by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The US Department of Energy has a key project called Co-Optima, which aims to determine key fuel properties that enable improved engine efficiency, provide key science to enable high efficiency combustion …

by Hal Bernton (Seattle Times)  Proponents of a Washington carbon-fee initiative showed up at the Secretary of State’s office in Olympia with more than 370,000 signatures to put their measure on the November ballot.
The signatures tally …

by Tom Rickey (Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory/Phys.Org)  Last month a rocket thundered off a NASA launch pad in Virginia, destined for the International Space Station. Nestled among the 7,400 lbs. of supplies was a handful of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  What is the Feedstock Conversion Interface Consortium and why does it exist?
The Why is simple. #1 issue plaguing High and Low Temperature IBR projects is consistent operability of preprocessing and primary …

by Maegan Murray  (Washington State University-Tri-Cities)  Efforts to create an environmentally friendly catalyst that will lower the cost and increase the efficiency in producing bio-based jet fuels has netted Washington State University researchers a $500,000 grant from the …

(Forest Concepts/EIN Presswire)  Forest Concepts LLC has been awarded a $1.8 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy) to address the critical issues of poor flowability, high friction, and …

by Maegan Murray (Washington State University Tri-Cities)  WSU Tri-Cities associate professor Xiao Zhang is targeting the use of lignin — a common material that makes the cell walls of plants rigid — to create affordable biofuels …

(U.S. Department of Energy/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/EurekAlert!)  ASTM International updates standard for alcohol-to-jet synthetic paraffinic kerosene based on fuel produced by PNNL partner LanzaTech — ASTM International recently revised ASTM D7566 Annex A5 — the Standard Specification …

by Nicholas Deshais (The Spokesman-Review/GovTech)  Seattle has the most alternative-fuel vehicles in its municipal fleet. But its fleet is supposed to be 100 percent alternative.  —  … In 2007, Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a law …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In these top 20 projects, we usually say that we are using waste, but really we are converting something from a state of waste to a state of value — and …

(Office of King County Executive)  At its South Treatment Plant in Renton, King County is purifying the biogas into renewable natural gas, an alternative to fossil fuels that generates revenue for the county while reducing greenhouse …

by Mahmood Ebadian and James D. McMillan (IEA Bioenergy Task 39 Newsletter)  … The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) was enacted in 2007 to enhance domestic production of fuels and spur economic development while reducing reliance …

by Glenn Farley (K5 News)  In the Boeing test, a 777 freighter, ran on residual animal fats and plant oils. — In a historic first, Boeing has flown the first commercial jet on 100 percent biofuel. The …

(U.S. Department of Justice)  Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and United States Attorney Joseph H. Harrington for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Jin …

(Port of Seattle)  Innovative partnership with 13 airlines aims to replace 10 percent of traditional jet fuel with local, sustainable supply in 10 years  —  The Port of Seattle announced today that 13 airlines, including Alaska Airlines, …

by Raphael Orlove (Jalopnik)  Our emissions standards are probably the biggest booster to automotive performance in the past half century, making our cars not only more eco-friendly but more powerful, too. Trump has been trying to cut it …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Adam Klauber of the Rocky Mountain Institute gave this presentation about working with airports to increase sustainable alternative jet fuel use at ABLC in Washington, DC this spring.  READ MORE

by Joanna McWilliams (Colorado State University)  A Colorado State University project to grow and harvest ocean macroalgae for biofuel production has received support from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).
ARPA-E has poured over $22 million …

by Benjamin Storrow (E&E News) … Transportation emissions threaten to undercut blue states’ climate goals, raising questions about their ability to lead U.S. climate efforts at a time when the federal government is rolling back …

(Phys.Org/Colorado State University)  A Colorado State University project to grow and harvest ocean macroalgae for biofuel production has received support from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). 
ARPA-E has poured over $22 million into …

by Betsy Lillian (NGT News)  Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., has signed into law a bill designed to encourage the increased development and use of renewable natural gas (RNG) in Washington State.
According to the Northwest Gas Association …

(FuelsCellsWorks/U.S. Department of Energy)  Innovative Natural-gas Technologies for Efficiency Gain in Reliable and Affordable Thermochemical Electricity-generation (INTEGRATE)
The U.S. electric system is dominated by large, central power plants and an extensive transmission and distribution system commonly referred …

