BETO Selects Six Projects for Phase II Small Business Research and Development Grants

Palm Beach Gardens, FL

(33410-4290)

Development of a New Lignocellulosic Sugar Production Technology (Cellulose-To-Sugar) as a Pathway for Producing Novel Liquid Low-Carbon Bioethanol. 

Cellulosic ethanol derived from non-food sources, like sugarcane bagasse or corn stover, have the potential to provide greater than 70% emission reductions compared to equivalent petroleum-based fuels. These agricultural residues are typically burnt or decompose on the field, representing a cheap and abundant feedstock source. This project will build upon previous successes and upgrade Blue Biofuel’s system to handle additional agriculture residues, scale-up their biomass pre-treatment and glucose fermentation processes, enhance the enzymatic reaction, reduce catalyst costs, scale up the lignin separation and catalyst recovery processes, and prepare a conceptual engineering package for a 1M gallon/year cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant to further derisk and refine the Cellulose-To-Sugar technology. 

Union, CA

(94587-5595)

Skill in a Flash

The shortage of skilled workers is impeding the growth of the U.S. bioeconomy, disproportionately affecting small and rural businesses. iZen-LEAP™ innovation provides a platform to deliver workplace-aligned programs.

Newark, DE

(19713-6106)

Upcycling Ocean-based Plastics for Sustainable Feedstock Supply Chain

RiKarbon, Inc. is commercializing an enabling technology to produce low-cost waste plastic feedstock and waste plastic’s selective depolymerization to plastic’s building block chemicals for manufacturing renewable plastics. It will mitigate health risks to ocean life and humans, improve the environment eco-system, and promote future energy security.

Boulder, CO

(80305-6433)

Polyolefin Compatibilization through Dynamic Covalent Crosslinking

RockyTech has developed compatibilizer additives to improve the quality of post-consumer or post-industrial recycled polyolefin blends, primarily polyethylene and polypropylene. This innovation promotes the reuse of these materials. The key strategy involves incorporating reversible covalent bonds into polyolefin linear chains to enable their crosslinking at the particle interface, thus achieving polymer fusion and quality enhancement with minimal micro and macroscopic phase separation.

Kailua, HI

(96734-3941)

Low-Carbon Fertilizer Production from Tropical Biomass Gasification

This company is developing an innovative integrated gasification and gas cleanup process to convert low-quality lignocellulosic biomass waste into renewable fuel and electricity. The goal of this project is to use invasive species and green waste to supplement urban wood waste.

Charlottesville, VA

(22911-3555)

Farmyard Biorefinery: Diesel Production from Stranded Biomass

The goal of the project is to research, develop, and demonstrate a highly modular biorefinery design that can scale to the farming community level. Beyond economic benefits, this approach promotes soil health and carbon sequestration.