Advanced Biofuels are high-energy liquid transportation fuels derived from: low nutrient input/high per acre yield crops; agricultural or forestry waste; or other sustainable biomass feedstocks including algae. The key word is “sustainable.”
A technical definition that …
Regulations, agency actions, funding and public comment opportunities
Political news and views from Capitol Hill.
Research and development from feedstocks to process and distribution
Legislation, regulation, innovative ideas and programs
by Andy Reid (Sun Sentinel) A biofuel plant offering renewable energy could become a never-ending headache for neighborhoods west of Delray Beach, worried residents argued Thursday.
Pressure from residents helped persuade the county Zoning Commission Thursday to vote against a proposal that would open the door to allowing a biofuel plant on 5 acres set aside for farming in the county Agricultural Reserve.
…”It’s a great idea, just in the wrong location,” Zoning Commissioner Sam Caliendo said.
…”This is an oil production facility,” said Michael Feuerman, one of more than 50 neighbors who Thursday turned out to fight the project. “Why is this being allowed [near] a residential neighborhood?”
Teri Gevinson countered that her proposed biofuel plant offers the chance for local farmers to tap into the push for alternative fuels, encouraged by the state and federal government as a way to develop renewable energy sources.
The process of crushing and squeezing the seeds from jatropha plants to produce a yellowish oil —similar to vegetable oil — would bring no foul smells or dangerous chemicals, Gevinson said. READ MORE
by Lisa Gibson (Biomass Magazine) Ten years after NREL’s Aquatic Species Program was shut down, a similar initiative began and now is thriving in its algae research, which includes the evaluation of CO2 recycling.
Between 1978 and 1996, …
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) You may not have noticed, but hedge and index fund investors have quietly returned to the agricultural commodities market in droves over the past few weeks. With the stock …
(US Department of Energy) Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced research awards under a joint DOE-USDA program aimed at improving and accelerating genetic breeding programs to create plants better suited for …
This interactive virtual conference for our future energy leaders provides an educational and networking opportunity for higher education students and faculty interested in biodiesel.
Participants will learn about the Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel effort, as …
(Algae Industry Magazine) Algae Bioenergy Solutions (ABS), of Augusta, Georgia, has announced preliminary plans to develop a three to five million gallons per year algae oil plant, expandable to forty million gallons a year, to produce …
The Florida Biofuels Association invites you to attend “Feedstocks for Florida Biofuels – A Florida Biofuels Association Town Hall Meeting,” Friday September 17, 2010 – 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Florida Farm Bureau, Gainesville, …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel) …The potential for energy crops in the state was one of the topics at the recent Florida Farm to Fuel Summit. One of the presenters was Bill Vasden Jr., Chairman of …
by Dean Close (Vinton Today) …In layman’s terms, what Fiberight does is take waste from a paper mill in Cedar Rapids, and uses rare bacteria – Stewart Paul refers to that bacteria as “the bugs” …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the USDA adopted a bond mechanism into its Business & Industry Loan Guarantee Program to mirror what the DOE already had done in each of its Section 1703 and …
(Green Car Congress) A C-17 Globemaster III based at Edwards Air Force Base is conducting flight tests to see how it performs with different combinations of biofuels.
The aircraft was powered by 50% JP-8, 25% hydro-treated …
by Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest) …“If there were a medal for valor in biofuels it would certainly go to the board of D1 Oils, which has now had to repel its third take-over attempt by …
(Chemrec) …BioDME is a novel and climate neutral biofuel produced from forestry feedstock. The fuel is primarily intended for use in heavy vehicles. BioDME provides superior energy and environmental benefits and allows greenhouse gas emission …
By Patricia Monahan (Capitol Weekly) This year we’ve had no shortage of examples of why we need to move away from fossil fuels, from the oil disaster in the Gulf and continued dependence on Middle Eastern …
(PRNewsWire) UOP refining technologies will be used to produce renewable fuels from biomass
UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced September 1, 2010, that its technology was selected for use in Rentech, Inc.’s Rialto Renewable Energy Center for the …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …This is the Rome Labs site, which does quite a bit of intelligence-related R&D. The super-secret nature of cellulosic development is not entirely different – though hugh-hush cadres of generals …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In New Hampshire, Mascoma reported yesterday that it had acquired SunOpta BioProcess, a division of SunOpta Inc. (STKL) This combination brings together the fiber preparation and pretreatment technologies of SBI …
(SDTC) Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) today announced its 18th round of funding for Canadian clean technology demonstration projects. Canadian entrepreneurs and technology developers with new technologies and a compelling business case are encouraged to …
Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …The push against approving E15 has heated up in recent weeks. The U.S. EPA delayed the E15 decision until sometime this fall and industry groups on both sides of the …
(Algae Industry Magazine) A recent post in Forbes by Chris Rhodes currently buzzing talks about a new method for identifying high lipid content strains of algae based on Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. The near infrared wavelength …
(Green Car Congress/FavStocks) Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed and demonstrated the feasibility of a two-step hydrolysis-solvolysis process to produce biodiesel directly from wet algal biomass. Their process eliminates the need for biomass …
by Eric Ombok (Bloomberg) Mumias Sugar Co., Kenya’s largest producer of the sweetener, secured a 1.6 billion-shilling ($20 million) loan for its ethanol plant to be commissioned next year, the Daily Nation reported. A group …
by Anne Danahy (CenterDaily.com) Dumpsite scaled back as developer focuses on ethanol
The developer who had proposed building a landfill in Rush Township said the project has changed direction and the company is now working on …
(E&ETV) As the biofuels industry awaits a decision by U.S. EPA on ethanol blend walls, how has the Obama Administration handled biofuels development and funding? During today’s OnPoint, Matt Carr, managing director of policy at …
by George Sterzinger (Renewable Energy Policy Project/Dissent Magazine) …Advanced biofuels in particular have the potential to change the coastal economies for the better. In 2005 and in 2007 Congress committed to providing 20 percent of transportation …
(NewsWire) Enerkem Inc., a leading waste-to-biofuels company, today held a groundbreaking ceremony to signify the start of construction of its municipal waste-to-biofuels facility with its partners, the City of Edmonton and the Government of Alberta. …
by Charles Winokoor (Tauton Daily Gazette) …Taunton Mayor Charles Crowley has said that EOEA officials consider the process by which such a facility operates in violation of DEP’s 20-year-old moratorium on new facilities that incinerate …
by Dave Williams (Atlanta Business Chronicle) The nation’s first commercial plant producing ethanol from wood wastes is open for business in the timber country of southeastern Georgia.
