by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Norway, Norwegian Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen officially inaugurated the Borregaard biorefinery demonstration plant in Sarpsborg, which will produce green chemicals and sugars based on biomass from wood and agricultural and forestry waste. ... The aim is
lignin
Back TO HOMEMetso-Supplied World’s First Commercial LignoBoost Plant Successfully Starts up at Domtar in the USA
(Metso) Domtar has successfully started up a commercial-scale LignoBoost™ lignin separation plant at its Plymouth, North Carolina mill, in the USA. This is the first commercial installation of a LignoBoost plant in the world and the technology is supplied by Metso. The
May 03, 2013 Read Full Article
Method to Oxidose Renewable Chemicals from Biofuel Byproducts
by Ben Messenger (Waste Management World) A method of using oxygen to convert lignin, a byproduct of biofuel production, into a form that could replace fossil fuels as a source of renewable chemical feedstocks has been developed by chemists at
April 30, 2013 Read Full Article
Enzymes from Horse Feces Could Hold Secrets to Streamlining Biofuel Production
(Science Daily) Stepping into unexplored territory in efforts to use corn stalks, grass and other non-food plants to make biofuels, scientists have described the discovery of a potential treasure-trove of candidate enzymes in fungi thriving in the feces and intestinal
April 19, 2013 Read Full Article
Making Do with More: Joint BioEnergy Institute Researchers Engineer Plant Cell Walls to Boost Sugar Yields for Biofuels
by Lynn Yarris (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) When blessed with a resource in overwhelming abundance it’s generally a good idea to make valuable use of that resource. Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant organic material on Earth. For thousands of
April 02, 2013 Read Full Article
Maersk Working on Two Biofuel Projects
(Ship & Bunker) A.P. Møller-Maersk (Maersk) says it is working with partners on two projects designed to develop biomass-based marine fuels. Both projects involve work on an organic polymer called lignin found in plants, which is released during the production of
March 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Domtar Inaugurates Commercial Lignin Production
(Domtar) Plymouth Mill to produce bio-material with wide range of industrial applications as petro-chemical alternative - the first of its kind in over quarter century Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) today announced that it has successfully installed a commercial-scale lignin separation
March 14, 2013 Read Full Article
Biofuels: Good, But How Good?
by Thomas W. Kerlin (ISA Interchange) ...Plants convert carbon dioxide and water into sugar via photosynthesis using energy from the sun. The sugar undergoes further transformations within the plant. Carbohydrates, compounds composed entirely of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, are produced.
March 06, 2013 Read Full Article
How a Microbial Biorefinery Regulates Genes
(Brown University) Digesting lignin, a highly stable polymer that accounts for up to a third of biomass, is a limiting step to producing a variety of biofuels. Researchers at Brown have figured out the microscopic chemical switch that allows Streptomycesbacteria to
February 21, 2013 Read Full Article
Lignol Makes Progress in Cellulosic Ethanol, Lignin Development
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Lignol Innovations Ltd. has landed a commercial supply agreement with a European producer of sustainable thermoplastics. The subsidiary of Lignol Energy Corp. has delivered samples of its trademarked HP-LTM lignin for evaluation and
February 14, 2013 Read Full Article
If Polluters Pay, Will Renewables Rise?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Changes in EU policy and the financing of advanced biofuels have led to a revival of project formation in Europe. The latest news from Finland is that St1 is proceeding towards a build on its 10
February 06, 2013 Read Full Article
