Article Archive for January 2010
by Jim McFarland (Circle Track) Circle Track Takes The Initiative To Push-Start Your Thinking About Racing In A Green Environment
…Recently, suggestions from persons both inside and outside the motor racing community have indicated the sport may be …
by Ray Wert (Jalopnik) Who killed the electric car? Well, a closer evaluation of today’s Tesla’s IPO filing with the SEC reveals Tesla will. They plan to kill the Tesla Roadster after 2011. No, seriously.
The …
…The “Canadian Blueprint” is a strategy that will enable us to take full advantage of all the opportunities biotechnology has to offer, provided all stakeholders do what is required of them.
This document is a call …
The simple formula we’ve learned in recent years – forests remove the greenhouse gas CO2 from the atmosphere; therefore forests prevent global warming – may not be quite as simple as we thought. Forests can …
The Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, acting under the terms of Article 14 of the Convention; Recalling that under Article 11, paragraph 2.b of the Convention, each Contracting …
Scientists have found a way to increase fermentable sugar stores in plants which could lead to plant biomass being easier to convert into eco-friendly sustainable biofuels.
Their research is highlighted in the latest issue of Business, …
Massachusetts-based renewable energy company Bodega Algae and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine, have received a six-month, $150,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation to develop …
The Algal Biomass Organization, challenged the conclusions of a published report in Environmental Science and Technology claiming that “conventional crops have lower environmental impacts than algae in energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and water.” The …
Ricardo technology achieves breakthrough efficiency for ethanol-fuelled engines
System surpasses gasoline efficiency, reaches near-diesel levels and reduces operational costs compared to current fuels.
At the Washington Auto Show, Ricardo revealed the development of technology that optimizes ethanol-fuelled …
(CBC News, AP) A $10.5-million-US research project aimed at mapping the DNA sequence of sunflowers could one day yield a towering new variety for both food and fuel.
Researchers envision crossbreeding a standard sunflower with the …
by John Holland (Modesto Bee) …The Keyes plant, the only ethanol operation in Stanislaus County, has dominated the landscape but produced little fuel since it was finished next to a feed mill on the west …
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Conspicuous by their absence from the Washington Auto Show was the US Department of Energy (except for a brief press conference by Energy Secretary Chu at noon on Thursday) …
by Naill O’Keefe (FlightGlobal)
The International Air Transport Association has criticised the oil industry and national governments for failing to invest in the development of aviation biofuel.
Explaining why he is “disappointed” with the lack of government action, …
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) “Maybe the “Valley of Death” is working as it should for the biofuels industry. First generation biofuels seem to be finding their place in the market. Maybe there are …
Used for years to blend and dispense unleaded and premium to give customers several octane choices, blender pumps are now finding a home in the retailing of ethanol fuels, offering stations the unique opportunity to …
by Joanna Schroeder (domesticfuels.com) One of the biggest challenges for our country lies in the issue of how to create effective public policies that will grow the biofuels industry and reduce our dependence on foreign …
Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) The Electrification Coalition, an industry group composed of Cisco, Pacific Gas and Electric, NRG Energy, Nissan, and various investment bankers among others, wants to spend $124 billion dollars of …
…It is one thing to sprinkle a modest number of electric-drive cars throughout a nation as large as the United States; it is quite another for even a seemingly small number of those cars to …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has analyzed a new report out from the National Wildlife Federation on “Corn Ethanol and Wildlife” and found it lacking in accuracy. … The RFA analysis …
(National Wildlife Federation) A new report shows how government incentives for corn ethanol are driving farmers to shift land into corn production, resulting in significant decreases in grassland bird populations throughout the fragile Prairie Pothole …
by Jeff Fick (Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal) Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR), or Petrobras, signed a deal with the country’s Navy to test biofuels at extremely low temperatures. Petrobras will invest 3 …
by Don Hofstrand (Agricultural Marketing Resource Center) Crop residue, traditionally considered as “trash” or agricultural waste, is increasingly being viewed as a valuable resource. Corn stalks, corn cobs, wheat straw and other leftovers from grain …
by Brett Clanton and Monica Hatcher (Houston Chronicle) Chevron Corp. plans to restructure its global refining business under a sweeping plan that will result in an unspecified number of job losses and that could see …
by Michael Kannellos (GreenTechMedia) Take marginal land, fish waste and a plant that’s not currently cultivated for human purposes and what do you get? Hopefully jet fuel.
