(Attis Industries)  Agreement Creates Feedstock Advantage for First Commercial Facility  —  Attis Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ATIS) (the “Company” or “Attis”), a diversified innovation and technology holding company, today announced the execution of a letter of intent with …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …In today’s Digest, wool without the sheep, fuels from water and C)2, bacteria-powered solar cells, spectral imagery in the sky, artificial intelligence in the crop field, sugar-based straws and more, ready …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Lignin has developed into a sustainable and very satisfactory alternative to fossil fuels.
But applications have been needed. Firstly, applications that work, then applications that pay, then applications at scale. Let’s …

(National Renewable Energy Laboratory/Biomass Magazine)  Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of Georgia developed a new genetic engineering technique to dramatically improve an enzyme’s ability to break down …

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, …

by Tom Rickey (Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory/Phys.Org)  Last month a rocket thundered off a NASA launch pad in Virginia, destined for the International Space Station. Nestled among the 7,400 lbs. of supplies was a handful of …

by Kim Askey (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)  A scalable processing technique developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory uses plant-based materials for 3D printing and offers a promising additional revenue stream for biorefineries. Scientists created a new …

(University of Portsmouth)  A new family of enzymes has been discovered which paves the way to convert plant waste into sustainable and high-value products such as nylon, plastics, chemicals, and fuels.
The discovery was led by members …

(SEKAB/MyNewsDesk)  Representatives from eleven European companies and universities gathered yesterday in the Swedish town of Örnsköldsvik, to kick-start the EU-funded project Rewofuel. The long-term aim is to lay the groundwork for many new biorefineries across Europe, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Biofuels for marine diesels — a biofuel developers dream? That’s the premise of his IEA webinar deck on the promise and progress in marine biofuels, a 330 Mton fuel market with both fuel …

by Maegan Murray (Washington State University Tri-Cities)  WSU Tri-Cities associate professor Xiao Zhang is targeting the use of lignin — a common material that makes the cell walls of plants rigid — to create affordable biofuels …

by Sara Shoemaker (Oak Ridge National Laboratory/Phys.org)  For decades, biologists have believed a key enzyme in plants had one function—produce amino acids, which are vital to plant survival and also essential to human diets.
But for Wellington …

(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 …

(U.S. Department of Energy/Phys.Org)  A closed-loop biorefinery could dramatically lower the cost of biofuels and related products. In this approach, the refinery produces the solvents it needs, rather than “importing” them. Scientists at the Joint BioEnergy …

(Cision/Rottneros)  Preem and RenFuel are assessing, in collaboration with Rottneros, the construction of the world’s first lignin plant for biofuels, at the pulp mill in Vallvik, Söderhamn. The plant is expected to produce an annual volume …

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 …

by Michael Eggleston* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Challenged by strict, binding international targets to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and sulfur levels in fuels it is estimated that by 2020 the marine sector will need to …

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, …

(SEKAB)  European financing package amounting to €13.9 million, of which €4.2 million for SEKAB E-Technology AB. Industry consortium led by Global Bioenergies and bringing together SEKAB E-Technology, Graanul Invest, Neste Engineering Solutions, Repsol, PEAB, SkyNRG, Ajinomoto …

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 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  MetGen’s MetZyme enzymatic solutions cover the entire bio-based value chain from feedstock to high-value chemicals and enable the use of cellulosic feedstocks as well as the creation of entirely new bio-based …

(Sandia National Laboriatories/EurekAlert!)  What does jet fuel have in common with pantyhose and plastic soda bottles? They’re all products currently derived from petroleum. Sandia National Laboratories scientists have demonstrated a new technology based on bioengineered bacteria …

by James Temple (MIT Technology Review)  In the closing weeks of 2008, the US Department of Energy invited politicians and press to a dedication ceremony for the Joint BioEnergy Institute in Emeryville, California. The state-of-the-art lab, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and provide …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Sweetwater Energy and Europe’s largest wood pellet producer, the Tallinn, Estonia-based AS Graanul Invest, said that they will build a commercial-scale integrated biorefinery that will produce clean cellulosic sugars and …

