Advanced BioFuels USA – Truly Sustainable Renewable Future

Garbage Bug May Help Lower the Cost of Biofuel

(University of Illinois/EurekAlert!) One reason that biofuels are expensive to make is that the organisms used to ferment the biomass cannot make effective use of hemicellulose, the next most abundant cell wall component after cellulose. They convert only the glucose

December 05, 2012 Read Full Article

NREL Researchers Use Imaging Technologies to Solve Puzzle of Plant Architecture

(US Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Breakthrough could help optimize capture of sugars for biofuels Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) combined different microscopic imaging methods to gain

November 30, 2012 Read Full Article

Direvo Introduces BluCon™ for the Conversion of Non-Food Biomass to Biofuel and Chemical Building Blocks

(Direvo) Direvo Industrial Biotechnology GmbH is commercializing its BluCon™– platform for complete, one-step conversion of non-food feedstocks to carbohydrates used in the production of fuels and chemicals. In the recent years Direvo has undertaken a huge research program identifying a

November 29, 2012 Read Full Article

Active and Passive: Competing Voices in Biofuels Design

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Generally, renewables compete in the short term against fossil fuel prices – but in the long-term, against fossil fuel extraction costs. Even if a new process produces a renewable at less then, say, the equivalent of

November 28, 2012 Read Full Article

Camels' Stomachs Could Provide Key to Cheap, Renewable Biofuel

by Alya Al Tunaiji (The National) ...At the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, I am currently focusing my master's thesis research on the biogas-producing potential of the microbes that live in camels' stomachs. Large ruminants - plant-eating mammals such as cows, goats and

November 27, 2012 Read Full Article

How Does Plant Cell Wall Nanoscale Architecture Correlate with Enzymatic Digestibility?

Shi-You Ding, Yu-San Liu, Yining Zeng, Michael E. Himmel, John O. Baker, Edward A. Bayer (Science Magazine) Greater understanding of the mechanisms contributing to chemical and enzymatic solubilization of plant cell walls is critical for enabling cost-effective industrial conversion of cellulosic

November 27, 2012 Read Full Article

The Global Biofuel Enzymes Industry is Expected to Reach USD 1,653.1 Million in 2018: Transparency Market Research

(Transparency Market Research/PR NewsWire) According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research (http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com) "Biofuel Enzymes Market- Global Industry Size, Market Share, Trends, Analysis and Forecast, 2012 - 2018," the global biofuel enzymes demand was worth USD 1,021.9

November 16, 2012 Read Full Article

Why Cellulosic Ethanol Depends on a Renewable Fuel Standard

by RP Siegel (TriplePundit) ... 3p: If you look at where we today relative to the RFS, it says that by the year 2022, a total of 21 billion gallons of biofuel needs to be provided by something other than corn. That puts a

October 29, 2012 Read Full Article

Novozymes Acquires 10% of Beta Renewables for $115M; Companies to Jointly Market, Demonstrate and Guarantee Cellulosic Biofuel Solutions.

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Novozymes becomes preferred enzyme supplier for Beta Renewables’ current and future cellulosic biofuel projects; embedded in Proesa production technology. In Denmark and Italy, Novozymes, the world’s largest producer of industrial enzymes, and Beta Renewables, a global

October 29, 2012 Read Full Article

Aemetis Granted Fifth U.S. Patent for Cellulosic Biochemical and Biofuel Technology

(Aemetis/BusinessWire) Aemetis, Inc. (OTCPK: AMTX), an advanced fuels and renewable chemicals company, announced today that the company was awarded a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) titled “Hydrolytic Enzyme Mixtures For Saccharification of Lignocellulosic Polysaccharides”, and

October 25, 2012 Read Full Article

I Just Want to Say One Word to You. Just One Word. Are You Listening? Biocatalysts.

by Jim Lane (Biobased Digest) Could enzyme biocatalysts replace fermentation among the hottest process platforms in industrial biotech? Newlight thinks so, as it applies its supercatalyst to low-cost plastics. And no petroleum or food crops required. In the weeks and months

October 18, 2012 Read Full Article

Dyadic and SEKAB Cooperate On Verifying Effective Enzymes For The Production Of Cellulosic Sugars

(RedOrbit/PR NewsWire) Dyadic International, Inc., a global biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of enzymes and other proteins for the bioenergy, bio-based chemicals, biopharmaceutical and industrial enzyme industries, announced today the results of its cooperation with

September 24, 2012 Read Full Article

Advanced Biofuels Companies Showcase Progress

by Colleen Lerro (BIO) Wednesday at the National Press Club, several advanced biofuels companies joined BIO to showcase the progress the industry has made in recent years. U.S. companies have worked to rapidly scale up advanced biofuel technology – through pilot

September 13, 2012 Read Full Article

Triangle Company Helping Turn Trash into Fuel

by Kerstin Nordstrom (News Observer) ...A Triangle-based company has now come up with a way to turn that trash into treasure. Well, fuel. The secret is using enzymes. Novozymes, a company with its North American headquarters in Franklinton, develops and

September 07, 2012 Read Full Article

Biofuel Development Company Infinite Enzymes Wins Research Grant

by Michael Sheffield (Memphis Business Journal) Infinite Enzymes LLC has received a $450,000 Small Business Innovation Research Phase II grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to advance its enzyme development technology. This is the second Small Business Innovation Research grant the Jonesboro,

September 06, 2012 Read Full Article

Codexis, Shell Redraw the Advanced Biofuels Map with Global Enzyme Rights Deal

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... In California, Codexis announced that Shell has granted Codexis a royalty-bearing, non-exclusive license to develop, manufacture, use and sell cellulase enzymes developed under the companies’ Amended and Restated Collaborative Research Agreement. The scope of the

September 05, 2012 Read Full Article

Novozymes, Terranol Partner on Yeast to Boost Biofuels Industry

by Sally Bakewell (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Novozymes A/S (NZYMB) agreement to market Terranol A/S’s yeast technology as the world’s biggest maker of enzymes seeks to make biofuels from energy crops and agricultural waste commercially viable. ...Novozymes supplies enzymes to break down matter such

