by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Spain, BIOCON-CO2, a new €7 million EU Horizon 2020-funded research project, has recently kicked-off with intentions of supporting EU leadership in carbon dioxide (CO2) re-use technologies. BIOCON-CO2 aims to re-use excess CO2 …

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest)  Syngas, or synthesis gas, is on fire lately, with new technologies making the most of waste products like CO2 or low-grade biomass and converting them into useful hot stuff like …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Harnessing Methane & Methanol as Feedstocks, that’s the subject of this overview of the uses of methanol when used by engineered platform organisms for fuel and chemical production. The background is …

(Siemens Spain/NGV Journal)  Siemens  presented  its  new  high-efficiency,  low-emission  gas  engines  at  the  6th China International Bioenergy and Biomass Utilization Summit in Shanghai. One of the advantages of these new engines is that they can use a …

(Clean Electricity Generation/PR Newswire)  At several locations around the world, a partnership of international companies will start construction of facilities, where biocoal will be produced on a commercial scale. This biocoal can be used as sustainable …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Sierra Energy has created what is billed as “the world’s most efficient gasifier,” FastOx, developed in conjunction with UC Davis, US Army and California Energy Commission. Gasification is the missing link …

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest)  With 195 countries on the planet today, an impressive 53 countries are Commonwealth countries, including countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific. They include large, rich countries …

(Global Bioenergies)  First Audi car to drive at the Montlhéry circuit using over 34% renewable gasoline; One-cylinder engine testing results confirm renewable gasoline has very high performances; Start of the on-road testing phase  —  Today, for the first …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  “What would industrial progress be without natural rubber?” asks Rubber Journal Asia. “It’s hardly imaginable.” Listed as one of our four most important natural resources (the others being air, water, and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions (SBAR) is a multi-level research project that will cultivate two desert-dwelling crops, guayule and guar, for a sustainable bioeconomy. Combined, guayule (perennial) and guar (annual) feedstocks …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Can it be done? That is, development of a sustainable green chemistry platform for production of acetone and downstream drop-in fuel and commodity products directly from biomass syngas via a novel …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … The biggest news along that front represents early-stage technology, but we read here that engineers at Ohio State announced that they’ve devised a process that under certain circumstances can convert coal, shale gas and …

by Tom Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  It’s not every day that scientists stumble upon novel ways to make biofuel, but that’s exactly what Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have done by discovering that a simple catalyst …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The US Department of Energy is supporting a Kiverdi-led project to develop microbial biocatalysts to convert syngas into monoterpenes.
Syngas feedstocks are relatively inexpensive and diverse, and thermophiles have several unique advantages; …

Sunfire’s key technology is the Solid Oxide Power Core – a stack of high-temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs).
SOFCs convert chemical energy from a gaseous fuel into electricity and heat. Unlike conventional fuel cells, Sunfire …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions (SBAR) is a multi-level research project that will cultivate two desert-dwelling crops, guayule and guar, for a sustainable bioeconomy. Scale up to profitable production, however, requires …

By Michael Eggleston* (Advanced Biofuels USA)  On December 5th, 2017 the Institute of Technical Chemistry (ITC) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) hosted a workshop for members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Bioenergy Task …

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 …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The Ontario Centres of Excellence have announced 20 semi-finalists for Ontario’s Solutions 2030 Challenge, which calls on innovators to propose solutions to help the province’s industry reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Responses to Request for Information DE-FOA-0001526: Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Pilot Verification Capabilities  …   In February 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) reached out to industry, academia, national …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The Visolis process will enable production of bio-based elastomers, unsaturated polyester resins, super adsorbent polymers, and other products using a variety of feedstocks like agri-residues, dextrose, glycerol and syn-gas. As we …

by S. Himmelstein (Engineering 360/IEEE)  A new plasma synthesis process promises to enhance greenhouse gas emissions control while producing valuable chemical feedstocks. The technology developed at University of Liverpool allows for the direct, one-step activation of carbon dioxide and …

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 …

(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)  Solar-to-Fuel System Recycles CO2 to Make Ethanol and Ethylene  —  Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have harnessed the power of photosynthesis to convert carbon …

