Advanced BioFuels USA

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, cash out of trash innovations, biogas, cellulosic biofuels, lignin, syngas, the most viewed Multi-Slide Guides, and more…check out our Top 18 Digest stories from 2018, ready for you now at The Digest online.

#1 50 Hottest Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy 2018

It comes as no surprise as one of the most popular Digest stories was our Top 50 Hottest Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy, as voted by the invited international Selectors and subscribers of The Digest, the world’s most widely-read bioeconomy daily.
More on the story, here.

…

#3 Biofuels Mandates Around the World 2018

In Florida in early January 2018, the Digest released its annual review of biofuels mandates and targets around the world, looking at the state of biofuels mandates in 65 countries.

The bulk of mandates continued to come from the EU-27, where the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) once specified a 10 percent renewable content by 2020 but has been scaled back to the 5-7.5 percent range — and has seen proposals for first-gen fuel mandates fall below 4% in an effort to shift more aggressively towards advanced biofuels.

14 countries in the Americas have mandates or targets in place or under consideration, 12 in Asia-Pac, 11 in Africa and the Indian Ocean, and 2 from non-EU countries in Europe.
More on the story, here.

…

#7 Cash out of trash: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Fiberight

Fiberight is a privately held company founded in 2007 with current operations in Virginia, Maryland and Iowa. The company focuses on transforming post-recycled municipal solid wastes and other organic feedstocks into next generation renewable biofuels, with cellulosic ethanol and renewable compressed natural gas as core products. Pilot plant facilities began in 2008-2009.

In January 2018, we reported that Fiberight has secured $70 million for a municipal solid waste center. The high-tech facility will convert 180,000 tons of trash each year from more than 100 Maine towns into biofuel at a 144,000-square-foot steel frame facility that began construction last July.

These two presentations (offered here in combination) have some vintage to them but offer the most illuminating visuals we’ve seen on the technology, the promise and progress.
More on the story, here.

#8 Ethanol and biodiesel: dropping below the production cost of fossil fuels?

Even though the Digest wrote this piece in 2017, it was still one of 2018 most popular reads.
For a number of years, this (now old and outdated, but) very useful chart has been in circulation in energy circles, mapping the supply of energy to the world by looking not at prices, but at production costs.

For one thing, it goes a long way to explaining why the price of oil can tumble so quickly when there is a fall off in demand, and explains why OPEC is troubled by unconventional oil in a way it is not so bothered by other energy sources such as renewable fuels.
More on the story, here.

…

#9 What’s Next in cellulosic biofuels and biogas?: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Iogen

…

#10 Low-cost sugars and lignin: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Sweetwater Energy

…

#12 The Paramount Deal: World Energy takes off with audacious $72M acquisition of AltAir and the Paramount oil refinery

In Massachusetts, World Energy has acquired renewable jet and diesel producer AltAir Paramount, and its Paramount Petroleum refinery assets, both collocated in Paramount, CA, as well an adjacent tank farm and most of Delek’s California pipeline assets, from Delek US Holdings, for $72 million in total consideration.

It’s the first time ever that a biofuels enterprise has acquired a well-known petroleum refinery. Sign of changing times (though there have been noted conversions by petroleum refiners of individual refineries, e.g. Eni’s switchover in Venice, Italy to renewables).
More on the story, here.

#13 The Carbon Rescuers: 20 Top Waste projects and breakthroughs that capture used carbon from the waste pile for new uses

…

#15 The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to jet fuel from biorefinery waste

…

#16 The story of Red Rock Biofuels and the bond market breakthroughs

…

#17 The world’s first commercial flight on fuel made from waste carbon gases: now, will policy get the framework right for global deployment?

In Florida, Virgin Atlantic CEO Craig Kreeger, LanzaTech CEO Jennifer Holmgren, a cadre of Virgin Atlantic and LanzaTech team members, industry stakeholders and a group of pleasantly surprised transatlantic passengers have boarded a Boeing 747 for Virgin’s VS16 light to London Gatwick — in an historic first for aviation, it’s the first commercial light on fuel made from waste carbon gases.
More on the story, here.  READ MORE