by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Fulcrum BioEnergy has developed a “game-changing process for converting municipal solid waste that would otherwise be landfilled, into renewable transportation fuels including syncrude, jet fuel and diesel”.
The company recently broke …

Today, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced four funding opportunities totaling up to $78 million to support early-stage bioenergy research and development under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office.
“The …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The IH2 process was developed by Gas Technology Institute (GTI) of Des Plaines, Illinois—a research, development, and training organization serving energy markets.  GTI experts invented, tested, and patented IH2 technology and are providing …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) hosted the 2017 Project Peer Review on March 6–9, 2017, in Denver, Colorado. During the event, approximately 192 projects in BETO’s research, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Improving hydrogen utilization and carbon recovery, as a pathway to higher efficiency bio-oil production using thermochemical process? That’s the focus for a project from RTI International that picked up significant DOE …

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)  Velocys enables modular gas-to-liquids and biomass-to-liquids plants to convert unconventional, remote and problem gas and waste biomass into valuable, drop-in liquid fuels.
After 15 years and some $300 million in investment, Velocys …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … You’d be forgiven if you mistook Ahb Subi Banr-Sbar for a well-placed official in the Iranian government — but, in fact, it’s a 9-project network to facilitate the development of regionally-based …

(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 on hydrothermal liquefaction — a thermochemical interface for algae biofuels — developing processing methods to reduce conversion cost, improve sustainability and …

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 …

(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 …

On March 6–9, 2017, BETO hosted its biennial Project Peer Review in Denver, Colorado. During the event, approximately 192 projects in BETO’s research and development (R&D) portfolio were presented to the public and a panel …

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 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The Digest had a well-received webinar on cellulosic ethanol, featuring in-demand industry consultants Michele Rubino  and Michael Schultz, on hand to detail the very latest in a wide array of approaches to making …

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 …

Bernard Cooker (Chemical Processing Solutions/Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest)  Cheap, plentiful lignocellulosic biomass (LCB), consisting of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, is deconstructed to release useful chemical intermediates in the bioeconomy. These include glucose from cellulose, glucose …

(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, …

(Lux Research, Inc.)  Advanced biofuels will nearly double in five years to 9.6 billion gallons per year as first-generation fuels like traditional biodiesel lose out to newer low-carbon fuels, says Lux Research  —  New biofuel …

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 …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Today, the Energy Department (DOE) announced the selection of six projects for up to $12.9 million in federal funding, entitled, “Project Definition for Pilot- and Demonstration-Scale Manufacturing of Biofuels, Bioproducts, and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Fulcrum BioEnergy has developed a “game-changing process for converting municipal solid waste that would otherwise be landfilled, into renewable transportation fuels including syncrude, jet fuel and diesel”. The company has …

(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 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 Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  This week, we conducted a webinar on Biorenewables Megatrends with NEXANT principal Ron Cascone, who gave these incisive slides on the state of commercialization in fuels, chemicals, biomaterials and nutrition. READ …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Genera Energy “leads the nation in the commercialization of integrated biomass supply chain solutions for the biofuels, biopower and biochemicals markets.”
Initially formed in 2008, Genera works with leading technology providers …

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 …

In honor of Earth Week, you are invited to join a webinar about the Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) Field-to-Fleet project and its outcomes to date on Wednesday, April 20, 1–2 p.m. Eastern Time. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The IH2 process was developed by Gas Technology Institute (GTI) of Des Plaines, Illinois—a research, development, and training organization serving energy markets.  GTI experts invented, tested, and patented IH2 technology and are …

(US Department of Energy)  Learn about recent updates in thermochemical biomass conversion science from BETO Director Dr. Jonathan Male, who discusses exciting breakthroughs presented during tcbiomass2015: The International Conference on Thermochemical Conversion Science in November …

(Biofuels International)  Shell India Markets, the Indian arm of Royal Dutch Shell, has announced plans to build a five tonne/day biofuel demonstration plant using IH2 technology on the site of its new technology centre in …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Mercurius says it “has the technology and processes that will, for the first time, make the production of cellulosic biofuels profitable while meeting the needs of the diesel and jet …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  xF Technologies Inc. is an Albuquerque, NM based company that has developed a thermochemical process to convert biomass into an advanced oxygenate that is compatible with gasoline, diesel and heating …

(PR Newswire)  Boeing (NYSE: BA), the University of British Columbia (UBC) and SkyNRG, with support from Canada’s aviation industry and other stakeholders, are collaborating to turn leftover branches, sawdust and other forest-industry waste into sustainable …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Norwegian company to convert woody biomass into transportation fuels  —  In Texas, SynSel Energi has entered into an IH2 process demonstration license agreement with CRI/Criterion Catalyst Company Ltd, a member …

by Michelle Ma (University of Washington Today)  Groves of poplar trees could one day fuel our vehicles and be the source of chemicals that we use in our daily lives.  A five-year, $40 million study …

by Forest Concepts LLC (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Forest Concepts LLC was recently notified that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research contract from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The two-year …

