Category: Thought Leadership

Market Value pivoted Algae biomass productivity for oil to other high value products – is oil still on the horizon, somewhere?

Market Value pivoted Algae biomass productivity for oil to other high value products – is oil still on the horizon, somewhere?

August 22, 2017 |

By Dr. Anju D. Krivov, Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc. Special to The Digest Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s vision of an algae oil machine fed with a bucketful of algae soup from a pond at one end spits out oil at the other – that must have amused the NOVA Science television viewers back in 2009 – […]

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Don’t Change Horses in the Middle of the River

Don’t Change Horses in the Middle of the River

August 21, 2017 |

By Brent Erickson, Executive Vice President, Head of Industrial Biotechnology section, Biotechnology Innovation Organization Special to The Digest We were disappointed, but not surprised, to see Mike McAdams and his members come out in support of changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard in Biofuels Digest (July 26 – The Time Has Come for RFS Reform). […]

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Advanced Fermentation Agitation with Methanotrophs and Other Organisms

Advanced Fermentation Agitation with Methanotrophs and Other Organisms

August 9, 2017 |

By Gregory T. Benz Special to The Digest Fermentation processes, both aerobic and anaerobic, have been successful on an industrial scale for quite a long time, producing a wide variety of products. In most of these processes, if any gas has been added, it has been either air or oxygen-enriched air. In the advanced bioeconomy, […]

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The Time has come for RFS Reform

The Time has come for RFS Reform

July 25, 2017 |

By Mike McAdams, president, Advanced Biofuels Association Special to The Digest In December of 2007, President Bush—with overwhelming bipartisan support—signed the RFS2 into law. Since that time, it has become clear the law has worked for first-generation corn ethanol and biodiesel. While the first generation fuels now represent over eighteen billion gallons of fuel production, […]

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High Added Value Renewable Polymers

High Added Value Renewable Polymers

July 18, 2017 |

By Dr. Bernard Cooker, Chemical Processing Solutions, Consultant with Lee Enterprises Consulting Special to The Digest Biomass-based green polymer and monomer projects, as reported in Chemical and Engineering News and Chemical Engineering Progress in Q1, Q2 2017 are surveyed. The focus here is on combinations of low raw material cost, commercial scale operation and high […]

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Make Lenders Love Your Construction Contract

Make Lenders Love Your Construction Contract

July 10, 2017 |

By Charles G. Loos, P.E., Special to The Digest By the time a developer seeks non-recourse financing for a biomass project, the contracts for construction and major equipment procurement have usually been pre-negotiated and are on hold awaiting notice to proceed.   Prospective lenders then scour these contracts for defects, paying particular attention to inconsistencies between […]

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Celebrating Canada’s 150th: A Short History of the Biofuel Industry in Canada

Celebrating Canada’s 150th: A Short History of the Biofuel Industry in Canada

July 4, 2017 |

By Gerald Kutney, Special to The Digest The 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation arrived on July 1st of this year — it is a time to reflect upon the country’s achievements; this article covers the evolution of the Canadian biofuel industry – including gaseous, liquid and solid biofuels, and biomass power – from 1867 to 2017. The […]

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6 Degrees of Innovation: From the Playboy Mansion to a hot renewables tech in 6 steps

6 Degrees of Innovation: From the Playboy Mansion to a hot renewables tech in 6 steps

July 3, 2017 |

The sixth season of the reality show Kendra on Top commenced on the WE Network this past week, a spin-off from the Playboy Playmate reality show Girls Next Door, which ran from 2005 to 2010. With Girls Next Door, I never quite figured out if the show’s title referred to the guest house at the Playboy […]

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Altering Distillation Curve of Biodiesel – Olefin Metathesis

Altering Distillation Curve of Biodiesel – Olefin Metathesis

June 28, 2017 |

  Rudolf Diesel in 1892 received a patent for a compression ignition reciprocating engine. However, his original design, which used coal dust as fuel, did not work as planned. To put things in context – thirty-three years prior, in 1859, crude oil was discovered in Pennsylvania. The first product refined from crude was lamp oil […]

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Growing Global Bioenergy Markets

Growing Global Bioenergy Markets

June 21, 2017 |

By Gerard J. Ostheimer & Douglas L. Faulkner Special to The Digest The world really, really wants to have a thriving Global Bioeconomy. It just doesn’t know it, yet. Two years ago, essentially all the governments of the world agreed that they wanted a sustainable, low carbon future. These ideas were encapsulated in two landmark […]

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