Today, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced four funding opportunities totaling up to $78 million to support early-stage bioenergy research and development under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office.
“The …

by D’lyn Ford (North Carolina State University/Phys.Org)  A new systems biology model that mimics the process of wood formation allows scientists to predict the effects of switching on and off 21 pathway genes involved in producing …

by Chris Lee (Ars Technica)  Future biofuel production requires new catalysts—or better training for stubborn enzymes.  … I thought New Zealand would offer some chemistry-minded contrast. The country makes a lot of money on timber exports, but this profit is …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Sweetwater Energy has developed a unique and patented technology for producing low-cost sugars and clean lignin fiber from multiple non-food plant materials to help meet the modern world’s increasing demand for …

(Stora Enso/Cision)  Lineo™by Stora Enso, a renewable replacement for oil-based phenolic materials, has been awarded ‘Bio-Based Product of the Year’ at the Bio-Based World News Innovation Awards 2018.
Shortlisted alongside products from Clean Plus Inc. and The …

by Jennifer M. DeBruyn, et al (Global Change Biology Bioenergy) Cell wall recalcitrance poses a major challenge on cellulosic biofuel production from feedstocks such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.). As lignin is a known contributor of recalcitrance, …

by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA)  The ABLC 2018 conference began at the US Department of Agriculture headquarters with a focus on feedstock.  Jordan Solomon, Managing Director & CEO Ecostrat Inc.. kicked off the event …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  You know what they say, “you can make anything you want from lignin except money.”  It’s the most challenging issues in biofuel production: upgrading the lignin-containing biorefineryresidues to fungible bioproducts, in an …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In the world of bio-oil production, current technologies have low carbon retention in fuel range and high hydrogen consumption. The DOE is supporting a project led by Daniel Resasco at the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The project goal? To produce and commercialize lignin-derived, industrial-grade composites with properties including 3D printability, rivaling current petroleum-derived alternatives. That’s the project undertaken by a team led by Amit K. Naskar, …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) hosted the 2017 Project Peer Review on March 6–9, 2017, in Denver, Colorado. During the event, approximately 192 projects in BETO’s research, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  A team of researchers from Iowa State led by Robert Brown and supported by the DOE’s Biomass Technologies Office is aiming to demonstrate the liquefaction of forest biomass for hydrocarbon fuels, as …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Can you build a catalytic process to produce alpha, omega diols from lignocellulosic biomass? Such a process, using inorganic catalysts for conversion of biomass into 1.5 pentanediol (PDO) and 1,6 hexanediols …

(Meridian Waste Solutions Inc./Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Meridian Waste Solutions Inc., an integrated, non-hazardous solid waste services and innovative technology company, recently announced the award of a $3 million grant from the USDA to support the commercialization …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Back in 2016, researchers at Washington State University Tri-Cities landed a National Science Foundation I-Corps grant to explore the market potential of their biojet fuel research. The team had successfully demonstrated a …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Byogy has developed a catalytic platform that converts any source of ethanol, butanol, mixed alcohols, or related olefins, into full replacement, and cost competitive biofuels including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. …

(US Department of Agriculture)  The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today awarded a grant to improve biorefinery technologies through the Integrated Biorefinery Optimization (IBO) program. The funding comes from …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ChemCatBio is a research and development consortium dedicated to identifying and overcoming catalysis challenges for biomass conversion processes. Led by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, we work with industry …

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 …

(Phys.Org/Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory)  The production of biofuels from plant biomass is a highly promising source of energy, but researchers are trying to find microbes that readily degrade recalcitrant lignin found in plant biomass. Recent comprehensive …

by Julia Evangelou Strait (The Source Washington University in St. Louis)  Medical, engineering schools team up to create biofuels independent of food crops  —  Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have received a $3.9 million grant …

