by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Minnesota, the US ethanol industry is descending upon Minneapolis this week for the annual
yields
Back TO HOMEDriving GHG Down, Bringing Capacity Up
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Increasing efficiency is the ethanol industry’s top goal, and proving it to the
May 22, 2017 Read Full Article
GUEST COLUMN: Corn Farmers Deserve to Be a Part of Earth Day's Celebrations
by Mike Lefever (The Gazette) ... Corn producers belong at the table of these discussions and have much to be proud of,
April 25, 2017 Read Full Article
Let’s Not Forget Carbon Just Yet
by Ron Alverson (Ethanol Producer Magazine/American Coalition for Ethanol) Life-cycle modeling for ethanol needs to be updated to reflect big improvements
April 24, 2017 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Advanced Fermentation 3.0 – The Must Knows
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Now on the one hand you have the theory of alternative fuels, chemicals and materials,
April 07, 2017 Read Full Article
Pacific Ethanol To Produce Cellulosic Ethanol at Its Madera Plant
(Pacific Ethanol/Globenews) Edeniq’s yield-enhancing Pathway Technology will now be installed at two Pacific Ethanol plants -- Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX),
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
Biodiesel Benefits 'Global Food System' as GHG Profile Improves
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) The food and livestock industries have railed against biofuels for years, based on the argument
February 08, 2017 Read Full Article
Switchcraft: Metabolix Bioconverts Itself into Yield10, Focuses on Crop Yields
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Massachusetts we have had more signs of the pivoting underway in the advanced bioeconomy
January 09, 2017 Read Full Article
The AirCarbon Methane-to-Plastics Technology: The Digest’s 20-16 Multi-Slide Guide to Newlight Technologies
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Newlight, founded in 2003, is harnessing methane-based carbon emissions as a resource to replace oil
December 29, 2016 Read Full Article
Regional Feedstock Partnership Report Highlights Work to Enable the Billion-Ton Vision
(U.S. Department of Energy) The Regional Feedstock Partnership (the Partnership)—a multi-institutional collaboration of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the
December 27, 2016 Read Full Article
KiOR: The Inside True Story of a Company Gone Wrong. Part 5, The Collapse
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In 2011, KiOR raised $150 million in its June IPO, claiming that it was generating
November 25, 2016 Read Full Article
Ethanol Use Can Reduce India’s Fuel Imports, Says PM Modi
(PTI/The Indian Express) "Ethanol production and sale has tripled in the last two years," Modi said, adding that "ethanol can
November 14, 2016 Read Full Article
Biofuels versus Gasoline: The Emissions Gap Is Widening
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) ... Many respected laboratories, agencies, and researchers have used a lifecycle analysis to show that biofuels,
September 03, 2016 Read Full Article
Switching to Switchgrass? Study Models Soil Impact of Biofuel Crops
by Kari Lydersen (Midwest Energy News) ... The Argonne modeling shows that when grassland, cropland and pasture in the Midwest are
August 30, 2016 Read Full Article
Where’s Butanol, or Other Substitutes for Gasoline besides Ethanol?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Is there some fundamental reason that the automotive biofuels people haven’t shifted to butanol or
August 26, 2016 Read Full Article
Boom in Oil Production Causes Bust in Prairie Sod
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) ... Mr. (Mark) Perry suggests (without any scientific support or a single citation) that ethanol
August 25, 2016 Read Full Article
Big Oil's Glass House
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/U.S. News and World Report) ... Indeed, it's fairly obvious that (Mark) Perry's yarn is simply intended
August 25, 2016 Read Full Article
RFA: Record Corn, Ethanol Production Underscore Need for RFS
(Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) America’s farmers are poised to harvest a record corn crop this fall and achieve the
August 15, 2016 Read Full Article
In Pitting Biofuels against the Environment, Only Clear Winner Is Oil
by Jessie Stolark (The Hill/Environmental and Energy Study Institute) ... The total amount of U.S. land under production by American farmers is
