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 …

(American Chemical Society/Canada Free Press) Olive oil has long been a popular kitchen staple. Yet producing the oil creates a vast stream of wastewater that can foul waterways, reduce soil fertility and trigger extensive damage to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The US Department of Energy is supporting a project to develop and optimize a hybrid separation method to recover high-value methoxyphenols to improve the process economics and environmental impact for the …

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

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The US Department of Energy is supporting a project to demonstrate the techno‐economic feasibility of upgrading biomass derived pyrolysis oil using electro-deoxygenation process. A ceramic membrane that selectively transports oxygen under …

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 …

by Jong-MinJung, et al.  (Biosource Technology)  Biodiesel synthesis using chicken manure biochar.  Establish a green platform for producing biodiesel using chicken manure biochar. Enhanced yield of biodiesel using chicken manure biochar due to strong catalytic capability. 95.6% of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Within the ChemCatBio set of core catalysis projects lies Fast Pyrolysis and Upgrading, which has as its goal “to develop cost competitive biofuels through catalytic stabilization and deoxygenation of Fast Pyrolysis …

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 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Honeywell’s UOP has developed a renewable jet fuel processing technology, a renewable diesel process, as well as a joint venture, Envergent Technologies, that will market technologies and equipment for generating …

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

by Lalit Kumar Singh (Editor), Gaurav Chaudhary (Editor) (Wiley)  Biofuels production is one of the most extensively studied fields in the energy sector that can provide an alternative energy source and bring the energy industry closer …

By Gerald Kutney (Sixth Element Sustainable Management/Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest)  The 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation arrived on July 1st of this year — it is a time to reflect upon the country’s achievements; this article covers …

(University of Minnesota)  California waste recovery company Resynergi Inc. is drawing on University of Minnesota expertise and technology to develop and commercially manufacture a biorefining technology that converts both plastic and biomass into oil and …

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 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …  Anellotech’s Bio-TCat process is designed to produce cost-competitive renewable aromatic (BTX) chemicals (benzene, toluene and xylenes) from non-food biomass for use in making plastics such as polyester, nylon, polycarbonate, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Former Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack put it best: “The bioeconomy is a catalyst for economic development in rural America, creating new jobs and providing new markets for farmers and ranchers. Investing …

by John Fialka (E&E News/Climatewire)  … As a major U.S. exporter that has dealings with over 150 countries, Boeing had worked with airlines in the development of more fuel-efficient aircraft and better flying practices. Now it helped …

(Univeristy of Pittsburg/R&D Magazine)  Numerous studies have raised critical concerns about the promise of corn ethanol’s ability to mitigate climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Some of the studies have suggested that after …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Last December , the U.S. Department of Energy announced it would support the country’s 10th Manufacturing USA Institute with $70 million over five years, subject to federal appropriations. Another $70 million is …

by Jim Lane  (Biofuels Digest)  … The world of feedstocks is watching biochar very carefully these days, and for good reason. Although it might feel quite a long ways upstream from the world of making and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The Digest’s Complete March Madness webinars – 700+ slides available for your on-demand review.  —  The Digest’s March Madness series – 20 webinars covering the hottest topics as selected by …

(University of Washington/Biomass Magazine)  The mountain pine beetle has destroyed more than 40 million acres of forest in the western United States. That amounts to an area the size of Washington state that is strewn …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The Digest had a well-receive webinar on thermochemical technology horizons, featuring former DOE Biomass Program manager and in-demand industry consultant Paul Bryan on hand to detail the very latest in …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Not long ago, George Huber and Robert Brown wrote in a special issue of Energy Technology of their desire to “highlight recent advances in pyrolysis technologies and to discuss the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Not long ago, George Huber and Robert Brown wrote in a special issue of Energy Technology of their desire to “highlight recent advances in pyrolysis technologies and to discuss the …

by Steve Horn  (DeSmog) After years of investigating biochar, which promoters have touted as a potential climate change fix, DeSmog is releasing its findings on the science, claims, and controversy surrounding this approach to sequestering carbon.
Biochar is the product of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Honeywell’s UOP has developed a renewable jet fuel processing technology, a renewable diesel process, as well as a joint venture, Envergent Technologies, that will market technologies and equipment for generating …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The High Lords of Pyrolysis travel under the unlikely cover identities of “George Huber” and “Robert Brown” — but we know them in their true superhero identities of “The Catalyst” …

