Article Archive for June 2011
(The American Small Business Travelers Alliance) The American Small Business Travelers Alliance (ASBTA) serves America’s 27 million small companies by working to improve service, reduce costs and maintain safety and comfort in air travel.
“Public and …
by Andrew Restuccia (The Hill/E2Wire) President Obama pressed lawmakers Wednesday to cut a slew of oil industry tax breaks as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling, arguing that the alternative is to …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Today (June 29, 2011) U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tom Udall (D-NM) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced the Oil Independence for a Stronger America Act today in an effort …
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Southeast is ripe for energy crop development, according to several panelists who spoke during a session devoted to next-generation feedstock strategies June 28 at the International Fuel …
by Lallemand Ethanol Technology (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …The yet-to-be-named yeast is the first product to be patented (pending) and commercialized out of the exclusive partnership between Lallemand Ethanol Technology and Xylogenics Inc. Developed using extensive …
by Ron Kotrba (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …(Pete) Moss, (vice president of marketing for cereal process technologies) says the 15 billion gallon cap on corn ethanol in RFS2 is one reason why fractionation will finally come …
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …(I)ndustry experts discussed their views toward integrating cellulosic production at existing corn ethanol facilities.
…The panelists seemed in agreement that integrating cellulosic ethanol production with existing first-generation plants presents an …
by Chuck Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) …(A)t the 2011 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop, the 2011 Award of Excellence was presented to Dr. Bruce Dale, Michigan State University, by BBI International VP, Tom Bryan.
Dale, professor of chemical engineering …
by James Gough (Fredericksburg Free Lance Star) …My primary concern with the editorial, however, is the certainty with which the writer declares, “we know now that ethanol production actually degrades the environment and causes increases …
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen abandoned the podium and chose to speak off the cuff during his keynote presentation delivered to attendees of the International Fuel …
by Jacqueline Cochran (The Advocate) Concerns that “pure” gasoline production in Louisiana may come to an end resulted in a commitment by the Tangipahoa Parish Council to lead a statewide call for congressional assistance.
Councilman Carlo …
(ABC News) A Townsville researcher in north Queensland believes the growth of the state’s biofuel industry is being hampered by a lack of refineries.
…Associate professor Kirsten Heimann from James Cook University says Queensland has plenty …
by Emma Onyango (East African Business Week) …Pegasus Investments and now African Power Initiative have both shown interest in making this diesel. Mr. Sudhir Kumar, the Business Development Manager African Power Initiative said that …
(KLM) KLM Royal Dutch Airlines today became the first airline in the world to operate a commercial flight carrying 171 passengers on biokerosene. Flight KL1233 – a Boeing 737-800 – took off this afternoon at …
by Lianna Albrizio (NorthJersey.com/Northern Valley Suburbanite) The Department of Public Works officially unveiled the borough’s home-grown biofuel for its trucks on June 23.
The borough is the only town in the Northern Valley that …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, President Obama launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership – ho-hum, you say, and I think I hear you yawning.
…“Invent here, make elsewhere” is a failed industrial policy, according to …
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) EESI published a fact sheet outlining the number of U.S. jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.
Among the facts:
For every $1 million spent on energy efficiency, 2.5 …
by Jonathan Fahey (Forbes) …Congress, when it passed legislation in 2007 that subsidized advanced biofuels to the tune of $1.01 per gallon (on top of the 51-cent standard ethanol credit) and mandated that the country …
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) On June 16, 2011, the Sustainable Energy Coalition and U.S. House and Senate Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucuses, in partnership with the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, House Algae Energy Caucus, House Hydrogen …
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) EESI published an issue brief on policies that subsidize the production of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas). In recent years, major international institutions such as the G20, International Energy …
by Herman K. Trabish (GreenTechMedia) California’s Tehachapi-Mohave Region is rich in renewable potential—but is it richer in NIMBYism and BANANAism?
