Article Archive for June 2012
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) He was dressed like an executive; dark suit, white shirt, tie, and struggling to get a poster board out of the back of an SUV as his mother tried …
(SurvivalInternational.org) …But some of its sugar cane is grown on land claimed by the Guarani tribe, one of the most persecuted and impoverished in South America. Their leaders are regularly killed by gunmen acting for the sugar cane …
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) EnergyPath, a project of the Sustainable Energy Fund, provides a unique conference/workshop event to promote implementation of sustainable energy in Pennsylvania, in the broadest sense. Founded in 1999 via …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Early last year, we published a collection of 100 “Fortune Cookies”. It is the zeitgeist of the times, we suppose, that short and peppy sayings that can meet the 140-character …
by Ann E. Marimow (The Washington Post) A Maryland man was convicted Monday of selling phony biodiesel credits in a fraud case that has raised concerns about oversight of a renewable fuels program run by the Environmental …
(GreenAirOnline) As a KLM Boeing 777-200 was readied for yesterday’s longest-ever commercial biofuel flight from Amsterdam to Rio de Janeiro, KLM and aviation biofuel supplier SkyNRG announced a new programme that will involve global corporations …
(GreenAirOnline) A longstanding fight between a coalition of four US environmental groups and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) looks set to continue after the EPA ruled out any short-term decision on whether greenhouse gas …
by Carrie Napoleon (Post-Tribune/SunTimes) Powers Energy has met the requirements of the 60-day milestone set out by the Lake County Solid Waste Management District board regarding land acquisition for the proposed $360 million trash-to-ethanol plant.
Thursday the …
Stock car racer Greg Jensen and engine builder Kevin Stoa have collaborated to race successfully on a blend of 75 percent ethanol and 25 percent racing gasoline. Jensen is winning over other drivers to the …
by Kumar Chellappan (Daily News and Analysis India) Tamil Nadu will be home to the world’s first biorefinery which will use solid waste generated from tanneries in Vellore district.
The Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) at …
(Primus Green Energy) The test drive of an automobile fueled with 93-octane gasoline made from natural gas and biomass was the highlight of a dedication ceremony for Primus Green Energy’s new $7 million demonstration plant …
by Alison Singer (GreenConduct.com) …To address the shortcomings of current biofuel production, scientists are developing new techniques and feedstocks to enhance sustainable production. Switchgrass, a North American perennial tallgrass, sequesters far more carbon dioxide than corn …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …In Colorado, Gevo announced completion of their preliminary evaluation of technical feasibility under a collaboration with BioFuel Energy, designed to explore high-volume production of isobutanol. The companies plan to continue working to …
(US Department of Agriculture) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA has selected for funding 450 projects nationwide, including 31 in North Carolina, that are focused on helping agricultural producers and rural small businesses …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …A blue ocean strategy takes a flying leap to create a new paradigm, where the company can flourish, free of competition.
…In one respect, the recent promotions of ethanol in racing …
by Karen Caffarini (Post Tribune) The City Council has unanimously approved an interlocal agreement to send Hobart-generated garbage to the Powers Energy ethanol plant in Schneider, if and when it is constructed, becoming the seventh community …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Novozymes and China’s Shengquan Group have signed a final agreement to work together on producing cellulosic ethanol from a waste product of Shengquan’s current production process. Novozymes is supplying …
Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Alberta is looking for a few good renewable energy projects promising greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. The Climate Change and Emissions Management Corp. issued its call for proposals to qualify for …
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The nearly $10 million awarded by the USDA’s Farm Service Agency to three energy crop project areas on June 13 will be the only funding distributed through the Biomass …
(Science Daily/Purdue University) Sweet and biomass sorghum would meet the need for next-generation biofuels to be environmentally sustainable, easily adopted by producers and take advantage of existing agricultural infrastructure, a group of researchers led by …
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Power and Thermal Magazine) The European Biofuels Technology Platform published a report in June that addresses the potential to couple carbon capture and storage (CCS) with biofuel and biomass heat and …
(Weed Science Society of America) The biofuels industry is hitting its stride, with both small farms and large-scale plantations producing renewable crops that can be converted to energy. But scientists with the Weed Science Society …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The latest chapter is near closure on the butanol patent dispute between Gevo Inc. and Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC. In an opinion filed June 19, U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson denied Butamax’s …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Yet, even in an era where venture capital has been harder to come by (Why? See these 42 article links under the rubric, “The VC Model is Broken” ) — some great …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) n Washington, the DOE released details of a long-awaited funding opportunity announcement for advanced biofuels for aviation and military applications, titled “Innovative Pilot and demonstration-scale production of advanced biofuels.”