August 30, 2012 Read Full Article

Biofuel Research: Possibilities Still Growing at University of Georgia

(Ledger-Enquirer) ...Researchers at the University of Georgia may be close to finding it. A report by Susan Mittleman on Georgia Public Broadcasting and transcribed on the Public Broadcasting Atlanta website (pba.org) describes a promising new process for making ethanol and

August 28, 2012 Read Full Article

Dyadic Launches AlternaFuel CMAX3 Enzyme with Broad Operating Range

by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Florida, Dyadic International unveiled its latest biofuels enzyme advancement, AlternaFuel CMAX3. This next generation product enables the production of cellulosic biofuels and bio-based chemicals from a wide range of renewable non-food feedstocks under broad operating

July 18, 2012 Read Full Article

Protabit Wins Award to Advance Biofuels Research

(The Bioenergy Site) US-based Protabit, an off-shoot from the California Institute of Technology, has been awarded a Small Business Innovative Research grant (phase one) for engineering cellulose enzymes. The computational protein software platform designers will use the award from the National

July 17, 2012 Read Full Article

Biofuels Patent Marks Milestone for Madison Research Hub

Thomas Content (Journal Sentinel) C5-6 Technologies of Middleton and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center in Madison are celebrating a milestone - the awarding of the first patent from the center's next-generation biofuels research. The patent covers research into a heat-resistant

July 17, 2012 Read Full Article

Study on Fungi Evolution Answers Questions About Ancient Coal Formation and May Help Advance Future Biofuels Production

(National Science Foundation) Study reveals the potentially large influences of fungi, one of the most biologically diverse classes of organisms, on our energy supplies A new study--which includes the first large-scale comparison of fungi that cause rot decay--suggests that the evolution

July 03, 2012 Read Full Article

Novozymes Partners for Waste-to-Ethanol Project in China

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Novozymes and China’s Shengquan Group have signed a final agreement to work together on producing cellulosic ethanol from a waste product of Shengquan’s current production process. Novozymes is supplying the necessary enzymes and Shenquan

June 25, 2012 Read Full Article

BioTork Announces Collaboration with BASF

(BioTork) Harnessing the Power of Adaptive Evolution to Further Improve the Efficiency of Metabolic Engineering BioTork announces collaboration with BASF to optimize certain microbial strains for the industrial production of bio-based polymers and green chemicals. After six months of collaboration, BASF and

June 14, 2012 Read Full Article

DSM Enzymes for Cellulosic Ethanol Qualified by DONG Energy

(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 in the demonstration scale biorefinery

June 06, 2012 Read Full Article

Novozymes Built New Enzyme Plant in U.S. Due to Tax Credit

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Novozymes, a global biotech company, first considered building its newly built enzyme production plant in China but eventually zeroed in on the U.S. One big deciding factor was the $28.4 million tax credit from

June 01, 2012 Read Full Article

Waste Lines: The Hottest Trends with Bio’s Coolest Feedstock

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Regardless of its naming deficiencies, waste has been hot and getting hotter as a bioenergy feedstock because it solves three of the most pressing problems blocking capacity expansion. 1. The feedstocks are available at fixed, affordable

May 29, 2012 Read Full Article

The Final Treatment: Washing or Polishing Followed by Distillation Offers the Purest Biodiesel Around

by Raj Mosali (Jatrodiesel Inc./Biodiesel Magazine) Biodiesel is traditionally produced via esterification of fatty acids and transesterification of triglycerides with an alcohol such as methanol and sodium methylate. The transesterification of triglycerides is comprised of three sequential, reversible reactions wherein

May 07, 2012 Read Full Article

The Promise of Biotechnology Is Here Today, and Dyadic Is Determined to Make a Difference

(CFOCEO Magazine) ...Interview conducted by: Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor, CEOCFO Magazine, Published - April 20, 2012 ...C1 is a very unique fungus we found in the Russian soil in an alkaline lake in the early 1990’s. We selected that fungus because

April 23, 2012 Read Full Article

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Process Improves Catalytic Rate of Enzymes by 3,000 percent

(Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Light of specific wavelengths can be used to boost an enzyme's function by as much as 30 fold, potentially establishing a path to less expensive biofuels, detergents and a host of other products. In a paper published

April 18, 2012 Read Full Article

Pest Insects to Help Produce Ethanol

(Chalmers) Pest insects in tropical rainforests can be a valuable natural asset. So believes Lisbeth Olsson, who is hunting for new enzymes in partnership with Vietnamese researchers. ...Together, researchers from Chalmers and Vietnam are now going to search for previously unknown

March 28, 2012 Read Full Article

Butamax(tm) Files Biobutanol Patent Infringement Lawsuit to Stop Gevo's Use of Butamax KARI Enzyme Technology

(Butamax/iStockAnalyst.com) Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels, LLC, the biobutanol technology leader, announced today that the Company filed a new lawsuit against Gevo, Inc. for infringing the recently awarded Butamax™ patent8,129,162. The patent covers recombinant KARI enzymes which perform a key step in producing

March 12, 2012 Read Full Article

Butamax Expands Robust Isobutanol Patent Portfolio

(PR NewsWire) Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels, LLC, the biobutanol technology leader, today announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Butamax Patent Number 8,129,162 which provides Butamax with optimal key capability for the production of isobutanol from renewable

March 06, 2012 Read Full Article

Piedmont Proves Out Liquid Enzyme Catalysis

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Small North Carolina producer continues to innovate The founder of Pittsboro, N.C.-based Piedmont Biofuels, Rachel Burton, gave details at the 2012 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Orlando on the company’s new commercially proven enzymatic transesterification

March 02, 2012 Read Full Article

DSM Chief Seeks Poet-Style Ethanol Tie-ups From Brazil to China

by Alex Morales (Bloomberg) Royal DSM NV, the Dutch enzyme maker which last month set up a cellulosic ethanol venture with Poet LLC, is seeking similar tie-ups in Brazil, China and Europe, Chief Executive Officer Feike Sijbesma said. DSM last month said it’s providing

March 01, 2012 Read Full Article

Cost of Producing Biofuels Enzymes Higher than Assumed: Researchers

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In an update to our story The Enzyme Wars, a group of researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Joint BioEnergy Institute write: “the results from a recently-published paper on enzyme costs may help contextualizing

February 27, 2012 Read Full Article

The Enzyme Wars

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Novozymes releases a new, high-performance enzyme for advanced cellulosic biofuels: Cellic CTec3. Will Novozymes win the enzyme wars? Will enzymes defeat gasification? When will renewables defeat fossil fuels on cost? In Denmark, Novozymes announced their latest enzyme

February 24, 2012 Read Full Article

U.S. ‘Losing Momentum’ in Biofuels Makes Novozymes Target Brazil

by Justin Doom (Bloomberg) Novozymes A/S (NZYMB), the world’s biggest maker of enzymes for biofuels, is focusing its expansion efforts in Europe, China and Brazil and isn’t pursuing new projects in the U.S. because of the lack of political support. “The policy signals sent to

February 20, 2012 Read Full Article

Power of Algae Unleashed by Protein Technologies

(Manchester Evening News) A biotech business has developed and patented a process which it believes has the potential to fight the world’s energy and food crises. Protein Technologies, based at Manchester Science Parks, specialises in research in the life sciences sector.

