe’s sole sugar producer is planning to construct a plant to extract the carbon dioxide, a vital ingredient in brewing soft drinks by 2020. The country expects that this will save a huge amount of foreign currency used to
August 01, 2019 Read Full Article
Chinese Firm Launches Ethanol Processing Plant in Central Zambia
(Xinhua) A Chinese firm on Wednesday launched an ethanol processing plant in central Zambia, which the government says will go a long way in helping the country tackle fuel problems and reduce poverty. The 9-million U.S. dollars plant of Zhongkai International Company
July 26, 2019 Read Full Article
Airgas Opens Liquid Carbon Dioxide and Dry Ice Facility in Stockton, California
(Airgas) Airgas, an Air Liquide company and a leading U.S. supplier of industrial, medical and specialty gases, and related products, announces the grand opening of its new liquid carbon dioxide and dry ice facility in Stockton, California. The facility, which was engineered
July 23, 2019 Read Full Article
Negatonnes: Beyond the ZEV, the Negative Emission Vehicle and Its Amazing Hydrogen Fuel and Electric Drive
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... There’s the technically tougher path, which is to split ethanol and make CO2 and hydrogen. The point source, high-grade CO2 has value. The bio-based hydrogen has even more value than the ethanol. Conceptually, the recipe is
July 23, 2019 Read Full Article
Public-Private Partnership Works on ‘Economical’ Biomethane Production
by Betsy Lillian (NGT News) Xebec Adsorption Inc. is working with federal research facility Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) and a California treatment facility on a research project to improve biomethane production. The project received $500,000 in funding from
July 18, 2019 Read Full Article
A Bill Bonanza: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Will Consider 23 Bills
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will consider 23 bills this morning on issues ranging from carbon capture to nuclear energy. Texas Sen. John Cornyn's bill, S. 1685 (116), for one, would require
July 16, 2019 Read Full Article
All About Algae: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to ABO
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Algae Biomass Organization advocates for algae-advancing policy and funding, serves as a hub for innovation and networking, and drives demand for “made with algae” products and services. Mark Allen, Chairperson of ABO, offers this enlightening overview of
July 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Wärtsilä Forms Biogas Solutions Unit to Speed up Adoption of Clean Fuels
(Wärtsilä) The technology group Wärtsilä further strengthens its commitment to environmental sustainability with the formation of Wärtsilä Biogas Solutions. Wärtsilä Puregas Solutions, specialists in biogas upgrading technology, is now merged with Wärtsilä’s biogas liquefaction team, a unit with expert
July 05, 2019 Read Full Article
ABLC Wolves Devour 6 Technologies: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to The Wolfpack
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... (W)e have the satisfying slides that will satiate your hunger for thoughts from renowned due diligence experts on the latest and hottest technologies. You won’t want to miss these slides, esp. if you missed
July 05, 2019 Read Full Article
These Nano-Bugs Eat CO2 and Make Eco-Friendly Fuel
by Trent Knoss (University of Colorado Boulder) CU Boulder researchers have developed nanobio-hybrid organisms capable of using airborne carbon dioxide and nitrogen to produce a variety of plastics and fuels, a promising first step toward low-cost carbon sequestration and eco-friendly manufacturing
July 03, 2019 Read Full Article
A Community-Based Approach for Enriching Microalgae that Grow under High Concentration of CO2
by Hualong Wang, Fru Azinwi Nche-Fambo, Zhigang Yu, Feng Chen (ResearchGate/HY-TEK Bio) Certain species of microalgae are capable of growing under high concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2), and these microalgae have potential to be used for sequestering CO2 released as industrial pollutants using phototrophic carbon
July 01, 2019 Read Full Article
European Research Project Claims Breakthrough in Production of Renewable Jet Fuels from Sunlight
(GreenAir Online) A project funded by the EU and Switzerland claims to have made a breakthrough in producing renewable jet kerosene from sunlight, water and CO2. The SUN-to-LIQUID project follows on from an earlier project, SOLAR-JET, that developed the technology to
June 28, 2019 Read Full Article
Magnificent Methanogens: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Trelys
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Trelys’ technology is based on the bioconversion of hydrogen and carbon dioxide using methanogenic archaea. While Trelys is currently focusing on feed amino acids, this technology provides an avenue to a wide variety of products and