More than a year and a half behind its original …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …We see the battle over rural development flashing at other points around the globe, but nowhere so starkly do we have a choice between the War on Poverty and the War …
by Jim DiPeso (The Daily Green) The hidden health threat (and $100 billion annual cost) in the gasoline we pump into our cars.
…China supplanted the U.S. as the biggest energy consuming country in the world. …
By Tim Dornin (AAP/AuNews) Carmaker Holden has unveiled its latest Commodore range, the car that could eventually be powered by household waste.
Both V6 and V8 models in the VE Series II Commodore line-up have been designed …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Australia, a federal election last week which resulted in a hung parliament may find that the choice of government depends on biofuels policy. According to Digest sources and local …
by William Hermann(The Arizona Republic) Clean, green energy source could replace fossil fuels.
…With its ideal climate and abundance of available land, Arizona is poised to become a major center of a multibillion-dollar, algae-based, biofuel industry.
Scientists …
Richard “Smokey” Young will use an unleaded, high-octane biofuel developed by a Purdue Research Park-based company during his attempt to establish a new 100-kilometer closed course speed record on Sept. 11.
Young will power his No. …
(PRNewsWire) AdvanceBio LLC, a Cincinnati-based advanced biofuel technology company, today announced the development of its next generation, sugar-based fuel ethanol process.
The process is capable of utilizing sugars derived from sugar cane, sweet sorghum, sugar beet and …
(Indianapolis Business Journal) Indianapolis-based bioengineering firm Xylogenics Inc. has licensed its proprietary yeast strain to a Milwaukee firm that is a supplier to the fuel-ethanol industry. It is the first such licensing agreement for Xylogenics.
Lallemand …
(Indianapolis Business Journal) A subsidiary of Carmel-based Telamon Corp. that supplies racing teams with ethanol-based fuel made from Indiana corn has signed contracts giving it a distribution channel in 26 states.
National Biofuels Distribution LLC began …
(Jalopnik) One of the draft window stickers released today will give buyers of 2012 models efficiency data for gas and electric vehicles. U.S. regulators want you to decide: How do you like letter grades? UPDATE: …
(Friends of the Earth International) The African continent is increasingly being seen as a source of agricultural land and natural resources for the rest of the world. National governments and private companies are obtaining access …
(NewsWise) Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have enhanced our understanding of the mechanism by which cells achieve energy conversion, the process in which food is converted into the energy required by cells. This …
by Luis Andres Henao (Reuters) An Argentine company opened Friday the country’s first factory to make biodiesel from algae, hoping to use pond scum as a replacement for soy in making biodiesel as part of a …
(Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels) Adopts ambitious target of 50% improvement for biofuel blends over fossil fuels
The RSB is pleased to announce the approval of the RSB greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting methodology and establishment of a GHG …
(Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel) Campaign unites college students for collaboration, education.
The next generation of thought leaders is gearing up to lead America’s energy efforts. And biodiesel, our nation’s only commercially available advanced biofuel, is front …
(Democrat and Chronicle) Two hydrogen tanks at Monroe County’s alternative fuel station on Scottsville Road exploded and caught fire this afternoon, sending black smoke high in the air. The blasts were heard as far away …
by Greg Peel (ninemsn) …Algae.Tec is also in the process of an IPO. However at A$7.5m, Algae.Tec’s issue is hardly one that can be described as exploitative or prematurely opportunistic, and the company’s legally protected …
by Emily Wagster Pettus (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Mississippi lawmakers on Friday (August 27, 2010) will consider $50 million in state incentives for research and production of renewable fuel made from timber, one of the state’s most …
(The Dispatch) …KiOR of Houston, Texas, plans to locate three facilities in Mississippi, the first of which will be in Columbus on the southern fifth of The Island, at the Columbus-Lowndes Port’s east bank. …Additional …
(Balkans.com) Slovenia’s first biodiesel power plant, generating nearly one megawatt of electricity and worth EUR 1.3m, was inaugurated in Benedikt (NE) on Thursday. The plant was set up by Panonica Energetika, which is a part …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Blue Marble’s effervescent CEO Kelly Ogilvie, well known on the renewables circuit for his high-energy presentations over the years, took us through the math.
“Over the past 18 months,” he said, …
(Algal Industry Magazine) The Technical Standards Committee of the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) is currently in late stage review of its Algal Industry Minimum Descriptive Language Document, recommended for characterizing the economic and environmental inputs and …
(PRNewsWire) Energy industry executives joined investors and policymakers near Houston, Texas earlier today to take a firsthand look at energy grasses and research developments that are expected to push bioenergy to the forefront of renewable power …