Major Stories
Gevo’s historic $900 million offtake deal with Trafigura Group
In Colorado, Gevo entered into a long term, take or pay Renewable Hydrocarbons Purchase and Sale Agreement with Trafigura Group, the largest contract in Gevo’s history. Trafigura is one of the world’s leading independent commodity trading companies with over $171B and over $54B in revenue and assets, respectively. Under this contract Trafigura is expected to […]
Crabs curbing COVID, 3D printed biopolymers, fermentation-based production for cannabinoids and more: The Digest’s Top 8 Innovations for the week of August 21st
We’ve seen the disposable face masks tossed on the floor, but what if they were biodegradable and non-toxic? That’s what one Bangladeshi scientist is tackling with mask material developed from cellulose extracted from jute fiber and chitosan, a material found in shellfish shells. Speaking of marine life and the sea, there’s also a new 3-D […]
Celebrating National Aviation Day and how Sustainable Aviation Fuel is tied to future sustainability, and success, of the enterprise
By Steve Csonka, Executive Director of CAAFI, the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative Special to The Digest Today is National Aviation Day in the U.S., a recognition instituted by FDR in 1939, honoring the birthday of Orville Wright, but also creating awareness of, and celebrating the progress and vision associated with, the aviation industry. Today […]
‘Oil Man’ Reflects on Biofuels
By Larry Sullivan, Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc. Special to The Digest A few, not many, myself included, enjoyed a substantial career in oil and gas before joining the bioeconomy. Oil and gas feature much in the way of international travel, long hours in isolated locations, work on drilling rigs in dangerous countries, and some excellent […]
Circular scale: T2C finds a path to feedstock-scaled renewable diesel from biogas
A new technology has arrived in South Florida for the conversion of biogas to diesel fuels. If you thought of this as a biogas-to-paraffins technology, that would be fine, too. But it’s not strictly a methane-to-paraffins technology, because this technology from T2C also utilizes the CO2 stream found in biogas. The biggest problem, in terms […]
8-Slide Guides
Better Business with Biology: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Novozymes’ Enzymes and Microbes
Novozymes has a solid first-half of 2020, as demonstrated in this just released roadshow presentation highlighting their 4% organic sales growth, esp. due to their household care, food & beverages and agriculture & feed sectors. They also reinstated their 2020 outlook. Get a look at their 2020 financials thus far, the latest on recently launched products in […]
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Guide: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to SAF Coalition’s Fueling the Future
The Business Aviation Coalition for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF Coalition) released yesterday a new informational guide detailing how industry leaders can incorporate SAF into their operations and accelerate the adoption of low-carbon fuels, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The guide focuses on the practicalities of SAF development, industry adoption, and pending expansion of supply and use, […]
17 projects with 4 billion gallons, 9 fast emerging players: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to California’s Green Rush
At DigestConnect this past Thursday, we talked about the latest the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard, how the LCFS relates to the Renewable Fuel Standard and energy values, we compared the value stack for 5 popular transport molecules – gasoline, diesel, ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, and renewable diesel. A look at 17 projects with 4 billion gallons […]
Waste Industry Biogas to Diesel Fuel: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to T2C-Energy
The $850 million California Ethanol + Power project has been years in the making – no wonder, there’s ultra low-carbon fuels, sugarcane and biomass-to-power in the complex value mix. Now, the California Green Rush is on, and the project’s developers believe that 2020 is the year that all the financial pieces come together. Why this project, […]
How Low-Carbon Can You Go?: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to California Ethanol + Power’s Low-Carbon Sugarcane Project
The $850 million California Ethanol + Power project has been years in the making – no wonder, there’s ultra low-carbon fuels, sugarcane and biomass-to-power in the complex value mix. Now, the California Green Rush is on, and the project’s developers believe that 2020 is the year that all the financial pieces come together. Why this project, […]
The Latest World News
Algae Biomass Organization Appoints Dr. Rebecca White as Executive Director
In Minnesota, the Algae Biomass Organization selected Dr. Rebecca White as ABO’s new Executive Director, effective October 1, 2020. Dr. White is a recognized leader in the algae industry having led algae production operations at several companies, represented the algae industry in Washington, DC, and helped initiate youth education and engagement programs. Dr. White will […]
Tennessee landfill gas RNG project commissioned by BP and partners
In Tennessee, Republic Services and energy partners Aria Energy and BP announced the startup of a landfill-gas-to-renewable-natural-gas (RNG) project at South Shelby Landfill. The project directly supports Republic’s commitment to send 50 percent more landfill gas to beneficial reuse by 2030. South Shelby Landfill is one of 189 active, modern-day landfills managed by Republic Services, […]
COVID-19 forces Crimson Renewable Energy to replace UCO with rendered pig fat
In California, The Californian newspaper in Bakersfield reports COVID-19 has forced Crimson Renewable Energy to shift its partial reliance on UCO for biodiesel feedstock to rendered pig fat. UCO availability is down due to fewer people dining in restaurants as a result of quarantine. Corn oil rounds out the feedstock mix. The company is in […]
Prairie Clean Energy looking to flax straw as biomass power feedstock
In Canada, Prairie Clean Energy is exploring the use of flax straw as feedstock for biomass power, saying it is close to wood fiber. Saskatchewan produces more than 700,000 metric tons of flax straw annually, and with a commercial facility requiring 250,000 tons, the company is keen to put the waste material to good use. […]
Brazilian ethanol production seen down 14% as mills favor sugar
In Brazil, Reuters reports CONAB data shows sugar mills continue to heavily favor sugar production over ethanol this season. Although the overall sugarcane crush is seen holding mostly steady with last year at just over 642 million metric tons, ethanol production is expected to fall 14% on the year to 30.56 billion liters, including 2.61 […]
