Q: What was the reason for founding your organization – what was the open niche you saw that could be addressed with a new product or service? What was the problem, or gap, or opportunity? Certain petroleum solvents present regulatory and HS&E restrictions for manufacturers using solvents in formulations or cleaning applications. Vertec BioSolvents, Inc. […]
Converting algae to fuels is challenging. But PNNL is working on developing process models and techno-economic analysis to inform hydrothermal liquefaction algae conversion research for fuels and chemicals. Check out what Susanne Jones and others from PNNL shared as part of the 2019 BETO Peer Review of how they modeled different biorefinery scenarios to achieve […]
What are the MEGATRENDS? What are the forces shaping the economy, new markets, the carbon agenda, the pursuit of new products and more. The Digest’s Jim Lane gave these slides in the opening remarks at the MEGATRENDS panel at the 2019 Algae Biomass Summit in Orlando.
We know this about algae. They’re small, they die off quickly in great numbers, and every time you look around there’s more of them coming, there’s more diversity every day, but the pace of algae birth (think minutes) exceeds the pace of algae evolution (think millennia). Pretty much sums up the algae industry these days. […]
It seems that plastic is in the news daily between bag bans, straw bans and even Ray-Bans. But there are companies out there tackling the plastic problem with alternatives like the new “Feel the Peel” juicer that turns orange peels into bioplastic cups by drying, milling, and mixing the peels with polylactic acid and 3D […]
We all know plastics are an issue but could there be a solution with a circular carbon economy for plastics? That’s exactly what BETO is looking at with biobased designs for recyclability, reduced use, improved properties, and anaerobic digestion and composting. They are asking what can we make when we are no longer limited by […]
Stephanie Batchelor, Vice President, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) Special to The Digest As we speculate on the details and implications of the administration’s renewable fuels deal, the future of an entire green industry hangs in the balance. The debate over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has become muddied with rhetoric about special interests and government […]
Developing efficient and economical biological and chemical technologies to convert biomass feedstocks into energy-dense liquid transportation fuels, such as renewable gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, as well as bioproducts, chemical intermediates, and biopower is the primary goal of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Conversion R&D team. As part of the 2019 BETO Peer Review, Program […]
In Vermont, representatives from Vanguard Renewables, Middlebury College, Vermont Gas, Goodrich Farm, and the State of Vermont were on hand the other day to celebrate the official groundbreaking for the largest anaerobic digester east of the Mississippi, with Middlebury will be the primary consumer of the RNG produced at the dairy farm. But the students […]
CO2 is one of those things you love to hate, but it’s there and it’s not going away, so if we don’t find a way to use it, isn’t it a missed opportunity? As part of the 2019 BETO Peer Review, Ian Rowe from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office gave this illuminating […]