(FORDAQ)  The Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) is investing SEK 180 million (€19,2 million) in two new research programs to develop more efficient and cheaper principles of the biofuel production.
– We stake on the necessity of biofuels …

(United Airlines/PR Newswire)  Airline has opportunity to purchase at least 90 million gallons of sustainable aviation biofuel a year — Single largest investment by a U.S. airline in alternative fuels
United Airlines today announced an historic $30 …

by Osaretin Omorodion* (Advanced Biofuels USA) During late March 2015, the US Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) offered what amounted to a seminar for the public consisting of a series of presentations …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) For most investors, building a demonstration-scale facility in order to get, and validate, data for the last pre-commercial stages, is a necessary evil somewhere between diaper-changing and a colonoscopy on the …

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 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  A mere “The Year in Rewind” as we reach the end of 2014? Not the intrepidSS Digest! Instead, we dust off our crystal ball and peer into tomorrowland.
1. The Year …

(US Department of Energy)  On June 11–12, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) hosted a workshop in Lakewood, Colorado, to discuss research and development …

(Global BioBusiness)  It may be surprising to know that, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as “cellulosic ethanol”. Instead, there is cellulosic “sugars”. That because it is often forgotten that the cellulosic process (also …

by Alicia Moulton (U.S. Department of Energy)  … These cellulosic ethanol plants managed by Abengoa, POET-DSM, and INEOS are three of the fifteen active integrated biorefinery projects under the Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office. Also, three …

by  Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  … A week before the FEW, Enerkem Inc. celebrated the inauguration of its 10 MMgy facility in Edmonton, Alberta. Commissioning is nearly completed, reported Tim Cesarek, senior vice president of …

by Tim Sklar (Biofuels Digest) Part 1 … It seems that many of the companies providing new biofuels technologies do not fully understanding the competitive environment that they must navigate. As a consequence they fail to …

by Mark Peplow (Nature)  Pioneering biofuel producers hope that US government largesse will ease their way into a tough market.
…Thousands of tonnes of corn stover — the leaves, stalks and husks left over after the maize …

(The Economist) Energy technology: Making large amounts of fuel from organic matter has proved to be more difficult and costly than expected
…As well as being available to countries without tar sands, shale fields or gushers, biofuels …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In today’s Digest – visit our 5-Minute Guide to Loan Guarantees — INEOS Bio, Myriant, Sapphire Energy, Abengoa, Chemtex, Enerkem, Fiberight, Fulcrum, ZeaChem – Plus POET-DSM, Diamond Green Diesel, Coskata and Range Fuels
Projects open …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The International Energy Agency Bioenergy Task 39 group recently published a report that outlines progress on more than 100 advanced biofuel projects under development worldwide. The report, titled “Status …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The International Energy Agency, through its Task 39 group, has published its 207-page report on the “Status of Advanced Biofuels Demonstration Facilities in 2012″.
The report, in its pages, contains detailed …

(SEKAB/Davy Process Technology)  Davy Process Technology Limited (Davy), a Johnson Matthey company, andSEKAB, a leading player in the field of the ethanol based chemicals and biofuels, today announced at World Biofuels Markets that they are …

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 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 …

(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, …

by Mona-Maria Brinker & Roger Coombs (Waste Management World)  Rising prices, continued conflict in producing regions and the spectre of peak oil have highlighted uncertainties about the future of fossil transport fuels in Europe. Mona-Maria Brinker …

(KBR) KBR announced it was selected by CRI Catalyst Company (CRI) as the preferred Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) partner supporting licensed design of IH2 technology commercial scale facilities, having greater than 330-tons/day dry biomass …

Biofuels Digest announced its annual awards for achievement in the development of biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased materials – all available with background on the who, what and why of each award – today at …

(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 Science Foundation)  The Bioenergy Center at North Carolina A&T State University (NCA&T) will be an educational and research resource for the United States in the field of thermochemical conversion of biomass to bioenergy. The …

by Sue Retka Schill (Biomass Magazine) Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc. received a $105 million condition loan guarantee from the USDA, putting its planned 10 MMgy Sierra BioFuels Plant closer to groundbreaking. “This USDA loan guarantee provides a …

This conference is organized as part of the BIOFUELS-2G demonstration project funded by the European Union and the LIFE+ Programme.
The Bio4SuD conference aims to:

highlight promising R&D activities in the fields of biofuels production
present demonstration projects …

The call for abstracts is currently open for presentations in the International Conference on Biofuels for Sustainable Development of Southern Europe (Bio4SuD), which will take place in Thessaloniki, Greece on 19-20th of November 2012.
The Bio4Sud …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In-field bioprocessing? Dramatically higher plant oil production? R&D breakthroughs offer new paths to victory for Millers vs Drillers.
If you haven’t been getting most of your information on the Renewable Fuel …

