Author Archive: Jim Lane

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KiOR: the inside true story of a company gone wrong, Part 2

KiOR: the inside true story of a company gone wrong, Part 2

May 18, 2016 |

Note. This is Part 2 of our series on the inside true story of KiOR. In part 1 of our series, here, we explored: the formation of BIOeCON and KiOR, the problem of too much oxygen and coke, the entry of Khosla Ventures, and the loss of a CEO. Also, “a recipe for technical failure”, disastrous pilot […]

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KiOR: The inside true story of a company gone wrong

KiOR: The inside true story of a company gone wrong

May 17, 2016 |

Not long ago, KiOR quietly re-named itself Inaeris Technologies and launched a modest website which discussed the technology and management in little detail, but focused to an extraordinary extent on a declaration of values. Empowerment, honesty, fairness, “lessons learned from our collective experience” and so on. Warm, kindly Hallmark Card sentiments, universally popular, admired and […]

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Baseball, the Trade Deadline, and the Industrial Bioeconomy

Baseball, the Trade Deadline, and the Industrial Bioeconomy

May 16, 2016 |

Every July in American baseball a quiet shake-up occurs around what’s known as the trade deadline.  Right at the trade deadline, players rosters come under the microscope. Are we getting enough home runs from the right fielder? Could we find a cheaper options for first base? At that time, some teams are in the hunt […]

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Anti-ethanol bill introduced in US House of Representatives; would cap ethanol blending at 9.7 percent

Anti-ethanol bill introduced in US House of Representatives; would cap ethanol blending at 9.7 percent

May 15, 2016 |

In Washington, legislation was introduced in the US House of Representatives “targeted at halting the progress made under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). HR 5180, the Food and Fuel Consumer Protection Act of 2016 would limit the total volume of ethanol contained in transportation fuel to 9.7 percent,” said Growth Energy. “This bill is incredibly […]

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US ethanol production jumps to 14.38B gallon rate as US gasoline demand reaches 148B gallons

US ethanol production jumps to 14.38B gallon rate as US gasoline demand reaches 148B gallons

May 15, 2016 |

According to EIA data as analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, US ethanol production averaged 962,000 barrels per day (b/d)—or 40.40 million gallons daily. That is up 39,000 b/d from the week before and a five-week high. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at 938,000 b/d for an annualized rate of 14.38 billion gallons. […]

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Aviation execs push support of global carbon scheme for air transport

Aviation execs push support of global carbon scheme for air transport

May 15, 2016 |

In Canada, a High Level Meeting being convened by the International Civil Aviation Organization sector encouraged governments to progress their deliberations on a global carbon offsetting scheme for air transport. The ICAO discussions have been gathering pace since the UN specialised aviation agency agreed to the development of an economic mechanism at its Assembly in […]

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Boating experts: Biofuels blends are A-OK with us, despite the naysaying

Boating experts: Biofuels blends are A-OK with us, despite the naysaying

May 15, 2016 |

In Washington, Keith Holmes, President and Owner of CK Motorsports in Nunica, Michigan and a Certified Mercury Marine Racing Technician told US lawmakers that ““We work on a wide variety of racing engines for watercraft, and they run at their absolute best on a high-octane ethanol blend. Ethanol burns cleaner and cooler. Since the introduction […]

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US E85 wholesale price drops to 50% off US wholesale ethanol-free gasoline

US E85 wholesale price drops to 50% off US wholesale ethanol-free gasoline

May 15, 2016 |

In Iowa, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association’s E85 Wholesale Price Listing Program is showing E85 prices as low as $0.79 per gallon, compared to $1.36 for E10 and $1.59 for ethanol-free gasoline. The IRFA publishes Monday’s wholesale E85 prices every Tuesday. E85 is defined in state law as a blend of between 70 and 85 […]

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Soybean demand outpaces production in 2016, will reduce but not deplete global stockpiles: UFOP

Soybean demand outpaces production in 2016, will reduce but not deplete global stockpiles: UFOP

May 15, 2016 |

In Germany, UFOP is reporting that the coming marketing year’s demand for soybeans is set to outpace production by approximately 4 million tonnes. This is the outcome of the preliminary USDA estimate. Nevertheless, supply to the market will be more than sufficient, as ending stocks are expected to decline by 74 million tonnes to 68 […]

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Deinove, TWB partner to map, optimize Deinococcus bacteria for industrial biotech production

Deinove, TWB partner to map, optimize Deinococcus bacteria for industrial biotech production

May 15, 2016 |

In France, Deinove and Toulouse White Biotechnology are collaborating with the MetaToul platform (INSA-LISBP Toulouse and MetaboHUB national infrastructure) headed by Prof. Jean-Charles Portais, aiming to map the metabolic fluxes of the Deinococcus chassis, i.e. to create an inventory of all the potentialities of the microorganism in the production of molecules of interest. This mapping, both […]

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