by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Colorado, Sundrop Fuels announced that they have agreed to purchase about 1,200 acres of land near Alexandria, Louisiana to build their first plant. Using forest waste and hydrogen from natural gas, their plant will produce
drop-in biofuels/hydrocarbons
Back TO HOMEMonster Mash, or the Case of the Micro-Spider’s Web
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Philippe Marlière, co-founder of Global Bioenergies and president of its Scientific Advisory Board, comments: “Carbon monoxide combines the attractive features of biochemical versatility and virtuous sourcing. Most importantly, carbon monoxide retains a large part of
November 28, 2011 Read Full Article
CORE BioFuel Completes Tests on Wood-to-Gasoline Process
(Energy Business Review) Canada-based CORE BioFuel has tested the last step in its wood-to-gasoline process to produce high-octane, benzene-free, drop-in gasoline. Under contract with CORE, RECAT Technologies completed a set of test runs of the catalytic reaction producing gasoline from dimethyl
November 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Honeywell Green Jet Fuel(TM) Powers Regular Commercial Route for Aeromexico
(MarketWatch/Honeywell) Green Jet Fuel made from the Honeywell UOP process technology now in use on regular Aeromexico route from Mexico City to Costa Rica UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced today that Honeywell Green Jet Fuel(TM), produced using process technology from Honeywell's
November 10, 2011 Read Full Article
7 Decision Points in the Race for Scale in Advanced Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In the Race for Scale, the industry has excelled in driving down operating costs. Capital costs have proven more perplexing, and sticker shock has been a hold-back. Feedstock availability at affordable cost and appropriate scale
November 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Researchers Discover New Process for Biofuel
(R&D) Researchers have long been interested in waste products as sources of biofuel. In Maine, those waste items could include treetops and limbs deemed by the forest products industry as unusable and often left behind in the woods. A University of
October 28, 2011 Read Full Article
California Dedicates $30 Million to Biofuels Expansion
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The California Energy Commission has approved the state's third-year funding plan for the commission's Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, allocating $100 million toward the expansion of various alternative fuels and vehicles throughout
September 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Primus Green Energy Expands Drop-In Fuel Development Plant in N.J., Increases Total Production Capacity
(BusinessWire/Primus Green Energy) Primus Green Energy (“Primus”), the leader in renewable, drop-in fuel, has expanded its U.S.-based development facility in New Jersey, enabling the company to build its complete, integrated thermal-chemical process. Primus’ game-changing process for converting biomass into gasoline
September 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Department of Energy Announces up to $12 Million in Investments to Support Development and Production of Drop-In Biofuels
(US Department of Energy) In support of the Obama Administration's comprehensive efforts to strengthen U.S. energy security, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced up to $12 million to fund three small-scale projects in Illinois, Wisconsin, and North Carolina that
September 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Investor Interest in U.S. Biofuel Production Set to Soar
by John Daly (OilPrice.com) ...While it remains to be seen how the joint investments between the U.S. government and private sector will work in practice, the announcement nevertheless represents an unprecedented commitment by several federal departments to stimulate the production
August 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Virent’s Biogasoline Passes First Test in European Auto Fleet Trial
(Virent) Virent’s Biofuel Satisfies “No Harms” Criteria in Shell Road Trial Virent has taken another step in the gasoline certification process, successfully completing its first road fleet test organized and executed by Virent collaborator, Royal Dutch Shell. Virent’s biogasoline was found to cause
August 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Corn for Hydrocarbons
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Add-on technology developed for corn ethanol plants Rather than retrofitting a corn-ethanol plant to produce i-butanol, n-butanol or use other novel fermentation technologies, three companies are collaborating to turn a traditional ethanol plant into a
August 17, 2011 Read Full Article
President Obama Announces Major Initiative to Spur Biofuels Industry and Enhance America's Energy Security