…But development will not happen until the people of the Antelope Valley — who will have to …
(GreenAirOnline) The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has announced an initiative help finance public and private institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean to develop a sustainable jet biofuel industry from locally grown organic feedstock. The …
(World Bank) National targets would contribute to rapid biofuel expansion in the next 10 years; Reaching those goals would have a limited impact on the global economy; Some countries would be affected significantly, with higher cost of …
(University of Edinburgh/Labspaces) …Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have found that the tiny organism has developed coping mechanisms for when its main food source is in short supply.
Understanding these processes will help scientists develop …
(Co-Generation and On-Site Power Production) …Queensland wants to be a Pacific leader in biofuels. That’s the message Premier Anna Bligh has delivered at a biotechnology conference in Washington.
She’s says Queensland researchers are bidding to supply …
Platts Next-Generation Biofuels gives you the insights and the contacts you need to keep up with the evolving biofuels industry. Hear about the key issues facing next-generation biofuels:
Government policy and support including loan guarantees
The state …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Maybe it’s because they didn’t get the word out adequately. Perhaps it’s because they didn’t talk to their neighbors soon enough in the process. Whatever the reason, some just …
By Stephan Nielsen (Bloomberg) BioVerde Industria e Comercio de Biocombustiveis SA, which is building Brazil’s biggest biodiesel refinery, expects to sell 40 percent of its output in Europe by 2015 as an alternative to a saturated …
FACT has published a comprehensive report on the opportunities and feasibility of aquatic biofuels, their limitations and associated problems and threats.
Aquatic biomass is attracting a lot of interest as a valuable feedstock for second and …
(DSM) Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, today announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire C5 Yeast Company B.V. (Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands) from Royal Cosun. The acquisition will …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Over at Blue Marble, think spent waste grains from the alcoholic beverage distillation process, and spent coffee grounds. Generally, these are materials that pile up in landfills.
By contrast, at Blue …
(American Coalition for Ethanol) …ACE Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty says ACE ethanol producer members are becoming increasingly interested in supplying E85 and midlevel blends at the plant level, and developing their own network of stations …
by Christopher Mims (Grist) Production of biofuel from palm oil has been an unmitigated disaster for the rainforest, leading to clear-cutting throughout Indonesia and propelling that country to the top ranks of the world’s …
(E-Energy Market/European Voice) Biofuel from palm oil, soybean and rapeseed produces more greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuel, once the environmental side-effects of its production are taken into account, an impact assessment prepared by the European …
(Reuters) Commodity trader Noble Group will invest $50 million in a biodiesel plant in Argentina, President Cristina Fernandez said on Wednesday.
Argentina is one of the world’s biggest exporters of biodiesel, producing the fuel from ample …
By Carole Shifrin (Air Transport World) Detroit Metro operator Wayne County Airport Authority said it has agreed to partner with Michigan State University Extension to grow, harvest and process bioenergy crops on the property of DTW …
by Sgt. 1st Class Blair Heusdens (Clay Today) In an effort to reduce waste and meet recycling goals, the Florida National Guard is producing biodiesel from used vegetable oil to fuel state maintenance vehicles at …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) How and why could three announcements from Gevo, Toray, Redfield and the EPA point the way forward for US ethanol, advanced biofuels, and renewable chemicals?
…The key is looking at the …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Algae.Tec Limited in collaboration with Manildra Group have announced the construction of an algae demonstration facility in Shoalhaven One, in Nowra south of Sydney, Australia. Manildra Group is the country’s largest ethanol …
(PR NewsWire) Qteros, Inc., the developer of a unique and highly efficient Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP) platform for the lowest-cost production of cellulosic ethanol, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, today announced two significant intellectual property (IP) advances …
by Michael T. Klare (CBS News) …Over the coming decades, we will be embroiled at a global level in a succeed-or-perish contest among the major forms of energy, the corporations which supply them, and the countries …
(US Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued fuel pump labeling and other requirements for gasoline blends containing more than 10 and up to 15 percent ethanol, known as E15. These requirements …
by Jacob Barker (The Columbia Daily Tribune) Policies fueled the boom in industry.
