In a follow-up to yesterday’s “The 13 oddest and strangest biofuels feedstocks,” Inventure’s chemical engineers, based at the University of Alabama’s business incubator are exploring the use of kudzu as a feedstock for ethanol production. The vines, which are spreading across the South, can be turned into a sugary syrupy-like substance that will then be […]
Bunnies, liposuction fat, Prince Charles’ leftover wine, day-old whale, the human poo bus, fire ants dipped in hexane, old beer, raging fireballs, vibrating blobs, dope, and even the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Take your pick and, yep, it’s all true, as the Digest discovers. IF YOU’RE ONLY AN OCCASIONAL READER in the world of the advanced bioeconomy — […]
In Virginia, several of the plants grown as biofuel crops have proved to be invaders in some environments – spreading rapidly and overwhelming surrounding natural ecosystems. Concerns about these weedy tendencies have led many to contend that risk assessments should be conducted before any bioenergy crop becomes widely cultivated. A new study featured in the […]
Bunnies, liposuction fat, Prince Charles’ leftover wine, day-old whale, the human poo bus, fire ants dipped in hexane, old beer, raging fireballs, vibrating blobs, dope, and even the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Take your pick and, yep, it’s all true, as the Digest discovers. IF YOU’RE ONLY AN OCCASIONAL READER in the world of biofuels, corn, sugarcane and […]
By Dr. Doria Gordon, The Nature Conservancy Cultivation of bioenergy crops is predicted to increase to between 27 and 120 million acres by 2022 in order to meet the renewable energy needs of the U.S. and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard. These crops may be used for production of ethanol, biodiesel or heat through […]
Tired of corn, corn, corn or cane, cane, cane? There are 101 feedstocks in the biofuels canon. Here’s what’s up with each of them, and all of them. In Florida, Biofuels Digest released its annual Guide to biofuels feedstocks, tracking 10,658 items published in the Digest in the past 48 months on 101 feedstocks for […]
Miscanthus, sorghum, switchgrass, jatropha, camelina, carinata, and arundo. Who’s doing what to bring these crops to scale — and who are the potential big winners? Hot molecules, big markets, proven technologies, ready finance, supportive policy. Sometimes they feel miles away, sometimes right at hand. But none of them mean anything without sustainable, affordable, reliable, available […]
Trains to Glory, algae skyscrapers, the Grease Thief manhunt, Camel-tummy microbes, Briquettes against the Taliban, Kudzu’s comeback and more. OK, we’re lucky to be here in so many ways. December 19th came and went, the Mayan calendar ended, and Planet Earth is still here. But lucky we are to have been here throughout 2012, to […]
In Washington, more than 200 scientists sent a letter last month to the EPA, DOE and USDA asking them not to promote the use of Giant Reed, Arundo donax, because of its invasiveness as a species. Several trials are taking place across the country to use the plant as a coal replacement or as feedstock […]
In Washington, D.C., a recent Huffington Post article slammed the presidential candidates’ failure to discuss climate change in the 3rd debate, which focused on foreign policy. Of biofuels, the article discussed a letter sent to the Obama administration from 200 scientists who are protesting the use of invasive grasses for advanced biofuel feedstock. According to […]