August 11, 2016 Read Full Article
Feedstocks for the Bioeconomy: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Behind the Scenes look at the Billion Ton Report
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Last month, the DOE released the first volume of its monumental two-volume update of the
August 09, 2016 Read Full Article
Bloomberg Gets Duped by Anti-RFS Crowd
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) Here we go again. We didn’t think it could get much worse than the
August 01, 2016 Read Full Article
Technology Quarterly: The Future of Agriculture
by Geoffrey Carr (The Economist) If agriculture is to continue to feed the world, it needs to become more like
June 17, 2016 Read Full Article
How Do You Generate $2B in Cellulosic Ethanol, with No Upfront Investment?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Siouxland Energy Cooperative has licensed the Edeniq’s Cellunator and Pathway technologies for its 60 million
June 14, 2016 Read Full Article
50% Yield Boost for Ethanol? No CO2? What?! White Dog Labs Comes out of Stealth
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In what might become the most transformative development in fermentation yields since Noah debuted winemaking
June 13, 2016 Read Full Article
Cooper: Don't Reverse Course on Ethanol
by Tom Thoma (Globe Gazette) Alan Guebert’s recent column (“The ethanol trap”) asks, “Where would the nation, its farmers, livestock
April 14, 2016 Read Full Article
Urban Air Initiative, Energy Future Coalition Challenge EPA Data on Ethanol’s Lifecycle Emissions
(Urban Air Initiative) Urban Air Initiative joined the Energy Future Coalition and the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition (GBC) in calling on
April 11, 2016 Read Full Article
The Yield Dividend: 5-10X Increase in Sorghum Opening New Options for Africa?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... In South Africa,, Chromatin and Zaad Holdings have entered into an alliance to produce and
April 01, 2016 Read Full Article
Vislack Defends Biofuels, Bioenergy during House Hearing
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) On Feb. 24, the House Committee on Agriculture held a hearing on the state of
March 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Study: Eliminating GMOs Would Take Toll on Environment, Economies
(Purdue University) Higher food prices, a significant boost in greenhouse gas emissions due to land use change and major loss
March 01, 2016 Read Full Article
TechStory: ZeaKal’s Series B Points the New Way of Accelerating Biotech Companies to Infinty and Beyond
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... It’s Toy Story all over again. You remember Woody’s struggle to avoid being tossed
February 24, 2016 Read Full Article
How Can Higher-Yield Farming Help to Spare Nature?
by Ben Phalan, Rhys E. Green, Lynn V. Dicks, Graziela Dotta, Claire Feniuk, Anthony Lamb, Bernardo B. N. Strassburg, David R.
January 29, 2016 Read Full Article
Biofuels Company Industrializes Photosynthesis
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) For eight years, Joule has been working under the radar to develop and commercialize
January 18, 2016 Read Full Article
Engineers Are from Mars, Business Developers Are from Venus
by Mark Warner (Warner Advisors LLC) ... In this case, we are substituting engineers and business developers, then focusing on the differences
January 11, 2016 Read Full Article
Six-Year Study Suggests Perennial Crop Yields Can Compete with Corn Stover
by Mark E. Griffin (Wisconsin Energy Institute/University of Wisconsin) A six-year Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) study on the
December 30, 2015 Read Full Article
UN Flags Biofuels Slowdown, as Food Prices Renew Decline
(Agrimoney.com) The United Nations highlighted a cooling in the competition by biofuels plants for crops as it revealed a return
December 03, 2015 Read Full Article
Ethanol Production Hits Record as Distillers Are Flush with Corn
by Mario Parker (Bloomberg News/Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel) Flush with grain from the third-largest U.S. corn harvest, ethanol distilleries are cranking
November 28, 2015 Read Full Article
11 Top Low-Carbon Fuel Players, WCSBD Publish COP 21 Guide to Slashing Transport-Based Greenhouse Gas Emissions
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Switzerland, 11 leading low carbon fuel companies present a comprehensive guide that identifies a variety
November 24, 2015 Read Full Article
Debunking Biofuels: Do They Really Raise Food Prices?
