by Julie Harker (Brownfield Ag News)  Mixed prairie grasses that are used in Conservation Reserve Program lands did not live up to their potential as biomass crops for cellulosic biofuel production, in an eight-year study. D.K. Lee, …

by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com)  The latest data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) shows that gasoline consumed in 30 states and the District of Columbia in 2016 contained more than 10 percent ethanol on average, breaking …

by Siddharth Vodnala (Washington State University News)  Researchers from Washington State University, along with those from Oregon State University and the University of Montana, have recently devised refined methods to estimate the amount of forest residue …

(University of Wyoming)  Agricultural economists at the University of Wyoming will generate models of what economies in the Upper Missouri River Basin might look like if raising biofuels and carbon capture technologies were implemented.
UW is part …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  Toledo, Ohio, has certainly seen its share of unwanted algae over the past years. Now, a new research program is looking toward the potential of turning that algae into useful products. The …

by David Erickson (Missoulian)  …  Formed eight years ago, the company (Clearas Water Recovery) has developed a patented process to use algae to remove nitrogen and phosphorous from public wastewater treatment plants, keeping waterways from …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The DOE completed an illuminating workshop on Carbon Capture and Sequestration with relation to algae-based technologies, and The Digest has prepared a selection of key slides presented by AquaFiber, Pacific …

(American Society of Agronomy/Biomass Magazine)  A new study, led by Augustine Obour at Kansas State University, looks at how three varieties of camelina perform when grown in two different regions within the Great Plains.
The end …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) When it comes to Blue Marble’s coordinates in the bioeconomy star-field, think advanced flavorings made from seemingly impossible materials. Most recently we reported that Missoula’s Masters of Metamorphosis this past summer released …

by Robert Walton (Utility Dive)  The Sierra Club says six states have proposed legislation this year that would add to the cost of owning an electric vehicle, worrying clean energy advocates who say owning emissions-free …

(LiveMint) India has complained against the US at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for what it calls illegal subsidies and domestic content requirements for the renewable energy sector in eight American states, even as the Donald …

(Montana State University/Biomass Magazine)  A Montana State University scientist has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science to research ways to improve the usefulness of camelina, an ancient …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Montana, Blue Marble Biomaterials will become the first biomaterials company to utilize Regulation A+,  a type of equity crowdfunding regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and will offer …

by Evelyn Boswell  (Montana State University)  A regional interdisciplinary team led by Montana State University has received $6 million to develop new innovations at the intersection of food, energy and water systems while training the …

( USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station/Biomass Magazine)  A set of newly published studies evaluated nearly 40 years of data on the impacts of biomass utilization on soil, tree, and plant recovery and found …

by Gary Schaff  (Billings Gazette)  … My target is consumer issues. Ethanol is high octane (115) and is used to take low-octane gasoline and make it higher (value enhanced). Thus, it is an octane enhancer. It …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The USDA recently announced $7.4 million in grants will be awarded to 76 small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research program to support research related to food security, …

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association)  … Mr. (Mark) Perry suggests (without any scientific support or a single citation) that ethanol expansion has somehow led to “destruction” of prairie in the Great Plains, but says not …

by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/U.S. News and World Report)  … Indeed, it’s fairly obvious that (Mark) Perry’s yarn is simply intended to shift attention away from the real culprit behind destruction of prairie in the Great …

by Hillary Borrud (The Oregonian)  Supporters of Oregon’s controversial low-carbon fuels mandate, newly approved last year, hailed it as a chance to grow a local biofuels industry and reduce drivers’ reliance on imported fuel.
But six …

(U.S. Department of Agriculture) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the joint investment of $10 million towards research that will …

(Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association)  Ross McCurdy, a science teacher from Ponaganset High School in Glocester, Rhode Island, has flown to Santa Monica, California, and back in a 1980 diesel-powered Cessna 182 owned by a …

by Chelsea Harvey (The Washington Post)  Scientists say they have made a startling discovery about the link between domestic oil and gas development and the world’s levels of atmospheric ethane — a carbon compound that can both …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Benchmark tests prove higher volumes than initial forecast; plant receives “Recommended” rating after first customer audit
In Montana, Rivertop Renewables, a Montana-based novel chemicals company, announced it exceeded the nameplate capacity …

