Renewable energy companies Cobalt Technologies and American Process Inc. have partnered to build an industrial-scale cellulosic biorefinery to produce biobutanol. In addition, the two companies will jointly market a GreenPower+ Biobutanol product to biomass power facilities and other customers globally. According to Cobalt, GreenPower+ Biobutanol technology selectively converts part of a boiler cellulosic biomass feedstock into renewable biobutanol, a chemical …
Butamax Issued Another Biobutanol Patent
Butamax has received another patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) number 7,910,342 entitled “FERMENTIVE PRODUCTION OF ISOBUTANOL USING HIGHLY ACTIVE KETOL-ACID REDUCTOISOMERASE ENZYMES.” The patent was awarded to protect a key step in the company’s biobutanol production pathway using genetic constructs with highly active enzymes. This is one of several patents that Butamax has been awarded for …
Cobalt CEO: Biochems More Profitable than Biofuels
The head of a company that produces biochemicals and biofuels says the chemical market, although smaller, is much more profitable than the renewable fuel market. According to this piece from Biofuels Digest, during the recent BioPro Expo and Conference in Atlanta, Cobalt Technologies CEO Rick Wilson questioned the wisdom of focusing on biofuels when the better money is in biochemicals: …
Bacteria Turns Biodiesel By-product Into Butanol
Researchers at the University of Alabama in Huntsville have found a strain of bacteria that could turn glycerol, a by-product of biodiesel production, into another alternative fuel … butanol. This story from the school’s news website says the research is being done by a graduate student with funding from the National Science Foundation: Disposing of glycerol has been a problem …
Butamax Files Patent Infringement Action Against Gevo
Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Gevo, Inc. for its use of Butamax biobutanol technology. The lawsuit was filed January 14 in U.S. Federal District Court in the District of Delaware. “The U.S. patent system is designed to encourage research and development and to protect inventions. Butamax and its owners were the first to develop this …
TetraVitae Announces n-Butanol Production Milestone
Butanol is not just for fuel. Today, TetraVitae Bioscience announced that it has successfully demonstrated its process to produce renewable n-butanol in a corn dry-mill pilot plant. The company says this is a major milestone for them in creating economically competitive renewable n-butanol for the coatings, plastics, personal care, and packaging industries. “With this achievement, TetraVitae has shown that producing …
Butamax Advanced Biofuels Recieves Patent
Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC announced today that they have received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Patent number 7851188 encompasses Butamax’s isobutanol producing biocatalyst under the title “Fermentive Production of Four Carbon Alcohols”. This in one of several patents that the company has filed across the biofuels value chain for its work in biocatalyst, bioprocess and …
Butamax Unveils Biobutanol Lab in Brazil
Today, Butamax Advanced Biofuels, LLC, a partnership between BP and DuPont to develop biobutanol, announced the opening of a biobutanol technology laboratory in the city of Paulínia, São Paulo state, Brazil. Butamax CEO Tim Potter joined Ricardo Vellutini, DuPont do Brasil’s President and Vice President of Agricultural Products for Latin America, for a ribbon cutting ceremony. Media were also welcome …
More Cellulosic Ethanol Investment Needed
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has lowered its projection for cellulosic ethanol production in 2011, which means investment in next generation biofuels is more important than ever. In a recent letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lisa Jackson, EIA administrator Richard Newell noted that they are now projecting cellulosic ethanol production will be just 3.94 million gallons next year, …
Cobalt Partners With U.S. Navy On Biobutanol Project
Cobalt Technologies announced today that it has created a partnership with the U.S. Navy to develop performance jet and diesel fuels from biobutanol. The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) established a program that will convert n-butanol produced by Cobalt into biodiesel fuels using technology developed at the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) in China Lake, Cali. …