According to …
by Doug Esser (Seattle Times) The Coast Guard’s Everett-based buoy tender, Henry Blake, completed its first biofuel-propelled voyage Thursday. The Coast Guard is partnering with the Navy in research of algae-based biofuels for ships, a …
by Andrew Holland (Consumer Energy Report) The RAND corporation recently released a report “Promoting International Energy Security” for the U.S. Air Force that, for the most part, contained the conventional wisdom about oil prices and …
(United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) On the eve of the official opening of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development — Rio+20, a panel discussion was organized by UNCTAD on exploring new sustainable and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Declining ethanol margins and plant idlings; ethanol price gloom; controversy over RFS2 targets. Despair? Bah! It all spells “opportunity” for the intrepid ethanolista.
This week in biofuels, two storylines that …
(AutomotiveDiscovery) While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has officially approved E15 biofuel for retailers to start selling, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute disagrees and calls E15 “dangerous” and sites that it could “destroy or damage …
(Western Farm Press/Carnegie Institute) The scientific community needs to make a 10-year, $100 billion investment in food and energy security, says Carnegie’s Wolf Frommer and Tom Brutnell of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
The scientific …
(Bloomberg) There may be little reason to hope the Rio+20 meeting in Brazil this week will lead to major global action against climate change. World leaders have skipped it. The draft agreement the delegates from 190 countries have written is …
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) A bipartisan majority in the Senate approved the Farm Bill after debating and voting on more than 70 amendments. Amendments to weaken or repeal key programs in the energy and …
by Chris Guy (US Department of Agriculture) …ARS scientists say that barley leftovers such as straw, hulls, and dried distiller grains (DDGS) can be used to produce an energy-rich product called bio-oil. Bio-oil offers several …
(Reuters) Pacific Ethanol Inc on Thursday said it was launching a corn oil business, the latest U.S. ethanol maker to move to diversify its revenue stream in an industry where margins have been depressed as …
by David Shaffer (Star Tribune) Four more ethanol plants are considering retrofits to produce the new biofuel, bringing planned conversions to seven.
A third Minnesota ethanol plant is considering a shift in production to a new …
By Bob Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) Senior Green Racing Editor Bob Kozak has been following the breakthrough DeltaWing race car since the project started. He thinks it has a lot to teach us as we …
To register for this free webinar, click here!
While there are a number of major obstacles impeding further growth in ethanol production, few are as critical as the joint Environmental Protection Agency/National Highway Traffic Safety Agency …
(AgWired) Farmers of the world are producing enough food to meet the demands of wiping out all hunger in the world. But hunger still exists. Why? Dr. Chris Mallett, Corporate VP of Research and Development …
by Tim Hoskins (Iowa Farmer Today) With a new design, Indy Car also has changed the fuel mixture to E-85 for cars competing on the circuit.
