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Article Archive for October 2009

US House Agriculture Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Future of Next Generation Biofuels
October 30, 2009 – 3:47 pm | No Comment

Tim Holden (D-PA) chair of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research, held hearings concentrating on the future of next generation biofuels.  
Dallas Tonsager, Under Secretary for Rural Development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture …

Hauling Garbage with Fuel Created from Garbage
October 30, 2009 – 3:13 pm | No Comment

At Frederick County’s Solid Waste Options presentation, Dave Specca, Assistant Director of the Rutgers EcoComplex described how landfill gases fuel compressed natural gas garbage trucks at the EcoComplex.  Watch video of similar process in California.  …

Bio-Based Jet Fuel Studies a “GR-8″ (Great R-8) Success
October 30, 2009 – 2:40 pm | No Comment

In support of the Department of Defense Assured Fuels Initiative for securing domestic fuel sources to meet the military’s energy needs, Air Force Research Laboratory and the Southwest Research Institute conducted tests of the first …

NASCAR, Rooted in Fossil Fuels, Turning over New, Green Leaf
October 30, 2009 – 2:23 pm | No Comment

by Nate Ryan  (USA Today)  …The concept might seem incongruous in a sport inherently tied to an internal combustion engine that many find synonymous with global warming, but NASCAR, despite cars with an eye-popping 5 …

Senator Charles Grassley Speaks Out Against Inappropriate Use of International Indirect Land Use Change Analysis
October 30, 2009 – 1:21 pm | No Comment

Prepared Floor Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley:    Biofuels and the Environmental Protection Agency     Thursday, October 29, 2009
…  The first issue I’m speaking about relates to the EPA’s proposal to penalize biofuels for greenhouse gas emissions …

Research into Renewable Biofuel Set to Reduce Reliance on Fossil Diesel Imports
October 30, 2009 – 12:50 pm | No Comment

(Alpha Galileo) Aston University in Birmingham, UK is involved in a € 3.73m (£3.4 million) research project, which will transform organic residues from biofuel production processes into a renewable biofuel that can reduce reliance on fossil …

Midwestern Legislators Group Moves in Support of Ethanol and Sound Science
October 29, 2009 – 4:03 pm | No Comment

(National Corn Growers Association)  The Midwest Legislative Conference of The Council of State Governments issued a series of resolutions recently containing policy resolutions adopted that aim to increase the use of both ethanol and blender …

The BioWorld® Biofuels Report 2009: Lane-Changing Trends and Fork-in-the-Road Dynamics
October 29, 2009 – 3:56 pm | No Comment

The contemporary biofuels market, born amid the chaos of the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973, has alternately sputtered, stalled and lurched, but has yet to cruise at its objective speed limit on the road to …

New Facility Showcases World’s First Commercially Viable Flex-Ethanol Process
October 29, 2009 – 3:46 pm | No Comment

With gas prices continually in flux, interest in domestically produced bio-fuels like ethanol (E85) is on the rise. Recently, Coskata Inc., a leading developer of alternative bio-fuels, announced the successful start-up of its semi-commercial flex-ethanol …

Renewable Fuels Association Concerned about Flaws in DOE Loan Program
October 29, 2009 – 3:09 pm | No Comment

 Dear Secretary Chu:
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), the national trade association representing the U.S. ethanol industry, is writing to express our concern about the current operation and direction of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) …

FAME 2010 GreenWorld Conference September 14-15 Berlin, Germany
October 29, 2009 – 1:59 pm | No Comment
FAME 2010 GreenWorld Conference September 14-15 Berlin, Germany

FAME is where the most influential professionals involved in the biofuel and biomass market gather to share their views, learn about the latest in the industry and listen to consequential, in-depth presentations – from policy …

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Cleantech Group Announce Launch of Government Funding Resource
October 29, 2009 – 11:02 am | No Comment

The publicly available tool–driven by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati content–aggregates and frequently updates the numerous financing opportunities, such as grants, loan guarantees, tax credits, and other programs, being offered by federal and state governments. …

