| Biofuels Image of the Month |
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| Biofuels Center and NCDA staff plant Eastern Cottonwood trees at the Oxford Research Station. Click here to learn about this potential biofuels feedstock. |
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| Biofuels Company Spotlight |
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Incorporated in December 2007, HCL CleanTech is a U.S.-Israeli biofuels technology development company co-founded by Eran Baniel, the company's CEO, and two of Israel’s most prominent industrial chemical research scientists, Avraham Baniel and Ari Eyal. In April 2010, the company chose North Carolina as the site for its administrative headquarters and first pilot plant.
HCL CleanTech’s technology utilizes hydrochloric acid to break down lignocellulose to simple sugars which are subsequently fermented into fuel alcohol, diesel or aviation fuels. In the process, HCL CleanTech has radically improved the economics of an old, industrially-proven German process: the company converts biomass to fermentable sugars then recovers the hydrochloric acid for maximum efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of such conversion will be key to gaining more sustainable biofuels in North Carolina and nationally. North Carolina, with 17.6 million acres of forest land, is particularly well-suited to both benefit from and assist companies working for fuels based on woody biomass.
The company is a leading developer of full process technology for conversion of woody biomass to fermentable sugars, tall oils, and high-quality lignin. The sugars will be converted to advanced biofuels and bioproducts, while the tall oils have multiple industrial uses. The high-quality lignin can either be used as a source of energy, or used as a feedstock for the composite material industry.
HCL CleanTech offices are located at the Biofuels Accelerator facility at the Biofuels Center of North Carolina in Oxford. Located on the 426-acre Biofuels Campus, the Biofuels Accelerator was established to support the development of sustainable solutions for North Carolina’s biofuels industry. The pilot plant will be located at Southern Research Institute’s Advanced Energy and Transportation Technologies Center in Durham.
Find out more at www.hclcleantech.com.
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| Biofuels Center News |
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Biofuels Summit receives newspaper merit (Fayetteville Observer)
Participants included speakers from N.C. State University, which is conducting extensive biofuel research, the Biofuels Center of North Carolina, and Clean Burn Fuels, which just opened the state's first ethanol plant in Hoke County....
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Biofuels Center project partner participates in U.S. Rep. McIntyre's Green Enterprise Resource Summit (Brunswick Beacon)
Jones is a Brunswick Community College science instructor who now has a second job: running “Alganomics,” a business dedicated to growing algae to obtain oil for use in biodiesel fuel...
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Biofuels Center hires Policy Director (Raleigh News & Observer)
The Biofuels Center has brought on environmental policy wonk Steve Wall as the agency's new director of policy and environmental issues...
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Center co-sponsors, attends Sustainable Energy Conference at N.C. State University's McKimmon Center
The Biofuels Center co-sponsored and attended the 7th Annual North Carolina Sustainable Energy Conference at NC State University's McKimmon Center in Raleigh....
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Center, NCDA staff plant Eastern Cottonwood trees at Oxford Research Station
Biofuels Center and North Carolina Department of Agriculture staff members recently planted three lines of Eastern Cottonwood trees at the Oxford Research Station to assess their yield potential for biofuels production...
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Center promotes North Carolina as premier biofuels location at BIO 2010
The Biofuels Center joined more than 60 other North Carolina organizations and companies to showcase North Carolina as a global biotechnology leader at the BIO 2010 International Conference in Chicago ...
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| North Carolina Biofuels News |
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North Carolina sees future in biofuels (Fayetteville Observer)
Scientists and businesspeople gathered in Raeford to discuss the possibility of a new biofuels industry for the Sandhills region...
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Watermelon waste could be converted to biofuels (Raleigh News & Observer)
Since an estimated 20 percent of the nation's watermelon crop is either left in the field or fed to hogs because it's deemed not fit for market, Mills said up to 800 million pounds of fruit could be changed from waste to fuel...
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Stimulus funds Asheville area biofuels training (Asheville Citizen-Times)
Gregory Lynch is one of about 340 city residents who will be trained in weatherization, biofuels and sustainable building in hopes of finding a new career in the area's emerging green industries...
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N.C. State co-leads study that paves way for new biofuels models, technologies (N.C. State University News Services)
Biofuels hold promise as environmentally friendly sources of renewable energy, but which ones should industry and policy leaders focus their efforts on developing? A new study involving researchers from NC State University...
+ Read More
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| News Around the Globe |
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Algae could grow into a biofuels leader (CNBC.com)
While corn ethanol dominates the current biofuel market, the future of clean liquid-energy looks more likely to be found floating on ponds than growing in fields...
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General Motors partners with U.S. Department of Energy to produce biodiesel (ForConstructionPros.com)
General Motors announced a five-year partnership with the United States Department of Energy to help develop sustainable biofuels...
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Navy looks to biofuel to power the fleets of the future (Stars and Stripes)
Following the successful test of its F/A-18 “Green Hornet,” the Navy is moving forward with plans to use biofuels in more of its equipment and loosen foreign oil’s grip on the service’s energy supply...
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NASCAR sets sights on E15 use by 2011 (Fox Sports)
When NASCAR takes the green flag in 2011, race cars are expected to be fueled by E15—a mixture of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline...
