by Anahita Bharadwaj (Pennsylvania State University for Advanced Biofuels USA) Energy Days, 2018 at The Pennsylvania State University- University Park, brought together leading researchers, government agencies, industries, non-profit organizations and academics in the field of energy to understand the current challenges
lignin
Back TO HOMELego’s Biobased Bricks; Vertoro’s Green Crude Oil; Nitogen-Fixing Microbes for Corn; Diapers from Food Waste; 3D Imaging; Apeel’s $70M: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of August 15th
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
August 16, 2018 Read Full Article
Making Crude Oil from Paper Pulp? Vertoro Creates This ‘Green Gold’
by Olga Koltsova (Innovation Origins) Vertoro is Spanish for “Green Gold“. The founders clearly had their end product in mind when they started thinking of a brand name. Vertoro, a spin-off from The Chemelot Institute for Science & Technology (InSciTe), valorises the technology of
August 09, 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
The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of August 2nd: Waste Plastics for Fuels and Sneakers, Eggs without the Chicken, 3D Printing, Algae-Based Ketchup Packaging, Green Funerals, Biodegradable Grills
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
August 02, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of July 27th
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
July 28, 2018 Read Full Article
Attis Industries Taps Timber Industry Leader for Procurement of Raw Materials
(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 Jordan Forest Products, LLC (“Jordan”)
July 20, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of July 18th
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 for you now at The
July 17, 2018 Read Full Article
Taming the Tasmanian Devil of Polymers: Lignin, the Orneriest, Roughest, Toughest, Most Un-cooperative and Abundant Natural Polymer Ever
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 see how that work has
July 13, 2018 Read Full Article
NREL: Novel Genetic Method Improves Efficiency of Enzyme
(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 biomass. The new method, Evolution by
July 11, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of July 11th
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
July 11, 2018 Read Full Article
A Matter of Gravity—Understanding How Plants Grow in Space
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 seeds designed to open new
July 06, 2018 Read Full Article
Materials – Printing with Plants
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 material with excellent printability and performance by
July 03, 2018 Read Full Article
New ‘Promiscuous’ Enzyme Helps Turn Plant Waste into Sustainable Products
(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 of the same UK-US enzyme
July 03, 2018 Read Full Article
EU Biofuels Effort Kicks off in Örnsköldsvik
(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, using wood residues from the
June 28, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Biofuels for the Marine Sector
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 technology in transition, and where
June 27, 2018 Read Full Article
WSU Professor Lands $500,000 Grant to Pursue Lignin to Biofuel Conversion
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 and bioproducts. Interested in the project,
June 22, 2018 Read Full Article
Critical Plant Gene Takes Unexpected Detour That Could Boost Biofuel Yields
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 Muchero, Meng Xie and their
June 15, 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
Renewable Solvents Derived from Lignin Lowers Waste in Biofuel Production
(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 Institute are developing a closed-loop
June 04, 2018 Read Full Article
Preem and RenFuel to Create the World’s First Lignin Plant for Biofuels
(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 of 25,000-30,000 tonnes of lignin,
May 31, 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
Hidden Costs Behind the IMO’s New Regulations For Marine Biofuels: EIA Webinar Review
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 modify or change about 80%
May 24, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of May 23rd, 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
May 23, 2018 Read Full Article
SEKAB Receives Major EU Funding to Demonstrate the Production of Isobutene-Derived Gasoline and Jetfuel from Wood
(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 Eurolysine, IPSB, TechnipFMC and Linz
May 22, 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
Industrial Enzyme Frontiers: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to MetGen
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 materials. Alex Michine and the MetGen
May 21, 2018 Read Full Article
Riding Bacterium to the Bank: Sandia Researchers Tailor E. coli to Convert Plants into Renewable Chemicals
(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 that could make it economically
May 18, 2018 Read Full Article
The Scientist Still Fighting for the Clean Fuel the World Forgot
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, backed by $125 million in
May 16, 2018 Read Full Article
Accelerating Ag Innovation: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to the USDA Agricultural Research Service
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 information access and dissemination to:
May 08, 2018 Read Full Article
Estonian Forest Magic: Sweetwater, Graanul to Build First Commercial Biorefinery for cellulosic sugars, lignin
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 highly pure lignin from 50,000
May 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Secretary Perry Announces Up to $78 Million for Bioenergy Research Funding Opportunities LOI due May 30, 2018
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 Department of Energy is focused
May 03, 2018 Read Full Article
Wood Formation Model to Fuel Progress in Bioenergy, Paper, New Applications
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 lignin, a primary component of
April 23, 2018 Read Full Article
Lumber’s Lure: Thanks to Physics, Viable Biofuel May Grow in the Woods
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 generally not from primary forest.
