Author Archive: Jim Lane

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Brazilian Innovations in Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production

August 12, 2025 | Jim Lane

Brazil is emerging as a significant SAF producer, leveraging its abundant renewable resources through a strong government-university-industry synergy. The SENAI Innovation Institute for Renewable Energies (ISI-ER) is a key player, focusing on scaling up SAF production via Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis and HEFA pathways. ISI-ER boasts substantial infrastructure, including experimental hydrotreatment and distillation units, actively contributing […]

Beyond Broken Eggs: Fixing the SAF Machine

August 12, 2025 | Jim Lane

Yesterday, we talked about two broken eggs — the MAHA Commission’s push to reduce seed oils in the food system and the renewable fuels sector’s chronic shortage of affordable plant oils — and how, combined, they might make a better omelette for both public health and decarbonization. Today, there’s a third egg on the counter: […]

A Grand Bargain: Can Food and Fuel Find Common Ground?

August 11, 2025 | Jim Lane

The MAHA Commission has cracked a few eggs. Its recent report calls for sweeping changes in the U.S. diet, including a reduced role for widely used seed oils in the food system. Industry reaction has been swift and sharp — with oilseed processors, farmers, and nutrition scientists warning of market disruption, higher costs, and questionable […]

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Commercialization Progress and Challenges of Biojet Fuels

August 11, 2025 | Jim Lane

SAF is crucial for aviation decarbonization, needing >400 billion litres by 2050 (currently <1%). While HEFA is commercial, its feedstock is limited, thus all 11 ASTM-approved pathways must be pursued. Challenges include slow commercialization and feedstock logistics. Key opportunities: diverting jet fuel from existing renewable diesel facilities (15-50% SAF) and co-processing in refineries for rapid […]

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Modeling Farmer Adoption and Bioenergy Supply Chain Evolution

August 7, 2025 | Jim Lane

Biofuel production faces hurdles from slow technology and supply chain uncertainties. This study uses an innovative Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) approach to simulate farmer behavior and land allocation for biomass. ABMs show producer adoption impacts biorefinery supply radii (shrinking from 90 to 22 miles) and steady-state feedstock mixes. The model indicates optimizing biorefinery ecosystems could reduce […]

From 221B Baker Street: A Study in Hydrogen

August 7, 2025 | Jim Lane

I confess at the outset that the morning’s post left me in a fog. The hearth was banked low at 221B, the London light was the colour of dishwater, and the breakfast table groaned under the weight of newspaper reports, addressed, “John H. Watson, MD, 221B Baker Street, London,” from Texas, Egypt, China, Cornwall, Oman, […]

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Biogas Engineering’s Multi-faceted Roles and Global Potential

August 6, 2025 | Jim Lane

Biogas engineering offers five key roles: emission mitigation, renewable energy, fertilizers, environmental protection, and soil improvement. A newsworthy aspect is Biogas with Carbon Capture and Sequestration (BGCCS) for negative emissions. China demonstrates immense biogas potential from agricultural waste, projecting significant contributions to natural gas needs and methane reduction. The “Great Cycle” concept integrates these benefits. […]

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Digestate Processing for High-Value Bio-Fertilizer Production

August 5, 2025 | Jim Lane

Digestate processing aims to reduce quantity or purify biogas byproducts, driven by high transport costs and legal restrictions. The key innovation is producing high-value bio-fertilizer products like struvite, dried pellets, or ammonium sulphate solution. While direct land application remains common, establishing robust markets for these standardized bio-fertilizers is a critical bottleneck, necessitating legal clarity on […]

On the Radar: SAF Finds Its Glidepath

August 5, 2025 | Jim Lane

The conversation about Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) has long been about altitude — bold goals, lofty aspirations, and the race to climb as fast as possible. But in aviation, pilots know that altitude isn’t enough. Attitude — the orientation of the aircraft, the crew’s mindset, the instruments in front of them — determines whether you’re […]

XCF Global plans US $1 billion to scale global SAF and renewable fuels platform

August 4, 2025 | Jim Lane

In United States & international, XCF Global, Inc. has unveiled plans to invest nearly US $1 billion by 2028, to build a modular network of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel production plants. Its flagship New Rise Reno facility is already producing with ~$350 million invested, generating ~60 engineering and management jobs in Nevada. The U.S. pipeline includes three new sites—New Rise Reno 2 (2027), plus facilities in Fort Myers, […]

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