In Colorado, researchers are fighting nasty, deadly, stubborn bacteria with chitosan, a material derived from shellfish shells like lobsters, crabs, and shrimps. The new material helps prevent superbug bacteria biofilms from forming in about 85 percent of their lab testing. Chitosan is also being used as an ingredient in biopolymers that form bioplastics and biodegradable […]
One of the more striking outcomes from the DOE Bioeconomy 2017 conference in Washington DC was confirmation of the demise of Joule Unlimited. “We had a lot of prospects last year,” former CEO Brian Baynes told The Digest, “but those new investor prospects walked away, particularly post election. The insiders would have been happy to […]
In Denmark, the former managing director of a fish feed manufacturer has been sentenced to prison for three years for was accused of having produced and sold 172,500 tonnes of fish oil a total of 4,465 tonnes of biodiesel added in. Fish oil was sold as fish food for a total price of $178 million […]
At 8:30am, there’s a standing daily meeting of the key traders in Gary Haer’s sales group at REG headquarters in Ames, Iowa. And they’re not kidding. Everyone stands. For 15 minutes there’s the rat-a-tat-tat of rumor, fact, competitors, pricing, spreads, the who’s selling what and where, the buying and selling of diesel, renewable diesel and biodiesel across North […]
What works, what struggles, what changes when oil prices head into the tank? Who will feed China’s manufacturing monster? At Clariant’s “Defining the Future VII” conference in San Francisco, the delegates were leaning forward, straining to hear, as IHS Vice-President Mark Eramo undertook the task of looking at forward trends in energy and chemicals feedstocks […]
A report in the Wall Street Journal fingered Malaysian grower Felda for a series of migrant worker abuses on Malaysian plantations — with explosive charges from workers of human trafficking. “They buy and sell us like cattle,” a Bangladeshi worker was quoted in the report. The Rainforest Action Network is using the report to highlight […]
OriginOil offers a non-chemical, low-energy technology for the removal of organic materials in water. The company’s proprietary Electro Water Separation (EWS) technology can be applied across the algae, oil & gas and waste industries to remove both contaminants and valuable resources. For the algae industry, OriginOil is able to effectively and efficiently harvest algae in […]
Neste Oil is a refining and marketing company, with a production focus on premium-quality, lower-emission traffic fuels. The company produces a comprehensive range of major petroleum products and is the world’s leading supplier of renewable diesel. The company had net sales of EUR 17.5 billion in 2013 and employs around 5,000 people. Neste Oil’s share […]
In Brazil, Petrobras Biofuels will begin producing biodiesel from fish oil, buying 15 metric tons per month of fish waste from around 300 fishing families. Production will take place at the company’s facility in Quixadá, near Ceará. By the end of the year the company expects to purchase fish waste from 600 families.
Boom times for two-product strategies? Can feed markets offer relief for the challenges on the fuel side? The Digest investigates. The energy industry continues to feel the impact of falling energy prices. In Wednesday’s Top Story, we noted that the industry conversation has shifted from long-term fundamentals to a form of “oil price watching” — […]
