Collaborative Research and Development Agreements, Government Programs and Licenses - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Apr. 02, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014 Archer Daniels Midland Extension Warrant	Jan. 31, 2013 Archer Daniels Midland Extension Warrant	Sep. 30, 2014 Unilever T	Jan. 31, 2013 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company	Sep. 30, 2014 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company	Sep. 30, 2014 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company	Nov. 30, 2012 Collaboration Agreement T	Sep. 30, 2014 Mitsui & Co., Ltd	Sep. 30, 2013 Mitsui & Co., Ltd	Sep. 30, 2014 Mitsui & Co., Ltd	Sep. 30, 2013 Mitsui & Co., Ltd	Feb. 28, 2013 Mitsui & Co., Ltd	Sep. 30, 2014 Department of Energy	Sep. 30, 2013 Department of Energy	Sep. 30, 2014 Department of Energy	Sep. 30, 2013 Department of Energy	Dec. 31, 2013 Department of Energy	Dec. 31, 2009 Department of Energy	Sep. 30, 2014 Minimum Archer Daniels Midland Extension Warrant	Sep. 30, 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	0	0	0
Unbilled revenue	5,684,000		5,684,000			1,101,000													0		0		0
Deferred Revenue																			0		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	2,100,000	7,900,000	4,500,000							100,000	500,000
Fair value assumptions, volatility							54.00%
Fair value assumptions, risk-free interest rate							1.63%
Fair value assumptions, exercise price							$ 7.17
Share price (in dollars per share)					$ 11.00																				$ 9.32	$ 12.97
Fair value assumptions, expected remaining life																									4 years 4 months 24 days	5 years
Warrant shares vested							91,666					91,666
Contract amount																		20,000,000
Revenue recognized under joint development agreement														$ 0	$ 0	$ 1,500,000	$ 4,000,000