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 Betsy Lillian (NGT News)  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $4 million to support three new cost-shared research projects focused on medium- and heavy-duty, on-road natural gas engines, as well as $3 million to support …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   … I’d start with the news from Aemetis that they are embarking now on a $158 million cellulosic ethanol plant — to be built in Riverbank, California, in partnership with LanzaTech.
Cellulosic …

(The California Advanced Biofuels Alliance /Biodiesel Magazine)  At the California Advanced Biofuels Conference March 1 in Sacramento, Jennifer Case, chair of California Advanced Biofuels Alliance, gave her annual address to a packed house that has evolved to …

by Kelly Shaver (Aemetis)  Aemetis, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTX) announced today that the company successfully built and operated an integrated demonstration unit for more than 120 days of continuous operations with 94% uptime, meeting the requirements for a …

(Flight Global)  Scandinavian operator TUI Nordic has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737 Max, the second to be received by the tourism group.
The airline conducted the Max 8 delivery flight – from Seattle to Stockholm …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  This week marks the 10th anniversary of the first demo flight on biofuel  which was done by Virgin Atlantic.
LanzaTech CEO Jennifer Holmgren shared the factoid that, since that day, more than …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The US Department of Energy has a key project called Co-Optima, which aims to determine key fuel properties that enable improved engine efficiency, provide key science to enable high efficiency combustion …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The Consortium for Computational Physics and Chemistry (CCPC) is a joint core research and development activity among five national laboratories that has been created to utilize unique DOE computational modeling facilities …

by Natasha Geiling (ThinkProgress)  Currently only one state in the country has an economy-wide cap on carbon. These states want to change that  —  Lawmakers from nine states announced on Wednesday that they would be forming a coalition …

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  Continued investment and expansion took place in the U.S. biodiesel sector throughout 2017, despite rising political uncertainty and a lapsed tax credit. Here is an overview of some of the activity, …

(National Biodiesel Board)  Annual awards highlight 25 years of biodiesel success  —  As the U.S. biodiesel industry celebrates 25 years, the National Biodiesel Board’s annual awards recognize a diverse group of individuals and organizations who have made …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  To date, North America is the most active of all regions in terms of deploying advanced technology — whether it is cellulosic ethanol, isobutanol for fuels and chemicals, or renewable chemical …

(Contanda)   In anticipation of increased demand for low-carbon, cleaner fuels, Contanda plans to expand its facility at Grays Harbor to store a portfolio of cleaner fuels including biodiesel, renewable diesel and ultra-low sulfur diesel.
Since 2009, Contanda …

by JP Casey (Power Technology)  … A team of biochemists from Utah State University and the University of Washington has reported a variation in the process of nitrogenase which can “transform carbon dioxide into methane in …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Back in 2016, researchers at Washington State University Tri-Cities landed a National Science Foundation I-Corps grant to explore the market potential of their biojet fuel research. The team had successfully demonstrated a …

(Axios)  Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, will unveil a carbon tax proposal in his address to the state Tuesday, local media reported Thursday.
Why it matters outside of that Washington: The debate, while unique to the Evergreen State, is …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  … In September, the US Department of Energy (DOE) awarded $22 million in grants to fund projects for marine biomass farming for production of commercial products, including feedstock for domestic transportation fuels. The …

by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington state, collaboration on aviation biofuel research may deepen between Boeing and Embraer should a merger between the two companies go forward, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The …

by Jim Brunner (News Tribune)  Dealing a setback to Gov. Jay Inslee’s climate agenda, a judge has invalidated major portions of a state rule requiring greenhouse-gas cuts by refineries, fuel distributors and dozens of other major …

by Erik Hyrkas (U.S. Department of Energy)  Did you know that the Energy Department is working to create biofuel from resources like human waste? In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technology Office works with …

by Waldo del Bosque (EcoSystem Marketplace)  The United States may have withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement, but national and regional leaders from across the Americas have vowed to “Make the Planet Great Again” by embracing …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Now, Fuzhong Zhang, associate professor at the School of Engineering & Applied Science updated the Digest this week and noted that “We designed and then constructed a synthetic metabolic pathway …

by Michelle Ma (Phys.Org/University of Washington)  In the quest to produce affordable biofuels, poplar trees are one of the Pacific Northwest’s best bets—the trees are abundant, fast-growing, adaptable to many terrains and their wood can be …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … During an earnings call, McAfee provided an overview of advanced biofuel projects under development by Aemetis, including the LanzaTech cellulosic upgrade to the company’s Keyes, California, plant and the …

