Author Archive: Jim Lane

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Biofuels volume mandates are passé; carbon intensity is hot, says report

Biofuels volume mandates are passé; carbon intensity is hot, says report

December 10, 2016 |

In Massachusetts,a report out from Lux Research concludes that “a new generation of policies is based on technology-agnostic carbon intensity metrics, led by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). Renewable diesel and conventional electricity will be the near-term winners according to the “Identifying Winners in Low-Carbon Fuels” report, said lead author […]

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New handheld sensor meaures biofuels content in diesel, in seconds

New handheld sensor meaures biofuels content in diesel, in seconds

December 10, 2016 |

In the UK, hand held DieselProve technology from Salunda Limited has been developed for the accurate determination of the biofuel content of diesel blends used in a wide range of automotive and industrial power applications. The tool is designed to provide a fast and simple diagnostic tool to assess the biofuel content in biodiesel fuels, […]

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Norway to boost biofuels blend levels to 20 percent

Norway to boost biofuels blend levels to 20 percent

December 10, 2016 |

In Norway, the national government increased the biofuels content in fuets to 20% from 2020. Also, in their new budget, the government increased taxes on petrol to NOK 0,12 pr/l and NOK 0,35 pr/l. Tax increases were also imposed on new fossil-fuel vehicle, beginning in 2017. As reported in The Digest earlier this year, the […]

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Biobased Upstream: A Yield revolution that anyone can Join

Biobased Upstream: A Yield revolution that anyone can Join

December 8, 2016 |

Beck’s joins the Benson Hill Biosystems genetics ecosystem In Missouri, more signs of the democratization of crop genetics arrives with news major seed retailer Beck’s will leverage CropOS, Benson Hill’s cognitive platform, to accelerate and enhance their corn breeding program. The Beck’s’ backstory Beck’s is a family-owned and operated seed company that serves farmers in […]

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Biomass-Fed Chemical Process Projects, 2016

Biomass-Fed Chemical Process Projects, 2016

December 7, 2016 |

By Dr. Bernard Cooker, Chemical Processing Solutions Special to The Digest This is a review of the biomass-fed chemical process projects to renewable chemicals which were published in Chemical Engineering Progress (CEP) and Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN) from 1/1/16 to 10/31/16, including activity in bioplastics, biopolymers and biochemicals. It is based on a spreadsheet […]

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The Emerging Bioeconomy Ecosystems

The Emerging Bioeconomy Ecosystems

December 7, 2016 |

In political circles, the theme of “Better Together” has been under siege of late — barely winning (for now) in the Sctoland independence, debate, and losing unexpectedly in the Brexit vote — but it remains a theme for surviving and thriving in the advanced bioeconomy. We tipped it a few months ago, in “The Rise […]

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6 Hottie Trends to Watch In Bioeconomy Feedstocks

6 Hottie Trends to Watch In Bioeconomy Feedstocks

December 6, 2016 |

Fair to say that, hands-down, the most interesting bioconversion engines ever assembled were crowd-sourced, if you will, via evolution — and they reside inside plants (aquatic and terrestrial). There appears to be no end to the metabolic pathways they contain. And, despite millions of years of frenetic evolution, as Sinatra sang it in 1964 with […]

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Prospering In the New Trump Era 

Prospering In the New Trump Era 

December 5, 2016 |

By Douglas L. Faulkner, “The Cleantech Conservative” The November elections ushered in a different type of divided government than conventional wisdom expected.  Yes, the GOP is in control of the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate.  But, who’s in control of the Republicans and will they – – can they – – […]

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Winter is Not Coming: Pushing back the Frost Wall for more food, more fuel, more money, more everything

Winter is Not Coming: Pushing back the Frost Wall for more food, more fuel, more money, more everything

December 5, 2016 |

Winter barley and early tomatoes may sound like a dull foundation upon which to further a revolution in agriculture — but then again, the Spanish hardly developed California in two centuries of sovereignty because they couldn’t see the point. As Master Po said in Kung Fu, “Because a man can see, he does not look.” […]

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Going to Graceland: Cargill, Calysta select Tennessee for methane-to-feed project

Going to Graceland: Cargill, Calysta select Tennessee for methane-to-feed project

December 4, 2016 |

In Minnesota, Cargill and Calysta revealed that they will co-create the world’s largest gas fermentation facility in Memphis, Tennessee to produce Calysta’s FeedKind protein, a family of sustainable, traceable nutritional ingredients for fish, livestock and pets. Start-up is expected in late 2018. So we’re going to Graceland. Memphis that is, home to Elvis. What exactly is […]

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