(Iowa State University)  A special issue of the journal Energy Technology details the latest advances in pyrolysis technologies for converting biomass into fuels, chemicals and fertilizers.
Two pyrolysis experts are guest editors of the issue: Robert …

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

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  To demonstrate an advanced biofuels technology that integrates a catalytic biomass pyrolysis step and a hydroprocessing step to produce infrastructure compatible biofuels, here’s the basic recipe, according to a research …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  To “Demonstrate an advanced biofuels technology that integrates a catalytic biomass pyrolysis step and a hydroprocessing step to produce infrastructure compatible biofuels,” that’s the ratuional behind a DOE project with …

by Karyn Jones (EcoEngineers/Biodiesel Magazine)  The U.S. EPA’s proposed Renewables Enhancement and Growth Support rule, published in the federal register Nov. 16, proposes a wide-range of regulatory and compliance changes that affect the renewable fuel standard …

(Iowa State University)  A special issue of the journal Energy Technology details the latest advances in pyrolysis technologies for converting biomass into fuels, chemicals and fertilizers.

Two pyrolysis experts are guest editors of the issue: Robert …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Honeywell’s UOP has developed a renewable jet fuel processing technology, a renewable diesel process, as well as a joint venture, Envergent Technologies, that will market technologies and equipment for generating …

by Gerald Kutney (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest)  A myriad of biofuel technologies exist, but which ones are truly industrial processes? The question is not always easy to answer. And one must define what is meant by …

(Iowa State University)  Iowa State University will bring its expertise in biorenewable technologies and pilot plant operations to the country’s 10th Manufacturing USA Institute.
The recently announced advanced manufacturing institute is dedicated to improving the productivity …

by Elham Khaghami (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest)  … Pyrolysis of plastic wastes can be described as a chemical process and thermal decomposition of organic components in an oxygen-free atmosphere to yield char, oil and gas. Pyrolysis of …

by Meghan Gordon (Platts)  US advanced biofuels production could get a boost under a rule change the Environmental Protection Agency is considering that would allow conventional refineries to receive renewable fuel credits for using drop-in biofuels …

by Meghan Gordon (Platts)  US advanced biofuels production could get a boost under a rule change the Environmental Protection Agency is considering that would allow conventional refineries to receive renewable fuel credits for using drop-in biofuels …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  This past June, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in partnership with Particulate Solids Research, Inc. and Springs Fabrication, installed a recirculating regenerating riser reactor (R-Cubed) in their pilot-scale …

by Katie Fletcher (Biomass Magazine)  Canadian cleantech company Sustane Technologies Inc. recently finalized a 20-year contract with the municipality of Chester, Nova Scotia, to support the commercialization of its disruptive process that turns municipal solid waste …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In California, Mercurius Biorefining has furthered its partnership with UC Davis to develop first-of-its-kind technology for production of furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA). While current approaches to the commercialization of FDCA use …

By Angela Fivga and Zsuzsa A. Mayer (Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc./Biofuels Digest)  The analysis and standardization of biofuels are in constant development, therefore in many studies they follow a historic view or borrow unsuitable methods …

by Terry Mazanec (Lee Enterprises Consulting)  Biomass is a rich salad of chemicals that contains many highly valuable materials that are precursors to fine chemicals, nutrients, and pharmaceuticals. But this strength is also a weakness of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  You may recall that The Bloomberg investigative team of Ben Elgin & Peter Waldman in 2013 published an expose on Chevron claiming that the company had developed — then buried …

by Jennifer Seguin (AltEnergyMag.com/COMSOL)  … Such fuels are renewable, clean-burning, and carbon-neutral, producing no more carbon dioxide than is sequestered by its original plant source. However, biofuel availability is still fairly limited for its most common use—in …

