(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 …

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 …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Added sugar takes on a whole new meaning in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) work to uncover the secrets behind one of nature’s most powerful tools—cellulose-degrading enzymes. — Researchers at NREL …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Digest had a well-received webinar on C5 and C6 sugars, featuring in-demand industry consultant David Dodds and Fluid Quip exec Jeffrey Robert — looking at transformative approaches to making sugars and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Four axioms start this presentation by David Dodds, on C5 and C6 sugar opportunities, at a breezy pace:

If you are making a molecule from another molecule, you are a chemist, doing chemistry.
Synthetic …

(Green Car Congress)   A team at RWTH Aachen University has developed a framework for the model-based formulation of biofuel blends with tailored properties by considering the fuel’s molecular composition as the fundamental design degree of …

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

(Tech2) Scientists at Indian Institute of Technology – Kharagpur have unlocked the secret to ramp up yields of biofuel sourced from commonly found aquatic weeds such as water hyacinths. In a new study published on December …

(Fortress Paper/Lesprom.com) Fortress Paper Ltd. announces a strategic supplement to the already announced birch usage project (the “Birch Project”) at the Fortress Specialty Cellulose Mill aimed at extracting hemicellulose from underutilized species such as birch (the …

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

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Belgium, the BIOFOREVER  consortium of 14 European companies emerged from stealth with the news that they have started their demonstration project for the conversion of woody biomass to value …

(Leaf Resources)  Leaf Resources Ltd (ASX: LER, “Leaf” or “Leaf Resources”) is pleased to announce the signing of binding legal agreements with US-based project developer Claeris, LLC (“Claeris”), to establish a joint venture (JV) entity, Leaf Development, …

by Lorenz Bauer (Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc./Biofuels Digest)  What’s up with C5 and C6 sugars? Given that a significant portion of the several billion dollars spent on renewable fuels spending involves these molecules, it is …

(NewBIO/Cooperative Extension System)  Technology patented by Renmatix enables the manufacture of industrial sugars from biomass on a scale that is commercially cost-effective.
Table of Contents

Introduction
From Biomass to Sugars
Benefits of Supercritical Water
Customers Rebuild Biorefiners based on Plantrose™ …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  As part of March Madness, we held a well-attended webinar on the markets and makers of 5C and 6C sugars, from pilot to player. Here below is a slide deck presented …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Chempolis’ multi-year quest to build cellulosic ethanol in India finds a happy landing.  —  In India, €110 million joint venture cellulosic ethanol project of Chempolis Ltd and Numaligarh Refinery Limited …

(Chempolis, Ltd.)  Chempolis Ltd., a Finland-based biorefining technology corporation, has entered into partnership with Avantha Group’s research wing Avantha Centre for Industrial Research & Development to offer technology to India to extract ethanol from various agricultural residues …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Goodbye glucose, hello xylose. The X-Factor in the advanced bioeconomy might just be a sugar that starts with an X.  …  When we think about C5s — that are liberated by …

(National Renewable Energy Laboratory)  National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Senior Scientist Min Zhang has a special relationship with Zymomonas mobilis, a rod-shaped bacterium that has bioethanol-producing capabilities. Of her 80 peer-reviewed papers and 21 U.S. patents …

by Melody M. Bomgardner (Chemical & Engineering News)  Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute transform biomass into energy-rich fuel molecules  —   ..  JBEI researchers are zeroing in on concepts that others have decided are too …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Cobalt Technologies was commercializing cellulosic biobutanol, a versatile platform molecule for the renewable chemicals and fuels.  The Company’s technology efficiently converts diverse non-food feedstocks – initially, lignocellulosic extracts from woody …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In the terrestrial world, oxygen is colorless, odorless, and try to get through an hour without some.  In the Bioeconomy Cinematic Universe, oxygen is harder than steel, heavier than a …

(EurekAlert!/University of Eastern Finland)  The hemicellulose sugars of barley straw can be effectively fermented into biobutanol, when starch is added during the pre-treatment or fermentation process, shows a new University of Eastern Finland study.
Seeking to …

by Bruce Dorminey (Renewable Energy World)  As the world’s fastest growing temperate tree species, poplar can add a dozen feet annually and reach maturity in as few as four years.  One of its hybrids, populus …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Backed by a $10M investment from Natural Resources Canada’s Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program and an additional $4.4M from the Québec Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et …

(Cascades/PRNewswire) Cascades Inc. (TSX: CAS), a leader in the recovery of recyclable materials and manufacturing green packaging products and tissue paper, is pleased to announce the company’s investment in a new technology at its Norampac …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Though challenges remain, particularly in affordable feedstock, the US National Research Council says “Despite impressive recent and projected growth, the manufacturing of chemicals using biological synthesis and engineering could expand …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  We’ve developed 2 proprietary biorefinery technologies producing low-cost cellulosic sugars from non-food based biomass. Our Green Power+ technology produces low-cost cellulosic sugars from the hemicelluloses. AVAP technology produces cellulosic sugars …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  At the frontier of exotic temperature and pressures, even everyday materials like water begin to act strangely in ways that can drive energy transformation.   New work in nanocatalysts may make …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Midori reports they have broken through on a 100-year quest for low-cost cellulosic sugars. And found a way to turn your cotton tees into sugars, too.
About a year ago, a …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Upstream, downstream, processing, policy, finance – opportunities and challenges abound in the bioeconomy – but which challenges are the most intractable and daunting of them all?   In today’s part 2, …

(AZOCleanTech)  A collaboration between Rochester Institute of Technology’s Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences and Sweetwater Energy Inc. will give students experience with the Rochester-based company that has a sweet and sustainable niche.
Sweetwater Energy …

by James Hataway  (UGA Research)  … Li Tan was examining some of the sugars, proteins and polymers that make up plant cell walls, which provide the structural support and protection that allow plants to grow. Yet his …

(Science Daily)  The mainly EU-funded DISCO project coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed powerful enzymes, which accelerate plant biomass conversion into sugars and further into products such as bioethanol. The project’s …

(University of Wisconsin-Madison)  Using a biomass-derived solvent, University of Wisconsin-Madison chemical and biological engineers have streamlined the process for converting lignocellulosic biomass into high-demand chemicals or energy-dense liquid transportation fuel.
Their new method eliminates the need …

by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine)  The biorefining industry is hungry for a low-cost, high-quality and readily available supply of sugar feedstock from nonfood biomass sources. A number of pure-play sugar technology developers and manufacturers like …

(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. …

(Sermatec Zanini and GeoSynFuels, LLC)  Sermatec Zanini and GeoSynFuels, LLC (GSF) have announced the formation of a strategic alliance for the development and commercialization of GSF’s proprietary cellulosic ethanol technology. The strategic alliance allows Sermatec Zanini …

by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine)  A team of researchers at State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry are experimenting with different strains of microorganisms to efficiently ferment sugars, extracted from …