The Iowa Corn 250 IZOD IndyCar Series will be June …
(Observer-Dispatch) The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $4.3 million to ReEnergy and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry to encourage growth of shrub willow as a renewable energy fuel, according to a news …
(Oil Voice) Center for Jatropha Promotion & Biodiesel (CJP) has been promoting the farming of Castor bean, a seed producing plant that grows arid/semi arid, as a feedstock for biodiesel. The crop will not compete …
by Barrie Barber (Stars and Stripes/Dayton Daily News) A top British envoy says the U.S. and the U.K. could collaborate more on the development and use of biofuels in the military to boost both nations’ …
(MarketWatch) Enterprise Holdings, owner and operator of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands, is converting even more of its airport shuttle buses to 20 percent biodiesel (B20) and exploring …
by Peter Brown (Biodiesel Magazine/Euro Marketing Tools Inc.) Financing large projects that include biodiesel processors, crushers and support equipment has become very complex, attracting a new type of predator with clever tricks to fraudulently divert …
(Belfast Telegraph) European Union support for biofuel production could force the price of food crop staples up by as much as 36% by the end of the decade, a report has warned.
Development charity ActionAid warned …
This conference is organized as part of the BIOFUELS-2G demonstration project funded by the European Union and the LIFE+ Programme.
The Bio4SuD conference aims to:
highlight promising R&D activities in the fields of biofuels production
present demonstration projects …
The call for abstracts is currently open for presentations in the International Conference on Biofuels for Sustainable Development of Southern Europe (Bio4SuD), which will take place in Thessaloniki, Greece on 19-20th of November 2012.
The Bio4Sud …
Each year at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program and Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting (AMR) hydrogen, fuel cell and advanced vehicle technologies projects funded …
(Bloomberg BusinessWeek) A joint venture between DuPont Co. (DD) (DD) and BP Plc (BP/) won a court order temporarily preventing a competing biofuel company from trying to sell isobutanol produced at a plant that came online last …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) An agreement has been struck between Genscape Inc. and Lee Enterprises Consulting to merge Lee Enterprises’ renewable identification number (RIN) verification program, RIN 9000, into Genscape’s trademarked RIN Integrity Network.
Supported …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, the California Energy Commission approved funding of $23,110,015 for projects that will advance the development of green fuels, and the installation of fueling stations. The awards are provided …
by Max Frankel (ThinkProgress) …But in the world of science, researchers around the world are working on some very innovative ways to produce gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from more sustainable feedstocks.
Here’s a look …
by Margaret Ryan (AOLEnergy) Biofuels could be a “game changer” for both military and commercial aviation, says Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Terry Yonkers, because they’re proving to have advantages over petroleum-based jet fuels that go beyond …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Section 9011 of the Farm Bill – the Biomass Crop Assistance Program – USDA deploys $9.6M in new investments in bioenergy crops as questions revolve around the program’s future and …
by Elias Ntungwe Ngalame (AllAfrica) Biofuel production initiatives are gaining ground in Cameroon as the government seeks to reduce the Central African country’s energy deficit while fighting climate change.
Although biofuel production has not yet reached a …
(MarketWatch) From small-town mayors to President Obama, there is one thing on the minds of all elected officials: putting more Americans back to work. And while recent unemployment numbers have been less than encouraging, the …
(BioTork) Harnessing the Power of Adaptive Evolution to Further Improve the Efficiency of Metabolic Engineering
BioTork announces collaboration with BASF to optimize certain microbial strains for the industrial production of bio-based polymers and green chemicals. After six …
(Chemtex International/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Chemtex International announced today (June 13, 2012) that it has been selected by the USDA to participate in the Biomass Crop Assistance Program. The $3,996,000 award will support establishing and growing over 4,000 acres …
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) The Centre for Jatropha Promotion & Biodiesel (CJP) recently announced progress on its work with pongamia, a legume tree that bears inedible oilseeds. According to the CJP, it has …
CJP provides you a single platform, the best expertise to discuss and analyze the present and future dynamics of JATROPHA from a technological and socio-economic angle. All who has yet to make decision on big …
(Biodiesel Magazine/National Biodiesel Board) …This week, the National Automotive Technician Education Foundation officially awarded the Automotive Service Excellence accreditation to the NBB Biodiesel for Diesel Technicians curriculum. NATEF is the body responsible for accrediting schools and curriculum nationwide. …
by Mike Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …The economy of Australia is one of the best in the world, but the focus has not been on renewable energy. Interestingly, with all of the mineral resources that …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The future of using corn stover for advanced biofuels was one of the discussion topics at last week’s Corn Utilization Technology Conference in Indianapolis.
