(University of Queensland/Phys.Org) Gene-editing sugarcane for use in renewable energy and bio-plastics could help secure the industry's future. The University of Queensland's Professor Robert Henry said sugarcane's reinvention as an "energycane" crop could sustain the industry in the face of falling global
plastic
Back TO HOMEEngineered Microbe May Be Key to Producing Plastic from Plants
by Chris Barncard (University of Wisconsin-Madison) With a few genetic tweaks, a type of soil bacteria with an appetite for hydrocarbons shows promise as a biological factory for converting a renewable — but frustratingly untapped — bounty into a replacement for
March 11, 2019 Read Full Article
World’s 1st for Product Carbon Footprints, Polyhydroxyalkanoates Bioplastic, BASF Shoe Shanks, Bacteria-Infused Knits, Eastman’s Cellulosic Yarn and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of February 28th
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The pace of bioeconomy invention and change continues at a frenetic pace. Here are the top innovations for the week of February 28th. In today’s Digest, world’s 1st for product carbon footprints, polyhydroxyalkanoates bioplastic, BASF shoe shanks,
March 01, 2019 Read Full Article
So Happy Together: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Biomass and Plastic Wastes Co-Processing
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Lorenz Bauer, from LJBILL Chemical Consulting and a member of Lee Enterprises Consulting offers this illuminating overview of biomass and non-recyclable plastic to liquid fuel, landfill and carbon reduction, and more. Lee Enterprises Consulting is the world’s
February 22, 2019 Read Full Article
Grow Your Own Bioplastic Home, Avocado-Pit Bioplastic, Arla and UPM’s Wood-Based Dairy Packaging, PHA Bioplastic Water Bottle and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of February 20th
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The pace of bioeconomy invention and change continues at a frenetic pace. Here are the top innovations for the week of February 20th. In today’s Digest, grow your own bioplastic home, avocado-pit bioplastic, Arla and UPM’s wood-based
February 22, 2019 Read Full Article
New Technique Converts Plastic Waste to Fuel
by Prachi Patel (Anthropocene Magazine) A new method to convert a commonly used plastic into oil is more energy-efficient than recycling or burning plastic waste. -- One strategy to fight plastic pollution is to convert oceans of plastic trash into something valuable. The
February 22, 2019 Read Full Article
The Wonder from Down Under Finds an Aussie Funder
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) From Australia we have just heard that Licella has given the exclusive Australian license for the Cat-HTR and End-of-Life Plastic to its subsidiary iQ Renew, which has in turn merged with Australian recycler Stop Waste, a cash
February 18, 2019 Read Full Article
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW: Neste Brings Biofuels to the Aviation Industry
(ACT News) An ACT News Executive Interview with Lana Van Marter, Commercial Development Manager, Neste, a front-runner in the production of advanced biofuels and renewable fuels. Lana Van Marter has a unique perspective on sustainability and many of the global challenges we
February 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Pilot Plant to Turn Sugarcane Waste into Biofuel and Beer Bottles
(Queensland University of Technology) QUT researchers and Mercurius Australia have commenced work on a pilot plant to prove the economic viability of turning sugarcane waste into either jet and diesel fuel or chemicals that could be used to make plastic soft
February 18, 2019 Read Full Article
SABIC and Customers Launch Certified Circular Polymers from Mixed Plastic Waste
(SABIC) o SABIC and customers Unilever, Vinventions and Walki Group will introduce ISCC certified circular polymers in 2019 during a market foundation stage. SABIC’s certified circular polymers will be produced in The Netherlands from a recycled plastic waste feedstock developed
February 03, 2019 Read Full Article
The Stora Enso Story – A Magical Tale of Trees and Forests
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... In today’s Digest, we talk about Stora Enso’s story – the renewable materials company that develops and produces wood and biomass based solutions for a range of industries and applications globally – what they
January 28, 2019 Read Full Article
Sustainable Plastics – If We Want a Sustainable Future, It Will Be Driven by Companies