June 28, 2019 Read Full Article
From FEW: 45Q Represents Opportunity for Ethanol; Request for Comments DEADLINE: July 4, 2019
by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Under new size specifications for the 45Q tax credit, almost all ethanol plants are eligible, said Jamey Cline, in business development for Christianson PLLP. With revenues trending downward since 2018 and falling below operating expenses,
June 23, 2019 Read Full Article
Amazing Algaculture: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to MicroBio Engineering
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) MicroBio Engineering works on facility designs, algae equipment, R&D, engineering consulting, techno-economic analyses, LCAs and wastewater treatment. Their focus on algaculture, specifically microalgae cultivation, is what the focus of this presentation is on. John Benemann, CEO and
June 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Jan De Nul Reveals Ambitious CO₂ Reduction Targets
(Hellenic Shipping News) Jan De Nul Group has revealed its commitment to reduce CO₂ emissions by 15% a year during maintenance dredging works at the Nieuwpoort coastal marina. It is the first dredging company in the world to aspire to such
June 13, 2019 Read Full Article
Bipartisan Legislation Would Help Finance Carbon Capture and Storage Projects
(Office of Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO)) U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rob Portman (R-OH) today reintroduced a bill to make it easier for power plants and industrial facilities to finance the purchase and installation of carbon capture, utilization, and storage
June 12, 2019 Read Full Article
The Fuzzy Math of Carbon Capture
by RP Siegel (American Energy Society) ... But when (Peter) Eisenberger talks about a sustainable economy, he’s talking about supplementing the work of trees by capturing the greenhouse gas from, say, the smokestack of a coal-fired power plant, or even directly
June 03, 2019 Read Full Article
Startups Strive to Recycle Emissions for 'New Carbon Economy'
by Sebastien Malo (Reuters) Jennifer Holmgren, chief executive of carbon recycling firm LanzaTech, explained modestly how the Chicago-based startup had cut multi-million-dollar deals on four continents, including in China, aimed at helping curb climate change and air pollution. At the Jingtang Steel Mill
May 31, 2019 Read Full Article
Strategy for Growth: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Pacific Ethanol
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Digest’s new “Stocks Worth Tracking” Multi-Slide Guide Series highlights hot companies that are making strides in the bioeconomy. Today’s “Stock Worth Tracking” is Pacific Ethanol. Pacific Ethanol was originally founded in 2003 as the first
May 31, 2019 Read Full Article
Food, Water, Energy: An Eternal Golden Braid of Value and Sustainability
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Jonathan Trent, late of the OMEGA algae projects, has authored a column on the topic of “putting existing technologies into ecosystems, to increase food productivity and profitability, while conserving water and energy and decreasing environmental impact.”
May 28, 2019 Read Full Article
What If Scientists, Not Politicians, Called the Shots on Climate Policy
by Michael Langford (The Hill/Utility Workers Union of America) ... For example, carbon capture technology could broadly decarbonize power generation including both natural gas and coal-fired plants as well as heavy industries such as steel, cement and ethanol manufacturing to cite
May 28, 2019 Read Full Article
BASF Develops Process for Climate-Friendly Methanol
(BASF) Successful team of experts applies for patent for complex process; With the help of BASF’s OASE® gas treatment technology, no carbon dioxide should be emitted during the entire production process The production processes of the most important basic chemicals are responsible for around
May 28, 2019 Read Full Article
Six MSU Researchers Receive Prestigious NSF Early Career Awards
(Michigan State University) ... Daniel Ducat, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, received $1,033,970 from NSF’s Division of Systems and Synthetic Biology to investigate the fundamental interactions that underpin resilient microbial partnerships and may be key to solving
May 28, 2019 Read Full Article
KLM, SkyNRG and SHV Energy Greenlight the World’s Largest Stand-Alone Sustainable Aviation Fuels Project
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) From the Netherlands comes news that, SkyNRG will develop Europe’s first dedicated plant for the production of SAF in Delfzijl. KLM has committed to a 10-year, 75,000 tonne per year aviation fuels order for 10 years. Amsterdam
May 28, 2019 Read Full Article
Scientists Want to Limit Climate Change by Releasing More CO2 -- Converting Methane to Carbon Dioxide Could Help.
