A Steady Scientific Progress that Makes Advanced Biofuels Inevitable

Everyone likes to abuse biofuels. Doomers, greens, anti-greens, fossil fuelers, nukes, what have you -- they all hate biofuels and discount the viability of renewable fuels and chemicals.

But science is relentless, once it bites into an idea. And the idea that one can eternally grow one's own fuels, chemicals, polymer feedstocks, lubricants, fertilisers, etc. is a seductive idea.

Below are two new approaches to unlocking the abundant energy contained inside biomass, particularly the polysaccharides in biomass -- cellulose, hemicellulose, and xylans.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison led by Dr. James Dumesic have developed a streamlined process for converting lignocellulosic biomass into chemicals or liquid transportation fuel. Using gamma-valerolactone (GVL) as a solvent, they converted the cellulosic fraction of lignocellulosic biomass into levulinic acid (LA), while at the same conditions converting the hemicellulose fraction into furfural. This is followed by conversion to GVL; essentially, the team is leveraging GVL to produce GVL, which has potential as an inexpensive, yet energy-dense, “drop-in” biofuel...

This process allows for the conversion of hemicellulose and cellulose simultaneously in a single reactor, thus eliminating costly pre-treatment steps to fractionate biomass and simplifying product separation. Pretreatment and extraction or separation steps can account for up to 30% of the total capital cost of a biofuels production plant. _High Yield Conversion of Cellulose and Hemicellulose

A 30% reduction in the total capital cost of a biofuels plant can mean the difference between ultimate profitability, and ultimate bankruptcy.

So much for cellulose and hemicellulose. Now for xylans:

After cellulose, xylan is the most abundant biomass material on Earth, and therefore represents an enormous potential source of stored solar energy for the production of advance biofuels. A major roadblock, however, has been extracting xylan from plant cell walls. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have taken a significant step towards removing this roadblock by identifying a gene in rice plants whose suppression improves both the extraction of xylan and the overall release of the sugars needed to make biofuels.

The newly identified gene—dubbed XAX1—acts to make xylan less extractable from plant cell walls. JBEI researchers, working with a mutant variety of rice plant—dubbed xax1—in which the XAX1 gene has been “knocked-out” found that not only was xylan more extractable, but saccharification—the breakdown of carbohydrates into releasable sugars—also improved by better than 60%. Increased saccharification is key to more efficient production of advanced biofuels. _RDMag

60% improvement in conversion to useful sugars? Not bad for a start.

These are all preliminary lab results, which will have to be improved and ultimately scaled to industrial production.

But the long-term viability of advanced biofuels from biomass depends upon more than better conversions of biomass polysaccharides to cheap sugar feedstocks. The entire supply chain of cheap high quality biomass must be made robust and reliable, and much cheaper energy inputs to the industrial processes are needed.

Cheap natural gas can help, but why use natural gas to convert biomass to fuels and chemicals, when you can simply convert the natural gas directly to fuels and chemicals?

No, what is needed is cheap, abundant, high quality process heat -- the kind of heat provided by high temperature gas cooled nuclear reactors (HTGRs). In fact, HTGRs will facilitate a wide range of liquid fuels and chemicals processes -- and generate electrical power to boot. Don't forget cheap desalination of salt water.

As soon as the gang-greened governments of the advanced world grow out of their juvenile energy starvationist phase, humans can begin to generate an abundant future of energy, food, limitless clean water, and all the high quality feedstocks for a global scale -- and beyond -- advanced civilisation.

The mindset of abundance vs. the mindset of scarcity: Which would you choose?

MIT Advances in Bio-Synthetic Fuels and Chemicals

MIT researchers are tweaking the synthesis pathways of the E. Coli bacteria to facilitate high efficiency production of a wide range of biofuels and high value chemicals.

Images via GCC

Researchers at MIT have adapted the butanol pathway for the synthesis of odd-chain molecules and have also developed a complementary modular toolkit to facilitate pathway construction, characterization, and optimization in engineered Escherichia coli bacteria.

The modular nature of the pathway enables multi-entry and multi-exit biosynthesis of various odd-chain compounds at high efficiency. By varying combinations of the pathway and toolkit enzymes, they demonstrated controlled production of propionate, trans-2-pentenoate, valerate, and pentanol—compounds with applications that include biofuels, antibiotics, biopolymers, and aroma chemicals.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Hsien-Chung Tseng and Kristala L. J. Prather note that their bypass strategy was effective even without the presence of freely membrane-diffusible substrates. The approach could prove useful for optimizing other pathways that use CoA-derivatized intermediates, they suggested, including fatty acid β-oxidation and the mevalonate pathway for isoprenoid synthesis. _GCC

Applications of various fermentation products synthesized from recombinant Escherichia coli strains carrying different combinations of pentanol pathway and CoA-activation/removing toolkit enzymes. Tseng and Prather Supplementary Information.

This type of advance in the genetic design of microbial synthesis promises a certain degree of versatility for the future enterprise of moving away from petro-feedstocks in fuels, polymers, and chemicals production.

As noted here many times, the current abundance of natural gas makes the economical production of biofuels more problematic. But as technologies continue to improve at all levels of supply and production, advanced biosynthesis and advanced bioenergy will gradually increase market share -- beginning as soon as natural gas prices increase.

Bioenergy News Links and Briefs

Cool Planet Energy Systems thinks they can make advanced biofuels for $1.50 a gallon.

The company has a test facility in Camarillo, CA that creates fuel by pressing feedstock between plates under high pressure, and then placing the plates in a device called a fractionator. This process results in a release of a gas which is then captured and then converted, using catalysts, to a liquid. _PO

A Korean team of researchers has managed to increase production yield of butanol from glucose through improved genetic engineering of the microbe Clostridium Acytobutylicum

Using a systems metabolic engineering approach, researchers in Korea have improved the butanol production performance of Clostridium acetobutylicum, one of the best known butanol-producing bacteria. A paper on their work is published in mBio, an open access journal issued by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

A promising new way of breaking down cellulose into cheap sugars earns a patent.

Poet's approach to converting cellulose into sugars is a bit more energy intensive:

The Andritz technology is a two-stage process that includes a vertical reactor, an interstage washer and then the continuous steam explosion technology (Advanced SteamEx, a trademarked process) to draw out available sugars from the cellulose material. It’s those sugars—through Project Liberty’s proprietary enzyme and yeast technologies—that get converted into ethanol. _BiomassMag

Calysta's "Bio-GTL" uses bioengineered organisms to produce chemicals and fuels from methane.

The US Navy continues to develop its ability to produce its own liquid fuels from biomass

The need to develop reliable biomass supply chains

Biomass is a less dense, less concentrated a form of potential energy, as compared to fossil fuels or nuclear energy. But biomass can be grown almost anywhere on Earth, land or sea, year after year after year.

As better biomass crops are developed, better ways of densifying biomass are created, and better ways of converting biomass into energy are perfected, bioenergy becomes more viable in competition with other energy sources -- particularly in geographically isolated areas.