(The White House) USDA, Department of Energy and Navy Partner to Advance Biofuels to Fuel Military and Commercial Transportation, Displace Need for Foreign Oil, and Strengthen Rural America President Obama today (August 16, 2011) announced that the U.S. Departments of Agriculture,
August 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Building on the Success of Corn Ethanol to Corn Hydrocarbons
by Holly Jessen (DomesticFuel.com) Although the U.S. corn ethanol industry is frequently misunderstood and misrepresented, it’s the only domestic renewable fuel industry to reach significant scale and make a measurable impact on the U.S. fuel supply, said Luca Zullo, principal
August 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuel Startup Sundrop Fuels Lands $175M Investment, Mostly from Chesapeake
(Denver Business Journal) Colorado biofuel startup Sundrop Fuels Inc. on Monday announced it will get $175 million in new investment, with the lion’s share coming from natural gas company Chesapeake Energy Corp. ...Chesapeake said it plans to fund the investment by
July 13, 2011 Read Full Article
DOE Awards $36M to Six Projects for Drop-In fuels, Chemicals
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Virent, Genomatica, HCL Clean Tech among the winners, as DOE fosters replacement of “entire barrel of oil” in latest funding round In Washington, US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced up to $36 millionto fund six small-scale
June 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Virent Makes Gasoline from Cellulosic Biomas
(Virent) Biofuels Pioneer Converts Corn Stover and Loblolly Pine Into BioFormate™ Gasoline with Molecular Composition Similar to Gasoline Derived from Fossil Fuels Virent announced it has successfully produced biogasoline from corn stover and pine harvest forest residuals, as a recipient of the U.S.
June 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Algae Included in Fuel Feedstock Freedom Act Introduced to Senate
(Algae Industry Magazine) ...The Fuel Feedstock Freedom Act (S. 1085), gives individual states the option not to participate in the corn ethanol portion of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). It also expands the cellulosic biofuel carve-out to include algae and
May 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Taking It to the Hill: Making the Case for Advanced Biofuels to Congress
by Mike McAdams (Biorefining Magazine/Advanced Biofuels Association) I recently had the privilege of testifying before the Energy and Power Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce and share with its members the incredible progress the advanced biofuels
May 26, 2011 Read Full Article
Linde and Sapphire Energy Announce Deal to Co-Develop CO2 Management System for Algae Fuel Production
(PR NewsWire) The technology group, The Linde Group, and Sapphire Energy, Inc., one of the world's leaders in algae-based crude oil, today announced that they have entered into a multi-year agreement to co-develop a low-cost system to deliver carbon dioxide
May 11, 2011 Read Full Article
US Navy Spartan Energy Ethos Means Biofuels (Four Commercial-Scale Biorefineries) and Energy Efficiency for the Fleet and the Country. For How Long? In Perpetuity ...
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) On April 12th at the Navy League’s 2011 Sea-Air-Space Exposition, the leaders of the US Navy’s 50% petroleum reduction by 2020 program honed in on what it means for the Navy and for
April 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Vision 2050: a European Future Where Society Has Recognised Travel by Air is Environmentally Friendly
(GreenAirOnline) The public in the year 2050 is informed, understands and is convinced that the aviation sector has made the utmost progress in mitigating its environmental impacts and therefore considers air travel is environmentally sustainable. So says a new
April 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Senate Energy Committee Explores Biofuel Infrastructure Expansion
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Senate energy committee held a two-hour hearing April 7 to discuss proposed legislation to expand the domestic biofuels market, but expanded its scope through testimony and committee member questions to cover nearly every
April 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels and Biofuel Research beyond Ethanol is Crucial to Developing Alternative Sustainable Energy Resources
(KQED/Quest/Planet Forward) For years there’s been buzz — both positive and negative — about generating ethanol fuel from corn. The Bay Area is rapidly becoming a world center for the next generation of green fuel alternatives. Meet the scientists investigating
April 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Bracketology: Which 3 of 6 Will Win in NABC Drop-In Fuels Consortium Cut-Off?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Amongst the various projects that received support under the 2009 Recovery Act were an algal R&D consortium called the NAABB, and a drop-in biofuels R&D consortium called the NABC, of the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium. ...Within
