(Krajete GmbH/TechXplore) A completely new kind of bioreactor for the biological production of methane has enabled the use of extremely high pressure levels for the first time—and set new efficiency standards for the conversion of CO2 and H2 into methane. This significant
fermentation
Back TO HOMEMicroorganisms Fed with Toxic Gas to Produce Biofuel
(University of Borås/Phys.Org) Today, various processes are used to convert organic waste into biogas. By combining two different processes, it is possible to obtain even more of valuable substances such as hydrogen and methane. The key is to make the most
January 14, 2020 Read Full Article
Pioneering a Path to Cleaner Fuels and Fewer Emissions
by Matthew Menzies (University of Alberta) Unconventional greenhouse gas reduction research brings biology and chemistry together in engineering -- ... UAlberta engineering PhD candidate Fatemeh Bakhtiari Ziabari is investigating ways to eliminate atmospheric methane on an industrial scale while producing sustainable
January 06, 2020 Read Full Article
Autothermal Pyrolysis: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Rethinking Thermochemical Processing
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Iowa State University is working on fast pyrolysis, and Robert Brown, Director of the university’s Bioeconomy Institute looks at how their work is making us rethink thermochemical processing. By looking at autothermal pyrolysis, and more, Brown
December 27, 2019 Read Full Article
MAGIC System Allows Researchers to Modulate the Activity of Genes Acting in Concert
(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/EurekAlert!) Genomic research has unlocked the capability to edit the genomes of living cells; yet so far, the effects of such changes must be examined in isolation. In contrast, the complex traits that are of interest in
December 20, 2019 Read Full Article
Confessions of a Biorefiner: Green Plains’ Journey into the Land of High-Value Proteins, and the Who, What and Why of That
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This week news came out of a partnership between Novozymes and Green Plains to use biological technology to extract more value from corn protein, at what used to be known as corn ethanol plants, but with
December 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Simplifying Biology for Biochemicals: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to DMC’s Metabolic Engineering Tech
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Digital biology, synthetic biology and metabolic engineering are not all the same – just ask Matt Lipscomb, CEO and Founder of DMC who shared this presentation at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco. Check out
December 13, 2019 Read Full Article
Biofuels Production and Consumption in Denmark: Status, Advances and Challenges
by Sune Tjalfe Thomsen and Henning Jørgensen (IEA Bioenergy Task 39 Newsletter) 1. Status of transportation biofuel industry in Denmark -- In Denmark, a considerable part of the total energy demand is derived from renewable sources. In 2017, 26% of
December 06, 2019 Read Full Article
Engineered Strains for Fermentation: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to n-Butanol from Biomass and CO2
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) $2.25/gal or less than $3/gge (gallon gasoline equivalent) sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? That is one of the goals of a project that is working on developing engineered clostridial strains and a fermentation process that can
December 04, 2019 Read Full Article
Edible Wood? Bringing Biomass into the Food Chain: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Arbiom’s Wood to Food
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It’s all about the evolution of food production, according to Arbiom’s Ricardo Ekmay, VP Nutrition & Product Development. During his presentation at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco, Ekmay noted that their technology can bring wood into
November 27, 2019 Read Full Article
The Magic behind the Molecules and Materials: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Checkerspot’s Synthetic Biology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) “The measure of how disruptive Synthetic Biology is lies in the applications, the use cases and relevance to consumers,”according to Checkerspot which uses biology and chemistry to generate novel building blocks. Their ingredients include custom oils
November 26, 2019 Read Full Article
Oh So Sweet! Amyris’s Look at Farnesene Production from Sugars: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to MegaBio and Farnesene
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Amyris is working on a MegaBio goal. Mega because it’s a big goal – develop a fully integrated and scalable process to produce farnesene from cellulosic sugars at $2 per liter in the U.S. Quinn Mitrovich from Amyris
November 25, 2019 Read Full Article
Mitsui to Invest in Chinese Next-Generation Ethanol Producer and Promote SAF Production Business
(Mitsui) Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Tatsuo Yasunaga), has resolved to acquire an equity interest in China-based next-generation ethanol producer Beijing Shougang LanzaTech New Energy Technology (SGLT). After obtaining the appropriate licenses and permissions, Mitsui
November 15, 2019 Read Full Article
How to Make Better Biofuels? Convince Yeast It’s Not Starving
by Adam Hadhazy (Princeton University) Yeast already helps make bread and beer and cranks out the biofuel ethanol, but scientists believe it can be used to create an even more efficient fuel called isobutanol. Normally, yeast only creates a tiny amount
November 15, 2019 Read Full Article
40% Biomass Boost for Bioethanol: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Aequor’s Green Chemistry
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A Wonder Woman Power Duo spoke at the recent ABLC NEXTin San Francisco and in case you missed it, this is one presentation you won’t want to miss. It’s got the goods on green chemicals
November 15, 2019 Read Full Article
EPA Grants Request for Reconsideration of Title V Ethanol Rule
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA announced Nov. 6 it is granting a request for reconsideration filed by the National Resource Defense Council in March 2009 related to the agency’s exclusion of ethanol plants from Title V permitting
November 13, 2019 Read Full Article
Are Ancient Bugs the Key to Storing Wind and Solar?