Quebec Company Turns Trash Into Fuel
October 29, 2009 – 8:41 am | No Comment

by John Lorinc  (New York Times) Enerkem, a green energy company based in Quebec, has developed an alternative approach to mining the carbon out of non-recyclable plastics, construction waste and other materials found in the municipal …

Bio Base Europe Training Centre on Track for 2011 Opening
October 28, 2009 – 1:22 pm | No Comment

Bio Base Europe, the Biopark Terneuzen and Ghent Bio-Energy Valley joint initiative launched in April 2009, has said its new bio-focused Training Centre is on course to open in early 2011. The Bio Base Europe …

Low Carbon Future Needs Low Carbon Fuel
October 28, 2009 – 1:14 pm | No Comment

(Novozymes)  … “The article in Science overlooks one important fact: Biofuels recycle atmospheric carbon while fossil fuels release carbon that has been stored underground for millions of years. In the transport sector, biofuels are the …

Univ. of Minnesota Spin-Out Wins $2.2M Federal Grant
October 28, 2009 – 1:01 pm | No Comment

by Katharine Grayson  (Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal)  BioCee Inc. a startup that’s commercializing technology invented by a University of Minnesota professor, has received a $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The firm …

ARPE-E Awards $151 Million in Advanced Energy R&D – Pyrolysis, Algae, Butanol, CO2 Capture among Hot Technologies Funded
October 28, 2009 – 12:23 pm | No Comment

In California, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that ARPA-E — the Department’s recently-formed Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy — has awarded $151 million in funding for 37 research projects.  Biofuels Digest lists and describes the …

US Seeking Partnership with Philippines in Research on Biofuel
October 28, 2009 – 10:21 am | No Comment

(Philstar.com)  Visiting US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Monday that the US government is seeking partnership with the Philippines in terms of research on biofuel.
Speaking at a press conference, Vilsack said both countries recognize …

The Global Oil Depletion Report
October 28, 2009 – 8:28 am | No Comment

The ‘peak oil’ debate is polarised, contentious and characterised by competing interpretations of the available data.  A growing number of commentators are forecasting a near-term peak in global oil production with potentially serious economic impacts. …

BIOOCTANIC, Zagreb, Croatia
October 28, 2009 – 7:42 am | No Comment

Our solution is creation of utility towers used for production of bio fuel and city air recuperation. The idea is to place these towers on positions of existing petrol stations in cities. Our research led …

Background Paper on Biofuel Production Technologies
October 28, 2009 – 7:38 am | No Comment

The International Centre of Science and High Technology of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (ICS-UNIDO) has been promoting programmes on capacity building and knowledge transfer in developing countries in several selected areas, including renewable …

Use of Forests as Carbon Offsets Fails to Impress In First Big Trial
October 28, 2009 – 6:48 am | No Comment

by Juliet Eliperin (Washington Post)  More than a decade ago in the northeast corner of Bolivia, a group of polluters and environmentalists joined forces in the first large-scale experiment to curb climate change with a …

Brazil’s Cosan Sees 2010/11 Cane Crush at 58 mln T
October 27, 2009 – 3:21 pm | No Comment

by Inae Riveras  (Reuters)  … Brazil’s largest sugar and ethanol producing group, said it expects to crush 58 million tonnes of cane in 2010/11 (April-March), up from 54 million tonnes in 2009/10.
“We expect to grow …

Brazil Drivers Ditch Biofuel Over High Sugar Costs
October 27, 2009 – 3:14 pm | No Comment

by Peter Murphy (Reuters)  Some Brazilian motorists who fuel their cars solely on cane-based ethanol are switching back to gasoline as high sugar prices now make the biofuel more costly in some states.  Brazil is a …

The BB Gun – the DOE’s “BB” Rating Requirement Blasts Diversity in Clean Energy Development
October 27, 2009 – 3:03 pm | No Comment

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   In Washington, the US Department of Energy is requiring that to receive DOE loan guarantees renewable energy projects meet a debt rating standard higher than 63 percent of all US …

