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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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.
By Jim Spaeth Special to The Digest Renewable chemicals and biomaterials are no longer niche—they are the future of carbon. Europe stands at the threshold of massive opportunity, from decarbonized manufacturing to circular materials innovation. But crossing that threshold? That’s another story. The technology exists. The markets are interested. The policies are warming. And yet, […]
This presentation features Mike Kass from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It addresses decarbonizing marine shipping to meet IMO GHG reduction targets. Highlights include research by a 4-lab partnership assessing bio-intermediate potential via TEA and LCA, showing promise. Low carbon fuel testing with biofuels (neat and blends), including HTL bio-crude and fast pyrolysis bio-oil, is underway […]