by Stephen Lacey (GreenTechMedia) In this special podcast episode: We tour NREL’s new bioreactor that creates renewable methane from microorganisms, hydrogen and CO2. NREL and SoCalGas are finally running their novel power-to-gas system. -- As grids get saturated with wind and
November 06, 2019 Read Full Article
Fractionation Processes Can Improve Profitability of Ethanol Production
(EurekAlert!/University of Illinois) The U.S. is the world's largest producer of bioethanol as renewable liquid fuel, with more than 200 commercial plants processing over 16 billion gallons per year. Plants typically use dry grind processing methods; however, implementing fractionation techniques that
November 05, 2019 Read Full Article
Undergraduates Participate in Bioenergy Research at GLBRC
(Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center) Each year, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) hosts a group of undergraduate students to participate in the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, designed to immerse students in research. This summer, 11 undergraduate
October 11, 2019 Read Full Article
Tolerating Even More: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Improving Yeast Tolerance to Lignocellulosic Feedstocks
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Wouldn’t it be great if we could boost fermentation of high-toxicity biomass hydrolysates? Well, folks are working on this via enhanced biocatalytic tolerance. At the recent DOE BETO 2019 Project Peer Review, Felix Lam and
October 04, 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
Algae and Bacteria Team up to Increase Hydrogen Production
(University of Cordoba/EurekAlert!) In line with the fight against climate change and the search for a sustainable future, the idea appears of a future society based on hydrogen used as a fuel. This biofuel of the future could be what cars
September 24, 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
Alcohol School: Yancey Delivers D3Max Project Update
by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Minimizing feedstock cost is one rule for a successful cellulosic ethanol project, according to Mark Yancey, chief technology officer for D3Max. “That can be a very large component of your project costs.” Yancey spoke Sept. 13
September 19, 2019 Read Full Article
ORNL Develops Method to Customize Microbes for Better Biofuel Production
by Kimberly A Askey (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Scientists at the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a method to insert genes into a variety of microorganisms that previously would not accept foreign DNA, with the goal
September 13, 2019 Read Full Article
Lube It up with Sugar: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Lubricants from Cellulosic Sugar
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Petroleum based lubricants are everywhere, but Cargill is working on producing lubricants from cellulosic sugars instead. Utilizing a novel bioprocess that converts lignocellulosic hydrolysate sugars to caprylatemethyl ester, they are laying the foundation for this product
September 12, 2019 Read Full Article
Contract Fermentation Update, Market Continues to Tighten
by Mark Warner (Warner Advisors LLC) ... Contract manufacturing options are diminishing and the facilities currently operating are looking for more favorable commercial terms. If you are planning to scale a fermentation process through contract fermentation facilities, it is going
September 11, 2019 Read Full Article
Highest Yield, Lowest Cost: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to 2nd Gen Mixotrophy for Biochemicals
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Shawn Jones from White Dog Labs shared this as part of the of U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office presentations on second-generation mixotrophy for the highest yield and least expensive biochemical production. Check out
September 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Gevo Announces Breakthrough Development of Low-Carbon No Particulate Renewable Diesel
(GEVO) Converting Isobutanol or Fusel Oils to Renewable Diesel -- Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) a leading renewable fuels and chemicals manufacturer, announced today that it has developed proprietary, breakthrough processes that converts either low-carbon isobutanol or low-value “fusel oils,” a mixture of alcohols
September 06, 2019 Read Full Article
India’s Rising Prowess in Bioeconomy: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Praj’s Perpective from India
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Product, processes and partnerships are what it’s all about in India right now with the country’s latest bioenergy policies and growing activity in the bioeconomy. Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman at Praj Industries gave this illuminating presentation at
September 04, 2019 Read Full Article
Vegan Renewable Diesel, Futurol Tech: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Axens’ Fuel Feedstocks
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Axens Solutions is covering the entire project development cycle and working on things like BioTfuel and Vegan which are renewable diesel and jet fuels, Futurol, a cellulosic ethanol using biomass enzymatic fermentation, Atol made from
August 14, 2019 Read Full Article
Fermentation On Demand: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Culture Biosciences
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Cloud based fermentation – sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it’s real. Culture Biosciences’ vision is to make biomanufacturing a digital experience: they want running bioreactors to be as easy as running code
July 31, 2019 Read Full Article
POET Outlines Lessons from 4-Year Long Startup of Project Liberty Cellulosic Ethanol Project
(Green Car Congress) Commercially viable cellulosic ethanol plants has proven devilishly difficult to bring to fruition. The primary outlier from the list of efforts that have shut down over the past few years is POET/DSM’s Project Liberty (earlier post). In an
July 22, 2019 Read Full Article
NovoNutrients Gets $300K from DOE Program for CO2 to Feed Technology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Today, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $600,000 in federal funding for two projects that fall under the High Performance Computing for Materials (HPC4Mtls) program. One of the projects caught The Digest’s eye in particular – California-based NovoNutrients‘ fermentation
July 12, 2019 Read Full Article
Greenbelt Resources and New Age Renewable Energy Team Up for Joint Project Sales Collaboration
(Greenbelt Resources/Globe Newswire) The dairy processing industry may have just gotten a boost to its bottom line from a collaboration between two small but accomplished innovators in cleantech. Greenbelt Resources Corporation (OTC: GRCO) (Greenbelt), the developer of an award winning sustainable ECOsystem model
July 03, 2019 Read Full Article
Streamlining the Biofuel Production Process
(European Commission) The production of biofuels like ethanol from non-food biomass is a lucrative prospect for the agricultural sector. However, due to the complexity and expense of the large-scale industrial process currently needed to produce such biofuels, they remain out of
July 02, 2019 Read Full Article
Making Every Carbon Count: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Praj
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Praj had a humble beginning as a supplier of ethanol plants, and today is a global company with a bouquet of sustainable solutions for bioenergy, high purity water, critical process equipment, breweries and industrial wastewater treatment. Dr.
