(Science Daily)  A team of chemical engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a small molecule that behaves the same as cellulose when it is converted to biofuel. Studying this ‘mini-cellulose’ molecule reveals …

2011 saw the approval of a revised international alternative aviation biofuels standard (ASTM D7566) to extend beyond fuel produced from coal, natural gas or biomass using the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, to incorporate feedstocks such as algae, …

(People’s Daily)   Beijing recently introduced a set of measures for accelerating building a renewable resources recycling system, and announced that a standard disposal system for thewaste edible oil and fat of all restaurants in the city will be completed by 2015. Experts believe that the disposal system will help root out gutter oil, or illegally recycled cooking oil.
Beijing will deploy oil-water separators, collection containers, and other facilities in allrestaurants in the city, in order to improve the collection of waste edible oil and fat.
Beijing will assign the task of collecting and transporting waste edible oil and fat tocertain qualified companies, and make these companies’ business scope, license period, and service standards known to the public.
…In addition, the municipal government will encourage cooperation between the wastecollection and transportation companies and biodiesel companies as well as chemicalscompanies, in order to ensure stable disposal of waste edible oil and fat.   READ MORE

(AllAfrica.com)  Most of the larger fuel companies have started selling the petrol-ethanol blend known as E10, a reference to the percentage of ethanol, amid hopes that Zimbabwe would soon be able to substitute 10 percent …

(American By-Products Recyclers, LLC)  American By-Products Recyclers LLC on Saturday unveiled its new state-of-the-art biodiesel factory located in Hillsborough, New Jersey. The 24,000 square foot facility, Planet Earth Biodiesel, processes the used cooking oil that American By-Products Recyclers collects …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  approved  health effects testing on E15 fuel submitted by the Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy. Health effects testing is a required step …

by Clive Cookson (Financial Times)  Scottish scientists have found a more efficient way to make biofuels, using electricity rather than sunlight.
Their “electric leaf” is based on photosynthetic bacteria whose biochemistry has been changed through radical …

(Caelus Green Room)  After healthy growth over the past decade, the global biofuels industry is entering a new era marked by feedstock flexibility, product neutrality, and sustainability.  As a near-term solution, biofuels are a proven …

(Pellets-Wood.com)  The Ministry of Agricultural Policy of Ukraine announced that it intends to allocate 40 million tons of sugar beet for the production of biofuel. It will reduce the volume of imports of fuel and, in …

by David Shaffer   (Star Tribune)  A biofuels company opts for plants elsewhere after being helped by nearly $1 million in grant funding from Minnesota.
A biofuels company that benefited from nearly $1 million in grants …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …The changes at Codexis and delayed IPO at Ceres are indications that life in the public markets remains a rough one for early-stage industrial biotech companies. The changes at Codexis …

by Chris Kick (Farm and Dairy)    A bill that would broaden the definition of agriculture in Ohio to include algal production and anaerobic digesters is making its way through the House and Senate.
…The bill …

(Santa Fe Community College)  Santa Fe Community College has been named to lead statewide Centers of Excellence in Biofuels and Green Building/Energy Efficiency under a New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions State Energy Sector Partnership grant. The …

by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine)  Finland-based UPM recently announced plans to develop a biorefinery in Lappeenranta, Finland, to convert crude tall oil into renewable drop-in diesel biofuel. Construction on the 100,000 metric ton (30 million …

(SucreSource/PRNewsWire)  First Cellulose-to-Sugar Plant Sale and Partnership
SucreSource, a wholly owned subsidiary of BlueFire Renewables, Inc., has signed agreements with GS Caltex, a Korean petroleum company, to build a cellulose to sugar plant in Korea.
“This agreement …

“Sustainable Yield Enhancement & Carbon Management”
Key highlights

Demand for Certified Sustainable Palm Oil & its future for European & US markets
Replanting trees with higher yielding varieties
Improved agriculture practices and mechanisation
Value addition in downstream processing including improved oil extraction rates
Capture …

“Reviving the Palm Oil Industry in Africa - Challenges & Opportunities”
Key Highlights

