From farm leftovers to biofuel

Imagine turning agricultural leftovers into low-emission biofuel. That is, taking plant parts like inedible cornstalks and fueling our cars, trucks, boats and planes. ExxonMobil and its partners at Clariant and Genomatica are working together as part of an ambitious research program to do just that.

Perspective Feb. 13, 2020

From farm leftovers to biofuel
Both Clariant and Genomatica have a history of turning promising laboratory research into breakthrough industrial applications. Clariant’s innovative sunliquid® technology is ready to operate at commercial scale and will come into use in four cellulosic ethanol plants in Europe and China. Genomatica manufactures sustainable chemicals.

In short, Clariant’s sunliquid platform will extract energy-rich sugars from inedible corn leftovers and Genomatica will develop processes to convert these sugars into biodiesel.

For ExxonMobil, this research is part of the company’s ongoing portfolio to convert non-food biomass and algae into low-emission transportation fuels.

Taking advantage of ExxonMobil’s experience in developing and supplying energy products on a global scale, the partnership aims to build a seamless refining processes that could transform corn leftovers and other non-food biomass into energy game changers.

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A bio-fueled future, with Tim McMinn

A bio-fueled future, with Tim McMinn

Energy Factor recently spoke with Tim McMinn, a senior technology advisor at ExxonMobil with more than 23 years of experience with the company. He is a member of the leadership team in the company’s Low Carbon Solutions business, which seeks to commercialize proven technologies to reduce carbon emissions across the industrial, power generation and transportation sectors. In this interview, Tim talks about ExxonMobil’s work with low-emission fuels.

Advanced biofuels Perspective Jan. 26, 2022

One-of-a-kind partners working on breakthrough innovations

One-of-a-kind partners working on breakthrough innovations

No single company, organization or institution has all the answers when it comes to developing tomorrow’s low-emission energy. That’s why global energy company ExxonMobil is partnering with a range of organizations – including a leading biotechnology company to develop next-generation biofuels and a boutique technology company looking to vacuum carbon dioxide straight from the sky.

Advanced biofuels Perspective Oct. 25, 2019

Algae farming

From petri dish to pond: Algae farming, in pictures

Researching algae takes scientific research, sunshine, some very large ponds and the right kind of algae.

Advanced biofuels Energy Factor Aug. 2, 2019

Patrick Hanks: Algae engineer

Patrick Hanks: Algae engineer

If you had told me a few years ago that one day I’d be farming algae with the hope of creating a reliable, low-emission energy source, I probably would have been a little skeptical. But that’s exactly what I do.

Advanced biofuels Energy Factor July 22, 2019

Five big ideas from the Aspen Ideas Festival

Five big ideas from the Aspen Ideas Festival

The musician Common, founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg and ExxonMobil vice president of research and development Vijay Swarup don’t often run in the same circles.

Advanced biofuels Energy Factor July 9, 2019

algae fields

Working on tomorrow's biofuel

Viridos (formerly Synthetic Genomics, Inc.) and ExxonMobil have worked together for a decade now, driven by a single goal: Create a pathway to refine algae oils into low-emission diesel that can power trucks, boats, even planes.

Advanced biofuels Energy Factor May 28, 2019