by Melissa Pariettin(MSN.com) ... Many factors determine the price of food in the U.S. If the introduction of the RFS (Renewable
November 18, 2015 Read Full Article
University OF Illinois Research: Study Shows How Crop Prices and Climate Variables Affect Yield and Acreage
(University of Illinois/AgriMarketing) When corn prices increase farmers reap higher yields by making changes. According to a recent University of
November 18, 2015 Read Full Article
Genomics-Assisted Breeding for Leaf Rust (Melampsora) Resistance in Shrub Willow (Salix) Bioenergy Crops
by Larry Smart and Christine Smart (US Department of Energy Genomics Science Program) The generation of renewable energy and the
November 03, 2015 Read Full Article
Bumper Corn Crop Good for Ethanol Industry and RFS Argument
(WNAX) A near record corn crop in the U.S. and a record crop in Nebraska is good news for the
October 28, 2015 Read Full Article
Multifunctional Landscapes: Site Characterization and Field-Scale Design to Incorporate Biomass Production into an Agricultural System
by Herbert Ssegane, M. Cristina Negri, John Quinn, Meltem Urgun-Demirtas (Biomass and Bioenergy) Design of a multifunctional landscape by integrating cellulosic
October 28, 2015 Read Full Article
8 Ways around the Big, Bad Oxygen Problem in the Advanced Bioeconomy Parts 1 and 2
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the terrestrial world, oxygen is colorless, odorless, and try to get through an hour
October 14, 2015 Read Full Article
Trust Iowa farmers, Not Big Oil
by T.J. Page (Des Moines Register/Iowa Renewable Fuels Association) Letter to the Editor-- It’s disappointing, but not surprising to read a recent
October 05, 2015 Read Full Article
Cellulosic Feedstocks of the Future
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Commercial-scale production and harvest of several annual and perennial biomass feedstocks is under way,
September 21, 2015 Read Full Article
Shedding Light on U.S. Biofuels: The 'Food versus Fuel' Debate
by Stephanie Mercier (Ag Web) The U.S. biofuels sector marks its birth back in 1979, when Congress established a blender’s credit
August 17, 2015 Read Full Article
Celebrating a Decade of Success: The RFS Turns 10!
(Renewable Fuels Association) This Saturday marks 10 years since the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) containing the original Renewable
August 10, 2015 Read Full Article
COUNTERPOINT: Ethanol a Valuable Part of Energy Mix
by Barry Blitsteihn (Chronicle Herald) A corn field is harvested near Coy, Ark. in 2012. Three years later, “corn prices
June 08, 2015 Read Full Article
Researchers Study Benefits of Double-Cropping Camelina, Soybeans
(The American Society of Agronomy/Biodiesel Magazine) In the U.S., federal mandates to produce more renewable fuels, especially biofuels, have led
June 03, 2015 Read Full Article
Corn Ethanol Yields Continue to Improve
(US DOE Energy Information Administration) In 2014, U.S. fuel ethanol production reached 14.3 billion gallons of ethanol fuel, the highest
May 14, 2015 Read Full Article
5 Reasons to Plant Grain Sorghum This Year
by Kayla Wilkins (High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal) Strong demand from both domestic and international markets is sending strong signals to
May 11, 2015 Read Full Article
New RSB Standard Proposed to Certify Low-Risk ILUC Biomass
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) It may soon be possible to certify that biomass is not only sustainably
May 04, 2015 Read Full Article
New Study Highlights Fast Pyrolysis Bio-Oil Yields of 17-27% from Cellulosic Feedstocks
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington state, a new study released in the journal Energy & Fuels is providing
April 27, 2015 Read Full Article
AG Ventures Alliance, Cellulose Sciences Int'l form New JV Stover Ventures
(Ag Ventures Alliance Cooperative and Cellulose Sciences International/AgriMarketing.com) Ag Ventures Alliance Cooperative (AgVA) of Mason City, Iowa, and Cellulose Sciences
April 06, 2015 Read Full Article
Digital Soil: The Four Secrets of the New Agriculture
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) To make fuel, chemicals, fiber, food more productively than ever before — it starts in
March 10, 2015 Read Full Article
Vilsack Calls for Ethanol Industry Support of Trade Negotiations
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asked for the ethanol industry's support for the
March 02, 2015 Read Full Article
