by Stephen Moore (Plastics Today) Shell says that it has successfully made “high-end” chemicals using a liquid feedstock made from plastic waste using a pyrolysis process that is considered a breakthrough for hard-to-recycle plastics. The initiative advances Shell’s ambition to use
waste-to-chemicals
Back TO HOMEDept. of Energy’s View on Transportation and National Energy: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Sustainable Transportation
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) With 3 trillion vehicle miles in the U.S. and 11 billion freight tons, transportation is key to our way of life, and the Department of Energy realizes it hits our national energy usage in many ways.
January 23, 2020 Read Full Article
Living Robots, Fungus Homes, Biobased Aquaculture Ropes, Biopolymer Food Films, and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of January 23rd
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It was a week of lots of deal-making, like edible straw startup Loliware’s raising of $5.9 million to scale production, and deal-breaking, like Itaconix and Nouryon’s break-up over biobased chelating agents for detergent applications. But it was
January 23, 2020 Read Full Article
Waste2Tricity Awarded Grant for Pioneering Waste Plastic to Hydrogen Technology
(Power House Energy Group) Waste2Tricity, the UK technology company developing pioneering hydrogen production from waste plastic, has been offered a conditional £1.25m grant for its planned Plastics to Hydrogen Facility at Protos, near Ellesmere Port. The grant award follows a successful
January 16, 2020 Read Full Article
FastOx Commercialization: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Sierra Energy’s Gasification Tech
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The U.S. Army has a FHL installation and there is an FTL demo, but did you know Sierra Energy has an online gasification calculator tool that you can use too? Check out this Slide-Guide from
January 16, 2020 Read Full Article
Converting Waste to Synthetic Crude Oil: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Licella’s Thermochemical Tech
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Licella is transforming plastic and biomass waste into high value sustainable resources. Their Cat-HTR platform uses water at high temperature and pressure to transform wastes and residues to synthetic crude oil, chemically equivalent to fossil
January 02, 2020 Read Full Article
Carbon Recycling: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to LanzaTech’s CarbonSmart
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) LanzaTech is turning our global carbon crisis into a feedstock opportunity with the potential to displace 30% of crude oil use today and reduce global CO2 emissions by 10%. By recycling carbon from industrial off-gases; syngas
December 31, 2019 Read Full Article
Custom Chem: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Kiverdi’s CO2 and Syngas Chemicals
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)Kiverdi is taking carbon-rich waste and converting it to sustainable chemicals with their carbon engineering. With CO2 and syngas fed into their reactor, they are creating targeted chemicals like hydrocarbon monomers, esters, terpenes and more. Jason Husk
December 30, 2019 Read Full Article
Biorefining Start-Up Wins Significant EU Funding to Scale-Up Business
(Bioenergy Insight) Biorefining start-up Chrysalix Technologies has won significant funding from the EU to scale-up its business. The company uses waste wood and agricultural by-products as well as sustainably-grown biomass to produce biofuels, biomaterials, greener chemicals and bioplastics. Its BioFlex process
December 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Conversion Technologies: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to BETO’s Carbon-Based Fuels and Co-Products
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Why is working with biomass so challenging? Jonathan Male, Director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) set out to answer that question at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco. Check out his illuminating
December 17, 2019 Read Full Article
Green Dreams: Agilyx and GE Enter Agreement to Advance the Circular Economy for Plastics
(Agilyx/PR Newswire) Bringing artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive modeling to chemical recycling; Aiming to improve recycling of post-use plastics to >95% -- Imagine a world where plastic materials would never go to waste. Agilyx Corporation ("Agilyx"), the leader in chemical recycling of
December 16, 2019 Read Full Article
DE-FOA-0002202: Notice of Intent: FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Office Multi-Topic Funding Opportunity Announcement
(U.S. Department of Energy) The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Multi-Topic FOA”. BETO develops technologies that convert domestic biomass
December 11, 2019 Read Full Article
