Author Archive: Jim Lane

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sunliquid 20: 20% ethanol blends show octane boost, emissions reductions in Mercedes-Benz test

sunliquid 20: 20% ethanol blends show octane boost, emissions reductions in Mercedes-Benz test

February 5, 2017 |

In Germany, Clariant, Mercedes-Benz and Haltermann Carless found that “sunliquid 20 exhibited very good combustion properties with a high degree of efficiency and identical consumption compared to today’s standard E10 fuel,” according to the consortium.  Due to the slightly lower energy density of E20 compared to E10, slightly higher fuel consumption was expected under the […]

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Distillers Grains produced using XyloFerm are safe: expert panel

Distillers Grains produced using XyloFerm are safe: expert panel

February 5, 2017 |

In Sweden, an expert panel convened by Taurus Energy has concluded that “the process utilizing the modified strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae XyloFerm strain Taurus13 produces DG grains with nutrient profiles comparable to DG described in the peer-reviewed literature,” the company said. The Panel further concluded that, in those instances where the DG generated using the […]

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Syngenta makes $340K donation to ethanol’s Prime the Pump Fund

Syngenta makes $340K donation to ethanol’s Prime the Pump Fund

February 5, 2017 |

In Minnesota, Syngenta has made a donation of $340,000 to the Prime the Pump Fund to help make higher ethanol blends more widely available and help grow demand for American ethanol. Prime the Pump is an ethanol industry initiative created to help the early retail adopters of high-level ethanol blends by awarding grants to reduce […]

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Increase in Asian production capacities for bio-based chemicals, building blocks and polymers 

Increase in Asian production capacities for bio-based chemicals, building blocks and polymers 

February 5, 2017 |

In Germany, a new report from nova institut finds that more than 45% of the most relevant bio-based polymers are produced in Asia. A global capacity of 2.4 million tonnes bio-based polymers was established in 2016, and worldwide capacity is expected to reach 3.6 million tonnes in 2021, the report concluded. Nearly 52% of this […]

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UPM Biofuels celebrates the centenary of Finland by joining the Made by Finland campaign

UPM Biofuels celebrates the centenary of Finland by joining the Made by Finland campaign

February 5, 2017 |

In Finland, UPM Biofuels has joined the Made by Finland campaign that forms a key part of Finland’s centenary celebrations. The campaign calls for all Finns to discuss their own work and to share their stories of Finnish work. The campaign will be launched with an emotional campaign film directed by Klaus Härö. The campaign […]

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Fracking biomass: Steeper Energy and the pursuit of renewable hydrocarbons

Fracking biomass: Steeper Energy and the pursuit of renewable hydrocarbons

February 2, 2017 |

Donald Rumsfeld said it best: There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks […]

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Maximizing diesel and jet fuel yields: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Multistage Hydrothermal Liquefaction

Maximizing diesel and jet fuel yields: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Multistage Hydrothermal Liquefaction

February 1, 2017 |

If you’ve been following our coverage of Shell and Virent, you’ll know that there’s a broad-based effort to bring forward (at massive, Shellesque scale) Multistage Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) of biomass that would be integrated with Virent’s Catalytic BioForming Process to efficiently produce cost effective “drop-in” fuels. The feedstocks in focus include woody biomass and corn stover — […]

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Notes from the Circular Economy Front Lines: A fast company and its slow-release fertilizer

Notes from the Circular Economy Front Lines: A fast company and its slow-release fertilizer

February 1, 2017 |

There’s a new and fascinating way to improve plant yield and farmer income, and it’s high technology in service of a very ancient idea — in this case, “slow and steady wins the race” — applied in this case to controlled-release fertilizer. The company is called Anuvia Plant Nutrients and it has built a small […]

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Flame On: Green Biologics heats up, acquires GreenFlame and heads for market expansion

Flame On: Green Biologics heats up, acquires GreenFlame and heads for market expansion

January 31, 2017 |

You know, GreenFlame just sounds like a character out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – a cross between the Green Lantern and the Fantastic Four. And it sets up nicely for a catchphrase for the entire advanced bioeconomy: In brightest day… in blackest night, no use of Oil shall escape my sight! Let those who worship […]

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The Top 100 People in the Advanced Bioeconomy 2017

The Top 100 People in the Advanced Bioeconomy 2017

January 30, 2017 |

The “Top 100 People in the Advanced Bioeconomy” for 2017 as nominated and voted by the readers of The Digest and the publication’s editorial board. For comparison purposes, the The Top People for 2016 rankings are here.

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