February 16, 2012 Read Full Article

Extreme Biofuels and Those Heat-Seeking X Bugs

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Some of the first American visitors to Yellowstone, who began to record their journeys into the wilds of northwestern Wyoming during the early 1870s, noted the horrible taste of the water from the hot

February 16, 2012 Read Full Article

Piedmont Biofuels Successfully Scales up Commercial Enzyme-Based Biodiesel Production

(Piedmont Biofuels) Breakthrough Expedites Transformation of Biodiesel Production Piedmont Biofuels announced today(February 7, 2012) that the company has commenced the first commercial scale zero-waste production of biodiesel in the United States using its proprietary approach of enzyme catalysis. Biodiesel is a

February 07, 2012 Read Full Article

Making Nature's Best Better to Produce Biofuels

(National Science Foundation) The National Renewable Energy Laboratory uses supercomputer simulations to explore designer enzymes for renewable fuels ... "Cellulose in the biosphere can last for years," said Gregg Beckham, a scientist in the National Bioenergy Center at the U.S. Department of Energy's

February 01, 2012 Read Full Article

And Now, a Word from Davos: “Moving towards a Next-Generation Ethanol Economy”.

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Bloomberg New Energy Finance launched its report “Moving towards a next-generation ethanol economy”. Commissioned by Novozymes, the report estimates the socioeconomic prospects of deploying advanced biofuels in eight of the highest agricultural-producing regions in the world, i.e.

January 25, 2012 Read Full Article

POET, DSM Form Landmark Cellulosic Ethanol Joint Venture

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 produce cellulosic ethanol and license

January 24, 2012 Read Full Article

Oregon State University Researcher Highlights Public,Private Biomass Work in Oregon

by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine) ...During a presentation at the 2012 Pacific West Biomass Conference & Tradeshow, Christine Kelly, an associate professor of chemical, biological and environmental engineering at Oregon State University, outlined the achievements made by private companies, research

January 23, 2012 Read Full Article

Fungus Research at Montana State University Could Help Biofuels Production

by Jason Bacaj (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) ...(Mark) Kozubal found the fungus could survive in an acidic habitat with a pH of 6, an acidity level similar to cow’s milk. What was really amazing, though, was when he took it out

January 23, 2012 Read Full Article

Verdezyne Secures Patent on Engineered Microorganism

(Verdezyne) Verdezyne, Inc., a privately-held industrial biotechnology company focused on producing renewable chemicals and fuels from non-petroleum sources, has been granted a United States Patent on engineered microorganisms. Verdezyne was awarded U.S. Patent No. 8,093,037, titled “Engineered Microorganisms With Enhanced Fermentation Activity” for the

January 20, 2012 Read Full Article

Fuelling Tomorrow with the News of Yesterday

by Manuel Arias (The Starfish) ...One alternative, proposed by researchers at Tulane University, explores the ability of a new bacterial strain named TU-103, which can effectively convert cellulose from paper into butanol biofuel. When you consider that over 300 million

January 06, 2012 Read Full Article

The 7 Paths of the New Agriculture

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...But the New Agriculture has arisen in recent years, with new solutions to the old dilemma: how do you produce, and afford, and haul, and utilize enough feedstock to make an integrated biorefinery work? How

January 06, 2012 Read Full Article

Biotech Firms Go after Smart Enzymes to Fuel Energy Sector

by Vishal Dutta (The Times of India/Economic Times) Biotech companies producing industrial enzymes are gradually moving to cellulosic enzymes that help in bio-fuel generation. Enzymes are biological catalysts and when added to agriculture residue speed up the process of producing bio-fuel. The

December 29, 2011 Read Full Article

Mascoma, Codexis Closing in on Commercialized Cellulosic Biofuels

by Derek Mead (GreenTechMedia) Biofuel up-and-comers Codexis and Mascoma both have big news that means cellulosic ethanol production is right around the corner. ...With traditional sugar feedstocks -- and in the U.S., that means corn -- up around $275 a ton,

December 29, 2011 Read Full Article

Fuel From Waste?

by Robert F. Service (Science Magazine) In the biofuels business, the idea of converting nonfood plants to fuels is like a mirage: enticing but seemingly just out of reach. To do it, the industry must add a cocktail of expensive

December 28, 2011 Read Full Article

Valero Partnering to Build Ethanol Plant in Michigan

(Valero) New Hampshire-based biofuels company Mascoma Corp. has entered into an agreement with energy giant Valero to build a plant that produces ethanol in Michigan's Upper Peninsula using Mascoma's proprietary technology. Mascoma, of Lebanon, agreed to the deal with Texas-based Valero

December 12, 2011 Read Full Article

Codexis, Mascoma Show that Low-Cost Sugar is the Key, as Biofuels Moves from R&D into Industrial Era

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...“The government rushed into investments, with no diligence,” says Codexis chief Alan Shaw. “They are just not industrialists, in my opinion.” Two major announcements this week drive the point home in advanced biofuels. In California, Codexis introduced its

December 12, 2011 Read Full Article

Verenium Announces Launch of Purifine® PLC Enzyme for Use in Biodiesel Production

(Verenium) Verenium Corporation, a leading industrial biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of high-performance enzymes, today announced that sales of its Purifine® phospholipase C (PLC) enzyme product will now also be targeted for use in pretreatment of oil

