USDA’s Agricultural Research Service says switching to switchgrass would make sense to make ethanol. A report in this month’s ARS magazine says “this deep-rooted carbon-storing perennial has great biofuel production potential.” This native perennial has been shown to store more soil carbon than the major U.S. farm crops. They found that switchgrass stores most of its carbon deep underground….The reason …
DuPont Biofuels Strategy
DuPont research scientists outlined the company’s biofuels strategy at the third annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing held in Toronto. According to a release, DuPont biofuels research manager William Provine said the three-part strategy entails: (1) improving existing ethanol production through differentiated agricultural seed products and crop protection chemicals; (2) developing and supplying new technologies to allow conversion …
Cool Blue Fire
The logo is very cool and the company is “established to deploy the commercially ready, patented, and proven Arkenol Technology Process for the profitable conversion of cellulosic (“Green Waste”) waste materials to ethanol,” according to the Blue Fire website. The Irvine, CA-based corporation announced its management team this week, “led by Arnold R. Klann the founder of Arkenol and its …
Cellulosic Roadmap
The U.S. Department of Energy has released an ambitious new research agenda for the development of cellulosic ethanol as an alternative to gasoline. According to a DOE release, the 200-page scientific “roadmap” cites recent advances in biotechnology that have made cost-effective production of ethanol from cellulose, or inedible plant fiber, an attainable goal. The report outlines a detailed research plan …
New Fuel Frontier
Nuclear Solutions of Washington DC, “an emerging innovative technology development company,” is behind a company called Fuel Frontiers, Inc. which proposes to use commercially available and proprietary technologies to transform low-value, end-of-life carbonaceous waste materials such as waste coal, used tires, wood wastes, biomass, discarded corn stalks and other agricultural by-products, into high-value, environmentally friendly, clean-burning ethanol. They plan to …
IL Governor Argues Against New Ethanol Research Center
Looking at the headline you would think Governor Rod Blagojevich is against new ethanol research. Not so. According to the AP story, he is against the government wasting money, building a new center when they can just upgrade the current National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center in Edwardsville instead. The new center is proposed to research cellulosic ethanol, however, so the current …
Greenspan Sees Future in Cellulosic Ethanol
Testimony of former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday has gotten quite a bit of news coverage, especially his comments about ethanol. In his written remarks to the committee, Greenspan said “Corn ethanol, though valuable, can play only a limited role, because its ability to displace gasoline is modest at best. But cellulosic …
World Congress to Focus on BioFuels
New research and commercial production methods to meet increased demand for biofuels will be one focus of the third annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, to be held July 11-14, 2006 at the Toronto Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, according to a press release from the Biotechnology Industry Organization, or BIO. Sessions include: An International Perspective on Biofuels and …
Iogen Wants Loan Guarentees for Idaho Plant
Iogen officials say they want to build a $300 million plant to make ethanol from barley straw in Idaho, but they are waiting on loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy that would cover any losses investors might have if the project failed. The Ottawa Sun reports the company would like to start building in the fall of 2007. …
Pineapple Ethanol
A Florida-based company is working to make ethanol from pineapples. Biomass Resources Corporation of Boca Raton reportedly has “achieved initial success at extracting Ethanol from pineapple fruit and pineapple plant waste,” according to a news release. Initially, the company is focusing on the pineapple industry for its production, and has established a 5,000 sq. ft. R&D and production facility outside …