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 …

( VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Micro-organisms found in the wildfire-prone dry tropical forests of India are an exciting prospect for biochemical production, as they are accustomed to the challenging conditions following a …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Last week, DowDuPont said it was exiting the cellulosic biofuels business and you’d think that the company just burned down the warehouse with the original text of the Renewable Fuels Standard …

by Jules Bernstein (Phys.Org/Sandia National Laboratories)  A Sandia National Laboratories-led team has demonstrated faster, more efficient ways to turn discarded plant matter into chemicals worth billions. The team’s findings could help transform the economics of making …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Catalytic reaction rates, microcrystalline cellulose, cyanobacteria working in teams, vertical farming, vegan products & markets. The 5 top disruptive techs we’ve seen in recent weeks are attacking these fronts.
Here’s what we …

(Ames Laboratory/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  In every plant—from trees to crops—there exists a substance that makes up its wood or stems, fiber, and cell walls. This substance is a complex natural polymer called lignin, and it is …

(PR Web)  The ABBA Integrated Biorefinery project, to be built at the AVAPCO Thomaston Georgia site, will co-produce bio jet fuel and Bioplus® nanocellulose. It has received a Phase 1, $3.7 million award from the Department …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  ChemCatBio is a research and development consortium dedicated to identifying and overcoming catalysis challenges for biomass conversion processes. Led by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, we work with industry …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Today (September 20, 2017), U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has selected eight projects to negotiate for up to $15 million in total DOE funding to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The US Department of Energy is supporting a project to develop a biological approach to depolymerize lignin for upgrading of aromatic compounds to co-products. Lignin valorization is key for meeting …

by Daniel de Liege  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Alliance Bio-Products’ chairman provides a detailed account of hurdles cleared and decisions made in the development of the company’s cellulose-to-sugar process.  —  Securing funding for new technologies can …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …  But pulp and paper markets have taken big hits. Headlines have centered around damaged balance sheets that make it difficult to modernize or expand, mothballed plants, bankruptcies, job losses that …

(Phys.Org/University of Borås)  Lignin, a waste product in biomass and ethanol production, now finds new value as bio-oil in new products. At the University of Borås, Sweden, a team of researchers has investigated methods to …

by Tracey Bryant (University of Delaware)  … A UD research team has invented a more efficient process for extracting the sugars from wood chips, corn cobs and other organic waste from forests and farms.
…
Basudeb Saha, associate …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The US Department of Energy is supporting projects to investigate and recommend promising pathways for advanced biological upgrading of biomass sugars and lignin to hydrocarbons (HC) and co-products to support …

by Kapil Shyam Lokare (E2IG Solutions/Biofuels Digest)  At 758.8 million tonnes (503.6 million tonnes, milled basis), world paddy production in 2017 would stand 0.8 percent, or 5.8 million tons, above a revised estimate for 2016. The …

by Kathy Swisher (West Virginia University)  West Virginia University biologists are part of a $40 million Department of Energy effort to create sustainable, cost-effective bioproducts through four new bioenergy research centers.
As part of the Center …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The US Department of Energy is supporting a project to demonstrate solvent liquefaction as viable path to stable intermediates for subsequent upgrading to fuel blendstocks. This is based on a …

(Phys.Org/Bangor University)  Far from being a load of rubbish, landfill sites should be considered one of the great untapped resources in the search for new enzymes for biotechnology, and could fuel more efficient biofuel production.
A …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  MetGen, Sweetwater Energy say “there’s gold in them thar side-streams”  —  For all of your questions about the advanced bioeconomy there’s just the one answer and that is “lignin”.  Why …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The DOE is funding a fascinating project to develop a continuous electrochemical process to convert biorefinery waste lignin to substituted aromatic compounds for resins and resin binders. The goal? Integration into …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Long ago, the DOE shifted from a “biofuels and nothing else” focus to integrated biorefineries that can compete “across the whole barrel” with petroleum — recognizing that while chemicals make …

