Did you know that in the past 10 years, the biodiesel industry has grown from a few million gallons of biodiesel production per year to over 2 billion gallons of biodiesel production last year? And did you know that the three leading feedstocks for biodiesel are soybean oil, animal fats and corn oil? Well, now you do thanks to Kaleb …
AI Bio Funds $13M for #Biomass-Based Bioproducts
Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions (AI Bio) has announced the funding for 61 projects to develop bioproducts from biomass resources. Totaling nearly $13 million, the monies will help support Alberta agriculture through the development of local feedstocks, such as forestry waste, to develop renewable products including replacements for fossil-fuel derived materials. The funds are also helping to diversify and strengthen the …
Voters Question Trump-Pence Stance on Ag, #Biofuels
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Is the Trump-Pence Republican ticket good for agriculture, energy?” During his campaigning Trump has been supporter of biofuels and has repeatedly said he could “be a farmer.” Indiana Governor Mike Pence has vocally supported the ag industry understanding and supporting small farms and large agribusinesses. However, this week’s pollers seem to think differently with …
CYCLALG to Develop Algal Biorefinery
A European research and development (R&D) consortium is seeking to develop an algal biorefinery. The three-year project, estimated to cost 1.4 million euros, of which 65 percent is being provided by ERDF funds, is a partnership of six organizations in the Basque Autonomous Community including Navarre and France -NEIKER-Tecnalia, National Centre of Renewable Energies (CENER), Tecnalia Research & Innovation, Association …
ePure: Strengthen the Framework for Sustainable #Ethanol
A new report released by the European Court of Auditors finds that there are several gaps in the European Commission’s existing biofuels sustainability certification framework even thought the study only looked at four member states. In response to the report, the European renewable ethanol association (ePure) agrees with the assessment that the sustainability framework for biofuels in Europe can, and …
Texas A&M AgriLife Receives $2.5M DOE Grant
Researchers from Texas A&M AgriLife Research have received a $2.5 million grant to conduct a three-year study to find ways to use a biorefinery waste to make new products. Dr. Joshua Yuan, a biotechnologist, is the lead scientist on the project that will primarily focus on ways to make plastic materials from the lignin waste. “In the biorefinery field, we …
Cologne Scientists Cultivate #Algae for Less
One of barriers that keep the cost of algal products from being competitive is cultivation. But in the near future, these costs could go down with research from scientists in at the University of Cologne. Professor Michael Melkonian, an algae specialist, along with his team have developed a new method that could make harvesting algae easier and thus reduce the …
BioEnergy Bytes
KXO Radio is reporting that the Imperial Irrigation District Directors have approved a $2.5 million grant for California Ethanol and Power for its processing plant located in Keystone Industrial Park in California’s Imperial Valley. The proposed $500 million facility would produce an estimated 66 million gallons of ethanol per year from 55,000 acres of locally grown sugarcane. At the same …
IIT Researchers Receive #Bioethanol Patent
Two scientists from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Ben Stark and Tony Sanny, have received a patent for a method to genetically engineer bacteria and yeast to increase bioethanol production. During the development process, the team focused on cellulosic biomass from twigs, branches, plant stalks, husks and woodschips. This patent is Stark’s, who is a professor of biology, and Sanny’s, …
Aviation: Benefits Beyond Borders
During the United Nations High Level Political Forum’s Sustainable Development Goal Business Day held in New York, the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) launched a new report detailing the path to global aviation sustainability. “Aviation: Benefits Beyond Borders,” finds that over the next 20 years, aviation-supported jobs worldwide will increase to over 99 million and GDP to $5.9 trillion. The …