Carbon capture: much talked-about, less seen. Could biocatalysts and biofuels provide the kicker needed to make this class of technologies feasible? New news and data from Akermin suggests that bio may be just the ticket. In Missouri this week, Akermin, a biocatalyst company developing technology to improve the removal of carbon dioxide from industrial gas […]
In China, researchers from Tianjin University Research and Development Center for Petrochemical Technology found that one particular device has the potential to make a highly pure ethylene product from ethanol with high efficiency and low cost. The device, called a fluidized bed reactor, works by suspending the chemicals needed to make ethylene inside the walls […]
Today, we look at the 10 Hottest Waste to fuels companies, their prospects and their projects. So you’ve heard the bad news: climate change is here. The economy is too weak to do anything about it, they say. Natural gas is transformationally cheap, but try filling your car with it. Meanwhile, temperatures are rising, storms […]
In Israel, Kaiima Agro-biotech Ltd., an agro-biotch startup, seeks to raise up to US $50M in an equity financing round to further develop their products which increase crop productivity without genetically modifying the DNA of the selected crop. Kaiima’s products take advantage of “polyploidy,” a condition which causes species to have extra sets of chromosomes. […]
In the UK, researchers from the Biorefinery Centre, Institute of Food Research, have investigated approaches for fed-batch “saccharification and semi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation” (SSSF) of shredded copier paper. The aim of the research has been to successfully achieve ethanol concentrations at levels comparable to those produced during first generation approaches whilst using minimal quantities of […]
Cash from Trash: The Heroes from Vero are making renewable fuel in commercial quantities from ag waste and MSW in South Florida. The Digest speaks with INEOS Bio CEO Peter WIlliams and COO Mark Niederschulte about the world’s first facility to convert waste to fuel and electricity. In Florida, INEOS Bio announced that its Indian […]
In Michigan, a team of University of Michigan researchers has been awarded a $2 million federal grant to identify and test naturally diverse groups of green algae that can be grown together to create a high-yield, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective system to produce next-generation biofuels. National Science Foundation funding for the project begins Sept. 1 […]
In South Dakota, South Dakota State University Extension says it expects DDGS and MDGS prices to go down during August, based on five-year averages. Prices could drop in the state by about 3%, reaching the seasonal low near the beginning of September. That would translate to $214/ton for DDGS and $115/ton.
In California, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have identified individual microbial species whose enzymes were the most active in deconstructing the switchgrass biomass. Thermophilic microbes are believed to be a rich source of cellulase and hemicellulase enzymes for lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction that are active at elevated temperatures and […]
In Kansas, an article published in Phycologia has challenged the notion that more research is needed before commercial-scale algae biofuel technology can be implemented by examining the strain botryococcus braunii. The strain was initially selected for large-scale biofuel production because of its extraordinary ability to synthesize large amounts of hydrocarbon oils. Although further study is […]
