Too much focus on biofuels could drive US renewable chemicals industry abroad

Biofuels Digest


Jim Lane | June 2, 2014


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Minnesota legislators propose incentives for advanced biofuels and chemicals

Biofuels Digest


Meghan Sapp | March 17, 2014
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REG acquires renewable chemical technology developer LS9 Inc.

Biodiesel Magazine


By Renewable Energy Group Inc. | January 27, 2014


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Renewable chemical ready for biofuels scale-up

R&D Magazine

Fri, 01/17/2014 - 8:43am

Margaret Broeren, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison

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A Fragrant New Candidate For Biofuel

RedOrbit.com
March 14, 2012

A class of chemical compounds used for flavor and fragrance may one day become a clean, renewable resource with which to fuel our automobiles. U.S. Department of Energy researchers have modified the E. Coli bacteria to create large quantities of methyl ketone from glucose. First tests of this methyl ketone show very high cetane numbers. Cetane is a fuel rating system for diesel fuel, similar to octane ratings for gasoline. This makes the methyl ketones a viable candidate for production of advanced biofuels, according to researchers.

“Our findings add to the list of naturally occurring chemical compounds that could serve as biofuels, which means more flexibility and options for the biofuels industry,” says Harry Beller, a Joint BioEnergy Institute microbiologist who led this study. “We’re especially encouraged by our finding that it is possible to increase the methyl ketone titer production of E. coli more than 4,000-fold with a relatively small number of genetic modifications.”

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Renewable chemicals: US$76.8 billion by the year 2017, says reportRenewable chemicals: US$76.8 billion by the year 2017, says report

Biofuels Digest
Jim Lane October 19, 2011

In California, Global Intelligence Analysts announced the release of their global report on Renewable Chemicals market, forecasting it to reach US$76.8 billion by the year 2017. GIA sites sustained increase in crude oil prices and the need for new energy sources from eco-friendly feedstocks will rekindle investors’ interest and lead to improvements in capital spending and commercial deployment of bio-based technologies in worldwide markets. Also, proposed amendments to certain government programs and loan guarantees will support commercial scale projects and advance renewable chemicals sector.

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It Takes Two to Tango

Biofuels Digest
Jim Lane June 28, 2011

How and why could three announcements from Gevo, Toray, Redfield and the EPA point the way forward for US ethanol, advanced biofuels, and renewable chemicals?

In recent weeks, Gevo, Toray, Redfield Energy and the EPA made three seemingly unrelated announcements regarding biofuels mandates, isobutanol, and a product you probably never heard of called paraxylene, or PX.

But put the three together, and you may have a roadmap for extracting the US ethanol industry, and the biofuels movement, from its present uncertainties and difficulties.

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Proterro’s low-cost nectar aims to fill biofuels’ Holy Grail

Biofuels Digest
November 22, 2010 Jim Lane

At Advanced Biofuels Markets, the Cellulosic Biofuels Summit and most of the other conferences this year, the talk has been all about cheap sugar – the simple sugars that form the feedstock that is fermented into biofuels and renewable chemicals.

There are a proliferating number of technologies for accessing sugars, or fermenting them. There are traditional yeasts used in first-generation fermentation of starches and sugars into ethanol, or exotic enzymes that work on cellulosic biomass, or modified e.coli, cyanobacteria, yeast or even algal strains that produce drop-in fuels.

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Chemical Engineers Use Gold To Discover Breakthrough For Creating Biorenewable Chemicals

MedicalNewsToday.com
Article Date: 22 Oct 2010 - 1:00 PDT

University of Virginia chemical engineers Robert J. Davis and Matthew Neurock have uncovered the key features that control the high reactivity of gold nanoparticles in a process that oxidizes alcohols in water. The research is an important first step in unlocking the potential of using metal catalysts for developing biorenewable chemicals.

The scientific discovery could one day serve as the foundation for creating a wide range of consumer products from biorenewable carbon feedstocks, as opposed to the petroleum-based chemicals currently being used as common building blocks for commodities such as cosmetics, plastics, pharmaceuticals and fuels.

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The Biorefinery Project of the Future – Part 3 of 10 – adding renewable chemicals production

Biofuels Digest
September 24, 2010 Jim Lane

If we have learned anything from the stories of hot companies like Amyris, LS9, Gevo, Solazyme, ZeaChem, Algenol, or Cobalt Technologies, as well as exciting pure-plays like Segetis, Elevance, GlycosBio or Rivertop Renewables, it is the importance of producing chemicals or other bio-based materials first to generate revenues, before taking the company further down the cost curve and up in scale in order to make competitively-priced renewable fuels.

Not every company is going down this route. Among the most prominent of the pure-play fuel companies are groups like Sapphire Energy and Butamax, while companies such as POET have developed strong markets in bio-based products such as their Dakota Gold distillers grains without yet venturing into exotic plastics or chemicals.

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Biofuels Digest announces Advanced Biofuels Markets, November 9-10 in San Francisco

Biofuels Digest
July 22, 2010 Jim Lane

Biofuels Digest will host Advanced Biofuels Markets on November 9-10, 2010 in San Francisco, which will feature the largest assemblage of CEOs of the “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy” since the Washington DC conference in April.

The goal in San Francisco: to address the near-term, immediate steps towards commercialization of bioenergy, including a special series of presentations and dialogue on renewable chemicals, plastics, organic acids and other bio-based materials.

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MarketsandMarkets: Global Renewable Chemicals Market Worth US$59.1 Billion by 2014

PRNewswire

WILMINGTON, Delaware, August 11 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report, 'Renewable Chemicals Market (2009-2014)', published by MarketsandMarkets (http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/), the global renewable chemicals is expected to be worth US$ 59.1 billion by 2014, with the U.S. and Europe accounting for nearly 30% and 35% of the total revenues respectively. The global market is expected to record a CAGR of 5.3% from 2009 to 2014.

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