Collaborative Research and Development Agreements, Government Programs and Licenses - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2014 Archer Daniels Midland Extension Warrant	Jan. 31, 2013 Archer Daniels Midland Extension Warrant	Mar. 31, 2014 Unilever T	Jan. 31, 2013 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company	Mar. 31, 2014 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company	Nov. 30, 2012 Collaboration Agreement T	Feb. 28, 2013 Mitsui & Co., Ltd	Mar. 31, 2014 Department of Energy	Mar. 31, 2013 Department of Energy	Dec. 31, 2013 Department of Energy	Dec. 31, 2009 Department of Energy	Mar. 31, 2014 Minimum Archer Daniels Midland Extension Warrant	Mar. 31, 2014 Maximum Archer Daniels Midland Extension Warrant
Collaborative Arrangements and Non-collaborative Arrangement Transactions [Line Items]
Supply Commitment Of Oil						10,000
Funds awarded to partially fund an integrated biorefinery														$ 21,800,000
Company recognized revenues											0	7,000
Unbilled revenue	1,706,000		1,101,000								0		0
Deferred Revenue											0		0
Initial production capacity per year									20,000
Initial expansion production capacity per year									40,000
Expanded production capacity per year									100,000
Warrants to purchase number of common stock							500,000
Warrant vesting period							5 years
Additional warrants to be granted under extension of contract					500,000
Warrant measurement date							Jul. 31, 2013
Rent expense related to lease	2,600,000	700,000						200,000
Fair value assumptions, volatility				59.00%
Fair value assumptions, risk-free interest rate				1.60%
Fair value assumptions, exercise price				$ 7.17
Share Price															$ 10.89	$ 12.97
Fair value assumptions, expected remaining life															4 years 10 months 24 days	5 years
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Nonvested, Number				41,666				41,666
Contract amount										$ 20,000,000