Author Archive: Jim Lane

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US ethanol production jumps to 15.58B gallon clip

US ethanol production jumps to 15.58B gallon clip

June 4, 2017 |

In Washington, according to EIA data as analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, US ethanol production averaged 1.020 million barrels per day (b/d)—or 42.84 million gallons daily. That is up 10,000 b/d (1.0%) from the week before. The four-week average for ethanol production was 1.016 million b/d, for an annualized rate of 15.58 billion gallons. […]

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SynTech Bioenergy completes pecan waste-to-energy project 

SynTech Bioenergy completes pecan waste-to-energy project 

June 4, 2017 |

In Colorado, SynTech Bioenergy completed the installation of its newest facility which will convert pecan shells into electricity in Texas.  Five similar plants are currently operating on walnut shells in California; the first plant dates back to 2008. BioMax output is scalable from 165kWe to 1MWe and is modular, containerized, easily transportable, remotely operable and powered by a variety of abundant biomass […]

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GRFA: “Evidence is Clear” that ethanol does not drive food prices 

GRFA: “Evidence is Clear” that ethanol does not drive food prices 

June 4, 2017 |

In Canada, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance released a new 10-year chart showing opposite trends in the UN FAO’s Food Price Index and world fuel ethanol production since 2008, “demonstrating clearly that ethanol production is not a main driver of global food prices”. The chart uses the latest world fuel ethanol production data from F.O. […]

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Weaker soybean prices weigh on rapeseed market

Weaker soybean prices weigh on rapeseed market

June 4, 2017 |

In Germany, UFOP reports that “ample global soybean supply and an increase in soybean acreage in the US for the upcoming 2017 crop put downward pressure on Chicago soybean prices. Rapeseed in Paris also flagged, but remained at the previous year’s level thanks to shaky harvest outlooks.” The nearby for soybean in Chicago dropped to […]

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“Scaling Up the Low Carbon Bioeconomy” ministerial event set for Beijing

“Scaling Up the Low Carbon Bioeconomy” ministerial event set for Beijing

June 4, 2017 |

In China, Mission Innovation and Biofuture Platform will host a side event “Scaling Up the Low Carbon Bioeconomy”. June 8, at the China National Convention Center, Beijing, as part of the CEM8 and Mission Innovation 2 Ministerial in Beijing. The event will highlight the recent contributions of Mission Innovation Sustainable Biofuels Innovation Challenge (SBIC) and the Biofuture Platform […]

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Responding to Trump with a Rebel Yell: the new economies of Pittsburgh and Paris and Paris and Paris

Responding to Trump with a Rebel Yell: the new economies of Pittsburgh and Paris and Paris and Paris

June 4, 2017 |

Last November, Donald J. Trump was elected president by the voters of Paris. Paris, PA, that is. It’s a suburb of Pittsburgh, as it happens. Of “I was elected by voters of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” fame.  Where Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto joined the mayors of more than 175 cities in a rebel yell that has […]

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President Trump pulls US out of Paris Climate Treaty: “We’re getting out”

President Trump pulls US out of Paris Climate Treaty: “We’re getting out”

June 1, 2017 |

In Washington, President Trump said that he would withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Treaty signed by President Obama last year. The move leaves the US as one of three countries that are opposing the Paris Agreement — the others are Syria and Nicaragua. The President denounced the Climate Treaty for its “draconian terms” […]

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Makin’ Money in Muddy Waters with a Magic Molecule

Makin’ Money in Muddy Waters with a Magic Molecule

June 1, 2017 |

In Wisconsin, James Dumesic and his cohort of biomagicians revealed that they have trained up gamma valerolactone (GVL) into a solvent that converts biomass into three viable products, in one step — the platform chemical furfural, a dissolving pulp that can be spun into textile fibers and a highly pure lignin that makes battery anodes […]

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Renewable jet fuel’s progress: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Gevo’s ATJ

Renewable jet fuel’s progress: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Gevo’s ATJ

June 1, 2017 |

Alcohol-to-jet. Several are working on it – Byogy, for example, and Vertimass, Virent and LanzaTech. But Gevo has been working through the rigorous ASTM process for six years, which includes extensive engine testing and data analysis by all of the major original equipment manufacturers to establish the specification for this drop in fuel. Once approved, this […]

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Transforming eco-product performance and accessibility: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to DuPont and biomaterials

Transforming eco-product performance and accessibility: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to DuPont and biomaterials

May 31, 2017 |

DuPont has developed a multi-part strategy to deliver new technologies to the growing biofuels and chemicals markets market. The strategy includes: (1) improving existing ethanol production through differentiated agriculture seed products and crop protection solutions as well as through improved bioprocessing aids and enzymes that allow animals to get the most out of valuable ethanol co-products; […]

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