The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Honeywell UOP, …
This conference brings together professionals from industry and academia who seek solutions to environmental problems of a technical, legal, and regulatory nature. It features:
Plenary lectures featuring leading experts exploring timely petroleum and biofuels environmental problems …
Homegrown energy could reduce millions of pounds of nutrients from entering the Chesapeake Bay’s streams, creeks and rivers and create more than 18,000 jobs in the region, according to a new report released by the …
by John Vidal (The Guardian) One-quarter of all the maize and other grain crops grown in the US now ends up as biofuel in cars rather than being used to feed people, according to new …
Northeast Sun Grant Institute announces the 2010 Northeast Conference: “Championing the Northeast’s participation in the National Bioenergy Agenda” to be held May 24-26, 2010 at the Renaissance Syracuse Hotel in Syracuse, New York. READ MORE
Washington College teamed up with Tri Gas & Oil Company out of Federalsburg, MD, and New Generation Biofuels from Columbia, MD, to test NGB’s biofuel in one of the College’s boilers. The College uses approximately …
Sixteen clean technology projects from across Canada will receive $58 million in funding to help move innovative technology solutions to the market. The announcement, confirming the decision of the Board of Directors of Sustainable Development …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Those who have railed against government waste and inefficiency — numbering, presumably, in the millions if not billions of critics — can take special satisfaction from the news that Danish …
by Ricardo Hausmann and Rodrigo Wagner (Harvard University Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs) A disproportionately large amount of the world’s agronomic potential for the production of bio-ethanol is concentrated in a subset of …
(January 21, 2010) …It is imperative that government provide R&D funding, especially at the front end when private investments would not recoup the full value of the shared social good or when a new technology …
(Cattlenetwork.com) The November 26, 2008, edition of This Week In Petroleum looked at profit margins for the dry mill fuel ethanol industry, pointing out the boom-and-bust cycles that had occurred. In 2009, ethanol producers’ margins continued …
by James Guyette (Motor-Age) Fort Lauderdale-based InfoSpi, Inc. is moving ahead with plans to build a “flagship” Tire-to-Oil (T2O) plant in Pompano Beach, Fla. The company, which anticipates rolling out a network of 10 franchised facilities …
(Newswise) With many companies investing heavily in algae-based biofuels, researchers from the University of Virginia’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have found there are significant environmental hurdles to overcome before fuel production ramps up. …
by Geoffrey Thomas (Eco-Aviation Today) US Air Transport Assn. American Airlines, Continental Airlines and United Airlines initiated a legal challenge in the UK High Court of Justice against aviation’s inclusion in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme, …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Two global powerhouses, Bayer Technology Services GmbH and Dow Water and Process Solutions, joined forces recently to offer a new biodiesel process, trademarked BayFAME. Based on the Dow Amberlyst BD20 …
(Pangea Quarterly Newsletter) … In 2009, PANGEA staff spent a great deal of time looking at the food vs. fuel controversy and working to find ways to re-frame the discussion into one of food and …
by Kamilla Go (Santiago Times) Chile’s Energy Minister Marcelo Tokman and a Corporation for Public Works (Corfo) vice president announced a US$30 million investment in biofuel research in 2010. The project will be funded by …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Camelina has been much in the news of late, as a biofuels feedstock of strong promise, because of its position as one of the few “sustainable, affordable, reliable, available” feedstocks suitable …
by Jeffrey Decker (FlightGlobal) Interview with Richard Altman, executive director of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, working closely with aviation’s private and public sectors in a bid to achieve carbon neutral growth by 2020 …
Are …
(GreenAirOnline.com) Under business-as-usual (BAU) forecasts, CO2 emissions from global aviation are estimated to grow 3.1% per year over the next 40 years, resulting in a 300% increase in emissions by 2050 compared to 2007. However, …
(Renewable Energy Focus) The University of Glamorgan in the UK has been awarded £630 000 (US$1m) to develop its research into biological fuel cells. The work at Glamorgan’s Sustainable Environment Research Centre is looking at how …
(GreenAirOnline.com) A major study to investigate the technical and financial feasibility of a biorefinery plant to supply Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport with 50,000 tonnes of jet biofuel per year has been completed. The project was initiated …
by Will Thurmond (Biofuels Digest) As industry and governments enter a new decade and contemplate the outcome of the December, 2009 Copenhagen treaty, the ‘big picture’ on biofuels continues to get lost in the rhetoric …
by Carlos St. James (Argentine Renewable Energies Chamber) …Argentina, along with the rest of Latin America, is poised to begin capturing more and more of the growing pie that is global renewable energies investment.
…Clearly, the …
by Peter Harriman (ArgusLeader.com) The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe wants to be at the forefront of the next revolution in fuel production.