April 06, 2018 Read Full Article
Low-Cost Sugars and Lignin: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Sweetwater Energy
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 biochemicals, bioplastics and biofuels. Sweetwater CEO
March 23, 2018 Read Full Article
Stora Enso Wins Bio-Based Product of the Year for Lineo by Stora Enso
(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 Chemours Company, the judges recognised
March 22, 2018 Read Full Article
Field-Grown Transgenic Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) with Altered Lignin Does Not Affect Soil Chemistry, Microbiology, and Carbon Storage Potential
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, transgenic switchgrass plants with altered
March 05, 2018 Read Full Article
Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference—Thoughts and Tidbits from Day 1
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 with news of new US
March 01, 2018 Read Full Article
Somethin’ from Just about Nothin’: The Digest 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Upgrading Biorefinery Waste Lignin into Bioplastics
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 affordable, effective, scalable way. The
February 23, 2018 Read Full Article
Better, Faster, Cheaper Bio-Oil: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Fractionation and Catalytic Upgrading of Bio-Oil
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 University of Oklahoma to develop
February 14, 2018 Read Full Article
Lignin Unchained, 3D Printable: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Engineered Lignin Bioplastics
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, of the Carbon & Composites
February 13, 2018 Read Full Article
Department of Energy's 2017 Project Peer Review Report
(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, development, and demonstration portfolio were
February 06, 2018 Read Full Article
Liquefy Thy Forest: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Liquefaction of Forest Biomass for Hydrocarbon Fuels
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 a viable path to stable
January 30, 2018 Read Full Article
Valley of the Diols: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Producing PDO and HDO from Biomass
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 could reduce the cost of
January 26, 2018 Read Full Article
USDA Awards Attis $3 Million Grant for Lignin Technology
(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 of patented and patent-pending lignin
January 17, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Jet Fuel from Biorefinery Waste
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 new, water-based process for deconstructing
January 12, 2018 Read Full Article
Jet Fuel from (Any) Bio-Alcohol: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Byogy Renewables
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. Byogy’s jet fuel is not
January 10, 2018 Read Full Article
USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture Invests in Integrated Biorefinery Optimization
(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 NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research
January 05, 2018 Read Full Article
Top Cat: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to ChemCatBio
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 to rapidly transition R&D discoveries
January 02, 2018 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
Nature Demonstrates How Bacteria Degrade Lignin and Provides Better Understanding to Make Biofuels
(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 genomic and metabolomic analysis of
December 22, 2017 Read Full Article
$3.9 Million Supports Research to Turn Bacteria into Biofuel Producers
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 from the Department of Energy
December 14, 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
VTT to Develop Enzymes Found in Wildfire-Prone Areas
( 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 forest fire. The enzymes they
November 14, 2017 Read Full Article
30 Hot Cellulosic Technologies, 30 Quick Takes
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 — the coverage of the
November 14, 2017 Read Full Article
Study Speeds Transformation of Biofuel Waste into Useful Chemicals
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 fuels and other products from
November 10, 2017 Read Full Article
Advanced Bioeconomy Horizons: The 5 Top R&D Trends Right Now
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 see. 1. Breakthrough on (microcrystalline) cellulose
November 10, 2017 Read Full Article
Ames Laboratory Announces New Science in Converting Biomass
(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 the second largest renewable carbon
October 10, 2017 Read Full Article
AVAPCO, BYOGY Renewables, and Petron Scientech Announce Partnership to Demonstrate Technologies in the ABBA Integrated Biorefinery Projec
(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 of Energy. Negotiations with the Department
October 10, 2017 Read Full Article
Top Cat: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to ChemCatBio’s Progress and Projects
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 to rapidly transition R&D discoveries
October 05, 2017 Read Full Article
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry Announces Integrated Biorefinery Optimization Projects
(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 optimize integrated biorefineries. These projects
September 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Depolymerizing That Dang Lignin: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Biochemical Lignin Deconstruction
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 the DOE’s hydrocarbon fuel cost
September 15, 2017 Read Full Article
Scaling Up Without Wall Street
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 be extremely difficult: There’s no
September 15, 2017 Read Full Article
Bounding Maine: Top 10 Companies Targeting Maine’s Forest Resource for Higher-Value Apps
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 have struck hard at northern