(Environmental Protection Agency) Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced eight contracts to small businesses to develop innovative technologies to protect the environment, funded through EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.
“The green technologies that …

(NorthernAg.Net)  The Montana Farm Bureau is closely following the “Rural Route to the White House,” U.S. presidential election coverage produced and distributed by Agri-Pulse. The American Farm Bureau is officially the exclusive sponsor of this …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  he Algae Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about algae, its biology, ecology, cultivation and commercial potential, has been awarded a three-year grant from the Department of Energy to …

(US Department of Agriculture/PRMediaRelease) Carinata Producers Need to Make Insurance Decisions Soon — USDA’s Risk Management Agency today announced that producers in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota can insure carinata by written agreement under the …

(Algae Biomass Organization) Six student scientists were presented with the fourth annual Young Algae Researcher Awards earlier this month for their contributions to fields of algae biology and engineering at the 2015 Algae Biomass Summit, the official conference …

by Jesse Sokolow (Frequent Business Traveler)  Alaska Airlines announced a new partnership with Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance, or NARA, that is aimed at furthering the production and use of alternative jet fuel made from leftover …

by Jacquelyn Prestegaard (Algae Industry Magazine)  Livestock scientists see microalgae’s potential as a sustainable, high-energy feedstuff as well as a protein supplement. Among those scientists are Dr. Megan Van Emon, Assistant Professor at Montana State University, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … If they handed out Platinum and Gold certification to scientific papers as we do with recorded music, “Top Value Added Chemicals from Biomass” would be a multi-platinum chart-busting monster. This …

by Brent Shrum (The Western News)  Libby is the top choice for a company looking to build a $46 million plant that would use new technology to turn forest debris into 5 million gallons of liquid …

by Keele Smith  (KBZK)  Cheap gas prices have been in the headlines recently, but there’s a greener fuel being made in our own back yard.  A Bozeman-based group is using other people’s waste and taking …

(American Farm Bureau Federation)  The crop demand outlook for the 2014/15 marketing year is a mixed bag, according to Patrick Westhoff, director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.
Westhoff gave attendees of the American …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  On Jan. 8, Gevo Inc. issued an update of operations at its Luverne, Minnesota, plant, reporting that the facility produced more than 50,000 gallons of biobased isobutanol in December. The …

by Sean Ellis (Capital Press)  The head of a proposed ethanol and food-processing facility near Greenleaf, Idaho, says the plant would purchase $26 million worth of farm commodities from Idaho farmers each year. He also …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Contract manufacturing agreement with DTI speeds Rivertop’s time to market for its novel performance chemicals
In Montana, Rivertop Renewables announced that it has begun construction of its first commercial plant, located at …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … A couple of years ago, the combination of a great lifestyle and a highly promising technology lured Mike Knauf to the Bitterroot Mountains and to Rivertop Renewables.
You probably know him …

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Researchers in Montana are looking at an enzymatic treatment for barley that produces a high-value protein concentrate, describing ethanol as the process coproduct.
Feed barley has been an important …

(Montana State University) Montana State University is the lead institution on a new $10 million, four-year project to form a research center focused on innovative energy research.
The Biological Electron Transfer and Catalysis (BETCy) Energy Frontiers …

(US Department of Agriculture)  Farm Bill Implementation Continues at Brisk Pace with Universities and State Cooperative Extension Programs Now Set to Help Educate Farmers
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Rivertop to accelerate commercialization of novel, sustainable chemicals for consumer products and industrial applications.  How does an early-stager get to the next level? Try a hot anchor product, innovative technology, …

(National Biodiesel Board)  Before you lift that green beer on St. Patrick’s Day, why not select one that comes from a “green” brewery? Many breweries throughout the U.S. and Canada have robust sustainability initiatives that include …

