BRSI News Letter

1 Editor: Prof Ashok Pandey; Associate Editor: Dr Parmeswaran Binod

Dear members, XII Convention if BRSI: The XII Convention of the Society will be held as the International Conference on New Horizons in Biotechnology (NHBT-2015) at the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Trivandrum during November 22-25, 2015. Dr K Madhavan Nampoothiri ([email protected]) and Dr Rajeev Kumar Sukumaran ([email protected]), scientists at CSIR-NIIST are its Convener and Co-convener, respectively. Details about NHBT-2015 can be found at www.niist.res.in/nhbt2015/

The Scientific Programme of the conference would comprise Plenary and Invited lectures from the internationally acclaimed and eminent experts in different areas. There would be mini-symposia on thematic topics and also regular sessions on Industrial Biotechnology, Environmental Biotechnology, Food and Agricultural Biotechnology and Medical Biotechnology. During the conference, there would be four mini-symposia. Contributory papers would be presented as posters. There will be technical sessions comprising oral and poster presentations under the themes of:

Industrial Biotechnology

Environmental Biotechnology

Food & Agricultural Biotechnology

Biotechnology in Heath care and Medicine

Basic and Applied Molecular Biology

IMPORTANT NOTE: Only 450 delegates who register first will be accepted to attend the conference (irrespective of the acceptance of the abstracts)..

Important Dates

Starting date of submission of abstracts

01-06-15

Closing date of Submission of abstracts

31-08-15

Acceptance Notification 15-09-15

Registration at normal rate 15-10-15

Booking of Accommodation 15-10-15

Cancellation 31-10-15

Publication of papers presented in NHBT-2015: Papers presented in the conference will be published in special issues of three international journals, namely, Bioresource Technology, Renewable Energy and Biologia. Each registered delegate would be eligible to submit one manuscript (provided the work has been presented in the conference) for which the selection of the journal must be made in the registration form. All the manuscripts will be subjected to peer-review according to the norms of the journals.

Conferences, Symposia and Seminars 6

th International Conference on Analysis of Microbial

Cells at the Single Cell Level Retz, Austria 1922 July 2015. Details can be obtained from nicole.borth[at]boku.ac.at ICER15- International Conference on Advances in Energy Research, Incheon, Korea, August 23-26, 2015. Details can be found at http://anbre.cti3.com/anbre15.htm Biofuels 2015: International Congress and Expo on Biofuels & Bioenergy, Valencia, Spain, August 26-28, 2015. Details can be found at visit: http://biofuels-bioenergy.conferenceseries.net/index.php 8

th International Symposium on Feedstock Recycling

of Polymeric Materials, Montanuniversitt Leoben,

In this issue..

XII Convention of BRSI Important information Publications of papers presented in NHBT-2015

1

Conferences, Symposia and Seminars 1 New Board of Governors and Management Council for 2015-17

2

Call for BRSI Annual Awards 2 Obituary- Prof SB Chincholkar 3 BRSI Institutes SB Chincolkar Memorial Award

4

MNRE launches Young Scientist Awards 4 Members Forum 4 Units Forum 5 Biotech News and R&D round-up 6 Food Security and GM Crops 8 Renewable Energy and Environment 11 General Information about BRSI 21

News Letter Volume 12, No 2 [April 2015]

BRSI News Letter Vol. 12 (2) April 2015

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Austria, September 7-10, 2015. Details can be found at isfr.unileoben.ac.at CESE-2015: 8

th International Conference on Challenges in

Environmental Science and Engineering, Sydney, Australia, September 28-October21, 2015. Details can be found at http://cese-conference.org/ IBSCE-2015:: The International Bioenergy (Shanghai) Exhibition and Asian Bioenergy Conference 2015; Shanghai, China, October 21-23, 2015. Details can be found at www.ibsce.com 3

rd Iberoamerican Congress on Biorefineries (CIAB),

4th Latin American Congress on Biorefineries and 2nd International Symposium on Lignocellulosic Materials, Concepcin, Chile, November 23-25, 2015. Details can be found at www.riadicyp.org/. World Bioeconomy Summit 2015, Berlin Congress Center (BCC), Germany, November 25-26, 2015. Details can be found at www.biooekonomierat.de 6

th World Congress on Biotechnology, HICC,

Hyderabad, India, November 30-December 2, 2015. Details can be found at www.biotechnologycongress.com/ World Congress on 'Symbiosis', Amity University, Noida, India; October 19-21, 2016,. Details can be obtained from Dr Ajit Verma [email protected]

New Board of Governors and Management Council of the Society (2015-2017)

Following the elections for the Board of Governors and management Council for 2015-2017 (two years tenure), new Board and Council have been constituted as below. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Board of Governors

President: Prof Datta Madamwar, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar

Vice-President: Dr S Venkata Mohan, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad

Members:

Dr Thallada Bhaskar, Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun

Prof Ram Chandra, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow

Prof Vinod Kumar Garg, Guru Jambeshwar University, Hisar

Prof Sanjay P Govindwar, Shivaji University, Kolhapur

Prof P Gunasekaran, Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore

Prof Balasaheb P Kapadnis, Pune University, Pune

Prof Smita S Lele, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai

Prof Ashok Pandey, CSIR-National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Trivandrum

Prof Ram Sarup Singh, Punjabi University, Patiala

Prof Indu Shekhar Thakur, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Prof Jyoti Prakash Tamang, Sikkim University, Sikkim

Management Council

President: Prof Datta Madamwar, Sardar Patel University,

Vallabh Vidyanagar

Vice-President: Dr S Venkata Mohan, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad

General Secretary: Prof Sunil Kumar Khare, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi,

Treasurer: Dr K Madhavan Nampoothiri, CSIR-National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Trivandrum

Members:

Dr G Baskar, St. Joseph`s College of Engineering, Chennai

Dr R Praveen Kumar, Arunai Engineering College, Tiruvannamalai

Dr Parmjit S Panesar, SL Institute of Engineering & Technology, Longowal

Prof Kamal Kishore Pant, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi

Dr Ruipam Katki, Tezpur University, Tezpur

Call for BRSI Annual Awards

for 2014 and Fellows for 2015

The Biotech Research Society, India [BRSI- www.brsi.in] is a registered non-

profit society established with the aim to promote R&D in biotechnology, bring

interaction between academic institutes and biotech industries, interact with industries and help them in resolving their problems as well make them aware

with the new developments in biotech sector, provide and arrange training in

biotechnology, dissemination of biotech knowledge through the organization of lectures, seminars and symposia on scientific programs and societal missions.

BRSI confers awards under various categories to encourage and suitably rewards

its members for their scientific contributions for the work carried out in the country. Nominations are invited for the following BRSI Annual Awards and

election of Fellows:

1. Young Scientist Award: Members of BRSI of 35 years or

below as on 31st December 2014 involved in Biotech R&D for

his/her outstanding contributions would be eligible. Award carries a silver medal, certificate, citation and memento. 2. Woman Scientist Award: Women members of BRSI below

the age of 45 years as on 31st December 2014 involved in

Biotech R&D for her outstanding contributions would be eligible. Award carries a silver medal, certificate, citation and memento. 3. Life Time Achievement Award: Members of BRSI above the

age of 55 years as on 31st December 2014 involved in Biotech

R&D for his/her life time contribution to the field of Biotechnology would be eligible. Award carries a silver medal, certificate, citation and memento. 4. Industrial Medal Award: Members of BRSI involved in

Biotech R&D for his/her outstanding contribution, which has resulted in commercialization of a product/process. Award carries a silver medal, certificate, citation and memento. 5. Fellow of BRSI: Eminent members of BRSI having long-

standing and significant contribution to the field working in various areas of biotechnology shall be considered to be elected as Fellow of BRSI (FBRS). 6. Honorary Fellow of BRSI: Eminent persons who have

rendered distinguished service to the nation in Biotechnology shall be considered to be conferred as Honorary Fellow of BRSI. Award carries a citation and a memento. Nomination can be made by the members of the Board of BRSI. For this, the nominee may or may not be member of BRSI. 7. AU-CBT Excellence Awards for Research Scholars (Two

awards): Members of BRSI registered for PhD studies in any Indian university/institute below the age of 30 years as on 31

st

December 2014 involved in Biotech R&D for his/her outstanding performance. Award carries a citation and cash award of Rs. 5000 for each. 8. SBC-MKU Genomics Award: Members of BRSI below the

age of 40 years as on 31st December 2014 involved in R&D in

BRSI News Letter Vol. 12(2) April 2015

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the area of Genomics Sciences for his/her outstanding contribution. Award carries a silver medal, certificate, citation and memento. 9. Malaviya Memorial Awards for Teaching Faculties (Two

awards one for Young Faculty below the age of 40 years and one for the Senior Faculty above the age of 40 years as on 31

st

December 2014): Members of BRSI working as teachers involved in Biotech R&D for his/her outstanding contribution. Award carries a silver medal, certificate, citation and memento. General terms and conditions:

1. Nominee should be a BRSI member on at least one year standing (should have joined on or before 1

st August 2014).

