By Gregory T. Benz LEC Partners (formerly Lee Enterprises Consulting) and Benz Technology International, Inc. Special to The Digest A recent article in Ethanol Producer Magazine (1) highlighted the potential for growth in the ethanol industry, noting that Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) can be produced from ethanol, which is predominantly made from corn in the […]
In Florida, Digest Data launched the BRISKIs, the Bioeconomy Risk Indexes, tracking risk for 30 bioeconomy fuels and chemical molecules, and 60 feedstocks. They are free, and here. The purpose The BRISKIs offer insight for decision makers, at a time in the bioeconomy when the industry turns from development to deployment, and risks are a […]
2,3-butanediol (BDO) is a common component in fermentation broths present in low concentrations. Recovery/separation of 2,3-butanediol poses many challenges due to inherent limitations such as its high affinity with water and issues with energy-intensive evaporation and multi-stage distillation. BDO separations approaches have been under development by the Separations Consortium for several years. A team representing […]
Hydrothermal liquefaction provides a straightforward approach to producing SAF, yet there’s nitrogen in the upgraded biocrude, and it has to come out. Meanwhile, bad news, nitrogen in hydrotreated biocrude consists of a large variety of nitrogenated compounds: Amides and amines, but also non-basic and more refractory indoles, pyridines, pyrimidines, imidazole. Good news, Adsorptive De-Nitrogenation is […]
Membrane-based separation processes can provide an energy and carbon-efficient alternative separation strategy for decarbonization of transportation and industry. However, the technology is not currently optimized for the bioprocessing industry and has scalability issues due to lack of mechanical strength, performance stability, fouling resistance. To address the challenges and opportunities, Meltem Urgun-Demirtas and Lauren Valentino of […]
In this presentation, we explored the challenges faced in the transition to sustainable, available, reliable, affordable RNG and biogas. We look at the companies and technologies getting traction, new projects underway, the state of feedstocks, policy, the international situation, and the key trends. The Digest’s Jim Lane presented these slides as part of ABLC Connect.
If you’ve been hiding amongst the outer planets in recent months and years, you’ll not have heard of the increasing alarm over microplastics — these almost microscopic-sized bits of hydrocarbon that are piling up in our bodies, in our food, and everywhere. Dire predictions there have been about the risks, and solutions generally have been […]
The new clear plastic bottle — the opportunities range beyond finding biobased alternatives to the components of conventional PET plastic — there’s the higher-performing PEF polymer to consider, which is arriving after many years of development at commercial scale, soon. What are the applications, the partners, the timelines, the competitive edge? Avantium’s Bart Van Limpt […]
How do we build a new globally optimized, massively scaled, highly efficient bio-based supply chain quickly enough to meet the bold goals set by the White House and the challenges of climate change, food security, national security, and sustainability? As Spruce Capital co-founder Roger Wyse observes, there have been few success stories to date. Here […]
Comstock Fuels highlights that its “ breakthrough cellulosic technology enables fuel producers to lead in fuel production efficiency and output while contributing to net zero mobility. Our proprietary cellulosic fuel technology converts woody biomass into C6 sugar and Bioleum, a unique blend of hydrocarbons.” Comstock Fuels president David Winsness presented these slides at ABLC 2024.