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 …

(btg-btl)  Technip announced … that it has signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with BTG BioLiquids B.V. (BTL) to provide EPC(1) services for its modular pyrolysis plants. The plants will be based on BTL’s Fast Pyrolysis …

by Robert Mills (Iowa State University)  A team of researchers from Iowa State University’s Bioeconomy Institute is investigating a new technology for converting biomass into biofuels and chemicals. With a $371,000, one-year grant from the …

by Lorenz Bauer and Gerald Kutney (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest)  …  In this report, we are focused on bioenergy and biofuels (and not bioproducts) that are moving from the lab to initial commercial demonstrations and …

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 …

by Philip Gruber (Lancaster Farming)  USDA researchers demonstrated a mobile biofuel processing unit on a Montgomery County farm last week, moving the technology a step closer to commercial reality.
“The idea is to go to the …

by Irshad Ahmed (Lee Enterprises)  … I believe cellulosic ethanol is here to stay for the long haul and it is finally exhibiting real potential to establish a critical-mass commercial base alongside the corn-ethanol industry. Its commercial …

(Dutch Dredging)  Dutch Dredging has kicked off its year round operation on sustainable “drop-in” marine biofuel out of the Dutch Port of Moerdijk. The Alouette, permanently stationed in the port of Moerdijk will operate on …

(Gas & Electricity)  By now, most are familiar with biodiesel. It is a cost-effective and more environmentally friendly alternative to conventional petroleum-based diesel fuels when used in the correct applications.
…
However, there are limitations when compared …

(Phys.Org) A jar of bio-oil, an alternate “crude oil” for transportation fuels currently made from petroleum, is created by first rapidly heating plant matter in a process called pyrolysis. Scientists then use catalysts to remove oxygen …

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

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

by Jim Lane (Biofuels DIgest)  … Old KiOR was exciting, dramatic, and fast, and the headlines it produced between 2008 and 2011 were candy for a renewables-hungry world.
A Breakthrough in Catalytic Pyrolysis to make cost-competitive, drop-in …

by  Rosalie Marion Bliss (US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service)  …  Now, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have advanced a process to produce crude liquid fuel called “bio-oil” from agricultural waste. The bio-oil is …

by Almuth Ernsting (Independent Science News) … The disastrous experience with Fischer-Tropsch biofuels is just one part of a much larger failure of cellulosic and algal biofuels, on which billions of dollars of public subsidies have been …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Honeywell’s UOP has developed a renewable jet fuel processing technology, a renewable diesel process, as well as a joint venture, Envergent Technologies, that will market technologies and equipment for generating …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Quebec, BioFuelNet Canada has partnered with Talk Energy Week to participate as panelists at schools in eight Canadian cities, where they will be discussing sustainable advanced biofuels with over …

by Rosalie Bliss (US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service)   … U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have advanced a process to produce a crude liquid called “bio-oil” from agricultural waste. The team is headed …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The IEA Bioenergy Task 39 Group released its end of year newsletter, which included a comprehensive  country profile for biofuels activity in Germany, authored by Franziska Müller-Langer (DBFZ and Nicolaus Dahmen …

(Green Car Congress)  California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff posted 32 new Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) fuel pathway applications for comments at the LCFS website. Among the multiple applications for different processing pathways of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Switzerland, 11 leading low carbon fuel companies present a comprehensive guide that identifies a variety of available and accessible low carbon fuel solutions.
…
Today, only 3% of transportation fuels are low …