Indirect Emissions from Biofuels: How Important?
October 27, 2009 – 2:31 pm | No Comment

by Jerry M. Melillo, et al. (Science Express)  A global biofuels program will lead to intense pressures on land supply and can increase greenhouse gas emissions from land-use changes. Using linked economic and terrestrial biogeochemistry …

Why Sustainability Standards for Biofuel Production Make Little Economic Sense
October 25, 2009 – 8:42 am | No Comment

by Harry deGorter and David R. Just (Policy Analysis, Cato Institute) The federal “sustainability standard” requires ethanol to emit at least 20 percent less carbon dioxide (CO2) than gasoline. Recent rulings by California and the Environmental …

Is Garbage The Solution To Tackling Climate Change?
October 24, 2009 – 1:38 pm | No Comment

(Science Daily)  Converting the rubbish that fills the world’s landfills into biofuel may be the answer to both the growing energy crisis and to tackling carbon emissions, claim scientists in Singapore and Switzerland. New research …

Biodiesel Returns More Energy To The Earth Than Ever, Study Finds
October 24, 2009 – 1:34 pm | No Comment

(Reuters)  Biodiesel is better than ever at harnessing the power of the sun and turning it into fuel.  In fact, a study shows the fuel is returning more than four times the energy that
it takes …

Bio-Oil from Wastewater Algae
October 24, 2009 – 1:21 pm | No Comment

New Zealand’s National Instititue of Water and Atmospheric Research’s mission is to conduct leading environmental science to enable the sustainable management of natural resources for New Zealand and the planet.
In order to produce biofuels cost-effectively …

Report Examines Hidden Health and Environmental Costs Of Energy Production and Consumption In U.S.
October 24, 2009 – 1:13 pm | No Comment

… Damages per vehicle mile traveled were remarkably similar among various combinations of fuels and technologies — the range was 1.2 cents to about 1.7 cents per mile traveled — and it is important to …

Big Oil Looks to Biofuels
October 24, 2009 – 12:53 pm | No Comment

by Guy Chazan  (Wall Street Journal)  The biofuels industry, hit hard by the global credit crunch, is getting a shot in the arm from a new source–the oil majors.  Among the oil companies, BP PLC and …

Verenium and VPP Sign Agreement to Test C5 Cellulosic Technology on Pulping Feedstocks for the Production of Ethanol
October 24, 2009 – 12:42 pm | No Comment

Verenium Corporation, a pioneer in the development of next-generation cellulosic ethanol and high-performance specialty enzymes, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Value Prior to Pulping (VPP), an organization created by the Agenda …

Opening Second Tender Global Sustainable Biomass Fund
October 24, 2009 – 12:29 pm | No Comment

The Global Sustainable Biomass Fund supports developing countries in making their biomass production for energy uses sustainable. It thus enables them to access the local or international market of sustainable biomass for energy uses. The …

Recent Progress in Biofuels in Japan
October 24, 2009 – 12:20 pm | No Comment

by Professor Shiro Saka  (IEA Bioenergy Task 39 Newsletter)  …  According to our research in recent years, approximately 370 million tons of biomass resources are annually produced in Japan. Among these, approximately 77 million tons …

Kumho Petrochemical to Build Algae Bioethanol Plant in Yeosu, Korea
October 24, 2009 – 11:57 am | No Comment

(The Korea Herald)  Kumho Petrochemical Co., the South Jeolla provincial government and a local biotechnology firm agreed Thursday to establish an algae bioethanol plant by 2013, officials said, according to Yonhap News.  The agreement calls …

Five Technologies That Could Change Everything
October 24, 2009 – 11:49 am | No Comment

by Michael Totty  (Wall Street Journal)   It’s a tall order: Over the next few decades, the world will need to wean itself from dependence on fossil fuels and drastically reduce greenhouse gases. Current technology will …

Towards Sustainable Production and Use of Resources: Assessing Biofuels
October 23, 2009 – 5:18 pm | No Comment

(United Nations Environment Programme)  The number of scientific publications devoted to biofuels is growing exponentially, and the number of reviews is increasing rapidly. For decision makers it has become a hard job to find robust …