2. A person getting an award in any of the categories will not be eligible to apply for next two years for any other award.

3. Age certificate (copy of passport, X class school certificate or birth certificate) is required as the proof of age.

4. The work for which nomination is made must have been carried out in India (except for Overseas Fellow award).

5. Each nomination must be proposed and seconded by two persons, out of whom at least one should be Fellow or Life member of BRSI.

6. For AU-CBT Excellence Awards for Research Scholars, the nominee should be a full-time registered scholar working in India (part-time researchers and persons working under FIP/QIP are not eligible). Those who have submitted the thesis would also not be eligible. Status certificate from the Head of Institute/HOD of University department of current date required.

7. Malaviya Memorial Awards are meant only for the teaching faculties for their R&D contributions. Members from the R&D institute involved in research on full-time basis are not eligible for this.

8. The criteria for the awards are performance based on publications/impact factors/citations/patents/technology transfers, etc.

9. The evaluation sheet must be filled properly and for each point, numbered flagged documentary proof must be provided, failing which the claim of points would not be considered.

10. Nomination form can be obtained from the homepage of the Society at www.brsi.in

11. Last date to receive the nominations is July 31, 2015. 12. Incomplete applications will be rejected without any

communication to the nominee. 13. Among the applicants, only the award winners will be notified in

the second week of October 2015.

Application complete in all respects (one printed copies + a soft copy of

entire application BUT WITHOUT SCORESHEET as a single folder on

CD) should be sent to Dr P Binod, Central Office-BRSI, National Institute

for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, CSIR, Trivandrum-695 019.

Incomplete applications or those without supporting

documents as mentioned in the Score Sheet and

those without numbered flags in hard copy would be

rejected without any further notice.

Obituary

Professor Sudhir B Chincholkar

23rd September 1959 - 7th January 2015

It is with deepest sorrow and profound grief we inform you the sad demise of Professor Sudhir B Chincholkar

on 7th

January 2015 at Jalgaon. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Prof Chincholkar has been a Founding Governor of the Society and has been a great support for the Society since its establishment. We pray to Almighty to give peace to the Resting Soul and strength to family members and friends to bear this hardest moment of life.

Prof. Chincholkar obtained BSc and MSc in Microbiology from Govt. College of Arts & Science and Govt. Institute of Science, Aurangabad, respectively. He obtained Ph.D. in Microbiology from Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms (IBPhM), then USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. was engaged in teaching Microbiology since last 25 years at the North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, India. He shouldered many responsibilities such as acting Vice Chancellor; Dean, Faculty of Science, Professor and Head, Department of Microbiology and Director, School of Life Sciences and also as Director, Board of Colleges and University Development (BCUD) at North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon. He was UNESCO Fellow at the Louis Pasteur University, Strasbourg, France in 1997 to work on Microbial siderophores with Prof Jean-Marie Meyer. During 2006, he was visiting Professor at the Blaise Pascal University, Clermont, France. Prof. Chincholkar had completed many major projects in the capacity of Principal Investigator sponsored by DBT, UGC, DST, AICTE & ICAR (Government of India). He was also co-ordinator of UGC-SAP-DRS as well as DST-FIST programs (Level-I). He was invited speaker at number of National and International conferences held in India, England, Germany, Greece, Holland, Belgium, France and Bulgaria. In August 2001, he was honored as organizer and Chairman of Round-Table session on Biocontrol agents in an International Symposium on Microbial Ecology held at Amsterdam, Netherlands. His areas of research interest included Steroid and Antibiotic Bio-transformations, Biological control of Plant Diseases, PGPR and Microbial siderophores, Microbial Phenazines. HE WAS THE CONVENOR OF THE FIRST BRSI CONVENTION IN 2004. To his credit, he has more than one hundred national and international publications and seven Indian patents (3 granted and 4 filed). Under his guidance, 25 students obtained Ph. D. degree in Microbiology and Biotechnology. He was the main editor of three books published in 2007 on Biological control published by Haworth Press, USA, Microbial Siderophores and Microbial Phenazines published by Springer, Germany. He was Guest editor of Indian Journal of Biotechnology for a special volume (2005). He was honoured with Government of Maharashtras BEST TEACHER AWARD for the year 2002-


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2003. He was elected as Fellow of Biotech Research Society, India in 2005.. He was also recipient of Scroll of Honour award for his contribution in Life Sciences. In addition, he was co-opted as a Member of Scientific Advisory Board of Amity Institute of Herbal and Microbial Technology, Noida, New Delhi and Ferguson college, Pune. He also worked as an expert on Rajiv Gandhi Sci. & Tech. Commission of Maharashtra State Government.

BRSI institutes Memorial Award in honour of

Late Professor Sudhir B Chincholkar

The Society is privileged to institute a memorial award in honour of Late Professor Sudhir B Chincholkar. In this regard, an endowment fund has been created with the participation of the following members (Fellows) of the Society, along with the support of North Maharashtra University Unit, Jalgaon of the Society. The members have been extremely supportive of the idea to create the memorial award and have generously provided financial contribution as shown against their names below (the details of contribution ,made as on 31

st March 2015):

1. Prof Ashok Pandey. CSIR- National Institute for

Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Trivandrum- Rs 12,000

2. Prof Rintu Banerjee, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur: Rs 11,000

3. Prof Arun Goyal, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati: Rs 11,000

4. Dr G Baskar. St Josephs College, Chennai: Rs 10,000

5. Dr T Bhaskar, CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun: Rs 10,000

6. Prof Ram Chandra, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicological Research, Lucknow: Rs 10,000

7. Prof D Das, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur: Rs 10,000

8. Prof Vinod K Garg, GJ Agricultural University, Hisar: Rs 10,000

9. Prof Sanjay P Govindwar, Shivaji University, Kolhapur: Rs 10,000

10. Prof P Gunasekaran, Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore: Rs 10,000

11. Prof Sunil K Khare, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi: Rs 10,000

12. Prof Smita S Lele, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai: Rs 10,000

13. Prof Datta Madamwar, SP University, Vallabh Vidyanagar: Rs 10,000

14. Prof Krishna Mishra, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad: Rs 10,000

15. Prof Saroj Mishra, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi: Rs 10,000

16. Dr S Venkata Mohan, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad: Rs 10,000

17. Dr K Madhavan Nampoothiri, CSIR- CSIR- National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and

Technology, Trivandrum-Rs 10,000 18. Prof Parmjit S Panesar, Sant Longowal

University, : Rs 10,000 19. Dr R Praveenkumar, Arunai Engineering College,

Thiruanamalai: Rs 10,000 20. Prof LV Rao, Osmanai University, Hyderabad: Rs

10,000 21. Prof Gopal Reddy, Osmania University,

Hyderabad: Rs 10,000 22. Prof Ram Sarup Singh, Punjabi University,

Patiala: Rs 10,000 23. Prof Rekha Singhal, Institute of Chemical

Technology, Mumbai: Rs 10,000 24. Prof Indu S Thakur, Jawaharlal Nehru University,

New Delhi: Rs 10,000 25. Prof Siddha Nath Upadhyay, Banaras Hindu

University, Varanasi: Rs 10,000 26. Prof BP Kapadnis, University of Pune, Pune- Rs

5000 27. Dr Durg V Singh, Institute of Life Sciences,

Bhubaneswar- Rs 5000 North Marashtra University, Jalgaon Unit has contributed an amount of Rs 81,500 collectively from its members, thanks to the efforts made by Dr Bhushan Chaudhari and and Dr Ketan Narkhede along with the support from Dr Navin Dandi and other office bearers of the Unit. The Society humbly and gratefully acknowledges the support and contribution made by these members, which will be remembered always with glory in the history of the Society..

MNRE New and Renewable Energy Young Scientist Award

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has taken an initiative to launch a scheme for "New and Renewable Energy Young Scientist Award ". The objective of the proposed scheme is to encourage young scientists of age not more than 35 years to make outstanding achievements in research and development for technology development in new and renewable energy. Details can be found at the MNRE website.

Members Forum


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Dr P Binod, Scientist, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Trivandrum has been conferred Young Scientist Award by the State Council of Science, Technology and Environment, Govt of Kerala. Prof Vikash Kumar Dubey, IIT Guwahati has been selected for Dr. P.N. Raju Oration Award 2012 by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for his work on infectious disease, Leishmaniasis.

Dr. Dev Mani Pandey, Associate Professor, Department of Bioengineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, India; Life Member as well as Secretary, BRSI Unit BIT Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand received Young Scientist Award in Indian Genetics Congress-2015 organized by Department of Genetic Engineering, SRM University, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India from March 04-06, 2015.

Dr Abhilashs paper on Microbial processing of apatite rich low grade Indian uranium ore in bioreactor' published in Bioresource Technology, 128, 2013 authored by Abhilash and BD Singh has been awarded the best paper in Electro, Bio & Hydrometallurgy' for the year 2014 by Indian Institute of Minerals Engineers, India. Dr Abhilash has published aook on Microbiology for Minerals, Metals, Materials and the Environment, edited by Abhilash, B. D. Pandey, and K. A. Natarajan.