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 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Will fund 25M high unit, Operational in 2016, to confirm viability of confirm viability Bio-TCat process for scale-up
In New York, Anellotech revealed that it had raised $7M of its current …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Honeywell’s UOP has developed a renewable jet fuel processing technology, a renewable diesel process, as well as a joint venture, Envergent Technologies, that will market technologies and equipment for generating …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  The Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) pursues a pathway approach for advancing research and development (R&D) of converting biomass into renewable fuels and products. Following the BETO’s successful demonstration of cost-competitive cellulosic ethanol production technologies—R&D …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  This fiscal year, three Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis (SCSA) reports were published through Argonne National Laboratory. The SCSAs use a life-cycle analysis approach to identify energy consumption or environmental issues that …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … 17 — count them, 17 — different pyrolytic technology centers in the UK  …
Tyre Pyrolysis: 2G BioPOWER
2G BioPOWER is developing a UK pyrolysis project to convert used tyres into partially renewable …

by Joanne Ivancic* (Alberta Council of Technologies/Advanced Biofuels USA)  Myths and misunderstandings about biofuels abound.  You’ve heard them–food vs. fuel, land use change, energy return on energy invested, decreased mileage, harmful to engines, and more.
Nevertheless, …

(Washington State University)  Hanwu Lei, Washington State University Tri-Cities associate professor in biological systems engineering, was awarded a $494,000 grant this fall to research catalysts, which will be used to increase the energy output and …

(Southeast Partnership for Integrated Biomass Supply Systems)  The meeting presentations are now available for download on the IBSS website:
IBSS 2015 Annual Meeting Presentations
IBSS 2015 Annual Meeting Posters
READ MORE
 

(Petro Industry News)  CDS Analytical Inc. (USA) is offering a paper detailing the use of pyrolysis on a micro scale to save time and money in biofuel analysis. Source materials currently being studied using laboratory pyrolysers …

by Venkatesha Babu (Business Today)   … A catalyst being developed by Shell Technology Centre Bangalore (STCB), one of the three tech hubs of Shell besides the ones in Houston and Amsterdam, holds out the promise of …

by Charlie Peel (Townsville Bulletin)  Up to 30 mini biofuel plants could be rolled out across North Queensland as part of an ambitious plan to make the region Australia’s renewable fuel capital.
The centrepiece of the project …

by Maegan Murray (WSU Tri-Cities/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Doctoral student Baran Arslan experienced bioproducts production processes this summer that he formerly had only seen in the lab on the nano scale.
He participated in a new summer …

(Southeastern Partnership for Integrated Biomass Supply Systems)  Contrasting with ethanol production with microorganisms to ferment raw material into liquid fuel, biomass materials can be directly “gasified” through controlled burning (called pyrolysis, literally “fire splitting”). Gasification releases …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Curious about this advanced pyrolysis-based manufacturer of renewable fuels and soil amendment, but need something quick? Our 8-Slide Guide can help.
1. What is Cool Planet? The company self-describes as “poised …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  It’s been around for a generation or so — fast pyrolysis, that is. Though in the original low-tech incarnation — known as “cooking fire” — pyrolysis has been around since …

(Aston University)  Pre-testing of waste materials using prototype Pyrofab technology was underway today ahead of a summer tour to evaluate sustainable sources of bioenergy from waste across north-west Europe. The Pyrofab is based on PyroformerTM …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … For a decade, it’s (UOP’s) been an unquestioned leader in renewable fuels and chemicals development. Technologies like its HEFA jet fuel conversion (the first certified renewable jet fuel), its Ecofining …

