by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Earlier this month, we reported that Comet Biorefining had successfully closed an investment round to fund its proposed cellulosic sugar production facility using stover and wheat straw as feedstock. PM Equity Parnership, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  According to this presentation deck from NREL’s Melvin Tucker, “to produce high concentration sugar and reactive lignin streams at high yields and low costs from biomass to meet BETO’s 2017 ($5/GGE) and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Amidst all the discussion this week of deal-making in cellulosic and sugar-based fuels — the likes of Tesoro-Virent and Lufthansa-Gevo — we were intrigued by this slide deck on a pathway …

by Irshad Ahmed (Lee Enterprises)  … I believe cellulosic ethanol is here to stay for the long haul and it is finally exhibiting real potential to establish a critical-mass commercial base alongside the corn-ethanol industry. Its commercial …

(Phys.Org/VTT Technical Research Center of Finland)  VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Aalto University investigated how willow biomass can be utilised more efficiently. When processed correctly, willow is eminently suitable as a source of …

by Rajdeep Golech (Biomass Magazine)  Feedstock sourcing is a critical aspect in the development of cellulosic biofuel businesses.  —  Emphasis toward greenhouse gas reduction and massive availability of agriculture and forest residue has led to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  JBEI has opened up the licensing door for some of their signature ionic liquid pre-treatment technologies:
Long Alkyl Chain Alcohols as Co-solvent, Precipitant, and Extraction Medium in Ionic Liquid Pretreatment (2013-105), a …

(Global BioBusiness)  It may be surprising to know that, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as “cellulosic ethanol”. Instead, there is cellulosic “sugars”. That because it is often forgotten that the cellulosic process (also …

(The Crop Site)  US – The potential for producing cost-effective cellulosic ethanol that uses plentiful and sustainable cellulosic plant biomass continues to grow, thanks to research at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
USDA Agricultural Research …

(Abengoa/GlobeNewswire)  U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and Kansas Senator Pat Roberts offer remarks during on-site event commemorating landmark occasion for advanced biofuels industry.
Abengoa’s proprietary enzymatic hydrolysis technology turns crop …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) POET-DSM’s 20 million gallon cellulosic ethanol plant opens with hoopla, and heartfelt messages about the spirit of innovation, and a time for technology change and policy firmness.
“Once, we all lived …

(Europa.EU)  … NER 300 is one of the world’s largest funding programmes for innovative low-carbon energy demonstration projects. The programme aims to successfully demonstrate environmentally safe carbon capture and storage (CCS) and innovative renewable energy (RES) …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Inbicon technology planned as centerpiece of low-carbon, high-profit platform: “Patriot will lead the way.”
In Illinois, Patriot Renewable Fuels announced that Leifmark has been hired to create a custom Project Definition, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The technology is there. Demand for alternative fuels, chemicals and materials is there. Feedstock is expensive.   In so many of the signature developments announced around the world this year, there’s …

by Chenlin Li, Deepti Tanjore, Wei He, Jessica Wong, James L Gardner, Kenneth L Sale, Blake A Simmons and Seema Singh (Biotechnology for Biofuels)  Ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment is receiving significant attention as a potential process …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In today’s Digest – visit our 5-Minute Guide to Loan Guarantees — INEOS Bio, Myriant, Sapphire Energy, Abengoa, Chemtex, Enerkem, Fiberight, Fulcrum, ZeaChem – Plus POET-DSM, Diamond Green Diesel, Coskata and Range Fuels
Projects open …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   Advanced biofuels – mirage or reality? In January we wrote: “When these 12 projects open for business (or not) in 2013, you’ll know for sure.”  So, what do we know?
…
We …

by Pavel Molchanov (Raymond James and Associates/Biofuels Digest)  …There is no question that there have been growing pains along the way, more than we would have hoped, but the industry continues along its trajectory towards scale. We …

(ENP Newswire/Cogeneration and On-Site Power Production)  Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B), the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, has started operations at the demonstration plant that uses …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Today in part II, we look at a new set of technologies coming along that are redefining our ideas about scale and cost.
… A barrier to long term deployment? The …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Although no commercial-scale cellulosic biofuels facilities are operating in the United States at present, at least ten projects exceeding 20 million gallons per year are expected to begin operations by …