July 02, 2019 Read Full Article
How Low Can You Go with Carbon?: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Aemetis
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Aemetis is an international renewable fuels and biochemicals company using patented industrial biotechnology for the construction and operation of advanced biorefineries. They own and operate a 60+ million gallon ethanol plant in California, a 50 million gallon
July 01, 2019 Read Full Article
Importance of Sterile Design in Aseptic Fermentation – How to Keep from Getting Burned
by Mark Warner (Warner Advisors LLC/Biofuels Digest) If you’ve spent any time in commercial fermentation facilities, then you already know it’s a hot bed of contaminants and has steam coming out all over the place. This is because heat (in the form
June 26, 2019 Read Full Article
Efficiently Producing Fatty Acids and Biofuels from Glucose
(The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)/Phys.Org) Researchers have presented a new strategy for efficiently producing fatty acids and biofuels that can transform glucose and oleaginous microorganisms into microbial diesel fuel, with one-step direct fermentative production. The newly developed strain,
June 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Modified Enzyme Can Increase Second-Generation Ethanol Production
by Elton Alisson (FAPESP/Phys.Org) A group of researchers at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), working in partnership with colleagues at the Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR) in Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil, have discovered that Trichoderma harzianum, a fungus found in the
June 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Miscanthus BBQ Fuel, Microalgae, New Bioreactor for Fermentation, Cacao Bean Waste to Beer, Soy Shoes, and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of June 7th
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As we turn the corner from spring to summer, the pace of bioeconomy invention and change continues at a frenetic pace. Here are the top innovations for the week of June 7th In today’s Digest, miscanthus BBQ
June 07, 2019 Read Full Article
Project LIBERTY: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to POET
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) POET has been turning one big idea after another into biofuel and renewable alternative product solutions for thirty years. They have grown from a single, humble refinery in Scotland, South Dakota, to one of the world’s
May 24, 2019 Read Full Article
Inside the Alliance between REG, ExxonMobil and Clariant that Is Revolutionising Cellulosic Biofuels.
by Luke Upton (BioMarket Insights) ... So we are happy to report a major update to an alliance between three major companies focused on advancing cellulosic biofuels, and speak exclusively to one of its key figures, Fernando Sanchez-Riera, Vice President Research
May 23, 2019 Read Full Article
Indian Perspective on Bioenergy: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to IndianOil Corp.
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) IndianOil has a 33,000-plus work-force, extensive refining, distribution & marketing infrastructure and advanced R&D facilities. In the country’s pursuit of alternative sources of energy, IndianOil is focusing on CNG (compressed natural gas), Autogas (LPG), ethanol blended
May 15, 2019 Read Full Article
Biomethane Business Is Booming – From Waste to Watts and Wonder Chemicals
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... First, let’s make sure we aren’t confusing biogas with biomethane. Biogas is mostly methane and carbon dioxide but that doesn’t mean it’s biomethane. You see, biogas is produced from organic matter breaking down in the absence
May 14, 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
Of Renmatix and All These Pivots
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Pennsylvania bioeconomy pioneers debuts Celltice, a “Petro-Free Breakthrough in Clean Cosmetic Formulations” -- From Pennsylvania, comes the news that Renmatix is introducing Celltice, its “zero-chemical self-emulsifying active,” built from cellulose and lignin, and aimed at the clean
May 02, 2019 Read Full Article
(A)lgae + (B)iomass = (C)onstructive: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Sandia National Labs
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Sandia National Laboratories shares a famous acronym with Saturday Night Live but the work they have done is key to the future of the bioeconomy, having delivered essential science and technology to resolve the nation’s most
April 26, 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
CENER is Developing Technology for Future Urban Biorefineries, to Move towards a Circular Bioeconomy
(Bio-based News) CENER is involved in 4 specific initiatives, in order to develop the most adequate management and valorization routes of different urban biowastes -- The Biomass Department of CENER (National Renewable Energy Centre of Spain) is convinced of the need to
April 17, 2019 Read Full Article
ICGEB’s Novel Yeast Strain Increases Ethanol Production
by R. Prasad (The Hindu) The strain produces ethanol by fermenting rice and wheat straw -- Compared with currently available strains, a robust yeast strain (Saccharomyces cerevisiae NGY10) that can produce up to 15.5% more ethanol when glucose or lignocellulose biomass — rice
April 17, 2019 Read Full Article
From Bioenergy to Bioproducts: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to JBEI
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Joint BioEnergy Institute is a U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center dedicated to developing advanced biofuels—liquid fuels derived from the solar energy stored in plant biomass that can replace gasoline, diesel and jet fuels. Inside
April 12, 2019 Read Full Article
Surrey Catalyst IP Set to Ignite Innovation in Modern Bio-Refineries
(University of Surrey) The University of Surrey has developed a new, cost-effective type of catalyst that it hopes will ignite innovation in bio-derived added value chemicals and bring about the next generation of bio-refineries. As the world is looking to combat the
March 26, 2019 Read Full Article
Disruptive Technologies: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Praj Industries
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Praj Industries is an end-to-end solutions provider in the ethanol arena from concept to commissioning and feedstock handling to effluent treatment. They have technology and engineering solutions for biofuels, biochemicals and water. Dr. Pramod Kumbhar, Chief Technology
March 22, 2019 Read Full Article
Brazil’s GranBio Acquires USA’s American Process
by Helena Taveres Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... The acquisition of American Process Inc’s technologies, intellectual property portfolio and physical assets strengthens GranBio’s market position in the deployment of highly competitive industrial processes for conversion of biomass to renewable fuels, chemicals, and
March 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Biomanufacturing as a Service: Culture Biosciences Lands Series A for Its Bioreactors Accessed via the Cloud
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, a new company has launched called Culture Biosciences and today we’d like to take you inside it. It’s a story about making the bioeconomy radically more efficient at the point of developing and deploying product, by
March 15, 2019 Read Full Article