by Tomi Nyman (Pöyry/Biofuels Digest) It seems like there is a never-ending deluge of negativity about plastics in the media. Yet for all the valid and important points being made about the environmental impacts of plastics, the most important question is all
January 17, 2019 Read Full Article
DOE Announces SBIR/STTR FY 2019 Phase I Release 2 Topics
(U.S. Department of Energy) As part of last week's posting of topic areas for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research and development proposals, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced 12 topics to fund
November 14, 2018 Read Full Article
Landfill-to-Anything-Soon, Puleeze: In Search of New Energy, Materials from Waste
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The names seem less settled than the markets or science: is it biogas, biomethane, renewable natural gas, or RNG? Whatever your preferred name, you don’t have to burn it to make it hot — methane of
October 18, 2018 Read Full Article
President Trump's Ethanol Expansion Has Immediate Positive Impact on Attis Industries
(Attis Industries/NewMediaWire/FuturesTradingCharts.com) ... Jeff Cosman, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, explains, "The increased inclusion allowance plays a vital role in the expansion of renewable fuel production. The timing couldn't be better for Attis as we plan to build our first of
October 10, 2018 Read Full Article
Scaling up Biobased BTX: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Anellotech
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Founded in 2008, Anellotech has developed a clean technology platform for inexpensively producing bio-based chemicals from renewable non-food biomass. These drop-in, green versions of widely used petrochemicals; benzene, toluene and xylenes, are used to make plastics
October 10, 2018 Read Full Article
Can the Bioeconomy Help Combat Plastic Waste?
by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) Recent reports have underscored the enormity of the global plastic waste issue. There are 9.2 billion tons of plastic waste in the environment and an additional 500 tons of plastics are produced annually.
September 28, 2018 Read Full Article
Industrially Important Molecules: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Constructive Biology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Berkeley legend Jay Keasling gave this illuminating overview of the promise and progress of a new company in the Keasling universe, Constructive Biology. READ MORE
September 24, 2018 Read Full Article
Mushrooms Could Solve the War on Plastic, Says Kew Gardens
by Jamie Johnson (Telegraph) Fungi could be the key to winning the war on plastic, leading scientists at Kew Gardens has said. The first ever report on the state of the world’s fungi has today revealed that if the natural properties of fungus can be
September 21, 2018 Read Full Article
Oil’s Relentless Price Climb Brings Advanced Biofuels Back in Vogue
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) For several years now we have seen a significant number of players pivoting from biofuels towards smaller but higher-value markets in chemicals, nutrition, nutraceuticals, pharma, materials, flavorings, fragrances, cosmetics and more. We’ve reported on the proliferation of
August 09, 2018 Read Full Article
High-Performance: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Avantium
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The company is now safely emerged from its celebrated IPO, and is embarked on the development of the first commercial plant project with its JV partner BASF — so, its been a big period and even
June 22, 2018 Read Full Article
EU Warms to Plastic Waste ‘Recycling’ as Transport Fuel
by Frédéric Simon (EURACTIV.com) A proposal to use non-recyclable plastic waste in the production of transport fuels is picking momentum among EU member states and legislators in the European Parliament, despite warnings from environmentalists. Old plastic materials that cannot be recycled
May 30, 2018 Read Full Article
A World First in the Port of Amsterdam
(Port of Amsterdam) In the port of Amsterdam the construction has started of a new facility that will convert non-recyclable plastic into fuel for the transport sector, which will cut down CO₂ emission by 57,000 tonnes per year. It is the
May 11, 2018 Read Full Article
Braskem Begins Operation in Boston to Strengthen Its Renewable Chemicals Strategy
(Braskem/WebWire) Braskem expands strategy for the future of renewable chemicals -- Braskem (B3: BRKM3, BRKM5 and BRKM6; NYSE: BAK; LATIBEX: XBRK), the largest thermoplastics resins producer in the Americas and the worldwide leader in bio-polymers, announced today its expanded focus on the research,