(Digital Journal/Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc.)  Lee Enterprises Consulting Adds World Leader in Pilot Plant Design and Fabrication to Team of Experts — Lee Enterprises Consulting, the world’s largest alternative and renewable fuels consulting group, is pleased …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Responsible for and engaged in the development of portable biomethanol production units for the on site conversion of wood from invasive trees (Africa) to biomethanol and pyrolysis oil. The most …

by Sarah Shemkus (The Guardian)  Colorado-based startup Cool Planet says it has created a fuel that mixes seamlessly with gasoline and actually removes carbon from the atmosphere
The entrepreneurs and innovators at Colorado-based Cool Planet are betting …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  What’s the latest with such projects such as Frontline BioEnergy, Myriant, POET-DSM, INEOS Bio, Sapphire Energy, Abengoa, Haldor Topsoe, UOP. ZeaChem, Mercurius, and American Process, among others?
In Washington this June …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  An effort is underway in the UK to classify, within the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, “novel low carbon fuels” made by companies such as LanzaTech, Joule, Solar Jet, Velocys, Sunfire, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington state, a new study released in the journal Energy & Fuels is providing the first, fully integrated assessment of common feedstocks from the field to refinery-ready crude fuel, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Battelle-led group succeeds in US Department of Energy challenge — 1,000 hours of continuous biomass hydrotreating on a single catalyst charge.  The undefeated champ hits 1200 hours before being retired …

(Air Liquide) Conducted in partnership with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the bioliq™ pilot plant aims at demonstrating the feasibility of a process to produce high-quality sulfur-free fuel from residual biomass. These “second generation” biofuels …

by Ronald Brakels (CleanTechnica)  A $10 million dollar pilot biomass plant will be constructed in the Western Australian Capital of Perth. … The specific type of plants will be mallee crops. This somewhat broad category includes …

The Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is hosting the 2015 Project Peer Review on March 23–27, 2015, at the Hilton Mark Center, in Alexandria, Virginia. Approximately 185 projects in BETO’s research, development, and demonstration portfolio will …

Author, Dan Quadros, in Auburn, Alabama.

by Danilo Gusmão de Quadros* (Advanced Biofuels USA)  After two days (February 2-3, 2015) in “Sweet Home Alabama” at Auburn University, we got overwhelmed with the most recent discoveries of …

(Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves)  This year marks the third round of the Pilot Innovation Fund (PIF), which provides funding and capacity building to organizations and entrepreneurs to develop and test game-changing ideas for the …

by Wally Tyner (The Conversation/Purdue University)  … One challenge to commercializing biofuel made from non-food sources — called cellulosic biofuels — has been cost.
Unlike ethanol made from corn, cellulosic biofuels are made from the inedible parts …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Pyromania! Anellotech lands key European partners to commercialize its pyrolysis-based pathway to high-value renewable BTX chemicals.
In New York, Anellotech, IFP Energies nouvelles and its subsidiary Axens have announced a strategic …

by Greg Cunningham (Argonne National Laboratory)  A new version of an online tool created by the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory will help biofuels developers gain a detailed understanding of water consumption of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Oil prices continue to show incredible volatility. $106 in June, $50 today. Which biofuels ventures have the pro-formas to make money in a tough market? The Digest investigates.
…
Avello Bioenergy
Cost: $57.50 per …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Aviation biofuels on the rise, in the skies” tops the trend list; drop-in and cellulosic ethanol projects; M&A and cap raises, and action from strategic investors and customers dominate the …

by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In New York state, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that $709.2 million in economic and community development funding has been awarded through Round IV of the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) …

(Elsevier)  Bioenergy: Biomass to Biofuels examines all current and emerging feedstocks and the advanced processes and technologies enabling the development of their end products, ranging from solid (wood energy, grass energy, and other biomass) to …

by Steven Mufson (The Washington Post)  Just over a year ago, billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla was bubbling with optimism about one of his latest investments: KiOR, a biofuel outfit he said would turn wood …

by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA)  What a wonderful day, talking from dawn ‘til dusk about the past, present and future of biofuels with faculty and students excited about their work in this area.
It was …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  As Alberta looks at what might works for them in industrial biotech — Jacobs comes up with a useful take on Renmatix, GTI, LanzaTech, Enerkem, REG and OPX Bio — …

by Donnelle Eller (Des Moines Register)  Oil and gas giant ExxonMobil Corp. is investing $1 million over two years to establish an advanced biofuels research program at Iowa State University, the partners said today.
The ExxonMobil …

by Sergei Blair  (Town and Country)  Although it may look like an ordinary tall grass, scientists from Penn State’s Cooperative Extension, Montgomery County, said switchgrass—commonly found across much of the eastern and southern Unites States—can …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Think affordable, available, sustainable carbon is the biggest barrier to the growth of biofuels? Or, access to market via blender pumps?   In the case of drop-in biofuels, the biggest challenge …