But realistically, for the near to intermediate future, relatively inexpensive energy from conventional and unconventional fossil fuels will remain inexpensive enough to keep most forms of biofuels from the competitive marketplace.

Nevertheless, as breakthroughs continue to be made in terms of better yields and greater efficiencies of supply and production, bioenergy will grow more competitive.

Iowa Wants to be the Saudi Arabia of Advanced Biofuels

Iowa is a prolific producer of biomass. It has also long been a focus of innovative design and engineering.

Here is the basic plan devised by Iowa State University engineers:

The Iowa State idea calls for biomass to be transported to small, local fast pyrolysis plants that would convert crop biomass into liquid bio-oil. The bio-oil would be easily transported to bigger, regional facilities where it could be gasified and processed into transportation and boiler fuels.

First, biomass is fed into a fast pyrolysis machine where it's quickly heated without oxygen. The end product is a thick, brown oil that can be divided and further processed into fuels. Researchers sometimes describe bio-oil as densified biomass that's much easier to handle and transport than raw biomass.

Second, the bio-oil is sprayed into the top of the gasifier where heat and pressure vaporize it to produce a combination of (mostly) hydrogen and carbon monoxide that's called synthesis gas.

That gas can be processed into transportation fuels. It can also be used as boiler fuel to create the steam that turns turbines to produce electricity.

"We hope to be able to use cellulosic biomass as opposed to using corn grain for the production of fuels," said Robert C. Brown, the director of Iowa State's Bioeconomy Institute, an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering and the Gary and Donna Hoover Chair in Mechanical Engineering. "This helps us move toward cellulosic biofuels." _PO

Iowa State's basic plan helps to solve some of the problems involved in converting biomass to advanced biofuels. But this approach will remain too expensive to compete with cheap natural gas for at least the next several years, if not the next few decades.

Even worse, the Iowa State plan does not address one of the biggest weaknesses in most biomass to biofuels approaches: The cost of collecting the biomass and bringing it together for preprocessing.

There are several viable alternatives to choose from, in solving that and other similar problems. But as long as natural gas remains cheap and readily available, it is unlikely that even the best of biomass to liquids approaches will be able to compete on a large and global scale.

Even so, these technologies should be perfected for many reasons: In geographically isolated regions and islands, hydrocarbon fuels can be extremely expensive. In such areas, advanced BTL may prove viable.

More, as scalable gas-cooled nuclear reactors become available, the cost of BTL will drop due to the availability of cheap, high temperature heat. Finally, natural gas costs are certain to rise sooner or later. It would be best to have your BTL technology ready for scaling up, when that happens.

Energy Briefs

One-step closer: Biofuel from Biomass

New research from scientists at the University of Georgia who are members of Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) provides a genetic method for manipulating a group of organisms, called Caldicellulosiruptor, that have the ability to use biomass directly at temperatures over 160 Fahrenheit. The ability to modify the microbes to make the needed fuel products is a required first step for modern industrial fermentations. This allows researchers to combine the natural ability to consume renewable plant materials with an altered improved ability to make what is needed. _PO

Tough industrial-strength microbes that can be programmed to produce the fuels or chemicals desired, should take biofuels and bio-chemicals production to a higher level.

Unlimited high-value chemicals from engineered microbes: Freeing up petroleum can provide a 25% boost to global petro-production!

Although the major products of crude oil refineries are fuels such as gasoline and jet fuel, approximately 20 percent of crude oil is refined, in several complicated, energy-intensive steps, into petrochemicals. These chemicals permeate our daily lives in products ranging from candles and perfume to disposable diapers, toys, tires and plastic packaging, among many others.

As an alternative to crude oil, researchers around the world are studying ways to produce fuels and chemicals from renewable sources, including plant biomass and algae. Current production processes are energy-intensive and generate sugars or oils, which are "intermediate" products. "Then you would take those intermediates and do traditional processing, whether it's biological or chemical," says Pfleger. _PO

So, if we take that 20% of crude oil production that is used for chemicals, and put it back into global oil markets, we achieve what is in essence a 20% boost 25% boost in oil production, in terms of fuels etc...

Sure, it is more complicated than that, since some fractions of petroleum are more suitable for one use than for others, but you can get a vague idea as to why substitution of unlimited renewable chemicals and feedstocks can have a powerful effect on global oil markets.

Why Iowa finds itself at the center of the ongoing revolution in next generation biofuels

New nano-composite material for fuel cells achieves a 5X increase in electric current per milligram of platinum

IBN's new nanocomposite material can produce at least 0.571 amperes of electric current per milligram of platinum, compared to 0.109 amperes per milligram of platinum for commercial platinum catalysts. This is also the first time that a catalyst has been shown to enhance both the stability and activity for the fuel cell reaction with a significantly reduced platinum content. _PO

This is a low level, nuts and bolts type advance in fuel cell mechanics and economics. But with the coming global bonanza of tight gas, we are likely to see increasing use of methane fuel cells for both primary production in residences and small business, and as critical power backup for commercial, municipal, and industrial enterprises.

None of these stories are particularly earth-shaking in themselves, but over time such innovations tend to accumulate, combine, rearrange, and evolve into significant advances.

Shortcuts to Custom Bio Production of Fuels and Chemicals

A biochemically accurate model of molecular biology and metabolism will facilitate comprehensive and quantitative computations of an organism's molecular constitution as a function of genetic and environmental parameters. Here we formulate a model of metabolism and macromolecular expression. Prototyping it using the simple microorganism Thermotoga maritima, we show our model accurately simulates variations in cellular composition and gene expression.

Moreover, through in silico comparative transcriptomics, the model allows the discovery of new regulons and improving the genome and transcription unit annotations. Our method presents a framework for investigating molecular biology and cellular physiology in silico and may allow quantitative interpretation of multi-omics data sets in the context of an integrated biochemical description of an organism. _NatureCommunications

Nature Communications 3, Article number: 929 doi:10.1038/ncomms1928

UCSD researchers have taken an important step toward the ability to custom design the genome of organisms in order to produce synthetic fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and more, on a commercial scale.

"What you could hypothetically do with our model is simulate the total cost of producing a value-added product, such as a biofuel. That includes all the operating and maintenance costs," said Daniel Hyduke, a project scientist in Palsson's lab. Hyduke said the method has the potential to help streamline industrial metabolic engineering efforts by providing a near complete accounting of the minimal material and energy costs associated with novel strain designs for biofuel, commodity chemicals, and recombinant protein production.

Hyduke and Lerman prototyped the method on the minimal, yet metabolically versatile, hyperthermophile Thermotoga maritima. Because T. maritima is not currently ready for use in industrial applications, Hyduke and Lerman are working as part of a larger team to produce similar models for industrially relevant microorganisms, such as E. coli.

