Ethanol & Biofuels Technology

2/8/2012 - Biodiesel doesn’t do much good if there isn’t an engine that will run on it, experts pointed out during the 2012 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in Florida February 6. And the percentage of diesel – and biodiesel compatible – engines is growing.

2/8/2012 - BlackGold Biofuels is a biofuels company based in San Francisco that builds, owns and operates facilities that process low value, low quality lipid feedstocks into biodiesel. During the National Biodiesel Conference and Expo, Emily Landsburg, CEO and co-founder of BlackGold, provided an in-depth look at how their technology works

2/8/2012 - Piedmont Biofuels announced February 7 that the company has commenced the first commercial scale zero-waste production of biodiesel using its proprietary approach of enzyme catalysis. During the 2012 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo, Rachel Burton, research and analytical director for Piedmont Biofuels, explained that the company came to enzyme catalysis through a variety of routes, and additional details about its technology.

2/8/2012 - Haig Keledjian, president of Viral Genetics and VG Energy, posted a “President’s Letter to Shareholders” on the company’s website in which he updates the company’s biofuel-testing programs.

2/8/2012 - Synthetic Genomics, Inc. (SGI), a privately held company commercializing and developing genomic-driven solutions to solve a variety of global needs, and Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc. (IDT), a world leader in production and supply of oligonucleotides, announced February 2 that they have entered into an agreement to manufacture, market and commercialize small synthetic gene products.

2/8/2012 - Researchers at Tulane University in New Orleans, La., have discovered a special bacterium in zebra dung called “TU-103” that is capable of breaking down the plant material, cellulose, and converting it to biofuel, according to the website horsetalk.co.nz.

2/1/2012 - Researchers with the Montana State University's (MSU) departments of land resources and environmental sciences have isolated a fungus in the Yellowstone region with potential to help in the production of biodiesel and ethanol products, as well as in the manufacture of detergents.

2/1/2012 - Butamax Advanced Biofuels, LLC on January 30 responded to the latest lawsuit filed by Gevo, Inc. on January 24 related to isobutanol flash fermentation technology.

2/1/2012 - Verenium Corp. has entered into an agreement with Tate & Lyle for the use of one of its proprietary enzyme products in the development of novel food ingredients.

1/25/2012 - Rhodia and Avantium announced January 24 that they will jointly develop a range of new bio-based polyamides that target a variety of applications.

1/25/2012 - Gevo, Inc. on January 24 received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its GIFT separation unit, a central element in the company’s unique fermentation technology for the production of isobutanol.

1/25/2012 - Genomatica announced January 24 that it has obtained the exclusive worldwide rights to the “PROESA” process for the production of butanediol (BDO) – an intermediate chemical used in products that include athletic apparel, running shoes, electronics and automobiles – from biomass, through any fermentation-based process, pursuant to a definitive agreement signed with Beta Renewables.

1/18/2012 - A new joint project between the University of California, Davis (UCD) and the University of Tokyo in Japan is aiming to provide a better understanding of how algae can be used to produce biofuels.

1/18/2012 - OriginOil, Inc. on January 13 announced its plans to co-develop an integrated system with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for direct conversion of raw algae into a renewable crude oil that can be used by existing petroleum refineries.

1/18/2012 - Mascoma Corp. announced January 11 that it has implemented key components of a commercialization strategy for its grain technology, or MGT, yeast product, which is the first commercial application of Mascoma’s proprietary consolidated-bioprocessing (CBP) technology platform.

1/18/2012 - Verdezyne, Inc. has been granted a United States Patent on engineered microorganisms, the company announced January 17.

1/18/2012 - W2 Energy, Inc. announced January 12 that it is working on a commercial redesign of its two-seater ‘Solar Bug‘ electric vehicle that would allow the engine to convert various feedstocks, including biofuels, into syngas to charge the battery system.

1/11/2012 - Applied Combustion Technologies (ACT) announced January 5 the completion of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant to build and test a prototype crude glycerol burner.

1/11/2012 - The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota announced at the end of 2011 that it is leading a project to develop an efficient renewable electricity technology for coffee-processing plants.