March 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Three-Component Blend of Ethanol-Biobutanol-Gasoline “Has Significant Advantages”: DuPont
by Thomas Saidak (Biofuels Digest) In New York, DuPont Applied BioSciences President Craig F. Binetti, speaking at the Jeffries 11th Annual Clean Technology Conference, talked about Dupont’s intentions regarding biotechnology and biofuels. Dupont currently estimates the biofuels industry worldwide will
March 04, 2011 Read Full Article
The Brew Barons: Masters of Advanced Fermentation, Driving the Redefinition of Biofuels: Pt 1
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Is there enough energy, food, fiber and feed for all? Advances in industrial fermentation – a/k/a an incredulous “you’re making what? from what? using what? – will be the key to answering that question. The stars of this drama
March 01, 2011 Read Full Article
A.I.M. Interview: Sapphire Energy’s CEO Dr. Jason Pyle
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) Dr. Jason Pyle, the high profile CEO at the even more high profile “green crude” developer, Sapphire Energy, holds a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Physiology, as well as an M.D., from
January 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Virent and HCL CleanTech Receive Grant to Demonstrate Cellulosic Sugars as Feedstocks for 'Drop-In' Biofuels and Bioproducts
(Virent) BIRD Energy Grant Will Support Virent's Conversion of HCL CleanTech's Pine Tree Sugars Into Hydrocarbon Fuels and Products That can be Sustainable, Cost-effective, and Compatible With Existing Infrastructure Virent Energy Systems Inc. and HCL CleanTech announced today that they have been
January 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Top 20 Green Tech Ideas: Custom Biofuels
by Bryan Walsh (Time/CNN) ...But what if you could adapt biofuels to use our current infrastructure, not the other way around? That's what a handful of biotech companies are doing right now. Startups like Amyris and LS9 are using the tools
December 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Neste Oil Becomes Chief Monster as Renewable Diesel becomes Biofuels Monster
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In renewable diesel there are two companies that are getting it done, in terms of putting fuel on the street in meaningful volumes. Those are Dynamic Fuels and Neste Oil. Dynamic, which is a JV
December 03, 2010 Read Full Article
LanzaTech Gets DOE OK on Alcohol-to-Jet Fuel R&D
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In New Zealand, LanzaTech announced that its cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with PNNL has been given final approval by the DOE. The first phase of the CRADA work will focus on converting some of
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Summary of Cellulosic Biofuels & Biorefineries Summit Day 1
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuesl USA) The Renewable Fuel Association's Bob Dinneen started the Cellulosic Biofuels & Biorefineries Summit with a call to the biofuels community--ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, advanced biofuels, renewable and biodiesel--to realize their common bonds and interests. Particularly,
November 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Rentech and ClearFuels Integrated Bio-Refinery Project to Receive Full Construction and Operations Funding
(Rentech/Enhanced Online News) U.S. Department of Energy Approves Remaining $19.7 Million of Funding Rentech, Inc., and ClearFuels Technology Inc., jointly announced today that a cooperative agreement has been signed with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to receive the remaining $19.7 million
November 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Amyris “Renewable” Diesel Gets EPA OK for Blend Level to 35%
by Wendy Leavitt (FleetOwner) Amyris, Inc. has announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has furthered its official registration of Amyris’s renewable diesel fuel, raising the registered blend level with ultra-low sulfur diesel from 20% to 35%. According to the company,
November 08, 2010 Read Full Article
The Future of Biofuels: The Post-Alcohol World
(The Economist) Biofuels are back. This time they might even work. MAKE something people want to buy at a price they can afford. Hardly a revolutionary business strategy, but one that the American biofuels industry has, to date, eschewed. Now a new
October 29, 2010 Read Full Article
REVIVAL! Hawai’i Bi-O Style: Elite Squad of Scientists Aim to Boost Hawaii via Bioenergy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Hawaii is a code word meaning “paradise” not only to sun-starved tourists, but to bioenergy developers. It has all the hallmarks of the “perfect market”. 1. A state that generates no energy from fossil fuels and
October 26, 2010 Read Full Article
The Blue Phoenix: BlueFire Ethanol Repositions as BlueFire Renewables