Federal subsidies for ethanol push up ethanol production and the price of corn, according to a report released today (June 27, 2011) from …
(UPI) …The International Energy Agency estimates the number of cars on the road will double by 2030. Philip New, president of biofuels development at BP, told delegates at a London conference that with better fuel …
by Lynn Hicks (Des Moines Register) Nevada will be the site of one of the few next-generation ethanol plants in the world, DuPont announced today.
The biorefinery will use corncobs, leaves and stalks as feedstock rather …
by Mark Tran (The Guardian) After narrow win in leadership contest, José Graziano da Silva pledges to reform the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, strive for consensus and tackle food price volatility
…He also stressed the …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A plan to produce more lysine and threonine, both amino acids, at Archer Daniels Midland Co.’s plant in Decatur, Ill., won’t mean changes on the ethanol side. “This expansion …
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Quad County Corn Processors, which operates a 30 MMgy ethanol facility in Galva, Iowa, was recently awarded a $1.45 million grant from the Iowa Power Fund to assist …
(South Florida Business Journal) Port Everglades is getting a new rail offloading facility for ethanol, Shell Oil affiliate Motiva Enterprises LLC said in a news release Wednesday.
Motiva said it reached an agreement with Fort Lauderdale-based Vecenergy to construct a …
by Senator Mike Johanns (York News-Times) …Ethanol helped keep $34 billion of our money at home last year instead of going to other countries for foreign oil.
…Though these benefits are significant, today’s fiscal realities require …
by William Petroski (Des Moines Register) …Santorum, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, said he advocates phasing-out the existing tax incentive for ethanol production, commonly known as the blenders’ credit, by reducing the credit …
by Tom Beres (WKYC) Farmers in Northeast Ohio and Pennsylvania are being recruited to grow a special grass that can be converted to biofuel energy.
Some are already planting miscanthus, a durable grass that won’t spread and …
(AP/Bloomberg/The Washington Post) If a $5 billion-a-year federal subsidy that helped build the ethanol industry comes to an end, it will likely mean two things, experts who have followed its development say.
First, it doesn’t guarantee …
(Platts) …But even if hypothetically the subsidies did end June 30, it would in all likelihood not affect corn and ethanol demand, owing to the current prices between the two, and conventional gasoline, Morgan Stanley …
by Ivan Castano (Renewable Energy World) Second-generation biofuel IPOs are all the rage this year with recent deals pricing well above initial expectations and a growing number of companies expected to tap the capital …
by Tom Bechman (Indiana Prairie Farmer) Corn growers in Indiana promote more pumps.
One of the highlights of the ethanol summit in Indianapolis a few days ago was an announcement that the Indiana Corn Marketing Council …
(StarTribune) Why is one fuel being targeted but another — oil — isn’t? …The best way to pay down the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt?
“Reducing wasteful spending a billion dollars at a time,” Coburn said.