Insects' Gut Microbes Hint at Biofuel Breakthrough
by Li Jiao (SciDev.net) Deep inside insects' guts may lie the key to one of the biofuel industry's great challenges: how to cost-effectively turn tough plant waste into profit-making fuel. About 50 million tonnes of lignin are produced every year worldwide,
January 29, 2013 Read Full Article
Texas Researcher Looks into Biodiesel Production from Lignin
by Holly Jessen (Biodiesel Magazine) A two-year research project aims to crack the lignin question by engineering a microbe to break down the byproduct into a lipid, or fat, and then into biodiesel. The research has the potential to make
January 25, 2013 Read Full Article
12 Bellwether Biofuels Projects for 2013
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A long war of opinion has been waged for years between advanced biofuels’ detractors and supporters. Mirage or reality? Completion of 6 key projects 2012 decided much of the debate. When these 12 projects open
January 01, 2013 Read Full Article
Research Targets Cells to Reduce Lignin, Boost Fermentable Sugar
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute are exploring new ways to meet the challenge of recalcitrant cellulosic feedstocks and lower the cost of biomass-based biofuels. The group recently published two papers detailing their work
December 31, 2012 Read Full Article
NREL Researchers Use Imaging Technologies to Solve Puzzle of Plant Architecture
(US Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Breakthrough could help optimize capture of sugars for biofuels Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) combined different microscopic imaging methods to gain
November 30, 2012 Read Full Article
Why Cellulosic Ethanol Depends on a Renewable Fuel Standard
by RP Siegel (TriplePundit) ... 3p: If you look at where we today relative to the RFS, it says that by the year 2022, a total of 21 billion gallons of biofuel needs to be provided by something other than corn. That puts a
October 29, 2012 Read Full Article
Wood Completely Broken Down into Its Component Parts
(Fraunhofer Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes) Crude oil is getting scarce. This is why researchers are seeking to substitute petroleum-based products – like plastics – with sustainable raw materials. Waste wood, divided into lignin and cellulose, could serve as a raw
October 26, 2012 Read Full Article
The Sherpas: 7 Biofuels Feedstock Developers Clearing Paths to the Summit
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Every great biofuels technology has its own companion feedstock strategy – with unique advantages and technical challenges. Who’s got what it takes to be a great Sherpa, providing that feedstock or intermediates edge that puts
October 15, 2012 Read Full Article
S&T Microbiologist Patents Process that Could Improve Biofuel Production
(Missouri University of Science & Technology) Biofuel production can be an expensive process that requires considerable use of fossil fuels, but a Missouri University of Science and Technology microbiologist's patented process could reduce the cost and the reliance on fossil
September 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Immature Switchgrass Could Help Cellulosic Ethanol Industry
by Ann Perry (US Department of Agriculture Agriculture Research Service) A gene that keeps switchgrass forever young could have far-reaching implications for the development of the plant as a biofuel crop, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists. Inserting a specific gene
September 07, 2012 Read Full Article
Functional Characterization of the Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) R2R3-MYB Transcription Factor PvMYB4 for Improvement of Lignocellulosic Feedstocks
Hui Shen, Xianzhi He, Charleson R. Poovaiah, Wegi A. Wuddineh, Junying Ma, David G. J. Mann, Huanzhong Wang, Lisa Jackson, Yuhong Tang, C. Neal Stewart Jr, Fang Chen, Richard A. Dixon (New Phytologist) The major obstacle for bioenergy production from switchgrass biomass is the low saccharification efficiency caused by cell wall recalcitrance.