Boeing, Honeywell’s UOP and Government of Mexico Launch Research and Advocacy Collaboration to Drive Commercial Use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels
October 23, 2009 – 5:05 pm | No Comment

Boeing [NYSE: BA], the Airports and Auxiliary Services agency (ASA), an arm of Mexico’s Ministry of Communications and Transport, and Honeywell’s UOP today announced a collaboration to identify, research and further the development of a …

Scaling Up Is Hard to Do
October 23, 2009 – 4:25 pm | No Comment

by Peter Fairley (Technology Review)  … Producing advanced biofuels on the scale of tens of billions of gallons per year will mean financing several hundred commercial-­scale biorefineries at a net cost of roughly $250 billion. …

BioFuel Africa Begins Commercial Production of Jatropha Oil
October 23, 2009 – 4:18 pm | One Comment

Biofuel Africa Ltd. has begun commercial production of jatropha oil, the first company in West Africa to move from growing and selling jatropha fruits and seeds to production and sale of jatropha oil on a …

Cane Ethanol Helps Cut Greenhouse Emissions: Brazilian Study
October 23, 2009 – 4:07 pm | No Comment

by Inae Riveras (Reuters)  Use of sugar cane-based ethanol as a substitute for gasoline is among the cheapest and easiest ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Brazilian study.  Cane ethanol provides about …

The 7% Solution: Sustainable US Biofuels without International Indirect Land Use Effects
October 23, 2009 – 2:26 pm | No Comment

by Robert E. Kozak  (Advanced Biofuels USA)  Looking at some real-world numbers, it becomes clear that the fear raised in Fixing a Critical Climate Accounting Error, Science, October 23, 2009, misses the point. Growing energy …

Advanced Biofuels USA Reacts to Science Magazine Article
October 23, 2009 – 11:16 am | No Comment

A study published in Science magazine promotes a policy which would penalize American biofuels industries in US legislation and regulation and in international global climate change agreements.  Advanced Biofuels USA would like to point out …

Carbon Advantage of Biofuels May Be Overstated
October 23, 2009 – 10:25 am | No Comment

by Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post)  The world’s policymakers and scientists have made a critical error in how they count biofuels’ contribution to human-generated greenhouse-gas emissions, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Science.   …

10%
October 23, 2009 – 10:07 am | No Comment

(Detroit Public Television)  When most folks see a number like 10% they’re receiving a discount on a sale item or reading a nutritional chart at the grocery store. But the number that we’re talking about …

Growth Energy Reacts to Science Magazine Paper
October 23, 2009 – 7:43 am | No Comment

Tom Buis (Growth Energy)  “Ethanol is part of the natural carbon cycle. It has taken the lifetime of our planet to produce the oil that is in the ground. Biofuels come from the top of …

Science Article on GHG Accounting Misses the Mark on Biofuels
October 23, 2009 – 7:09 am | No Comment

(Renewable Fuels Association) Biofuels produced from biomass feedstocks (i.e. plant matter) are, by definition, carbon neutral because carbon dioxide tailpipe emissions from the combustion of biofuels are readily absorbed by growing plants. As such, the tailpipe …

Accounting Error Undermines Climate Change Laws
October 23, 2009 – 7:01 am | No Comment

(Nitrogen News)…  “The error is serious, but we can fix it,” said lead author Tim Searchinger, a research scholar at Princeton University and a fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. “The solution …

They’d Shoot Trees, Wouldn’t They? Climate Laws Encourage Deforestation, Scientists Say
October 23, 2009 – 6:51 am | No Comment

by Keith Johnson (Wall Street Journal) The law of unintended consequences strikes yet again.  Global plans to tackle climate change, from the Kyoto Protocol to the recently-passed Waxman-Markey bill, have a fatal flaw: They essentially encourage …

Calculating Emissions Is Problematic
October 23, 2009 – 6:44 am | No Comment

by Sindya N. Bhanoo (New York Times)  …  The problem boils down to this: In emission calculations, all fuel derived from plants and other organic sources — including ethanol — is generally treated as if it has no …