by Ula Chrobak (Popular Science) ... In a surprising and counterintuitive proposal published Monday in the journal Nature Sustainability, Stanford University scientists argue that we can limit warming by chemically converting methane to carbon dioxide. “Our paper is a call to view methane removal
May 24, 2019 Read Full Article
Dems Say Wheeler Misled Congress
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member Tom Carper and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone are calling on Wheeler to provide documents related to the agency's public defense of its proposed Safer
May 24, 2019 Read Full Article
The Largest US Carbon Capture and Sequestration Project to Be Developed by Wabash Valley Resoureces with Funding Support from OGCI Climate Investments
(Wabash Valley Resources) - The project is expected to be the largest carbon sequestration project in the United States to date, and will create the world's first ammonia produced with near zero carbon footprint - The project will capture and sequester 1.5-1.75
May 24, 2019 Read Full Article
Engineered Bacteria Could Be Missing Link in Energy Storage
by Krishna Ramanujan (Cornell Chronicle) One of the big issues with sustainable energy systems is how to store electricity that’s generated from wind, solar and waves. At present, no existing technology provides large-scale storage and energy retrieval for sustainable energy at
May 23, 2019 Read Full Article
Ethanol Doing the Heavy Lifting in Transport Climate Action
by James Cogan (Ethanol Europe/Climate Change News) New E5, E10 and B7 labels recently appeared on petrol and diesel nozzles across Europe with hardly a mention. Behind them is the intriguing story of one of the world’s major efforts to stave off climate
May 17, 2019 Read Full Article
Converting CO2 to Carbon at Mild Conditions
by Paul Grad (Chemical Engineering) ... (C)onverting CO2 into a solid offers an attractive alternative method for safely and permanently removing CO2 from the atmosphere. To date, CO2 has only been converted into a solid at extremely high temperatures, making it industrially unviable. The team created a liquid
May 15, 2019 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK -- Steffen Mueller and Sam Rushing
"(E)thanol facilities capturing carbon deserve credit for the difference in emissions between gas cleanup and compression of fermentation CO2 versus alternative CO2 production from dirtier, often fossil, resources," write Steffen Mueller and Sam Rushing in a recent Ethanol Producer Magazine piece
May 10, 2019 Read Full Article
The Case for a Credit
by Steffen Mueller and Sam Rushing (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The role of ethanol-based carbon dioxide is often underappreciated, both as an important source for the nation’s carbon dioxide market and for its carbon-reduction impact. Fermentation CO2 is captured, cleaned and condensed
May 10, 2019 Read Full Article
Experts Secure £200,000 from the Department for Transport for Research into Greener Travel
(Loughborough University) Loughborough University has been awarded £200,000 for two projects which aim to make the transport sector more environmentally friendly. Dr Jin Xuan, a Senior Lecturer in Low Carbon Processes, Dr Tanja Radu, a Lecturer in Water Engineering, and Dr Jonathan Wagner, a
May 09, 2019 Read Full Article
The Plan to Grab the World's Carbon with Supercharged Plants
by Emily Dreyfuss (Wired) ... Plant biologist Joanne Chory thinks plants can do more. She has studied the genetics of plants at the Salk Institute in San Diego for more than 30 years, and she and the rest of the five-person
May 04, 2019 Read Full Article
A Tesla Model 3 Produces More CO2 than a Diesel Car, Says New Study
by Loukia Papadopoulos (Interesting Engineering) New research out of German think tank ifo is arguing electric vehicles are not the environmental heroes they are touted to be. -- A new study by German think tank ifo is putting a damper on the eco-friendliness of
May 04, 2019 Read Full Article
Government, National Labs, Academia, and Industry Convene at the 2019 BETO Peer Review! Presentations Now Available
(U.S. Department of Energy) From March 4–8, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, hosted the 2019 Project Peer Review in Denver, Colorado. This was the largest Peer Review
May 03, 2019 Read Full Article
Better Biomaterials: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the “new ideas” laboratory, was established in 1952 at the height of the Cold War to meet urgent national security needs by advancing nuclear weapons science and technology and they continue to
