Author Archive: Jim Lane

You’ve Come a Long Ways, Baby: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Velocys’ renewable drop-in fuels

May 24, 2018 | Jim Lane

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. And most recently has repositioned from being a technology component supplier into initiating and drive the development of biorefineries from concept to full operations. By taking the lead in projects, they aim to reduce […]

Back to the Future All Over Again: ExxonMobil targets algae fuels at scale by 2025, as oil prices rise

May 24, 2018 | Jim Lane

So, ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics have announced a new phase in their joint algae biofuel research program that could lead to the technical ability to produce 10,000 barrels of algae biofuel per day by 2025. With that, it feels like the circle has turned again. Which is to say, West Texas Intermediate has reached $70.68, […]

One commercial, two commercial, three commercial, four: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Clariant’s sunliquid cellulosic ethanol technology

May 23, 2018 | Jim Lane

Clariant’s sunliquid technology for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into sugars, followed by fermentation to cellulosic ethanol, is flexible to be used to convert different feedstocks on a regional basis, for example corn stover in North America, bagasse in South America or wheat straw in Europe and can be adapted to various plant concepts. The […]

A Yield Revolution in Row Crops Cometh

May 23, 2018 | Jim Lane

Yield10’s Brave New World of Metabolic Engineering, Benson Hill’s cloud biology and CRISPR/Cas9 from Purdue and the Chinese Academy of Sciences? Crop yield may never be the same. And developers using crops for bioindustrials or nutrition stand to reap the benefit via bigger refineries and lower input costs. Yield, yield, yield. Just about everyone thinks […]

The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of May 23rd, 2018

May 22, 2018 | Jim Lane

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 these on a weekly basis to keep pace with the changes. Here are the top innovations for the week […]

The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Fulcrum BioEnergy

May 22, 2018 | Jim Lane

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 ground on its first commercial project in Nevada, and more about that here. Fulcrum’s innovative business model combines large volume MSW feedstock agreements with […]

Waiver Wire: Why is the biofuels industry up in arms about oil refinery waivers?

May 21, 2018 | Jim Lane

It’s baseball season and the waiver wire and easy outs are the talk of ESPN and other sports outlets. But they’re part of the Washington dialogue this month, waivers and easy outs, since reports surfaced in media that the US Environmental Protection Agency granted a Renewable Fuel Standard hardship waiver for CVR Energy’s Wynnewood, Oklahoma oil […]

Hot tech for fuels: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to the Joint BioEnergy Institute

May 20, 2018 | Jim Lane

JBEI’s mission is to convert biomass to biofuels. The goal is to provide the nation with clean, renewable transportation fuels identical to gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Inside JBEI’s Emeryville laboratories, researchers are using the latest tools in molecular biology, chemical engineering, computational and robotic technologies, and pioneering work in synthetic biology to transform biomass […]

Industrial Enzyme Frontiers: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to MetGen

May 20, 2018 | Jim Lane

MetGen’s MetZyme enzymatic solutions cover the entire bio-based value chain from feedstock to high-value chemicals and enable the use of cellulosic feedstocks as well as the creation of entirely new bio-based materials. Alex Michine and the MetGen team developed this illuminating, presentation-based explanation of their breakthoughs in “dramatically increasing the efficiency and economics of renewable chemicals […]

Value-add opportunities: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Nanocellulose

May 17, 2018 | Jim Lane

Recently, we reported that Research & Markets projected the “Nanocellulose Market by Type (Cellulose nanocrystals, Cellulose nanofibrils, cellulose nanocomposites, and others) to reach $250 Million by 2019, signifying annualized CAGR of 19% between 2014 and 2019. Heft growth indeed, and a survey of the patent apps shows sharp activity levels that confirm that many see the promise. Jack […]

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