"We've built a virtual reality simulator of metabolism and gene expression for Thermotoga maritima, and shown that it much better approximates phenotypes of cells than modeling metabolism in isolation," said Lerman.

...Their method accounts, in molecular detail, for the material and energy required to keep a cell growing, the research team reported in the journal Nature Communications.

"This is a major advance in genome-scale analysis that accounts for the fundamental biological process of gene expression and notably expands the number of cellular phenotypes that we can compute," said Bernhard Palsson, Galetti Professor of Bioengineering, at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

"With this new method, it is now possible to perform computer simulations of systems-level molecular biology to formulate questions about fundamental life processes, the cellular impacts of genetic manipulation or to quantitatively analyze gene expression data," said Joshua Lerman, a Ph.D. candidate in Palsson's Systems Biology Research Group. _SD

This approach provides more useful information in advance, to researchers considering various approaches to the design of custom chemicals-producing organisms -- particularly microbes, but eventually plants and animals as well.

In summary, the development of this tool should streamline the design and development of organisms capable of producing commercially valuable chemicals and fuels in an economical manner. It should also prevent much wasted energy on the part of researchers, by pointing out dead-end research approaches in advance.

Robert Rapier: A Critical Look at Biofuels Costs

On the topic of advanced biofuels, Robert Rapier is one of the few internet commenters with both the expertise and the objectivity to provide an intelligent and trustworthy judgment. Robert published a recent column on a DOE presentation dealing with various methods of advanced biofuel production, and the associated costs -- both capital costs and operating costs.

I want to share several slides from the presentation to give an idea of what the DOE thinks about the costs for producing biofuels via the various pathways. The first slide below shows the projected cost of production of biofuels via MTG, pyrolysis, and FT for the “Nth Biorefinery Plant” — which is defined as the projected fuel cost after a number of plants have been built and the learning curve has been mastered.

This slide projects a future best case scenario of about $3.50/gallon for the MTG route, $2/gallon for the pyrolysis route, and $5/gallon for the FT route. So if that is for the Nth plant, where do costs currently stand? _Robert Rapier

This slide shows that in 2009 they were estimating costs of production for biofuel based on pyrolysis of $7.68/gallon. By this year (2012) they projected the cost dropping to $4.55, and then over the next 5 years they project costs will fall to $2.32 (again, the Nth plant cost for pyrolysis was projected at $2.00/gallon). They project that the largest savings will come from the upgrading step.

So what do they say about fuel from algae? _Robert Rapier

This slide shows the 2012 selling price for algal products in four categories: Triglycerides (TAG) from open ponds (OP) at $9.28/gallon and from photobioreactors (PBR) at $17.52/gallon, and then the finished diesel (which requires hydrotreating the TAG) at $10.66 from OPs and $19.89 from PBRs.

The following slide projects future algal fuel costs under a number of different scenarios: _Robert Rapier

.... I think the real story from this presentation is the DOE’s projections of the pyrolysis to fuel route. They clearly believe that this route can ultimately be competitive with petroleum. The technology currently exists to convert pyrolysis oil into transportation fuel, but it is fairly new and therefore should have room for some improvements. This is the type of route that KiOR is pursuing. A partnership between UOP Honeywell, Ensyn Corporation (those two formed a JV called Envergent) and Tesoro was awarded a DOE grant to build a demonstration facility based on pyrolysis at Tesoro’s refinery in Hawaii.

The overall ranking in terms of future costs would appear to be: pyrolysis < MTG < FT < OP algal << PBR algal. _Robert Rapier

More at the link above.

This is basically the same type of recommendation that Al Fin Energy analysts have been providing for a number of years, with the exception of the MTG process, which we have mainly looked at in conjunction with GTL and CTL processes.

It has been well over a year since one of our analysts discussed the idea of algal biomass pyrolysis for biofuels production with Robert Rapier, who stated that he was unfamiliar with that approach to algal biofuels, at that time.

The conventional approach to algal biofuels -- conversion of triglycerides to hydrocarbons or biodiesel -- suffers from too many problems for it to be considered viable before approximately 2020, if not later. Biomass pyrolysis to biofuels, on the other hand, is very near to viability today, with the proper catalysts.

And since micro-algae and macro-algae are two of the most prolific forms of biomass known, it makes sense that they would be used as feedstock for advanced catalytic biomass to biofuels pyrolytic processes.

Will it take 5 or more years to get production costs for advanced biofuels from catalytic pyrolysis below about $2 per gallon? Difficult to say. Certainly the explosion of dirt-cheap unconventional methane complicates the equation a bit.

It is likely that many operators will pursue F-T and MTG fuels from methane alone or from coal alone (or the two combined). But it is also likely that some operators will work on ways to combine biomass to liquids (BTL) with either GTL, CTL, or both. Yet other operators will attempt to create viable processes for BTL alone, without combination with either methane or coal. All of these approaches -- as well as all the the approaches to BTL discussed by Robert Rapier -- will have to shake themselves out in the market place. Unfortunately, government mandates, carbon taxes, credits, subsidies, and brainless regulations will also intrude on the market processes. But that is the world we live in.

Higher Yield Production from Sophisticated Synthetic Biology Techniques

“It should one day be possible to dynamically regulate any metabolic pathway, regardless of whether a natural sensor is available or not, to make microbial production of commodity chemicals and fuels competitive on a commercial scale.” _LBL

Researchers at the Joint Bioenergy Institute at DOE Lawrence Berkeley Labs have discovered a sophisticated synthetic biology technique which opens the door to much higher yield microbial production of fuels, chemicals, drugs, polymers, and much more.

LBL JBEI

Significant boosts in the microbial production of clean, green and renewable biodiesel fuel has been achieved with the development of a new technique in synthetic biology by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI). This new technique – dubbed a dynamic sensor-regulator system (DSRS) – can detect metabolic changes in microbes during the production of fatty acid-based fuels or chemicals and control the expression of genes affecting that production. The result in one demonstration was a threefold increase in the microbial production of biodiesel from glucose.

...Hampering microbial production of fatty acid-based chemicals has been metabolic imbalances during product synthesis.

“Expression of pathway genes at too low a level creates bottlenecks in biosynthetic pathways, whereas expression at too high a level diverts cellular resources to the production of unnecessary enzymes or intermediate metabolites that might otherwise be devoted to the desired chemical,” Zhang says. “Furthermore, the accumulation of these enzymes and intermediate metabolites can have a toxic effect on the microbes, reducing yield and productivity.”

Using the tools of synthetic biology, there have been several strategies developed to meet this challenge but these previous strategies only provide static control of gene expression levels.

“When a gene expression control system is tuned for a particular condition in the bioreactor and the conditions change, the control system will not be able to respond and product synthesis will suffer as a result,” Zhang says.

The DSRS responds to the metabolic status of the microbe in the bioreactor during synthesis by sensing key intermediate metabolites in an engineered pathway. The DSRS then regulates the genes that control the production and consumption of these intermediates to allow their delivery at levels and rates that optimize the pathway for maximum productivity as conditions change in the bioreactor.