August 30, 2012 Read Full Article
Genetic Manipulation of Lignin Reduces Recalcitrance and Improves Ethanol Production from Switchgrass
by Chunxiang Fu, Jonathan R. Mielenz, Xirong Xiao, Yaxin Ge, Choo Y. Hamilton, Miguel Rodriguez, Jr., Fang Chen, Marcus Foston, Arthur Ragauskas, Joseph Bouton, Richard A. Dixon, and Zeng-Yu Wang (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Switchgrass is a leading dedicated bioenergy feedstock in the United States
August 30, 2012 Read Full Article
Salicylic Acid Mediates the Reduced Growth of Lignin Down-Regulated Plants
Lina Gallego-Giraldo, Luis Escamilla-Trevino, Lisa A. Jackson, and Richard A. Dixon (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Down-regulation of the enzyme hydroxycinnamoyl CoA: shikimate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (HCT) in thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) leads to strongly reduced lignin levels,
August 30, 2012 Read Full Article
International Cooperation to Develop Global Bioenergy Capacity: How Global Partnerships Are Clearing the Way to Achieve America's RFS2 Goals
by Thomas Corle (Leifmark LLC, Inbicon Technology Marketing Partner) Opening his presentation with imposing nature images of pristine beauty, Corle's presentation lays Denmark's aspirations on the table - to move from 2006's 15/85 (CO2 emission) to 85/15 (CO2 neutral) in
August 15, 2012 Read Full Article
Scientists Create Low-Lignin Plants with Improved Potential for Biofuel Production
(ECNMag.com) Engineered enzyme alters cell wall composition in ways that could make it easier to convert plant biomass into biofuels Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have created a new enzyme that effectively “masks” the synthetic
August 08, 2012 Read Full Article
Growing Better Biofuel Crops
by Heather Youngs and Chris Somerville (The Scientist) Research is underway to reduce the use of food crops for biofuels by shifting to dedicated energy crops and agricultural residues. ...Conversion of biomass is currently the most cost-effective route to produce renewable
July 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Asian Researchers Develop Oil Palm Waste-to-Ethanol Process
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Researchers in Southeast Asia have identified an approach to producing ethanol using an abundant waste feedstock that could potentially add a significant source of biofuel production from oil palm plantations. Oil palm empty fruit
July 03, 2012 Read Full Article
Study on Fungi Evolution Answers Questions About Ancient Coal Formation and May Help Advance Future Biofuels Production
(National Science Foundation) Study reveals the potentially large influences of fungi, one of the most biologically diverse classes of organisms, on our energy supplies A new study--which includes the first large-scale comparison of fungi that cause rot decay--suggests that the evolution
July 03, 2012 Read Full Article
Waste Lines: The Hottest Trends with Bio’s Coolest Feedstock
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Regardless of its naming deficiencies, waste has been hot and getting hotter as a bioenergy feedstock because it solves three of the most pressing problems blocking capacity expansion. 1. The feedstocks are available at fixed, affordable
May 29, 2012 Read Full Article
Trillium FiberFuels, Oregon State University Get Grant for Advanced Biomass Enzymes
(Trillium FiberFuels Inc./Biorefining Magazine) A team of scientists from Trillium FiberFuels and Oregon State University has been awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer grant from the U.S. DOE to further develop innovative enzymes that could lead to new products from
April 26, 2012 Read Full Article
Steel in the Ground: The Largest Cellulosic Ethanol Plants in the World Are Ready to Prove Their Mettle
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Guido Ghisolfi is a confident man. A chemical engineer by trade, at 55, he’s already spent three decades leading research and development (R&D) activities at Italy-based Mossi & Ghisolfi Group, a $3 billion per
April 16, 2012 Read Full Article
What is Cellulosic Ethanol? The Future Fuel
(EcoGreen4US) ... Cellulosic ethanol is produced from plant fibre which is widely available almost anywhere in the world. Today, producing cellulosic ethanol is not in a laboratory anymore. A number ofmanufacturing plants around the world have been producing cellulosic ethanol asalternative to diesel and gasoline orpetrol. Some of the plant fibres which have been studied could be