April 24, 2018 Read Full Article
CO2 Use Is Slowly Picking up Speed
(Bio-based News/nova-Institut) First semi-commercial facilities, technical advances, but political support still unclear -- 6th Conference on Carbon Dioxides as Feedstock for Fuels, Chemistry and Polymers in Cologne, 15-16 March, showed state of the art technologies, current levels of investment as well as
April 02, 2018 Read Full Article
Leaps and Bounds in Sustainable Plastics and Nylons: U Wisconsin, Genomatica, Aquafil, Anellotech, Suntory, ADM, DuPont in the Mix
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It’s been a big week in plastics and nylons, all right — not only for those who value sustainability attributes, but for fans of lower costs and higher performance, too. Let’s look at 4 Biggies makin’
January 24, 2018 Read Full Article
How Boisean Will Escape the Cuts in Plastics Recycling — and Recycle Even More of Them
(Diesel Technology Forum) Boise has found a way for city residents not only to keep recycling the same plastics they have recycled for years, but also to expand plastic recycling to items such as shopping bags, foam egg cartons, cereal box
January 09, 2018 Read Full Article
Make Haste Slowly: The Story of Anellotech’s Journey towards a Bio-BTX Breakthrough
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... In it, we are reminded that innovation is a never-ending war between two brothers named Urgency and Diligence — and the conflict comes roaring back to life when we consider the news that occasionally seeps out of that mysterious
January 05, 2018 Read Full Article
Turning Prawns into Plastic: Schoolgirl Angelina Arora Fights Science Stereotypes
by Liam Mannix (Sydney Morning Herald) Angelina Arora was sitting in her local fish and chip shop looking at all the discarded fish waste. Piles of crab shells, prawn tails and fish heads. Kilos and kilos of it, all destined for the bin. There had
December 12, 2017 Read Full Article
Bioproducts, USDA and You: The Digest 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to USDA Agricutural Research Service Partnership
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
December 11, 2017 Read Full Article
10 Disruptive Israeli Companies that Can Wean the World off Fossil Fuels
by Abigail Klein Leichman (Israel 21c) ... H2 Energy Now is building a prototype battery-free solution for storing and increasing the usability of alternative energy from intermittent sources – sun and wind – to meet times of peak demand reliably. Radio
October 31, 2017 Read Full Article
2nd Generation Biorefinery Solutions. YXY Marks the Spot: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Avantium
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The company is now safely emerged from its celebrated IPO, and is embarked on the construction of the first commercial plant with its JV partner BASF — so, it’s a monster year for Avantium. Avantium’s YXY technology
October 04, 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
This New Teesside Company Needs 50 Tonnes of Birch - EVERY DAY!
by Mike Hughes (Gazette Live) Nova Pangaea Technologies at Wilton will convert trees into sugars to make household items -- ... One of the region’s newest tech companies needs 50 tonnes of it EVERY DAY to process into biofuels, plastics and
August 03, 2017 Read Full Article
Northern Oil Advanced Biofuels Pilot Plant Opening
by Francesca Brindle (Hydrocarbon Engineering) Southern Oil has announced that Queensland Premier, the Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk MP, will officially open the Northern Oil advanced biofuels pilot plant in Gladstone on 1 June 2017. The $18 million project brings together all
May 25, 2017 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Biobased Plastics
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Digest had a well-received webinar on biobased plastics, featuring Drop-in Fuels 2020 author and in-demand industry consultant Will Thurmond and NEXANT principal Ron Cascone, on hand to detail the very latest in a wide
May 04, 2017 Read Full Article
Innovative Refinery to Turn Municipal Waste into High-Grade Fuel
by Paul Krajewski (High River Times) A waste diversion company is working toward constructing a one-of-a-kind clean refinery near High River to produce renewable diesel from landfill debris. After years of research and development, Cielo Waste Solutions is set to use
January 06, 2017 Read Full Article
Strategic Intent: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Mars, Mitsui
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 Mars and Mitsui and their direct