Thermochemical Technology to Turn Trash to Treasure: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Enerkem’s Waste to Fuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Taking non-reyclable waste to sustainable chemicals and biofuels is Enerkem’s world. Current products from ‘trash’ include syngas, methanol and ethanol with alternative pathways currently under development. Andrea Redford, Chief Business Development Officer from Enerkem gave this
December 11, 2019 Read Full Article
A Plastics Dichotomy – Durables versus Single Use
by Ronald Cascone (Nexant, Inc./Biofuels Digest) ... Durable items are those that are in use for a long time, even years, mostly are rigid, have substantial weight per item, generally are not littered, are typically of more expensive performance polymers
December 11, 2019 Read Full Article
9 Hot New CO2 Applications
by Sam A. Rushing (Advanced Cryogenics/Biofuels Digest) ... Food and beverage applications often account for 70% of all tonnage consumed in the merchant sector. There are also demands of a captive and sequestration nature, which in my view, are generally categorized
December 10, 2019 Read Full Article
Trash to Cash – New Anellotech Technology Tackles Plastics Pollution by Recycling Plastic Waste Into Chemicals
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) In New York, breaking news arrived that Anellotech is significantly expanding its program with Plas-TCat, a new process technology aiming to convert a wide range of plastic waste directly into chemicals – which can then
December 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Five Major Trends in Biobased Renewables
(Biorenewable Deployment Consortium) The Biorenewable Deployment Consortium tracks global developments in the biobased Industries. Several key trends have emerged over the last decade: 1. The development of biobased products will vary widely by region on a worldwide basis, and national policy
December 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Cemvita Factory Rockin’ It: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Cemvita’s CO2 Utilization
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Earlier this week we talked about making protein and meat out of air, so taking CO2 and utilizing it seems right in line. C+C Music Factory’s song from the early 90’s “Everybody Dance Now” comes to
November 29, 2019 Read Full Article
Shell Starts Recycling Plastics in Louisiana
by Jordan Blum (Houston Chronicle) Royal Dutch Shell said Thursday it has started making petrochemical products from recycled plastic waste to eventually help combat the growing fears that the world is drowning in plastics. The Anglo-Dutch energy giant said it is partnering
November 28, 2019 Read Full Article
The Role of Chemical Recycling in a Circular Economy and Effective Waste Management
by Zoltan Kish (Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc./Biofuels Digest) ... At the same time, we have a tremendous business opportunity to convert waste into usable sustainable products. According to a market study report prepared by Market Insights Reports, the smart waste management market was valued at
November 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Neste and Remondis Link up to Develop Chemical Recycling of Plastic Waste
by Liz Gyekye (BioMarket Insights) ... Finnish renewable diesel and chemical provider Neste and German recycling provider Remondis have signed an agreement to collaborate in the development of chemical recycling of plastic waste. The companies will focus on developing and accelerating chemical
November 12, 2019 Read Full Article
Biobased Polycarbonate Breakthrough, Seaweed Diapers, Bamboo Toothbrushes, One Cow’s Manure Can Power Toyota’s New Mirai Hydrogen Car and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of October 31st
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It’s Halloween and things are getting pretty scary out there with stinky, petroleum based, disposable, plastic diapers and plastic toothbrushes being discarded all over the world but have no fear, for a new seaweed-based reusable diaper
October 31, 2019 Read Full Article
The Race Is on to Repurpose Garbage
by Marc S. Reisch (Chemical & Engineering News) Despite a spotty track record, companies keep trying to convert trash into energy, fuels, and chemicals -- ... Local press reports noted weather-related construction delays, a challenge to the plant’s environmental permits,
October 31, 2019 Read Full Article
50 Million Bucks Says Landfill Is a Viable Energy Source: Suncor Doubles Down on Enerkem
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Canada, news arrived late last week Enerkem closed a $50 million equity investment from Suncor. What does it mean? Today’s let’s explore that. As Canada’s leading integrated energy company, Suncor first participated in the ownership of Enerkem
October 21, 2019 Read Full Article
Air Liquide Partners with ArcelorMittal in Pilot Project to Capture and Recycle Carbon
(Air Liquide) Air Liquide is partnering with ArcelorMittal in the first industrial scale demonstration plant to capture carbon gas from the steelmaking process and recycle it into chemicals, specifically advanced bioethanol*. In this project, Air Liquide Engineering & Construction will provide a