Another Biofuels Drawback: The Demand for Irrigation
October 23, 2009 – 6:40 am | No Comment

by Robert F. Service (Science Magazine)  At first blush, it’s easy to make the case for biofuels. By converting crops into ethanol or biodiesel, farmers can reduce demand for imported oil, lower national dependence on …

Fixing a Critical Climate Accounting Error
October 23, 2009 – 6:36 am | No Comment

by Tim Searchinger, et al. (Science Magazine)  The accounting now used for assessing compliance with carbon limits in the Kyoto Protocol and in climate legislation contains a far-reaching but fixable flaw that will severely undermine …

Implications of Limiting CO2 Concentrations for Land Use and Energy
October 23, 2009 – 5:16 am | No Comment

by Marshall Wise, et al. (Science Magazine)  Limiting atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations to low levels requires strategies to manage anthropogenic carbon emissions from terrestrial systems as well as fossil fuel and industrial sources. We …

Recommendations for Improving the Effectiveness of Renewable Energy Policies in China
October 22, 2009 – 1:19 pm | No Comment

REN21 released its report  Recommendations for Improving the Effectiveness of Renewable Energy Policies in China. This report provides a list of recommendations to the policy makers in China on improving the effectiveness of renewable energy …

Pennsylvania Project Uses Mine Lands for Biofuel Crops
October 22, 2009 – 12:16 pm | No Comment

by Lisa Gibson (Biomass Magazine)  A project in Pennsylvania seeks to determine if abandoned and active mine lands can be reclaimed and used to grow biofuel crops such as switchgrass and other warm-season grass species.  …

BlueFire Shifts Cellulosic Ethanol Project to Mississippi; Taxes, Timing Issues in Move from California
October 22, 2009 – 11:56 am | No Comment

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   In California, cellulosic ethanol pioneer BlueFire Ethanol Fuels announced strategic relocation of its second planned biorefinery to Fulton, Mississippi.  After having been awarded a $40 million dollar grant from the …

Combining Two Innovations Brought Oxford Catalysts and Velocys Success for ICIS’s Best Innovation by an SME
October 22, 2009 – 10:52 am | No Comment

Production of liquid biofuels such as diesel and jet fuel from organic materials including municipal waste, is an attractive proposition. But using conventional large scale plants requires bulky waste to be transported, often over long …

NC State Receives $2 Million for Algae Research
October 22, 2009 – 10:31 am | No Comment

Imagine filling up your car with fuel that comes from inexpensive algae that grow quickly, don’t use up freshwater supplies and can be cultivated in areas where they won’t compete with traditional food crops, such …

Coskata Unveils Semi-Commercial Feedstock Flexible Ethanol Facility in Madison, PA
October 22, 2009 – 9:48 am | No Comment

Coskata Inc., a leading developer of next generation biofuels, today announced the successful start-up of their semi-commercial flex ethanol facility located in Madison, PA. The accomplishment represents the successful scale-up of the company’s technology, and will …

Industry Built From Scratch
October 22, 2009 – 9:43 am | No Comment

by Matthew L. Wald   (New York Times)  … The facility, built by a company called Coskata, is not quite proof that a new era is at hand for American transportation fuels. But with the company claiming …

Racing for the Next Generation
October 22, 2009 – 7:12 am | No Comment

by Jeremy Burne (Just-Auto)  Not many dispute the relationship between success on the track and success at the dealership, most acknowledge the global power of motorsports as a marketing tool for certain automotive brands. Many also …

Green Racing at Petit Le Mans: Jetta TDI’s Demonstrate the Future of Racing
October 16, 2009 – 9:16 am | No Comment

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)  Back to my beloved TDI.  This time not the expensive Audi’s, but Volkswagen’s Jetta TDI’s swoop relatively quietly and gracefully around the track in the first all-diesel race series …

Branson on the Power of Biofuels and Elders
October 16, 2009 – 8:15 am | No Comment

by Andrew C. Revkin (New York Times)   …   By 2020, he hopes that  fuel for his companies’ jet fleets will be derived from algae or consist of  isobutanol, derived from sugars. The advantage of isobutanol, …

