Author Archive: Jim Lane

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Hot Spots: 10 Advanced Bioeconomy Places to Watch in Iowa

Hot Spots: 10 Advanced Bioeconomy Places to Watch in Iowa

August 29, 2017 |

Eddyville, Fort Dodge, Clinton, Newton, Cedar Rapids. Communities like these have been mainstays of the Iowa bioeconomy for years, even decades — home to corn and soy processing on the largest world scale, and much much more — integrated complexes of advanced refining where companies share infrastructure and often where the residues of the one […]

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Hi-Temp Deconstruction: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Solvent Liquefaction, and biomass-to-hydrocarbon fuels

Hi-Temp Deconstruction: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Solvent Liquefaction, and biomass-to-hydrocarbon fuels

August 29, 2017 |

The US Department of Energy is supporting a project to demonstrate solvent liquefaction as viable path to stable intermediates for subsequent upgrading to fuel blendstocks. This is based on a technology originally developed in large part via Catchlight Energy and we profiled its revival at Iowa State right here, in “Chevron’s forgotten biofuels wonder-tech gets […]

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Hot Spots: The Top 10 Bioeconomy Places to Watch in Canada

Hot Spots: The Top 10 Bioeconomy Places to Watch in Canada

August 28, 2017 |

When it comes to project action, Go North, young man. Canada’s hot and the technology’s cool. The colder weather might be just around the corner for Canada, but when it comes to the advanced bioeconomy, think Hot Spots. The country is replete with ’em. From projects to process for new fuels, chemicals, materials and wealth creation […]

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The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to LanzaTech/PNNL Syngas-to-ATJ Fuels

The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to LanzaTech/PNNL Syngas-to-ATJ Fuels

August 28, 2017 |

The US Department of Energy initiated a project to advance a hybrid conversion technology for catalytic upgrading of biomass-derived syngas to produce Alcohol-to-Jet fuel and chemicals while meeting the cost, quality and environmental requirements of the aviation industry. Ultimately the goal is to demonstrate that ethanol from gas fermentation is suitable for catalytic conversion to […]

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The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Biomass and Catalytic Conversion into Hydrocarbons

The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Biomass and Catalytic Conversion into Hydrocarbons

August 27, 2017 |

The DOE established and funded a project to develop a novel Multistage Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) of biomass and integrate with Virent’s Catalytic BioForming Process to efficiently produce cost effective “drop‐in” fuels from woody biomass and corn stover, with particular focus in maximizing jet fuel and diesel yields. Virent CTO Randy Cortright gave this illuminating presentation […]

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Methanol and Bio-economy: Now and the Future

Methanol and Bio-economy: Now and the Future

August 24, 2017 |

By Lorenz Bauer, Ph.D., Lee Enterprises Consulting Special to The Digest Methanol Sources and Uses Methanol and bioeconomies are two of the buzz words of the last decade. They had their origin in the “peak oil” scare and the predicted sky rocketing oil prices. They were further boosted by environmental concerns about pollution and climate change.   […]

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Nominations open for 40 Hottest Emerging Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy

Nominations open for 40 Hottest Emerging Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy

August 24, 2017 |

Who will be #1? who will get your vote?  In Florida, The Digest announced the official opening of nominations for the 40 Hottest Early-Stage Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy. Nominate companies here. Eligibility Any companies engaged in the advanced bioeconomy as a producer, supplier, investor or partner companies are eligible who were founded on or […]

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What’s algae worth? The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to algae biomass valorization

What’s algae worth? The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to algae biomass valorization

August 24, 2017 |

The US Department of Energy has established a project to reduce cost of algal biofuels by increasing intrinsic algal biomass value, with two specific goals. First, to Identify and isolate scalable, high-value key products in biomass and process streams to improve algal biofuels economics. Second, to quantitatively integrate biomass composition and carbon efficiency with cultivation parameters […]

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Brazil slaps US with ethanol quota, 20 percent tariff

Brazil slaps US with ethanol quota, 20 percent tariff

August 23, 2017 |

In Brazil, the Brazilian Chamber of Foreign Trade has approved a recommendation to impose a 20 percent tariff on U.S. ethanol imports after a 600 million liter tariff rate quota, according to postings from the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply Blairo Maggi. Local media are reporting this TRQ would be in place for […]

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Crossing the 3K threshold: The Digest’s Multi-Slide Guide to Sapphire Energy’s algae biofuels productivity

Crossing the 3K threshold: The Digest’s Multi-Slide Guide to Sapphire Energy’s algae biofuels productivity

August 23, 2017 |

Back in 2014, Sapphire Energy and the US Department of Energy embarked on a project to advance Sapphire’s (then) biomass production technologies across three priority areas to meet a target of 2,500 gallons of oil per acre per year by 2018. Productivity is directly related to the economics of algal biofuels production. By improving average […]

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