(Phys.Org/ VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland)  EU project COMSYN aims to develop a production concept for competitive bio-based fuels by means of a compact gasification and synthesis process. The target reduction for biofuel production …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The US Department of Energy initiated a project to advance a hybrid conversion technology for catalytic upgrading of biomass-derived syngas to produce Alcohol-to-Jet fuel and chemicals while meeting the cost, quality …

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)  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 …

(LanzaTech)  Acetogens are one of the oldest living organisms, with the acetogenic CO2 fixing pathway considered to be one of the first biochemical pathways on Earth. Today, these organisms still play a major role in …

(BECOOL/AltEnergyMag) A new Horizon 2020 project will foster cooperation between Europe and Brazil in the development of advanced biofuels from sustainable agricultural value chains, based on lignocellulosic biomass. Coordinated by the University of Bologna, Department …

(Recycling Magazine)  TO-SYN-FUEL is a project funded by Horizon 2020 EU’s new research and innovation programme, with the aim to build-up, operate and demonstrate the production of Synthetic Fuels and Green Hydrogen from waste biomass.
…
Twelve …

by Cathie Anderson (Sacramento Bee)  … Essentially, the company uses a blast furnace to heat metals, glass, ash and organic solids to a temperature of 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than the temperatures at the center of …

(Ethanol Producer Magazine)  ICM Inc. will build a new state-of-the-art biorefinery—dubbed ICM Element—next to its headquarters in Colwich, Kansas. The facility will showcase the company’s cutting-edge technologies.
…
Elements are nature’s building blocks and the world is …

by Dina Bacovsky, Andrea Sonnleitner (Task39 Newsletter)  …  Domestic FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) production in 2014 was 292,009 tonnes based on rapeseed (72%), used cooking oil (19%), animal fat (8%) and fatty acids (1%). The feedstock …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Oberon Fuels is facilitating the growth of the DME transportation industry by converting biogas and other hydrocarbon rich waste streams to higher valued commodities such as DME. Using its proprietary …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) News has arrived from Denver (the company) and the UK (the project and partners) that SynTech Bioenergy will build what it terms “a revolutionary clean-energy plant in the United Kingdom …

(Goethe University Frankfurt/EurekAlert!)  Goethe University Frankfurt coordinates European two million Euro project  —   Microbes are already used on a wide scale for the production of fuels and base chemicals, but for this most of …

(Lockheed Martin/Biomass Magazine)  Lockheed Martin opened a new bioenergy facility in Owego, New York, at a ribbon cutting ceremony Sept. 21. The system, which is now completing commissioning, uses Concord Blue’s advanced technology that will convert …

by  Gary C. Young (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Bio-Thermal Energy Inc.)  A new process for the economical conversion of carbon dioxide into fuels such as ethanol has been developed. The proprietary noncatalytic process combines CO2 with a …

(Intratec Solutions LLC/EIN Presswire)  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 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the US Department of Energy announced up to $11.3 million for three projects that support the development of biomass-to-hydrocarbon biofuels conversion pathways that, as the DOE remarked, “can …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Remember how natural gas was the no-brainer of all time. Gas-to-Liquids was the rage, and a gold rush of companies popped up such as Siluria Technologies, Calysta, and Mango Materials. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  More prosperity, less pollution for China? In the East, the search is on for more sustainable, efficient energy, and flexible gasification answers the challenge. There, Synthesis Energy Systems is leading …

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. …

by Committee on Propulsion and Energy Systems to Reduce Commercial Aviation Carbon Emissions; Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board; Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies Press) The primary …

(Office of Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)  25 Percent of Soybean Oil Processed in U.S. is used for Biodiesel and Bioheat. Ohio Ranks Sixth in the Nation for Soybean Production.  —  Today (May 11, 2016), U.S. …

(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 …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  The U.S. Department of Energy is seeking input from industry, academia, national laboratories, and other biofuels and bioproducts stakeholders to identify existing pilot- or process development-scale facilities with the capability to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  LanzaTech has developed a fully sustainable integrative gas to fuels and chemicals platform that has no impact on food, water security or high biodiversity land use.
LanzaTech’s gas fermentation platform disrupts …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The Visolis process will enable production of bio-based elastomers, unsaturated polyester resins, super adsorbent polymers, and other products using a variety of feedstocks like agri-residues, dextrose, glycerol and syn-gas. As …