Coburn has …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) Boat racers from coast to coast gathered in the ethanol-producing town of Garnett, Kansas over the weekend to speed around Cedar Valley Reservoir on ten percent ethanol fuel (E10) at the National …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Magnolia, North Carolina is the newest home of an E85 station, just off of Interstate 40. This marks the state’s 16th E85 station, but the first one funded through the American Recovery …
by Madel R. Sabater (Manila Bulletin) President Aquino said Wednesday he will direct the Department of Energy (DoE) to review the possible use of water hyacinth as a source of biofuel following its clogging of …
(AlphaGalileo) On 17 June, with the opening of AlgaePARC and the launch of the BioSolar Cells research project, a new research facility at Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) starts exploring on a semi-industrial scale …
(Algae Industry Magazine) Heliae Development, LLC, an Arizona-based algae technology company, and Azmark Aero Systems, an Arizona-based designer and manufacturer of small gas turbine engines, have announced an agreement to develop and test algae …
by Sybille de La Hamaide and Charlie Dunmore (Reuters) G20 farm ministers agreed to tackle high food prices on Thursday in a deal that steered clear of divisive details on issues such as regulation, paving the …
by Martin Roberts, Chuck Abbott, Sarah McFarlane, Charlie Dunmore, Jonathan Saul, Nigel Hunt (Reuters) G20 members settled a deal on Thursday to curb volatility in food prices, falling short of France’s ambitious plans to impose tough new regulations on …
(Business Wire) Addax Bioenergy S.A. (“Addax Bioenergy”), a subsidiary of the Swiss-based energy group, The Addax and Oryx Group Limited (AOG), announced today the signing of a loan agreement with seven European and African development …
by Naomi Lubick (Chemical and Engineering News) Renewable Fuel: Calcium hydroxide, better known as hydrated lime, transforms used soybean oil into biodiesel
A new method uses hydrated lime to transform soybean oil, recycled from other uses, …
by Nicholas Zifcak (The Epoch Times) Biofuels are getting a lot of attention this week at the Paris Air Show.Airlines have shown their support of the technology and its viability with Honeywell and Boeing planes using …
by Gene Lucht (Iowa Farmer Today) …On the biodiesel front, there are three basic components, says Randy Olson, executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board:
=Extension and change of the retailer tax credit. The current credit …
by Caroline Henshaw (The Wall Street Journal) Agriculture ministers for the world’s richest nations are meeting in Paris this week to debate the best ways to tackle unprecedented volatility in food prices.
But while farming …
(PR Newswire) Today (June 21, 2011) Inbicon, inventor of the biomass conversion technology driving the Inbicon Biomass Refinery, announced a summary of its private crop studies and confidential biomass research. “Our findings confirm that North …
by Paul Kiernan (Fox Business) Brazil’s government-run oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, will build new plants to produce ethanol as part of the government’s efforts to avoid future shortages, a government …
by Henry A. Stephens (TCPalm) INEOS New Planet BioEnergy, which is building an estimated $150 million plant on Oslo Road, will be shipping in 90,000 tons a year of yard clippings, tree trimmings and other …
(Genencor) Genencor today (June 22, 2011) announced a product advancement, Accellerase® TRIO. This new product will enable biofuel producers to more cost-effectively manufacture cellulosic ethanol from a wide range of renewable nonfood feedstocks such as …
(European Commission) The European Commission’s services, in close coordination with Airbus, leading European airlines (Lufthansa, Air France/KLM, & British Airways) and key European biofuel producers (Choren Industries, Neste Oil, Biomass Technology Group and UOP), have …
by Darren Goode (Politico) …The biodiesel industry is embarking on a multimillion-dollar nationwide outreach campaign — its first ever — intended as a coming out party after spending its initial years lurking in the shadows …
(CBC News) A PhD student at the University of Sherbrooke is turning to the waters of the St. Lawrence River to develop a new kind of biodiesel made from algae.
The micro-algae he is studying grows …
(The Washington Post) …Gaithersburg refilled its biodiesel fuel tank at the Public Works Department pumping station in May after stopping the biofuel program in November 2008 when a bacterial buildup in the fuel tank began …
(PRNewswire) New product will include cellulose feedstock grown in shipping containers along with the container based ethanol refinery
Allard Research and Development, the world leader in small to medium-scale ethanol fuel production systems, announced today the …
(Solazyme) Applauds ASTM International historic preliminary approval of algae based biofuels for aviation
Solazyme, Inc. (NASDAQ: SZYM), a renewable oil and bioproducts company, announced today that the US Navy successfully demonstrated Solazyme’s 100% algal-derived jet fuel, …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …The 100-passenger aircraft will use a dual-propulsion system. Conventional engines will utilize algae-base biofuels for take-off and landing. Ramjet rocket engines, powered by biofuels-based hydrogen and oxygen with water vapor …
by Olexander Martinenko, Vitaliy Radchenko, Volodymyr Kolvakh and Tetyana Rabczak (Mondaq) The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has recently adopted Resolution No. 581, establishing a procedure for tax exempt import of machinery, vehicles and other …
(IBN Live/The New Indian Express) Governor H R Bhardwaj inaugurated a biofuel plant established by Rural Bio-Fuel Growers Association and promoted by the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) at the Rural Bio-Resource Complex Project (RBRC) …
by Stephan Nielsen (Bloomberg) Grupo Bolzan, an Argentine agriculture company, is building its second biodiesel refinery as the country prepares to implement the world’s highest blending rate for the amount of the renewable fuel mixed …
By Claudia Cowan (FoxNews) Like many Americans seeking relief from surging gas prices at the pump, California resident Josiah Adams switched from a gas-guzzling car to a diesel truck.