Novel Potent Antimicrobial from Thermophilic Bacterium
(University of Groningen/EurekAlert!) University of Groningen microbiologists and their colleagues from Lithuania have discovered a new glycocin, a small antimicrobial peptide with a sugar group attached, which is produced by a thermophilic bacterium and is stable at relatively high temperatures. They
March 14, 2019 Read Full Article
Butagaz and Global Bioenergies Announce Their First Delivery of Bio Isobutene, a Bio-Sourced Gas, to the Heracles Winery
(Global Bioenergies) On 12 March 2019, the Heracles winery, France's first ecological smart winery was able to take advantage of the first ever delivery containing bio-isobutene, a highly innovative bio-sourced gas. -- With a continuing drive to contribute to France's objectives in
March 12, 2019 Read Full Article
Lallemand and Toyota Motor Corporation Sign Production and Licensing Agreement for New Cellulosic Yeast Strains
(Lallemand) Lallemand Biofuels & Distilled Spirits (LBDS) a business unit of Lallemand Inc. is pleased to announce that is has signed an agreement on February 26, 2019, with Toyota Motor Corporation to produce and market a new portfolio of yeast strains
March 06, 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
Cellulosic Commercialization: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Cellulosic Ethanol
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Douglas B. Rivers, PhD,from Sunflwr Consulting and a member of Lee Enterprises Consulting offers this illuminating overview and more READ MORE
February 28, 2019 Read Full Article
Research Uncovers Potential Sustainable Refining Method for Lignin
(Phys.Org/Texas A&M University) Lignin, used as a renewable resource to produce high-value products, has presented both production and economical challenges for biorefinery operations. However, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist suggests the use of an extraction method, plus other refining processes
February 27, 2019 Read Full Article
Renewable Jet Fuel from Woody Biomass
by Marina Bowie (Biobased Maine) According to the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (1990-2016), the transportation sector is one of the largest contributors to U.S anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, at 28%. Of the 28%, aircraft transportation contributes 9% of
February 26, 2019 Read Full Article
‘The Right Effect’: Yeast Can Be Genetically Modified through Multiple Techniques
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Yeast can be genetically modified through multiple techniques, all offering advancements for the ethanol industry. -- Genetically modified (GM) yeasts have found their place in the ethanol industry with more than half of producers routinely using
February 26, 2019 Read Full Article
Flax Fiber Skis, Biobased Turf for 2020 Olympics, Gevo’s Isoprene, Veja Vegan Leather, Castor Oil Jacket Membrane and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of February 8th
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 February 8th. In today’s Digest, flax fiber skis, biobased turf for 2020 Olympics, Gevo’s isoprene, Veja
February 08, 2019 Read Full Article
GLOBAL BIOENERGIES: First Production of Isobutene from Wheat Straw at Demo Scale
(Global Bioenergies/Globe Newswire) New phase for the H2020 Optisochem project after 18 months of activity; Sugars from wheat straw produced at Clariant's Sunliquid® pre-commercial plant have been shipped to Global Bioenergies' Leuna demo plant; Successful test runs for production of straw-based isobutene, batches delivered
February 06, 2019 Read Full Article
Almond Joy: CEC Poised to Award $10 Million to Advance Aemetis, West Coast Nut Waste-to-Fuels Commercial Projects
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, the California Energy Commission has issued a Notice of Proposed Award (NOPA) for a $5 million grant to the Aemetis Riverbank cellulosic ethanol biorefinery, and $5 million for West Coast Waste Co., to assist
February 05, 2019 Read Full Article
No Carbon Left Behind: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to LanzaTech
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) LanzaTechhas over 20 years experience sourcing and supplying over 5 million tons of wood fiber and organic feedstock in markets across North America. They offer biomass feedstock supply and analytics to understand and minimize supply chain
February 05, 2019 Read Full Article
Gevo Announces Breakthrough Development of Renewable Isoprene, a Key Chemical Building Block for Producing Rubber and Rubber Products
(GEVO/Globe Newswire) Potentially price competitive with petroleum-based isoprene, made with 100% renewable carbon -- Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO), a leading renewable fuels and chemicals manufacturer, announced today that it has developed a proprietary, breakthrough catalytic process that transforms low-cost commercially available, or
January 29, 2019 Read Full Article
Reaping the Benefits of Agricultural Waste
(University of New Castle) Australia’s $63 billion* agriculture sector stands to benefit from a revolutionary fuel technology that will convert multiple agricultural waste streams into valuable biofuel and green chemical products for the first time. In partnership with the University of
January 25, 2019 Read Full Article
The Bio Wilburys: ExxonMobil, REG Add Clariant to Monumental Effort for Cellulosic-to-Biodiesel
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) For some time, as the advanced bioeconomy has continued its pivot to deployment-scale diesel and jet fuels, there has been quite a bit of scrutiny and skepticism over the sourcing of enough sustainable feedstock to supply
January 24, 2019 Read Full Article
Designed Materials Innovation: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide ABLC Guide to Checkerspot
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Checkerspot designs high performance materials such as microbes to express new molecular building blocks that they then apply chemistry to create materials that are built into parts and products they prototype. Charles Dimmler, Checkerspot’s CEO gave this
December 27, 2018 Read Full Article
“REWOFUEL”: Residual Soft Wood Conversion to Drop-in Biofuels
(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe) The aim of the EU-funded project REWOFUEL is to demonstrate the performance, reliability, environmental and socio-economic sustainability of the value chain for the transformation of residual wood to Bio-Isobutene (bio-IBN) by fermentation and its further conversion into biofuels. The
December 26, 2018 Read Full Article
Investors Turn Kenya’s Troublesome Invasive Water Hyacinth into Cheap Fuel
by Benson Rioba (Inter Press Service) Water hyacinth is a weed and if not controlled on Lake Victoria, experts are concerned that the lake’s water levels might drop by 60 percent. -- Currently 30 square kilometres of Lake Victoria, which stretches to
December 21, 2018 Read Full Article
Researchers Advance Biomass Transformation Process
(Chinese Academy of Sciences/Phys.Org) ... Thus, it is important to develop a highly efficient water-resistant catalyst to directly and selectively convert crude aqueous oxygenate mixtures to value-added chemicals; water-immiscible ones (easy separation after reaction) are especially of great importance. However, the efficiency
December 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Renmatix, Gevo Ink Deal to Develop Cellulosic Hydrocarbons for Jet Fuel, Gasoline Markets