(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 …

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 Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In California, Oberon Fuels, Ford Motor Company, and FVV have partnered on a 3-year, €3.5M project to research, analyze and test the potential of dimethyl ether and OME fuel in …

(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 …

(Total) The BioTfueL project focuses on producing second-generation biodiesel and bio-jet fuel via thermochemical conversion. Total is working with five partners to bring the process to commercial-scale production.
In the BioTfueL project, Total is working with five …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Sklar & Associates is a South Carolina based consulting firm now specializing in Biofuels project development. … S&A is actively engaged in development of a biorefinery converting 360,000 dry tons per …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Today, as part of the Administration’s all-of-the-above energy approach, the Department of Energy has selected four projects to receive funding for next-generation gasification systems that also reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. …

(University of Wyoming)  After graduating from Northern Kentucky University with bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and accounting, Allen Morris decided to pursue graduate studies at the University of Wyoming for two primary reasons: the Rocky Mountain …

by Tim Sklar (Biofuels Digest)  Anyone that has followed the evolution of processes that are used to make fuels out of waste recognizes that the permutations and combinations of processes that can be used has …

by Tim Portz (Biomass Magazine) Enerkem President and CEO Vincent Chornet and his team have driven Enerkem along a commercialization pathway for the past 10 years. As Enerkem’s first commercial-scale deployment in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, enters …

(Gas Technology Institute) In a recently completed project, Gas Technology Institute (GTI) worked with Haldor Topsoe, Inc. on an integrated biorefinery to make renewable “drop-in” gasoline, successfully producing a high-octane transportation fuel. The use of renewable gasoline could reduce lifecycle …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Reminiscent of 2009′s Summer of Algae, when those technologies were coming out of the woodwork, we appear to be in the Hydrogen Spring.  Every time we write about them, more …

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) The uses of glycerin – crude, USP-grade or otherwise – and other byproducts from biodiesel production are virtually limitless. Profiled here is the glycerin and coproduct research of three Next Generation …

Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  The uses of glycerin – crude, USP-grade or otherwise – and other byproducts from biodiesel production are virtually limitless. Profiled here is the glycerin and coproduct research of three Next Generation …

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 …

by Stuart Radnedge  (GasWorld)  Air Liquide, in a joint project with the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT) in Germany, has successfully completed the second stage of a second generation biofuels pilot unit at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe.
This pilot …

by Richard C. Baliban, Josephine A. Elia, Christodoulos A. Floudas, Xin Xiao, Zhijian Zhang , Jie Li , Hongbin Cao, Jiong Ma §, Yong Qiao, and Xuteng Hu (Industrial Engineering and Chemistry Research)  Duckweed biomass is …

(Luleå University of Technology)  A new important step has been taken by researchers at Luleå University of Technology when it comes to clean synthesis gas from carbon dioxide, using zeolite membranes. This super filter, which …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … In the biofuels revolution, the primary focus has been not on producing methanol (and, ultimately, gasoline) from syngas, but primarily on the production of ethanol. Three of the major …

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 …

by Bruce C. Folkedahl (Biomass Magazine/Energy & Environmental Research Center) As part of the ongoing research at the Energy & Environmental Research Center, we have been developing a catalytic pathway to convert ethanol or mixtures of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Breakthroughs in making consistent syngas from negative-cost municipal solid waste spells “big prospects” for Enerkem in biobased fuels and chemicals.
In oil we have the crack spread, corn ethanol and soy-based …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Making good, affordable syngas from municipal solid waste to unlock 9 billion gallons of low-cost fuel? Covanta’s hot new gasification technology makes a big dent in the big challenge.
…The bumps …

by James Murray  (Business Green)  Could gasification hold the key to the decarbonisation of the North East’s heavy industries?
Researchers at the Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability(NIReS) are working on ambitious plans that could establish the …

by David Hoyt (Senior Research Scientist, Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) Hoyt first provides an overview of EMSL and their mission to integrate experimental and computational resources with innovative technologies to support …