October 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Sabah’s Biomass Grossly Underutilised: Shafie
by Sherell Jeffrey (Daily Express) Sabah’s biomass is grossly underutilised and industry players don’t seem to be very enthusiastic despite the State having what it takes for them to take full advantage of the situation, from raw materials, infrastructure and
October 16, 2019 Read Full Article
Biomass Pioneer Secures £2.3m to Launch Demo Plant
(Mercia Asset Management) A Teesside business which has developed a new way to generate fuel and chemicals from waste biomass has secured a further £2.3million investment to commercialise its technology. Nova Pangaea Technologies has completed a funding round led by NPIF
October 04, 2019 Read Full Article
“The Mindset Is There, We Need the Technologies and to Integrate Them: The Time Is Now”: Looking at Enerkem’s Evolution and the Rise of the Circular Economy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Enerkem has been famed as a plaform for producing ethanol from municipal solid waste. Yet, there’s methanol as a platform. There’s also the possibility of moving from syngas to ethylene. There’s methanol to olefins, which
October 03, 2019 Read Full Article
$73 Million, 35 Projects, Who Won, for What and Why: The DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office 2019 Project Selections
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the U.S. Department of Energy has selected 35 projects totaling $73 million for bioenergy research and development support. Funded through the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, these projects will help reduce
October 02, 2019 Read Full Article
USWTE Green Industrial Fund Launches Seeking Ozone Investors to Establish Waste to Energy Facilities in the Qualified Opportunity Zones Throughout the United States
(USWTE Green Industrial Fund/PR Newswire) USWTE Green Industrial Fund launches, seeking Ozone investors to establish Waste to Energy (WTE) projects with a view to having follow up funds to invest in WTE type industrial parks in the Qualified Opportunity Zones throughout the United
September 18, 2019 Read Full Article
MBP Solutions Marks 20 Years of Continued Business Growth with the Launch of an “Evolved”, New Corporate Identity
(MBP Solutions) ... Today MBP Solutions has become a world leader in the collection, handling, processing, production and application of biological by-products and related services. Headquartered in Switzerland, MBP Solutions employs over 90 professionals; has offices in nine different countries;
September 16, 2019 Read Full Article
Warding off Armyworm, Wiping without Worry, Banana Fiber Sanitary Napkins, Mango Bioplastics, Wearable Fermentation-Based Protein Jacket and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of September 13th
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Not only is it Friday the 13th, it’s also a full moon tonight. But don’t worry, this week’s Top 10 innovations will scare all the boogies away, starting with Provivi’s new fall armyworm pheromone now produced
September 13, 2019 Read Full Article
How Synthetic Biology Can Help Build Sustainable Cities
by John Cumbers (Green Biz/SynBioBeta) Sustainability is in vogue, with businesses and cities jostling to improve their public image and produce goods and services using renewable sources. Yet cities exponentially swell and carbon emissions continue to increase. Global CO2 emissions rise
September 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Three UK Companies Join Forces to Create Waste Plastic to Hydrogen Facilities
(Bioenergy Insight) Three companies have joined forces to create waste plastic to hydrogen facilities across the UK. Peel Environmental has signed a collaboration agreement with Waste2Tricity and PowerHouse Energy which will see 11 waste plastic to hydrogen facilities developed. The £130 million
August 20, 2019 Read Full Article
Replacing Crude Oil with Waste Plastics
(Neste) The aim is to proceed to an industrial scale trial during 2019. By 2030, Neste targets to process more than one million tons of plastic waste annually by 2030. Neste is already the world's largest producer of renewable diesel
August 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Debris to Diesel: Chesapeake Could Soon Be Home to a Bioenergy Facility that Turns Trash to Fuel
by Alyssa Myers (Virginia Pilot) A 61-acre property along the Elizabeth River may soon become a complex with technology straight out of the 1980s movie “Back to the Future.” The proposed facility promises to turn household garbage into diesel and wax much
July 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Making Every Carbon Count: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Praj
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Praj had a humble beginning as a supplier of ethanol plants, and today is a global company with a bouquet of sustainable solutions for bioenergy, high purity water, critical process equipment, breweries and industrial wastewater treatment. Dr.