This book disseminates the interdisciplinary relationship, some explored and some yet to be, among microbiology and the inorganic world. It studies the genesis of microbiology in the metal world, the various physiological

aspects behind their existence in such a turgid environment, their applications in the mineral sector, metal extraction, and material synthesis. A major part of this book emphasizes the importance of microbes in environmental remediation in the mining industries from core deep ground sample processing to utilization of discarded raw materials, and synthesizing products. Details can be found at http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781482257298 Our hearty congratulations to the members for their achievements!

Units Forum

A Report on 2

nd International Conference on

Bioenergy, Environment and Sustainable Technologies BEST2015

The Arunai Engineering College had organized the 2nd

International Conference on Bioenergy, Environment and Sustainable Technologies BEST2015 during January 28-31, 2015, jointly with BRSI. The conference was sponsored by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. The conference was sponsored by International Forum on Industrial Bioprocess (IFBiop) and Indian Biomass Association (IBA). About 155 papers were presented in 23 sessions by the students, researchers and experts from 70 different institutions around the world. Apart from this, 10 invited lectures by experts were delivered, which kept the momentum of the conference. Also, 30 posters were displayed in the poster session arranged on the 3

rd day of the conference.

Based on the works presented in the conference, four special issues of different journals, viz. International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy, International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, Management Environment Quality and Biofuels are being published. Apart from this, Waste Management Research journal has accepted to consider selected high quality papers to publish in their regular issue. The Inauguration of the conference was held at the Arunai


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Engineering College auditorium on 28th January at

02.00PM. Prof. In Seop Chang, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea and Prof Jin Suk-Lee, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Korea delivered the inaugural address. Prof Ashok Pandey, CSIR-NIIST, Trivandrum delivered the key note address. Prof. Praveen Kumar, Organizing Chairman of BEST2015 welcomed the gathering, Prof. S. Regupathi felicitated.

The 2

nd day of the conference was started with the invited

lecture of Prof Jin-Suk Lee on the topic Status and perspectives on transport biofuels in Korea which was followed by the parallel paper presentation sessions. The day ended with the invited lecture of by Dr. R. K. Trivedi, Editor, AJMBES on the topic Low Cost, Energy saving and sustainable Technologies for wastewater treatment. On the 3

rd day started with the lecture of Dr. Thallada

Bhaskar, Indian Institute of Petroleum Technology on Thermo-catalytic methods for the production of fuels and chemicals which was followed by parallel paper presentation sessions. The poster presentation sessions were held parallel on the 3

rd day. Another two invited talks

were arranged on the same day one by Dr.S.Venkata Mohan, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) on Waste to Value-addition: Transition Towards Sustainable Biorefinery and another by Dr V Sivasubramanian, Phycospectrum Environmental Research Centre, Chennai on Micro algal technology can provide an effective solution to manage industrial wastes and flue gas mitigation. The 4

th day started with the invited lecture by Dr. Sangeeta

Negi, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad on Enzyme Technology: Breakthrough in Biofuels Production which was followed by the parallel paper presentation sessions. The technical sessions of the conference came to an end with the invited lecture of Dr. Senthil Chinnasamy, Chief Technology Officer, Aban Infrastructure Pvt Ltd on the topic Algae to Green Fuels: Opportunities and Challenges which demonstrated the industrial prospects of bioenergy. The four-days program came to an end with the valedictory function which was presided over by Prof. Ashok Pandey,

Prof. In Seop Chang, Dr. Thallada Bhaskar, Dr.S.Venkata Mohan, Dr V Sivasubramanian, Dr. Sangeeta Negi Bora and Dr. Senthil Chinnasamy. Dr. V. Ramanathan, Principal, Arunai Engineering College presented a consolidated report on BEST2015.

Out of 155 papers presented, 14 papers were selected as Best Papers and citations were presented to the presenting authors. Prof. Praveen Kumar, Organizing Chairman of BEST2015 proposed the vote of thanks with a note that the 3

rd International Conference on Bioenergy,

Environment and Sustainable Technologies will be held in Arunai Engineering College during the last week of January 2017. The event ended with a group photo session.

Biotech News and R&D Round-up

Carbon Dioxide, an important by-product of fermentation: Food industry applications and usage: This article on CO2 usage in the food industry is one in a series for the applications which are predominant and important in the carbon dioxide industry. This subject is particularly interesting to the US Corn Belt region, which contains some of the nations greatest region for food processing in the form of beef pork and poultry processing, also the US southeast and south central region is the nations largest region for poultry processing. Much of the ethanol industry is concentrated in the nations regions which are also the regions which are the largest for much of the meat processing at large. Such regions hold low merchant prices for CO2, as well as abundant supply of CO2 to the merchant market. Additionally, many more ethanol plants are venting CO2 to the atmosphere than those which recover for the markets. The food industry is a major consumer of CO2 worldwide, and accounts for some 40% of merchant CO2 consumption domestically. Over the decades, the food industry has consumed huge sums of CO2 for short to long term refrigeration requirements in many world markets. CO2 will always


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remain a viable refrigerant with added value as a minor anaerobic agent, which may have further value in food preservation applications. Some processors use CO2 for a long term, in a full range of applications in their processing plants, from IQF (individually quick frozen) applications, to use in grinding and commercial packaging with CO2 snow; to use as a gas flush agent in final consumer level packaging of food products. When speaking of freezing in cryogenic environments v. mechanical refrigeration, cryogenic freezing has often been promoted on the basis of rapid temperature reduction, thus saving time, which represents economic savings; plus the further advantages in improved appearance, texture, and weight yield. This means a greater retention of water in the cryogenic freezing process v. mechanical freezing, and less damage to the food product on a cellular level. Some feel that the ice crystal within the cellular structure penetrates the cell wall less often when freezing rapidly v. over a longer and warmer mechanical environment; thus a greater weight yield, less fluid loss, as well as a better appearance. The appearance of a meat product, for example, can have a much improved appearance via cryogenic freezing over mechanical. All of this represents a number of advantages which cannot be demonstrated under the guise of mechanical refrigeration. CO2 Applications in Food Processing IQF applications have probably represented the greatest amount of overall tonnage in CO2 sales from the greater food processing sector. Liquid storage is on site at the customers plant, and CO2 is piped to the freezer, or freezers, plus other points of application for ready use. The cryogenic freezers were once the full domain of the major gas companies during the decades past. In the United States, for example, these companies were the only source of cryogenic equipment technology, other than used options. Into the 1980s independent cryogenic equipment manufacturers came to be, which could then supply the customer directly, or supply the independent CO2 firms as well, with such technology. Cryogenic freezing technology is tried and true, with some nuances offered now and then over the years, which claim to offer more efficient use of the CO2 product, and achieve better results with specific valves, controls, and application equipment for CO2. The end result, however, with the often subtle approach to improvements has been negligible. Any cryogen can only yield a certain amount of refrigeration value, and despite proprietary changes in the freezers, the end result is essentially the same. This is not a negative, statement, since, cryogenic technologies in the food industry offer an improved environment for true efficiency gain, via less time for refrigeration or freezing in a cryogenic machine v. a

mechanical freezer, as well as often proven enhanced moisture retention for a food item, as well as improved appearance. The cryogenic application occurs via a wide form of freezers, using a linear, multiple pass, or spiral configuration, where liquid CO2 is delivered from bulk storage on site via insulated (usually type K copper) pipelines, using working pressure from the storage vessels to deliver the liquid to the freezers. The freezer delivers a range of fine snow to vapor which often operate at temperatures of about -60degrees F. The goal is to lower the temperature of a food product, with a set residence time in the freezer, delivering a frozen product in a fraction of time of what mechanical refrigeration units can yield. The majority of IQF applications have historically been dedicated to freezing applications or temperature reduction applications in meat processing, v. processing other food products. The more expensive sector of the food industry has often been meat, which has been the major product frozen over the years past; however, more expensive entrees, and specialty frozen products also are good candidates for cryogenic freezing today, items with a good profit margin. The most inexpensive food products are not good candidates for cryogenic technology; this would be products such as tortillas. When calculating the need for a specific quantity of a cryogen, much data is well published and proven for residence time requirements within the freezers, average freezing point of the food product, % water content in a food product, and the definitions used in heat removal and freezing applications. Please see insert number one for a typical refrigeration and freezing calculation. These values are essential to properly size a freezer, as well as understand residence time, CO2 usage, and exhaust requirements from the freezer. Exhaust of spent gases have been considered in the past for reuse, that being recovery and liquefaction, however, the gas concerns are in the market to sell gas, not recycle spent gases. There are many scale of economics and technical challenges which would make this practical. On the other hand, when thinking about this subject, in todays emissions reduction light, this is rather daunting. During my work in the merchant gas trade, I know this subject was broached, but not developed further. CO2 Snow or powdered dry ice is often an application alongside IQF applications for CO2 in settings, such as an operation which would grind meat into hamburger (thus using CO2 snow for temperature reduction); followed by an IQF application of a formed hamburger or other meat item. CO2 snow is included in liquid sales, when accounted for, if it is generated from a bulk, liquid storage tank in the customers plant setting; therefore it is an extension of liquid sales, v. product sold as dry ice alone. CO2 snow is essentially liquid CO2 flashed into solid CO2 upon entering atmospheric pressure, through a valve, from higher pressure piping, hoses, or storage containers which