“Nature has evolved sensors that can be used to sense the biosynthetic intermediate, but naturally-occurring regulators will rarely suffice to regulate an engineered pathway because these regulators were evolved to support host survival, rather than making chemicals in large quantity,” Zhang says.

To create their DSRS, Zhang, Keasling and Carothers focused on a strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria engineered at JBEI to produce diesel fuel directly from glucose. E. coli is a well-studied microorganism whose natural ability to synthesize fatty acids and exceptional amenability to genetic manipulation make it an ideal target for biofuels research. In this latest work, the JBEI researchers first developed biosensors for a key intermediate metabolite – fatty acyl-CoA – in the diesel biosynthetic pathway. They then developed a set of promoters (segments of DNA) that boost the expression of specific genes in response to cellular acyl-CoA levels. These synthetic promoters only become fully activated when both fatty acids and the inducer reagent known as “IPTG” are present.

“For a tightly regulated metabolic pathway to maximize product yields, it is essential that leaky gene expressions from promoters be eliminated,” Zhang says. “Since our hybrid promoters are repressed until induced by IPTG, and the induction levels can be tuned automatically by the FA/acyl-CoA level, they can be readily used to regulate production of biodiesel and other fatty acid-based chemicals.”

Introducing the DSRS into the biodiesel-producing strain of E.coli improved the stability of this strain and tripled the yield of fuel, reaching 28-percent of the theoretical maximum. With further refinements of the technique, yields should go even higher. The DSRS should also be applicable to the microbial production of other chemical products, both fatty acid-based and beyond.

“Given the large number of natural sensors available, our DSRS strategy can be extended to many other biosynthetic pathways to balance metabolism, increase product titers and yields, and stabilize production hosts,” Zhang says. “It should one day be possible to dynamically regulate any metabolic pathway, regardless of whether a natural sensor is available or not, to make microbial production of commodity chemicals and fuels competitive on a commercial scale.” _LBL

H/T GCC

Similar techniques are used to produce valuable pharmaceuticals using microbes. The earliest commercial uses of the techniques discovered at LBL / JBEI will likely produce high value chemicals rather than commodity fuels. Bioreactors are expensive, as are the buildings in which they are housed, as well as the personnel who must maintain, monitor, and operate them. High value products will pay for such facilities long before commodity fuels can do.

But at some point, the economics of fuels markets will shift far enough so that microbial fuels can compete with petroleum based fuels and synthetic fuels from other hydrocarbons.

Is Cool Planet Energy Systems for Real? 4,000 Gal/Acre Bio-Gasoline Yield?

Cool Planet Energy Systems is a cellulose-to-gasoline advanced biofuels maker, which is backed by Google, BP, GE, Conoco Phillips, and NRG Energy. The company now claims to be able to produce 4,000 gallons of gasoline per acre, using its technology.

Cool Planet Energy Systems Home

CoolPlanet BioFuels, a start-up developing technology to convert low-grade biomass into high-grade fuels including gasoline, and carbon that can be sequestered (earlier post), claims it has achieved a conversion yield of 4,000 gallons gasoline/acre biomass in pilot testing using giant miscanthus, an advanced bioenergy crop.

On an energy basis, that yield is about 12 times greater than current corn ethanol production levels, the company noted.

These test results are based on nearly optimal crop growth conditions and demonstrate what is possible in a good growing season. Under more routine growing conditions, we estimate yields of about 3,000 gallons/acre should be achievable throughout the Midwest by selecting the proper energy crop for local conditions.

—Mike Cheiky, Cool Planet’s founder and CEO

The giant miscanthus was developed at the University of Mississippi and provided from a high yield plot by Repreve Renewables. Other advanced bio-energy crops, such as sorghum and switch grass, can provide similar annual yields using this new process. _GCC

The giant miscanthus can grow over 10 feet in height in a good growing season. It is likely that the company boosted the CO2 levels in the plants' growing environment as well. The company did not provide information on profitability for the complete process from field to fuel tank.

CoolPlanet Energy Systems is developing a revolutionary thermal/mechanical processor which directly inputs raw biomass such as woodchips, crop residue, algae, etc. and produces multiple distinct gas streams for catalytic upgrading to conventional fuel components.

In support of the above biomass fractionator , the company is also developing a range of simple one-step catalytic conversion processes which mate with the fractionator's output gas streams to produce useful products such as eBTX (high octane gasoline), synthetic diesel and proprietary ultra-high crop yield super fuels.

CoolPlanet Energy Systems plans to package its proprietary biomass fractionator together with an "open architecture" chemical processing section in standard modular shipping containers which can each produce up to 2 million gallons of fuel per year. These modular fuel processors can be equipped with CoolPlanet Energy Systems' catalytic conversion processes and/or your own selection of dryers, separators, catalytic processes, etc. _CoolPlanet

The company features "transportable plants" for conversion of biomasss to biofuels, on its site. These are most likely catalytic pyrolysis plants, which can be trucked to convenient sites near harvest zones, for large batch local and regional processing. Year round producers of biomass -- such as municipal waste facilities -- would likely either lease such a plant or invest in their own appropriately scaled plant using similar technology.

The company certainly has a large number of heavy-duty industrial financial backers. Apparently most of the backers are looking for a relatively low cost, "environmentally acceptable" fuel additive or partial substitute which can be blended into their main fuel product. In other words, they may be banking on future government mandates regarding carbon content in fuels. That gamble may come crashing down should science ever adopt a more objective attitude toward the dozens of significant drivers of global climate -- some of which are likely still to be discovered.

If any enterprise does develop an economical-in-its-own-right biomass to advanced fuels process which can be easily scaled and mass-produced for local and regional siting, it will need to select the optimal biomass source for the locality. Different sources of biomass are likely to be optimal for different locales. That will range from giant king grass, to duckweed, to miscanthus, to kelp, to micro-algae, to municipal waste, depending upon climate and pre-existing infrastructure.

Biofuels Prospect "Duckweed" Doubles Biomass in 48 hours

Duckweed produces a enormous amount of starch-rich biomass every 48 hours. Scientists are studying the plant to convert it into a bio-manufacturing platform, for the production of polymers, proteins, and high value small molecule chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Other scientists -- biofuels specialists -- are attempting to transfer genes from algae to duckweed in an effort to teach the rapid-growing plant to produce oils for biofuels.

"We’re interested in using or optimizing duckweed for use as a biomass bio fuel based on its ability to grow on waste water and water in places which you would never imagine crops would grow," Martienssen tells Big Think.

In other words, Martienssen calls duckweed "an exciting prospect" because it can kill two birds with one stone. "It can convert high nitrogen and high phosphorus water into much cleaner water and at the same time massively increase in biomass," Martienssen says. Duckweed doubles in size every two [days __ ed.], generating a huge amount of biomass in a short amount of time, and is an amazing producer of starch.