September 12, 2017 Read Full Article
Lignin Waste Modified for Industrial Bio-Oil Use
(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 extract and refine lignin for
September 12, 2017 Read Full Article
A Sweeter Way to Make Green Products: University of Delaware Researchers Invent Novel Process for Extracting Sugars from Wood
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 director for research at UD’s
September 11, 2017 Read Full Article
Targeted Microbial Development: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Biological Upgrading of Biomass Sugars
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 the DOE BETO 2022 goal
September 11, 2017 Read Full Article
Rising from the Ashes: Renewable Silica from Rice Husk Ash
(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 comparatively modest year-on-year increase mirrors constraints posed by tight
September 07, 2017 Read Full Article
Growing the Future: WVU Biologists Team up to Research New Bioproducts
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 for Bioenergy Innovation led by
September 07, 2017 Read Full Article
Hi-Temp Deconstruction: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Solvent Liquefaction, and Biomass-to-Hydrocarbon Fuels
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 technology originally developed in large
August 30, 2017 Read Full Article
Biotechnology Researchers Turn to Landfill Sites
(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 new research paper in mSphere by biologists
August 24, 2017 Read Full Article
MetGen, Sweetwater Unlocking Lignin – The Roughest, Toughest, Ornieri’st Material that Ever Bushwhack’d a Pioneer in the Valley of Death
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 don’t we see more biobased
August 17, 2017 Read Full Article
The Electrochemical Approach: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Upgrading Biorefinery Waste to Industrial Chemicals and Hydrogen
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 biorefinery with revenue generated, to
August 11, 2017 Read Full Article
Make Energy Great Again, via BIOmass: The DOE’s MEGA-BIO Project Expands
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 up a small fraction of
August 11, 2017 Read Full Article
Lignin Can Make Building Materials Less Toxic
(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 housing manufacturing by introducing biobased
August 09, 2017 Read Full Article
Inside the Cellulosic Industry
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 U.S.’s cellulosic ethanol sector in
August 04, 2017 Read Full Article
Catalysis on a Hot Tin Roof: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to the ChemCatBio Consortium
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 industry to rapidly transition R&D
August 03, 2017 Read Full Article
Energy Department Announces Additional MEGA-BIO: Bioproducts to Enable Biofuels Award
(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 Technologies Office (BETO) selected three projects for
August 02, 2017 Read Full Article
War on Recalcitrance: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to the BioEnergy Science Center
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 understanding and elimination of biomass
July 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Loosening of Lignocellulose: Switchgrass and Success in Sugar Release
(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, a perennial plant, that is
July 24, 2017 Read Full Article
ChemCatBio Launches 2017 Directed Funding Assistance Opportunity
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 our capabilities and expertise to overcome any
July 19, 2017 Read Full Article
Cellulosics & the Whole Bio-Barrel: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Renmatix
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 biomass into cellulosic sugars, used
July 19, 2017 Read Full Article
Alliance Bio-Products, Inc. Identifies Market Opportunity for Lignin Waste as a Byproduct of Cellulosic Ethanol Production
(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 of Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc. (OTCQB: ALLM), today
July 07, 2017 Read Full Article
Cutting the Cost of Ethanol, other Biofuels and Gasoline
(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 bind less to corn stalks and other
July 07, 2017 Read Full Article
Things to Do with Lignin: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Upgrading Biorefinery Waste to Chemicals and Hydrogen
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 for resins and resin binders. The
June 26, 2017 Read Full Article
Can’t Get No (Liquefaction): The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide Liquefaction of Forest Biomass to Drop-in Fuels
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. READ MORE
June 23, 2017 Read Full Article
Biomass Pyrolysis Comes of Age
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 oxygen to convert the biomass
June 09, 2017 Read Full Article
Alliance Bioenergy Licenses Process to Earth's Renewable Energy
(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 Renewable Energy to use the
June 07, 2017 Read Full Article
A New Research and Innovation Project Will Foster Europe-Brazil Cooperation on Advanced Lignocellulosic Biofuels
(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 of Agricultural Sciences, the four-year
June 05, 2017 Read Full Article
Triple Play Boosting Value of Renewable Fuel Could Tip Market in Favor of Biomass
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 a petroleum-based production pipeline that
May 30, 2017 Read Full Article
Mountains of Waste Could Lead to New U.S. Manufacturing, Jobs
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 to make good quality carbon
May 18, 2017 Read Full Article
New Strategy to Enhance the Efficiency of Cereal Straw for Biofuel Production
(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 demand on biofuel in recent
May 09, 2017 Read Full Article
Trash into Treasure: Sandia Could Help Biofuel Pay for Itself with Goods Made from Waste
(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 expensive than petroleum, but one