(SEKAB/Davy Process Technology)  Davy Process Technology Limited (Davy), a Johnson Matthey company, andSEKAB, a leading player in the field of the ethanol based chemicals and biofuels, today announced at World Biofuels Markets that they are …

by Pedram Fatehi (Biotechnology Progress)  In this review, the recent advancements and technical challenges associated with the production of ethanol, butanol, and isobutanol via bioconversion routes from celluloses of woody materials are reviewed. Physicochemical processes, e.g. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Ireland, former Ryanair CEO Declan Ryan has joined investors in backing Aer Sustainable Energy Ltd, better known as Aer Bio. He was a director of Ryanair Holdings from August …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Every great biofuels technology has its own companion feedstock strategy – with unique advantages and technical challenges.  Who’s got what it takes to be a great Sherpa, providing that feedstock …

by Zhifang Cui, Caixia Wan, Jian Shi, Robert W. Sykes, and Yebo Li (Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research)  Corn stover fractions (leaves, cobs, and stalks) were studied for enzymatic digestibility after pretreatment with a white rot fungus, Ceriporiopsis subvermispora. Among the three …

by Thomas Corle (Leifmark LLC, Inbicon Technology Marketing Partner) Opening his presentation with imposing nature images of pristine beauty, Corle’s presentation lays Denmark’s aspirations on the table – to move from 2006’s 15/85 (CO2 emission) …

(Business Wire/Lux Research)  Harvesting Technologies Can Cut Feedstock Costs by $25 per Ton, says Lux Research.
The bio-based materials and chemicals industry needs to tap newer, non-food sources of biomass and cellulosic material and raise volumes …

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant is now operating its demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Straubing, Germany. With an annual capacity of up to 1,000 tons (330,000 MMgy), the demonstration …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …With the coming of advanced bioprocessing, the picture of opportunity has radically changed and the Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest, in particular, have been assessing their opportunities and attracting projects.
…But in …

(DSM)  Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, has been qualified as supplier of enzymes for DONG Energy – Inbicon’s wheat straw to cellulosic ethanol process. The enzymes have been successfully used …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Four projects, four technologies, four feedstocks, four geographies.  Couldn’t be more differentiated, couldn’t be more linked in terms of affirming investor confidence in advanced biofuels.
…Virent CEO Lee Edwards… outlined four basic …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Guido Ghisolfi is a confident man. A chemical engineer by trade, at 55, he’s already spent three decades leading research and development (R&D) activities at Italy-based Mossi & Ghisolfi …

by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA)  Problem Definition:  The production of biofuels in the US is at a substantial roadblock. Due to the high cost of transporting large quantities of low density, low value biomass …

(EcoGreen4US) … Cellulosic ethanol is produced from plant fibre which is widely available almost anywhere in the world. Today, producing cellulosic ethanol is not in a laboratory anymore. A number ofmanufacturing plants around the world have been producing cellulosic ethanol asalternative to diesel and gasoline orpetrol.
Some of the plant fibres which …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Two titans form a monster JV, starting out with a $250M investment.
…In Iowa, Poet has teamed with Dutch-based Royal DSM to create a 50/50 joint venture called Poet-DSM Advanced Biofuels that will …

(Abengoa)  Abengoa, the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, has been selected by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and FINEP, the promotion and investment agency …

by Pavel Molchanov (Raymond James)  As energy investors know well, it is much better to own the oil than to refine it. In other words, the bulk of the value is in the upstream of the …

(US Department of Energy)  Groundbreaking Cellulosic Ethanol Project Expected to Fund Over 300 Jobs and Build Nation’s Capacity for Cellulosic Ethanol Production
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced that the Department finalized a $132.4 million …

(SBWire)   COFCO’s first phase of the cellulosic ethanol production line will lay a foundation in Zhaodong, in December 2011.
The first phase of the cellulosic ethanol production line with capacity of 50,000t/a in COFCO Corporation …

