The National Advanced Biofuels Conference kicked off last week with a heated discussion about the state of advanced biofuels in the U.S. with a focus on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Following the panel I had a chance to speak with Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board NBB) who was joined on the panel by Micheal McAdams, President …
Novozymes Ranked Best Science Employer
Science Magazine has ranked Novozymes at the top of its Top Employers list. The publication polled employees in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and related industries to determine the 20 best employers globally. The key characteristics the magazine was looking for in the ranking were ‘Innovative leader in the industry,’ ‘Treats employees with respect’ and ‘Is socially responsible’. “We are very proud …
New Poll Shows Iowans Support RFS
“We wanted a poll to tell us the truth about where caucus voters stand. This isn’t a Republican thing or a Democrat thing. This is an American thing. This represents the future,” said Eric Branstad the Iowa State Director of America’s Renewable Future (ARF) during a press call to release the results of a new poll. The results find that …
Energy Companies Sign On to Climate Pledge
Energy company across the U.S. have signed on to support the American Business Act on Climate Pledge, a program the White House announced in July 2015. The 81 companies are part of the third round of pledges and have committed to reduce their impact on Earth. Abengoa Bioenergy US, Aemetis, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Biogen, Novozymes, Pacific Ethanol and Tri-Global Energy …
DuPont & Quad County Sign Enzyme Contract
DuPont Industrial Biosciences will continue to supply the enzymes that enable Quad County Corn Processors’ (QCCP) Cellerate process in the production of cellulosic biofuel from corn kernel fiber. The ethanol plant developed the process and was the first in the country to produce cellulosic ethanol gallons from the corn kernel fiber. QCCP uses DuPont OPTIMASH suite of enzymes from the …
Algae Foundation to Launch Algal College Program
The Algae Foundation will be creating a college degree in algal cultivation technologies and an aquaculture extension training program. The nonprofit received a multi-year grant from the Department of Energy and with the funds has formed the Algae Technology Educational Consortium (ATEC). The Consortium, a partnership between academic institutions, national research laboratories, and industry leaders, will develop educational programs to …
Alliance BioEnergy Converts Coastal Hay to Sugar
Ek Laboratories, located in Longwood, Florida, has achieved a 63 percent conversion of Coastal Hay, at commercial scale, into fermentable sugars in less than 30 minutes. The Alliance BioEnergy Plus subsidiary used it licensed and patented mechanical/chemical CTS (Cellulose to Sugar) process. According to Ek Laboratories, unlike most cellulose to sugar technologies, their CTS process does not use liquid acids, …
Aemetis Harvests Record Sorghum Crop in Cali
Aemetis has announced the harvest of sorghum grown in Central California that grew between 12-15 feet tall. The 20 acre demonstration crop was grown using proprietary Nexsteppe seed genetics and harvested in 90 days by Aemetis. The water supply for the sorghum was lower quality pump water containing salts that typically damage crops in western San Joaquin Valley, an area …
Joule Receives EPA Cert for CO2 Ethanol
Joule’s fuel grade Sunflow-E ethanol has been registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for commercial use in E10 and E15 gasoline blends. The fuel is derived from recycled CO2. “We are approaching commercialization with a technology that is first of its kind, able to convert CO2 directly into multiple drop-in fuels. It is critical to prove its readiness …
UPM BioVerno Diesel Reduces Tailpipe Emissions
Studies have found that wood-based UPM BioVerno significantly reduces harmful tailpipe emissions. Several engine and vehicle tests were conducted by a number of research institutes including VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, University of Vaasa in Finland and at FEV, an internationally recognized vehicle engineering company based in Germany. The Finnish company’s renewable diesel functions just like conventional diesel in …