The tribal council last week unanimously approved signing a memorandum of understanding with EcoTech Fuels, …
by Ernest Lowe (Biofuels Digest) …several speakers in the morning’s plenary sessions invoked major statuatory and regulatory barriers to fulfilling this promise. There are conflicting definitions of biomass and what qualifies as a legitimate source or …
by Phillip Ewing (Navy Times) … Navy scientists will be able to use the Department of Agriculture’s knowledge of corn, algae and other biofuels to help develop the alternatives the fleet needs if it is …
This is the first of a series of 5 conventions aiming to provide guidance on the feasibility of sustainable bioenergy production on a large scale as well as implementation paths and policies that foster this …
Boeing, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Etihad Airways and Honeywell’s UOP announced an agreement to establish a major research institution and demonstration project in Abu Dhabi dedicated to sustainable energy solutions. The Sustainable …
by Wolfgang Knorr, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK (Geophysical Research Letters) Several recent studies have highlighted the possibility that the oceans and terrestrial ecosystems have started loosing part of their ability …
by Dirk Lammers (Sun Journal, AP) Researchers at South Dakota State University have rediscovered a long-ignored moth and found a new fly, both of which like to munch on switchgrass, a crop billed as a …
(US Department of Energy)Secretary Steven Chu also announced the selection of eight infrastructure projects to receive up to $1.6 million to support expanded fueling infrastructure for ethanol blends.
The projects will expand ethanol blends infrastructure at existing …
by Amy Westervelt (Solve Climate) There was a sense of deja vu in the biofuels sector this week when U.S. Energy Secretary Chu announced nearly $80 million in funding for research and development of algae-based …
With the goal of providing drivers with more choices at the pump, the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council (MCMC) has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to expand the number …
(Physorg.com) Soybean, one of the most important global sources of protein and oil, is now the first legume species with a published complete draft genome sequence. The sequence and its analysis appear in the January …
Comments by Brent Erickson, Executive Vice President, Industrial and Environmental Section of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) to the California Environmental Protection Agency and Air Resources Board (January 11, 2010): … The essence of the …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Massachusetts, Qteros unexpectedly dumped CEO Bill Frey and installed former Verenium EVP John McCarthy — one of the key players in the Celunol-Diversa merger that became cellulosic ethanol pioneer …
by Luke Geiver (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ICM Inc. will retrofit an idled 85 MMgy ethanol plant in Fulton, N.Y., now owned by Sunoco Inc. The plant, formerly owned by Northeast Biofuels, was built in 2008, and …
by POET (Renewable Energy World) A proposed ethanol pipeline would be an economic boost for the U.S., a new report demonstrates, creating almost 80,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs across the country.
POET and Magellan Midstream …
Following the great success of European Biodiesel 2008 in Belguim & 2009 in the Czech Republic, ACI’s 3rd Annual European Biodiesel conference is being held on 16th & 17th June in Barcelona, Spain, and includes an exclusive opportunity to …
Following the success of the inaugural Biofuels Markets East Africa conference and exhibition and the inaugural African Jatropha Roundtable that took place in Dar es Salaam in September 2008, this congress will expand on these …
Swedish SunPine is aiming to be the first company worldwide producing biodiesel from tall oil. At the plant site of SunPine, in Piteå harbor in northern Sweden, the building activity is intense. In the spring …
An executive task force formed by Gov. Steve Beshear has forwarded to the governor its recommendations for advancing the discussion on the development of a biomass and biofuels industry in Kentucky. A report from the …
by Lisa Gibson (Biomass Magazine) The Louisiana State University Agricultural Center has permission from the Board of Regents to establish the Louisiana Institute for Biofuels and Bioprocessing, a research, education and outreach initiative within the AgCenter.
The …
Evolution Resources, Inc., an advanced biofuels production company focused on the production of cellulosic ethanol using the latest in modern processes and technologies, today announced the signing of a Testing Services Agreement with North Carolina …
April 16-18 in Long Beach California, this weekend of Indy Car, American Le Mans Series and Toyota Celebrity/Pro racing strives to advance “green racing.” Some announced highlights:
- The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) is partnering …
UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced it has been selected for negotiation of a $25 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to build a demonstration unit in Hawaii to convert cellulosic biomass …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Australia, Jatoil announced a joint venture to develop high-value crops that will be planted alongside its oilseed bearing jatropha trees, resulting in a dual income stream to boost returns from …
by Eric Mcguinness (Hamilton Spectator) SunOpta BioProcess Inc. of Brampton is getting $5.5 million from the federal government to demonstrate that it can turn wood chips into fuel-grade ethanol and the sugar substitute xylitol.
The cellulosic …
On Friday, Jan. 29, DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC (DDCE) and University of Tennessee/Genera Energy LLC will hold a grand opening celebration for one of the nation’s first cellulosic ethanol demo plants, and the only …
Los Alamos National Laboratory has teamed with Solix Biofuels, Inc. to use an award-winning LANL sound-wave technology to optimize production of algae-based fuel in a cost-effective, scalable, and environmentally benign fashion.