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often have working pressures from 200 to 300 psig . CO2 snow is often used in grinding applications of meat or other food products, while the CO2 snow, as a solid refrigerant will sublimate and the added anaerobic effect against certain bacteria are features which LIN (liquid nitrogen) cannot be used as an effective substitute. CO2 snow is also produced and consumed in large meat and poultry packing houses for packing bulk meat products which are shipped; such as whole poultry or beef. CO2 snow, in such settings, can be applied via automated conveyor fed systems, or via manually opening valves and applying into a container. The application for snow may account for 20% of the product sold in the food industry, as a form of CO2, when applied in the markets. CO2 Gas Flush or gas purge applications in the food industry are an extension of liquid sales to the customer, and when accounted for by the supplier, when generated from bulk or micro bulk stations on the customers site. The CO2 gas flush can often be supplied from sublimated gases off the top of a bulk storage tank, or if heavy, may require a vaporizer for such applications. Gas flush applications can typically be found in packaged cheese operations, for example. The atmosphere within the cheese or food package is removed in favor of CO2, or a gas mixture, which can include oxygen or nitrogen, for example. This gas flush is probably less than 10% of the food industry sales; however, important in the food applications sector. Depending upon the goal sought, the end result is preservation, creating an anaerobic environment, or retaining a modified (packaged) atmosphere. Dry Ice which is little more than formed, extruded, or compressed CO2 snow. Today most food related dry ice is sold as a pelletized or so-called rice form. The rice form is otherwise a 1/8 size, reduced size in pellet. The rice form has gained worldwide acceptance over larger pelletized dry ice, for example. The smaller rice style dry ice would pack readily into boxes along with food product, and would blend in readily over larger dry ice product; however, is usually priced higher than the larger CO2 dry ice pellet. Today, there is probably a net growth in dry ice rice style sales v. other forms of dry ice, due to more acceptance and ease of application in the food industry and beyond. Summary- The food industry has been extremely resilient, as the single major sector of the overall industry. However in a few regions, the food processing market is sometimes dwarfed by specific oil and gas producing regions for CO2 sales as a gas well stimulation agent. On the other hand, over the decades, the food sector has proven to be perhaps the most resilient form of sales of carbon dioxide; and the most interesting with respect to developing applications. Often a small food processing operation has only sufficient capital to start a freezing operation via cryogenic freezing, v. mechanical, due to a huge difference in capital cost on the front end.

Over time, such a freezing operation may convert to mechanical refrigeration due to a substantial increase in size, if sufficient capital is available. Often such operations bring on additional processing lines or plants, which can use cryogenic technology to augment the mechanical refrigeration process (pre or post cooling); or in a blending or grinding line, CO2 snow may be the only choice, for example, representing a unique application in such a large plant. In the end, I have noticed that over the years, in order to sustain a significant business model in the merchant CO2 trade, food processing is a major component in the mix, and this has also been one of the most resilient and versatile forms of CO2 sales available to the gas concerns. About the Author Sam A. Rushing, a chemist, is president of Advanced Cryogenics, Ltd., a CO2 consulting organization in business for almost 2 decades; which supplies all forms of CO2 consulting expertise to all sources of CO2 and projects surrounding the commodity, on a global basis.www.carbondioxideconsultants.com P.O. Box 419,

Tavernier, FL 33070 USA, Tel 305 852 2597, [email protected]. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/01/19/carbon-dioxide-an-important-by-product-of-fermentation-food-industry-applications-and-usage/ January 18

Food Security and GM Crops

Agriculture Minister Endorses GM Crops for Food Security: Union Agriculture Minister Mr. Radha Mohan Singh expressed his support for genetically modified (GM) crops, saying that technologically enhanced seeds could help India achieve its food security target. Mr. Singh believes that GM cropshold great promise in reducing crop productivity losses due to flood and drought. Speaking during the inauguration of India Seed Congress 2015 held at Agra, Mr. Singh said "While agriculture feeds the nation, seeds feed agriculture. Bt Cotton in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has clearly demonstrated what these new technologies can do to boost farmer incomes." He pointed out that agri-income could rise further when technologies like herbicide tolerance, drought tolerance,nitrogen use efficiency, nutrition enhancement would be introduced commercially in India. "Losses that occur due to droughts, floods, salinity, biotic and other abiotic stresses also need to be eliminated decisively through the adoption of appropriate technologies. In this context, genetic engineering holds great promise, increase farmers' incomes and quality food supply to consumers at affordable prices; and substantially increase productivity leading to greater farmer incomes and farmer well-being, he said. In his speech at the Seed Congress, the Minister also emphasized that the superior genetics in seed combined with improved agronomic traits shall be the key strategy for


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breaking the yield barriers. He said that the private seed industry has significantly contributed and successfully complemented public sector efforts. The Government shall therefore support public-private partnership initiatives for the development of the sector, he said. He also stressed that appropriate policy support for seed improvements through conventional and biotech methods, in combination with improved agronomic practices, would greatly help ensure food and nutritional security of the country. Source: Crop Biotech Update February 18 First Genetically Modified Apple Approved for Sale in US: The United States Department of Agriculture last week approved the first genetically modified (GM) apple for sale in the U.S., saying it was being approved because it did not pose a risk to other plants or agricultural products. The apple, dubbed the Arctic apple, resists browning when cut open or sliced. According to Neal Carter, the co-founder of Canada-based Okanagan Speciality Fruits, Inc,. which developed the apple, We really know that getting the consumer to buy in to the product and the technology has to be the priority. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration still has to determine if the apple is safe to eat, but the review is voluntary and approval is not required for the company to move forward. The apples non-browning trait works by shutting off an enzyme that initiates the browning process. Apple farmers are worried the Arctic apple could scare off consumers who cant distinguish between GM and conventionally grown varieties. Consumer and environmental groups worry the apple could present unknown risks to human health. There is no place in the U.S. or global market for genetically engineered apples, said Lisa Archer, a director at Friends of the Earth. Farmers dont want to grow it, food companies dont want to sell it and consumers dont want to eat it. Okanagan said its apple could be available for consumers as early as 2017, but will take several years for there to be any significant production. Source: Food Security and AgBiotech News February 17/The Wall Street Journal (13 Feb 2015)

Biotech Crops Show Continued Growth, Benefits in 2014, Global Plantings Increase by 6 Million Hectares: The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) has released its latest report on the global status of commercialized biotech crops, finding that a record 181.5 million hectares of biotech crops were grown globally in 2014, an increase of more than six million hectares over the previous year. The total number of countries growing biotech rose to 28, with the addition of Bangladesh in 2014. According to the report, the 20 developing countries and eight industrial countries where biotech crops are produced represents more than 60 percent of the worlds population. The accumulated hectarage of biotech crops grown in 1996 to 2014 equals, roughly, 80 percent more than the total land mass of China, said Clive James, ISAAA Founder and report author. Global hectarage has increased more than 100-fold since the first plantings of biotech crops. Overall, the United States continues to lead production, with 73.1

million hectares. The report highlights key benefits of biotechnology, noting that for the period 1996 to 2013, biotech crops increased production valued at US$133 billion. In roughly the same period, pesticide use decreased significantly. In 2013, the report adds, crop plantings lowered carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to removing 12.4 million cars from the road for one year. The report highlights Bangladeshs approval of Bt brinjal/eggplant. The timely approval and commercialization of Bt brinjal in Bangladesh speaks to the power of political will and support from the government, said James. This lays the foundation as a model of success for other small, poor countries to quickly introduce the benefits of biotech crops. The report also addresses the status of biotech crops in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The full report is available for purchase on the ISAAA website. Source: Food Security and AgBiotech News January 28/ISAAA (28 Jan 2015)

Biotech Crops Show Continued Growth, Benefits in 2014; Global Plantings Increase by 6 Million Hectare: Eggplant and Potato Approvals Address Consumer Concerns: In 2014, a record 181.5 million hectares of biotech crops were grown globally, an increase of more than six million hectares from 2013, according to a report released today by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA). With the addition of Bangladesh, a total of 28 countries grew biotech crops during the year. The 20 developing and eight industrial countries where biotech crops are produced represent more than 60 percent of the worlds population. The accumulated hectarage of biotech crops grown in 1996 to 2014 equals, roughly, 80 percent more than the total land mass of China, said Clive James, ISAAA Founder and report author. Global hectarage has increased more than 100-fold since the first plantings of biotech crops.