(Abengoa/PR NewsWire)   Abengoa today announced that its subsidiary, Abengoa Bioenergy, has been selected by the US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office to receive an offer of a conditional commitment for a $133.9 million federal loan …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  German-based international specialty chemicals company Süd-Chemie AG held a groundbreaking July 26 for a 1,000 ton-per-year, demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Straubing, located in the Lower Bavaria region. The …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …The drivers for biofuels and cleantech as a whole? According to the 2010 China Statistical Yearbook, from 2005 to 2009 the gross domestic product of China grew at a compound …

(US Department of Energy)  The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Biomass Program will be conducting detailed biennial peer review meetings of its activities throughout the first half …

(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 …

(National Advanced Biofuels Consortium)  This 55-slide presentation from a National Advanced Biofuels Consortium Webinar describes the organization and work of the consortium using many valuable charts, graphs and illustrations, including those that depict existing infrastructure.
One …

(India.gov.in)  The Department of Biotechnology has launched a mission programme on biofuel from biomass. The thrust is on developing ethanol using Lignocellulosic waste as a raw material, identifying recombinant microbial strains for enhanced ethanol recovery, …

(JapanCorp.net)  Project to Make Efficient Use of Soft Cellulose
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has successfully established technology to produce ethanol for automobile fuel, satisfying the standards of the Japanese Automotive Standards Organization (JASO), from lignocellulose …

By Robert Kozak (Atlantic Biomass Conversions, Inc.)  Worldwide Importance of Protein Animal Feed
When I began working with sugar beet processors on our beet pulp biofuel sugar process, one of their first questions was, “Will there …

by Heather Lammers   (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)  The scenario for your business dream plays out like this. You have an idea to make a fuel from biomass using a biochemical conversion processes. You and …

(Biofuels International)  Technology provider for the energy and environment sectors Abengoa will implement its enzymatic hydrolysis process technology to produce bioethanol at a commercial-scale in the US.
The news comes after the company’s second generation bioethanol …

(Viaspace/PRNewsWire)   High Per-Acre Productivity of Giant King Grass Promises 40% Reduction in Biofuel Feedstock Costs
VIASPACE Inc., and its subsidiary VIASPACE Green Energy Inc., reported results of recent independent testing of Giant King Grass as a feedstock …

by Vinod Khosla (Green Tech Media)  Part 1: Production technologies: where are we? The financial crisis of 2008 set back a number of projects and slowed actual construction of pilot and demo plants like it …

by Dr. J. Richard Hess (Biomass Program Technology Manager, Idaho National Laboratory)  Dr. Hess details the biomass attributes that impact the nature of and cost of feedstock preparation, biochemical conversion, and thermochemcal conversion, along with general …

by Dr. Thomas D. Foust (Executive Director of the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium, National Renewable Energy Laboratory)  The DOE created the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium (NABC) to help develop cost-effective technologies to develop advanced “drop-in” biofuels …

(South Dakota State University)  A South Dakota State University scientist is exploring ways to re-use enzymes in processes such as making cellulosic ethanol.
The research could lead to big financial savings for industry.
“Enzymes are usually very …

(Biomass Magazine)   Using a high shear bioreactor (extrusion) pretreatment process can help prepare corn stover as a feedstock for making cellulosic ethanol, a South Dakota State University study finds.
The SDSU study explored different temperatures, screw …

by Halima Abdallah  (The East African)  Uganda scientists have made a breakthrough in extracting bio-ethanol from non-food parts of plants — cassava stems, cassava leaves, pineapple leaves, elephant grass stems and wood — opening the way …

Qteros, Inc., and the University of Massachusetts Amherst announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent No. 7,682,811 titled “Systems and Methods for Producing Biofuels and Related Materials” describing the …

by Dave Mowtiz (AgricultureOnline)  Grain sorghum is gaining the attention of eastern Corn Belt farmers in an area dominated by corn, soybeans and wheat, reports a category winner of the National Sorghum Producers Association’s yield …

by Stephen K. Ritter (Chemical & Engineering News)  Chemists, chemical engineers, and synthetic biologists have largely met the technical challenge of developing biofuels to supplement and then replace petroleum-derived transportation fuels in the coming decades. …