by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The pace of invention and change is just too strong, we’ve realized, to highlight annual or even quarterly or monthly rankings and summaries of significant product and service advances. For now, we’re going to be tracking these on a weekly basis to keep pace with the changes. Here are the top innovations for the week of July 27th.
#1 Meet Noah, the latest biobased, electric vehicle …
#2 Starbucks and McDonald’s partner up to find the perfect biobased cup …
#3 Biology could rescue Moore’s Law …
#4 Attis Industries advances Georgia biorefinery, eyes 49 more within ten years
In Georgia, Attis Industries is planning to build a commercial-scale biorefinery that will eventually generate $35 million in annual revenue and employ over 100 people. The company has executed a letter of intent with the city of Barnesville, Georgia, to purchase a 32-acre property for the facility. The plant will convert 200 dry tons of biomass per day into a number of biobased products, including pulp for paper products, sugar for renewable fuel production, melt-flowable lignin for use in plastics applications, and biobased chemicals for use in everyday products. Attis selected Barnesville for its feedstock availability, proximity to finished product markets, and economic incentives. The site is also close to four colleges with relevant technical programs. “The city of Barnesville has been fantastic to work with, and we look forward to continuing our relationship well into the future as Attis expands its manufacturing footprint,” said Jeff Cosman, the Company’s CEO. “The markets for our bioproducts are far reaching. We’re excited to develop those markets as we work to position ourselves as a leader in the bioeconomy by executing on our vision to build more than fifty biorefineries across the United States over the next ten years.”
#5 Anellotech sends first shipment from Texas biobased aromatics plant for testing …
#6 Algae munches on plants and boosts its potential for biofuel
In New Mexico, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and partner institutions published a report of algae using raw plants as a carbon energy source. The research shows that a freshwater production strain of microalgae, Auxenochlorella protothecoides, is capable of directly degrading and utilizing non-food plant substrates, such as switchgrass, for improved cell growth and lipid productivity, useful for boosting the algae’s potential value as a biofuel.
“Algae hold great potential as a source of renewable fuel due to their ability to produce refinery-compatible diesel and jet fuel precursors,” said Amanda Barry of Los Alamos’s Bioenergy and Biome Sciences group, lead author on the study. “Identifying algae strains that can use plant substrates, such as switchgrass and corn stover (the part of the plant left in a field after harvest) to grow faster and with more lipids suggests that waste plant material can be used to increase the productivity of algae during cultivation for biofuels or bioproducts. Pinpointing the unique enzymes and biochemical pathways algae use to break down complex plant lignocellulose increases our understanding of algal biology, and it opens up new avenues of future designer engineering to improve algal biofuel production strains.”
#7 Nutcycle partnership creates dyes from discarded walnut shells …
#8 SLANTRANGE releases aerial phenotyping for agriculture test plots …
#9 Liquor maker launches new sweet vermouth using discarded coffee berry fruit …
#10 Plant-based nanocrystals save tree fruit from frost damage READ MORE