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) We have word bubbling up simultaneously from Pennsylvania and Colorado that Gevo and Renmatix inked a joint development agreement to evaluate the commercial feasibility of creating renewable jet fuel by integrating Renmatix’s Plantrose Process with Gevo’s
December 07, 2018 Read Full Article
NCERC Pumped up with 15 Years of Success
by Karen Binder (AgriNews) While most talk these days about ethanol swirls around fuel credits and marketing needs, the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center has quietly celebrated its 15th anniversary. And what a 15-year run it’s been. “The difference is that as policies, technologies
December 06, 2018 Read Full Article
Commercializing 2nd-Gen Biofuels: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide ABLC Guide to Axens
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Following the acquisition of Heurtey Petrochem and the integration of 50% of Eurecat, Axens Group now provides a complete range of solutions including: technologies, equipment, furnaces, modular units, catalysts, adsorbents and services for the conversion of
December 05, 2018 Read Full Article
Turning Grams into Tonnes: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide ABLC Guide to Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant aims to enable the transition to a sustainable bio-based economy through development, scale-up and custom manufacturing of bio-based product and processes. Hendrik Waegeman, Head of Business Development at BBEU gave this illuminating overview of the
December 04, 2018 Read Full Article
Scientists Seawater Fuel Discovery Cuts Demands on Freshwater Use
(University of Huddersfield) The use of seawater in the production of bioethanol significantly reduces of water footprint in the bioethanol production industry. Bioethanol is a climate-friendly alternative to petrol and its adoption has been encouraged by many governments. In the fight against
November 23, 2018 Read Full Article
BioFuture: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to BioFuture Platform and the Advanced Biofuels Outlook
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Biofuture Platform aims to be an action-oriented, country-led, multi-stakeholder mechanism for policy dialogue and collaboration among leading countries, organizations, academia and the private sector conscious of the need to accelerate development and scale up deployment
November 07, 2018 Read Full Article
R1,1 Billion Gas to Fuel Green Energy Plant for Middelburg
(Middleburg Observer) A gas to fuel green energy plants to the value of R1,1 billion will be built in Middelburg next year, anchoring the town as South Africa’s flagship commercial ethanol production region. ... A pilot fermentation unit was shipped to South Africa,
October 24, 2018 Read Full Article
Argonne GREET 2018 Update
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Illinois, a research team at Argonne National Lab released its GREET 2018 update. GREET is a life-cycle analysis (LCA) tool, structured to systematically examine energy and environmental effects of a wide variety of transportation fuels and
October 12, 2018 Read Full Article
Groundbreaking for Clariant's Sunliquid® Cellulosic Ethanol Plant in Romania
(Clariant) Investment represents biggest industrial commitment by an international corporation in the region of Craiova; Location chosen for combination of feedstock supply and infrastructure; Annual production capacity of 50 000 tons of cellulosic ethanol -- Muttenz, September 12, 2018 – Clariant, a world
September 13, 2018 Read Full Article
Birth of an Industrial Sugars Giant? Sugars in Focus in Leaf Resources, Petronas Agreement
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) We hear from Australia and Malaysia that PETRONAS Chemicals Group and Leaf Resources inked a Memorandum of Understanding for Leaf’s proposed biorefinery project in Malaysia. In prospect? A study of chemical markets and commercially ready bio-technologies. Potential
September 04, 2018 Read Full Article
Plans for Luverne: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Gevo
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Gevo is a renewable technology, chemical products, and next-generation biofuels company. Gevo has developed proprietary technology that uses a combination of synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, chemistry and chemical engineering to focus primarily on the production of
August 31, 2018 Read Full Article
The Establishment of a Marine Focused Biorefinery for Bioethanol Production Using Seawater and a Novel Marine Yeast Strain
by Abdelrahman Saleh Zaky, Darren Greetham, Gregory A. Tucker & Chenyu Du (Scientific Reports) Current technologies for bioethanol production rely on the use of freshwater for preparing the fermentation media and use yeasts of a terrestrial origin. Life cycle assessment has suggested
August 25, 2018 Read Full Article
Strategic Positioning: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Amyris
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) For many people, a key question in the advanced bioeconomy continues to be: “what is Amyris becoming, and when, and where and how?” Becoming a global leader in the health and beauty market, and self-funding operations in
August 22, 2018 Read Full Article
Researchers Discover How to Protect Yeast from Damage in Biofuel Production
by Chris Barncard (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Some chemicals used to speed up the breakdown of plants for production of biofuels like ethanol are poison to the yeasts that turn the plant sugars into fuel. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and several
August 13, 2018 Read Full Article
Lifecycle Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Corncob Ethanol in China
by Yu Wang, Ming‐Hsun Cheng, Mark Mba Wright (Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining) Converting corncobs into fuel ethanol is different from converting stover because cobs have higher hemicellulose and lower lignin than stover. Current research provides life‐cycle assessments of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
August 08, 2018 Read Full Article
100% Carbon to Products: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to White Dog Labs
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) US-based White Dog Labs have developed a new process that eliminates the production of CO2, a potent greenhouse gas, during fermentation and instead shifts the carbon to added ethanol production, boosting fermentation yields by around 50
August 08, 2018 Read Full Article
Lessons on the Road to GoBig: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to POET-DSM Cellulosic Ethanol
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In November we reported that POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels achieved a major breakthrough in cellulosic biofuels production at its Project LIBERTY plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa. The company has solved the critical challenge in pretreatment, overcoming what has been
August 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Montana’s (bio) Materials Maestros: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Blue Marble Biomaterials
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) When it comes to Blue Marble’s coordinates in the bioeconomy star-field, think advanced flavorings made from seemingly impossible materials. Most recently we reported that Missoula’s Masters of Metamorphosis this past summer released a highly sought after U.S.