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 …

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

(Next-Gen Transportation News)  The mayors of London, Paris, Los Angeles, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Quito, Vancouver, Mexico City, Milan, Seattle, Auckland and Cape Town have signed the C40 Fossil-Fuel-Free Streets Declaration.
Under the declaration, the city leaders have pledged to procure …

(Port of Seattle/Seattle Times)  Sustainable aviation biofuels could help airlines transition away from fossil fuels and alleviate some impacts of climate change.  —  … Our generation’s greatest gift could be to make air travel environmentally friendly …

by Maegan Murray (WSU Tri-Cities/Washington State University)  A method of converting a biofuel waste product into a usable and valuable commodity has been discovered by researchers at Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Converting algae to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Sweet sorghum stardom! In possibly one of the largest government grants given to anyone for research on a single feedstock, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is receiving a 5-year $16 million …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Somewhere in the files of the Department of Energy it is called the Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium. Inside the halls of National Labs, they call it ChemCatBio.
…
They’re on a mission to bring …

(U.S. Department of Agriculture)  The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced six grants totaling nearly $21.1 million to support the development of new jet fuel, biobased products …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Yes, ARPA-E has unveiled its latest moonshot and is investing $22M in Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources — also known as MARINER.
The projects that comprise ARPA-E’s Macroalgae Research Inspiring …

(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 Candice Ruud (The News Tribune)  An oil refinery on Tacoma’s Tideflats is filing for permits to build a renewable energy project that will allow it to eventually produce biodiesel and biojet fuels.
U.S. Oil & Refining …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The US Department of Energy is supporting a project led by Pacific Northwest National Lab to develop a new deconstruction technology to provide low ash and low impurity sugars and sugar-derived intermediates …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  While we’ve been busy fleeing Hurricane Irma, it’s been a busy week for the techies running the Digest’s Very Large Gossip Array —  the airwaves have been crackling as some …

by Lacy Cooke (Inhabitat)  Marine BioEnergy’s new kelp elevator grows seaweed on a long tube, and if tests go well, they hope to start farming in the open ocean between Hawaii and California. They’re working with the Pacific …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The US Department of Energy is supporting a project to develop efficient and robust fungal biocatalysts and bioprocesses that utilize lignocellulose feedstocks to produce advanced biofuels and bioproducts at lower …

by Peter Wilcox (Passage Maker)  Having the opportunity to imagine and oversee the building of my own ideal Inside Passage vessel has been exquisitely educational—initiating a chain of engaging design, building, voyaging, and teaching adventures.
…
Taking …

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 …

(Washington Forest Protection Association/Seattle Times)  Aviation biofuel is made from forest residuals, the limbs and branches that are left after the harvesting of managed forests.  —  Alaska Airlines made history recently, flying the first commercial …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Today (August 22, 2017), the Energy Department (DOE) announced $13.4 million in support of five new cost-shared, community-based projects focused on energy efficient mobility systems including connected and autonomous vehicles and …

by Aerin Einstein-Curtis (Feed Navigator)  A team of researchers have developed a faster way to generate microalgae on a biofilm with potential applications for feed. READ MORE
 

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Hydrothermal liquefaction has a huge fan base in the biorefinery R&D sector. There’s lots to like.  It’s robust tech and can be applied to attractive, low-cost wet feedstocks (ag resid, …

(Biofuels International)  Through ‘bold leadership’, airports can accelerate the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in the aviation industry, according to a newly published report.
The new study, a collaboration between the Carbon War Room, Sky …

by Pam Radtke Russell (Engineering News Record)  From Seattle to Cape Cod, see what’s being done at 18 different locations  —  … In this special report, Engineering News-Record’s team of editors and reporters look at …

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)  The US Department of Energy has set a goal to “Select and develop at least one route for catalytic upgrading of sugars/related intermediates and/or biologically derived intermediates into fuel blendstockswith …

(Department of Justice)  Andre Bernard, of Mount Kisco, New York, pleaded guilty today for his participation in a multi-state scheme to defraud biodiesel buyers and U.S. taxpayers by fraudulently selling biodiesel credits and fraudulently claiming …

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 Tina Hilding  (Washington State University)   Washington State University researchers have developed a way to grow algae more efficiently — in days instead of weeks — and make the algae more viable for several industries, …