May 02, 2019 Read Full Article
Solar Fuel Turns to Plants for Inspiration
(European Commission) An 'artificial leaf' being developed by EU-funded researchers to produce fuel from sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, could tackle soaring global energy demands, the growing impact of climate change, and dwindling supplies of fossil fuels. -- Developing new sources of
April 30, 2019 Read Full Article
Reducing Energy Required to Convert CO2 Waste into Valuable Resources
(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/Phys.Org) Surplus industrial carbon dioxide creates an opportunity to convert waste into a valuable commodity. Excess CO2 can be a feedstock for chemicals typically derived from fossil fuels, but the process is energy-intensive and expensive. University of
April 26, 2019 Read Full Article
Earth Day 2019 – A Look at Carbon Negative and Carbon Capture Technologies, Advancements, and Possibilities
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... What was a nationwide celebration and peaceful demonstrations for environmental reform in the U.S. by some estimated 20 million Americans, Earth Day events have now expanded to over 193 countries and more than a billion people
April 23, 2019 Read Full Article
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Helps Develop a Novel Extraction Process that May Provide a More Economical Way to Make a Promising Biofuel
(Worcester Polytechnic Institute/PR Web) Isobutanol has been hailed as a possible green replacement for fossil fuels like gasoline, but producing it has proven difficult and costly. In a paper in Nature Communications, a research team that includes a WPI chemical engineer
April 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Putting CO₂ Emissions to Work: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Opus 12
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Opus 12 has developed a device that recycles CO₂ into cost-competitive chemicals and fuels. Their technology bolts onto any source of CO₂ emissions, and with only water and electricity as inputs, transforms that CO₂ into some
April 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Ethanol CO2 By-Product Is Critically Important to Merchant CO2 Industry
by Sam A. Rushing (Advanced Cryogenics, Ltd./Biofuels Digest) ... CO2 by-product sources from ethanol dominate the source – map v. other source types, where next in line include sources from ammonia and natural /pipeline facilities. I am pleased to see that new
April 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Richardton Ethanol Plant Moves Forward with Carbon Capture Project
by Amy Dalrymple (Bismarck Tribune/Grand Forks Herald) A project to capture carbon dioxide from a western North Dakota ethanol plant continues to advance as researchers work to better understand the geology below the facility. Red Trail Energy in Richardton proposes to
April 17, 2019 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK -- Chris Frey
Researchers tested regular E10 with 10% ethanol to a mid-level blend with 27% ethanol or E27. They found that when splash blending or simply adding ethanol to regular consumer fuel, ethanol lowered particulate matter (PM), CO and CO2. The vehicles
April 08, 2019 Read Full Article
New Study: Non Flex Fuel Vehicles Benefit From Ethanol Blends
(Urban Air Initiative) A newly published study finds that most vehicles on the road today can adapt to mid-level ethanol blends, helping cars run more efficiently while reducing greenhouse gas emissions along with other pollutants. The study was conducted by North Carolina State
April 08, 2019 Read Full Article
CO2CRC to Investigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reducation in Steel Manufacturing
(CO2CRC) CO2CRC has been awarded funding to conduct important research into reducing greenhouse gas emissions in steel production. The year-long study has been made possible by a grant from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (Coal Innovation NSW Fund). The
March 28, 2019 Read Full Article
Scientists Develop High-CO2-Tolerant Microalgae
(Algae Industry Magazine/Chinese Academy of Sciences) ... However, the high concentration of carbon dioxide in flue gases generally inhibits the growth of industrial microalgae. Therefore, reducing the so-called “CO2 poisoning effect,” i.e., improving tolerance to high levels of CO2, has become a
March 27, 2019 Read Full Article
The Next Chapter for Algae: The Farm Bill of 2018 Recognizes Algae as a Crop for the First Time. Will We Be Bold Enough to Treat It Like One?