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RFA to President Obama: Gulf Response Requires Immediate Solutions and Long Term Strategies (Renewable Fuels Association)
Addressing the tragedy hitting the Gulf of Mexico and coastal areas requires both an aggressive short term response and an equally aggressive long term energy and environmental strategy...
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New biofuel technique could have huge positive impact on chemical industry (ChemicalOnline.com)
A new method of converting biomass feedstock into sustainable fuel developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of Minnesota has the potential to have a profound effect on the chemical industry...
+ Read More
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| Biofuels Education Spotlight |
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N.C. State University recently won a four-year National Science Foundation award to demonstrate the feasibility and scalability of a unique, multi-step catalytic process to convert algal oils into “fit-for-purpose” transportation fuels. Algal oils are an ideal feedstock for biofuels production, offering very high production density and the ability to use marginal water; however, there are a number of technical challenges associated with efficiently exploiting algae’s inherent advantages as a feedstock.
Using a tightly coupled synergistic approach employing both engineering and biology faculty at N.C. State, the team is focused on: (a) optimizing a marine microalgae species (Dunaliella) to produce the most desirable lipid feedstocks for conversion to transportation fuels; (b) developing innovative and transformative approaches to extracting these lipids and fatty acids from the algae; (c) optimizing the decarboxylation catalyst; and (d) optimizing the entire biorefinery process including maximizing thermal efficiency and utilization of co-products and by-products. Dunaliella is also an ideal feedstock for North Carolina, considering the state’s abundant supply of brackish water in economically depressed regions. Algae have the ability to produce 50 times the lipids per acre-year of typical oil-producing crops such as soy. Additionally, the co-products from lipid-extracted algal biomass are high nutrition value animal feed.
The university is developing innovative and transformative enabling technologies that will accelerate the growth of particular algal biomass and their subsequent conversion into high-value “fit-for-purpose” transportation fuels. Through an economically viable and scalable process, this research will bring significant environmental and economic benefits to North Carolina through the development of an efficient, high-yield, high-value alternative energy source.
N.C. State's unique interdisciplinary research between engineers, phycologists, molecular biologists, and plant physiologists provides unique training and educational opportunities that bridges disciplines while developing renewable energy for future generations.
For more information, contact Dr. Bill Roberts at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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| Biofuels Center Podcasts |
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North Carolina House Representative Grier Martin—a major in the U.S. Army Reserve—talks about climate change, energy independence and national security with Biofuels Center communications manager Shane Reese.
+ Click Here to Listen
Biofuels Center president and CEO Steven Burke discusses his first year leading the statewide organization with Biofuels Center communications manager Shane Reese.
+ Click Here to Listen
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| Biofuels Wiki Recent Updates |
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The Biofuels Wiki is a one-stop, collaborative site where reliable knowledge about liquid renewable fuels can be found—think of it as a biofuels encyclopedia on the Internet. To add or edit content on the site, click here to register.
Photobioreactor
A photobioreactor is a bioreactor that incorporates some form of light source in order to provide photonic energy input into the reactor....
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BioPhotix
BioPhotix is a consulting company to the algae biofuels and biomass production industries, providing clients a unique and high-value resource for solving problems that are specific to photobioreactor...
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Extremophilic organisms
An extremophilic organism is one that can grow under extreme conditions. A range of organisms are able to flourish in conditions that would kill most other organisms...
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Jatrodiesel
Jatrodiesel is a 6-year-old biodiesel technology and fuel producing company based in Miamisburg, OH (just South of Dayton, OH). To date, Jatrodiesel has built 12 biodiesel plants, nine in the U.S and three outside, which use...
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Monoculture
Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing one single crop in a particular area. It is widely used in modern industrial agriculture and its implementation has allowed for large harvests...
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The Biofuels Center of North Carolina is developing a sustainable, statewide biofuels industry to reduce North Carolina’s dependence on imported liquid fuels and to create jobs. The goal is to replace 10% of the state’s liquid fuel consumption with home-grown and -produced biofuels by 2017. Find out more at www.biofuelscenter.org |
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Did You Know?
For each $10 increase in a barrel of oil, the U.S. Department of Defense spends an additional $1.3 billion in energy costs.
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Biofuels Crop Profile
Switchgrass is a giant, warm-season perennial grass native to North America high in cellulose, making it attractive as a biomass crop for cellulosic ethanol production in North Carolina...
+ Read More
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Biofuels Term to Know
DDGs (Distillers Dried Grains), a co-product of ethanol production, are used as high-protein livestock and poultry feed...
+ Read More
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21 May 2010 -
Synthetic Biology for Bioindustrial Applications
Edmonton, Canada
24 May 2010 -
Biofuels Take Root and Grow Gain: 2010 Biofuelist of the Year Award
Raleigh, North Carolina
26 May 2010 -
Mobilizing NC: Where Air Quality, Energy, and Transportation Meet
Raleigh, North Carolina
27 May 2010 -
2010 State of the Research Triangle Region
Raleigh, North Carolina
14-18 June 2010 -
26th Annual Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo
St. Louis, Missouri
27-30 June 2010 -
The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing
Washington, D.C.
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Biofuels Headline Newsletter 
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