Financing & Investment Prospects
Land regulations, labour laws, logistics & infrastructure support
Applying large-scale cultivation expertise from Asia & opportunities for downstream processing
R & D on improved planting …

by Kris Bevill  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and a handful of bioenergy stakeholders were given the opportunity to present the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry with their opinions on the …

by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine) …Of the nearly $2.34 billion requested for energy efficiency and renewable energy, a total of $270 million has been specifically requested to support biomass and biorefinery systems development. That is …

by David McGee (TriCities.com)  …With about 100 city residents – nearly all opposed to the plan — looking on Tuesday, the City Council took no action on a proposal to give the 13.8-acre former Crowley …

by Peter Hemphill (Weekly Times Now)  …While ethanol production has become the largest use of the corn crop, it has also developed a high protein byproduct – dried distillers grains with solubles – now highly …

by Steve Tarter  (The State-Journal Register)  More U.S. ethanol was shipped overseas in 2011 than any year in history.
The Washington, D.C.-based Renewable Fuels Association reported that 1.1 billion gallons of ethanol — worth about $2.5 …

by Brian Wingfield (Bloomberg)  The United States lost $10.4 million on six clean-energy projects, including biofuel research at Iowa State University, that were suspended for missing performance milestones, according to the Energy Department.
…Iowa State spent about …

(Manchester Evening News)  A biotech business has developed and patented a process which it believes has the potential to fight the world’s energy and food crises. Protein Technologies, based at Manchester Science Parks, specialises in research …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   …Some of the first American visitors to Yellowstone, who began to record their journeys into the wilds of northwestern Wyoming during the early 1870s, noted the horrible taste of …

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  Last week as the National Biodiesel Conference took place in Orlando, a group of biodiesel producers and stakeholders in the Northwest U.S. came together in a joint statement to support …

(Montana State University)  Researchers at Montana State University-Northern have developed a process to convert camelina oil to jet fuel and other high-value chemicals. MSU has applied for a U.S. patent and research is ongoing.
Using a …

by Bryan Sims (Biodiesel Magazine)  Bridgeport BioDiesel LLC hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of its 1 MMgy biodiesel multifeedstock production facility located in Bridgeport, Conn.
Originally conceived in 2008, Bridgeport BioDiesel co-owner …

by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine)  Melbourne, Fla.-based PetroAlgae Inc. has changed its name to Parabel Inc. According to information released by the company, the new name better reflects its strategic changes and commercial milestones.
“In the …

(Renewable Fuels Association/Advanced Ethanol Council)  The Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) today urged Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R-KS) to include two key tax extensions for advanced and cellulosic …

by Louise Downing (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)  A.P. Moeller Maersk A/S, the world’s biggest container ship owner, is leading its industry in developing biofuels made from organic waste that could cut its carbon emissions and reduce a …

by Martin LaMonica (CNET)  For a new crop of biofuel companies, ethanol is out and “biogasoline” is in.
One of them is Primus Green Energy, which plans to open a demonstration plant by the end of the …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  Biofuel and renewable chemical company executives, scientists and government officials from around the globe will speak in breakout sessions at BIO’s 9th annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, April 29 – …

by Jim Motavalli  (New York Times)  Drivers of purely electric vehicles avoid paying the gas taxes included in the cost of a petro-product fill-up. Consequently, if E.V.’s were to become widely adopted, less money could flow into …

(EurActiv)  The European Commission has asked airlines to report on “the amount of biomass” they use so that biofuels can be accounted as “zero emission” in the greenhouse gas emissions reports they are requested to …

by Snehlata Shrivastav (Times of India)  Moving one step ahead in the development of a technology to produce biodiesel from algae, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri) is now planning to scale up the …

by Dr. Chad Hellwinckel (University of Tennessee/SustainableLearning.org)  …Permaculture may soon be looked upon as a potential big solution. So as we stand today on the threshold of increasing interest in permaculture, let us take a moment …

(Solve for X/CoolPlanet Energy Systems)  Solve for X is a forum to encourage and amplify technology-based moonshot thinking and teamwork.
The fact is that plants have a carbon-negative phase – a time during which they remove …