July 02, 2019 Read Full Article
Exploitation Alternatives of Olive Mill Wastewater: Production of Value-Added Compounds Useful for Industry and Agriculture
by Pablo M. Ahmed; Pablo M. Fernández; Lucía I. C. de Figueroa; Hipólito F. Pajot (Biofuel Research Journal) Countries producing olive oil generate a considerable amount of olive mill wastewater (OMWW), one of the most harmful agro-industrial effluents with a powerful polluting
June 10, 2019 Read Full Article
Food, Water, Energy: An Eternal Golden Braid of Value and Sustainability
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Jonathan Trent, late of the OMEGA algae projects, has authored a column on the topic of “putting existing technologies into ecosystems, to increase food productivity and profitability, while conserving water and energy and decreasing environmental impact.”
May 28, 2019 Read Full Article
KLM, SkyNRG and SHV Energy Greenlight the World’s Largest Stand-Alone Sustainable Aviation Fuels Project
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) From the Netherlands comes news that, SkyNRG will develop Europe’s first dedicated plant for the production of SAF in Delfzijl. KLM has committed to a 10-year, 75,000 tonne per year aviation fuels order for 10 years. Amsterdam
May 28, 2019 Read Full Article
Waste-to-Energy: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to IEA Bioenergy Task 36
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) IEA Bioenergy´s Task 36 is a three-year work program focusing on solid waste energy recovery and a forum for information exchange. The participating countries in this Task are France, Germany, Italy and Sweden. Inge Johansson, Task leader
May 17, 2019 Read Full Article
Biomethane Business Is Booming – From Waste to Watts and Wonder Chemicals
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... First, let’s make sure we aren’t confusing biogas with biomethane. Biogas is mostly methane and carbon dioxide but that doesn’t mean it’s biomethane. You see, biogas is produced from organic matter breaking down in the absence
May 14, 2019 Read Full Article
The Advanced Bioeconomy: New Fortunes 2019
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Let’s turn to New Fortunes 2019 – our overview of what we believe will be the 24 hottest market segments in the near term – places to focus your innovations and to unlock value. From cannabis and
April 24, 2019 Read Full Article
Queensland’s Quest for a Circular Bioeconomy
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ...Today we look at Queensland, Australia – the innovators, the leaders, the investors. In the last few days, a Queensland oil refinery said it is making biofuel from old tires and hopes to commercialize it soon to
April 15, 2019 Read Full Article
Quantafuel Signs Agreement to Convert Plastic Waste into Biofuel
(Biofuels International) Energy firm Geminor announced that it has signed a cooperation agreement with fellow Norwegian advanced biofuel producer Quantafuel to secure deliveries of plastic waste for Quantafuel’s plants for biofuel production. “Quantafuel’s fuel production is groundbreaking and an industry we want
April 12, 2019 Read Full Article
Innovative Waste to Biofutures Project Funding DEADLINE: April 8, 2019
by Elisa Iannunzio (Energy Magazine) The Queensland Government has opened up expressions of interest for its new $5 million Queensland Waste to Biofutures Fund (W2B Fund). The fund will help Queensland companies find innovative ways to convert waste into bio-based products –
March 19, 2019 Read Full Article
The BioCycle Aims to Turn Human Waste into Lubricants, Biodiesel
by Irma Venter (Creamer Media/Engineering News) The BioCycle plans to have completed the design of its first South African commercial scale facility by the end of 2020, to be followed by a global rollout of the technology, says MultiCycle director
March 18, 2019 Read Full Article
French Company: We Can Infinitely Recycle PET Plastics Using Enzymes
by Jeff Kart (Forbes) A French company called Carbios has announced a process it says can infinitely recycle PET plastics using enzymes, even creating clear bottles from colored, post-consumer ones. The enzyme solution is said to be superior to current thermo-mechanical recycling processes. Those processes can't be
March 11, 2019 Read Full Article
Greenbelt Resources Successfully Produces Ethanol From Duckweed
(Greenbelt Resources/Globe Newswire) Duckweed represents the third non-traditional crop feedstock tested with success -- For the past several years, Greenbelt Resources Corporation (OTC: GRCO) (Greenbelt), the developer and producer of a sustainable ECOsystem model that transforms food, beverage and ag industry waste into revenue
March 08, 2019 Read Full Article
Shell Joins Air Liquide, Nouryon in Enerkem Waste-to-Chemicals Project in Rotterdam: The Complete Story
