In Colorado, Gevo Inc. announced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is reconsidering a patent issued in August to Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC for a fuel additive. Gevo claims that, “substantial questions exist regarding whether others invented this technology first and that several scientific journal publications had described the technology before Butamax applied for the […]
In Iowa, Thesis Chemistry is working closely with the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Nevada Economic Development Council, on a 40-acre site within the West Industrial Park of Nevada, Iowa, to build a biorefinery center to produce a range of bio-based chemicals derived from corn stover lignin. Subject to financial and economic incentives, planned […]
In Washington, D.C., the latest government figures show that U.S. biodiesel production has already set a new record for 2011. The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) reports that the industry has produced more than 802 million gallons of biodiesel, more than doubling 2010 production of about 315 million gallons, breaking the previous record of about 690 […]
In Zimbabwe, electricity parastatal Zesa Holdings is deliberating over building the required infrastructure to tap into its systems electricity generated at the Chisumbanje ethanol plant as the country faces a crippling power crisis. The country currently requires 2,200MW of electricity, but due to limited capacity, is currently only able to produce about 1,400MW. US biofuels […]
In the UK, the international price reporting service for the global chemical industry, ICIS, has launched a weekly Global Biodiesel report that gives comprehensive coverage of the growing biodiesel market. ICIS has merged its regional biodiesel reports for Asia, Europe and the Americas into one global report now that the biodiesel markets have become more […]
In Malaysia, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in a speech during the launch of BioMalaysia 2011 and the 2011 Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial and Bio-Energy that the country could reap major benefits as the world’s largest palm oil exporter due to the tremendous potential to use palm oil waste in high-value industrial […]
In New Jersey, Falken Industries has started increased production of biodegradable wet wipe products at their expanded European plant from 8,000 to 20,000 tonnes, and will be ramping up compounding capacity for their derivative products in the Clean Plus branded biodegradable products. Falken anticipates a growing demand for their bio-based and biodegradable vehicular care product […]
In Brazil, Novozymes has built additional R&D laboratories and customer solutions facilities at an existing site near Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, increasing its Brazilian workforce by 10 percent. The new Novozymes R&D laboratory will focus on bioenergy with additional research into household care, agriculture and baking industries. The company hopes to advance the commercialization of advanced […]
In Oklahoma, two legislators have introduced a bill to outlaw the production and transportation of castor beans. Castor beans contain 50 percent or more oil and are increasingly used for producing biofuels. However, they also contain high levels of rincin, a potent toxin that induces a slow, agonizing death marked by vomiting and diarrhea. Oklahoma […]
In California, Cobalt Technologies appointed Bob Mayer as chairman and CEO. Mayer, who most recently was CEO of Genencor, currently serves on the board of advanced cellulosic biofuels developer Edeniq, and is a former board member of Martek. Cobalt’s bio n-butanol technology converts biomass and non-food waste sugars into bio n-butanol at a cost that […]