(Michigan State University/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  A collaborative study by Mojgan Nejad, MSU forestry, proves that lignin, a byproduct of paper and bioethanol production, can completely replace phenol in phenolic adhesive formulation. This research directly impacts …

by Susanne Retka Schill and Ann Bailey (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Ethanol Producer Magazine provides an update on 10 cellulosic ethanol projects around the world striving for continuous, large-scale production.  —  Some things have changed in the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  ChemCatBio is a research and development consortium dedicated to identifying and overcoming catalysis challenges for biomass conversion processes. Led by U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories, the consortium works “with …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that it will award a fourth project—up to $1.8 million—under the MEGA-BIO: Bioproducts to Enable Biofuels Funding Opportunity. In August 2016, DOE’s Bioenergy …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) is a multi-institutional (18 partners), Department of Energy-funded research organization performing basic and applied science dedicated to improving yields of biofuels by focusing on the fundamental …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Introduced traits remain stable, improving biofuel production in a field setting.  —   …  Near-term fossil fuel alternatives could reduce carbon emissions and ensure U.S. energy security. One alternative uses switchgrass, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Colorado, ChemCatBio announced a new 2017 directed funding assistance opportunity. It’s an opportunity for industry and academia to engage with ChemCatBio to tackle challenges associated with these core research themes, to leverage …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Renmatix is a technology licensor that enables the production of petrochemicals from plants. The company’s water-based Plantrose process is the lowest cost method for converting a wide range of non-food …

(Alliance Bio-Products, Inc./AccessWire)  The Company’s Production of Pure Lignin Provides a Viable Opportunity to Further Reduce the Production Costs of Cellulosic Ethanol While Adding an Additional Revenue Stream  —   Alliance Bio-Products, Inc. (“ABP”), a subsidiary …

(Phys.Org/Rutgers University)  Biofuels like the ethanol in U.S. gasoline could get cheaper thanks to experts at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Michigan State University.  They’ve demonstrated how to design and genetically engineer enzyme surfaces so they …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  At the 2017 DOE Project Peer Review, John Staser of Ohio University gave this illuminating overview on a continuous electrochemical process to convert biorefinery waste lignin to substituted aromatic compounds …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Lysle Whitmer on behalf of an Iowa State-led group of researchers gave this illuminating overview of Liquefaction of Forest Biomass to Drop-in Fuels, at the 2017 DOE Project Peer Review sessions. …

by Lorenz Bauer (Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc./Biofuels Digest)  After many years of development biomass pyrolysis is finally maturing as a commercial technology. Pyrolysis is not incineration. The goal is to use heat in the absence of …

(Alliance BioEnergy Plus Inc.)  Alliance BioEnergy Plus Inc. recently announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, AMG Energy Group, has entered into a sublicensing agreement with Earth’s Renewable Energy LLC of Newport Beach, California. The sublicense agreement permits Earth’s …

(BECOOL/AltEnergyMag) A new Horizon 2020 project will foster cooperation between Europe and Brazil in the development of advanced biofuels from sustainable agricultural value chains, based on lignocellulosic biomass. Coordinated by the University of Bologna, Department …

by Silke Schmidt (University of Wisconsin-Madison News)   Technologies for converting non-edible biomass into chemicals and fuels traditionally made from petroleum exist aplenty. But when it comes to attracting commercial interest, these technologies compete financially with …

by Kathleen Phillips (AgriLife Today)  Waste material from the paper and pulp industry soon could be made into anything from tennis rackets to cars.
“We have overcome one of the industry’s most challenging issues by discovering how …

(Phys.Org/University of Hong Kong)  Straw is commonly used for feeding animals, burning, baling, etc. As one of the “Three Canton Treasures”, straw can actually be used as a raw material to produce biofuel.
…
With an increasing …

