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The article focuses on the state of ethanol development as biofuel in the U.S. Despite the financial and political support provided by former U.S. president George W. Bush and current president Barack Obama cellulosic ethanol has not achieved commercial recognition compared with corn kernel-based ethanol's success. According to Craig Cox, Midwest vice president of Environmental Working Group, food and agricultural experts have raised issues regarding the competing use of corn as food and fuel.

The article discusses the market value and production of cellulosic biofuel industry which will under commercial-scale production in the U.S. It highlights the possibility of another five years for the industry to achieve the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) target which is set by the U.S. Federal Government biofuel production target. It mentions the view of Pavel Molchanov, research analyst at the Raymond James & Associates Inc. on high availability of capitals from the slow scale growth.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including the "Bottled Water Under Scrutiny" in the July 13, 2009 issue, "Mad Science," by Robert Bruce Thompson in the July 13, 2009 issue, and "Dow Plans Algae Biofuels Pilot," by Melody Voith in the July 6, 2009 issue.

The article informs that the U.S. Department of Energy has given 13.4 million dollar funding to organizations seeking to convert biomass into useful materials which include American Process, and University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Vertimass.

The article presents the views of Douglas S. Clark, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, during a national meeting of the American Chemical Society held in San Francisco, California as of September 2014 on research related to thermophilic cellulases (TC) in the biofuel industry. It presents the comments of Robert Kelly, professor at the North Carolina State University, on issues of finding TC. It mentions that Clark and others discover a archaea species which produce TC.

The article reports that chemical companies BASF and DuPont have made equity investments in two U.S. industrial biotechnology start-ups focused on biomass-based feedstocks for chemicals and fuels. An overview of BASF's and DuPont's investment in cellulosic sugar company Renmatix and plant-breeding company NexSteppe, respectively, is presented.

The article discusses the advancement of the U.S. clean technology (cleantech) sector. The author cites advancements for both energy and photovoltaic projects, including loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the biomass-to-biofuel companies Coskata, Enerkem, and Ineos and the construction of a polysilicon factory in Cleveland, Tennessee by German-based chemical company Wacker Chemie, respectively.

The article discusses Dynamic Fuels, a partnership between renewable products company Solazyme, Tyson Foods, and synthetic fuel producer Syntroleum that will manufacture renewable biofuel for the U.S. Navy from used cooking grease and algal oils.

The article reports on the start of the construction of a biodiesels demonstration facility at the Tesoro refinery in Kapolei, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, by Honeywell's UOP subsidiary .

The article reports on a grant being offered to biofuel maker Ineos Bio from One North East and the British Department for Energy & Climate Change.

The article reports on the 564 million funds, from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009, to be received by the U.S. biorefining industry for their fuels and chemicals production projects. It notes that the goal of the U.S. government is for the industry to produce biofuels from nonedible agricultural sources. Several of the winning companies include Algenol Biofuels, ClearFuels Technology, and Archers Daniels Midland.

The article reports on the opening of second-generation ethanol plant by Biomass treatment specialist Inbicon in Kalundborg, Denmark. The said ethanol plant will supply ethanol as car fuels for the VIP guests who will attend the Global Climate Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark on Dec. 7-18. The facility utilizes the waste heat from a Dong Energy coal-fired power plant and Genencor's Accellerase enzymes to break down straw for fuel conversion which will produce 1.5 million gallons of ethanol a year.

The article reports on the partnership of ExxonMobil Corp. and Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI) of California to develop algae-derived biofuels. The two companies aim to develop genetically engineered photosynthetic algae that will produce a hydrocarbon that can be converted into fuels for existing cars through present oil refineries. The partnership of the two companies is a potential because of the success of SGI in engineering algae and ExxonMobil will finance the said project.

The article reports on the amount of funds raised by the Netherlands-based high-throughout research and development firm developing biofuels and novel drug crystal forms, Avantium in a private financing round. Four new venture capital firms have invested in Avantium including Eastman Chemical and Pfizer.

The article reports on the biofuels action plan released by the Bush Administration to speed up the development of sustainable biofuels industry. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman and Agriculture Secretary Edward T. Schafer said that the plan responds to the goal of U.S. President George W. Bush of reducing U.S. gasoline consumption by 20% over the next 10 years by investing in renewable and alternative fuel sources, increasing vehicle efficiency and developing alternative-fuel vehicles.

The article reports on the biofuel collaboration between Monsanto and Mendel Biotechnology. Monsanto will contribute expertise in testing, breeding and developing crops. Mendel will provide knowledge of the genes controlling plant growth and development. Monsanto is a financial investor in privately held Mendel.

The article reports that oil company Chevron Corp. and paper company Weyerhauser have formed a joint venture, called Catchlight Energy, which will focus on developing transportation fuels from renewable nonfood sources. Catchlight Energy will research and develop technology for converting cellulose-based biomass into low-carbon biofuels.

The article reports that ConocoPhillips and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) will collaborate to develop biocrude, a nonpetroleum substance derived from agricultural waste and forestry products that can be processed into transportation fuels in the U.S. ADM will provide biomass from crops, wood or switchgrass. ConocoPhillips will convert the materials into biocrude, which will then be refined into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

The article reports that enzyme producers Genencor and Novozymes have formed separate collaborations to pursue technology for producing ethanol from biomass. Genencor and Danish power company Dong Energy will construct a facility in Kalundborg, Denmark to produce ethanol from straw. Meanwhile, Novozymes has entered a research deal with Brazil-based Sugarcane Technology Center to develop ethanol from bagasse.

The article reports that British entrepreneur Richard Branson has made an undisclosed investment in Gevo, a Pasadena, California-based biofuels firm. Branson made the investment through Virgin Fuels, a $400 million fund he set up in 2006 to invest in renewable energy companies. Khosla Ventures also made investments in the financing round.

The article reports that oleochemical manufacturers are concerned over the impact of a federal tax incentive on the industry. Oleochemical executives claim that the oil tax break meant to encourage the production of renewable biofuels is having the unintended consequence of threatening the continued existence of the industry. Oleochemical manufacturers and small biodiesel refiners have partnered to stop oil companies from taking advantage of the tax break.

The article reports on the highlights of a symposium to create sustainable research collaborations for improving biomass conversion into fuels and value-added chemicals and materials, held in Aguas de Lindoia, Brazil from May 30 to 31, 2007. A report from the meeting will be used to inform funding agencies and policymakers in Brazil and the United States on future needs in biofuels research. Brazilian Chemical Society President Antonio S. Mangrich comments on the purpose of the symposium.

Reports that the European Union's issued directive on biomass-derived fuels is being hailed as an important boost for the ethanol market in Europe. Significant provisions of the directive; Plan of the Union to establish tax credits for ethanol producers; Implications of the high cost of producing ethanol fuels.