May 09, 2017 Read Full Article
Grant Application Request for Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Sustainable Bioenergy and Bioproducts Challenge Area DEADLINE: June 28, 2017
(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 the sustainable production of bioenergy,
April 26, 2017 Read Full Article
Biofuels, Livestock Benefit from Termite Research
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 plants called lignin is challenging
April 25, 2017 Read Full Article
Energy Cane in GAF Talks: "Agriculture of the Future: New Ways of Technology"
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 the agenda of the 2018
April 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Lignocellulosic Biomass Deconstruction
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 and other sugars from hemicellulose,
April 13, 2017 Read Full Article
New Route to FDCA: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to MetGen’s Chemo-Enzymatic Process
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 to have above 90% conversion
April 12, 2017 Read Full Article
The EU’s Sweet 16: 16 of the Most Fascinating Projects under Development and in Deployment in Europe
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 most fascinating projects are there. In
April 11, 2017 Read Full Article
Oak Ridge Pioneers New Way to See Biomass Pretreatment Impacts
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 techniques, the team measured the
April 10, 2017 Read Full Article
Validated, Integrated: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Clariant’s Sunliquid Process
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
April 03, 2017 Read Full Article
Developing Bio-Manufacturing in Gippsland
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 several thousand jobs. The venture, which
March 29, 2017 Read Full Article
The Wonder from Down Under Goes to Canada: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Licella
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 compelling features of supercritical are
March 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Industrial Sugars from Waste: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Comet Biorefining
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, the corporate venture and private
March 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Preem and Vattenfall Collaborate on Biofuel
(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 for the Swedish market. The
March 23, 2017 Read Full Article
How Brown Rot Fungi Could Lead to More Efficient Biofuels Production
(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 as lignin. Brown rot fungi,
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Low Cost Sugars and Lignin Streams: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Pretreatment and Process Hydrolysis
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 2022 ($3/GGE) Goals and Targets,
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
Advances in Biofeedstocks and Biofuels, Volume One: Biofeedstocks and Their Processing
(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, agricultural biotechnology, applied microbiology, environmental
February 18, 2017 Read Full Article
Bioconversion of Lignin Derivatives to Biofuels: The Digest’s Multi-Slide Guide to Value from Lignin
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 Ridge National Lab’s Adam Guss
February 13, 2017 Read Full Article
Lignin: Technology, Applications, and Markets
(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, and the potential for more. Lignin:
February 07, 2017 Read Full Article
ORNL: Populus SNP Dataset Holds Promise for Biofuels
(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 as well as researchers in
January 20, 2017 Read Full Article
UK-Based Researcher Gains European Grant to Fund Work on Lignin Biomass Production
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 work on lignin valorisation. According to
January 19, 2017 Read Full Article
Catalysis in Renewable Chemicals: Noteworthy Developments, 2015 – 2016
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 development of technically efficient and
January 13, 2017 Read Full Article
Attacking Carbon Intensity, Energy Intensity: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to the Agile BioFoundry
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 60% decrease in the carbon
December 27, 2016 Read Full Article
Researchers Collaborate with AST to Develop Lignin-Based Products
(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, to continue efforts on the
December 12, 2016 Read Full Article
Biomass-Fed Chemical Process Projects, 2016
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 to 10/31/16, including activity in
December 08, 2016 Read Full Article
Depolymerizing Lignin and Making It Pay – Now, Soon, Never?
by KSL (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, that’s not its only possible form,
December 05, 2016 Read Full Article
Grant Funds Test of Market Potential for Jet Fuel Research
(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, water-based process for deconstructing and
December 02, 2016 Read Full Article
Fuels, Joules & Molecules: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Paul Bryan’s “The Future of Biomass”
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 VP Biofuels for Chevron and
November 28, 2016 Read Full Article
Who’s Got Hot Lignin? The Digest’s 2016 Guide to Lignin Production and Prospects
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 and Lignin Production Capabilities. The result
November 15, 2016 Read Full Article
Who’s Got the Hot Sugars? The Digest’s 2016 Guide to Lignocellulosic Sugars and Their Producers
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 and Lignin Production Capabilities. The result
November 14, 2016 Read Full Article
HORIZON 2020 – ZELCOR - Zero Waste Ligno-Cellulosic Biorefineries by Integrated Lignin Valorisation”
(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 improve the sustainability of existing
November 07, 2016 Read Full Article
Get the Results of the Cellulosic Sugar and Lignin Production Capabilities Request for Information!