Acoustic focusing—the novel use of …
Cavitation Technologies, Inc. (CTI) is pleased to announce filing a Nonprovisional Utility Patent Application titled “Method for Processing an Algae to Produce Algal Oil and By-Products” CTI successfully completed development and testing of its Algae …
U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the investment of nearly $80 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for advanced biofuels research and fueling infrastructure that will help support the development …
Cobalt Technologies, the leader in commercializing biobutanol as a renewable fuel and chemical, today formally launched its first facility. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Silicon Valley cleantech leaders were on hand, demonstrating the importance of …
Novozymes, has received an Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit of USD 28.4 million from the Obama Administration for the construction of its new enzyme manufacturing facility in Blair, Nebraska. The facility, which will produce enzymes used …
Memphis Bioworks Foundation announced it has been awarded a $2.9 million Energy Training Partnership Grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Green Jobs Training Program. The two-year initiative will fund programs to train …
(Chicago Tribune, AP) Snowmobiles that don’t start when it’s cold aren’t good for much. That’s why researchers at Michigan Technological University are trying to see how well snowmobiles can perform using fuel with higher levels …
Papers will be presented in plenary, oral and poster sessions and all presented papers will be published in the Proceedings. Authors wishing to submit a contribution should read the following instructions carefully and send an …
by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (Renewable Energy World) …Integrated production of biomass-based products in large biorefineries creates cost advantages and competitiveness, and it is expected to be the most viable in the first …
Under the global energy and environment crisis, the intermediate technology in the coexistence of alternative and conventional vehicles is becoming the premier choice in China. However, China still has a big technical back-drop in traditional …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, jatropha pioneer SG Biofuels announced a strategic alliance with Life Technologies Corporation, a provider of innovative life science solutions, to advance the development of Jatropha as a sustainable …
by Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post)
It sounded like a good idea: Provide a little government money to convert wood shavings and plant waste into renewable energy.
But as laudable as that goal sounds, it could end up …
by Joe Caspermeyer (Renewable Energy World) An Arizona State University research team has developed a process that removes a key obstacle to producing lower cost, renewable biofuels. The team has programmed a photosynthetic microbe to …
by Megan Kuhn (Flightglobal) Four companies with biorefinery projects targeting alternative jet fuel production will receive grant money totalling up to $100 million from the US Energy Department.
Honeywell subsidiary UOP, algae-based fuel developer Sapphire Energy, …
by Barry Cohen (National Algae Association) …At the start of the oil industry, wildcatters at Spindletop took risk, worked with what they had, and developed what they needed in the field. Look at all the changes …
The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) is leading a biodiesel pilot project to demonstrate how well the renewable fuel performs year-round in agriculture equipment. Supported under the National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative (NRDDI), the project will …
J.B. Smith (Waco Tribune-Herald) To critics who object to making ethanol fuel out of grain, Larry Lehr, of Waco, has an ecology-minded answer: Run it through a cow first.
Lehr, who teaches environmental science at Baylor …
Montana State University professors are taking the next step in research that could make it possible to produce biofuel from wood chips using a fungus discovered in South America. This fall, the university received a …
… “The Government of Ontario has recognized the need to move the Province to the forefront of the commercialization of chemicals, fuels, fibres and energy that can be produced from forests,” added Lorne Morrow, Chief …
TCS2010 brings together leading scientists and engineers to share the latest advances in thermal and catalytic science for biofuels and biobased products.
The symposium will offer a mix of informative plenary sessions with experts in the field, …
U.S. Development Group LLC (USDG), an industry leader in ethanol handling and distribution terminals, announced today that its West Colton Rail Terminal has begun to receive and offload ethanol railcars. The terminal, located in Rialto, …
(Property and Environment Research Center) Federally owned forests in the United States are facing financial and ecological problems. At the same time, the public’s growing concern over environmental issues and future energy sources are pushing …
As scientists scramble to develop ways to generate enormous amounts of energy from cleaner-burning, renewable fuels to replace coal and oil, promising agricultural crops such as switchgrass have made headlines. But selecting the plants from …
The ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit 2010 will convene the key players in the nation’s energy innovation community to spur the networks that will bring about the next Industrial Revolution in clean energy technologies, in the …
(Science Daily) A team of scientists from the University of Sheffield have developed an innovative device which will make the production of alternative biofuels more energy efficient.
The research team has adapted a unique bioreactor for …
Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest) The global auto industry converged on Deli this week for what is now the world’s second largest auto show. …With so many imported cars now in the country, consumers demanding cleaner …
Qatar Airways, Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) and Qatar Petroleum (QP) announced today that they will jointly carry out engineering, economic analysis and move into the development of sustainable bio jet fuel that will …