January 30, 2012 Read Full Article
Lignol Receives Approval of Four New Key Biorefining and Lignin Patent Application
(Lignol) Lignol Energy Corporation (TSXV: LEC), a leading technology company in advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals, today announced that it has received confirmation that four new patent applications have been approved, bringing the total number of approved patents to seven. “These approvals demonstrate the
January 25, 2012 Read Full Article
Metso to Deliver the First Commercial LignoBoost Plant to Domtar in North America
(Metso) Metso will supply the world’s first commercial installation of LignoBoost technology to Domtar in North America. The equipment will be intergrated with the Plymouth North Carolina pulp mill. The LignoBoost process separates and collects lignin from pulping liquor. This
December 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Thesis Chemistry to Build Iowa Biorefinery Using Stover Lignin
by Bryan Sims (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Working closely with the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Nevada Economic Development Council, Mentor, Iowa-based Thesis Chemistry has selected a 40-acre site within the West Industrial Park of Nevada, Iowa, for a proposed
November 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Henan Tianguan Expands the Capacity of Cellulosic Ethanol
(SB Wire) Henan Tianguan Fuel Ethanol Co., Ltd. (Henan Tianguan) plans to launch cellulosic ethanol plants to expand its capacity gradually in next three years, which is expected to reach 120,000t/a in 2014, according to CCM’s October Issue of Industrial
October 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Lignin Biojet Project Wins DARPA Funding
by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine) A researcher at Washington State University has been selected to receive a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award to support the development of a technology to produce biobased jet fuel. Bin Yang,
September 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Iowa Receives $20 Million for Renewable Energy Research
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Iowa’s research community has been awarded $20 million through the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research with the goal of establishing the state as a leader in renewable energy technology and
September 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Lignol Phases Out Demo Project, Pursues Commercial Opportunities
by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine) Lignol Innovations Inc., a subsidiary of Vancouver-based Lignol Energy Corp., has reached an agreement with the U.S. DOE’s Biomass Program to discontinue work of a proposed 2.5 MMgy cellulosic ethanol demonstration-scale project in Grand Junction,
July 21, 2011 Read Full Article
Lignol Energy Says U.S. Gov't Will Phase out Funding for Ethanol Pilot Project
(Canadian Business) Lignol Energy Corp. says its demonstration project to show the commercial potential of producing ethanol from plant cellulose no longer qualifies for up to US$30 million of funding from a U.S. government biofuels program. The Vancouver-based company said Friday
July 15, 2011 Read Full Article
No Eureka Moments in Long U.S. Campaign to Crack Cellulosic Code
by Paul Voosen (New York Times/Greenwire) ...For eons, plants have locked the sun's energy into complex strands of sugar, used to build their stems and leaves. These chains are far different from table sugar or grain starch; they cling together,
July 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Purdue Research Investigates Digestive Enzymes in Termites
by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine) Delving into termite guts to find the best cellulases or lignocellulases to efficiently convert cellulose and hemicelluloses, even lignin, into advanced biofuels isn’t a new concept within the biorefining community, but researchers at Purdue University
July 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Unlocking the Structure of Lignin, and Feasible Pathways to Cellulosic Conversion
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Research from ORNL reveals new details of bioenergy’s most daunting technical barrier ...Lignin, for those newer to the biofuels world, is a complex chemical compound that makes veggies, plants and wood firm, confers resistance to pests,
June 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Lignin Munching Enzyme Discovered in Bacteria – Lower-Cost Route to Biofuels?