Therefore, using pathways and genes from algae, Martienssen says he is looking to "persuade" duckweed "to make oil instead of starch."

...How exactly is Martienssen hoping to 'persuade' duckweed to produce oil? He is looking at the phenotype, or the properties of the plant over generations, to which Martienssen has applied his groundbreaking research on transposons or "jumping genes."

Transposons were discovered in plants about sixty years ago by Martienssen's Cold Spring Harbor Lab colleague Barbara McClintock who won the Nobel Prize for this discovery. According to Martienssen, "transposons are pieces of DNA that can move around the genome and cause genetic as well as epigenetic changes without having to go through a sexual cross and so many of the changes we see that happen in clones occur due to the activity of transposable elements." _BigThink

Most energy specialists underestimate biomass fuels, because their thinking is years or decades old. The potential for production of sheer biomass by duckweed and rapid-growing micro- and macro-algae has barely begun to be tapped.

Using the tools of genetic and epi-genetic modification, rapid-growing plants are likely to stand in for the mythical "nanotech assembler" for manufacturing a wide range of products -- at least for the next few decades until nanotech molecular assemblers can be perfected. Fuels and high value chemicals are likely to be two of the product categories which fast growing plants will be persuaded to make.

This is a biological planet. The biological plant life of this planet thrives on high CO2 levels -- up to 3X to 4X higher than at present.

CO2 is essential to photosynthesis and thus it must be present in the air at least in at least 300 ppm in order for plants to grow properly. When CO2 is deficient in the air plants simply do not grow, their growth is very slow and stunted. It is also actually possible to speed plant growth up by increasing CO2 levels in the air. The simple addition of CO2 to the air is as good as adding fertilizer to your plants. Most plants grow with a yield increase of ten to thirty percent when the CO2 levels are between 1,200 to 1,500 parts per million. _Source

If, on the other hand, atmospheric levels of CO2 were reduced by half, large numbers of species of plants would die, and the food chain would be severely disrupted. Billions of humans would be in danger of starving.

Clearly, humans will not replace hydrocarbon fuels with biofuels -- and there is no need to even try. But biomass can be grown virtually anywhere there is energy, nutrients, and CO2 -- and be converted to biofuels. That advantage of local and regional production virtually anywhere in the inner solar system, is something that no other fuel can match.

What Can We Expect from Biofuels?

When it comes to using biology to create energy and fuels, we are given a lot of choices, and are generating many more that did not exist in the past. Brian Westenhaus looks at US biofuels in the context of government mandates and limits.

Brian points to a recent article in Biofuels Digest which makes a case for "cellulosic butanol," a 4 carbon alcohol which can be easily added to either gasoline or diesel fuels as a fuel extender. Butanol is also a reasonably good drop-in replacement for gasoline in unmodified gasoline engines. In addition, butanol can be used as a valuable feedstock for chemical synthesis.

The plans laid out by Brian and by the author of the piece in Biofuels Digest are reasonable. But there is a lot more to biofuels than alcohols and standard crop biodiesels -- such as biodiesel from soy or rape. Biofuels from thermochemical processes, biofuels from algae, and biofuels from engineered micro-organisms, are all lining up to make an impact.

If you really want to expand biofuels production quickly, a better way might be to utilise standard industrial and chemical processes, such as catalytic pyrolysis and synthesis. Biomass to fuels conversion using thermochemical means such as catalytic pyrolysis offers a great deal of potential in terms of scalable fuels production that is renewable into the indefinite future, year after year.

The IH2 biomass to fuels process (via GCC) summarised above is the most promising of the thermochemical biomass approaches, according to Al Fin analysts. Using rapid growing micro-algae or macro-algae as feedstocks, the potential growing area for biomass expands to cover most of the planet, freeing up arable land for food crop use. Multiple harvests per year allow for continuous, year round processing of fuels. The scalable nature of biomass pyrolysis and the ability to utilise a wide range of potential feedstocks, allows such enterprises to locate virtually anywhere, to contribute to economies of virtually any size.

When such an approach to biofuels production is combined with the process heat of a nuclear reactor, it is clear that such an approach to scalable fuels and chemicals production could be carried out anywhere from the middle of Antarctica to the middle of the ocean to the middle of any desert or top of any mountain on the planet.

It is true that the shale gas revolution makes biofuels production non-competitive with natural gas as a fuel and a feedstock in many areas. But it is also true that biomass of one kind or another can be grown virtually anywhere, particularly with the assistance of plentiful process heat. Natural gas, on the other hand, cannot be harvested anywhere, and can be expensive to transport over long distances where pipelines are not in place. It is also true that advanced gene-engineered microbial biofuels will eventually replace thermochemical production of biofuels, and that after that, nanotechnological production of fuels and energy will replace microbial production of fuels. But that will take time.

For now and the near future, biofuels from biomass may be best suited for remote areas such as islands and other geographically isolated places, such as Sub Saharan Africa. Wherever transport costs for hydrocarbon fuels are excessive, the door is open to biomass biofuels, particularly in the tropics and near tropics.

In the long run, thermochemical and microbiological biomass biofuels will also be utilised in the more advanced parts of the world, as better, more high-value uses for hydrocarbons are devised.

The Earth is a biological planet. And contrary to what you may hear from the carbon hysterics, this biological planet thrives on plentiful CO2. If CO2 levels were to drop too far, the resulting human dieoff from starvation would be massive.

More: Geoffrey Styles recently commented on this topic

Two New Approaches to a Better Biodiesel

Munich researchers have developed a more efficient method of converting vegetable oils into alkane hydrocarbons, at relatively low temperatures.

Plant oils are promising starting materials for the production of biofuels. Microalgae are attractive feedstock resources in that context, as they feature high triglyceride contents (up to 60 wt %); rapid growth rates that are 10–200 times faster than terrestrial oil crops such as soybean and rapeseed; and do not compete directly with edible food/oil production. There are currently three approaches used for microalgae oil refining, Lercher and his team note:

Transesterification of triglycerides and alcohol into fatty acid alkyl esters (FAAEs) and glycerol—i.e., first-generation biodiesel. Such esters, however, have a relatively high oxygen content and poor flow property at low temperatures, limiting their application as high-grade fuels.

Conventional hydrotreating catalysts such as sulfided NiMo and CoMo, for upgrading. However, these sulfide catalysts contaminate products through sulfur leaching, and deactivate because of its removal from the surface.

Supported noble and base metal catalysts for decarboxylation and decarbonylation of carboxylic acids to alkanes at 300–330 °. These catalysts, however, show low activities and selectivities for C15–C18 alkanes. Contributions addressing microalgae oil upgrading using sulfur-free catalysts have not been reported, according to the team.

Herein, we report for the first time a novel and scalable catalyst, that is, Ni supported on and in zeolite HBeta, to quantitatively convert crude microalgae oil under mild conditions (260 °C, 40 bar H2) to diesel-range alkanes as high-grade second-generation transportation biofuels.