Since 1996, more than 10 food and fiber biotech crops have been approved and commercialized around the world. These range from major commodities such as maize, soybean and cotton, to fruits and vegetables like papaya, eggplant and, most recently, potato. The traits of these crops address common issues affecting crop benefits to the consumer and production rates for farmers, including drought tolerance, insect and disease resistance, herbicide tolerance and increased nutrition and food quality. Biotech crops contribute to more sustainable crop production systems and provide resilient responses to the challenges of climate change.

According to the report, the United States continues to lead production at 73.1 million hectares. Up 3 million hectares a growth rate of 4 percent from 2013, the United States recorded the highest year-over-year increase, surpassing Brazil, which has recorded the highest annual increase for the past five years. The report also highlighted key benefits of biotechnology, including alleviation of poverty and hunger by boosting the income of risk-averse small, resource-poor farmers around the world.


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Latest global provisional information for the period 1996 to 2013 shows that biotech crops increased production valued at US$133 billion; in the period 1996 to 2012 pesticide use decreased significantly saving approximately 500 million kg of active ingredient. In 2013 alone, crop plantings lowered carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to removing 12.4 million cars from the road for one year. These findings are consistent with a rigorous meta-analysis, conducted by German economists, Klumper and Qaim (2014), which concluded that GM technology has, on average, reduced chemical pesticide use 37 percent, increased crop yields 22 percent, and increased farmer profits 68 percent during the 20 year period of 1995 to 2014. Bangladesh: a model for success- One of the smallest and poverty-stricken countries in the world, Bangladesh approved Bt brinjal/eggplant in October 2013. Less than 100 days post-approval commercialization began in January 2014 when 120 farmers planted 12 hectares of the crop throughout the year. Bt brinjal/eggplant not only brings financial opportunity to poor farmers in the country, but also drastically decreases farmer exposure to pesticides on the food crop by 70 to 90 percent. The timely approval and commercialization of Bt brinjal in Bangladesh speaks to the power of political will and support from the government, said James. This lays the foundation as a model of success for other small, poor countries to quickly introduce the benefits of biotech crops. The case of Bangladesh in 2014 reconfirms the value and success of public-private partnerships. The Bt biotech trait for brinjal one of the most nutritious and important vegetables in Bangladesh was donated by Mahyco, an Indian company. Public-private partnerships continue to increase the probability of timely delivery of approved biotech crops at the farm level, James said. They will remain essential in the years to come. The Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) Project is another example of a public-private partnership at work. Beginning in 2017, select African countries are scheduled to receive the first biotech drought tolerant maize, a food staple depended on by more than 300 million poor Africans. The donated biotechnology trait is the same as the DroughtGard variety used in the United States, which increased 5.5-fold in planted hectares from 2013 to 2014. This demonstrates strong farmer acceptance of the biotech drought tolerant maize. New approvals address consumer concerns- In the United States, approval of the Innate potato was granted in November 2014. The Innate potato decreases production of acrylamide, a potential carcinogen, when potatoes are cooked at high temperatures. Furthermore, it increases consumer satisfaction while precluding up to 40 percent yield loss as the potato will not discolor when peeled and has fewer bruising spots. These attributes will have meaningful impact on food security as food waste

continues as an important factor in the discussion of feeding 9.6 billion people in 2050 and approximately 11 billion in 2100. Potatoes represent the fourth most important food staple in the world. As such, a continuous effort is being made to improve the potato and combat losses due to diseases, insects and weeds, and other constraints. Biotech-based control of the fungal disease late-blight, the most important disease of potatoes in the world, is already being field-tested in Bangladesh, India and Indonesia. Late-blight caused the 1845 Irish famine, which resulted in 1 million deaths. Biotech control of virus diseases and the Colorado beetle, the most important insect pest, are already available, but not deployed. Status of biotech crops in Asia- In Asia, China and India continue to lead developing countries growing biotech crops at 3.9 million hectares and 11.6 million hectares planted in 2014, respectively. The adoption rate of biotech cotton in China increased from 90 to 93 percent in 2014, while virus resistant papaya plantings increased approximately 50 percent. More than 7 million small farmers in the country continue to benefit from biotech crops and the latest economic data available indicates farmers in the country have gained US$16.2 billion since the introduction of biotech in 1996. According to the report, India cultivated a record 11.6 million hectares of Bt cotton with an adoption rate of 95 percent. British economists Brookes and Barfoot estimate that India enhanced farm income from Bt cotton by US$ 2.1 billion in 2013 alone. Developing countries Vietnam and Indonesia granted approval for commercialization of biotech crops to begin in 2015. This includes several hybrids of biotech maize for importing and planting in Vietnam and drought tolerant sugarcane for planting as a food crop in Indonesia. Growth continues in Africa and Latin America- Having cultivated 2.7 million hectares in 2014, South Africa ranks as the leading developing country to grow biotech crops in Africa. Sudan increased Bt cotton hectarage by approximately 50 percent in 2014 and several African countries including Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda conducted field trials on several pro-poor crops including the food crops rice, maize, wheat, sorghum, bananas, cassava and sweet potato. These crops can contribute to resilience and sustainability in the face of new climate change challenges. In Latin America, Brazil ranked second, behind only the United States, for biotech crops planted in 2014. At 42.2 million hectares, this represents an increase of 5 percent from 2013. Biotech crops impact food security, sustainability and the environment - From 1996 to 2013, biotech crops have increased crop production valued provisionally at $US133 billion; helped alleviate poverty for more than 16.5 million small farmers and their families more than 65 million people, collectively some of the poorest people in the world; and decreased the environmental impact of food


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and fiber production by reducing pesticide use, increasing land savings and reducing CO2 emissions. According to Brooks and Barfoot, had the additional 441 million tons of food, feed and fiber produced by biotech crops from 1996 to 2013 not been produced, an additional132 million hectares of conventional crops would have been required to produce the same tonnage. This required increase in hectares could have negative implications for biodiversity and the environment due to an increased need for cultivated acres. By the numbers-

United States continued as the lead country with 73.1 million hectares, a year-to-year increase of 4 percent, equal to 3 million hectares.

Brazil ranked second for the sixth consecutive year, increasing its hectarage by 1.9 million hectares from 2013.

Argentina retained third place with 24.3 million hectares.

India and Canada both recorded 11.6 million hectares. India had an adoption rate of 95 percent for biotech cotton. Canola and soybean hectares increased significantly in Canada.

Get a copy of ISAAA Brief 49 at http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/49/. The Executive Summary, Top 10 Facts, Infographics, and other materials are available for download at http://www.isaaa.org/. Source: Crop Biotech Update January 28 Scientists Say that Bt Cotton Does Not Cause Farm Distress: Farmer suicides in Maharashtra and other parts of India have nothing to do with biotech cotton, according to scientists at the Indian Science Congress held on January 3-7, 2015 at the University of Mumbai. "There is a lot of negative public perception about Bt crops Even a paper in Nature says linking these two (biotech cotton and farmer suicides) is our imagination," said Dr. Anupam Verma, Indian National Science Academy Senior Scientist at the Indian Agriculture Research Institute, during his talk on GM crops. Biotech critics point out that the increasing number of suicides in Maharashtra is due to the inability of Bt cotton farmers to pay their debts. However, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) report said that there were several causes of suicide, and Bt cotton is not a major factor. Dr. Verma also refuted arguments about monopolization and Bt cotton. He said that there are more than 1,000 Bt cotton hybrids available in the country. He also mentioned Project Sunshine in Gujarat, and explained how Bt cotton influences the growth in agriculture in Gujarat. Dr. Deepak Pental, former Vice-Chancellor of the Delhi University also voiced out his support to biotechnology. "We can produce oil indigenously if we use Bt. But unfortunately, it is caught up in a debate taken up by the

left and now supported by the neo-right." Dr. Pental is a renowned genetic scientist with major breakthroughs in hybrid seed science. Source: http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/404240/bt-cotton-not-to-blame-for-farm-distress-scientists/ January 14 BOOK ON GM CROPS' MYTHS AND FACTS RELEASED IN INDIA: The Forum of Former Vice Chancellors of Karnataka State Universities (FVCK) and the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises Agricultural Group (ABLE-AG) released a new book titled GM Crops: Perception versus Reality written by Dr. T. M. Manjunath and Dr. K. S. Mohan. The authors have more than 40 years of research experience in plant protection and biotechnology. The book discusses commercial cultivation of GM crops and stresses their importance in effective pest control and better weed management in selected crops, resulting in increased crop production and significant reduction in the use of pesticides. The book addresses common public perceptions around biotechnology by presenting scientific facts and data from authentic and credible sources. The electronic version of the book will be available soon at http://www.agrifocus.org/able-ag/. Read the original article at http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Book-Aiming-to-Debunk-Myths-About-GM-Crops-Released/2014/12/31/article2596366.ece. January 8