(U.S. Department of Energy/Sandia National Laboratories/EurekAlert!)  A recent discovery by Sandia National Laboratories researchers may unlock the potential of biofuel waste — and ultimately make biofuels competitive with petroleum.
Fuel made from plants is much more …

(US Department of Agriculture)  The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative – Sustainable Bioenergy and Bioproducts (SBEBP) Challenge Area is designed to achieve the long term goal of advancing bioeconomy by facilitiating development of regional systems for …

by Larry Lee (Brownfield Ag News)  A University of Wisconsin professor says his termite research might help the biofuels, livestock, and paper industries improve lignin processing.
Researcher Cameron Currie says breaking down the woody substrate in …

Laís F. Thomaz*  (Advanced Biofuels USA)  The GAF Talk was held last month, in Sao Paulo, to present some agriculture trends and to promote a debate on the new technologies that will surely be on …

Bernard Cooker (Chemical Processing Solutions/Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest)  Cheap, plentiful lignocellulosic biomass (LCB), consisting of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, is deconstructed to release useful chemical intermediates in the bioeconomy. These include glucose from cellulose, glucose …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  This week, news arrived from MetGen that they have developed a novel chemo-enzymatic process that leads to oxidized forms of 5-HMF. They report that “this form of sugar is known …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Europe is often thought of as a dead-end for biofuels, owing to a thorny debate over fuel mandates, and agricultural protection. But it’s a reputation entirely undeserved; some of the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have reported in Nature a new high resolution approach to visioning the impact of biomass pre-treatment technology. By combining spectroscopy and emerging microscopy …

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, …

by Philip Hopkins (Gippsland Times)  Australian Paper, working with the CSIRO, a European technology leader and Federation University, is forging ahead with plans to create a bio-manufacturing hub in the Latrobe Valley that could generate …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Licella produces drop-in biofuels from a wide range of biomass and uses a supercritical water-based technology and catalysts to break up biomass and reform it into a drop-in fuel hydrocarbon.
The …

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, …

(Vattenfall)  Vattenfall aims to provide climate-smart hydrogen gas to large-scale production of biofuel.
Preem and Vattenfall have concluded an agreement to investigate the potential of using climate-smart hydrogen gas in the large scale production of biofuel …

(Lab Manager/U.S. Department of Energy)  Wood’s complex structure makes it highly resistant to biological or chemical decomposition. The structure includes cellulose, long chains of linked sugar molecules, embedded in a scaffolding of a chemical known …

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

(Scrivener Publishing)  The most comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of all the possible aspects for biofeedstock processing and the production of energy from biofeedstocks.
Audience
Chemical engineers, petroleum engineers, process engineers, students in chemical engineering, biotechnology, petroleum engineering, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The goal? Develop microbial biocatalysts to convert lignin-rich streams into value-added products. That’s subject which this project — “Synthetic Metabolic Pathways for Bioconversion of Lignin Derivatives to Biofuels,” led by Oak …

(RISI)  Lignin could become a new profit center for the forest products industry – and perhaps for your business.  —  This study provides a primer and forecast for a material that has many current applications, …

(Oak Ridge National Laboratory/Biomass Magazine)  Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have released the largest-ever single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) dataset of genetic variations in poplar trees, information useful to plant scientists …

by Liz Gyekye (Biofuels International)  Roberto Rinaldi FRSC, a senior lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant to fund his world-leading …

by Bernard Cooker (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest)  The use of catalysts, both living entities, such as microorganisms, and otherwise inert synthetic and biologically-derived materials, such as supported transition metals and enzymes, are frequently key to the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  With the Agile BioFoundry project, the National Lab consortium, in partnership with academia and industry, aims to achieve a 40% decrease in the energy intensity of current manufacturing processes.
Plus, a …

