Author Archive: Jim Lane

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The (Bourne) Identity of the Bioeconomy

The (Bourne) Identity of the Bioeconomy

May 12, 2026 |

A man sits in a diner staring out the window at six parked cars. He knows which one probably contains a weapon. He knows the waitress is left-handed. He knows the man at the counter knows how to fight. He knows the exits, the sightlines, the distances, the angles. He knows he can run flat […]

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The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to Biogas Recovery and Co-Digestion

The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to Biogas Recovery and Co-Digestion

May 11, 2026 |

The U.S. currently recovers significant biogas, generating enough renewable electricity for 2.4 million homes. While landfills produce the majority, agricultural and food waste digesters are rapidly expanding. Co-digesting manure with food waste or perennial grasses significantly boosts biogas yields by up to 80%. Unlocking the nation’s vast untapped biogas potential could power 24 million homes […]

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From Feasible to Fragile: Why Bioeconomy Projects Stall When Models Meet Reality

From Feasible to Fragile: Why Bioeconomy Projects Stall When Models Meet Reality

May 11, 2026 |

By M. Uzair Shah and Nourredine Abdoulmoumine Special to The Digest The hidden gap between modeled feasibility and real-world deployment — and how integrated decision-making can close it What looked feasible in pieces becomes fragile as a whole. That is the single most consequential sentence in the advanced bioeconomy right now — and it is […]

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E15 and the Farm Bill: 
a Gettysburg and Vicksburg story

E15 and the Farm Bill: 
a Gettysburg and Vicksburg story

May 11, 2026 |

The guns had been firing for two hours when the order finally came. Across the open fields west of Gettysburg, Pickett’s men stepped out from the tree line and began the long walk toward Cemetery Ridge. Nearly a mile under direct fire. The sort of assignment historians later describe as desperate because they already know […]

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The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to the Bioindustrial Manufacturing Ecosystem

The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to the Bioindustrial Manufacturing Ecosystem

May 7, 2026 |

BioMADE is tackling the critical shortage of U.S. pilot-scale biomanufacturing infrastructure to prevent domestic innovators from moving scale-up operations overseas. Supported by $208 million across 92 projects, the Department of Defense-backed institute is launching Phase I of a domestic Pilot Plant Network. Opening between 2027 and 2028 in California, Iowa, and Minnesota, these facilities will […]

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The Parallax of Oil Prices

The Parallax of Oil Prices

May 7, 2026 |

“Why don’t we ever learn?” Doug Durante recently posed the question directly in a thoughtful essay on America’s enduring vulnerability to global oil shocks. It is a fair question, and a frustrating one. Every generation seems to rediscover the same lesson about oil dependence the hard way — through war, embargo, refinery shutdowns, price spikes, […]

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The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to Circular Naphtha and Waste Management

The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to Circular Naphtha and Waste Management

May 6, 2026 |

SynPet is revolutionizing waste management with its proprietary Thermal Conversion Process, which successfully transforms unsorted, mixed plastics—including PVC—directly into a Circular Naphtha Substitute. Following a successful technical due diligence of its Istanbul demo plant, the company is targeting a massive commercial rollout in Antwerp, Belgium. Crucially, SynPet’s technology offers exceptional ESG benefits, drastically reducing greenhouse […]

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The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to Castlerock Biofuels

The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to Castlerock Biofuels

April 30, 2026 |

Castlerock Biofuels, co-founded by Castlerock Green Energy, announced a significant strategic collaboration with Ensyn Corporation. The most newsworthy aspect of the presentation is Castlerock Biofuels securing exclusive rights to utilize Ensyn’s groundbreaking Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP®) technology for pivotal applications within the United States. This fast thermal conversion technology transforms biomass into Renewable Fuel Oil […]

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The Long, Invisible Carry: BioMADE’s latest 14 project awards and how they cohere

The Long, Invisible Carry: BioMADE’s latest 14 project awards and how they cohere

April 30, 2026 |

The pallets come in uneven. Not like fuel. Fuel moves clean—measured, continuous, almost abstract. But this is different. Boxes, drums, crates, sealed containers—each with its own handling, its own timing, its own consequence if it doesn’t arrive when it should. LTJG H. H. “Tex” Riley stands on the bridge of the fleet oiler USS Decatur […]

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The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to BTG Bioliquids

The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to BTG Bioliquids

April 29, 2026 |

BTG Bioliquids presented its mature, commercial-ready fast pyrolysis technology, which converts non-food biomass residues into second-generation (2G) advanced biofuels. The most newsworthy aspect is their highly standardized, modular plant design that practically eliminates scale-up risks. Following a “scaling by numbers” philosophy, BTG brings standardized pyrolysis plants directly to the biomass source, requiring minimal engineering. Furthermore, […]

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