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The Digest took the opportunity to visit with BlueFire’s CEO Arnold Klann, who has been working in the cellulosic biofuels space for more than a decade, and continues to be a driving force in the
August 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Mid-Ohio American Le Mans Series: Innovative Fuels; or Getting the Right Fuel in the Right Tank
[caption id="attachment_11353" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="BP Biofuels shrinking presence on the Dyson Racing Mazda, but still very much powering the Lola. photo: J.Ivancic "][/caption] by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) The classic 2010 Mid-Ohio American Le Mans race was this year's showcase of biofuel
August 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Hard Work Has Made Biodiesel a ‘Drop-In’ Fuel
(Biodiesel Magazine) ... He (Steve Howell, technical director for the National Biodiesel Board and president of the Marc-IV consulting firm) mentioned the disadvantage from this model, however, is that the fuel properties of biodiesel made from these products are based
July 30, 2010 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels Workshop Precedes FEW
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) All biofuels producers- from biobutanol to renewable diesel plus cellulosic ethanol and more-must work together to promote the biofuel industry interests, said Michael McAdams. The president of the Advanced Biofuels Association gave the keynote
June 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Biobutanol – the Fuel to Leap the Blend Wall?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Digest readers who closely analyze the Advanced Biofuels Tracking Database will have noticed that, commencing in 2012, biobutanol is scheduled to grow rapidly from pilot stage today to more than 500 million gallons in production by
June 15, 2010 Read Full Article
LS9: Genetically Modified E. Coli that Secrete Drop-in Diesel
by Joshua Kagan (GreenTechMedia.com) ...The company (LS9) already produces a diesel that meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for road use in the U.S. The technology is pretty straightforward. LS9 uses any sugar source (though initially it will
March 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Synthetic Bio Could Cure Energy Woes
by Ph.D. Angelo DePalma (CheckBiotech, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News) ...“It is about systems,” says A. Malcolm Campbell, Ph.D., professor of biology at Davidson College, “not manipulating one or two genes, but whole pathways.” For example, producing a compound in
December 04, 2009 Read Full Article
DOE Intends to Develop Drop-In Advanced Biofuels: Focus on Algae
by Anna Austin (Biomass Magazine)Valerie Reed of the U.S. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy talked about the direction the DOE is taking to accelerate the development of algae-based biofuels at the Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology
November 13, 2009 Read Full Article
Will These 4 Biofuels Be Bonanzas or Busts?
(Discover) ...(A)recent series of articles from Nature News feels like a public service, as the articles investigate the scientific and economic state of affairs for four different kinds of biofuels. The first article focused on the weedy plant jatropha, which was
October 12, 2009 Read Full Article
Algae repositions as biofuels’ “humble but lovable” feedstock: industry gathers in positive, but low-key annual Summit
Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) provides a summary of the developing algae ethos at the Algae Biomass Summit in San Diego: The biotech elevator pitch usually adheres to a 'rule of 5′. The offer is invariably a product platform that "is
October 12, 2009 Read Full Article
Chinese Technology Converts Biomass Directly to Fuel
by Lisa Gibson (Biomass Magazine) Researchers with China-based Ji Zhong Wei New Energy Technical Development Ltd. have discovered a way to convert biomass directly to regular gasoline and diesel, according to the company. The same international standard fuels many of
October 01, 2009 Read Full Article
Biggie Smalls: Microcrops Go Mainstream and Head for the Big Time
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) All microalgae are microcrops, but not all microcrops are microalgae: a larger family of diatoms, cyanobacteria, and tiny aquatic flowering plants such as the lemna family are increasingly in the mix for biofuels commercialization. As
August 05, 2009 Read Full Article
Synthetic Biology Emerges as Key to Biofuels
by Amanda Lyle ----- Converting cellulose quickly and cheaply into biofuel may be feasible any day now - what remains to be seen is who will be the first to use synthetic biology to create an organism capable of such
May 12, 2009 Read Full Article
Ethanol Crops? Lab Finds New Method To Turn Biomass Into Gasoline
Scientists have combined a discovery from a French garbage dump with breakthroughs in synthetic biology to come up with a novel method for turning plant waste into gasoline, without the need of any food sources. A synthetic biology lab at