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Shell will become an equal equity partner in the proposed commercial-scale waste-to-chemicals project, which will be the first of its kind in Europe to make valuable chemicals and biofuels out of non-recyclable waste materials. The consortium,
March 04, 2019 Read Full Article
Circular Economy Mapping Tool for Wales
(WRAP Cymru) Commissioned by WRAP Cymru, Anthesis has developed this user-friendly Circular Economy Mapping Tool for Wales – a useful resource for those operating within the Welsh bioeconomy; particularly food and drink producers and processors. It provides an interactive, visual representation of
February 20, 2019 Read Full Article
Biotech Startup Turns Palm Waste into High-Value Chemicals
by Akane Okutse, (Nikkei Asian Review) Japanese biotechnology startup Green Earth Institute is set to expand into Southeast Asia with plans to manufacture petrochemical substitutes from biomass. The company plans to start producing in Malaysia from 2022, and is looking to launch
February 20, 2019 Read Full Article
The Wonder from Down Under Finds an Aussie Funder
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) From Australia we have just heard that Licella has given the exclusive Australian license for the Cat-HTR and End-of-Life Plastic to its subsidiary iQ Renew, which has in turn merged with Australian recycler Stop Waste, a cash
February 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Fermentable Sugar as a Raw Material for the Chemical Industry: First Generation as Sustainable as the Second – Significant Reduction in Greenhouse Gases for Both
(Bio-based News) New study conducts quantitative and qualitative sustainability assessment of bio-based raw materials for the chemical industry An extensive sustainability study carried out by nova-Institute shows that first-generation fermentable sugar is just as advantageous for a sustainable raw materials strategy of
February 11, 2019 Read Full Article
MEGA MEG – Braskem and Haldor Topsoe’s Monoethylene Glycol from Sugar Is in Operation
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ...Brazil-based Braskem and Denmark-based Haldor Topsoe just commissioned their pioneering demonstration unit, located in Denmark, for the development of monoethylene glycol (MEG) from sugar. Their innovation for renewable plastic made from sugar instead of traditional fossil
February 11, 2019 Read Full Article
Aviation Solutions: The Digest’s Multi-Slide Guide to Neste
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Neste has a strong history of developing, commercializing, and marketing new fuels, including diesel, renewable chemicals, renewable jet fuel, and more. Neville Fernandes from Neste, gave this illuminating overview of their plans for the production and expansion
January 03, 2019 Read Full Article
Top 18 of 2018 – Looking Back to Look Forward
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... So on this last day of 2018, join the Biofuels Digest in looking back at our most visited and popular stories of 2018. ... In today’s Digest, the hottest technologies, aviation developments we only dreamed of,
December 31, 2018 Read Full Article
Brain Regeneration, Data Storage with Biocomputers, Plastic from Waste Gases, Bamboo Diapers, Gene-Edited Wheat, Jackets from Bison Fluff : The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of November 29th
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The pace of bioeconomy invention and change continues at a frenetic pace. Here are the top innovations for the week of November 29th. ... #3 Munich researchers use algae to convert waste gas to carbon fiber In Germany, researchers
November 30, 2018 Read Full Article
BASF Produces Methanol According to the Biomass Balance Approach
(BASF) Production with second generation renewable raw materials; Reduction of greenhouse gases by at least 50 percent; Independent certification of the process; Methanol: important raw material for many value chains -- BASF has started production of methanol on the basis of renewable raw materials according
November 14, 2018 Read Full Article
Report on the Thermochemical Sciences Symposium at Auburn University
by Leyla Battista-Channell* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Auburn, Alabama: Home to the Auburn tigers, the “loveliest village on the plains,” and this year’s host to the Thermochemical Sciences Symposium. Previously held at other universities, why Auburn University this year? The Biosystems
November 12, 2018 Read Full Article
The Biofuture We Need: A Brief Video Introduction
(Biofuture Platform) This short documentary film, prepared in partnership with BluOrange, presents an introduction to the main goals of the Biofuture Platform and the overall context behind them -- We are very pleased to announce the release of “The Biofuture We Need”,
November 09, 2018 Read Full Article
2018 State of the Industry: ABLC Global Kickoff Presentation and Remarks
