Today we’d like to highlight advances in the production and use of higher-value forms of carbon as examples of a society slowly moving away from a hunter-gatherer culture in energy and materials and towards a pastoral and agricultural approach. Specifically we’ll look at clean, cost-efficient approaches of producing carbon fiber from biomass — including applications […]
In June 2011, the Secretaries of Agriculture, Energy, and Navy signed MOU to commit $510M (up to $170M from each agency) to produce hydrocarbon jet and diesel biofuels in the near-term. This initiative sought to achieve multiple, commercial scale integrated biorefineries, cost-competitive biofuel with conventional petroleum (w/o subsidies), domestically produced fuels from non-food feedstocks, and […]
Structuring and financing an International Bioeconomy Project is not for the neophyte or the faint of heart — =so advises Kilpatrick Townsend’s massively-experienced partner Mark Riedy. Where is it best to build? In this illuminating presentation from ABLC 2017, Riedy looked at regulatory uncertainty, returns, available supply chains and the risk therein, among many other factors that […]
Methane in biogas offers a renewable alternative to natural gas as a feedstock and intermediate in bioprocesses. The US DOE is supporting a development effort led by NatureWorks in collaboration with Calysta to develop a commercially viable, disruptive fermentation process using methane in biogas and engineered methanotrophic bacteria for the production of lactic acid (HLA). Such a […]
There he goes again. Bruce Rastetter, that is. It wasn’t enough to be one of the transformers of the US ethanol industry with the development of Hawkeye Renewables and its 450 million gallons of capacity. When Thomas H. Lee Partners bought 80% of the company in 2006 for a reported $312 million (some sources put […]
The US Department of Energy initiated a project to identify and mitigate the challenges of moving new fuels and vehicles into markets. Specifically, engaging with all critical stakeholders (OEM’s, fuel producers, distribution networks, gas station owners, UL, regulators, consumers, etc.), to understand and address impacts, concerns, opportunities, and barriers. The goal is to facilitate new […]
MetGen, Sweetwater Energy say “there’s gold in them thar side-streams” For all of your questions about the advanced bioeconomy there’s just the one answer and that is “lignin”. Why don’t we see more biobased chemical plants built these days? Lignin. Why do people shy away from hardwoods as a raw material even though it’s sustainable, […]
The DOE is supporting an Oak Ridge-led project to produce and commercialize lignin-derived, industrial-grade composites with properties including 3D printability, rivaling current petroleum-derived alternatives. The project outcomes? A novel family of commercial-ready, lignin-based 3D-printable composites. Also, suitable for high-volume applications. With recyclable compositions retain their unprecedented mechanical properties. Also, utilizing unmodified lignin at ≥50 (%) […]
In Louisiana, reports surfaced in Alexandria’s TownTalk online paper that Sundrop Fuels has struck an agreement to sell the 1200-acre site where it once planned to build its $450 million, 50 million gallon capacity first commercial plant to produce green gasoline from woody biomass. The company selected the site, the former location of the Cowboy […]
What is the Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit, where is it, who does it serve and how? Located at Berkeley Lab, the ABPDU aims to “support the commercialization of industry-, academic-and DOE-driven biofuels and bio-products by providing a key technical resource and an agile, flexible team for process development and demonstration. The project aims to have […]