(Virtual-Strategy.com)   Changing the way the world looks at the source of hydrocarbons for biofuels and sustainable green chemicals, Endophytics LLC announces a new technology platform in Bozeman, Montana that is receiving attention from many throughout …

by Sepp Jannotta (MSU News Service)  … Robin Gerlach is the MSU professor coordinating research into the production of oil-producing algae, as well the feasibility of commercial-scale biofuel production based on microbes discovered in Yellowstone National …

by Martiin Kidston (Missoulian)  If 1 ton of woody debris can produce 50 gallons of fuel, how many gallons of fuel could 42 million acres of dead and dying forests produce?
Funded by a $10 million …

(Washington State University)  … NARA (Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance) is developing regional aviation biofuel solutions, since the aviation industry is in need of a viable and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. IDX’s specific role within NARA …

by Bruce Finley (Denver Post)   The federal government is launching a $10 million, five-year project to tap overgrown and beetle-ravaged Western U.S. forests as a new source of non-oil liquid fuel that could power cars, …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  American Petroleum Institute (API) has launched a new campaign featuring print and TV ads taking aim at E15 and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The ethanol industry responded and Bob Dinneen, …

by Tom Lutey (Billings Gazette)  When it was first promoted as a biofuel source perfect for the Montana plains, camelina looked to many like a weed. Seven tough years later, its persistence is being tested.
Acres planted …

by Sepp Jannotta (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)  A Bozeman biofuels startup is partnering with Montana State University to turn a fungus discovered in the highly acidic hot springs of Yellowstone National Park into sustainable energy.
The discovery …

(Capital Press)  Researchers already know how to turn algae into fuel. The challenge is how to make that profitable.
A group from the University of Toledo is trying to make the process more efficient and says …

by Brent Erickson (BIO/Biofuels Digest)  For the advanced biofuels industry, the 2012 election turned on Senate races.
…The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has jurisdiction over the RFS.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will remain Chairwoman, but …

by Heidi Gaiser (Daily Interlake)  The four partners of Clearwater Biologicals are working to turn a crop popular in the Bronze Age into a 21st-century source of fuel and nutrients — and they are beginning …

by Tim Leeds (Havre Daily News)  A standing-room-only crowd filled a newly re-opened building at Montana State University-Northern to hear dignitaries and university representatives talk about the latest addition to its cutting-edge alternative fuels laboratory.
…The …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It’s a year of low congressional approval and not much congressional action. But every election is an important one, and there’s lots of unfinished business from this past cycle. Here are …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  Jon Strunk reports that over the last two months, University of Toledo (UT) researchers have won $4 million in nationally competitive awards from the federal government to explore ways society can benefit …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Despite low levels of publicity, North Dakota and Montana are making great strides in bioeconomy development – with a combination of strong R&D, feedstock abundance and some hot processing technologies.
…The …

by Wayne Risher  (The Commercial Appeal/Equities.com)  Mid-South Community College officials are betting East Arkansas has what it takes to be a leader in alternative fuels: Fertile fields, a world-class transportation hub, and, as of this …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Section 9011 of the Farm Bill – the Biomass Crop Assistance Program – USDA deploys $9.6M in new investments in bioenergy crops as questions revolve around the program’s future and …

(OPISNet.com)  It’s been a long time coming, but ethanol now dominates the U.S. gasoline blending landscape. The number of wholesale terminals supplying only conventional clear gasoline for truck loadings has trimmed down to just nine …

by  John Maday  (Drovers Cattle Network)  A couple weeks ago, we ran an article titled “Feeding the biofuels beast,” which documented a University of Montana study suggesting current production methods and policy for biofuels are unsustainable. The …

by Kay Rossi   (KRTV.com)   MSU-Northern’s bio-diesel product is available commercially for the first time for engines in Havre.
With the possibility of more distribution in the future, the school’s Bio-Energy Center is working to …

(Montana State University)  Researchers at Montana State University-Northern have developed a process to convert camelina oil to jet fuel and other high-value chemicals. MSU has applied for a U.S. patent and research is ongoing.
Using a …

by Jason Bacaj  (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)  …(Mark) Kozubal found the fungus could survive in an acidic habitat with a pH of 6, an acidity level similar to cow’s milk. What was really amazing, though, was …

by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine)  On Jan. 5, the U.S. EPA issued a direct final rule regarding RFS2 pathways for four new biofuel feedstocks, including camelina oil, energy cane, giant reed and napiergrass. While the …

by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine)  The USDA’s Risk Management Agency has developed a pilot program to insure camelina. The program, which will be available in selected counties in Montana and North Dakota for the 2012 …