December 09, 2011 Read Full Article

Turn Up the Heat: Researchers Explore Heat-Resistant Enzymes

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...“Thermophilic fungi can be found worldwide, most commonly in habitats where self-heating of plant material results in high temperatures, such as compost heaps, municipal waste, plant straw, and animal dung,” he (Randy Berka, a

December 08, 2011 Read Full Article

Codexis Introduces CodeXyme™ Cellulase Enzyme Product Line for Biobased Chemicals

(Codexis) Codexis, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDXS) today introduced the CodeXyme™ Cellulase enzyme product line to convert biomass to sugar, enabling cost effective production of sustainable products. "The launch of the CodeXyme™ Cellulase product line introduces Codexis as a player in the global cellulase enzyme market," said Alan

December 08, 2011 Read Full Article

E. Coli Bacteria Engineered to Eat Switchgrass and Make Transportation Fuels

by Lynn Yarris (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) Researchers Reach Milestone on the Road to Biofuels A milestone has been reached on the road to developing advanced biofuels that can replace gasoline, diesel and jet fuels with a

December 05, 2011 Read Full Article

Enzyme Study Shows DDGS Dewatering Applications

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A one-month plant trial showed a commercial enzyme could help extract water from distillers grains, saving natural gas, electricity and water used in the ethanol process. More work needs to be done, said David

December 05, 2011 Read Full Article

Novozymes Urges Committee to Explore Oil Alternatives

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The president of biofuel enzyme producer Novozymes last week called on a House subcommittee to explore alternatives to drilling for oil to meet the country’s energy needs. In a written statement prepared for the House Committee on Natural Resources’

November 28, 2011 Read Full Article

Neb. Enzyme Plant Readies to Supply Biofuel Plants

by Josh Funk (Yahoo!News/AP) The leading maker of the enzymes used to produce biofuels says the declining political support for ethanol hasn't diminished the long-term prospects for the industry making fuel from plants. Novozymes plans to open a major new enzyme plant in eastern

November 22, 2011 Read Full Article

Chopping the Cellulosic Ethanol Down Payment: Is

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Finding it hard to spare that $350 million for your cellulosic ethanol project? Here’s a system, available for licensing in 2012, that can bring down the upfront cost by a factor of three. ...And now, along

November 22, 2011 Read Full Article

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fundamental Discovery Casts Enzymes in New Light

(Oak Ridge National Laboratory) A tree outside Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher Pratul Agarwal's office window provided the inspiration for a discovery that may ultimately lead to drugs with fewer side effects, less expensive biofuels and more. Just as a breeze

November 11, 2011 Read Full Article

Second Generation Biofuel on Cusp of Breakthough: DSM

by Aaron Gray-Block (Reuters) Dutch life sciences group DSM said the development of second-generation biofuels is nearing a major breakthrough with commercial production just a couple of years away that could open up a market worth $5 billion a year. Second-generation

October 27, 2011 Read Full Article

Henan Tianguan Expands the Capacity of Cellulosic Ethanol

(SB Wire) Henan Tianguan Fuel Ethanol Co., Ltd. (Henan Tianguan) plans to launch cellulosic ethanol plants to expand its capacity gradually in next three years, which is expected to reach 120,000t/a in 2014, according to CCM’s October Issue of Industrial

October 17, 2011 Read Full Article

Advancing Next-gen Biofuels by Turning Up the Heat on Biomass Pretreatment Processes

by Marie Louise Ballon (U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute/Renewable Energy World) ...Published online October 2 in Nature Biotechnology, an international team of scientists including DOE JGI researchers compared the finished genomes of Thielavia terrestris and Muceliophthora thermophila, fungi

October 04, 2011 Read Full Article

COFCO Accelerating Construction of Cellulosic Ethanol Producion Line

(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 (COFCO) will lay a foundation

September 26, 2011 Read Full Article

Mascoma’s IPO: The 10-Minute Version

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Intrigued by cellulosic ethanol and a new product called MGT, in Mascoma’s IPO? ...Mascoma Corporation announced that it has filed an S-1 registration statement relating to a proposed $100 million initial public offering. The number of

September 20, 2011 Read Full Article

Meet the Energy Superbugs: Extremophiles

by Eric Niiler (Discovery News) Rugged heat- and salt-loving organisms could unlock the secret to efficient biofuel production. THE GIST They don't need oxygen or sunlight and can survive acid baths and doses of radiation that would kill other organisms. With concerns over

September 13, 2011 Read Full Article

USDA Scientists Use Commercial Enzyme to Improve Grain Ethanol Production

by Ann Perry (US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service) A commercial enzyme could reduce overall costs linked with producing ethanol from grain, and also reduce associated emissions of greenhouse gases, according to a study by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

September 13, 2011 Read Full Article

Opening Plenary – "Industry Perspectives on Bioenergy": The Future Biobased Economy

by Matt Carr (Biotechnology Industry Organization). Matt Carr, Managing Director or BIO notes that in 2011, biofuels comprise about 10% of the US transportation fuel market; in 2025, biofuels will consist of around 25% of that market. Renewable chemicals and

September 09, 2011 Read Full Article

Traffic Jams Reduce Hydrolytic Efficiency of Cellulase on Cellulose Surface

by Kiyohiko Igarashi, Takayuki Uchihashi, Anu Koivula, Masahisa Wada, Satoshi Kimura, Tetsuaki Okamoto, Merja Penttilä, Toshio Ando, and Masahiro Samejima (Science Magazine) A deeper mechanistic understanding of the saccharification of cellulosic biomass could enhance the efficiency of biofuels development. We report here the real-time visualization of crystalline

September 08, 2011 Read Full Article

Trillium Awarded SBIR Grant from National Science Foundation

(Trillium FiberFuels/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Trillium FiberFuels Inc. has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research grant to further its work in developing innovative technologies for creating fuel-grade ethanol from straw and other biomass. This latest award to Trillium from the

September 06, 2011 Read Full Article

Cracking Cellulose: A Step into the Biofuels Future

(University of York/EurekAlert!) Scientists from the University of York have played a pivotal role in a discovery which could finally unlock the full potential of waste plant matter to replace oil as a fuel source. Professor Paul Walton and Professor