August 06, 2018 Read Full Article
SET-Plan Steering Group Approved Implementation Plan of SET-Plan Action 8: Bioenergy and Renewable Fuels for Sustainable Transport
(European Technology and Innovation Platform-Bioenergy) On 13 June 2018 the SET-Plan Steering Group approved the Implementation Plan of SET-Plan Action 8: Bioenergy and Renewable Fuels for Sustainable Transport. The plan was prepared by a working group, co chaired by industrial experts from
July 18, 2018 Read Full Article
Global Bioenergies and Audi Renew Their Partnership in Renewable Gasoline
(Global Bioenergies) Global Bioenergies (Euronext Growth: ALGBE) and Audi announced today the signing of a new agreement focused on the implementation of residue usage, preparation of a path to commercialization and engine testing of new blends. Following the completion of a
July 12, 2018 Read Full Article
Protein, Protein: The Bioeconomy’s Latest Technology Fad Is, Actually, a Pivot Back to an Ancient and Enduring Concern
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Protein has become the answer to almost every question. How will you achieve scale? Protein. How will you make money? Protein. What will save the world? Protein. What are you going to talk about in your
July 06, 2018 Read Full Article
Zero to 10 Million in 5 years
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Slow to start and with fewer gallons than targeted through the Renewable Fuel Standard, cellulosic ethanol is showing signs of steady growth. -- Cellulosic ethanol production has been gaining momentum in the past five years,
June 27, 2018 Read Full Article
USDA Grants Hood $100,000 for Biofuels Project
(Hood College) The United States Department of Agriculture has awarded Hood College Professor of Biology Craig Laufer $100,000 over an 18-month period to fund research and development of cost-effective biofuels. Successful completion of this project would qualify Laufer’s lab for larger
June 22, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of June 21st, 2018
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The pace of invention and change is just too strong, we’ve realized, to highlight annual or even quarterly or monthly rankings and summaries of significant product and service advances. For now, we’re going to be tracking
June 22, 2018 Read Full Article
New Algae Biofuel Production Method Could Someday Compete with Petroleum
by Philip T. Pienkos (R&D Magazine) ... This time, the leading force was not the DOE (U.S. Department of Energy), but the investment community acting in the belief that the power of modern biotechnology could be brought to bear against the
June 18, 2018 Read Full Article
The Battle for Yeast Supremacy: DSM, DuPont, Novozymes and More
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Let’s review the big gambits from the likes of DSM, DuPont Industrial Biosciences and Novozymes as they duke it out over market share in an era where corn ethanol gallons are, perhaps for the first
June 15, 2018 Read Full Article
BASF and Lallemand Biofuels & Distilled Spirits to Collaborate and Leverage Synergies Bringing Increased Value to Ethanol Producers
(Lallemand Biofuels & Distilled Spirits/BASF) BASF Enzymes LLC and Lallemand Biofuels & Distilled Spirits (LBDS) have formally entered into a marketing and sales collaboration agreement to leverage synergies between the two companies’ products that maximize value to customers in the ethanol market in the
June 14, 2018 Read Full Article
World’s First Commercial Waste Gas to Ethanol Plant Now in Operation
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... In Illinois, carbon recycling company, LanzaTech, and its joint venture partner, Shougang Group, a leading Chinese iron and steel producer, announced the successful start-up of the world’s first commercial facility converting industrial emissions to sustainable ethanol.
June 11, 2018 Read Full Article
Higher Yields, Faster Fermentation, Reduced Energy: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to DuPont Industrial Biosciences’ XCELIS Platform
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Building off the recent launch of its fuel ethanol platform DuPont XCELIS, DuPont Industrial Biosciences unveiled the first three products from the innovation hub – designed to increase yields, speed fermentation and reduce energy and chemical
June 08, 2018 Read Full Article
NREL Finds Easier Ways to Deconstruct Biomass
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory/Ethanol Producer Magazine) If there's an easier, more efficient method, science will find a way. That's certainly the case in producing cellulosic biofuels, which, at least for now, requires a two-step process to free the sugars trapped in
June 07, 2018 Read Full Article
In a First, Indian Oil Corporation to Channel Refinery Waste Gas for Ethanol Production
(Outlook India) In a first-of-its-kind venture in the world, Indian Oil Corporation is planning to utilise off-gases (waste gas) from various processing units of its refineries for production of ethanol. The move will reduce the carbon footprint of the state-run company’s refineries, while helping
June 07, 2018 Read Full Article
"Revolutionary" Biofuel Developed under Wraps at Finnish, Swedish Universities
(Yle) In order to avoid unwanted attention from industrial spies, the biofuel - which could replace gasoline and diesel - was developed in secret. -- A professor at Turku's Åbo Akademi and Sweden's Umeå University says he has managed to develop a
May 29, 2018 Read Full Article
One Commercial, Two Commercial, Three Commercial, Four: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Clariant’s Sunliquid Cellulosic Ethanol Technology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Clariant’s sunliquid technology for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into sugars, followed by fermentation to cellulosic ethanol, is flexible to be used to convert different feedstocks on a regional basis, for example corn stover in North
May 24, 2018 Read Full Article
Hot Tech for Fuels: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to the Joint BioEnergy Institute
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) JBEI’s mission is to convert biomass to biofuels. The goal is to provide the nation with clean, renewable transportation fuels identical to gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Inside JBEI’s Emeryville laboratories, researchers are using the latest tools
May 22, 2018 Read Full Article
Key Enzyme for Production of Second-Generation Ethanol Discovered in Brazilian Amazon
(São Paulo Research Foundation/EurekAlert) Protein encoded by gene found in microorganisms living in Amazon lake could boost efficiency on the sugarcane bagasse saccharification process, which makes for up to 50% of the global costs of cellulosic ethanol production. -- Second-generation ethanol (also
May 16, 2018 Read Full Article
Drop-in Fuels and Biomaterials: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Global Bioenergies
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Global Bioenergies is a pioneer in the development of one-step fermentation processes for the direct and cost-efficient transformation of renewable resources into light olefin hydrocarbons, the key building blocks of the petrochemical industry. Since inception, the
May 15, 2018 Read Full Article
Hitachi Zosen Inova to Build and Operate Kompogas® Plant to Turn Jönköping’s Organic Waste into Vehicle Fuel
(Hitachi Zosen Inova) Hitachi Zosen Inova is to build Scandinavia’s second Kompogas® facility in Jönköping, Sweden. It will use a dry fermentation process to convert around 40,000 metric tons of organic waste a year into fuel for buses and cars, and
May 09, 2018 Read Full Article
Capital Light Scale-Up : Utopia or Perfect Storm?