POET’s ‘Inviz’ to Replace More Petroleum Products
October 16, 2009 – 7:42 am | No Comment

POET is one step closer to gleaning the maximum value from each part of the corn kernel with a new ethanol co-product, “Inviz,” which is set to replace petroleum-based ingredients in household products ranging from …

Cyclone Power Technologies Receives the “Algaepreneur 2009 Award”
October 15, 2009 – 2:35 pm | No Comment

Cyclone received the NAA award for its heat regenerative, Rankine cycle engine, an efficient and earth-friendly modern steam engine capable of running on virtually any fuel, including today’s most promising biofuels. In tests performed by …

Santa Fe Community College Opens Algae Lab in Oshara Village
October 15, 2009 – 2:21 pm | No Comment

by Alan Hoffman     Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) recently broke ground on the new Sustainable Technologies Center. This multimillion-dollar LEED certified training facility will teach the next generation of American workers how to fill the …

Navy Secretary Announces Energy Changes
October 15, 2009 – 12:32 pm | No Comment

by Bettina H. Chavanne  (Aviation Week)  …  (U.S. Navy Secretary Ray) Mabus also introduced the idea of a Great Green Fleet, a green strike group comprising nuclear vessels, surface combatants equipped with hybrid electric systems …

Bioenergy Australia 2009 – From Opportunity to Implementation December 8-10 Queensland, Australia
October 14, 2009 – 11:35 am | No Comment
Bioenergy Australia 2009 – From Opportunity to Implementation December 8-10 Queensland, Australia

Established in 1997 as a government-industry forum to foster and facilitate the development of biomass for energy, liquid fuels, and other value added bio-based products. Bioenergy Australia is concerned with all aspects of biomass and …

Vehicles Running E85 Corn Ethanol Have 30 Percent Lower CO2 Emissions than the All-Electric Tesla Roadster, Study Finds
October 14, 2009 – 9:44 am | No Comment

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Florida, Biofuels Digest has found that cars running on E85 corn-based ethanol, at the proposed new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, will generate 30 percent lower CO2 emissions …

Sandia Algae Project Converts Dairy Wastes to Energy, Other Products
October 14, 2009 – 9:31 am | No Comment

( Greenjobs )  …Recently Cecelia Williams and other Sandia researchers have grown green algae in a 12-by-30-foot greenhouse using a simulated dairy effluent, the nutrient-rich liquid remaining after bacterial digestion of dairy manure. The solids from …

Indian States Fast-Track Jatropha 2.0, a Special Biofuels Digest Report
October 14, 2009 – 6:27 am | One Comment

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest)  Despite the Indian Government’s official go-slow policy on Jatropha, several Indian states are now planting the crop in a big way. These are not the old style monoculture plantations that …

Green Racing at Petit LeMans: Corvette Flies a 2008 Winner Banner
October 13, 2009 – 4:57 pm | No Comment

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)   GM’s Corvette proudly flies the Green Challenge Champion banner over its paddock at Petit Le Mans, having taken the honor for 2008.  Todd Christensen, GM sport compact marketing manager …

US Dept. of Energy Secretary Cho Articulates Administration’s Real Attitude toward Advanced Biofuels
October 13, 2009 – 9:38 am | No Comment

Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the US Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu, broke with Obama administration renewable energy policy, telling stunned alternative energy developers at a recent meeting on alternative fuels that “if …

Improvements in Life Cycle Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn-Ethanol
October 13, 2009 – 8:16 am | No Comment

(Journal of Industrial Ecology)  Corn-ethanol production is expanding rapidly with the adoption of improved technologies to increase energy efficiency and profitability in crop production, ethanol conversion, and coproduct use. Life cycle assessment can evaluate the …

Industry Leaders Announce Alliance to Commercialize Integrated-Carbon-to-Liquids™ (ICTL) Fuel Technologies
October 13, 2009 – 8:09 am | No Comment

