Category: Top Stories

Looking deeper into Clariant cellulosic technology: Part 2 of 2, a visit to Craiova, Romania and first commercial groundbreaking

September 16, 2018 | Jim Lane

Clariant launches flagship sunliquid plant in Romania as the EU bids to decarbonize transport In Romania, Clariant officially started construction of the first large-scale commercial sunliquid plant for the production of cellulosic ethanol made from agricultural residues. The project represents the biggest industrial commitment by an international corporation in this region. At full capacity, the […]

Looking deeper into Clariant cellulosic technology: Part 1 of 2, a visit to Straubing, Germany and an integrated pilot plant

September 16, 2018 | Jim Lane

When you first encounter the Clariant cellulosic ethanol technology, your nose tells you that you haven’t seen anything quite like this before. An ethanol plant smells like a Corn Flakes factory, you see — warm, toasty corn scent that’s pleasant and distinctive, but cellulosic ethanol project typically had a harsher smell when you first enter […]

Agrisoma, United Airlines and World Energy complete longest transatlantic biojet flight

September 16, 2018 | admin

Carinata is proving that it is a feedstock to be reckoned with, a compelling catalyst for change, with the latest news that Agrisoma, United Airlines and World Energy came together for the longest rransatlantic biojet flight yet. Lots of biofuel flights have been happening over the last few years, so why is this one different? […]

Construction complete at Unibio/Protelux commercial scale methane to protein plant

September 13, 2018 | Jim Lane

two of the four U-Loop reactors visible during the Protelux construction process. Notice the size of the worker in the bottom of the picture.In Russia, Protelux completed the construction of its 6000 ton per year methane-to-proteins plant, based on Unibio technology. The parties are currently testing the plant and expect to commission it by late […]

ENVIA suspends operations, Velocys renews focus on Mississippi, UK projects

September 11, 2018 | Jim Lane

In Oklahoma, the Board of ENVIA Energy has suspended operations at the Oklahoma City plant and is undertaking a review of strategic alternatives in order to preserve the value inherent in the facility. This decision was driven by financial circumstances following a leak at the plant, as announced on 15 May 2018. ENVIA’s investigation into […]

Biobased smartphone chargers, biocomposite boats, smart fields, smart farms, surgery-scale biomaterials: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of September 13th

September 10, 2018 | Jim Lane

Here are the top innovations for the week of September 13th — another illuminating set of advances. This week, we’re seeing biobased smartphone chargers, biocomposite boats, smart fields and smart farms, surgery-scale biomaterial scaffolding, biobased pet caskets, biobased synlawns, and fashion biomaterials — and more. #1 New funding for MyAgData expands geospatial data collection on […]

Biogas projects popping up everywhere – are they the magical solution we’ve been looking for?

September 9, 2018 | admin

It’s not just you…it’s true, talk of gas is popping up everywhere. But it’s no longer a ssshh’d conversation whispered in the bathroom of a Mexican restaurant after eating too many bean burritos. It’s mainstream conversation now thanks to the growth of biogas around the world. And thanks to rainbow-farting unicorn memes of course. While […]

Energy security: a bipartisan issue in a partisan year

September 9, 2018 | Jim Lane

Former President Obama gave a widely-reported speech in Illinois last week which was long on rhetoric about the purpose of democracy and short of hard detail about what issues can unite the fractured American democracy. He said: In order to move this country forward, to actually solve problems and make people’s lives better, we need […]

The Idaho team that lopped $1 a gallon off the cost of fuel, and how they did it

September 9, 2018 | Jim Lane

In Idaho, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory have have cut the modeled cost of harvesting, storing, transporting, and preprocessing biomass from $149.58/dry ton to $82.86/dry ton. As INL’s Kevin Kenney explained, “when applying least-cost formulation and blending strategies in an analysis of data from DOE’s 2016 Billion-Ton Report, INL researchers achieved a 46% reduction […]

Pain-relieving yarns, dissolvable plastic made out of algae, probiotic nutrition from soy waste, squid-inspired smart materials. Illinois okays hemp cultivation: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of September 5th

September 5, 2018 | Jim Lane

The pace of invention and change is just too strong, we’ve realized, to highlight annual or even quarterly or monthly rankings and summaries of significant product and service advances. For now, we’re going to be tracking these on a weekly basis to keep pace with the changes. Here are the top innovations for the week […]

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