(American Science and Technology/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  American Science and Technology, a sustainable technology company, has teamed up with Terma Group, a team of Waste and Environmental Technology researchers at the University of Malaga in Spain, …

by Bernard Cooker (Chemical Processing Solutions/Biofuels Digest)  This is a review of the biomass-fed chemical process projects to renewable chemicals which were published in Chemical Engineering Progress (CEP) and Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN) from 1/1/16 …

by Kapil S Lokare (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest)  Lignin an ugly, unwieldy molecule! The term coined by most early pioneers within the renewables industry to describe Lignin. As large, and complex the molecule seems to be, …

(Washington State University/Biomass Magazine)  Researchers at Washington State University Tri-Cities have been awarded a National Science Foundation I-Corps grant to explore the market potential of their biojet fuel research.
The team has successfully demonstrated a new, …

by Paul Bryan (Biofuels Digest) Without a significant cost of CO2 emissions, biofuels will never gain enough market share to meaningfully reduce those emissions,” said Paul Bryan at ABLC Next in San Francisco. Agree, disagree? Former …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Lignocellulosic sugars and lignin have become necessary intermediates for advancing research towards economically producing biofuels and bioproducts. Recently, the US Department of Energy issued a Request for Information: Cellulosic Sugar …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Lignocellulosic sugars and lignin have become necessary intermediates for advancing research towards economically producing biofuels and bioproducts. Recently, the US Department of Energy issued a Request for Information: Cellulosic Sugar …

(nova-Institute)  Its concept is to combine chemical and enzymatic catalysis with insects-based biological conversion via termites, within a biorefinery integrated approach. The project is conceived to avoid waste production by recycling waste bio-based products and …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  The results of the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO’s) Cellulosic Sugar and Lignin Production Capabilities Request for Information (RFI) are now available on the RFI responses web page. This …

(Biofuels International)  A joint investment between UK’s BBSRC and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) in Brazil has been made to support collaborations between UK and Brazilian scientists in advanced biofuels research.
The funding – £3.5 …

(Oak Ridge National Laboratory)  Researchers at ORNL uncover the chemical reaction that helps break down biomass for biofuel  —  Lignocellulosic biomass—plant matter such as cornstalks, straw, and woody plants—is a sustainable source for production of …

(Biofuels International)  Scientists at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have turned lignin into a source of biofuel by simply adding a common chemical. The patent-pending method that converts up to 80% of lignin …

(AZO CleanTech)  In 2014, researchers announced the successful engineering of a poplar plant “designed for deconstruction.” The finding caught the attention of the global scientific community. The highly degradable poplar was the first of its …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  This season, The Digest is hosting the Strategic Intent webinar series, looking at the plans, progress and future milestones of strategic stakeholders in the Advanced Bioeconomy.  In this slide deck, we looked …

(Bioenergy Deployment Consortium)  A successful BDC Fall Symposium was held in Washington DC on September 27-28, 2016.  A combination of Government Agency Directors and Sr. Advisors were joined by outstanding leaders in the bio-industry to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In British Columbia, 8317267 Canada brought its Lignin Isolate Fractionation Technology out of stealth, describing it as “a cost-effective and highly efficient lignin purification and preparation process, designed to meet the demand for a …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This season, The Digest is hosting the Strategic Intent webinar series, looking at the plans, progress and future milestones of strategic stakeholders in the Advanced Bioeconomy.  In this slide deck, we looked at …

by Tina Hilding  (Washington State University)   Washington State University researchers have developed a way to practically separate lignin from wood, a breakthrough that could provide new sources of lignin for advanced renewable fuel and advanced …

(University of Tennessee)  A UT-ORNL team led by Governor’s Chair Jeremy Smith is using supercomputing to figure out ways to ease the path of turning vegetation into biofuel.
A huge barrier in converting plant polymers to biofuel lies in …

(Oak Ridge National Laboratory/NewsWise)  GreenWood Resources has licensed an Oak Ridge National Laboratory technology based on the discovery of a gene in poplar (Populus trichocarpa) that makes it easier to convert poplar trees into biofuels.
GreenWood, …