—Peng et al.
The microalgae oil in the study comprised unsaturated C18 fatty acids (88.4 wt %), saturated C18 fatty acids (4.4 wt %), as well as some other C14, C16, C20, C22, and C24 fatty acids (7.1 wt %) in total.

The researchers directly hydrotreated the microalgae oil in batch mode with 10 wt % Ni/HBeta (Si/Al = 180) at 260 °C and 40 bar H2; after 8 hours, they obtained 78 wt % yield of liquid alkanes containing 60 wt % yield of C18 octadecane)—very close to the theoretical maximum liquid hydrocarbon yield of 84 wt %. Propane (3.6 wt %) and methane (0.6 wt %) were the main products in the vapor phase.

Analysis of the reaction mechanism showed that this is a cascade reaction. First the double bonds of the unsaturated fatty acid chains of the triglycerides are saturated by hydrogen. Then, the now-saturated fatty acids take up hydrogen and are split from their glycerin component, which reacts to form propane. In the final step, the acid groups in the fatty acids are reduced stepwise to the corresponding alkane. _GCC

As a cascade reaction, the complexity of the reaction apparatus is much simplified, and the expense of building and scaling the refiners presumably decreased.

A second new approach to creating a better biodiesel is being developed by researchers at Berkeley's JBEI labs. They are programming E. Coli to produce a novel type of diesel substitute -- bisabolane.

This past fall, JBEI researchers identified bisabolane as a potential new advanced biofuel that could replace D2 diesel. Using the tools of synthetic biology, the researchers engineered strains of bacteria and yeast to produce bisabolene from simple sugars, which was then hydrogenated into bisabolane. While showing much promise, the yields of bisabolene have to be improved for microbial-based production of bisabolane fuel to be commercially viable.

The inefficient terpene synthase enzyme is one of the bottlenecks in the metabolic pathway used by the engineered microbes. Knowing the AgBIS crystal structure will guide us in engineering it for improved catalytic efficiency and stability, which should bring our bisabolene yields closer to economic competitiveness.

—Pamela Peralta-Yahya
Peralta-Yahya and her colleagues determined that the AgBIS enzyme consists of three helical domains, the first three-domain structure ever found in a synthase of sesquiterpenes—terpene compounds that contain 15 carbon atoms. The discovery of this unique structure holds importance on several fronts, according to co-lead author of the Structure paper McAndrew.

That we found the structure of AgBIS to be more similar to diterpene (two carbon terpene compounds) synthases not only provides us with insight into the function of these less well characterized enzymes, it also provides us with clues to the evolutionary heritage as the archetypal three-domain terpenoid synthases became two-domain sesquiterpene synthases in plants.

Furthering our knowledge of the structures and functions of terpenoid synthases may prove to have abundant practical applications aside from advanced biofuels because these enzymes produce a wide variety of specialized chemicals.

—Ryan McAndrew

Solving the three-dimensional crystal structure of AgBIS was made possible by the protein crystallography capabilities of Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS), a DOE Office of Science national user facility for synchrotron radiation, and the first of the world’s third generation light sources. For this work, the JBEI team used three of the five protein crystallography beamlines operated by the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology (BCSB): beamlines 8.2.1, 8.2.2, and 5.0.3. _GCC

I understand that to most people, solving the 3-D crystal structure of an enzyme protein is as exciting as watching paint dry. But from such seemingly dull discoveries eventually emerge earth-shaking breakthroughs.

Most energy analysts have been far too ready to write off "biofuels," perhaps because they associate the concept too closely to maize ethanol. While it is true that biological processes create energy sources with relatively low energy densities, it is also true that biological processes can create a huge amount of these energy sources. It will be up to humans to devise ways of densifying nature's energy bounty -- either via synthetic biology methods, or in the post-biological stage.

Here is a sad tale about the state of European government energy policy, reflecting a general decline in thinking on the continent. Europe can truly not afford this type of ruinous diversion.

"Endless" Biofuels Proving Themselves on Land, Sea, Air

Neste Oil of Finland has produced award winning aviation biofuels, advanced biofuels for land vehicles, and is now participating in an extended marine fuels test by the Port Authority of Rotterdam.

Neste Oil, the Port of Rotterdam, and the Rotterdam Climate Initiative have launched a trial in which a Port Authority patrol boat will run for an extended period on Neste Oil's NExBTL renewable diesel. This will be the first time that NExBTL renewable diesel has been used in a marine environment. The pioneering trial, which is due to last a total of 1,000 hours, will measure the patrol boat's exhaust emissions and engine performance, and gather operational experience.
"The new trial launched by the Port of Rotterdam marks a new and positive step forward for Neste Oil," says Kaisa Hietala, Neste Oil's Vice President, Marketing. "Our NExBTL fuels have already shown what they are capable of in terms of performance and lower emissions on the road and in the air, and now we will have the opportunity to see how our renewable diesel performs in marine use as well." _Neste_via_GCC

Gevo, Inc., maker of bio-isobutanol, has submitted its advanced biofuel for testing by the National Marine Manufacturers Association as a blendstock with marine fuels -- to replace ethanol additive. It was found that isobutanol could be combined at higher levels with marine petro-fuels than ethanol, and did not suffer from phase separation when water entered the fuel system -- unlike ethanol. More details and links

Neste biofuels are hydrotreated and refined, producing an advanced high performing biofuel with superior burning characteristics to traditional biofuels, and significantly cleaner emissions than petro diesel. The Neste products can serve as a drop in replacement for land and air combustion engines, and are likely to serve as well for marine engines.

Other advanced biofuels -- such as isobutanol -- serve as additives to significantly extend petro-fuel supplies. Such extenders will have a significant effect on supplies and prices, over time, as production and distribution of the biofuels becomes more efficient at all stages in the new infrastructure.

Biofuels will be available in increasing supplies into the foreseeable future. The quality and quantity -- as well as versatility, affordability, and availability -- of these fuels will continue to improve.

Shell Oil is Counting on Biofuels for the Long Term

Shell sees a place for gas, hydrogen and electricity, but Reijnhart was clear that: “We see biofuels as the single most important alternative to hydrocarbons in mobility in the next 20 years.”

Reijnhart several times stressed Shell’s strategic intention to operate “at scale” in the biofuels market, with particular reference to its recent launch of Raizen, its $12-billion joint-venture with Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer Cosan. _GCC

Brazil is a good place for biofuels and biomass to chemicals projects. Its tropical climate provides a year-round climate for growing multiple croppings. Sugar cane is a particularly rich source of both sugars and cellulosic biomass. Large areas of Africa are similarly well-endowed for biomass production.

Reijnhart said that first-generation and second-generation biofuels were different pillars of the same long-term strategy. He suggested that breakthroughs in the production of cellulosic ethanol will come in the early 2020s. Noting that this is part of the long-term future for biofuels, he emphasized Shell’s commitments to R&D in the next-generation technology. _GCC

Brazil is beginning to produce biofuels in the Antarctic for local fuel use -- note the fashionable coverage of the food vs. fuels debate on the video at the link. You know that when the UN gets involved, the excrement is certain to be piled very deeply.

