Author Archive: Jim Lane

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How to design a biomanufacturing process for success

How to design a biomanufacturing process for success

May 19, 2025 |

By Noah Helman, CEO, Industrial Microbes Imagine two parents with a baby stroller standing in the supermarket aisle, faced with a decision: two identical boxes of diapers – same brand, same performance, same price – except one is in green packaging. Looking closer, they realize one kind is made from petroleum while those in the […]

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If the Microbe isn’t Happy, Nobody’s Happy

If the Microbe isn’t Happy, Nobody’s Happy

May 18, 2025 |

By Mark Warner, CEO, Liberation Labs Special to The Digest Why successful biomanufacturing starts with the organism As companies rush to build the next wave of biomanufacturing capacity, they seek input from many stakeholders: elected officials who champion federal funding for their districts, agricultural conglomerates offering cost-advantaged feedstocks, and CEOs hoping the site is within […]

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The Bioenergy Two-Step: Learning from the Petroleum Playbook

The Bioenergy Two-Step: Learning from the Petroleum Playbook

May 16, 2025 |

By Jim Spaeth Special to The Digest Before there were supermajors, there were scattered oil wells. Tiny, stubborn things—dug into dusty corners of Texas, each with barely enough output to fill a rail car. But early refiners didn’t try to process that oil in the field. They built a network. They moved intermediates—crude oil—across distance […]

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The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Upgrading Lower Alcohols to Higher Alcohols & SAF

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Upgrading Lower Alcohols to Higher Alcohols & SAF

May 15, 2025 |

Terra Mater BV presented on their technology to catalytically convert lower carbon alcohols into higher carbon alcohols for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Key takeaways included the potential of their TM-ATJ-SPK fuel blend to improve properties like lower freeze point and higher energy density compared to conventional jet fuel. Their process offers lower CAPEX/OPEX compared to […]

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The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Connecting Industry & Building Consensus

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Connecting Industry & Building Consensus

May 14, 2025 |

Sam Lehr from Molecule Group discussed connecting the Bio-based, Synthetic, and Hydrogen-based Fuels, Chemicals and Materials industries. Key takeaways include engaging in global dialogues and policy advocacy, representing industry to bodies like COP30, G7, and G20. A central goal is standardizing carbon accounting, procurement, and market rules across all SFCM feedstocks and pathways, addressing challenges […]

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The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Reinvigorating Forest Economies through Biofuel Production

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Reinvigorating Forest Economies through Biofuel Production

May 13, 2025 |

Daniel S. LeFevers of SunGas Renewables highlighted their S1000 technology for advanced biofuels production. Key takeaways included utilizing abundant, sustainably managed forest and sawmill residues as feedstock. This approach, combined with carbon capture and storage, offers a low-cost method for CO2 removal and supports carbon-negative fuels. SunGas is developing the large-scale Beaver Lake green methanol […]

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The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Feedstocks and the Future of the Bioeconomy

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Feedstocks and the Future of the Bioeconomy

May 12, 2025 |

Alexander A. Koukoulas, Ph.D. from AFRY emphasized key factors for a successful bioeconomy, including feedstocks, technology, market knowledge/off-takes, and policy support. Strong market knowledge and off-take agreements are crucial for project bankability. The rapid expansion of advanced biorefineries presents immense scale opportunity. Advancing processing technologies, strengthening market signals, ensuring regulatory stability, and driving cross-sector collaboration […]

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10 Top Takeaways for Renewable Chemicals and Biomaterials in 2025

10 Top Takeaways for Renewable Chemicals and Biomaterials in 2025

May 12, 2025 |

The spring conference season is starting to draw to a close, what are the takeaways from the major presentations of the season? Here are our top 10 Takeaways  for renewable chemicals and biomaterials project development and product deployment in 2025: 1. Offtake Agreements are Crucial for Bankability: Securing firm offtake agreements from reliable buyers is […]

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The High Art of Performance: Taking strain engineering to the next level

The High Art of Performance: Taking strain engineering to the next level

May 11, 2025 |

The battle lines are drawn and the ethanol industry’s equivalent of the Met Gala is about to begin. When June rolls around, the titans of the enzyme and yeast industries roll out their latest offerings.  The strain engineers unleash their latest offerings on the runways, and we all sit back and marvel at the audacity, […]

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The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Feeding into High Pressure Reactors Made Easy by Jen-Zero

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Feeding into High Pressure Reactors Made Easy by Jen-Zero

May 8, 2025 |

This presentation features Dr. Jayant Khambekar from Jenike & Johanson. It highlights challenges feeding waste feedstocks into high-pressure reactors for thermochemical conversion, citing issues like arching and pressure blow-back with existing technology. The presentation introduces Jen-Zero, a patent-pending system for reliable, continuous feeding without requiring extensive pre-treatment, overcoming common flow problems.

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