Javadekar Bats for Genetically Modified Crop Trials: The Narenda Modi government has said it is committed to moving forward with trials for genetically modified (GM) crops, although a decision on commercialization will not be made without proper scientific evaluation. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said, "For the sake of food security, to get the poor to live with dignity, we need to evaluate all safe techniques of food production. Where will we get new techniques from, they won't come from the moon." Every aspect of safety is being looked into, he added, saying, We are ready to have a dialogue with all those who have raised concerns. The process of trials, said Javadekar, would go on for another six to seven years. "Let the democratic process play out. We are a federal structure. Ultimately, collective wisdom will prevail, he said. Source: Food security and AgBiotech News January 6/Kashmir Images (3 Jan 2015)

Renewable Energy and Environment VayuGrid signs MOU for community-based biofuel projects: Bangalore-based enterprise VayuGrid engaged in building affordable Bioenergy supply chains announced that they have entered into an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with New Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP (NREDCAP) for the State of Andhra Pradesh to develop Panchayat level Bio Energy Zones ( BEZs) for green power generation including the power generation facilities, the Bioenergy Green Coal Plantation supply chain, and the Biofuel processing infrastructure necessary to meet the low cost production of


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clean energy. Each of these panchayat level BEZs established on wastelands are optimized to generate 10 Mw and 14 million liters of biodiesel, along with nearly 1,400 farm labor jobs through the 60-year productive life of the BEZ. Each wasteland based BEZ will attract investment of $0 million, which will be brought in by VayuGrid along with its partners. Additionally, each cluster becomes a huge carbon sink, sequestering nearly 30,000 tons of carbon annually, thus making each BEZ eligible for Carbon Credit and become a significant player in the Cap & Trade scheme, leading the pollution regulation market even while the State aims for fast and speedier economic growth. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/03/05/vayugrid-signs-mou-for-community-based-biofuel-projects/March 5 India seen boosting palm oil imports to 13 million tons if prices stay low: Palm oil imports are seen increasing as the country takes advantage of low prices resulting from poor biodiesel demand to boost domestic stocks of cooking oil. Imports could reach a record 13 million metric tons in the year to October, up from 11.6 million tons last year. Imports are extremely price sensitive, however, as demonstrated by the more than 20% drop in imports in January when soy and sunflower oil prices were lower than palm. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/03/03/india-seen-boosting-palm-oil-imports-to-13-million-tons-if-prices-stay-low/ March 3 Maha mills start to supply 2.1 million liters of ethanol to OMCs: Maharashtra sugar mills have begun supplying ethanol to Oil Marketing Companies, with about 65% of the total ethanol supplies purchased by OMCs coming from the state, up from 40% typically. Last year the state supplied 750,000 liters of ethanol towards the countrys E5 blend but will supply 210 million liters this year. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/02/23/maha-mills-start-to-supply-2-1-million-liters-of-ethanol-to-omcs/ February 23 Govt to force mills to sell ethanol to OMCs if they want raw sugar export subsidy: the cabinet has approved the long-awaited export subsidy for raw sugar, but with a caveatthose mills who produce alcohol must offer at least 25% of their annual production to oil marketing companies in order to receive the subsidy. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/02/19/india-to-force-mills-to-sell-ethanol-to-omcs-if-they-want-raw-sugar-export-subsidy/ February 19 Andhra Pradesh to use biodiesel in state bus fleet: Andhra Pradeshs state road transportation agency plans to introduce biodiesel-fueled buses into its fleet. Even though diesel prices are falling, biodiesel prices have fallen in tandem, so running the fleet on biodiesel will save the agency millions annually. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/02/18/andhra-pradesh-to-use-biodiesel-in-state-bus-fleet/ February 18

Maha sugar mills worried ethanol procurement will run into the summer: Maharashtra sugar mills are increasingly worried over delays in ethanol procurement by oil marketing companies, with sales of 180 million liters on hold until no one knows when. Delaying the purchase order from the tender issued in December could force distilleries to run in the summer after the crushing season ends, leading to higher production costs and making the sales unviable. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/02/03/maha-sugar-mills-worried-ethanol-procurement-will-run-into-the-summer/ February 3 Novozymes and Beta Renewables to build 75 million liter plant in India: Novozymes and Beta Renewables are working to establish a 75 million liter per year cellulosic ethanol plant in Punjab using 3 million metric tons of paddy straw as feedstock. The $153.7 million plant could lead the way for $1 billion in investment of five other plants in the state if successful. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/01/29/novozymes-and-beta-renewables-to-build-75-million-liter-plant-in-india/ January 29 Looking down the road at biofuels, coal, gas, and oil: The short-term picture of a well-supplied oil market should not disguise the challenges that lie ahead as reliance grows on a relatively small number of producers, warns the International Energy Agency.

Why all the gloom amidst boom times for energy supply? Turns out, right around the corner, rising demand will challenge supply all over again. What does that mean for long-term biofuels demand? The Digest investigates.

Over the past weeks, the International Energy Agency and ExxonMobil both released updates to their long-range forecasts, and BP will reissue its scenario through 2035 on February 17th. The IEA and ExxonMobil are definitely


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agreed: despite electrification of the transport fleet, transportation use of liquid fuels is going to rise sharply, through at least 2035. As Exxon sees it, Global energy demand seen rising 35 percent from 2010 to 2040Energy demand shifts strongly to developing nations as middle class expands and Exoon also points to a 2 billion increase in population. The IEA agrees, pegging growth at 33 percent by 2035with China, India and the Middle East accounting for 60% of the increase. What happened to energy efficiency? - ExxonMobil sees it playing quite a role. In fact, they write Without efficiency gains across economies worldwide, energy demand from 2010 to 2040 would be headed toward a 140 percent increase.

Now, thats energy overall which includes the power sector, as well as industrial use of liquids as well as electrons. What about biofuels? ExxonMobil is bullish: Though they predict that carbon-based fuels will continue to meet about three quarters of global energy needs through 2040the outlook shows a shift toward lower-carbon fuels in the coming decades that, in combination with efficiency gains, will lead to a gradual decline in energy- related carbon dioxide emissions. Wind, solar and biofuels are expected to be the fastest-growing energy sources, increasing about 6 percent a year on average through 2040, when they will be approaching 4 percent of global energy demand. The supply story: North America becomes net exporter - Exxon writes: North America will likely become a net exporter of liquids by 2020 as supplies of so-called tight oil, natural gas liquids and bitumen from oil sands increase. North America unconventional gas production will nearly triple by 2040 and the region is expected to surpass the combined output of Russia and the Caspian region as the largest gas-producing area.

The bleak greenhouse gas outlook -The IEA warns: Policy choices and market developments they project are not enough to stem the rise in energy-related CO2 emissions, which grow by one-fifth. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that in order to limit this temperature increase to 2 C the internationally agreed goal to avert the most severe and widespread implications of climate change the world cannot emit more than around 1,000 gigatonnes of CO2 from 2014 onwards. This entire budget will be used up by 2040 in our central scenario. Since emissions are not going to drop suddenly to zero once this point is reached, it is clear that the 2 C objective requires urgent action to steer the energy system on to a safer path.

Its Chindia, thats the demand story- The source of the optimism for biofuels? Its a bullish outlook overall for liquid transportation fuels. But not one that ignores the trend towards fuel efficiency and electrification seen in the OECD countries. What Exxon sees as the driver is the rise of India and China. They write: From 2010 to 2040, transportation energy needs in OECD32 countries are projected to fall about 10 percent, while in the rest of the world these needs are expected to double. China and India will together account for about half of the global increase. The staggering capital cost- Think $10 billion a year invested in renewables infrastructure is a ton of money? Think again. The IEA writes: Investment of some $900 billion per year in upstream oil and gas development is needed by the 2030s to meet projected demand, but there are many uncertainties over whether this investment will be forthcoming in time especially once United States tight oil output levels off in the early 2020s and its total production eventually starts to fall back. Subsidies rulebut for fossil fuels, not renewables- Despite the huge negative publicity around subsidies for renewables, the IEA points out that the staggering subsidy load is actually on fossil fuels. Fossil-fuel subsidies totalled $550 billion in 2013 they write, more than four-times those to renewable energy and are holding back investment in efficiency and renewables. In the Middle East, nearly 2 mb/d of crude oil and oil products are used to generate electricity when, in the absence of subsidies,


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the main renewable energy technologies would be competitive with oil-fired power plants. Reforming energy subsidies is not easy and there is no single formula for success. Subsidies are not shrinking for fossil fuels; they are still on the rise. Despite the growth in lowcarbon sources of energy, The IEA writes, fossil fuels remain dominant in the global energy mix, supported by subsidies that amounted to $523 billion in 2011, up almost 30% on 2010 and six times more than subsidies to renewables. Oil supply rises to 104 million barrel per day- The IEA forecasts: Increased oil use for transport and petrochemicals drives demand higher, from 90 million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2013 to 104 mb/d in 2040, although high prices and new policy measures gradually constrain the pace of overall consumption growth, bringing it towards a plateau.

