A biomass fuel slurry includes a mixture of a biomass material and a plastic material suspended in water. In other embodiments, the biomass fuel slurry also includes coal. A method of making a biomass fuel slurry includes the steps of encapsulating a biomass material with a plastic material to produce a plastic encapsulated biomass material and suspending the plastic encapsulated biomass material in water.

Provided is a method of culturing one or more microorganisms. The method includes culturing one or more microorganisms in a medium comprising crude glycerol at a first concentration level, feeding to the media an additional amount of crude glycerol, once the first concentration of glycerol is reduced to a first threshold level, at a concentration sufficient to achieve the first concentration level, monitoring the crude glycerol concentration until the first concentration level of the crude glycerol is reduced to the first threshold level. The steps may be repeated until a desired microorganism cell density is achieved.

A process includes the following steps: a) converting a solid material containing hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin, by: (i) hydrolyzing at least part of the hemicellulose of the solid material with a first aqueous hydrochloric acid solution, yielding a remaining solid material and a hydrochloric acid-containing, aqueous, first hydrolysate product solution; (ii) hydrolyzing at least part of the cellulose of the remaining solid material with a second aqueous hydrochloric acid solution, yielding a residue and a hydrochloric acid-containing, aqueous, second hydrolysate product solution; (b) forwarding to step (c) a, hydrochloric acid-containing, aqueous intermediate product solution comprising: a part of or the whole of the hydrochloric acid-containing, aqueous first and/or second hydrolysate product solution of step (a); and (c) heating at least part of the hydrochloric acid-containing, aqueous intermediate product solution to yield a product solution containing 5-(chloromethyl)furfural, and extracting the 5-(chloromethyl)furfural from the product solution into an extraction solvent.

Methods are provided for accurately blending biodiesel into distillate streams to achieve a pre-determined percentage of biodiesel in the distillate, applicable to wild-type distillate streams as well as distillate streams that already contain some percentage of biodiesel.

The present invention provides a wheat plant comprising an Rht-B1 allele which encodes an Rht-B1 (DELLA) polypeptide. Grain from a near-isogenic wheat line comprising the dwarfing Rht-B1c allele was subjected to sodium azide mutagenesis. Plants exhibiting early leaf elongation rates or mature plant height greater than the dwarf parent were selected and the Rht-B1 gene sequenced. This identified 35 mutated alleles of Rht-B1c. Similar methods were also used to identify mutant alleles of the dwarfing sln1d allele in barley, where DELLA is encoded by the sln1 gene.

Compositions and methods are provided comprising acetolactate decarboxylase (ALDC) enzyme variants having higher specific activity. Composition and method are provided where the ALDC variants are used in combination with metal ions to further increase stability and/or activity.

The disclosed method and related systems and devices relate to producing a pigment from microbial biomass. The pigment may be an engineered black pigment. The method may include a thermal processing step where the microbial biomass is charred. The biomass in the charred and pre-charred state can be washed chemically and/or mechanically. In another step the biomass is ground via a grinding of milling process. The grinding/milling may occur at any various points in the process. In some embodiments the biomass has a particle size between 0.01 and 100 microns.

Asphalt binders and methods for making and using same. In at least one specific embodiment, the asphalt binder can include a bitumen and a glyceride and fatty acid mixture. The glyceride and fatty acid mixture can include one or more triglycerides, at least 1 wt % of one or more diglycerides, and at least 5 wt % of one or more fatty acids, based on the combined weight of the one or more triglycerides, the one or more diglycerides, and the one or more fatty acids. The asphalt binder can be made by combining a bitumen and a glyceride and fatty acid mixture. A paving composition can be made by combining a plurality of solids and the asphalt binder. A road can include a plurality of solids mixed with the asphalt binder.

A crystalline pigment or colorant composition having high color intensity and/or low sugar content, and methods and processes of preparation. The composition may comprise purified fruit and/or vegetable color juices.

The present disclosure provides recombinant microorganisms and methods for the anaerobic production of 2,4-furandimethanol from one or more carbon sources. The microorganisms and methods provide redox-balanced and ATP positive pathways for co-producing 2,4-furandimethanol with ethanol and for co-producing 2,4-furandimethanol with ethanol and acetone and/or isopropanol. The method provides recombinant microorganisms that express endogenous and/or exogenous nucleic acid molecules encoding polypeptides that catalyze the conversion of a carbon source into 2,4-furandimethanol and that couple the 2,4-furandimethanol pathway with an additional metabolic pathway. The present disclosure further provides enzymatic production of 2,4-furandicarboxylic acid.