(sys-con.com/Advanced Biofuels Association)  In the third episode of Biofuel STAT, released today, BP Biofuels North America PresidentSue Ellerbusch rejects recent headlines describing the industry as “pixie dust” by declaring “the technology works.”
“There are lots of stories …

(The Manila Times) Universal Robina Corp. (URC) on Monday said that it would venture into production of fuel ethanol.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Gokongwei-led food and beverage firm said that it …

by Jim Snyder and Brian Wingfield (Bloomberg)  President Barack Obama, who pledged an “all of the above” energy strategy that included fossil fuels, renewed his proposal to cut more than $40 billion in tax breaks for …

(25 x ’25)  While much of the recent Congressional discussion of renewable energy has focused on failed high risk clean energy startups, what’s gone largely unnoticed by federal policy makers is the incredible overall progress …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  The Coalition for E85 is calling on members and other supporters to urge Congress to give E85 credit for being an alternative fuel.
The coalition is asking members of Congress to support the inclusion …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  …(Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob) Dinneen says the environmental groups’ challenge to the RFS was much broader based than the poultry groups’ challenge, including that EPA had not taken into …

(Americans for Informed Democracy)  Biofuels were supposed to be the solution to global climate change. We could slowly reduce our dependence on crude oil by using fuels from corn or sugar cane instead. This fuel …

(Aviation Goes Green) Everyone agrees that aircraft engines need to get greener. Does the answer lie in revolutionary propulsion systems, or will our future travels be powered by the same old jet engine running on renewable …

(European Commission)  The European Commission has today presented its strategy and action plan for a sustainable bioeconomy in Europe, called “Innovating for Sustainable Growth: a Bioeconomy for Europe”. The goal is a more innovative and low-emissions economy, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  New reports from Bloomberg and the USDA focus on 2018 as a critical year for commercial-scale, affordable aviation fuels
In New York, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said that jatropha-based fuels were the …

We are pleased to welcome you to our Second Annual BioEnergy Symposium scheduled for March 13-14, 2012.  This year’s event will focus on transportation biofuels and will include sessions on market, feedstocks, policies, and investment …

(Syntroleum)  Norfolk Southern becomes first fleet user in the U.S. to deploy clean renewable diesel
Dynamic Fuels, LLC and Mansfield Oil Company have signed an agreement to supply renewable diesel to Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE / …

by Jeff Wilson and Whitney McFerron (The Washington Post)  …Global food costs are down 11 percent from a peak a year ago as grain output rises from China to Canada, U.N. data show.
…The Agriculture Department affirmed its forecast for …

by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine)  RNA devices could lead to cheaper advance biofuels
Computer aided design (CAD) tools have long been used by architects, engineers and others to design buildings, circuits and a wide range of …

by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine)  A unique noncatalytic thermal-cracking technology developed under the Sustainable Energy Research Initiative and Supporting Education supercluster program at the University of North Dakota is poised for commercialization. UND has received …

by Michael McAdams (Advanced Biofuels Association/Biorefining Magazine)  …It has been four years since Congress passed the revised RFS2 legislation creating a 36 billion gallon mandate for conventional and advanced biofuels. For all you partisans out …

by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine)  Experts discuss important considerations in co-location and retrofit projects
Whether it’s co-locating a stand-alone biorefinery at an existing industrial asset to bolster supply chain dynamics, or retrofitting an existing industrial facility …

by Bob Sather (Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel/Wisconsin Bio-Industry Alliance)  This week, U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) once again failed to support Wisconsin, instead choosing to target an industry that generates more than a billion dollars …

WITH SPECIAL GUEST
The Honorable John W. Warner
  PANELISTS INCLUDE
Jim Rekoske, vice president of renewable energy and chemicals, Honeywell UOP

Jonathan Wolfson, CEO, Solazyme Inc.
Nancy Young, vice president of environmental affairs, Airlines for America
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Continental Breakfast, …

by Louis Jacobson  (Tampa Bay Times)  During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to boost flex-fuel vehicles in two ways — through federal purchasing and by mandates on carmakers. Despite some progress more broadly …

