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 …
Algenol to Aid China in CO2 Reductions
Algenol is partnering with South China’s Fujian Zhongyuan New Energy Company (ZYNE) to solve three major problems: lack of clean air, clean water and the needs for sustainable, low carbon fuels. The two companies will work together on an exploration project where Algenol will take ZYNE’s captured CO2 and covert it to ethanol. Algenol’s technology, Direct to Ethanol, uses the CO2 as …
U of W Research Converts Poplar Trees to Biofuels
New research from the University of Washington is laying the foundation to use woody biomass from poplar trees into sustainably produced biofuels and biochemicals. A five-year $40 million dollar study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is in its last year and results will seed a wood-based cellulosic ethanol production facility. ZeaChem, one of the industry partners in …
Biofuels Capacity to Grow to 61B Gallons by 2018
According to new research, global biofuels capacity will grow to 61 billion gallons per year (BGY0 by 2018. Ethanol and biodiesel will continue to dominate with 96 percent of the capacity in 2018, but novel fuels and novel feedstocks will be major drivers of capacity growth, according to Lux Research. The study finds that novel fuels and novel feedstocks will …
Molecular Swiss Army Knife Improves Algae-Fuel
A molecular Swiss Army knife may hold the key to making blue-green algae biofuel and biochemical production more viable. A research team from Michigan State University (MSU) fabricated a synthetic protein that both improves the assembly of the carbon-fixing factory of cyanobacteria while providing proof of concept for a device that could potentially improve plant photosynthesis or be used to …