(BusinessWire)  Accelergy Corporation and A2BE Carbon Capture LLC today announced the formation of the Carbon Cycle Technology Alliance at the 2009 Algae Biomass Summit. The Alliance will commercialize a platform for Integrated Carbon to Liquids™ …

Boeing Looks at Greener Partnerships for Aviation
October 13, 2009 – 7:27 am | No Comment

(CCTV) After producing aircraft components for Boeing for more than two decades, China is expected to become the US airplane manufacturer’s research and development (R&D) partner for environmentally friendly technologies that will make the aviation industry …

ANZ CEO Rob Fyfe Takes Off Gloves to Fight Environmental Inertia
October 13, 2009 – 7:14 am | No Comment

by  Geoffrey Thomas (Eco-Aviation Today) In one of the hardest-hitting speeches in recent times, Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe lashed out at the “inconvenient truth” that the world’s leaders, regulators and airlines are continuing to …

Green Racing at Petit Le Mans: Put Some Teeth ($) into the Green Challenge
October 12, 2009 – 5:44 pm | No Comment

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)   Bryan MacDonald, Highcroft Racing’s chief operating officer took a crack at explaining how important racing is to developing technologies with rest-of-the-world applications. His personal view of the future …

Bayer Says It Cracked Rapeseed Gene Code
October 12, 2009 – 3:03 pm | No Comment

(Reuters)  Germany’s Bayer, the world’s largest supplier of genetically modified (GM) rapeseed seeds, mapped out the entire genetic code of the oil plant, in bid to speed up development of new varieties.  … Rapeseed, also …

Total Intends to Take an Active Part in BioTfueL France’s Second-Generation Biodiesel Pilot Program
October 12, 2009 – 2:58 pm | No Comment

As Europe’s leading automotive fuel refiner and marketer, Total is committed to stepping up the development of second-generation biofuels, which are needed to improve the environmental profile of crop-based fuels and avoid the use of …

International Civil Aviation Organization Sets Aviation Emissions Targets
October 12, 2009 – 2:43 pm | No Comment

 by Adrian Schofield (Aviation Week)  ICAO members have reached agreement on a set of environmental targets for the aviation sector, although it is setting higher fuel efficiency standards than industry was proposing.  After a high-level …

United Airlines Chief calls for More Investment in Developing the Alternative Jet Fuels Market
October 12, 2009 – 2:33 pm | No Comment

(GreenAirOnline.com)  Glenn Tilton, Chairman of both United Airlines and the Air Transport Association of America, called on government, investors and producers to seize the opportunity to provide the airline industry with alternative fuels. Speaking at …

Nitrogen Deposition Limits Climate Change Impacts on Carbon Sequestration
October 12, 2009 – 1:37 pm | No Comment

(Alpha Galileo)  The role of the forests is assumed to increase in the future, as an important buffer of climate change and increasing CO2 concentrations. So-called Earth System Models, computer systems making predictions for the …

Biofuels Meet EU CO2 target but Gains Vary
October 12, 2009 – 1:29 pm | No Comment

by Gus Trompiz and Valerie Parent (Reuters)  The current generation of biofuels meets a European target for cutting carbon dioxide emissions but its performance varies widely depending on the crop and production process used, an …

Mid-Level Ethanol Blend Study: Chassis Dynamometer Study of Flex-Fuel Vehicles
October 12, 2009 – 12:26 pm | No Comment

The objective of this study was to determine the fuel efficiencies and emission
profiles of flex fuel vehicles operating on different ethanol blends (E10, E20, E30, and
E85).
 