September 01, 2011 Read Full Article

How Elephants Could Solve the Biofuel Problem

by Cahal Milmo (IOL Scitech) When it comes to weaning the world’s motorists off their addiction to fossil fuel, few would have bet on finding part of the solution in the pungent depths of elephant droppings and a Swiss compost

August 31, 2011 Read Full Article

Pooping Pandas May Make Better Biofuels

by Alexandra Witze (Science News) Two giant pandas in the Memphis Zoo have dropped researchers a gift. Studies of the pandas’ poop show that their gut microbes break down bamboo efficiently — a trick that humans could co-opt to turn

August 30, 2011 Read Full Article

Berkeley Lab Opens Advanced Biofuels Facility

(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) The ailing United States’ economy would receive a much needed boost with the commercial development of a domestic source of transportation fuel – especially if that fuel were to be clean, green and renewable, and could

August 22, 2011 Read Full Article

Avjet Biotech Releases Podcast on Red Wolf Refining System

(AvJet Biotech/PR.com) Unique Refining System Creates Aviation Biofuel from Renewable Native Feedstocks Avjet Biotech, Inc., a leading developer of small distributive refining systems in the 10 million gallon per year range and parent company of Red Wolf Refining, has announced the

August 16, 2011 Read Full Article

Biomass 2011: Replace the Whole Barrel, Supply the Whole Market Presentations Posted

(US Department of Energy) ...More than 600 speakers, moderators, sponsors, exhibitors, and attendees were able to listen to discussions about the ongoing challenges and achievements in the bioenergy industry. Biomass 2011 addressed key issues in important areas, such as feedstock supply, conversion pathways,

August 15, 2011 Read Full Article

Oak Ridge Researchers Identify Key Gene; Could Streamline Biofuels Production

(The Oak Ridger) A team of researchers at the Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center, which is led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have reportedly pinpointed the exact, single gene that controls ethanol production capacity in a microorganism. This discovery

August 12, 2011 Read Full Article

Looking Beyond the Fossil Age: Royal DSM Aims to Be in the Thick of the Race for Next Generation of Biofuels and Health-Care Materials

by William Lyons and Sten Stovall (Wall Street Journal) ..."We don't realize it, but we are living in the fossil age," he (Royal DSM CEO Feike Sijbesma) argues. "Population will increase, urbanization will increase, temperature will increase and the price of

August 01, 2011 Read Full Article

Scientists Look to Milk Potential of Cows' Stomachs for Biofuels

(News.stv.tv) Researchers hope that the animals' ability to break down trees and plant material can be harnessed to create renewable fuels. Scottish scientists are hoping to harness the power of cow's stomachs to create a new range of biofuels. Researchers in Aberdeen

July 29, 2011 Read Full Article

Is China for You? Part II: The Resources and Investor Perspective

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 annual growth rate of 16.5%

July 25, 2011 Read Full Article

Purdue Research Investigates Digestive Enzymes in Termites

by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine) Delving into termite guts to find the best cellulases or lignocellulases to efficiently convert cellulose and hemicelluloses, even lignin, into advanced biofuels isn’t a new concept within the biorefining community, but researchers at Purdue University

July 14, 2011 Read Full Article

12 Synthetic Biology Biofuel & Biochemical Companies to Watch

by Chris de Morsella (Green Economy Post) A detailed review of 12 U.S. based synthetic biology, biofuel & biochemical companies that are developing third and fourth generation biofuels, bioindustrial & household chemical, and food additive products; using synthetic biology to produce engineered microorganisms

July 13, 2011 Read Full Article

Salt-loving Microbe Provides New Enzymes for the Production of Next Gen Biofuels

(Joint Genome Institute) Calif.—In order to realize the full potential of advanced biofuels that are derived from non-food sources of lignocellulosic biomass—e.g., agricultural, forestry, and municipal waste, and crops such as poplar, switchgrass and miscanthus—new technologies that can efficiently and

July 08, 2011 Read Full Article

Hot Springs Microbe May Hold Key to Biofuel Production

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Researchers from the University of California Berkeley and the University of Maryland School of Medicine have discovered a microbe in a Nevada hot spring that enjoys eating cellulose (aka plant material) at temperatures above the boiling

July 06, 2011 Read Full Article

A Novel Enzymatic Catalyst for Biodiesel Production

(Physorg.com) ...A saponification side reaction (methyl ester conversion into the corresponding acid salt) reduces methyl ester yield. To increase the yield, it was therefore necessary to develop alternative catalysts. For this type of reaction, certain enzymatic catalysts such as those belonging

July 06, 2011 Read Full Article

DSM Strengthens Yeast Technology Leadership for 2G Biofuels

(DSM) Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, today announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire C5 Yeast Company B.V. (Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands) from Royal Cosun. The acquisition will allow DSM to combine C5

June 29, 2011 Read Full Article

Accellerase® TRIO Helps Reduce Ethanol Production Costs, Lowers Dosage And Offers Environmental Benefits

(Genencor) Genencor today (June 22, 2011) announced a product advancement, Accellerase® TRIO. This new product will enable biofuel producers to more cost-effectively manufacture cellulosic ethanol from a wide range of renewable nonfood feedstocks such as switchgrass, wheat straw and corn

June 27, 2011 Read Full Article

Lignin Munching Enzyme Discovered in Bacteria – Lower-Cost Route to Biofuels?

by Thomas Saidak (Biofuels Digest) In Canada, research carried out by teams at the Universities of Warwick and British Columbia have identified an lignin-breaking enzyme in bacteria which could be used to make biofuel production more efficient. The

June 10, 2011 Read Full Article

Enzymes Turn Vegetable Oils into Fuel through a Flexible Two-Step Process

by Lee Swee Heng (Physorg.com) Biodiesel is a promising future fuel, particularly because it can be made from a wide variety of renewable sources such as crude vegetable oils and waste fats produced by commercial kitchens. Conventional chemical processes for

June 03, 2011 Read Full Article

DEINOVE Achieves the First Key Milestone in the DEINOL Project and Receives €1.6 Million from Oseo

(DEINOVE) Oseo has validated the first key milestone in the DEINOL project (on the production of second-generation ethanol using Deinococcus bacteria) with Deinove and its partners. As a result, Oseo has paid Deinove a second tranche of €1.6 million in funding. DEINOVE,