(Purdue University)  A new Purdue University-developed process for creating biofuels has shown potential to be cost-effective for production scale, opening the door for moving beyond the laboratory setting.
A Purdue economic analysis shows that the cost …

by Kevin Billinghurst  (KTH)  The KTH-led, 26-member consortium BRISK has begun accepting proposals from researchers studying improved production methods for biofuels and thermal biomass conversion. Financed by €11 million in EU research funds, the project …

(Maverick BioFuels)  Companies will integrate technologies to accelerate the cost competitive production of transportation fuels and bioplastics from biomass and waste feedstocks…
Maverick Biofuels, a second-generation biofuels and bioplastics technology company, and TopLine Energy Systems (TES) …

(EcoGreen4US) … Cellulosic ethanol is produced from plant fibre which is widely available almost anywhere in the world. Today, producing cellulosic ethanol is not in a laboratory anymore. A number ofmanufacturing plants around the world have been producing cellulosic ethanol asalternative to diesel and gasoline orpetrol.
Some of the plant fibres which …

(IFP Energies Nouvelles)  The numerous research programmes looking at new-generation biofuels that were initiated over the last ten years are now starting to bear fruit. Although no plants are producing and
marketing biofuels yet, the large-scale, industrial …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Georgia, the University of Georgia has teamed with the University of Puerto Rico to develop a new R&D center that will focus on algae-based biofuels thanks to a $4 million grant …

by John Schueler (US Department of Energy)  The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy works in partnership with industry to develop, build, operate and validate integrated biorefineries across the country at various scales …

by Tilde Herrera  (GreenBiz.com)  …That’s because for Waste Management, garbage isn’t just garbage anymore.
“You can begin to extrapolate some pretty interesting business models when you think of waste as a resource,” said Tim Cesarek, managing …

by Phil Brasher (Des Moines Register)  Researchers at Iowa State University have won a $25 million federal grant to figure out ways to make it economical for farmers in the region to grow switchgrass and …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Iowa’s research community has been awarded $20 million through the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research with the goal of establishing the state as a leader …

(BusinessWire/Primus Green Energy)  Primus Green Energy (“Primus”), the leader in renewable, drop-in fuel, has expanded its U.S.-based development facility in New Jersey, enabling the company to build its complete, integrated thermal-chemical process. Primus’ game-changing process …

(US Department of Energy)  In support of the Obama Administration’s comprehensive efforts to strengthen U.S. energy security,  U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced up to $12 million to fund three small-scale projects in Illinois, …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  …(I)ndustry experts discussed their views toward integrating cellulosic production at existing corn ethanol facilities.
…The panelists seemed in agreement that integrating cellulosic ethanol production with existing first-generation plants presents an …

(US Department of Energy)  The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Biomass Program will be conducting detailed biennial peer review meetings of its activities throughout the first half …

(National Advanced Biofuels Consortium)  This 55-slide presentation from a National Advanced Biofuels Consortium Webinar describes the organization and work of the consortium using many valuable charts, graphs and illustrations, including those that depict existing infrastructure.
One …

by Melissa O’Neil Perdue (Washington State University)  An innovative idea for making advanced biofuels such as jet fuel, diesel and gasoline from regional resources is moving forward with a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …How’s an investor to parse out all these technologies. For many, it’s a case of “you’re making what, from what, using what?”
…Here at the Digest, we think of it as …

By Robert Kozak (Atlantic Biomass Conversions, Inc.)  Worldwide Importance of Protein Animal Feed
When I began working with sugar beet processors on our beet pulp biofuel sugar process, one of their first questions was, “Will there …

by Dean Brickley  (East Oregonian)  Zea-Chem’s cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant is more than one-third finished.
Builders erected three 40,000-gallon fermentation tanks this week and continued bolting together the steel structure for the two-story operations building.
Excavation began …

Biomass gasification is a key technology for biomass utilization in the future. All forms of energy currently used can be produced via conversion of solid biomass into syngas: heat, electricity and synthetic biofuels. In former …

The Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels (C2B2) is a cooperative research and educational center devoted to the conversion of biomass to fuels and other products.
C2B2 Short Courses offer comprehensive training for industry and research …

by Vinod Khosla (Green Tech Media)  Part 1: Production technologies: where are we? The financial crisis of 2008 set back a number of projects and slowed actual construction of pilot and demo plants like it …

by Dr. J. Richard Hess (Biomass Program Technology Manager, Idaho National Laboratory)  Dr. Hess details the biomass attributes that impact the nature of and cost of feedstock preparation, biochemical conversion, and thermochemcal conversion, along with general …

by Stephen K. Ritter (Chemical & Engineering News)  Chemists, chemical engineers, and synthetic biologists have largely met the technical challenge of developing biofuels to supplement and then replace petroleum-derived transportation fuels in the coming decades. …