October 07, 2016 Read Full Article
Anellotech Has Another Mystery Date
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Just when Toyota Tsusho and Suntory were outed as Anellotech investors, along comes another stealthy investor, who has put $1.5M into the company, according to this latest Reg D report from the Securities & Exchange
October 07, 2016 Read Full Article
Strategic Intent: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Neste, Nissan
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 Nissan and
October 05, 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
New Bio Plastics and Resins
by Lorenz Bauer (Lee Consulting Enterprises/Biofuels Digest) ... Some of the more significant develops in the biopolymer and plastics development in the past year are included the table below. The latest trend is the production of monomers that can directly replace fossil
September 26, 2016 Read Full Article
Tick-tick-tick…This Plastic Will Self-Destruct
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) They called it Mission Impossible. Create a means to biodegrade any plastic out there that needs to decompose in the environment after use. Find little microbes that can break the material into something that ordinary
September 26, 2016 Read Full Article
Intratec Reveals Production Costs of Green Chemicals and Biofuels
(Intratec Solutions) New reports evaluate the economic feasibility of chemicals manufacturing through alternative, bio-based routes -- Intratec Solutions LLC, the leading source for chemical markets data and production cost reports, is pleased to publish new reports examining the costs of
August 17, 2016 Read Full Article
Engineered High Energy Fuel from Waste: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Cornerstone Resources
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Cornerstone Resources develops and deploys waste management processing technologies that re-purpose a broad spectrum of organic wastes. Cornerstone adds that it’s BurCell system is a disruptive vacuum aided thermal decomposition process which converts pre-sorted MSW and other feedstocks
August 05, 2016 Read Full Article
New Research Launched to See if Fuel Made from Recycled Plastic Could Power Ship Engines
(Biofuels International) The University of West England is working with waste-to-energy specialist Recycling Technologies to test if a fuel, called Plaxx, made from mixed plastic waste can be used to power ship engines. The UK-based research, funded by Innovate UK and
August 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Verdezyne, CB&I, Albemarle, Dow AgroSciences, Newlight Technologies Land 2016 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the EPA announced that Verdezyne, CB&I, Albemarle, Dow AgroSciences, Newlight Technologies and Princeton Professor Paul Chirik are winners of the 2016 Presidential Green Chemistry Awards. Though less well-known than the Presidential Challenge on Fitness,
June 24, 2016 Read Full Article
One Way to Tackle Our Huge Plastic Pollution Problem: Turn It into Fuel
by Chelsea Harvey (The Washington Post) ... But both strategies tend to produce a mixture of products at the end with different chemical formulas, and it’s hard to control for a specific desired end result, Guan said. So he and
June 23, 2016 Read Full Article
Clean Energy: Steam Reformation Technology
by Zoltan Kish (Lee Enterprises/Biofuels Digest) ... The primary challenge of clean energy production is the heterogeneous nature of waste and biomass, which creates a widely varying chemical constituency of the energy products generated from these processes. Feedstocks can be converted to
June 23, 2016 Read Full Article
Re-Think, Re-Use, Retro-Fit: 15 4G Techs Transforming Gen-1 Biobased Plants
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Here, we profile 15 techs that offer incremental to profound shifts in the economics of the Gen-1 ethanol fleet, and have implications for everything from passenger cars to jets. #15 Vertimass and Byogy #14 Croda #13 Hummingbird #12 Alliance BioEnergy #11 GeoSynFuels #10
June 17, 2016 Read Full Article
New SPI Bioplastics Division Report Defines Bioplastics, Explores the Growing Field of Bioplastics and Demonstrates How Material Innovation Can Offer Environmental aAdvantages.
(SPI) As bioplastics become more popular and an emerging material of choice, SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association's SPI Bioplastics Division released a new report today (April 1, 2016), Bioplastics Simplified: Attributes of Biobased and Biodegradable Products, which explains bioplastics in