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, Arzeda raised $12 million in a Series A round of funding, moving it forward on scaling up of their advanced protein design technology that is used for production of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry today (July 17, 2017) announced $40 million in Department of Energy awards for the establishment of four DOE Bioenergy Research Centers (BRCs), which …

by Tina Casey (Triple Pundit) … DOE is pushing ahead with another round of $8 million in funding aimed squarely at developing next-generation biofuel from algae, leading to “a bioeconomy that can help create jobs, spur …

(SkyNRG/PR Web)  Carbon reduction leaders Carbon War Room (CWR) and SkyNRG join with the Port of Seattle to announce recommendations for long-term funding mechanisms that could supply all airlines at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) with …

(Penn State News)  Slowed as much by extremely low oil prices as supply-chain and technological challenges, the effort to integrate biofuels into the nation’s aviation fuel supply is nonetheless progressing, according to a researcher in …

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

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Michael Huessmann and John Benemann gave this illuminating overview of Microalgae Biofuels Production on CO2 from Air at the 2017 DOE Project Peer Review sessions.  READ MORE

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL’s) Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sequim, Washington, are working to lower the cost of producing biofuels from algae by utilizing an indoor system that mimics …

(Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory/Phys.Org)  A major bottleneck hindering cost-effective production of biofuels and many valuable chemicals is the difficulty of breaking down cellulose—an important structural component of plant cell walls. A recent study addressed this …

(Biofuels International)   …   A team from the University of California, Santa Barbara are focusing their research on the estimated 1.5 million species of fungi on earth which can collectively break down almost any substance.
In …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Arzeda’s proprietary technology combines targeted computational enzyme design and protein optimization with state-of-the-art metabolic bioengineering to create entirely novel designer cell factories capable of industry-scale chemical production.
CEO Alex Zanghellini gave this illuminating overview of Arzeda’s breakthrough …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  What is different about a Low Carbon Fuel Standard — as compared to a Renewable Fuel Standard?
There are 4 primary differences.
1. An RFS creates a standard, and any fuel that …

by Marissa Luck (The Daily News)  A Houston-based group of investors is once again looking to develop a biofuel refinery in Cowlitz County, more than a year after their plans for oil, propane and biofuel …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  From Iowa we received news that Renewable Energy Group has agreed to acquire approximately 82 acres of land at its Geismar, Louisiana biorefinery from Lion Copolymer, for $20M. The goal? …

(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 …

(Phys.Org)  Cyanobacteria have attracted significant attention as potential biocatalysts for production of clean energy and green chemicals from sunlight and atmospheric CO2. A recent study investigated effects of altering large cellular complexes called phycobilisomes, which …

by Liz Gyekye  (Bioenergy Insight)  A new paper by researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) describes a process that captures methane from natural gas and biogas and that uses photosynthesis to convert it into biomass feedstock.
The …

(Washington State University/Biomass Magazine) Researchers at Washington State University Tri-Cities and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have found a new way to define the molecular structure of cellulose, which could lead to cheaper and more efficient ways …

by Alan Boyle (GeekWire/Yahoo!)  A NASA-led study demonstrates that airplanes powered by biofuels can emit up to 70 percent less particulate pollution – providing a potential boost for technologies that are being pioneered at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The study, …

by Karen Law (Tribune)  Snohomish County’s gamble on turning canola into biodiesel has turned belly-up, but at least the Spokane Indian Tribe may reap a jackpot this week when the County Council votes on surplussing …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announces the launch of its Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio), a research and development consortium dedicated to identifying and overcoming …

(Lab Manager/U.S. Department of Energy)  Wood’s complex structure makes it highly resistant to biological or chemical decomposition. The structure includes cellulose, long chains of linked sugar molecules, embedded in a scaffolding of a chemical known …

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

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … (S)omething less than $200 million has been so far positively and affordably earmarked by lenders to revolutionize the entire supply chain of US air transportation fuels. Which is to say, …

(Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites )  Starting with the summer of 2017, the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites (CB2), will be establishing a new Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site designed to provide undergraduate students …

by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle (Environmental Leader)  The number of commercial airplanes in service is projected to nearly double by 2030. At the same time, international agreements and individual countries’ laws require the aviation industry to …

(Associated Press/SFGate)  Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory‘s Marine Sciences Laboratory are turning algae inside out to find the best biofuel possible. Dr. Michael Huesemann, a lead researcher, said algae is a promising clean energy …

by Kenny Walter (R&D Magazine)  …  Scientists have studied these enzymes in pure cultures of microorganisms, despite the fact that microorganisms break down cellulose as communities in the environment.