USDA, DOE Farm and Fuels Funding Updates
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) USDA and DOE announced a raft of grant and loan opportunities and funded projects, many of
February 27, 2015 Read Full Article
OriginOil Joins Idaho National Laboratory In Project Proving Algae For Biofuels
(OriginOil) Disinfection capabilities of OriginOil technology may help make giant open-air ponds feasible for large-scale fuels production OriginOil Inc. (OTC/QB: OOIL), developer
February 06, 2015 Read Full Article
USDA Says Corn Acres to Decline, Yields Increase in Decade Ahead
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) USDA long-term projections call for slightly lower corn acres to be planted over
December 30, 2014 Read Full Article
Yield Quest for Cellulosic biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Could a new wave of cellulsoic processes find the key to capturing the carbon lost
November 13, 2014 Read Full Article
John Deere and Hillco Technologies Introduce Single Pass Round Bale System
(John Deere) Hillco Technologies, Inc., working in developmental partnership with John Deere, has developed a revolutionary new system for harvesting corn
August 25, 2014 Read Full Article
One Man’s Trash Turns into Fuel
by Jeff DeYoung (Iowa Farmer Today) Mike Greenfield has more than 80 percent of his corn residue contracted to DuPont for
August 25, 2014 Read Full Article
That Dread US Ethanol Policy that Reduced Foreign Oil, Saved Consumers $800 P.A., and Produced More Food
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, USDA released its August World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. The
August 15, 2014 Read Full Article
New Crops Get Green Thumbs Up
(GreenvilleOnline) Officials at Clemson have released 21 new crop varieties that will help meet the needs of farmers growing food, fiber
July 09, 2014 Read Full Article
Study finds that increased corn yields and more efficient use of corn ethanol co-products will greatly decrease land needed for ethanol production
(PR NewsWire/Illinois Corn Marketing Board) Land attributable to ethanol will drop from current 25% to as little as 11% of U.S.
June 04, 2014 Read Full Article
UC San Diego Takes Top Two Positions in National Rankings for Biofuel Research
(University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography) Department of Energy report rates Scripps Institution of Oceanography lab and
March 05, 2014 Read Full Article
Record Corn Crop Gets Little Reaction
by Tom Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) For all the media melodrama displayed at this time last year when the USDA
January 14, 2014 Read Full Article
Monsanto and Novozymes Team Up to Provide Sustainable Bioagricultural Solutions
(Monsanto) The companies establish The BioAg Alliance to discover, develop and sell microbial solutions that enable farmers worldwide to increase crop yields
December 11, 2013 Read Full Article
The First Decade: Team Reports on US Trials of Bioenergy Grasses
(E! Science News/Earth & Climate) The first long-term U.S. field trials of Miscanthus x giganteus, a towering perennial grass used in
December 06, 2013 Read Full Article
Nightmare Scenario: Renewable Fuels’ Defenders Pull out the Stops to Persuade EPA to Continue the War on Imported Oil
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Today, the EPA has scheduled a day of testimony on its proposed 2014 Renewable Fuel
December 05, 2013 Read Full Article
Why Have Expectations for Sweet Sorghum Soured?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As Ceres points towards minimal plantings of its sweet sorghum hybrids in its key market
November 26, 2013 Read Full Article
Arcadia Biosciences and DuPont Pioneer to Collaborate on Sorghum Technology Development
(Arcadia Biosciences) Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. and DuPont Pioneer today announced their intention to collaborate to develop enabling technology to help
November 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Examines Implications of Record Corn Crop
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The record corn supply has multiple implications for the ethanol industry. The USDA’s
November 21, 2013 Read Full Article
Peyton Pace: As a Soap Opera Bubbles over KiOR’s Speed-to-Profits, Revenues and Production Triple
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Slow pace, low yields have depressed KiOR’s share prices, but tripled production and revenue has
November 13, 2013 Read Full Article
