The USPTO's new workload raises a red flag—why can't a user-funded agency just spend what it needs to keep up?
Cash in now on expiring tax deductions before it's too late
White House serves up a “Whopper” and puts money where its mouth is
Hillsborough, N.J.-based Primus Green Energy is actively scaling up a proprietary thermochemical biomass-to-liquid process technology to deliver drop-in biogasoline and jet fuel to market.
September 19, 2011
The project life cycle for second- and third-generation biofuels and biobased chemical facilities has changed from the traditional model. This was a topic of discussion at the International Biorefining Conference & Trade Show's general session.
It is clear that political sentiment has changed significantly over the past few years, and the biofuels arena has not been immune. Three industry leaders discussed this during the International Biorefining Conference & Trade Show in Houston.
HCL CleanTech will use $100 million worth of incentives provided by the state of Mississippi to build roughly $1 billion worth of renewable sugar facilities. The company is currently located in Oxford, N.C., but says Mississippi has much to offer.
September 16, 2011
Regardless of whether a biorefining company is ready, willing or able to work and partner with other companies, relationships not only represent an extreme benefit, but they also reveal a positive sign for the industry.
McAdams energizes the crowd in Houston as he opens the International Biorefining Conference & Trade Show with his keynote address.
Biorefining experts convened in Houston for the International Biorefining Conference & Trade Show, where the topic of developing biobased chemical markets was a big attraction. The formation of effective partnerships in doing so is vital.
Gevo's technology is focused on retrofitting existing ethanol plants. "Why recreate the wheel?" asked Gevo's Dave Munz. "There is 14-plus billion gallons of infrastructure out there. A lot of money has been spent, so let's use the existing plants."
While Houston may be home to some of the world's most recognizable petroleum refining conglomerates like ExxonMobil and Chevron, firms such as GlycosBio or KiOR may soon become household names as it cultivates progress in the biorefining community.
September 14, 2011
The 2011 International Biorefining Conference & Trade Show officially started today in the heart of oil and gas country, but the buzz during the first night in Houston was all biobased.
September 13, 2011
The enzyme process cancels out the need for dealing with glycerol waste, use of caustic alkali, methanol distillation recovery and the product wash steps needed with conventional biodiesel processing. The result is high-energy fuel with no waste.
BioSolar Inc. has entered into a sales rep agreement with ShinHa Inc. to market its biobased backsheet, designed to for use in photovoltaic solar modules. ShinHa is a Korean firm that represents large Asian PV panel makers targeting North America.
According to the report, which was supplied to us by Algae.Tec, Arrowhead said it believes that Algae.Tec has "enormous growth potential with a medium risk profile." A lack of patent protection and additional financing are among the risks.
The program with SYKE will focus on testing the lipid production capacity of different types of algal strains and analyzing how the quality and quantity of the lipids could be optimized by adjusting the conditions under which the algae are grown.
Biobased isobutanol developer Gevo Inc. has signed a commercial offtake and strategic marketing alliance with downstream oil company Mansfield Oil Co. to distribute its isobutanol fuel into the petroleum market. The agreement has three main pillars.
Trillium is developing a robust and readily scalable process technology that focuses on the use of a naturally occurring enzyme called xylose isomerase to convert xylose into xylulose, a sugar that conventional yeast can convert to ethanol.
September 09, 2011
U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a speech to introduce his American Jobs Act before Congress on Thursday night, a piece of legislation that he said will "put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working."
University of Illinois researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of California-Berkeley, have engineered a unique yeast strain that is capable of converting red seaweed into cellulosic ethanol in half the time. Butanol is next.
Spain-based Neuron Bio recently announced it has commissioned a pilot-scale batch fermentation plant that will be used to scale up the production of yeast, bacteria and algae as part of its own research and development efforts.
Air Products notes that many advanced biofuels projects under construction or in planning phase require oxygen for gasification steps, hydrogen for oil upgrading to a final biofuel product and nitrogen as an inert and fluidizing medium.
It's not too late to go. Register today.
The U.K.'s National Non-Food Crops Centre has been chosen to investigate the environmental impacts of algae-based bioenergy, and help the region to formulate a long-term plan for algae. The report will include reference documents for policymakers.
OriginOil Inc. announced in early September that delegates to the recent Algae World Australia conference toured its next-generation algae extraction technology at a university-staffed site featuring end-to-end algae production in North Queensland.
DOE's EERE awarded $12 million to three small-scale biorefining projects in Illinois, Wisconsin and North Carolina that aim to commercialize novel conversion technologies and accelerate the development of drop-in advanced biofuels and biochemicals.
On Sept. 6 Nidus Partners LP announced that Denmark-based Novozymes has joined Nidus as a corporate partner. Novozymes will collaborate with Nidus and its other partners Bunge Ltd. and Monsanto Co. to select and develop early-stage technologies.
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