by Thomas Saidak (Biofuels Digest) In Canada, research carried out by teams at the Universities of Warwick and British Columbia have identified an lignin-breaking enzyme in bacteria which could be used to make biofuel production more efficient. The
June 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Spikemoss Genome Offers New Paths For Biofuels Research--Bridges Plant Development Gap
(RedOrbit) It’s not quite Christmas, but the DNA sequence of a small plant that resembles the seasonal conifers is providing biofuels researchers with information that could influence the development of candidate biofuel feedstock plants and offering botanists long-awaited insights into
May 11, 2011 Read Full Article
USDA and DOE Award Biomass Research and Development Grants to Reduce America's Reliance on Imported Oil
Projects will help develop sustainable, renewable biofuels in the U.S. As part of the Obama Administration's comprehensive plan to address rising gas prices, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a total of $47 million
May 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Selective, Nickel-Catalyzed Hydrogenolysis of Aryl Ethers
by Alexey G. Sergeev and John F. Hartwig (Science) Selective hydrogenolysis of the aromatic carbon-oxygen (C-O) bonds in aryl ethers is an unsolved synthetic problem important for the generation of fuels and chemical feedstocks from biomass and for the liquefaction
May 04, 2011 Read Full Article
British Columbia Embracing Pine Beetle Crisis as Source of Green Energy
by andypar (Envirogy) ...In light of all this, however, it appears British Columbia has found a way to turn their devastating Pine Beetle crisis into a source of Green Energy. ...Biofuel production uses organic materials to produce fuel to be used in transportation
May 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Lignol Develops Engineering Design Package for Commercial Biorefiner
(Lignol) Lignol Energy Corporation, a leading technology company in the advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals sector today announced it has completed an engineering design package for a commercial-scale biorefinery that would produce up to 80 million litres of cellulosic ethanol
April 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Overfertilizing Corn Undermines Ethanol
(ScienceBlog) ...A new paper in today’s online edition of the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science and Technology shows how farmers can save money on fertilizer while they improve their production of feedstock for ethanol and alleviate damage to the environment. ...The team led by
February 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Los Alamos National Laboratory Announces Top 10 Science & Technology Developments of 2010
(Los Alamos National Laboratory) ... Gaining insight to more efficiently convert plant biomass into biofuels LANL scientists and University of New Mexico collaborators discovered chinks in the armor of lignin, the component of plant cell walls that stubbornly protects cellulose from hydrolyzing
December 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Unraveling Plant Cell-Wall Construction for Biofuels Research
by Karen McNulty Walsh (Brookhaven National Laboratory/RenewableEnergyWorld) Understanding how lignin building blocks are transported could break down barriers to biofuel production. One big challenge in converting plants to biofuels is that the very same molecules that keep plants standing up make
December 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Gene Find Could Lead to Healthier Food, Better Biofuel Production
(EurekAlert!) Purdue University scientists have found the last undiscovered gene responsible for the production of the amino acid phenylalanine, a discovery that could lead to processes to control the amino acid to boost plants' nutritional values and produce better biofuel
November 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Cunning Capitalists Go Blazing Into Biofuels
by Hilary Kramer (Forbes) ...One Renaissance man in the thick of the green chemical and biofuel revolution is David Milroy. I knew Australian-born Milroy from his days as the trailblazer in the global telecom and broadband revolution of the mid-
September 27, 2010 Read Full Article
All Systems Go at World's Largest Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
(SunHerald.com) Inbicon Biomass Refinery now producing The New Ethanol and other biofuel at Kalundborg, Denmark Inbicon is declaring Energy Independence Day for Planet Earth as the first Inbicon Biomass Refinery swings into operation. It turns wheat straw into 1.4 million gallons
July 08, 2010 Read Full Article
New Technique Improves Efficiency Of Biofuel Production
(North Carolina State University) Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a more efficient technique for producing biofuels from woody plants that significantly reduces the waste that results from conventional biofuel production techniques. The technique is a significant step toward
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Using Synergies to Save: Cellulosic Ethanol & Power Plant Co-Location
by Frances Williams (Biofuels Digest and Novozymes) ...Co-location of a cellulosic ethanol facility and a coal-fired power plant is one strategy that holds promise. Joining these industries in the same location can result in significant economic and environmental benefits for
June 29, 2010 Read Full Article
Southern Research Institute Signs an Agreement with HCL CleanTech to Help Develop a New Biofuel Production Process in Durham, North Carolina
HCL CleanTech, a US-Israeli biofuels technology development company, has selected Southern Research Institute in North Carolina as the hosting site and operator of its first pilot plant to produce low cost fermentable sugars, high-quality lignin and tall oils from North
April 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Second Plant Pathway Could Improve Nutrition, Biofuel Production
Purdue University scientists have defined a hidden second option plants have for making an essential amino acid that could be the first step in boosting plants' nutritional value and improving biofuel production potential. The amino acid phenylalanine is required to build