by Rebecca White (iWi (Qualitas Health, Inc.)/Biofuels Digest) This Wednesday marks a major milestone in the history of the American algae industry: the first meeting in which the Biomass R&D Board Technical Advisory Committee officials will discuss algae as an agricultural crop. Up
March 27, 2019 Read Full Article
FAA Launches Voluntary MRV Program for US Aircraft Operators Participating in CORSIA
(GreenAir Online) The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched the CORSIA MRV Program for US airplane operators with international flights participating in the ICAO carbon offsetting scheme. According to ICAO, it is mandatory for all operators, regardless of the country they are
March 24, 2019 Read Full Article
Growing Support among EU Environment Ministers for Applying further Carbon Pricing on Aviation Emissions
(GreenAir Online) A recent proposal by the Netherlands finance ministry for an EU-wide aviation tax to deal with the sector’s growing emissions has received backing from a Belgian environment minister at a meeting of the Council of European Environment Ministers. The
March 24, 2019 Read Full Article
First Inland Vessel on 100% Sustainable Biofuel for Heineken
(GoodFuels) Sustainable biofuel pioneer GoodFuels and partner REINPLUS FIWADO Bunker have fuelled the ‘For Ever’, the first inland vessel from Combined Cargo Terminals (CCT) that runs fully on 100% sustainable biofuel. With this delivery feasibility of using 100% sustainable biofuels in inland vessels
March 21, 2019 Read Full Article
ReactWell Licenses ORNL Catalyst for Energy Conversion Applications
(Oak Ridge National Laboratory) ReactWell, LLC, has licensed a novel waste-to-fuel technology from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to improve energy conversion methods for cleaner, more efficient oil and gas, chemical and bioenergy production. ReactWell will bring ORNL’s electrochemical
March 12, 2019 Read Full Article
3-D-Printed Live Cells Convert Glucose to Ethanol, Carbon Dioxide to Enhance Catalytic Efficiency
by Anne M Stark (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory/Phys.Org) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have 3-D printed live cells that convert glucose to ethanol and carbon dioxide gas (CO2), a substance that resembles beer, demonstrating a technology that can lead
March 07, 2019 Read Full Article
Attis Industries Looks to Expand Production and Add Approximately $160M in Revenues with Recent Acquisition: Management Aims to Setup a World-Class Green Tech Campus in New York
(Attis Industries/Globe Newswire) The Company aims to harness their proprietary technology through multiple biomass processing facilities to cater to the rising demand of ethanol, carbon fibre, and other products. Attis Industries (ATIS) took its first big step in the field of renewable
March 05, 2019 Read Full Article
BioSNG Bulletin: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Biomass to Synthetic Natural Gas (BioSNG)
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Mark Robertson, from Small Planet Engineering and a member of Lee Enterprises Consulting offers this illuminating overview of renewable natural gas via biomass gasification and methanation, biogas upgrading to RNG, BioSNG developments, challenges, opportunities and more. Lee
March 01, 2019 Read Full Article
Delay in SAFE Rule Disappointing, But Still an Opportunity
(Urban Air Initiative) EPA’s decision to delay fuel economy rules until “later in the year” provides the Urban Air Initiative an opportunity to continue educating the agency on the benefits of clean octane from higher ethanol blends. Originally the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient
February 27, 2019 Read Full Article
Europe Agrees Final CO2 Reduction Target, It Includes Renewable Fuels
(NGVA Europe/NGV Journal) The third Clean Mobility Package, published in May, puts forward the first ever CO2 emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles. As such, it was welcomed by NGVA Europe, but under the premise that it must support a technology-neutral pathway towards
February 26, 2019 Read Full Article
10-Slide Guide to the US Ethanol Industry
by Douglas B. Rivers (Biofuels Digest/Lee Enterprises, Inc.) Past, Present and Future Douglas B. Rivers, PhD, from Sunflwr Consulting and a member of Lee Enterprises Consulting, offers this illuminating overview of the U.S. ethanol industry’s history, current technologies, new developments
February 26, 2019 Read Full Article
Biogas Business: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Biogas Conversion
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Terry Mazanec, a member of Lee Enterprises Consulting offers this illuminating overview of biogas, what it’s good for, scale, bio-methane, what to do with it, key players, and more. Lee Enterprises Consultingis the world’s largest bioeconomy consulting
February 20, 2019 Read Full Article
Low Hanging Fruit on the Climate Change Tree: Renewable Fuels in Gas and Diesel Engines
(Diesel Technology Forum) As more governors look to California for leadership on climate change, they should look to what’s working in California…and it doesn’t have to do with electric cars, but with use of low-carbon renewable biofuels in internal combustion engines.