(Navigant Research)  Viewed as a game changer in the race to commercialize advanced biofuels, aviation and marine biofuels represent a very significant opportunity for emerging producers in the advanced biofuels industry. Demand for advanced biofuels …

(Europa.EU)  … NER 300 is one of the world’s largest funding programmes for innovative low-carbon energy demonstration projects. The programme aims to successfully demonstrate environmentally safe carbon capture and storage (CCS) and innovative renewable energy (RES) …

by Olatomiwa Bifarin* (Advanced Biofuels USA) The June edition of the Northeast bioenergy webinar series by Northeast Woody/Warm-season Biomass Consortium (NEWBio) featured Kwesi Boateng – Lead Scientist at the United States Department of Energy, Agricultural …

(Aston University/Biomass Magazine)  A sustainable biofuel made from Norwegian forest wood waste could help transform the shipping industry and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
Alternative sustainable fuels are urgently needed in the marine transport sector due …

(Biorizon)  South-western Netherlands-based Biobased Delta Foundation has agreed to work closely with the Canadian sustainable chemistry alliance Bioindustrial Innovation Canada. Together they aim to accelerate the international commercialization of advanced new technologies. Biorizon is one …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  A new wonder technology to behold: über low-cost hydrous pyrolysis for power and fuels.  What’s up at the front lines with the pyro kings?
A few weeks ago, in our continuing …

(US Department of Energy)  The Bioenergy Technologies Office has announced a request for information (RFI) seeking stakeholder input on the eight representative biofuel pathways it has selected to guide its research and development strategy. The …

by Ann Perry (US Department of Agriculture)   Innovations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are bringing researchers one step closer to developing “green” biofuel production systems farmers can use to meet on-farm energy needs, or to …

(Valmet Corp./Biomass Magazine)  Fortum, UPM and Valmet have joined forces to develop a new, winning technology to produce advanced high value lignocellulosic fuels, such as transportation fuels or higher value bio-liquids. The idea is to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … “You will never have enough affordable hydrogen.”   Perhaps that is the attractor in the news from little-known Solarvest Bioenergy, when they announced  third party confirmation of their bio-hydrogen expression system following the …

by Danilo Gusmao de Quadros (Advanced Biofuels USA)*  Biochar is a black matter produced by pyrolysis of biomass (burned without or with a little amount of oxygen), which can be used as a soil amendment. …

(Battelle/Biomass Magazine)  Battelle engineers and scientists have developed a mobile device that transforms unwanted biomass materials such as wood chips or agricultural waste into valuable bio-oil using catalytic pyrolysis. As currently configured, the Battelle-funded unit …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …The new technologies that come along have to provide pressure, temperature and feedstock at their own cost. So it’s the cost of those three elements, competing against the cost of …

(Biofuels International)  Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), in cooperation with Chemieanlangenbau Chemnitz, has produced renewable fuel at its Bioliq (biomass to liquid karlsruhe) pilot plant.
With the synthesis stage of the plant now operational, all stages …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The complete Cool Planet story. What is it? Why transformational? What are the next steps?  New venture will convert wood waste to gasoline.
In Louisiana, Cool Planet Energy Systems CEO Howard …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  A technology developed for Europe finds it is in demand again, as technologists address the growing mountains of palm waste and its special opportunities and challenges.
…So, if we turn to …

