In Washington, the USDA estimates that in 2016/17 global production of vegetable oils will amount to just less than 187 million tonnes, the highest quantity ever, according to the German treade association UFOP. Palm oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil account for around 87 per cent of production. The remainder consists of coconut oil, olive oil […]
In Washington, according to EIA data as analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production averaged 981,000 barrels per day—or 41.20 million gallons daily. That is down 23,000 b/d from the week before and the lowest total since the week ended 6/17/2016. Nevertheless, the four-week average for ethanol production remained above the million barrel threshold, […]
In Colorado, a study conducted by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), found that the petroleum components of ethanol-blended gasoline become degraded and unfit for use in an engine long before the ethanol portion takes up enough water to cause phase separation in the fuel tank. “Phase separation” occurs when an excessive amount of water […]
The most important technological advance in biodiesel in recent years has reached commercial-scale in Eastern Nebraska, with the startup of the Duonix Beatrice biodiesel plant, which is and the first commercial-scale application of Benefuel’s innovative ENSEL technology. ENSEL technology is capable of converting a range of lower cost feedstocks such as recycled cooking oil and […]
By Mark Warner, PE, Founder, Warner Advisors LLC Special to The Digest The first installment of the series, here, discussed the need to determine an understanding of what success looks like to be able to adequately evaluate if an advanced biotechnology is ready for commercialization. Now, let’s move into the details of evaluating the state of […]
By Mark Warner, PE, Founder, Warner Advisors LLC Special to The Digest In my previous series What makes the scale-up of industrial biotechnology so difficult?, I discussed the need for a fully integrated pilot plant and reviewed common pitfalls that companies face on their path to commercialization. The series generated the obvious question as to how […]
Recently, we held a popular webinar on Renewables and the Advanced Bioeconomy with NEXANT principal Ron Cascone, for which you can see the slides here. During the webinar, we received a number of excellent questions, some of which we did not have time to get to — all of which are worth looking at. Ron Cascone […]
Late last week, the extended courtship between Bayer and Monsanto, which saw the dowry offer raised four times by Bayer, resulted in a $127.50 per share all-cash offer for Monsanto, which Monsanto’s board accepted. A whopping $66 billion in all — one of the largest all-cash acquisitions, ever. Reactions to the deal fall into three […]
In New York, jetBlue announced a 10-year, 330 million gallon renewable jet fuel purchase agreement with SG Preston. This marks one of the largest renewable jet fuel purchase agreements in aviation history, and the largest, long-term, binding commitment by any airline globally for HEFA (hydro-processed esters and fatty acids) renewable jet fuel. The first deliveries […]
Our story so far In 2011, KiOR raised $150 million in its June IPO, claiming that it was generating yields of 67 gallons per ton in its Demo unit operations. But it was miles short of that. In our previous installments, we have charted how KiOR moved from a promising early-stage technology to a public […]