February 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Carbon Dioxide Now Being Captured in First of Its Kind BECCS Pilot
(Drax) The first BECCS pilot project of its kind in the world at Drax Power Station – the UK’s biggest renewable power generator, has started capturing carbon dioxide. -- The first carbon dioxide has been captured using C-Capture technology at Drax Power
February 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Bustos Helps Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Boost Ethanol Production and Combat Climate Change
(Office of Congresswoman Cheri Bustos) Today (February 14, 2019), Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) helped introduce the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act. This bipartisan legislation would implement strategies that help ethanol producers develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.
February 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Ethanol Blog: Ethanol Industry Not Impressed with General Motors' Push on Octane Standard Legislation
by Todd Neeley (DTN The Progressive Farmer) While General Motors representative Dan Nicholson indicated this week it was important for the ethanol industry to get behind legislation to set a national octane standard -- starting with a 95 research octane number,
February 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Senators Intro "USE IT" ("Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies") Act
(Politico's Morning Energy) Senate EPW Chairman John Barrasso and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse reintroduced their bipartisan carbon capture legislation Thursday. The bill , dubbed the "Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies Act," would support carbon dioxide utilization and direct air capture research,
February 08, 2019 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"The GHG emissions of petroleum are higher than the baseline estimates originally projected by EPA" That's one finding in a new study by Life Cycle Associates. It's also one reason biofuels entering the marketplace thanks to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) exceed
February 06, 2019 Read Full Article
New Study: RFS2 Has Reduced GHG Emissions by 600 Million Metric Tons, Beating EPA Expectations
(Renewable Fuels Association) A new study released today finds that the expanded Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) has been a tremendous success in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with nearly 600 million metric tons of GHG reduction since 2007. Actual GHG reductions under the
February 06, 2019 Read Full Article
EPA Chief Says Agency, California ‘Far Apart’ on Car Emissions
by Ryan Beene, Jennifer A Dlouhy, and David R Baker (Bloomberg) Wheeler, Nichols signal little progress on auto MPG agreement; State shouldn’t have authority on C02 emissions, Wheeler says -- U.S. and California officials agreed Monday on one thing about auto emissions standards:
February 05, 2019 Read Full Article
Finnair Introduces CO2 Offsetting and Biofuel Service for Customers
(Finnair) Finnair today (January 15, 2019) introduced a service, where its customers can offset the CO2 emissions of their flights by supporting a CO2 emission reduction project or reduce emissions by buying biofuel. Push for change service is available on Finnair web pages at www.finnair.com/pushforchange and
January 21, 2019 Read Full Article
UC Riverside Team Examines Influence of Mid-and High-Level Ethanol Blends on Pollution from GDI Flex Fuel Vehicle
(Green Car Congress) A team from the University of California Riverside has investigated the influence of low-, mid-, and high-ethanol fueling—as well as the influence of the aromatic hydrocarbons in the fuel blend—on the regulated and greenhouse gas emissions, the mobile
January 02, 2019 Read Full Article
Emerging Process Tech: The Digest’s Multi-Slide Guide to EPIC
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) EPIC helps pilot plants test and scale new process technologies. Check out their latest presentation with top four emerging process technologies that they are seeing a lot of right now: carbon capture, gas-to-liquids technologies, bio-based ethylene glycol,
January 02, 2019 Read Full Article
Greener Days Ahead for Carbon Fuels
by Theresa Duque (Berkeley Lab) Researchers discover copper has potential as a catalyst for turning carbon dioxide into sustainable chemicals and fuels without any wasteful byproducts, creating a green alternative to present-day chemical manufacturing -- For decades, scientists have searched for effective
December 20, 2018 Read Full Article
Carbon Capturing: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide ABLC Guide to Carbon Engineering
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Carbon Engineering is commercializing two clean energy technologies that can rapidly accelerate our shift to a net-zero world by removing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and converting it to fuel. Geoffrey Holmes,Business Development lead from Carbon Engineering
December 20, 2018 Read Full Article
