Comet Biorefining has been awarded CA $10.9 million dollars from the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDIC) to assist with the construction of its biobased chemicals plant located in Sarnia, Ontario. The biorefinery will convert corn stover into high-purity dextrose sugar. SDTC supports the development of technologies which address the challenges of clean air, soil, water and climate change. Andrew Richard, …
Federal Activities Report on Bioeconomy Released
USDA has released a new report, “Federal Activities Report on the Bioeconomy.” According to Dr. Catherine Woteki, the report was developed to create awareness of federal agency activities that are helping to develop and support the bioeconomy. The “bioeconomy” is an emerging part of the U.S. economy, says Woteki, that utilizes renewable biological resources to produce fuels, power and biobased …
Goat’s Guts Lead to Better Biofuels
New research finds that some day your gas tanks could be filled up by horses, sheep and goat’s guts. Researchers looked at how the anaerobic gut fungi, as compared to engineered fungi, were able to convert plant material into sugars that could be converted into advanced biofuels and other biobased materials. Fungi found in the guts of goats, horses and …
Comet Biorefining to Build Biomass to Sugar Plant
TransAlta Energy Park located in Sarnia, Ontario will be the new home of a commercial scale biomass to sugar facility operated by Comet Biorefining. The facility is expected to be operational by 2018 and will produce 60 million pounds per year of dextrose sugar from locally sourced corn stover and wheat straw. Comet, using its proprietary patented process, coverts the …
DOE Announces Biomass to Biofuels Funding
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced up to $11.3 million in funding to develop flexible biomass to hydrocarbon biofuels conversion pathways. The goal is for these roads, per se, to be able to be easily modified to produce advanced biofuels and/or bioproducts, depending on market demand. Using a DOE example, one pathway could consist of a route to …
Students Benefit From Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel
It’s never too early to encourage the next generation of biodiesel and bioproduct scientists and this is just what NBB is doing through its Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel program. Several members of the group attended this year’s conference and presented posters, attended educational sessions and networked, networked, networked. James Anderson, from University of Illinois, serves as co-chair for the …
Iowa Corn Receives Bio-Based Process Patent
The Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) has received a U.S. patent (U.S. 2015/0329449) for a production method using corn in the industrial manufacturing of a raw material called monoethylene glycol (MEG). The product can be used as a replacement of fossil-fuel-based chemicals used in products such as plastics and helps the product to biodegrade. “Patenting this research will lead to …
What Do You Think About the Brazilian Bioeconomy?
Leading up to World Bio Markets Brasil, taking place November 30-December 1, 2015 in Sao Paulo, GreenPower Conferences asked over 100 people their thoughts on the Brasilian bioeconomy and the factors influencing it, including: What the biggest change in the last 12 months has been; the biggest threat to the industry; and the most important factor over the next year. …
USDA Accepting Applications for Biobased Products
Following a webinar this morning, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced they are accepting applications for funding under the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program. It was formerly known as the Biorefinery Assistance Program. The webinar discussed changes to the program as well as opportunities available to produce more biobased products. “This critical financing …
Take a Ride on the Waves with Algae
It’s time to start surfing the waves with algae. One of the hottest technologies during the BioEnergy 2015 conference was the algae surfboard developed by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded scientists at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) California Center for Algae Biotechnology. Traditionally surfboards have petroleum, aka fossil fuels, as a component. However, these algae surboards are …