“We are officially gasoline free, and it feels really good,” …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …EPA proposes to mandate the blending of 15.2 billion gallons of renewable fuel into the US fuel supply, and increased the proposed mandate for advanced biofuels by 48 percent, to …
by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia) Suddenly it’s scale-up time in Asia and everyone is scrambling for biofuels. Only a few years ago no one believed this could happen. Indian Railways was the only national-scale …
by Nagesh Kumar (Rediff Business) …Price volatility for food grain should be addressed through the counter-cyclical use of buffer stocks.
For smaller economies that do not have the capacity to sustain large national food stocks, …
(CheckBioTEch) A CHINESE green energy specialist is joining Aim in a move valuing the business at £21million.
…It is looking to invest in undervalued biofuel operators and is also keen to take stakes in new green …
by Renee Schoof (McClatchy Newspapers/Seattle Times) Maj. Aaron Jelinek of the Air Force Thunderbirds flies his F-16 upside down, rolls it, thunders past his teammates in breathtaking close charges and joins five other fighter jets …
by Steven Jackson (The Gleaner) A shortage of raw material has pushed Petrojam Ethanol Limited out of the business of manufacturing fuel-grade ethanol into imports and distribution, a shift that is projected to produce a small …
(City of Edmonton, Enerkem, Alberta Innovates) Plug-and-play pilot plant and lab to convert waste to biofuels and value-added chemicals
Edmonton is now home to one of the world’s most sophisticated waste-to-biofuels research facilities, thanks to a partnership between …
(BusinessWire) Cellulosic ethanol manufacturing process to provide feedstock for production of xylitol
Xylitol Canada Inc., a reseller and distributor of xylitol and xylitol products announced that they will leap frog the initial plan for a pilot …
(National Biodiesel Board) Biodiesel Industry Bolstered by Growing OEM Support, Momentum Under RFS-2
At its semi-annual board meeting in Washington D.C. last week, members of the National Biodiesel Board applauded the latest Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) …
(International Fuel Technology, Inc.) International Fuel Technology, Inc., announced that it had received a purchase order from Petrobras to supply PerfoLiFT BD-4 to Petrobras for use in its three wholly-owned bio-diesel manufacturing plants in Brazil, …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Mendel CEO Neal Gutterson talks about miscanthus, and the role of the power sector as the driver of a global supply chain for biomass.
…The company’s IP lies in its understanding …
by Ethan Smith (The Wall Street Journal) “Cars 2” director John Lasseter talked with The Wall Street Journal in his office at the Emeryville headquarters of Pixar Animation Studios, where he is chief creative officer.
The …
(KLM) KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has taken another important step in aviation sustainability. In September KLM will launch more than 200 flights being operated on biokerosene between Amsterdam and Paris. “KLM has once again shown …
(BusinessWire/GreenShift) Technology Produces Feedstock for Biodiesel, Second Renewable Fuel from Sunoco’s Green E15 Manufacturing Facility in Fulton, New York
GreenShift Corporation announced today (June 24, 2011) that it has licensed its patented technology to Sunoco for …
(Iowa State University) Laura Jarboe pointed to a collection of test tubes in her Iowa State University laboratory.
Some of the tubes looked like they were holding very weak coffee. That meant microorganisms – in this …
by Daryl Huff (KITV 4) Military, Local Company Testing Plants To Replace Petroleum
… Pacific Bioldiesel, which has succeeding in recycling used cooking oil into vehicle fuel on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, is managing the …