But back in the real world, biomass production is limited only by human ingenuity, just as all energy and food production is limited by what our brains can conceive. As we discover better ways to convert biomass to high value chemicals, valuable materials, fuels, and electrical power, we will find ways to expand the total volume of terrestrial biomass far beyond what is currently thought possible. This will be done by utilising areas and resources for biomass growth which are not currently thought of as croplands or crop nutrients.

Can Biofuels Replace Petrofuels by 2030?

A new report from Pike Research forecasts the doubling of global biofuels value to $185 billion by 2021. More at GCC Logically, since such changes typically occur exponentially, one would expect another doubling by 2026 and yet another doubling before 2030 -- to a global biofuels value of near $800 billion. While that level of production is not large enough to replace petro-fuels, it is more than large enough to destroy the dreams of peak oil doom-disciples.

But is it logical to expect that type of growth in biofuels over the next 20 years? One of the largest obstacles to that rosy picture, is the fact that it will be generally cheaper to convert coal, gas, bitumen, kerogen, and methane hydrates to liquid fuels, than it will be to convert biomass to liquid fuels. As long as those feedstocks are readily available at cheap prices, large scale biofuels will likely depend on government regulations and mandates to be profitable.

What about the food vs. fuels debate? This question is easier to answer, and has always been something of a tempest in a teapot. Better methods of food production are spreading across the globe, which as long as third world birthrates do not balloon, will ease food pressures in the hungrier parts of the planet. Biomass for biofuels will come from a variety of sources, including specially designed and adapted energy crops, energy crops that are grown in seawater and on salty or marginal soils, and perhaps even crops that are grown inside cities themselves, on integrated high rise farms. Crop growing area will not be a problem, since algae can grow on roughly 80% of the Earth's surface -- and algae are the most prolific biomass crop known. More on algal biomass

The conversion from petroleum fuels to biofuels, synthetic fuels, and other unconventional fuels, is likely to be uneven and tumultous. As economic conditions change, levels of demand for fuels will change. As technologies for different types of fuel production develop, the economic benefits and costs will shift to favour different types of production. We should not expect to see a smooth, exponential growth in the production of biofuels between now and 2030. Instead, we are likely to see a very bumpy and uneven -- but significant -- level of growth in bioenergy and advanced biofuels.

Biofuels will not replace petrofuels, because there will be no need for total replacement. Such ideas are absurd on their face, and inconsistent with how real world economies of substitution work. In the absence of government interference, biofuels will have to compete with petro-fuels and synthetic fuels from unconventional hydrocarbons. These liquid fuels will have to compete with gaseous fuels and electrical systems for heat and transport.

If a long-awaited nuclear renaissance occurs, electrical systems of heat and transport will be given a huge boost, and will begin to take market share away from liquid and gaseous fuels.

It should be pointed out that government has been the enemy of safe, abundant, reliable energy. In particular, the energy starvation agendas of green-influenced governments in the US, Germany, and other western governments are causing undue economic hardship on their citizens -- and retarding the onset of a more abundant and prosperous future. In addition, these green-influenced government policies are worsening environmental conditions, rather than improving them, out of a misguided pseudoscientific carbon hysteria.

Biofuels News

Huber-Wyman Aqueous Phase Hydrodeoxygenation
The simple process pictured above comes from researchers at UM Amherst and UC Riverside. It is an example of a relatively economical thermochemical approach to producing fuels from cellulosic biomass. Yields need improving, but give them time.

Meanwhile, Tulane U. researchers have discovered a mysterious bacterium they have dubbed "TU-103", which can produce butanol directly from newspaper biomass. The designation is apt for some type of secret weapon, and if the bacterium can provide economical yields, it may very well turn out to be just that. More here

Meanwhile, University of Wisconsin researchers have developed a process for producing potentially high-value furan derivatives from biomass. They are using a new type of solvent -- alkylphenols -- to help accomplish the sugar extraction phase.

US government investment into biofuels is ramping up, as is some private sector financing. Even the private sectors of Europe and North America are financing advanced biofuels research -- despite an ongoing global financial downturn.

There is abundant waste biomass in advanced nations -- from municipal waste, agricultural waste, forestry waste, etc. But for advanced biofuels to take an appreciable proportion of the fuels and chemicals markets away from petroleum, dedicated biomass crops must be available at economical costs and in plentiful supplies.

The most prolific type of biomass -- and the only type of biomass that can grow in abundance over at least 80% of the Earth's surface -- is algae (micro and macro). While the focus has long been placed on algal oils, it is algal biomass which offers the earliest promise for reduced cost / high yield advanced biofuels. Eventually it will be economical to utilise both algal oils and algal biomass for advanced biofuels.

The point of Al Fin Energy's biofuels coverage is to point out that the research and the infrastructure-building have barely begun to get started. Just as one cannot judge the potential of a human being's life work while he is still in the womb, one cannot judge the ultimate impact of advanced biofuels at this early stage.

Too many analysts confuse biofuels with wind and solar, and put them all into the same category of delusional green fantasies. That is a mistake, a rookie mistake. Try not to fall into that trap.

Virent Biogasoline Passes Euro-Fleet Test, Phase 1

The Virent BioForming premium gasoline blendstock has a molecular composition identical to fuel made at a petroleum refinery. The sugars can be sourced from conventional biofuel feedstocks such as sugar beets, corn and sugar cane, or as proven recently, from cellulosic biomass like corn stover and pine residuals. _GCC

Virent via GCC
Virent is working with investor Royal Dutch Shell to develop a top quality biologically derived drop-in substitute for gasoline. The catalytic process takes place at relatively low temperatures. The product is apparently doing well in European fleet testing so far.

Virent’s BioForming platform (earlier post) is a catalytic, low-temperature (180°–260° C) process that can produce drop-in hydrocarbon fuels from plant-based sugars. BioForming combines Virent’s Aqueous Phase Reforming (APR) technology...with conventional catalytic processing technologies such as catalytic hydrotreating and catalytic condensation processes, including ZSM-5 acid condensation, base catalyzed condensation, acid catalyzed dehydration, and alkylation.

Similar to a conventional petroleum refinery, each of these process steps in the BioForming platform can be optimized and modified to produce a particular slate of desired hydrocarbon products. For example, a biogasoline product can be produced using a zeolite (ZSM-5) based process, jet fuel and diesel can be produced using a base catalyzed condensation route, and a high octane fuel can be produced using a dehydration/oligomerization route. _GCC

The economic viability of the process will depend upon feedstock prices and on catalytic efficiencies and yield.

Small Energy News

Oxford Catalysts is working on its third commercial order for its microchannel F-T GTL reactors.