AP Investigation: Obama's Green Energy Drive Comes with an Unadvertised Environmental Cost
By Dina Cappiello (Associated Press/StarTribune) The hills of southern Iowa bear the scars of America's push for green energy: The
November 12, 2013 Read Full Article
Call Waiting, Biofuels, Genetics and You
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The company (Kaiima) started up in 2006, and by 2009, the results were starting to
September 04, 2013 Read Full Article
Maize Growers Form International Alliance
(U.S. Grains Council/Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Grains Council, along with the National Corn Growers Association, MAIZAR, representing Argentina producers
May 28, 2013 Read Full Article
Heard it Through the Grapevine: Useful Facts and Scuttlebutt from the Algae Biomass Summit
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Jobs, global expansion, proteins vs fuels, new R&D funding – all the big issues are
September 27, 2012 Read Full Article
Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Highlights Renewable Fuels Industry’s Top 10 Efficiency and Technology Innovations of the Past Decade
(Iowa Renewable Fuels Association) As a part of its 10th Anniversary celebration of progress and prosperity, the Iowa Renewable Fuels
September 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Dating Your Feedstock and Never Marrying: The 6 Hottest Ways to Alleviate Food vs Fuel
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) With the US drought, food vs fuel has returned as an issue. What alternatives are
August 21, 2012 Read Full Article
Growing Better Biofuel Crops
by Heather Youngs and Chris Somerville (The Scientist) Research is underway to reduce the use of food crops for biofuels
July 05, 2012 Read Full Article
High Corn Prices Minimize the Impact of Indirect Land Use from Biofuels
(IowaCorn.org) A new study conducted by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Illinois at Chicago found
July 04, 2012 Read Full Article
To Strive, To Seek, to Find, and Max Out Yields
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Yield unlocks value, and especially feedstock yield. What’s the latest? What feedstocks are reporting yields
March 22, 2012 Read Full Article
Ethanol Fuelling Growth
by Peter Hemphill (Weekly Times Now) ...While ethanol production has become the largest use of the corn crop, it has
February 16, 2012 Read Full Article
Iowa State University Finds up to 10 Percent Corn Yield Increase with Cover Crops
by Iowa State University News Service (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The most recent annual results from a four-year Iowa State
February 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Map Identifies Potential Areas for Boosting Biofuel Crop Yield
(EnvironmentalResearchWeb.org) A global map that identifies areas of low-yielding biofuel crops whose productivity could be increased through intensification has been
October 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol: One Market for a Growing Corn Supply
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...According to the USDA, corn farmers produced an average yield of 152.8 bushels of
September 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Brazil Sugar Industry Needs $490 Billion in Investments by 2030
by Tony C. Dreibus (Bloomberg) Brazil may need as much as $490 billion in investments to meet rising demand for sugar
September 16, 2011 Read Full Article
University of Minnesota Study Highlights Potential for Boosting Biofuel Crop Production
by Jeff Falk (University of Minnesota/Hutchinson Leader) New research published online this week in the journal Environmental Research Letters, by
September 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Pretreatment, Proper Harvest Time Boost Ethanol from Switchgrass
by Brian Wallheimer (Purdue University) Adding a pretreatment step would allow producers to get more ethanol from switchgrass harvested in
September 01, 2011 Read Full Article
From Farm to Biorefinery: Ethanol Production Efficiency Improves
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) ...In this week’s installment of the RFA’s series on efficiency, RFA Vice President Geoff Cooper
August 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Study Claims Conventional Ag Limits Greenhouse Gas
by David Mercer (Associated Press) Advances in conventional agriculture have dramatically slowed the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, in