Abengoa Bioenergy and Mid-Kansas Electric Company are planning to develop the nation’s first commercial-scale hybrid cellulosic ethanol and power plant in Kansas. Announced this week, Abengoa Bioenergy Hybrid of Kansas will be “a sustainable solution that will diversify electric generation in Kansas and help power the state’s growing demand for energy using Abengoa Bioenergy’s state-of-the-art, integrated bio-refinery technology and Mid-Kansas’ …
Iogen Makes Cellulosic Ethanol Gains
Iogen Corporation is moving cellulosic ethanol closer to commercial reality. The Canadian company produced over 581,000 liters (153,484 gallons) of cellulosic ethanol in 2009, more than double its 2008 production. That brings the company’s total cumulative production to more than one million liters since 2004, heading cellulosic ethanol into the realm of viable commercial production. “Advanced renewable fuels such as …
Miscanthus Rhizome Root Harvester & Planter Unveiled
While researchers continue work on miscanthus’s viability to produce cellulosic ethanol, and growers now have a way to plant and harvest the feedstock more efficiently. After years of collaboration and research, a miscanthus rhizome regeneration harvester and planter system has been developed. The unveiling took place during the Bioenergy Feedstocks Symposium held at the University of Illinois (U of I). …
Southeast Poised to be Leader in Energy Crops
The Southeast is poised to be the leader in energy crop production according to University of Florida Associate Professor and energy crops expert Dr. John Erickson. He has been focusing on research of perennial grasses, mostly C4 grasses in his work with the Agronomy department. These can include sugarcane, energycane, elephant grasses, miscanthus, giant reed, switchgrass and sorghum. In terms …
New Enzyme Could Help Cellulosic Ethanol Production
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have created a new enzyme that has the potential to create plants that are easier to convert into cellulosic ethanol. “Increasing the ‘digestibility’ of plant matter is one main approach to making plants a viable alternative energy source,” said Brookhaven biochemist Chang-Jun Liu. Plants with less lignin in their cell …
Mascoma Appoints William Brady as CEO
Effectively immediately, William J. Brady has taken over the helm as the new CEO for Mascoma Corporation. In addition, Brady will also join the Boards of Directors of Mascoma and Frontier Renewable Resources. He brings to the organization 23 years of experience at Cabot Corporation in various positions including Executive Vice President and General Manager of several operating divisions. Brady …
Cellulosic Ethanol Demo Plant to Open in TN
DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol (DDCE) and University of Tennessee/Genera Energy will hold a grand opening celebration later this month for one of the nation’s first cellulosic ethanol demo plants, located in Vonore, Tenn. Among the featured speakers at the grand opening on January 29 will be Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, who helped with the groundbreaking for the plant in October …
Dyadic International’s Investors Win Big in ’09
According to an article in the Palm Beach Post, Dyadic International, based in Jupiter, Florida, made a huge comeback in 2009 when investors saw their stake increase by 1,253 percent during 2009. Dyadic was featured in the newspaper’s best and worst performers of 2009 for companies based in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties Florida. In the biofuels space, …
Cellulosic Ethanol Demo Plant for Georgia
A Valero Energy Corporation subsidiary is joining forces with an Atlanta engineering firm to build a cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant in west central Georgia. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue announced that the new plant is a partnership between Diamond Alternative Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation, and American Process, Inc.. “Georgia is striving to be a world leader in …
NREL Tests Sorghum for Cellulosic Ethanol
Representatives of the National Sorghum Producers (NSP) witnessed a pilot test of bioenergy sorghum at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) this week. NSP collaborated with NREL to provide almost 100 different sorghum samples for testing, eventually choosing two for pilot testing. The resulting data shows that high biomass forage sorghum demonstrates great potential to fit into cellulosic ethanol conversion. …