(Sandia National Laboratories/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Abundant, chock full of energy and bound so tightly that the only way to release its energy is through combustion—lignin has frustrated scientists for years. With the help of an …

by  Gary C. Young (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Bio-Thermal Energy Inc.)  A new process for the economical conversion of carbon dioxide into fuels such as ethanol has been developed. The proprietary noncatalytic process combines CO2 with a …

(Borregaard)  Borregaard has decided to invest NOK 63 million in a project which includes an upgrade of the bioethanol plant and a facility to capture and store biogas.
The project has been awarded a grant of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Pennsylvania, Bill Gates is leading the latest investment round into the pioneering cellulosic sugars producer Renmatix as energy giant Total joins in with second investment and a 1 million …

(Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc.) Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc. (OTCQB:ALLM) (the “Company”), is very pleased to release the results from months of testing and data collection on dozens of lignocellulose feedstocks utilizing the patented CTS conversion process.  …

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 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … We looked at the past year, and these are the 25 Top Stories of the Year, as measured by the number of readers.
25 The Pyromaniax, Class of 2015: The Top …

(American Science and Technology) New Patent Will Increase the Incentives to Use Renewable Resources for Chemical Production  —  American Science and Technology (AST), an emerging technology company, has been awarded a patent for a system and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, U.S. Department of Energy is seeking input from industry, academia, national laboratories and other biofuels and bioproducts stakeholders to identify existing capabilities to produce lignocellulosic sugars and lignin …

by Kathleen Phillips (AgriLife Today) The U.S. Department of Energy has granted $2.5 million for a Texas A&M AgriLife Research study to find ways to use biorefinery waste to make new, marketable products.
“In the biorefinery field, …

(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, …

(U.S. Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) seeks input from industry, academia, national laboratories, and other biofuels and bioproducts stakeholders to identify existing …

(Biofuels International)  Borregaard, a Norway-based biorefinery specialist, and Rayonier Advanced Materials (Ryam) have concluded a market, technical and engineering analysis regarding a new lignin operation at Ryam’s Fernandina Beach site in Florida to serve the …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Recycling waste from biofuel production could lower cost for future biorefineries. — Ionic liquids (ILs) have been shown to be an excellent pretreatment solvent for biomass; the ILs prepare the plant matter …

(Brookhaven National Laboratory)  Fundamental enzyme study leads to increased access to bioenergy feedstocks and improves ethanol yield by modifying plant cell wall structures.
Lignin is a natural component of plant cell walls, the scaffolding that surrounds …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In what might become the most transformative development in fermentation yields since Noah debuted winemaking technology in the Book of Genesis, US-based White Dog Labs have unveiled a new process that …

(University of Sydney)  International paper waste and plastic recycling contracts signed for ground-breaking Australian technology.  —  It’s been a busy few days for Australian start-up Licella, whose innovative technology, developed in partnership with the University …

(Oklahoma State University/Biomass Magazine)  The popular method of breaking down lignin to convert biomass into valuable biofuels and chemicals is done by using fungi. However, researchers at Oklahoma State University are turning that process on …

by Gerald Kutney  (Lee Consulting/Biofuels Digest)  … From the time of the caveman until the early Industrial Revolution, biofuels – namely wood and the advanced biofuel of the day, charcoal – reigned supreme.  Both fossil fuels and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Licella produces drop-in biofuels from a wide range of biomass and uses a supercritical water-based technology and catalysts to break up biomass and reform it into a drop-in fuel hydrocarbon.
The …

by Tomas Ekbom (Task 39 May 2016 Newsletter)  The production and use of biofuels in Sweden have increased substantially since the mid-2000s. According to preliminary statistics from SPBI, the share of renewable energy in the road …

by Liz Gyekye  (Bioenergy Insight)  Bellona Europe, a non-profit green organisation, has called on the European Commission to promote marine bioenergy for heat and power and biofuels.
The group made the call in its response to …