Wheres the growth supplied from? The US, Canada? Nope, the good old Middle East. The IEA foresees: As tight oil output in the United States levels off, and non-OPEC supply falls back in the 2020s, the Middle East becomes the major source of supply growth. Growth in world oil demand slows to a near halt by 2040: demand in many of todays largest consumers either already being in long-term decline by 2040 (the United States, European Union and Japan) or having essentially reached a plateau (China, Russia and Brazil). Coal, oil plateau around 2040 - The IEA projects: The scenario shows that world demand for two out of the three fossil fuels coal and oil essentially reaches a plateau by 2040. At the same time, renewable energy technologies gain ground rapidly, helped by falling costs and subsidies (estimated at $120 billion in 2013). By 2040, world energy supply is divided into four almost equal parts: low-carbon

sources (nuclear and renewables), oil, natural gas and coal. Light-duty vehicles: flat demand at 23 million barrels per day- For light-duty vehicles, Exxon writes, though there will be Twice as many cars they see little change to fuel demand. They project the number of cars will rise to 1.7 billion in 2040 vs 825 million in 2010 but sharp gains in fuel efficiency will offset the rise, and fLight-duty is the only major transportation subsector in which energy demand is not expected to increase significantly through 2040. We see global light-duty demand peaking around 2020, at about 23 million oil-equivalent barrels per day (MBDOE). The sources: an increase in global averaged fuel economy to 45 miles per gallon in 2040, up 60% from 2010.They point especially to the rise of turbocharged technologies, and Exxon notes that these boosted vehicles are entering the new-car market far more rapidly than hybrids because of their cost/benefit advantages today. Plus, hybrids are expected to jump from 1% marklet share in 2010 to close to 50 percent of sales by 2040, making up about one-third of the global fleet at that time. They surmise that hybrid cars can provide about a 30 percent fuel economy benefit compared to conventional gasoline cars and are expected to become cost-competitive by 2025. The IEA agrees: With more than three-quarters of global car sales now subject to efficiency standards, oil transport demand is expected to rise by only one-quarter despite the number of cars and trucks on the worlds roads more than doubling by 2040. New efficiency efforts have the effect of suppressing total oil demand growth by an estimated 23 mb/d in 2040 more than current oil production of Saudi Arabia and Russia combined. The number of cars is staggering, even if demand for fuels will be flat. 400 million in China alone thats 4X the US fleet. The driver is commercial transportation- Exxon observes: Driving the growth in energy for transportation in every region is commercial transportation: heavy-duty vehicles, marine, aviation and rail. As global GDP increases about 140 percent from 2010 to 2040, energy needs in these four subsectors are likely to grow about 70 percent. Will heavy-duty beat out light-duty? Exxon thinks so. Around 2025, they project heavy-duty vehicles are likely to surpass light-duty vehicles as the largest energy-consuming segment of the transportation sector. Total energy demand for heavy-duty vehicles is expected to rise by about 65 percent from 2010 to 2040, as economic expansion and the associated increased movement of goods more than outweighs significant improvements in fuel economy. Again, demand will shift to Asia. The largest demand center today is the U.S. However, by 2040, China is expected to be the largestTogether, China and India likely will account for about 30 percent of the global growth in demand for energy for heavy-duty vehicles, while the U.S. and Europe combine to account for only about 10 percent.


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Natural gas vs diesel in the heavy-duty sector- The world will not shift towards natural gas for heavy-duty, says Exxon. Despite the fact that natural gas is emerging as an alternative fuel in the heavy-duty transportation sectordriven by potential economic benefitsDiesels share is likely to increase marginally through 2040, as it accounts for about 80 percent of the growth in heavy-duty transportation fuel demand. The vast majority of this demand increase will support rapidly growing non-OECD economies. Its not all-diesel, everywhere. Exxon predicts that in some markets, prices of natural gas relative to diesel over time may provide significant cost savings on fuel. In addition, natural gas can provide benefits in reducing emissions. By 2040, natural gas is expected to account for about 15 percent of the heavy-duty transportation sector in both China and Indiaand10 percent of the U.S. heavy-duty sector by 2040. Aviation, marine and rail the fastest-growing subsectors The big growth? Air, marine, rail. Today it accounts for more than 20 percent of transportation fuel demand, but Exxon projects that share will grow to 30 percent, as energy demand for aviation, marine and rail grows by an average of about 75 percent, and by 2040 energy demand from aviation, marine and rail is expected to reach about 90 percent of light-duty vehicle demand, compared to around half in 2010. Oil will dominate these sectors, Exxon believes: Most of the energy demand growth in these three sectors is expected to be met by oil, representing a projected combined increase of about 7 MBDOE. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/01/27/looking-down-the-road-at-biofuels-coal-gas-and-oil/ January 27

Worlds largest oil refinery adds Algenol algae demonstration project: Reliance Industries taps Algenol, completes algae production system; producing algae from CO2 recycled from industrial processes; could later demonstrate the fuels production capabilities of Algenols advanced fuel producing algae and systems. Algenol and Reliance Industries have successfully deployed Indias first Algenol algae production platform. The demonstration module is located near the Reliance Jamnagar Refinery, the worlds largest oil refinery with a nameplate capacity of 668,000 barrels per day at a 7500 acre complex in Gujarat state at the western extreme of India. The demonstration has completed several production cycles of Algenols wildtype host algae, but ultimately could demonstrate the fuels production capabilities of Algenols advanced fuel producing algae and systems. The Algenol fuel production process is designed to convert 1 tonne of CO2 into 144 gallons of fuel while recycling CO2 from industrial processes and converting 85% of the CO2 used into ethanol, gasoline, diesel and jet fuels. The advanced

fuel producing algae technology is successfully operating at Algenols Fort Myers, Florida headquarters.

The Algenol Demonstration Project in India- Construction of the system was completed in November of 2014 by Algenol and Reliance engineers and biologists. Shake-down runs and systems tests have been completed and several successful batches of algae have been grown. At this time, day-to-day operations of the project are managed solely by Reliance Industries Ltd., after Algenol provided training and operational support. The effort is proof that Algenols technology can be co-located with and successfully managed by a partner.

The greenhouse gas story and the EPAs approval- Earlier this month, Algenol announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved fuels made from Algenols process as an advanced biofuel, meeting the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction requirements under the Renewable Fuels Standard. Fuels produced from Algenol are now eligible for a Renewable Identification Number under the D-5 classification. The EPAs approval of Algenols patented Direct to Ethanol pathway covers its bio-crude co-product under an already existing pathway. As part of this approval, the EPA determined that ethanol produced from the Algenol process resulted in an approximate 69% reduction in greenhouse gases. The scale and steps forward- As Algenol CEO Paul Woods explained to The Digest, This first demo block in India is 400 PBR, just like [we originally built in ] Florida, and then we will progress from there to scale up bigger and bigger over time. In Florida, we have now the 4000


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PBR block, and we had a 400 block before that. What we wanted to demonstrate, is that we could design, build and operate in India, and train the people to actually operate it on their own. I think we accomplished that. It got inoculated in November, and now several cycles have been run. Our people handed it over to the Reliance crew Dec 23, 2014. In addition, the Reliance crew trained here in Florida for over a month. Why not the fuel-producing algae?- We also had to import the wild type algae into India, said Woods, and that permission took a long time. We are now applying for full importation of the fuel producing algae. Whats the progress in Florida? The full commercial module has started up here in Ft Myers,< Woods explained, and we will continue to expand the size of it over the next 2 months until finished in March. The Algenol backstory-

Algenol is commercializing its patented algae technology platform for production of ethanol and other biofuels. The companys technology enables the production of the four most important fuels (ethanol, gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel) for around $1.30 per gallon each using proprietary algae, sunlight, carbon dioxide and saltwater at production levels of 8,000 total gallons of liquid fuel per acre per year. These novel, low-cost techniques have the added benefit of consuming carbon dioxide from industrial sources, not using farmland or food crops and being able to provide freshwater. The Reliance relationship- The relationship between Reliance Industries and Algenol is not new, as Reliance has been a strategic investor in Algenols technology since June 2011. Algenols technology recycles carbon dioxide into fuels through its direct-to-ethanol process which results in not only ethanol but gasoline diesel and jet fuel. India is the worlds third largest producer of CO2 and the facilitys ethanol and renewable crude oil production could help meet critical demand for energy in the country as well as help to reduce green house emissions from carbon dioxide. Algenols fuel production process requires saltwater rather than freshwater a key advantage for India which has incurred serious droughts in the past and faces significant demand for fresh water. The project is currently using saltwater from the Arabian Sea. Reliance has invested a total of $116 million in algae (Rs6.2 billion). $93.5 million (Rs5.0 billion) in Algenol, as part of its strategic partnership.

