The potential for producing cost-effective cellulosic ethanol that uses plentiful and sustainable cellulosic plant biomass continues to grow, thanks to research at the USDA.
ExxonMobil Corp. is establishing an advanced biofuels research program at Iowa State University. The ExxonMobil Biofuels Program will initially focus on two research projects with Iowa State. The studies are related to the fast pyrolysis of biomass.
A French cellulosic technology utilizing Deinococcus bacteria is being teamed up with Michigan State University's ammonia-based pretreatment technology, AFEX. Deinove SA and MBI have formed a partnership to demonstrate the paired technologies.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced up to $13.4 million for five projects to develop advanced biofuels and bioproducts that will help drive down the cost of producing gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from biomass.
The USDA recently published a report that synthesizes current literature and explores opportunities in the emerging bioeconomy. The report, titled "Why Biobased?" is a precursor to a more comprehensive economic study expected to be released soon.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Joint BioEnergy Institute has developed MaxBin, an automated software program for binning (sorting) the genomes of individual microbial species from metagenomic sequences.
In addition to its production capacity of about 10,000 metric tons per year out of the Cassano, Italy, Biosuccinium plant, Reverdia announced in October at the European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology that it is now licensing Biosuccinium.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy has opened a $30 million funding opportunity that aims to increase energy crop yield through automated, predictive and systems-level approaches to biofuel crop breeding.
Agrisoma Biosciences Inc. has announced the first closing of its Series A financing round, expected to total $8 million through 2014. The funding round was led by Cycle Capital Management and included participation of BDC Venture Capital.
The U.S. Department of Energy has opened a $25 million funding opportunity for algae biofuels. The initiative aims to reduce the cost of algae biofuel to less than $5 per gasoline gallon equivalent by 2019.
Scientists have scoured cow rumens and termite guts for microbes that can efficiently break down plant cell walls for the production of cellulosic biofuels, but some of the best microbial candidates actually may reside in the human lower intestine.
The case for biomass is really no longer a question of being “green� or being “sustainable,� rather it is a necessity to be able to meet the demands of a growing population. It's about building a great future.
Schott AG and Algatechnologies Ltd. have signed a research and development agreement to strengthen their partnership following a successful one-year study at Algatech's algae production facility.
Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council have discovered variant straw plants whose cell walls are more easily broken down to make biofuels.
NexSteppe recently announced it has raised $22 million in its third round of funding. New investors Total Energy Ventures and ELFH Holding GmbH join existing investors Braemar Energy Ventures, CYM Ventures, DuPont Ventures and others.
Maverick Synfuels recently announced the development of its Maverick Oasis system for methanol production. The company says the system provides producers with another way to monetize biogas reserves and natural gas.
Proterro and Bunge Global Innovation LLC have announced a pilot study of Proterro's sucrose-production technology in Brazil. Two of Proterro's photobioreactors have been installed at Bunge's Moema Fazenda sugarcane mill as part of the project.
Finland-based Neste Oil has announced plans to add biopropane production capabilities to its biorefinery in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Construction of the project is expected to begin immediately, with biopropane sales commencing in 2016.
Vecoplan AG recently celebrated the grand opening of its new 17,000 square-foot technology center in Germany. The facility is equipped with more than 25 machines for the processing, recycling or repurposing of waste and biomass.
Robert W. Malmsheimer, a professor at the State College of New York, was part of the Society of American Foresters team that provided policy makers with a summary of the existing science regarding forest bioenergy and "carbon debts."
Bridgestone Americas Inc. is one step closer to its long-term environmental goal of developing a new, domestic and commercially-viable source for natural rubber with the opening of its Biorubber Process Research Center in Mesa, Arizona.
Chempolis Ltd. has signed a memorandum of understanding with India-based Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. that could result in the development of a cellulosic biorefinery that produces ethanol, furfural and acetic acid.
Comparison of 3D TEM imaging techniques reveals never-seen-before details of plant cell walls, according to a study published Sept. 10 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by researchers from University of California, Berkeley.
Genomatica announced it has leveraged its proprietary, integrated biotechnology platform to create microorganisms that achieved a 'titer' of over 50 grams per liter for one of their programs in less than half the time required by an earlier program.
Viaspace Inc. has announced that the first harvest of Giant King Grass in the Imperial Valley of California, was completed on Sept. 2. Two planting methods were compared at the University of California site in Holtville, California
SGB Inc. has announced success in its program to create hybrid jatropha which has both high yield and rapid time to maturity. In conjunction with these results, the company has closed an $11 million Series C financing to drive commercial rollout.
Genera Energy Inc. recently introduced its newest feedstock management system module, BIN-SPEC. A proprietary preprocessing system, BIN-SPEC delivers a consistent biomass product to a customer's specifications with the least amount of variability.
Amyris, Braskem and Michelin have announced that Braskem is joining a collaboration already launched in 2011 between Michelin and Amyris. The collaboration was initiated to develop and commercialize renewable isoprene.
Virent has announced that The Coca-Cola Co. is making an additional investment in the development of its bio-based paraxylene, BioFormPX, that will enable Virent to scale up separation and purification of BioFormPX at its demonstration plant.
Southwest Research Institute has announced the addition of a custom-designed circulating fluidized bed to convert heavy crude oils or biological feedstock into valuable, refined fuel samples that clients can assess for quality and profitability.
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