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Where is the industry right now?What are the 25 Key trends, how the industry is organizing, what’s up, what’s hot, what’s down, and what 6 Future Technologies should we keep a sharp eye on? Let’s take
November 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Waste Gasification: 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to 2-Stage Incineration and “True” Gasification
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) IEA Bioenergy Task 33 is a working group of international experts with the aim to promote the commercialization of efficient, economical and environmentally preferable thermal biomass gasification processes. Here, Lars Waldheim of Waldheim Consulting gave this illuminating
October 25, 2018 Read Full Article
SD Mines Researcher Receives $2.2 Million DOE Grant to Turn Biorefinery Waste into Valuable Products
(South Dakota School of Mines and Technology) Rajesh Shende, Ph.D., associate professor in the chemical and biological engineering department at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology has received a $2.16 million grant from the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office to
September 01, 2018 Read Full Article
Lego’s Biobased Bricks; Vertoro’s Green Crude Oil; Nitogen-Fixing Microbes for Corn; Diapers from Food Waste; 3D Imaging; Apeel’s $70M: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of August 15th
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The pace of invention and change is just too strong, we’ve realized, to highlight annual or even quarterly or monthly rankings and summaries of significant product and service advances. For now, we’re going to be tracking
August 16, 2018 Read Full Article
Ingenza Embarks on Collaborative Project to Recycle CO2
(Ingenza) Ingenza is pleased to announce a collaboration with the University of Dundee and Drochaid Research Services on a highly innovative project that aims to reduce the waste carbon dioxide generated by industrial biotech manufacturing applications. Funded by Zero Waste Scotland,
August 15, 2018 Read Full Article
Biofuel’s Role in the Circular Economy: Key Lessons and Actions for the Industry
By Michael Eggleston* (Advanced Biofuels USA) When it comes to reducing, reusing and recycling our goods most people associate consuming less of what we already have with a ‘circular economy’. What is rarely, if ever discussed at conferences concerning changing
June 22, 2018 Read Full Article
Secretary Perry Announces Up to $78 Million for Bioenergy Research Funding Opportunities LOI due May 30, 2018
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 Department of Energy is focused
May 03, 2018 Read Full Article
Complex Feedstocks, Clean Synthesis Gas: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Sierra Energy
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 between complex feedstocks and a
April 18, 2018 Read Full Article
Greenbelt Resources and Biofuels & Energy Announce “SLV Biopro”
(Greenbelt Resources) Greenbelt Resources Corporation (OTC: GRCO), an innovator of sustainable energy production systems, in collaboration with Biofuels & Energy, LLC (B&E), announced today the San Luis Valley Bioproducts Project, known as SLV Biopro. The project will feature Greenbelt’s waste-to-energy interconnected system (ECOsystem) designed
March 30, 2018 Read Full Article
Omani Researchers Convert Wastepaper into Bioplastic, Bioethanol and Biodiesel
(Muscat Daily) The wastepaper which accounts for more than 35 per cent of the total lignocellulosic waste of the municipal solid waste could be a potential feedstock for value-added products due to its rich cellulose content, researchers in Oman have
March 15, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to the Status of Advanced Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) There are over 2,000 biomass to fuel facilities representing 1,461 companies in 90 countries. According to subject matter expert and long-time Digesterati Lorenz Bauer, “first-generation biofuels will continue to dominate the market but will lose market
March 08, 2018 Read Full Article
Somethin’ from Just about Nothin’: The Digest 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Upgrading Biorefinery Waste Lignin into Bioplastics
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) You know what they say, “you can make anything you want from lignin except money.” It’s the most challenging issues in biofuel production: upgrading the lignin-containing biorefineryresidues to fungible bioproducts, in an affordable, effective, scalable way. The
February 23, 2018 Read Full Article
Enerkem and Sinobioway Group Sign a C$125M Agreement to Accelerate Enerkem's Global Expansion and Create a Joint Venture to Build over 100 Biofuel Facilities in China