The companys key production milestone- In September 2013, Algenol CEO Paul Woods announced at the Algae Biomass Summit that the company has switched reactor system and has reached a peak production of 10,400 gallons per acre and continuous production in the 8000 gallon per acre range. It was the first major update from Algenol since March, when the company said that it had exceeded production rates 9,000 gallons of ethanol per acre per year. Woods said at the time that I fully expect our talented scientific team to achieve sustained production rates above 10,000 by the end of this year. With that, Woods said that his ethanol production cost, at scale, would be in the $1.30 per gallon range, and that with further development of the technology, Algenol is now able to produce diesel, jet fuel, renewable gasoline in addition to ethanol, via hydrothermal liquefaction technology. The low-cost, low-carbon-footprint DIRECT TO ETHANOL process can produce ethanol with operating cost around $1.30 per gallon. This operating cost assumes the purchase of carbon dioxide feedstock for $30 per metric tonne. As the DIRECT TO ETHANOL process yields nearly 4 units of energy for every unit of energy input, the energy costs for the process are modest. Capital costs to construct a facility will be below $10 per annual gallon of capacity, according to the company. Reaction from Algenol- The project is designed to demonstrate how robust the Algenol system is in India, and how the two companies will more broadly integrate refinery operations with Algenols platform in the future, says Paul Woods, Founder and CEO of Algenol. The deployment of our technology in India is a critical milestone. The initial project start-up and smooth transition begins to prove the viability of our technology in varying environments across the globe and the ability of partners to operate our production systems without Algenols day-to-day involvement. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/01/26/worlds-largest-oil-refinery-adds-algae-demonstration-project/ January 26 New Report Urges Western Governments to Reconsider Reliance on Biofuels: A new report from the United States-based World Resources Institute (WRI), a prominent environmental think tank, states that Western governments should reconsider their strategy of support for biofuels. The process of turning plant matter into liquid fuel or electricity, said WRI, is so inefficient it is unlikely to ever supply a substantial fraction of global energy demand. Moreover, continuing to pursue this strategy is likely to use up vast amounts of fertile land that could be devoted to helping feed the worlds growing population. I would say that many of the claims for biofuels have been dramatically exaggerated, said Andrew Steer, the president of WRI. There are other, more effective routes to get to a low-carbon world. The report acknowledges that some types of biofuels do make environmental sense, such as those made from wastes like sawdust, tree trimmings, and cornstalks. Still, their potential is limited, the report adds, and these fuels should probably be used in airplanes.


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According to this article, the report follows several years of rising concern among scientists about biofuel policies in the United States and Europe, and is the strongest call yet by the World Resources Institute, known for nonpartisan analysis of environmental issues, to urge governments to reconsider those policies. The report cites numerous examples of what it calls misguided approaches to fighting global warming, including mandates in the U.S. that require biofuels to be added to fuel for cars and, in Europe, the burning of wood pellets to displace coal. Timothy D. Searchinger, a research scholar at Princeton and primary author of the new report, said, Weve only got one planet, with only so much land. If you use land for one purpose, you cant use it for another. The report also notes that many of these pro-biofuel policies were adopted at a time when other types of renewable energy were considered prohibitively expensive. The new report points out that today, for a given amount of land, solar panels are at least 50 times more efficient than biofuels at capturing the energy of sunlight in a useful form. Source: Food Security and AgBiotech News January 29/The New York Times (28 Jan 2015) My Eco Energy to invest $40.6 million in 500 biodiesel fueling stations: My Eco Energy will invest $40.6 million to establish 500 biodiesel fueling stations across Maharashtra over the next two years. The company produces 2.5 million liters of biodiesel per day in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. The filling stations will range from full service stations to kiosks with 25,000 liter storage capacity, along with up to 3,000 mini-kiosks with 100 liters storage capacity. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/01/27/indias-my-eco-energy-to-invest-40-6-million-in-500-biodiesel-fueling-stations/ January 27

Government gives OK to allow biodiesel producers to sell directly: The government has given the go ahead to allow direct biodiesel sales to commercial users. Until now, only oil marketing companies and large companies could retail biodiesel. The issue had been pending for 9 years and had force 80% of the countrys biodiesel production to be exported. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/01/19/indias-government-gives-ok-to-allow-biodiesel-producers-to-sell-directly/ January 19 Food department calls for stocktaking of ethanol production and supply: The food department (GoI) has called for a meeting at the end of January to determine how many mills are producing how much ethanol. With sugar production continuing to grow, the ministry wants more mills to produce ethanol. Oil marketing companies only received offers for about half of the ethanol they tendered for recently because the solicitation came very late in the crushing season. Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/01/19/indias-food-department-calls-for-stocktaking-of-ethanol-production-and-supply/ January 19

THE 50 HOTTEST COMPANIES IN BIOENERGY 2014-2015

THE 30 HOTTEST COMPANIES IN BIOBASED CHEMICALS & MATERIALS 2014-2015

1 LanzaTech 2 GranBio 3 Algenol 4 Novozymes 5 Solazyme 6 DuPont 7 POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels 8 Beta Renewables / Chemtex 9 DSM 10 Abengoa Bioenergy 11 Amyris 12 POET 13 Renewable Energy Group 14 Enerkem 15 BASF 16 Sapphire Energy 17 CoolPlanet Energy Systems 18 BP Biofuels 19 Virent 20 Gevo 21 INEOS Bio 22 Honeywell's UOP 23 Neste Oil 24 Butamax 25 Elevance Renewable Sciences 26 Boeing 27 Joule Unlimited 28 American Process 29 Mascoma 30 ADM 31 Cargill 32 Ceres 33 Renmatix 34 Raizen 35 NexSteppe 36 Sweetwater Energy 37 Fulcrum BioEnergy 38 EdeniQ 39 Clariant 40 Waste Management 41 Ensyn 42 Green Plains Renewable Energy 43 ICM 44 ZeaChem 45 Dyadic 46 Cobalt Technologies 47 Valero 48 Iogen 49 Aemetis 50 Cosan

1 Genomatica 2 Solazyme 3 Amyris 4 BASF 5 LanzaTech 6 DSM 7 Elevance Renewable Sciences 8 DuPont 9 BioAmber 10 Virent 11 Novozymes 12 Avantium 13 Verdezyne 14 Gevo 15 Myriant 16 Braskem 17 Renewable Energy Group 18 Beta Renewables 19 OPX Biotechnologies 20 NatureWorks 21 POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels 22 Segetis 23 Enerkem 24 Cobalt Technologies 25 Rivertop Renewables 26 Liquid Light 27 Renmatix 28 Green Biologics 28 Yulex 30 BioProcess Algae

Source: Biofuels Digest January 27

BPs exit from cellulosic ethanol: the assets, the auction, the process, the timing, the skinny: As BP continues to reel from its oil leak capital calls and the impact of crashing oil prices, they dropped a bombshell in recent weeks:The current challenging external business environment is resulting in tough strategic choices having to be made by businesses across BP. In Biofuels, the decision has been taken to cease further development of BPs proprietary ligno-cellulosic technology. While we believe there is value in the LC technology, we have chosen to focus our


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biofuels investment on building the profitability and scale of our sugarcane biofuels business in Brazil. This decision will affect ligno-cellulosic activities including a demonstration plant in Jennings, Louisiana, technology center in San Diego, the Highlands feedstock farm in Florida, as well as some activities in Brazil and centrally. We will now explore options to sell these assets and facilities. This decision does not affect our Vivergo bioethanol joint venture in the UK or our bio-butanol joint ventures Butamax and KRL. Re: the exit from lignocellulosic ethanol, The Digest here below has obtained the details. Wed add that the assets might be sold in toto, or broken into parts. The Assets: Since 2008, BP has invested over $750m and created a distinctive capability set with roughly 300 staff to develop and license a leading cellulosic ethanol technology.

BP developed a set of integrated capabilities including: Gene Discovery, Strain Engineering, Enzyme Evolution, Strain Evaluation, Process Development, and Scale-Up. The key assets include: A 76,000 square foot biofuels technology center in San Diego, CA; 3,500 acres of energy grass farms, trial sites and capability in Florida, Louisiana and Texas; a 1.4 mgy demonstration plant in Jennings, LA; and a Cellulosic licensing business in Houston, TX.

Proprietary technology material and data includes: Cellulosic ethanol engineering and process design packages for bagasse, energy cane / napier grass, and fully integrated sugarcane ethanol and lignocellulosic ethanol conversion processes; lignocellulosic enzymes tailored for use with acidic pre-treatment; industrial C5/C6 yeast strains with world-class conversion rates and fermentation yields; biodiversity collection and gene and protein libraries; energy cane feedstock production know-

how and research / demonstration package; more than 500 patents and patent applications owned or licensed world-wide covering lignocellulosic process technology, enzymes, yeast, metagenomic libraries and directed evolution technology; and a comprehensive patent landscape analysis; In addition there are developed commercial relationships globally, including MoUs, for cellulosic licensing.

Three Sites The Technology Center: 76,000 sq ft biotechnology R&D facility located in San Diego, California ~150 staff focused on development of proprietary enzymes, yeasts, and process technology Core to BPs large portfolio of intellectual property rights in cellulosic ethanol. Infrastructure available: Analytical Lab

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