May 31, 2011 Read Full Article

Survey Says Consumers Consider Ethanol A Green Product

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) In a study released by Genencor during the BIO World Congress in Toronto, when U.S. consumers were asked to name a product they considered green, 39 percent of them named ethanol first and 31 percent of Canadian

May 24, 2011 Read Full Article

Agrivida Teaches Biofuel Crops to Self-Destruct

by Martin LaMonica (CNET) ... Agrivida is using genetic engineering and other techniques from the biotech industry to create proteins with specific traits designed for rapid, and cheaper, biofuel production from sorghum, switchgrass, and corn stover, the residual material from corn harvesting. Company

May 23, 2011 Read Full Article

Ending the Enzyme Enigma

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Figuring out how to produce enzymes at a feasible cost is just part of the puzzle A decade ago, the cost of enzymes was at the top of the list of concerns for most

May 19, 2011 Read Full Article

Formidable Fungal Force Counters Biofuel Plant Pathogens

(US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute) Fungi play significant ecological and economic roles. They can break down organic matter, cause devastating agricultural blights, enter into symbiotic relationships to protect and nourish plants, or offer a tasty repast. For industrial

May 17, 2011 Read Full Article

Logos and EdeniQ Receive Department of Energy Funding for Corn-to-Cellulosic Pilot Biorefinery

(Logos Technologies) DOE commits full $20.5 million to retrofit and build pilot plant in Visalia, CA Logos Technologies®, Inc. and EdeniQ, Inc., announced U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approval to fully fund $20.5 million in federal cost share under DOE’s Integrated

May 06, 2011 Read Full Article

Keasling Featured in NOVA’s ‘Power Surge’ Program

(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/PBS) Can emerging technology defeat global warming? The United States has invested tens of billions of dollars in clean energy projects as our leaders try to save our crumbling economy and our poisoned planet in one bold,

May 02, 2011 Read Full Article

Columbia Researchers Resurrect Four-Billion-Year-Old Enzymes, Reveal Conditions of Early Life on Earth

(Columbia University) A team of scientists from Columbia University, Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Granada in Spain have successfully reconstructed active enzymes from four-billion-year-old extinct organisms. By measuring the properties of these enzymes, they could examine the conditions in which

May 02, 2011 Read Full Article

Two New U.S. Patents Issued to Dyadic International

(Dyadic) Dyadic International, Inc. ("Dyadic") (OTC Pink: DYAI), a global biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of enzyme and protein products for the bioenergy, industrial enzyme and biopharmaceutical industries, announced today that it has been issued

May 02, 2011 Read Full Article

The Biofuels Technology Square Dance

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...How’s an investor to parse out all these technologies. For many, it’s a case of “you’re making what, from what, using what?” ...Here at the Digest, we think of it as a kind of old fashioned

April 18, 2011 Read Full Article

Fuel and Animal Feed Both Produced from Advanced Biofuel Biomass: The New Biofuel Paradigm

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 still be pulp available to

April 17, 2011 Read Full Article

Key Players: Advanced Biofuels

by David Beattie (Renewable Energy World Magazine) ...Importantly, and what sets these latest fuels apart from their first-generation predecessors, is the fact that they are produced using feedstock that would normally be classed as waste or non-food. These include parts

April 05, 2011 Read Full Article

Brazilalot: Heard on the Floor at World Biofuels Markets

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The hottest companies in bioenergy all know it – the name of the game is low-cost sugars, or affordable syngas that competes with natural gas. For those who don’t make or use syngas and need

March 25, 2011 Read Full Article

Butamax Issued Another Biobutanol Patent

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Butamax has received another patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) number 7,910,342 entitled “FERMENTIVE PRODUCTION OF ISOBUTANOL USING HIGHLY ACTIVE KETOL-ACID REDUCTOISOMERASE ENZYMES.” The patent was awarded to protect a key step

March 24, 2011 Read Full Article

Taking the American Biofuel Industry to the Next Level; From Talk to Action

(Novozymes) The United States has a lot riding on the success of its biofuel industry – energy independence, job creation, and environmental stewardship. But really, how far is the country in achieving its goals? There is no definitive answer to

March 24, 2011 Read Full Article

Logos and EdeniQ Receive Department of Energy Funding for Corn-to-Cellulosic Pilot Biorefinery

(Logos Technologies) DOE commits full $20.5 million to retrofit and build pilot plant in Visalia, CA Logos Technologies®, Inc. and EdeniQ, Inc., announced U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approval to fully fund $20.5 million in federal cost share under DOE's Integrated

March 23, 2011 Read Full Article

Dyadic International Introduces Advanced Biofuels Enzyme AlternaFuel® CMAX™ at the World Biofuels Markets

(Dyadic International) Dyadic International, Inc., a global biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of enzyme and protein products for the bioenergy, industrial enzyme and biopharmaceutical industries, announced today the introduction of its most advanced biofuels enzyme, AlternaFuel®

March 23, 2011 Read Full Article

Lignol Provides Update on Cellulosic Ethanol Project with Novozymes

(Lignol) Lignol Energy Corporation, a leading technology company in the advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals sector, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Lignol Innovations Ltd., has recently completed a major body of work with Novozymes in producing cellulosic ethanol at Lignol's pilot-scale biorefinery. Lignol and

March 18, 2011 Read Full Article

Enzymes from Garden Compost Could Favour Bioethanol Production

(Lund University) The researcher in question is Nadia Skorupa Parachin and the secret of her technique is enzymes that she extracted from garden soil. If ethanol can be successfully made from xylose then ethanol production could increase by over 20

March 11, 2011 Read Full Article

Codexis Expanding Beyond Biofuels to Carbon Capture, Plastics

by Michael Kanellos (GreenTechMedia) Enzymes will take off once the cellulosic economy gets moving, says Alan Shaw. ...Codexis meanwhile, has seen its stock go to $10.56, or $2.50 below the IPO price. CEO Alan Shaw, however, says that one has to

March 08, 2011 Read Full Article

Biofuel Startup Hopes to Win Over Skeptics

by Marc Gunther (Sustainable Business Forum) ...If I’d taken biology and chemistry in college, I might be explain to explain Codexis’s technology in a sophisticated away. Here’s the best I can manage: In brief, the company rearranges the DNA of