R&D News
Argonne supercomputers help identify CO2-to-ethanol electrocatalyst
In Illinois, by supercomputing standards, Argonne National Lab’s Bebop (1.75 terflops, stood up in 2017, bumped off the Top500 list after the June 2019 ranking) and Blues (stood up in 2012, ranked only that year) are somewhat anachronistic, vestiges of an earlier age. But those veteran systems can still take a star turn, as shown […]
ARS researchers look at presscake from mustard-related plant as biobutanol feedstock
In Illinois, researchers at the Agricultural Research Service are looking at Lesquerella, a Southwest U.S. native plant from the mustard family, as a potential feedstock for biobutanol. The crop was first identified for its potential due to the high hydroxy fatty acid content in its oil but the challenge was with its presscake that had […]
Brazilian researchers genetically engineer fungus to produce enzyme cocktail for 2G ethanol
In Brazil, researchers at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) have genetically engineered a fungus to produce a cocktail of enzymes that break down the carbohydrates in biomass, such as sugarcane trash (tops and leaves) and bagasse, into fermentable sugar for industrially efficient conversion into biofuel. The development of low-cost enzyme […]
LLNL researchers see way forward to produce acetaldehyde through nanotech
In California, optimize catalyst performance, a team of scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and collaborators has developed a detailed understanding of the effect of pretreatment-induced nanoscale structural and compositional changes on catalyst activity and long-term stability. The research could make the production of the important industrial feedstock chemical acetaldehyde more efficient. Improvements in […]
Study looks at species protection and palm oil development in Indonesia
In Germany, in an interdisciplinary study by the Universities of Göttingen, Hohenheim and Indonesian partner universities, examines the environmental, social and economic consequences of land-use transitions in a tropical smallholder landscape on Sumatra, Indonesia and the economic-ecological conflicting goals of developments for the oil palm landscapes. Land-use transitions can enhance the livelihoods of smallholder farmers […]
Policy & Policymakers
Irish fuel industry calls for E10 as it moves towards 2050 carbon neutrality
In Ireland, Petrol Plaza reports Fuels for Ireland that represents the country’s energy industry is calling for a switch to E10 from E5 as part of its new strategy that seeks to bring the sector to carbon neutrality by 2050. The company’s CEO says that fossil fuels cannot be the basis of Ireland’s energy matrix […]
Indonesia may raise CPO export tariffs to further subsidize biodiesel
In Indonesia, Reuters reports the country is looking to increase levies on palm oil exports in order to support biodiesel blending. Oil prices are expected to remain weak next year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh on demand, together with oversupply issues globally, which hurts the competitiveness of palm oil biodiesel. In June, the […]
Iowa’s biofuel industry has strong words for President Trump
In Iowa, on the occasion of President Trump’s visit to the state, the Iowa renewable fuels association, biodiesel board, soybean association and corn association have jointly written him a letter asking him to make good on his promises to uphold the Renewable Fuel Standard. The letter calls out the Trump Administration’s abuse of the RFS […]
EPA seen delaying 2021 RVO decision until after November election
In Washington, Politico reports President Trump is expected to wait until after election day before taking any further decisions on the policy fight between oil states and farm states over the Renewable Fuel Standard. With a November due date for next year’s RVO, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to wait until the last minute […]
Court denies POET’s claim that U.S. EPA’s guidance will cost credits
In Washington, D.C., Reuters reports that a federal appeals court on Friday denied a challenge by leading ethanol maker POET Biorefining, LLC who accused the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of making it impossible to certify its corn-fiber-derived ethanol under a renewable-fuel program. A split three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. […]
Other Recent Articles
India sets ethanol price for five years to give mills stability but raises cane price
In India, the Business Standard newspaper reports that the government has agreed to set the ethanol price for five years, which is expected to give sugar mills stability and increase revenues. Yet at the same time, the government has also increased the price mills must pay farmers for sugarcane. Policy over the past many years […]
Neste teams with Air bp to increase SAF distribution five-fold over 2019
In Finland, Neste and Air bp have signed an agreement to offer an increased volume of sustainable aviation fuel to airport customers in 2020 and 2021. The volume is five times larger than that supplied by the businesses in 2019. Air bp will make the Neste-produced SAF available at selected airports in Europe, with deliveries […]
NREL’s partnership with ExxonMobil making progress on algae fuels
In Colorado, through a research partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), ExxonMobil that once urged motorists to “Put a tiger in your tank,” may one day suggest they fuel up with some algae. A year into their unique collaboration, NREL and ExxonMobil are navigating a multi-pronged effort toward a future where clean-burning biofuels […]
Austrocel’s 2G ethanol plant to be commissioned before year’s end
In Austria, EUWID Pulp and Paper reports Austrocel’s 30 million liter per year ethanol facility co-located at its pulp mill in Hallein should be commissioned by year’s end. The company concluded a multi-year ethanol offtake agreement with OMV in October. The second-generation ethanol produced at the new facility is equivalent to 1% of the country’s […]
German cereal farmers hit hard by extreme weather putting some at risk of closure
In Germany, Reuters reports that farmers have been hit hard by extreme weather conditions for the third year in a row which will not only push production below average levels again but will also risk the viability of the farms themselves. Winter rapeseed production saw an increase of 500,000 metric tons to 3.3 million tons […]
Ethanol production increases as stocks begin to build
In Washington, DTN reports Energy Information Administration data shows ethanol production rose last week for the first time in three weeks to 926,000 bpd which helped to build stocks that were at a 3.5-year low the week prior. Stocks in both the East Coast and Midwest regions rose with national stocks at 20.270 million barrels. […]