To examine this further, a multi-institutional team …

(Biofuels International)  A Washington man was sentenced this week for laundering more than $39 million for a company that bilked federal programs supporting renewable energy, according to Tri-City Herald.
Richard Estes, 77, was part of a …

(Port of Seattle) Existing pipeline, transportation resources, zoning and land use laws could accommodate new aviation biofuel blending, storage and delivery infrastructure  —  ​The Port of Seattle, Boeing and Alaska Airlines today released a first-of-its-kind study …

by Frances White (Renewable Energy World/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)  A dozen glass cylinders containing a potential payload of bright green algae are exposed to hundreds of multi-colored lights, which provide all of sunlight’s natural hues. …

by Joe Petrie (AviationPros.com)  At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), Alaska Airlines is forging ahead with plans to implement a biofuel supply for its commercial jets.   …   Carol Sim, director of environmental affairs for Alaska …

(Oregon State University)  The use of residual forest biomass for rural development faces significant economic hurdles that make it unlikely to be a source of jobs in the near future, according to an analysis by …

by Bobby Magill  (Climate Central)  U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a sixth-term Republican from Washington State who is a climate change denier and an ardent opponent of regulations for greenhouse gas emissions, has been nominated …

by Scott Weybright (Washington State University)  When it comes to second generation biofuels, Washington State University research shows that consumers are willing to pay a premium of approximately 11 percent over conventional fuel.
“We were surprised …

by Megan Geuss (Ars Technica)  Wastewater treatment plants rejoice—you may have a hot commodity on your hands.  —  Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL) have developed a new method for treating human sewage to …

by Ted Reed (The Street)  United Airlines leads the global airline industry in its commitment to biofuel, targeting the use of 900 million gallons over the next 10 years. —  United Airlines (UAL) , which …

(The Villager)  The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Colorado announced the winners of its 2017 Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) on Nov. 7 at a celebration luncheon held at The Brown Palace Hotel and …

(Washington State University/Biomass Magazine)  Researchers at Washington State University Tri-Cities have been awarded a National Science Foundation I-Corps grant to explore the market potential of their biojet fuel research.
The team has successfully demonstrated a new, …

by Glenn Roberts Jr.  (Berkeley National Laboratory)  Research team combines X-ray source at Berkeley Lab with other tools  —  Researchers have revealed new atomic-scale details about pesky deposits that can stop or slow chemical reactions …

by Mark Elless (U.S. Department of Energy)  Switchgrass, algae, forest trimmings, corn husks and corn stalks you can’t eat these crops, and you would never put them on your table for Thanksgiving; however, together they …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Whether it is partnering with COMAC to research aviation biofuels, launching a biojet program with Aeromexico and Mexico’s Airports and Auxiliary Services, or with the Port of Seattle and Alaska …

(Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest)  This talk introduces a web-based decision support tool for biorefinery siting and explores the economic viability of potential biorefinery locations in Chehalis, WA, Dallas, OR, and Hayden,ID.  WATCH VIDEO

(Alaska Airlines/PR Newswire)  First of its kind renewable biofuel made from residual wood used by Alaska Airlines  —  Washington state-based Alaska Airlines today made history flying the first commercial flight using the world’s first renewable, …

(GEVO)  Gevo’s Fuel to Power Alaska Airlines Flight #4 from Seattle to DCA  —  Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEVO), announced that the first commercial flight using Gevo’s cellulosic renewable alcohol to jet fuel (ATJ) is expected to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Arzeda’s proprietary technology combines targeted computational enzyme design and protein optimization with state-of-the-art metabolic bioengineering to create entirely novel designer cell factories capable of industry-scale chemical production.
CEO Alex Zanghellini gave this overview of Arzeda’s breakthrough technology …

by Brett Murphy ( Naples Daily News)  A federal judge sentenced two Florida men to 10-plus years in prison for their part in a $46 million scheme that defrauded government agencies and the renewable energy industry …

by Noah Haglund (HeraldNet)  Snohomish County is getting out of the biofuels business, after low oil prices and emerging technologies dragged down its decade-long venture.  The county’s investment in heavy machinery was supposed to enlist …

by John Stang (Geek Wire)  Two major steps in Washington’s infant jet biofuel industry are expected to take place in the next couple months.
In November, a study group is expected to provide the Port of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The ASCENT Center of Excellence at Washington State University is focusing on meeting the environmental and energy goals of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, including reducing noise, improving air quality, …