March 04, 2011 Read Full Article

Agrivida, Developer of Cheap Biofuel Tech, Seeks Deals to Broaden Commercial Horizons

by Ryan McBride (Xconomy Boston) ...Agrivida also gained attention in July when it showed that its engineered crops could greatly boost the efficiency of the process of extracting sugars from the crops for biofuel production. Michael Raab, the firm’s president and

March 02, 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

Enzyme Cocktail Could Eliminate a Step in Biofuel Process

(Virginia Tech/EurekAlert) Conversion of biomass to fuel requires several steps: chemical pretreatment to break up the biomass – often dilute (sulfuric) acid, detoxification to remove the toxic chemicals required in pretreatment, and microbial fermentation to convert the soluble sugars to

February 25, 2011 Read Full Article

Municipal Solid Waste to Biofuels Summit: Conference Report

by Bill Brandon (Advanced Biofuels USA) On February 10 & 11, about 120 participants gathered in chilly Chicago for the first Municipal Solid Waste to Biofuels Summit presented by the British firm, Eye for Energy. The conference drew participants from

February 21, 2011 Read Full Article

Microbiologists at the TU Muenchen Aim to Optimize Bio-Ethanol Production

(Technische Universitat Muenchen) Food versus fuel - this rivalry is gaining significance against a backdrop of increasingly scarce farmland and a concurrent trend towards the use of bio-fuels. Researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) are helping to resolve this

February 07, 2011 Read Full Article

Cellulosic Ethanol to Take Off From 2013, Novozymes Chief Says

by Alex Morales (Bloomberg) The market for ethanol made from plant waste and grasses rather than foodstuffs is set to ramp up in 2013 as the first commercial plants start, Novozymes A/S Chief Executive Officer Steen Riisgaard said. Novozymes partner Poet

February 04, 2011 Read Full Article

Easier than Finding a Needle in a Haystack Novozymes and POET Demonstrate How to Find Fuel in Agricultural Waste at Washington Auto Show.

(Novozymes/Bradenton.com) The road to commercialization of cellulosic biofuels may be bumpy and less traveled, but it’s actually an easier road than many might think. This week at the DC Auto Show, Novozymes and POET will celebrate being one mile closer to their destination --

February 02, 2011 Read Full Article

Department of Energy Funds SRI to Enhance Bioinformatics Tools for Renewable Energy Research

(SRI) DOE-funded project will develop enhanced tools to accelerate bioenergy research SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, announced today it has been awarded a grant by the Department of Energy (DOE) to expand its MetaCyc database and enhance

February 01, 2011 Read Full Article

Caltech's Frances Arnold Wins Draper Prize for Biofuels-Related Research

by Margot Roosevelt (Los Angeles Times) Frances H. Arnold, a California Institute of Technology researcher, has won the 2011 Draper Prize, often described as the Nobel Prize for engineering, for her pioneering work on “directed evolution.” The technique, a way to use

February 01, 2011 Read Full Article

Small-Scale Enzyme Research Could Have Big Biomass Implications

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...Researchers at the U.S. DOE’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, based at the University of Wisconsin and Michigan State University, are three years into a research project focused on identifying new enzymes for cellulosic ethanol

January 31, 2011 Read Full Article

User Facility Capabilities to Accelerate Impact in Biomass

by David Hoyt (Senior Research Scientist, Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) Hoyt first provides an overview of EMSL and their mission to integrate experimental and computational resources with innovative technologies to support the biofuel industry. Focusing on

January 23, 2011 Read Full Article

DOE Office of Biomass Program: Enzyme Improvements

by Liz Moore (Project Officer, Biomass Program, Golden Field Office, U.S. Department of Energy) Moore begins with a breakdown of the cost structure describing the manufacturing process of ethanol from feedstock. She shows how each step in the manufacturing process

January 23, 2011 Read Full Article

Novozymes Sees U.S. Ethanol Market At 13.8 Billion Gallons In 2011

by Jens Hansegard (Dow Jones/Automated Trader) Danish biotech company Novozymes (NZYM-B.KO), the world's largest producer of industrial enzymes with about 47% of the global market, estimates that the U.S. biofuel industry will grow about 5% during 2011, to produce roughly

January 21, 2011 Read Full Article

Scandinavia Goes Viking in Advanced Biofuels

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the Old Norse, the term “viking” meant to “undertake an expedition” and it later came to characterize the raiders, settlers and traders that epitomized an era of Scandinavian expansion that impacted Europe, Asia

January 17, 2011 Read Full Article

Enzyme Cocktail Could Eliminate a Step in Biofuel Process

(NewsGuide) Conversion of biomass to fuel requires several steps: chemical pretreatment to break up the biomass – often dilute (sulfuric) acid, detoxification to remove the toxic chemicals required in pretreatment, and microbial fermentation to convert the soluble sugars to fuels. Virginia

December 28, 2010 Read Full Article

Novozymes Sees Delay to Breakthrough of 2G Ethanol

by Teis Jensen (Reuters) Industrial enzymes producer Novozymes does not expect a major breakthrough for second-generation bioethanol in the United States for another four to five years, a senior executive said on Wednesday. Novozymes' marketing director for biofuels, Poul Ruben Andersen,

December 23, 2010 Read Full Article

Cheesy Microbes Could Make Biofuel As Well As Brie

by Ariel Schwartz (Fast Company) Lactococcus lactis is a hard-working bug. Designated as the state microbe of Wisconsin, Lactococcus is used in the production of buttermilk, cheese, and yogurt. And according to researchers from Concordia University, the microbe could help turn

December 03, 2010 Read Full Article

Shock Wave: Cavitation Shaking up Ethanol with Revenue Upside

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Ohio, Arisdyne Systems has pioneered technology that can increase ethanol production by 10 percent, or reduce the use of catalyst by 25 percent in biodiesel production. ...that could translate to roughly 1.8 billion additional

December 03, 2010 Read Full Article

Drop-In Biofuel Opportunities Reported from Aussie Research Breakthrough

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Australia, World Wide Carbon Credits Limited announced today that it has successfully lodged final patent applications over a gene that encodes an enzyme capable of producing a class of hydrocarbons known as triterpenoids, including di-hydro

December 02, 2010 Read Full Article

Verenium Announces Regulatory Approval for Purifine(R) PLC in China

(Verenium) Verenium Corporation, a pioneer in the development and commercialization of high-performance enzyme solutions, today announced that Purifine(R) PLC, the Company's novel enzyme specifically developed for the edible oil industry, has received all necessary Chinese government authorizations for sale as

October 21, 2010 Read Full Article

Petrobras and Novozymes Partner on Cellulosic Ethanol

(Novozymes) Petrobras and Novozymes have entered an agreement to develop a new route to produce second generation biofuel from sugarcane bagasse. The agreement covers the development of enzymes and production processes to produce second generation lignocellulosic ethanol from bagasse in an

October 18, 2010 Read Full Article

Could “Putting the Cow Inside the Plant” Make a New Biofuel?