by Mark Warner (Warner Advisors LLC/Biofuels Digest) Capital light scale-up utilizes existing fermentation facilities, in lieu of purpose-built demonstration facilities, to bring advanced technologies to market faster and with less capital burn. It is a great plan if it can be executed, but
May 09, 2018 Read Full Article
Research Shows How Genetics Can Contribute for Advances in 2G Ethanol Production
(FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO/EurekAlert!) The study focused three fungi species which produce enzymes with application in biomass degradation; scientists in Brazil reveal how these substances are regulated and how they can interact synergically. Production of second-generation
April 17, 2018 Read Full Article
Isobutanol’s Horizons: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Gevo
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Gevo has two proprietary technologies that combine to make it possible to retrofit existing ethanol plants to produce isobutanol, a four carbon alcohol which serves as a hydrocarbon platform molecule. They have developed an industrial scale
April 12, 2018 Read Full Article
A New Tailor-Made Approach to Biofuels
(Phys.Org/CORDIS) ... Some microbes have natural structures called cellulosomes that contain cellulases, enzymes that break down cellulose efficiently into sugars. The EU-funded CELLULOSOMEPLUS project developed designer cellulosomes (DCs) to achieve high yields of fermentable sugars from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste
April 11, 2018 Read Full Article
Project to Produce Industrial Products from Olive Mill Wastewater Gets EU Support
by Sevil Erkuş (Hurryiet Daily News) A project initiated by Turkish experts to turn olive mill wastewater from olive production into industrial raw materials and products such as biodiesel and animal feed has received the support of a European Union program. In the
April 11, 2018 Read Full Article
Researchers Engineer Yeast to Grow on Xylose
(Ethanol Producer Magazine/Tufts University) Researchers at Tufts University have created a genetically modified yeast that can more efficiently consume a novel nutrient, xylose, enabling the yeast to grow faster and to higher cell densities, raising the prospect of a significantly faster
April 04, 2018 Read Full Article
Green Biologics Partners With Kingsford® Charcoal to Launch New EcoLight™ Natural Charcoal Lighter Fluid
(Green Biologics/PR Newswire) Green Biologics, Inc. announced that it has agreed to supply their patented GreenFlame® bio-based charcoal lighter fluid formulation exclusively to Kingsford® Charcoal, to be marketed under a new brand: EcoLight™. The licensing agreement builds on the successful 2017 introduction of
April 02, 2018 Read Full Article
Engineering Clostridia: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to n-Butanol Production from Biomass and CO2
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The DOE is supporting a project to develop engineered clostridia strains and fermentation process that can directly utilize cellulose and fix CO2 for n-butanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. The engineered strains can be used in fermentation to
March 05, 2018 Read Full Article
Butanol from Forest Waste: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Advanced Fermentation of AVAP Sugars
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The objective? To create an economically viable process for the production of butanol from the underutilized natural resources domestically available economically sustainable biofuel at or below DOE target selling price. And, suitable for roll-out in multiple regions containing
February 26, 2018 Read Full Article
Second Front in the Yeast Wars: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Engineering Cellulosic Tolerance in Yeast
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) We’ve been covering some important movements in the design and performance of yeast in recent weeks, including the arrival of Novozymes’ Innova drive strains. Most of the activity has been focused on 1G ethanol fermentation. But it’s
February 20, 2018 Read Full Article
Big Algae Chases Omega-3 Dominance: DSM, Evonik Enderway on $200M Algae Project in Nebraska
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) DSM and Evonik have given a name to their joint venture to produce omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA from natural marine algae for animal nutrition — something that’s been traditionally been made from wild-caught fish
February 16, 2018 Read Full Article
Advanced, to Go: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to 2G Biofuels Implementation Timetable
The biggest news out of Novozymes this month is its new yeast platform for starch-based ethanol, while also introducing the first product, Innova Drive. A completely new yeast strain, the product can reduce fermentation time by up to two hours compared
February 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Estimation of a 69 % Reduction in Greenhouse Gases Emissions for Fully Renewable ETBE Compared to Fossil Gasoline
(Global Bioenergies) Global Bioenergies (Euronext Growth: ALGBE) has entrusted EVEA, a company specialized in calculation of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), with a study focused on the products to be manufactured in the future IBN-One plant. Fully renewable ETBE is estimated to
January 15, 2018 Read Full Article
US Navy Researchers Develop New Class of Renewable Diesel
by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In California, researchers from the US Navy at China Lake have developed a new class of drop-in renewable diesel from biomass using acid catalyzed condensation of 2-tridecanone with a series of diols through fermentation that provide similar energy levels
January 04, 2018 Read Full Article
Top 10 Bioeconomy Predictions for 2018
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A mere “The Year in Rewind” as we sail into 2018? Not the good ship Digest! Instead, we dust off our crystal ball and offer our predictions for the year ahead. As the sunset of 2017 gives
January 03, 2018 Read Full Article
How EtOH Production Affects Yeast Health: 4 Tips for Dealing with Ethanol Stress
by Dale Earls, Scientist (Novozymes/Biofuels Digest) In commercial yeasts available today, as fermentation progresses and the concentration of ethanol rises, yeast cells are increasingly exposed to levels of ethanol that quickly become toxic. This greatly affects yeast’s ability to produce ethanol;
December 30, 2017 Read Full Article
Nutrition, Energy from Methane: The Digest’s 2017 Muti-Slide Guide to Calysta
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In December, we reported that Cargill and Calysta will co-create the world’s largest gas fermentation facility in Memphis, Tennessee to produce Calysta’s FeedKind protein, a family of sustainable, traceable nutritional ingredients for fish, livestock and pets. Start-up is
December 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Boosting Ethanol’s Value via CO2 Use: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to White Dog Labs
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) US-based White Dog Labs have developed a new process that eliminates the production of CO2, a potent greenhouse gas, during fermentation and instead shifts the carbon to added ethanol production, boosting fermentation yields by around 50
December 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Top 17 for 2017
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) 2017 was a roller coaster year. There was a paradigm shift in biofuels, technology advancements, innovations abounded, politics chaotic. Some companies shut down and disappeared like the Hobo vanishing in the snow atop the Polar