(Center for American Progress)  Carbon taxes and emissions trading systems, once considered political moonshots in the battle to combat carbon emissions, have found purchase in Canada, Mexico, and parts of the United States, raising the …

(Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)  Technology converts human waste into bio-based fuel  —  It may sound like science fiction, but wastewater treatment plants across the United States may one day turn ordinary sewage into biocrude oil, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington state, the Port of Seattle, SkyNRG and Carbon War Room have signed a partnership to investigate long-term financing mechanisms that could supply all airlines at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport …

by Chelsea Harvey (The Washington Post)  A new initiative slated for the ballot in Washington state next month would create the first-ever carbon tax to be implemented in the United States. But while the initiative promises to fight …

by Tina Hilding  (Washington State University)   Washington State University researchers have developed a way to practically separate lignin from wood, a breakthrough that could provide new sources of lignin for advanced renewable fuel and advanced …

(Union of Concerned Scientists)  The Seattle City Council is expected to pass legislation today (September 19, 2016) that requires staff to develop a plan to cut the city’s oil use in half by 2035. Seattle …

by Melissae Fellet (C&EN)  Aviation industry hopes to cut emissions with renewable fuels  —  This year, renewable jet fuel took off, graduating from demonstration and test flights to some regular commercial use. In January, some …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Amidst the discussion this week of the future of first-gen and advanced biofuels, and the launch of Hot 40 and Hot 50 voting —  we were intrigued by this slide …

by David Dittman (Wall Street Daily) … ClimateWire recently reported that scientists have engineered a bacterium that can turn carbon dioxide (CO2) into fuel in a single, enzyme-catalyzed metabolic step.
Summarizing a paper published on August 22, …

by Zia Haq (U.S. Department of Energy)  Booking a flight soon? You may be leaving on a jet plane powered with renewable fuel. With more than 87,000 flights and approximately 1.56 million barrels of jet …

by Ann Bailey (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  A biorefinery proposed to be built in Grand Forks, North Dakota, would transform low-value agricultural byproducts, including sugar beet tailings, wheat straw and potato waste, into biofuel. The North …

by Kent Harrington (Chenected)  …  For example, which country should own the emissions from a Mexico City flight to New York, or a ship moving goods between Shanghai and Los Angeles? The country of departure, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Gevo says: We’re staking our near-term prospects on marine biofuels.  Investors hear: We’re underwater.
Gevo says: Timing delay in our isobutanol gallonage, took longer to get the fixes implemented, we’ll make …

(Biofuels International)  Scientists from the US-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have discovered why the cyanobacteria called Synechococcus 7002 can produce high concentrations of biofuels.
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“These organisms are the major pathway for capturing solar energy and …

(NCWLife.com)  Several months of testing using 20,000 gallons of fuel made from vegetable and animal fats showed no impact on performance and may lead Chelan County PUD to switch its main fuel source for line …

(Renewable Fuels Association)  Washington state’s proposed Clean Air Rule (CAR) fails to recognize the climate benefits associated with biofuels and in fact penalizes their use, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) told the Washington Department of …

(Green Chemistry: The Nexus Blog)  During the GC&E conference in June, we had a chance to catch up with Rick Glover, a chemistry teacher at Bellevue College in Washington State. In an interview, he discussed …

by Kathleen Phillips (AgriLife Today) The U.S. Department of Energy has granted $2.5 million for a Texas A&M AgriLife Research study to find ways to use biorefinery waste to make new, marketable products.
“In the biorefinery field, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Global Algae Innovations designs innovative technology to make algae production more efficient and consistent.  This week, the DOE made a major award to a group led by GAI, including the University of …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  The Energy Department today announced up to $15 million for three projects aimed at reducing the production costs of algae-based biofuels and bioproducts through improvements in algal biomass yields. These projects …

(Genetics Society of America/Biomass Magazine)  The bioenergy crop sorghum holds great promise as a raw material for making environmentally friendly fuels and chemicals that offer alternatives to petroleum-based products. Sorghum can potentially yield more energy …

(U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science) Producing fuels from plants and other renewable sources requires breaking down the chemical cellulose; a major candidate to drive, or catalyze, this stubborn chemical is a ubiquitous microorganism called Clostridium thermocellum …

(Queensland University of Technology)  A research partnership between QUT and a US National Laboratory aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop new ways of creating bio-energy from plant material.
The biotechnology research partnership will bring …