Category: Top Stories

The Paris Climate Agreement: What it Says, and What it Means

The Paris Climate Agreement: What it Says, and What it Means

December 13, 2015 |

“The World Starts from Tomorrow” says UN Secretary-General In France, representatives from 195 nations approved the Paris Agreement on global, coordinated response framework for climate change. Acceptance of the Agreement arrived at the end of COP 21. Paris: What it Says The signatories aimed “to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, […]

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Dow-DuPont merger: the essential “news you can use”

Dow-DuPont merger: the essential “news you can use”

December 13, 2015 |

On December 11, 2015, DuPont and Dow announced that their boards of directors unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger of equals with a combined market capitalization of approximately $130 billion at announcement. Next steps The two companies will operate as independent entities until the transaction closes, […]

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Avantium reserves capacity in its first FDCA production plant for Mitsui; a new thin film PEF for packaging emerges

Avantium reserves capacity in its first FDCA production plant for Mitsui; a new thin film PEF for packaging emerges

December 10, 2015 |

In Japan, Avantium signed an agreement with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. to commercialize 100% biobased chemicals FDCA and PEF in Asia. As part of this agreement, Mitsui has been granted a right to purchase a sizable volume of FDCA from the first commercial FDCA plant to be constructed by Avantium. Avantium and Mitsui have entered […]

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USDA awards Ensyn $70M conditional loan guarantee for 20 million gallon cellulosic biofuels project in Georgia

USDA awards Ensyn $70M conditional loan guarantee for 20 million gallon cellulosic biofuels project in Georgia

December 10, 2015 |

In Washington, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that Ensyn has received a conditional loan guarantee commitment for $70 million for a 20 million gallon cellulosic biofuels facility to be located in Georgia. Financing will be provided by Citi. The project is slated to be built in Dooly County, 50 miles south of Macon, […]

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The DowPont merger: From the known-knowns to the unknown-unknowns

The DowPont merger: From the known-knowns to the unknown-unknowns

December 9, 2015 |

Widely there are known as Dow and DuPont. But in a few hours, and for a few hours, they might be known as DowPont, until someone figures out a name for a gigantic $130B merger in the hopper between the two companies. The Known-Knowns 1. DuPont and Dow both are struggling to return to growth […]

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Does Santa have coal, or even coke, in your Christmas BioStocking?

Does Santa have coal, or even coke, in your Christmas BioStocking?

December 9, 2015 |

Two news items have appeared on the general subject of coke and coal with respect to biomass and fuels. Both are worth a look. The first one comes from the Air Force, which has for some time been investigating Coal-to-Liquids as a source of alternative fuels at scale — and lately has looked at a […]

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Great news on DCA and we don’t mean shorter lines at Reagan National

Great news on DCA and we don’t mean shorter lines at Reagan National

December 8, 2015 |

You can have a transformative world or materials at affordable prices — but if you want both, you might well be seeing dicarboxylic acids somewhere in the mix. That’s why JBEI’s latest and greatest is worth a closer look, and we take one today in The Digest. When we look at the opportunities in biomass […]

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It’s beginning to look a lot like BioYule in Canada

It’s beginning to look a lot like BioYule in Canada

December 7, 2015 |

Patiently, assuredly, one cluster at a time, Canada has amassed a potent armory of renewable fuel and biobased technologies, people and clusters of activity. Where’s it going? The Digest looks at a whole slew of workshops north of the border and south of the North Pole. In Vancouver last week, it fell to established industry sage […]

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The Petrified Forest, or Who Moved my $80 Oil?

The Petrified Forest, or Who Moved my $80 Oil?

December 6, 2015 |

$80 oil. Seems like almost everyone in biofuels wants it, and is scared silly by today’s low-price environment. Are high prices good for renewable fuels? The hard data actually goes the other way. The Digest investigates. There’s a persistent theory going around in advanced biofuels circles that what the industry needs is a return to […]

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Are All Processes Made Equally?: The Digest’s 2015 8-Slide Guide to Clariant

Are All Processes Made Equally?: The Digest’s 2015 8-Slide Guide to Clariant

December 6, 2015 |

Clariant’s sunliquid technology for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into sugars, followed by fermentation to cellulosic ethanol, is flexible to be used to convert different feedstocks on a regional basis, for example corn stover in North America, bagasse in South America or wheat straw in Europe and can be adapted to various plant concepts. The production […]

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