… The E85 fuel blend consumed less BTU’s per mile …

EPA Expects 86 Ethanol Facilities to Be Major GHG Emitters
October 12, 2009 – 11:45 am | No Comment

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)   The U.S. EPA said 86 U.S. ethanol production facilities will qualify as “major” sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and be required to obtain Title V permits if the agency’s …

Nanotechnology Used In Biofuel Process To Save Money, Environment
October 12, 2009 – 11:36 am | No Comment

by Dave Guerin (Louisiana Tech University)  Dr. James Palmer, associate professor of chemical engineering at Louisiana Tech University, is collaborating with fellow professors Dr. Yuri Lvov, Dr. Dale Snow, and Dr. Hisham Hegab to capitalize on …

Africa: Land-Grabbing – the Why and the How
October 12, 2009 – 10:28 am | No Comment

by Nikolaj Nielsen (All Africa.com; Pambazuka News)   … Biofuels were then and continue to be in many respects hyped as an environmentally friendly alternative to oil-based transport fuels. The United States, the EU and other …

Medicago to Work with U.S. Army on Biofuel Enzyme Study
October 12, 2009 – 10:02 am | No Comment

(Reuters)  Medicago Inc., a small Canadian biotech company, said on Thursday it will work with the U.S. Army to study ways of creating fuels from plants, sending its shares up more than 20 percent.  The …

Biodiesel Myths Busted
October 12, 2009 – 9:57 am | No Comment

by Joanne Schroeder  (DomesticFuel)  The biofuels industry has yet to get a famous show like Mythbusters to test some of the false information floating around about biodiesel and ethanol. Well, maybe we don’t need them. The …

Will These 4 Biofuels Be Bonanzas or Busts?
October 12, 2009 – 9:48 am | No Comment

(Discover)  …(A)recent series of articles from Nature News feels like a public service, as the articles investigate the scientific and economic state of affairs for four different kinds of biofuels.  
The first article focused on the …

Project LIBERTY Field Day Demos Cob Harvesting Equipment
October 12, 2009 – 9:26 am | No Comment

Area farmers will see new and pre-commercial equipment in action harvesting corn cobs for cellulosic ethanol next month at Project LIBERTY Field Day in Emmetsburg, Iowa.
Farmers, agricultural equipment manufacturers, POET representatives and state and federal …

Algae repositions as biofuels’ “humble but lovable” feedstock: industry gathers in positive, but low-key annual Summit
October 12, 2009 – 9:15 am | No Comment

Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) provides a summary of the developing algae ethos at the Algae Biomass Summit in San Diego:  The biotech elevator pitch usually adheres to a ‘rule of 5′.  The offer is invariably …

ALMS: Acura, Porsche First To Claim Michelin Green X Challenge Titles
October 12, 2009 – 8:43 am | No Comment

(SpeedTV)  The tenth and final race of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season provided a fitting test to determine the event winners and the first MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge season champions. The Lowe’s Fernandez …

Green Racing at Petit Le Mans: Ethanol Never Tasted So Good: BP Biobutanol and Patron Tequila
October 11, 2009 – 5:40 pm | No Comment

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)  BP and Shell had a bit of a rivalry going on at Petit LeMans.  Shell is the official diesel fuel provider for Audi and Peugeot.  British Petroleum is a …

Green Racing at Petit Le Mans: Audi and Shell
October 10, 2009 – 5:35 pm | No Comment

Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)  I am not a car guy.  Not a car gal.  That said, I LOVE the TDI Audi’s that race the LeMans endurance races.  I love them like I have never loved …

Biofuels Producers Warn They Are Going to Fall Far Short of Federal Mandates
October 10, 2009 – 11:07 am | No Comment

by Jessica Leber  (New York Times Climatewire)  The emerging cellulosic biofuel industry, stung by frozen credit markets, ineffective federal loan programs and lagging federal policies, will fall far short of mandated production volumes over the …

Next-Generation BioBased Chemicals Summit February 8-10 San Diego, CA
October 10, 2009 – 10:24 am | No Comment
Next-Generation BioBased Chemicals Summit February 8-10 San Diego, CA

 Bio-based products are gaining market share in the $3 trillion chemicals industry. High value, low volume products made out of processed biomass or excreted by designer organisms are starting to compete with chemicals made from …

Green Racing at Petit Le Mans: Drayson Racing
October 9, 2009 – 4:04 pm | No Comment

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)   Drayson Racing (without Barwell this year) had a new, much faster car (built less than a month earlier in only 12 days) at the 2009 10 hour or 1000 …