The BioIncredibles 2: iMicrobes Is Using Methane to Produce Chemicals, and Mikey the Microbe Likes It
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... The achievement of a major proof of concept is the news, in the case of Industrial Microbes — the ability to show that they can convert methane into multiple products (albeit at low efficiency, in
December 20, 2018 Read Full Article
Exclusive: Oil Giant ConocoPhillips Backs Carbon Tax Push
by Amy Harder (Axios) In the latest sign of a global oil industry shifting on climate change, ConocoPhillips is now helping fund a multi-million dollar political advocacy campaign that's lobbying Congress for a tax on carbon emissions. Why it matters: The move
December 18, 2018 Read Full Article
EU Agrees to Cut Emissions from Cars by 37.5 pct by 2030
by Philip Blenkinsop (Reuters) The European Union agreed on Monday a compromise over how sharply to curb carbon dioxide emissions from cars and vans, finally settling differences between car-producing countries and more environmentally conscious lawmakers. “We reached a compromise to cut emissions
December 18, 2018 Read Full Article
Study: 'No Scientific Basis' For Challenges To EPA Endangerment Finding
by Barbara Moran (WBUR News) There’s more proof that greenhouse gases are dangerous to human health. That’s the conclusion of a study published Thursday in the journal Science, for which researchers reviewed hundreds of scientific papers on climate change published since 2009. The study supports the U.S. Environmental Protection
December 14, 2018 Read Full Article
New Climate Response Model Calculates Impact of Road Traffic Fast
(Delft University of Technology/Phys.Org) Vanessa Rieger created a model which assesses the impact and the contribution of road traffic emission scenarios on O3 and CH4 concentration and the subsequent climate effect. She will defend her Ph.D. thesis at TU Delft on
December 13, 2018 Read Full Article
Bosch Trialing Fully Renewable Diesel Fuel
(Automotive World) Since early November, the cars chauffeuring the management board members of Robert Bosch GmbH have been running on fully renewable diesel. Known as “C.A.R.E. diesel,” this fuel is synthesized mainly from by-products and waste materials. Its supplier Toolfuel claims
December 11, 2018 Read Full Article
CleanBC Climate Plan Boosts British Columbia’s Signal for Renewable Fuel Use and Production
(Advanced Biofuels Canada/EIN Presswire) Advanced Biofuels Canada lauds the Government of British Columbia for its new climate plan, with critical role for low-carbon renewable fuels -- The Government of British Columbia released on December 5th its CleanBC climate plan, which charts a path
December 11, 2018 Read Full Article
Cars and Coal Help Drive 'Strong' CO2 Rise in 2018
by Matt McGrath (BBC) A booming global market for cars has helped drive CO2 emissions to an all-time high in 2018, say researchers. The main factor in the near 3% rise has been coal use in China, driven by government efforts to
December 11, 2018 Read Full Article
Top 4 Techs: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Carbon Capture, Gas-to-Liquids, Bio-Based Ethylene Glycol, Biomass to Commodity Chemical Application
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Carbon Capture, Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) Technologies, Bio-Based Ethylene Glycol, and Biomass to Commodity Chemical Application. EPIC Modular Process writes that “through our work scaling technologies for pilot plants or commercial systems, we often get exposed to the up-and-coming processes on the verge of
December 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Coffee Sunglasses, Cotton Biofuel Cells, Evolving Yeasts, Biobased Boat Stickers, Microalgae Chemicals, Potato Plastic, Bioplastic Shoes: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of December 5th
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The pace of bioeconomy invention and change continues at a frenetic pace. Here are the top innovations for the week of December 5th. ... #7 Cotton-based hybrid biofuel cell could power pacemakers In Georgia, a glucose-powered biofuel cell that
December 05, 2018 Read Full Article
How the Airline Industry Is Cleaning up Its Climate Act
by Adele Peters (Fast Company) At a steel mill outside Beijing, reactors attached to the building capture emissions from the factory. Those waste gases can then be turned into fuel. LanzaTech, a biotech startup that designed a way to turn those
December 05, 2018 Read Full Article
New Regenerative R33 BlueDiesel Fuel Helps Reduce CO₂ Emissions of Fleets
(Volkswagen) CO2 emissions* can be sustainably reduced thanks to R33 BlueDiesel fuel; Old cooking fat is partly converted into fuel; CO2 savings of at least 20 percent compared to conventional diesel fuel; Introduction at major customers such as Bosch Test phase successfully completed: Volkswagen has
December 04, 2018 Read Full Article
Setting European Aviation on a Pathway to Decarbonisation by 2050
(GreenAir Online) A new study, one of the first, examines whether a credible pathway to zero or near zero emissions exists for European aviation. The report, published by Transport & Environment (T&E), looks at flights within and departing Europe thus matching