(Enerkem/PR Newswire) Enerkem Inc. (www.enerkem.com), a world leading waste-to-biofuels and renewable chemicals producer, announced today it has signed an agreement with Sinobioway Group worth over C$125M in the form of equity investment in Enerkem Inc., future licenses, equipment manufacturing and sales, as
January 22, 2018 Read Full Article
Eco-Friendly Method Can Turn Raw Biomass into High Value Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals
(IANS/Indian Express) An international team of researchers, including from India and Bangladesh, has developed a cost-effective method of converting non-edible agricultural biomass, such as jute, or the waste by-product from food crops, into commercially valuable chemicals for food and pharmaceutical
January 03, 2018 Read Full Article
Neste's Growth Program for Renewable Products Takes a Step Forward
(Neste Corporation) Neste's Board of Directors has decided that Neste's additional production capacity for renewable diesel, renewable aviation fuel and raw materials for various biochemical uses will be located in Singapore. The decision initiates technical design of the new production line,
December 13, 2017 Read Full Article
ArcelorMittal Gets Nod from World Economic Forum for Integrating Circular Economy Principles into Its Business Model
(ArcelorMittal) The world’s most prestigious award programme for the circular economy, The Circulars, has highly commended ArcelorMittal for demonstrating leadership and innovation by applying circular economy principles to its business models. ... Partnering with technical and industry leaders to develop and scale
December 11, 2017 Read Full Article
Poop to Plastic and Biofuel, Innovators Put Crap to Good Use
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... Faced with two problems – 1) what to do with human waste in space and 2) how to get needed supplies to astronauts in space (especially longer space missions like Mars), scientists are working on
December 11, 2017 Read Full Article
From Conventional to Advantaged: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Aemetis
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Aemetis owns and operates 110 million gallons per year of ethanol and biodiesel facilities in the US and India, and is upgrading the plants using patented technology to produce lower carbon, higher value advanced biofuels and
November 29, 2017 Read Full Article
Synova and the Pursuit of Clean, Green and Lean
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A newer technology Synova Power has arrived with the promise of clean, green, lean stream of pipeline-quality natural gas from biomass. ... Streams coming off cellulosic biofuels or biogas refineries have been green, and in some cases (and increasingly) lean,
October 11, 2017 Read Full Article
Bio-Fuel from Waste: Zeolite Catalysts Pave the Road to Decentral Chemical Processes
(Technical University of Munich) Fuel from waste? It is possible. But hitherto, converting organic waste to fuel has not been economically viable. Excessively high temperatures and too much energy are required. Using a novel catalyst concept, researchers at the Technical
July 07, 2017 Read Full Article
Neste Deepens Its Knowhow on the Circular Economy - Waste Plastics Now in Focus
(Neste) Neste deepens its knowhow on the circular economy - waste plastics now in focus -- Neste, the world's leading biofuel producer in the circular economy, is putting a large amount of resources into research on waste and residue raw
June 07, 2017 Read Full Article
Unstash That Trash: Material(s) Progress in Making Fuels, Chemicals from Municipal Solid Waste
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) News this week arrived from Canada that Enerkem has received the lowest carbon intensity value ever issued by the British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines for its ethanol product under the Renewable and Low
April 26, 2017 Read Full Article
US VP Pence Celebrates Greenbelt Resources and Jababeka Infrastruktur Waste-to-Resources Project MOU Signing
(Greenbelt Resources/PR Newswire) JababECO is the first U.S.-Indonesia municipal waste-to-bioproducts project -- United States Vice President Mike Pence participated in a ceremony celebrating the signing of multiple Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) in Jakarta today, including between Greenbelt Resources Corporation (OTC:
April 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Farmers Looking at On-Farm Ethanol Plants
by Nat Williams (Illinois Farmer Today) A handful of farmers are not just raising the crops that can be used as biofuels. They’re also working on producing the fuel itself. A Minnesota-based company is in the developmental stage of offering
February 03, 2017 Read Full Article
Iowa State to Manage Biorefinery Projects for New Manufacturing USA Institute
(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 and efficiency of chemical manufacturing.