(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 new web page is a
November 06, 2016 Read Full Article
Awards of £5m for New UK-Brazil Joint Projects in Advanced Biofuels and Biorefinery Research
(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 million (€3.9m) from BBSRC with
October 21, 2016 Read Full Article
Unraveling the Science Behind Biomass Breakdown
(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 bio-based fuels and chemicals. However,
October 21, 2016 Read Full Article
Swiss Research Discovers Way to Transform Lignin into Biofuel
(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 into valuable molecules for biofuel
October 21, 2016 Read Full Article
Biofuels Researchers Engineer Plant Lignin and Explain Evolutionary Path
(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 kind, and could considerably lessen
October 21, 2016 Read Full Article
Strategic Intent: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Fibria, Lallemand
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 Fibria and Lallemand and
October 18, 2016 Read Full Article
BDC Fall, 2016 Symposium Presentations Posted
(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 discuss the advancement of the
October 04, 2016 Read Full Article
8317267 Canada Brings Its Lignin Fractionation Tech out of Stealth
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 reliable supply of technical lignin
October 03, 2016 Read Full Article
Strategic Intent: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Solvay, Stora Enso
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 Solvay and Stora Enso and their direct investments,
October 03, 2016 Read Full Article
Researchers Make Breakthrough in Biobased Materials
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 materials applications. The work is featured
September 30, 2016 Read Full Article
UT-ORNL Team Hopes to Ease Path from Vegetation to Biofuel
(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 removing other biomass polymers that
September 29, 2016 Read Full Article
Greenwood Resources Licenses ORNL Invention to Boost Biofuel Yield
(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, a global timberland investment and
September 29, 2016 Read Full Article
Sandia: Turning Ubiquitous Lignin into High-Value Chemicals
(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 unusual soil bacteria, researchers at
September 26, 2016 Read Full Article
Turning CO2 Emissions into Fuel
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 carbonaceous feedstock and water in
September 23, 2016 Read Full Article
Borregaard Invests in Bioethanol Upgrade
(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 NOK 18.9 million from Enova,
September 19, 2016 Read Full Article
Gates Backs Renmatix; Total Inks 1 Million Ton/Year Cellulosic Sugar License
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 ton per year license. Gates is
September 15, 2016 Read Full Article
Alliance Releases Data from CTS Cellulosic Ethanol Multiple Feedstock Testing. Results Conclusive: CTS Economically Superior to Existing Cellulosic Conversion Processes
(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. Corn stover, sugar cane bagasse,
September 09, 2016 Read Full Article
Petroleum Today, Bio Tomorrow, BIOFOREVER
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 adding chemical building blocks. BIOFOREVER intends
September 02, 2016 Read Full Article
The Top 25 Advanced Bioeconomy Stories of the Year
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 10 Pyrolysis projects in renewable
August 17, 2016 Read Full Article
American Science and Technology Receives New Patent for Method to Increase the Efficiency and Profitability of Organosolv Processing of Lignocellulosic Biomass
(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 method for the extraction of
August 08, 2016 Read Full Article
This Won’t Hurt a Bit, Tell Us All about Cellulosic Sugars, Lignin: DOE’s New RFI
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 for use by the research
July 27, 2016 Read Full Article
Energy Department Grants $2.5M for Biorefinery Waste Use, Renewable Bioproduct Study
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, we have a saying: You
July 21, 2016 Read Full Article
Leaf Resources (ASX: LER) Joint Venture to Develop Five Projects with World-Class Project Ceveloper Claeris, LLC
(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, LLC (“Leaf Development”), for the purpose
July 21, 2016 Read Full Article
DOE Requests Information on Cellulosic Sugar and Lignin Production Capabilities--DE-FOA-0001615
(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 capabilities to produce lignocellulosic sugars
July 20, 2016 Read Full Article
New Lignin Operation in US in Final Phase of Approval
(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 growing demand for natural lignin-based
July 07, 2016 Read Full Article
Closing the Loop: Ionic Liquids from Biomass Waste Could Pretreat Plants Destined for Biofuels
(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 to be broken down into
July 01, 2016 Read Full Article
Study Shows Trees with Altered Lignin Are Better for Biofuels
(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 each cell and plays a
June 29, 2016 Read Full Article
50% Yield Boost for Ethanol? No CO2? What?! White Dog Labs Comes out of Stealth
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 eliminates the emission of CO2, a
June 13, 2016 Read Full Article
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