(US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service) The process dates to ancient Egypt. Now, it’s being studied here by the USDA as a way to fuel farms.  Pour a few handfuls of chopped- up corn stalks …

by Bob Brooks (Automotive Industries)  Bio diesel and JetA have moved a giant step ahead in the race to provide renewable, price competitive fuels that drastically cut GHG emissions and the need for imported fuel. At …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  A numbers of readers responding to “Biofuels from a raging fireball” (Friday’s Top Story, on research work with the raging fireball, Pyrococchus furiosus, to make biofuels and renewable chemicals from …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) In early March, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany announced the successful commissioning of the second stage of its bioliq pilot plant. The achievement was made in cooperation with …

Tours are set for TRI on Monday afternoon and for Piedmont BioProducts on Wednesday morning.  Symposium presentations and discussions will take place all day Tuesday.
Preliminary Agenda:
Monday, April 22:

Arrival to the hotel and check in.

Make sure …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Fast pyrolysis developer plans to rapidly expand green benzene and toluene production in 2013 for downstream product development purposes.   Opens new pilot plant, R&D facility in New York; green …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  A 32-page report by Lux Research picks winners and losers in 2012 among alternative fuel developers. The state of the market report, which is provided only to clients, also …

(Environmental Protection Agency)   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to identify additional fuel pathways that the Agency has determined meet the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements for biomass-based diesel, …

(University of Massachusetts-Amherst NewsWise)  Paul J. Dauenhauer, a chemical engineer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has received a five-year, $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s CAREER program to conduct basic research on the …

by Robert Rapier  (Biofuels Digest/Energy Trends Insider)  Last month KiOR announced the start of production of biocrude from their Columbus, Mississippi plant. KiOR CEO Fred Cannon stated in an earnings call that when the product shipped …

(US Department of Energy) This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will address research and development (R&D) challenges that were identified at a stakeholder workshop held in December 2011 called “Conversion Technologies for Advanced Biofuels” (CTAB) and from …

(National Renewable Energy Laboratory)  Goal is to develop new catalysts to lower costs for producing biofuels
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will partner with Johnson Matthey, a global specialty chemicals company, …

by Robert Rapier (Biobased Digest/Energy Trends Insider)  Researchers tout a process to make oil from algae biomass – is it pyro oil or a real biocrude?
…Researchers at the University of Michigan announced that they had …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Ensyn – moving rapidly towards scale as a transport fuel technology after decades in smaller, high-value markets.  What does Ensyn’s signature RTP technology, that’s making such a splash, look like?
…Ensyn …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Brent Crude trades this past week at a transorbital $109 per barrel (West Texas Intermediate at a suborbital, if high, $85).  It puts the conventional wisdom that biofuels are too …

by  Bruce Dorminey (Renewable Energy World)  …Armed with a $200,000 U.S.D.A. two-year research grant, Fernando Resende will start work on a fast pyrolysis mobile reactor next year that could revolutionize how foresters and the timber industry …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Can local communities pyrolize their wastes and residues, to make renewable fuels and chemicals at biobased super-refineries?   Two-step processes could be the ticket to the future, according to an …

(RTI)  RTI International began construction last week on a new 3,000-square-foot energy technology development facility on RTI’s main campus in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
The facility will house a biomass pyrolysis reactor to further extend RTI’s biofuels …

by Haiping Yang, Rong Yan,  Hanping Chen, Dong Ho Lee, Chuguang Zheng  (Fuel)  The pyrolysis characteristics of three main components (hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin) of biomass were investigated using, respectively, a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) detector …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  What exactly happens in depolymerization, as hydrogen bonds break down?  How could that revolutionize the process of making fuels, solvents, thinners, lacquers or paints out of biobased materials?
Before one is …

by Steve Clark  (The Brownsville Herald)   After a year in development, Tire Recycling & Processing, a facility unlike anything else in Texas and possibly the United States, has thrown the switch in Harlingen.
On Friday, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Yet, even in an era where venture capital has been harder to come by (Why? See these 42 article links under the rubric, “The VC Model is Broken” ) — some great …