December 27, 2016 Read Full Article
Rotterdam Is Proposed Location for Waste-to-Chemicals Plant
by AkzoNobel/Van Gansewinkel/Air Liquide/AVR/Enerkem/Havenbedrijf Rotterdam/gemeente Rotterdam/provincie Zuid-Holland/InnovationQuarter en Clean Tech Delta/Port of Rotterdam) The construction of a waste-to-chemicals plant in the Netherlands that will produce methanol from synthesis gas generated from residual waste is a step closer. A partnership consisting
October 10, 2016 Read Full Article
Creating Value from Landfill Gas
by Terry Mazanec (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) ... The US EPA estimates that 250 million tons of municipal solid wastes are sent to landfills each year. These materials have a wide range of chemicals in them, including aromatics, paraffins, oxygenates, and nitrogen-
August 22, 2016 Read Full Article
Adopting a Circular Economy: The Biorefinery Concept
by Paul Hudman (Renewable Energy World) ... For many governments, part of this shift involves adopting a circular economy approach, utilising all aspects of ‘waste’ throughout the production chain. The concept of the biorefinery embraces this standard by making use of the entire
July 27, 2016 Read Full Article
Cellulosic Sugars Heading for Scale: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Leaf Resources
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Leaf Resources Limited (ASX:LER) is focused on making sustainable products from plant biomass, offering an advanced technology package for breaking down plant derived biomass to useful, sustainable, renewable and biodegradable products. Leaf Resources’ Glycell technology is
July 26, 2016 Read Full Article
Crossing the Chasm to Scale: S2G Goes Commercial with Bioglycols
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) They call it the Valley of Death, but it’s a complete misnomer. It’s the “nearly impassible Khumbu Icefalls” of Death — filled with chasms, crevasses and painful progress towards the summit in the far distance. But
June 20, 2016 Read Full Article
Expanding the Bioeconomy: The Digest’s Multi-Slide Guide to Using the Billion Ton Report
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This analysis was presented by Jonny Rogers at ABLC Feedstocks 2016, and is the result of is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), National Laboratories, and various Agency
June 15, 2016 Read Full Article
Examining the Latest Developments in Converting Organic Waste into Renewable Energy
by Megan Greenwalt (Waste 360) With municipalities increasingly collecting organic waste, finding ways to convert that waste into clean energy is a hot topic in the solid waste industry. A multitude of techniques are in use or being developed, including aerobic and anaerobic
June 02, 2016 Read Full Article
Bioenergy Technologies Office Announces Notice of Intent for the Manufacturing of Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biopower
(Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Project Definition for Pilot and Demonstration Scale Manufacturing
April 28, 2016 Read Full Article
Bacteria Attack Lignin with Enzymatic Tag Team
(Rice University/Science Daily) Research shows how nature handles lignin -- New research shows how bacterial enzymes team up to attack lignin. The findings could lead to more efficient processes for creating biofuels from wood, grass and agricultural waste, say scientists. The molecules
January 08, 2016 Read Full Article
Recycling All that Waste Carbon: The Digest’s 2015 8-Slide Guide to LanzaTech
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 the current highly centralized global
December 02, 2015 Read Full Article
TSCA Nomenclature May Be Barrier for Advanced Biofuels
(The Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group/The Oil Price Information Network) (The Oil Price Information Network (OPIS) spoke with BRAG's Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor with B&C, regarding the application of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to
April 16, 2015 Read Full Article
Biodegradable Plastics from Potato Waste for High-Tech Applications
(Bio-on) Bio-on S.p.A., the leader in eco-sustainable chemical technologies, and Pizzoli S.p.A., Italy's largest operator in the potato sector, will collaborate to build Italy's first PHAs bioplastic production plant using waste product from the potato agro-industrial process. The collaboration, signed by
April 07, 2015 Read Full Article
Maverick Announces Its Oasis BG Gas-to-Liquid Methanol Plant
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Here we highlight an interesting solution to the problem of organic waste. In North Carolina, Maverick Synfuels announced the availability of the Maverick Oasis BG Gas-to-Liquid methanol plant product line. These plants convert biogas from sources such
March 02, 2015 Read Full Article
Enerkem, Akzo Nobel to Explore European Market
(Canadian Biomass Magazine) Enerkem Inc. announced it has signed an agreement with AkzoNobel to develop a project partnership to explore the development of waste-to-chemicals facilities in Europe. "Enerkem's global expansion follows the launch of our waste-to-biofuels and chemicals full-scale commercial facility
November 19, 2014 Read Full Article
Making Silk Purses from Sows Ears: Converting Waste Into Energy and Biofuels, Pt 1 and 2
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 develop strategies that will allow
March 27, 2014 Read Full Article
No Matter the Question, the Answer is Four: Four-Carbon Molecules and the Big Opportunity for Biotech
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the world of chemists, they are known as the C4s, and they are a target these days for just about anyone who can figure out a way to make them. Over on the petrochemical side,