Advanced Algal Systems. Maybe you’ve heard of it but did you know that technologies are being developed as part of a DOE program to enable production of sustainable algal feedstocks that perform reliably in conversion processes to yield renewable fuel blendstocks, as well as bioproducts and chemical intermediates? At the recent Algae Biomass Summit, Jonathan Male, Director […]
At the recent Algae Biomass Summit, John Litynski, Deputy Director of Advanced Fossil Technology Systems at the DOE gave this illuminating overview of the federal government’s role in CCUS and detailed some of the major carbon capture demonstration projects. For example, the ADM ethanol facility in Decatur, IL where CO2 from ethanol biofuels production is captures and […]
The 2019 Algae Summit has come and gone, the delegates are winding their way back from Orlando, and we’ve seen that algae companies continue to be as resilient and adaptive as the organisms they work with. The 15 MEGATRENDS In the final plenary session, the Digest joined the stage for a session on MEGATRENDS, and […]
Q: What was the reason for founding your organization – what was the open niche you saw that could be addressed with a new product or service? What was the problem, or gap, or opportunity? Certain petroleum solvents present regulatory and HS&E restrictions for manufacturers using solvents in formulations or cleaning applications. Vertec BioSolvents, Inc. […]
Converting algae to fuels is challenging. But PNNL is working on developing process models and techno-economic analysis to inform hydrothermal liquefaction algae conversion research for fuels and chemicals. Check out what Susanne Jones and others from PNNL shared as part of the 2019 BETO Peer Review of how they modeled different biorefinery scenarios to achieve […]
What are the MEGATRENDS? What are the forces shaping the economy, new markets, the carbon agenda, the pursuit of new products and more. The Digest’s Jim Lane gave these slides in the opening remarks at the MEGATRENDS panel at the 2019 Algae Biomass Summit in Orlando.
We know this about algae. They’re small, they die off quickly in great numbers, and every time you look around there’s more of them coming, there’s more diversity every day, but the pace of algae birth (think minutes) exceeds the pace of algae evolution (think millennia). Pretty much sums up the algae industry these days. […]
It seems that plastic is in the news daily between bag bans, straw bans and even Ray-Bans. But there are companies out there tackling the plastic problem with alternatives like the new “Feel the Peel” juicer that turns orange peels into bioplastic cups by drying, milling, and mixing the peels with polylactic acid and 3D […]
We all know plastics are an issue but could there be a solution with a circular carbon economy for plastics? That’s exactly what BETO is looking at with biobased designs for recyclability, reduced use, improved properties, and anaerobic digestion and composting. They are asking what can we make when we are no longer limited by […]
Stephanie Batchelor, Vice President, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) Special to The Digest As we speculate on the details and implications of the administration’s renewable fuels deal, the future of an entire green industry hangs in the balance. The debate over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has become muddied with rhetoric about special interests and government […]