December 26, 2017 Read Full Article
Collaboration Success: Two Labs Develop a Promising Pathway to Biobased Fuels and Chemicals
(U.S. Department of Energy) Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, have successfully modified a microorganism to produce a useful intermediate from sugar fermentation, which can then be upgraded into valuable biobased fuels and chemicals. NREL’s modified
November 30, 2017 Read Full Article
Now Deploying at Commercial Scale: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Clariant’s Sunliquid Cellulosic Ethanol Technology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Clariant’s sunliquid technology for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into sugars, followed by fermentation to cellulosic ethanol, is flexible to be used to convert different feedstocks on a regional basis, for example corn stover in North
November 30, 2017 Read Full Article
DuPont Launches Synerxia Thrive to Increase Ethanol Yields
(DuPont Industrial Biosciences/Ethanol Producer Magazine) DuPont Industrial Biosciences has announced the launch of Synerxia Thrive Fermentation System, the newest innovation in the company’s synergistic fermentation system technologies. The new fermentation system will deliver higher ethanol yields, incomparable robustness during thermal excursions and
November 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Techno-Economic Analysis of Biofuel Production from Macroalgae (Seaweed)
by Mohsen Soleymani and Kurt A. Rosentrater (Bioengineering) A techno-economic evaluation of bioenergy production from macroalgae was carried out in this study. Six different scenarios were examined for the production of different energy products and by-products. Seaweed was produced either via
November 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Scale-Up: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Building Industrial Fermentation for World Scale
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) At ABLC Next, we invited Genomatica’s Jeff Lievense as part of a special session focused on the scaling-up of fermentation technologies — from the pitfalls to the pratfalls. Genomatica is a widely-recognized technology leader for the chemical industry,
November 22, 2017 Read Full Article
Cheaper, More Efficient Biofuels Targeted with New Yeast
(North Queensland Register) A Sydney company has been awarded a $4.03 million grant to develop a yeast to address economic and sustainability issues surrounding biofuels. -- SYDNEY-based yeast developer Microbiogen has been awarded a $4.03 million federal government grant to make production of
November 21, 2017 Read Full Article
UW Entrepreneurial Pipeline Lands Lactic Solutions in Biofuels Marketplace
by Natasha Kassulke (University of Wisconsin-Madison) When Jim Steele thinks back over the last seven years, from the early research on biofuels, followed by a dream of moving Lactic Solutions LLC technology to the marketplace, and now the acquisition of the
November 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Research Is Making Plant Waste a Viable Option in Ethanol Production
by J.D. Warren (UCR Today) Relatively cheap "biomass" has been a poor option due to its production cost -- UC Riverside researchers have developed a streamlined process that could finally make the ethanol production cost from abundant “second generation” plant wastes competitive
November 15, 2017 Read Full Article
ExxonMobil and REG Expand Cellulosic Biodiesel Research
by Joseph Bebon (NGT News) ExxonMobil and Renewable Energy Group (REG) announced that by utilizing REG’s patented fermentation technology, the companies’ joint research program has demonstrated the ability to convert sugars from a variety of non-edible biomass sources into biodiesel. ... During their initial research, the
November 02, 2017 Read Full Article
Making Renewables Mainstream: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Amyris
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) We reported on Amyris’ progress recently in “The New Colossus aims to unlock its Golden Door” and in Two Up: Amyris, Queensland gamble on farnesene for SE Asia. Meanwhile, Amyris President of R&D Joel Cherry presented these illuminating
October 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Keeping Yeast Fit and Healthy: Combating Organic Acids in Fermentation
by Amanda Moser (Novozymes/Biofuels Digest) ... A yeast that is less susceptible to stressors is the best way to create a solid foundation for your fermentation. It also helps, however, to have a strategy for keeping your yeast fit and healthy.
October 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Dynamic Metabolic Control: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to 10X Bioprocess Intensification
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The US Department of Energy is supporting a project from DMC Limited and Duke University to develop scalable and cost-effective next generation semi-continuous fermentation based processes for biofuels, reducing commercial scale capital costs 5-10 fold. The rationale? Rapid
October 12, 2017 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels Plant to Be Built in Slovakia
(Biofuels International) Clariant, a developer of specialty chemicals, and Enviral, Slovakia’s largest bioethanol producer, have announced a license agreement on sunliquid cellulosic ethanol technology. The move will see one of Europe’s first advanced biofuel plants built at the Enviral site
September 18, 2017 Read Full Article
Running Hot: 7 Tips for Warm Weather Ethanol Fermentation
by Claudia Geddes (Novozymes) As you know, heat—and its partner in crime, humidity—can be a stressor on the yeast used in ethanol fermentation, affecting both yeast health and performance. Unfortunately, this often makes yeast a bottleneck for plants, as not
September 06, 2017 Read Full Article
Fermentation Frontiers: Top 10 Trendlines in Industrial Biotech Fermentation
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The most visible advanced industrial fermentation target for a number of years has been cellulosic ethanol, but the targets are diversifying and cellulosics themselves are shifting gears from process to feedstocks. There’s a fervent ferment
September 06, 2017 Read Full Article
Production of Bioethanol from Multiple Waste Streams of Rice Milling
LorenzoFavaro, et al. (Bioresource Technology) Rice milling by-products are promising feedstocks for bioethanol. Starch-rich residues were efficiently fermented by two engineered amylolytic yeast. Rice husk, composed by lignocellulose, was pre-treated with alkaline peroxide. Pre-treated husk was saccharified by commercial enzymes and
August 25, 2017 Read Full Article
Value Days at the Landfill: The Digest 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Unlocking Polylactic Acid from Waste Biogas
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Methane in biogas offers a renewable alternative to natural gas as a feedstock and intermediate in bioprocesses. The US DOE is supporting a development effort led by NatureWorks in collaboration with Calysta to develop a commercially
August 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Potato Waste Processing May Be the Road to Enhanced Food Waste Conversion
(Pennsylvania State University/Phys.Org) With more than two dozen companies in Pennsylvania manufacturing potato chips, it is no wonder that researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have developed a novel approach to more efficiently convert potato waste into ethanol.
August 18, 2017 Read Full Article
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