The order comprises two full scale FT reactors (with a nominal capacity of more than 50 bpd) that form the first installment of reactors towards a commercial synthetic fuels plant expected to start operations in 2012. The customer intends to roll out additional plants following successful completion and operation of this first US commercial facility. The two reactors ordered will be delivered by the fourth quarter of 2011.

This is the Group’s third sale of FT reactors and catalyst, following separate orders for FT units by SGC Energia, SGPS, SA in December 2010 and April 2011. (Earlier post.)

Oxford Catalysts is focused on the emerging market for distributed smaller scale production of synthetic oil via FT synthesis—a market that has the potential of producing as much as 25 million barrels of fuel a day, the company says. _GCC

25 million barrels of synthetic crude per day??? That might put a dent in the dieoff.orgiast's hopes for energy starvation and mass dieoff. Not to mention dashing the desires for doom of all the peak oil doomers singing the echo choir of circular jerkular canons and rounds.

Global Bioenergies and Synthos are partnering to produce bio-butadiene.

Synthos SA, a European leader in the manufacturing of rubber, and Global Bioenergies SA, an industrial biology company developing sustainable routes to light olefins, signed a partnership agreement to develop a new process for the conversion of renewable resources into butadiene, involving research funding, multi-million euro development fees, royalty payments, repartition of exploitation rights, and a €1.4-million (US$2-million) equity investment in Global Bioenergies, representing a 3.6% stake.

Butadiene is one of the major building blocks of the petrochemical industry and is presently exclusively produced from oil. About 10 million tonnes are produced each year, of which two thirds are used to manufacture synthetic rubber. The last third is used to produce nylon, latices, ABS plastics and other polymers. The spot price of butadiene has recently rose to over $3/kg, and as such the global butadiene market is estimated at $30 billion. _GCC

Synthetic biology company LS9 is working with HCL Cleantech to develop a process of biomass to sugars to fuels. They are working under a $9 million DOE grant which covers the entire process from biomass to fuels, using genetically modified organisms.

Speaking of genetically modified organisms and synthetic biology, three names are coming up more often than others: Craig Venter, Jay Keasling, and George Church. George Church has made news with a paper in Science describing a dramatic new synthetic biology tool able to replace specific codons in a multiplex fashion wherever they are found in the micro-organism. This is only big news if you understand what it means. Although this particular incarnation of the tool is aimed at "stop codons," it is still theoretically capable of creating organisms that can synthesise unique proteins as therapeutic products.

The synthetic biologists are mainly concerned with the micro-organisms they can create, and the commercial products these microbes will be able to produce.

Eventually, the idea is to be able to simultaneously modify the genetic coding of a eukaryotic organism (such as a human) across the entire genome, with its complex multi-chromosome arrangement. That will not be so easy.

LS9 Tests 2nd Generation Microbial Biodiesel in Brazil

Microbial biofuels and renewable chemicals company LS9 is working with Brazilian vehicle manufacturer and engineering firm, MAN Latin America to test LS9's 2nd generation biodiesel product.

LS9 UltraClean Diesel overcomes a number of the challenges of first-generation biodiesel, including high cost of production, poor oxidative stability, and/or poor cold flow. In April 2010, the fuel was officially registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) so it can be sold commercially in the United States.

LS9 modifies the ACP pathway in bacteria to produce renewable hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals with optimized properties, including UltraClean Diesel and surfactants, which LS9 is commercializing with one of its strategic partners, Procter and Gamble. _GCC

French startup Global Bioenergies is moving ahead with its microbial production of isobutene -- an important feedstock for high value chemical production. The product is made from plant sugars.

OPX Biotechnologies is developing the microbial production of renewable bio-acrylic. Acrylic from petroleum is an $8 billion annual market, globally. OPXBio is working with Dow chemical in developing microbially produced fuels and chemicals.

Choren Industries GmbH -- producer of 2nd generation biofuels from wood products via gasification -- has declared insolvency in connection with its German Freiberg plant. The company intends to consult with new investors soon.

A series of biofuel companies have declared insolvency in recent years after the German government changed course on biofuels, taxing the green fuels and scaling back previous incentives. _Reuters _ via _GSS

Choren's difficulties point out the danger of relying upon governmental incentives -- which are always subject to the whims of corrupt and small minded politicians.

Fuels markets are very volatile due to many factors, and newcomers such as biofuels -- lacking the huge infrastructure at all levels which petroleum fuels enjoy -- will have to swim against the current for a number of years yet. The high value chemicals markets, on the other hand, offer a ripe and juicy opportunity for clever and efficient companies in many sectors -- including biotechnology startups and more established industrial entities who wish to partner with renewable chemicals startups.

ZeaChem and Procter & Gamble's Green Chemistry Venture

Cellulosic ethanol producer ZeaChem utilises both biomass gasification and microbial fermentation to produce biofuels from cellulose. But the small startup is joining with commercial giant Procter & Gamble to use ZeaChem's biorefinery platform for producing larger and more sophisticated high value chemicals from cellulose:

In Colorado, ZeaChem announced a binding multi-year joint development agreement with Procter & Gamble. The agreement will accelerate development of ZeaChem’s product platform beyond C2 through the commercialization of “drop-in” bio-based chemicals and other products.

The two companies will utilize ZeaChem’s existing infrastructure at its lab in Menlo Park, Calif., pilot facility at Hazen Research in Golden, Colo., and demonstration-scale biorefinery in Boardman, Ore. Together, P&G and ZeaChem will research, develop and demonstrate, scale-up, and commercialize this new product platform.

...ZeaChem’s technology is a parallel hybrid system of fermentation and gasification. This hybrid process achieves 40% higher yield than other cellulosic processes. Theoretical maximum for biochemical and thermochemical players is approximately 100 gallons/BDT compared to ZeaChem’s theoretical maximum of 165 gallons/BDT. At 85% efficiency, actual yield for biochemical and thermochemical only processes will be around 90 gallons/BDT compared to 135 gallon/BDT for ZeaChem’s technology. This significant yield advantage translates into economic saving and environmental benefits. _BiofuelsDigest

Higher yield biorefinery processes will certainly push up the timetable for viable biofuels. In the case of ZeaChem, both gasification and microbial fermentation will be advanced. Other companies will emphasise gasification plus F-T or similar catalytic synthesis -- OR -- will take the microbial path from beginning to end, cellulose to fuels or chemicals.

It is possible that other approaches besides thermochemical, catalytic synthesis, or microbial metabolism, will prove even more viable in the long run. According to Al Fin energy analysts, the year 2020 is the target date for competitively priced drop-in renewable substitutes for petrofuels and chemicals, using microbes (including algae) as primary producers and biomass as the primary feedstock. For competitively priced dropin fuels and chemicals using thermochemical approaches primarily, the year 2015 is the target date.

In the long run, microbes and nano-tech synthesis will sweep every other approach to chemicals and fuels off the stage due to economic and overall energy efficiencies.