Beck’s joins the Benson Hill Biosystems genetics ecosystem In Missouri, more signs of the democratization of crop genetics arrives with news major seed retailer Beck’s will leverage CropOS, Benson Hill’s cognitive platform, to accelerate and enhance their corn breeding program. The Beck’s’ backstory Beck’s is a family-owned and operated seed company that serves farmers in […]
By Dr. Bernard Cooker, Chemical Processing Solutions Special to The Digest This is a review of the biomass-fed chemical process projects to renewable chemicals which were published in Chemical Engineering Progress (CEP) and Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN) from 1/1/16 to 10/31/16, including activity in bioplastics, biopolymers and biochemicals. It is based on a spreadsheet […]
In political circles, the theme of “Better Together” has been under siege of late — barely winning (for now) in the Sctoland independence, debate, and losing unexpectedly in the Brexit vote — but it remains a theme for surviving and thriving in the advanced bioeconomy. We tipped it a few months ago, in “The Rise […]
Fair to say that, hands-down, the most interesting bioconversion engines ever assembled were crowd-sourced, if you will, via evolution — and they reside inside plants (aquatic and terrestrial). There appears to be no end to the metabolic pathways they contain. And, despite millions of years of frenetic evolution, as Sinatra sang it in 1964 with […]
By Douglas L. Faulkner, “The Cleantech Conservative” The November elections ushered in a different type of divided government than conventional wisdom expected. Yes, the GOP is in control of the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate. But, who’s in control of the Republicans and will they – – can they – – […]
Winter barley and early tomatoes may sound like a dull foundation upon which to further a revolution in agriculture — but then again, the Spanish hardly developed California in two centuries of sovereignty because they couldn’t see the point. As Master Po said in Kung Fu, “Because a man can see, he does not look.” […]
In Minnesota, Cargill and Calysta revealed that they will co-create the world’s largest gas fermentation facility in Memphis, Tennessee to produce Calysta’s FeedKind protein, a family of sustainable, traceable nutritional ingredients for fish, livestock and pets. Start-up is expected in late 2018. So we’re going to Graceland. Memphis that is, home to Elvis. What exactly is […]
BETO. I think it’s Latin for “I forbid petroleum.” So while presidents have the Veto, technologists have the Beto. It’s most widely known in its modern variant, as the acronym for the DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, the hearth and home of the US government’s efforts to change the energy mix. At ABLC Next 2016, the Bioenergy Technologies Office’s […]
In Washington, according to EIA data as analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production averaged 1.012 million barrels per day —or 42.50 million gallons daily. That is down just 2,000 b/d from the week before. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at 1.011 million b/d for an annualized rate of 15.50 billion gallons. […]
In Massachusetts, researchers affiliated with the Marine Algal Industrialization Consortium, publishing in the journal Environmental Research Letters, have found that the adoption of algae food & fuel coproduction can enable significant emissions reductions. The researchers also identify potential large-scale water savings through the displacement off water intensive crops. The paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of […]