December 03, 2018 Read Full Article
Brain Regeneration, Data Storage with Biocomputers, Plastic from Waste Gases, Bamboo Diapers, Gene-Edited Wheat, Jackets from Bison Fluff : The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of November 29th
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The pace of bioeconomy invention and change continues at a frenetic pace. Here are the top innovations for the week of November 29th. ... #3 Munich researchers use algae to convert waste gas to carbon fiber In Germany, researchers
November 30, 2018 Read Full Article
Department of Energy Announces $98 Million for 40 Transformative Energy Technology Projects; Fuel Cell Projects Funded for $12.5M
(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
November 22, 2018 Read Full Article
National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Publishes "Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams Utilization: Status and Research Needs"
(U.S. Department of Energy) The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conducted a study, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, Office of Fossil Energy, and Office of Science, and Shell, which resulted in a report
November 18, 2018 Read Full Article
ASU Teams Find New Ways to Harness CO2 to Reduce Biofuel Costs
(Arizona State University/Biomass Magazine) The U.S. Department of Energy has announced 36 projects that together have been awarded $80 million to support early-stage bioenergy research and development. Two Arizona State University research teams are among the grantees, with the grants to
November 12, 2018 Read Full Article
Heard on the Floor: Reflections and the Buzz from ABLC Global 2018
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It was, at times, not unlike the old trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade and that was no coincidence, for there was optimism abounding and the deal-talk that flows from a general feeling that
November 12, 2018 Read Full Article
Graphene Takes a Step toward Renewable Fuel
(Linköping University/Phys.Org) Using the energy from the sun and graphene applied to the surface of cubic silicon carbide, researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, are working to develop a method to convert water and carbon dioxide to the renewable energy of the
November 09, 2018 Read Full Article
Climeworks Launches Latest DAC Plant in Italy
by Rob Cockerill (GasWorld) Switzerland-based Climeworks has just launched another of its second-generation Direct Air Capture plants (DAC-3) in Troia, Apulia in Italy. Climeworks has been developing the technology since 2009 and commissioned its first industrial-scale CO2 capture unit in late 2014
November 05, 2018 Read Full Article
German-Language STEM Workshops at University of Rhode Island for High School Students--CO2 Experiment
by Michael Eggleston* (Advanced Biofuels USA) For scientists, technicians, engineers and mathematicians, Germany offers a broad range of opportunities when it comes to higher education and professional development. The University of Rhode Island’s (URI) German International Engineering Program (GIEP), together with
November 05, 2018 Read Full Article
Ethanol Rule Change Likely to Take Months, Even Years
by Charles Dunlap (The Mexico Ledger) ... “The question is whether there will be a restraining order prohibiting the rules to go forward or not,” Murphy (Steve Murphy, POET general manager at the Laddonia refinery) said, adding the EPA is trying to
October 29, 2018 Read Full Article
Growing Algae More Sustainably for Biofuel Production
by Jessica Cox (Colorado State University/Phys.Org) ... Another source used to create biofuel is algae – both single-celled microalgae and macroalgae such as kelp. Though algal biofuels are a more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, there remains room to improve the production of the algae used
October 26, 2018 Read Full Article
Senators to Trump Administration: Don’t Challenge California’s Clean Car Standards
(Office of Senator Dianne Feinstein) Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today was joined by 22 senators in calling on the Trump administration to end its challenge of California’s authority to set vehicle emission standards. The senators represent states that follow California’s standards. "The changes
October 24, 2018 Read Full Article
Production of Renewable Gas from Waste Wood
(Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) KIT’s researchers succeeded in producing renewable methane from a biomass-based synthesis gas mixture in their pilot plant for honeycomb methanation. The quality of this synthetic natural gas (SNG) is comparable to that of fossil natural gas and
October 11, 2018 Read Full Article
Harvesting Solar Fuels through a Bacterium’s Unusual Appetite for Gold
by Theresa Duque (University of California Berkeley) A bacterium named Moorella thermoacetica won’t work for free. But UC Berkeley researchers have figured out it has an appetite for gold. And in exchange for this special treat, the bacterium has revealed a more
October 10, 2018 Read Full Article
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