(Fox Business News)   Independent refiners are destined to be in the driver’s seat of the U.S. refining industry as integrated oil companies increasingly shed refining assets, according to analysts at Deloitte LLP.
In a report released Wednesday, the consultancy …

by Jeff Wilson  (Bloomberg)  China’s five-year plan to slow domestic production of grain-based ethanol will mean tighter supplies of a byproduct used for animal feed, boosting demand for imports through 2016, the U.S. Grains Council said. …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  A project aiming for energy beet-to-ethanol production in North Dakota hit some significant milestones recently. Putting the project a big step closer to reality is $1 million in funding …

by Iowa State University News Service (Ethanol Producer Magazine)   The most recent annual results from a four-year Iowa State University study on using cover crops between rows of corn reveals that higher yields – …

by Leithen Francis (Aviation Week)  The International Air Transport Association’s target of carbon neutral growth from 2020 can still be achieved, but the airline industry “can’t do it on our own,” says IATA head Tony …

by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA)  As required by the Constitution, the President submitted to Congress today his proposed budget for the operation of the United States government for the coming year (FY 2013). The …

(NCS International)  NCS International (“NCSI”) has certified the world’s first organisation against the Principles and Criteria of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (“RSB”). RSB is a new international standard that can be applied across the …

(Neste Oil)  Neste Oil and Raisio have worked together for a number of years on how by-products and sidestreams generated by Finnish agriculture and food manufacturing can be used as inputs for producing biofuels. The …

by Steven Mufson (The Washington Post)  A White House consultant’s report said Friday that the Energy Department should bolster its ability to assess loan guarantee risks in the wake of the Solyndra bankruptcy, and urged the department …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  DuPont businesses Pioneer Hi-Bred and DuPont Industrial Biosciences are collaborating with Iowa State University in performing studies on residue to establish best practices in harvesting, storage and transportation, with an eye toward its use in …

(UPI)  Studies of the genome of Miscanthus, a large perennial grass, could speed the development of biofuels derived from the plant, U.S. researchers say.
Changsoo Kim, a researcher at the University of Georgia, identified a set …

by Katherine Yung (Detroit Free Press)  After a lengthy delay, construction of what could be the nation’s first large-scale wood-to-ethanol plant in the country is to start this year in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula.
If successful, …

by Juliet Eilperin (The Washington Post)  …Rules aimed at curbing emissions from cars and light trucks are on hold because the White House has yet to give the Office of Management and Budget the go-ahead …

by Kevin Bullis (MIT Technology Review)  Humbled by production challenges, the company plans to scale back production goals, it told investors Thursday.
Its originally planned to make an anti-malaria drug, as well as renewable diesel and …

by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register)  Producers had lots left over after a federal tax credit ended. Also, exports to Brazil have decreased.
Ethanol has generated more than its share of detractors, but since Jan. 1 …

(US Department of Energy)  The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is solely to solicit input for ARPA-E consideration to inform the possible development of future chemo/electro-autotrophic fuel production programs.  Information obtained may be used …

by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register)  He says diluting standards could hurt Midwest interests
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack warned an Iowa group Friday in Ankeny that “the Midwest could be damaged” if oil interests …

(Biofuels International)  Chemoprojekt, a Czech Republic-based company specialising in design, engineering and procurement, has formed a joint venture with Nationwide Asset Management.
The 50/50 joint venture has been named FAME Usti nad Labem and will be …

by Joe Romm (ThinkProgress.org)  Air sampling by NOAA over Colorado Finds 4% Methane Leakage, More Than Double Industry Claims
How much methane leaks during the entire lifecycle of unconventional gas has emerged as a key question in the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Around the halls of the Digest, we call him Rufus, the elephant in the room. Elsewhere, RFS, or the Renewable Fuel Standard, is the accepted descriptor.
Under any name, there’s been …

CMT’s Algae World conference series is recognized as a premier platform for productive exchanges amongst the Academic, Commercial and Investment communities.
Algae World addresses the intricacy of scaling-up algae production and processing; focuses on innovative technologies and market dynamics …

(Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels)  The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) today announced the first completed commercial certification of the Manildra Group of Australia. The certification was conducted by NCS International, an RSB-accredited certification agency.
The Manildra …

(BioJet)  BioJet International Ltd. announced today that its Chairman Mitch Hawkins has been elected Chair of the Board of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels Services Foundation.
The RSB Services Foundation, the implementing entity of the Roundtable on …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Part II of our series, we look today at Ceres, Myriant, PetroAlgae, BioAmber, Elevance, Genomatica, Enerkem, Mascoma, and Fulcrum Bioenergy.
In Part I, yesterday, we looked at the performance of …

(Renewable Energy Magazine)  Recent studies commissioned by NGOs Friends of the Earth and ActionAid claim that biofuels, including ethanol, will cost EU consumers €126 billion at the petrol pump between now and 2020. ePURE, the European …

(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe)  There is mounting concern that increasing biofuels production is having significant biodiversity impacts. A study by the International Food Policy Research Institute estimated that achieving the EU target would lead to a global …

by Michael McNutt  (NewsOK)  Oklahoma House panel passes measure that would prohibit growing the ornamental plant commercially as a biofuel crop. The flowering plant still may be grown by nurseries.
Growing castor beans for commercial purposes …

(Los Angeles Times)  The five so-called “super major” oil companies – Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips,Chevron and BP– have just wrapped up their fourth quarter earnings reports, but not without inspiring disdain over how they made those billions in …

by Richard Kessler  (RechargeNews.com)  The Energy Department (DOE) expects to award up to $150m in its latest funding round to support high-risk transformational concepts and technologies that can reduce US dependence on fossil fuels and …

by Marc Chase (NWITimes.com)   As time began to run out on Lake County’s trash-to-ethanol plan last week, so did the faith and confidence of solid waste district officials — both in the project and …

(Bioenergy Insight)  Scientists from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Sustainable Bioenergy Centre (BSBEC) have uncovered a series of genes which could help grasses being breed with better characteristics for bioenergy production.
The genes …

by Joseph Magdalena (Jornal de Angola)  Angola and Japan signed yesterday in Luanda, a protocol for the construction of factories for production and refining of sugar and ethanol in the city of Humbe in Cunene.
The …

(Open PR/Wilks Enterprise)  A new White Paper published by Wilks Enterprise addresses the common concern among biodiesel blenders and distributors as to whether or not biodiesel made from different feedstocks such as soy, waste vegetable …

by Jim Stewart (Biofuels Digest/BioEnergy Producers Association)  …In America’s quest for alternative and renewable energy, the “ball” is national security and energy independence.  All other issues pale by comparison.
Let’s not lose sight of a critical …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest–scroll down)  Moving over to Coskata, the company recently revised its IPO documentation to reflect a settlement of its lawsuit with INEOS Bio, which reflected a trade secret dispute.
From the revised S-1: “On …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In this two-part series, we look at the IPO market for industrial biotech stocks. …
In Part I, today, we look at the performance of the six IPOs to date in …

by Chuck Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The big news today at the National Biodiesel Conference was the unveiling of the biodiesel bike built by Paul Teutul, Sr., Orange County Choppers. The bike was built in partnership with CIMA Green.
…CIMA Green actually …

by Ken Field (Financial Post)  Ethanol reduces the price of gasoline
Ethanol’s chief benefit is environmental.  …Last summer, there were no smog alerts in the GTA and 5.5 million Canadians breathed easier. Ethanol was a major …

by Gary Strauss (Chicago Sun-Times)  Get ready for another round of pain at the pump: gas at $4 (or higher) a gallon. After rising 19 cents a gallon in the past four weeks, regular unleaded …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology met Feb. 7 to markup H.R. 3199, a bill introduced last fall by committee Vice Chairman Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., that would require …

by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine)  Florida-based grease recycling company Freedom Environmental Services Inc. recently announced it has signed service contracts with 14 Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q restaurants to provide ongoing grease trap maintenance and the …

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  A panel of petroleum trade association representatives gathered together for the National Biodiesel Conference’s opening general session on Feb. 6. While the group consisted of five oil association representatives, several …