Tag Archives: feedstocks

thoughtful opinions on the major questions w/ the future of biofuels..

Posted on December 13, 2012 by

Some insightful and honest opinions about some of the major questions about the future of biofuels. Def worth the 5 min read.. http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2012/12/13/15-burning-questions-and-answers-for-biofuels-in-2013/

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POET and DuPont prepare for commercialization…

Posted on November 20, 2012 by

On the heels of KiOR’s commercial production startup, POET announces more details about their commercial process, slated to begin in 2013.  They have been buying corn cobs and corn stover from farmers for the past two seasons in preparation for this.. … Continue reading →

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next gen biofuel feedstock also a noxious weed?

Posted on November 19, 2012 by

Sometimes we don’t always think about the weed potential when we are studying potential bioenergy feedstocks and “energy crops”.. Other things that are not mentioned alot are how susceptible to disease and pests these bioenergy crops may be when grown in monocultures.. … Continue reading →

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Agrivida publishes details of engineered maize for biofuel

Posted on November 5, 2012 by

For biofuels to be economical, we will need some technology breakthroughs.  In the US, the RFS is driving us to produce liquid fuel, usually with enzymes that convert sugars and starches in the biomass to ethanol or other liquid molecules … Continue reading →

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bioenergy companies flip strategies to lure investors

Posted on August 6, 2012 by

In what seems to be the beginning of a trend, some early stage bioenergy companies are shifting their focus and their feedstocks away from biomass and towards really really cheap natural gas (thanks to fracking). The first example was Sundrop … Continue reading →

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rice straw as the world’s bioenergy feedstock

Posted on August 1, 2012 by

This is a subject close to me – my Ph.D. research is focused on the potential of this resource as a bioenergy feedstock.  What is it?  Rice straw – what is left after collecting the rice grain from a crop. … Continue reading →

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Agrivida and corn that grows its own enzymes to preprocess cellulosic materials

Posted on June 20, 2012 by

A company is starting field trials of some corn they engineered with enzymes that degrade the corn stover for cellulosic bioenergy: http://ethanolproducer.com/articles/8877/agrivida-launches-field-trials-to-test-modified-corn-stover What is so cool about this approach is the enzymes are not activated until the corn stover is … Continue reading →

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the problem with dedicated bioenergy crops on degraded lands

Posted on June 5, 2012 by

Sometimes I find it hard to understand the aggressive funding in the US towards dedicated bioenergy crops – crops like switchgrass and miscanthus that proponents argue can be grown on degraded land (land that we wouldn’t be able to grow … Continue reading →

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