(Science Daily)  A generally accepted, 44-year-old assumption about how certain kinds of bacteria make energy and synthesize cell materials has been shown to be incorrect by a team of scientists led by Donald Bryant, the …

by David Goldberg (Transportation for America)  …To fill gaps in service, Opportunity Link two years ago led the creation of North Central Montana Transit.
NCMT is miraculous for a number of reasons.
First, it offers fixed-route service. Many …

by John Daly (OilPrice.com)  Biofuel sources currently under development include algae, jatropha and camelina. Of the three, camelina is increasingly emerging as the frontrunner in attracting initial investment worldwide, as global demand for aviation fuel …

(US Department of Agriculture)  The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced a new pilot program of insurance for camelina beginning with the 2012 crop year. Camelina is an oilseed crop …

by (Chron.com)  An Illinois investment company that bought an old container manufacturer west of Missoula hopes to turn the 3,200-acre site along the Clark Fork River into a magnet for green jobs.
…The site has officially been …

by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine)  Although veteran research scientist at Montana State University, Dr. Keith Cooksey, describes himself modestly as a biochemist that works with microorganisms, his algal biofuel-driven discoveries from the ’80s and …

by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine)  The railroad is already considered one of the most environmentally sustainable and efficient ways to transport freight. Although most railways address fuel efficiency in terms of gallons-per-mile rather than miles-per-gallon, …

(The Record)  Farm officials, hoping to get California farmers to plant as much as 25,000 acres of camelina, an oilseed, for a biomass start-up project are offering incentives to growers in San Joaquin County and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the creation of four additional Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas in six states to expand the availability of non-food crops to be …

by Joan Melcher (BioCycle)  Closed loop system utilizes gasification, algae ponds and anaerobic digestion to convert wood waste to a variety of products, including biofuel, biogas and a soil amendment.
Michael Smith is supervising the first …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Over at Blue Marble, think spent waste grains from the alcoholic beverage distillation process, and spent coffee grounds. Generally, these are materials that pile up in landfills.
By contrast, at Blue …

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 …

(Climate Solutions)  Alaska Airlines, The Boeing Company, Port of Seattle, Port of Portland, Spokane International Airport, and Washington State University have initiated a strategic stakeholder process to develop a “Flight Path” (action plan)  to produce …

by Tom Lutey (Billings Gazette)  Camelina, the biofuel that five years ago Gov. Brian Schweitzer called his new girlfriend, now struggles for a planting date with Montana farmers.
“The biggest challenge of all is the price of wheat,” …

by Holly Jessen  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  AE Advanced Fuels Keyes Inc. is aiming for the future. At the same time the company is working to restart a 55 MMgy ethanol plant located in Keyes, Calif., …

by Kay Rossi    (KXLH.com)  …Five years ago, Montana State University-Northern received $800,000 in grant funding for infrastructure and staffing for a new biofuel lab at the MSU-N Bio-Energy Center
Now the nationally-certified facility performs a …

by Terri Adams (The Prairie Star)  The Central Agriculture Research Center (CARC) near Moccasin, Mont., uses 600 acres of land to test cropping systems, plant varieties, soil fertilities and other issues that affect producers in …

by Richard Ecke  (Great Falls Tribune)  …A proposed Great Falls ethanol plant would be the country’s first to use wheat and barley to create ethanol, according to developer Gary Hebener of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Project officials …

by Shelley Ridenour   (Daily Inter Lake)   Whitefish-based Algae Aquaculture Technologies has received a $350,000 grant from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to build a commercial algae greenhouse that converts waste wood chips into organic fertilizer.
The …

Montana State University professors are taking the next step in research that could make it possible to produce biofuel from wood chips using a fungus discovered in South America.   This fall, the university received a …

by Sam Bond (edie.net)  A fungus that makes biodiesel as part of its natural lifecycle has attracted the attention of American scientists wishing to tap into its potential.   The fungus has been discovered living in …