(Reuters) The Next Big Thing in biofuel might involve genetically engineered plants that digest themselves, making it cheaper to turn them into fuel. That’s one of the new ideas that Arun Majumdar finds fascinating. As the head of the U.S.

October 15, 2010 Read Full Article

Advanced Biofuel Technology Mature, Industry Says

by Teis Jensen and John Acher (Reuters) The technology to produce so-called second-generation bioethanol has moved beyond the research phase and is ready to be used if policymakers back it with incentives, Danish industry leaders said on Wednesday. ...Steen Riisgaard, head

October 14, 2010 Read Full Article

Hunting Microorganisms for Lignocellulosic Biofuel

(Renewable Energy Focus) A consortium of research institutes, universities and industrial partners are looking for microorganisms with enzymes that could help process lignocellulosic biomass into biofuel. The EU-funded project, known as DISCO, is searching for microorganisms that can degrade lignocellulosic material. If successful,

October 13, 2010 Read Full Article

Enzyme May Hep Ulock Bofuels from Waste

by Alister Doyle (Reuters) * Enzyme accelerates breakdown of biological waste * Could help in producing "second generation" biofuels * Help shift from using crops for biofuels A new chemical process may help unlock biofuels from trees and plant waste in a shift from

October 08, 2010 Read Full Article

Verenium Launches DELTAZYM(R) GA L-E5 Enzyme for Fuel Ethanol Production

(Verenium) Verenium Corporation, a pioneer in the development and commercialization of high-performance industrial enzyme solutions, today announced that it will now market and sell DELTAZYM(R) GA L-E5, a high performance enzyme for the saccharification of liquefied starch in the fuel ethanol

September 29, 2010 Read Full Article

Corvallis Ethanol Producer Optimistic

by Nathalie Weinstein (Daily Journal of Commerce: Oregon) Large basins of fermented sugars are brewing at Trillium FiberFuels in Corvallis. But this brew isn’t beer; it’s cellulosic ethanol, a promising biofuel that the start-up company says could steal some of corn

September 27, 2010 Read Full Article

Searching in the Microbial World for Efficient Ways to Produce Biofuel

by Dennis O'Brien (USDA/ARS) With the help of genetic materials from a cow's rumen, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are developing new ways to break down plant fibers for conversion into biofuel. To convert corn stover and switchgrass into biofuel, the

September 24, 2010 Read Full Article

Where There's Bugs, There's Brass: UK Firm Lands $500m Biofuel Contract

by Shanta Barley (The Guardian) TMO Renewables wins contract with US firm Fiberight using its 'turbo-charged' GM bacteria that convert rubbish into biofuels. A British company that uses a genetically modified compost-heap bug to produce biofuel from rubbish has signed a

September 22, 2010 Read Full Article

Mascoma’s Magic World for Magic Bugs

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...This is the Rome Labs site, which does quite a bit of intelligence-related R&D. The super-secret nature of cellulosic development is not entirely different – though hugh-hush cadres of generals and admirals are supplanted by

September 02, 2010 Read Full Article

Termite Enzymes Could Be Boon to Cellulosic Ethanol: Research

by Stu Hutson (Physorg.com) Termite spit may soon help fill our gas tanks. University of Florida researchers have isolated two enzymes termites use to break up lignin, a tough plant material that is major problem during the production of cellulosic

August 26, 2010 Read Full Article

Hydrocarbon Fuels: Renewable Petroleum Products and Technologies

by Stephen del Cardayre (Vice President of Research and Development, LS9) LS9 has focused efforts on the development of a renewable biodiesel that will eventually be cost-competitive with petroleum without subsidies. Del Cardayre details the microbial techniques LS9 employs to turn

August 04, 2010 Read Full Article

LS9, Inc. Makes Major Scientific Breakthrough in Converting Sugar to Alkanes

(LS9) Production Capabilities Successfully Demonstrated at Pilot Scale. LS9, Inc., the Renewable Petroleum Company(TM), today announced in Science magazine a major scientific breakthrough that will significantly lower the cost of producing "drop-in" hydrocarbon fuels that are low-carbon, sustainable and compatible with

July 30, 2010 Read Full Article

Piedmont Biofuels Unveils Next Generation Biodiesel Plant

(Piedmont Biofuels) ...The Enzymatic Biodiesel pilot plant was developed in partnership with the Biofuels Center of North Carolina, Novozymes, and the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation. This is the first pilot plant of its kind in the United States and

July 27, 2010 Read Full Article

Süd-Chemie to Build Germany´s Largest Plant for the Biotechnological Production of Biofuels from Straw

(Süd-Chemie AG) Süd-Chemie AG, one of the world´s leading specialty chemical companies for catalysts and adsorbents based in Munich is to build Germany´s largest plant to date for the production of climate-friendly, second-generation bioethanol, so-called cellulose ethanol, based on biotechnological processes. The

July 27, 2010 Read Full Article

South Dakota State University Researcher Studying Reuse of Ethanol Enzymes

(KCAUTV) ...SDSU Professor Basil Dalaly (duh-LAHL'-lee) is experimenting with ways to reuse the enzymes by chemically attaching them to glass beads, and then using the beads multiple times. Enzymes can account for as much as $1 per gallon of the costs

July 20, 2010 Read Full Article

BP and Verenium Announce Pivotal Biofuels Agreement

(Verenium) BP to acquire Verenium's cellulosic biofuels business, including Jennings, San Diego facilities - - Verenium to receive $98.3 million and retain its commercial enzyme business including validated technology platform to apply to all business segments including biofuels BP and Verenium Corporation July