Sapphire & Linde Announce Algae CO2 Deal

Joanna Schroeder

Sapphire Energy and The Linde Group have announced a multi-year partnership to co-develop a low-cost system to deliver carbon dioxide (CO2) to commercial-scale, open-pond, algae-to-fuel cultivation systems.  Linde, who is a leading supplier of CO2 in the US, will work with Sapphire to reduce the costs incurred when delivering CO2 for commercial-scale open pond algae cultivation. In addition, Linde will …

algae, biofuels

FUJIFILM Adds Solar Power

Joanna Schroeder

FUJIFILM has completed the installation of a 483,391 kilo-watt hours solar power system at its branch office in Hawaii. The installation was completed by 21st Century Technologies and is comprised of 1,455 Conergy PowerPlus modules. The solar power system will produce the equivalent amount of energy needed to power 66 average sized homes per year and is the first Conergy …

Electricity, Energy, Solar

FPInnovations Now Producing Lignin for Research

Joanna Schroeder

Canada’s first lignin plant is operational and producing lignin for Canadian researchers according to an announcement made during the 2011 BIO World Congress. The plant is owned and operated by FPInnovations who is working in partnership with the Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE), Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) and AbitibiBowater. Lignin is a residual substance derived from …

BIO, biochemicals, biofuels, Biotech

Close Vote On Man Made Climate Change ZimmPoll

Chuck Zimmerman

I am not surprised by the results of our latest ZimmPoll. The question was, “Do you believe in man made climate change?” If this doesn’t show a divided viewpoint then I don’t know what does. We just wanted a simple yes/no without trying to get into arguments over what science is better than another. Fifty two percent said yes and …

ZimmPoll

Florida Farm to Fuel Summit Postponed

Cindy Zimmerman

Florida’s annual Farm to Fuel Summit has been postponed. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam sent out an announcement today saying that a bill passed during the recently concluded Florida legislative session prompted the decision. The Florida legislature approved the transfer of the State Energy Office from the Executive Office of the Governor to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer …

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Farming

Ethanol Potential in Giant Sweet Potatoes

Cindy Zimmerman

At the International Biomass Conference and Expo last week, Dr. Janice Ryan-Bohac attracted a lot of attention carrying around a sweet potato the size of a newborn baby. Ryan-Bohac is president of CAREnergy, Carolina Advanced Renewable Energy, located in South Carolina and dedicated to the development of dedicated energy crops for the southeast, such as the eTuber™ sweet potato and …

biomass, Ethanol, Ethanol News, feedstocks

RFA Report Highlights Ethanol Feed Production

Cindy Zimmerman

The livestock feed generated as a by-product of ethanol production is enough to make 50 billion quarter-pound hamburgers each year, according to a new report from the Renewable Fuels Association. According to the report, America’s ethanol producers supplied nearly 35 million metric tons (mmt) of livestock feed in the 2009/2010 marketing year, which is greater than the total amount of …

Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

ICM Spotlights Biomass Gasification at Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

The announcement by ICM last week on the commercial deployment of its biomass gasification system came just prior to the 4th International Biomass Conference and Expo in St. Louis last week, which gave the company much to talk about with attendees. The technology has the capacity to covert 150 tons of biomass per day to a syngas that can then …

biofuels, biomass, Ethanol, Ethanol News

New Corn Oil Extraction Technology Increases Yield

Joanna Schroeder

Inedible corn oil is an emerging co-product for the ethanol industry. Today, about 1/3 of all ethanol plants in production are producing some type of inedible corn oil. However, many current technologies on the market don’t deliver high yields. This may change with the announcement from Ashland Hercules Water Technologies who has released a patent-pending corn oil extraction aid, PTV …

Biodiesel, biofuels, corn, Ethanol

DSM & Roquette Announce Plans for Biochemical Plant

Joanna Schroeder

Royal DSM used the 2011 BIO World Congress as a platform to announcement several new initiatives. Yesterday, DSM CEO Ferke Sijbesma received the George Washington Carver Award for Innovation in Industrial Biotechnology. In addition, the company was part of a funding round for Verdezyne. The latest news is that they have announced a partnership with French company Roquette Frères to …

BIO, biochemicals, Biotech