…(Nathan) Mosier (with the Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering at …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, leading environmental, science and advanced …
by Feoshia Henderson (SoapboxMedia) Fueled by a US EPA grant, University of Cincinnati faculty and students are leading an effort to transform cooking grease into biodiesel on a regional scale.
This project is a collaboration among UC, the …
by Megan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Kenya, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) published its Global Renewables Status Report 2012, which showed that renewables accounted for almost half of the estimated 208 gigawatts (GW) of …
(Sustainable Business Oregon) …On a small, razed patch of dirt about a mile outside town, water slowly circulates in four oval-shaped ponds. A bright emerald green sparkles in the water, reflecting thick strains of algae …
(BusinessWire) Rapidly Growing Renewable/Biomass Energy and Chemical Company Receives Funding Led by the Cottonwood Technology Fund
Incitor Incorporated (“Incitor”), a Delaware Corporation based in Albuquerque, N.M. ( http://www.incitor.com ), announced today that the Cottonwood Technology Fund (“Cottonwood”) …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) One of biofuels’ hottest companies transitions from research phase to operating phase with opening of demo plant in Okeechobee – what’s next, and where?
…The opening of that fermenter column is …
(New Energy Farms) New Energy Farms (NEF) has developed a revolutionary new method of propagating energy grasses; this will reduce farmer establishment costs by 50% or more. Cost effective scaling of perennial energy grasses such …
(GreenAirOnline) Honeywell’s UOP has started what it describes as the world’s first comprehensive test programme involving its Green Jet Fuel product and a new biofeedstock specifically designed for biofuel production. A series of test flights …
(Sahara Forest Project)…A one hectare site outside Doha, Qatar, will soon host the SFP Pilot Plant. It will contain a unique combination of promising environmental technologies carefully integrated in a system to maximize beneficial synergies. A wide …
(Amyris) Amyris to develop improved DNA assembly and integration across biological platforms
Amyris, Inc. announced today (June 12, 2012) it has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) …
by Rob Moritz (Arkansas News Bureau) While recently promoting the extension of a federal tax break for the wind industry, Gov. Mike Beebe called opponents “un-American.”
Later, he described his comment as “hyberbole,” but added, …
by Kathie Bassett (The Telegraph) Researchers at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville have successfully produced an environmentally friendly, cost-effective biofuel from the non-edible portion of a corn kernel.
“What we did was take the most common form …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Four executives of ethanol plants gathered on stage during the general session June 5 at the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo (FEW) to have a conversation about running …
(California Academy of Sciences) The future of biofuel technologies needs to take a whole-picture approach. WATCH VIDEO
(EurekAlert) Two scientists are challenging the currently accepted norms of biofuel production. A commentary published today in GCB Bioenergy reveals that calculations of greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions from bioenergy production are neglecting crucial information that has led …
by Emery P. Dalesio (The Republic/AP) An Italian company’s Wilmington-based subsidiary is geared up to build a factory that can convert grassy plants into fuel for cars and trucks amid Sampson County’s hog and turkey …
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) A research paper published in the peer reviewed journal Microbial Cell Factoriesshows that single-cell oils accumulated by oleaginous fungi have potential for use as a biodiesel feedstock. According to the paper, …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …With the coming of advanced bioprocessing, the picture of opportunity has radically changed and the Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest, in particular, have been assessing their opportunities and attracting projects.
…But in …
(BASF) BASF Canada Inc. (BASF) is set to launch a new method to measure sustainability in Canada. The company’s new proprietary tool, AgBalance™ , uses a set of 69 indicators to calculate the social, economic and environmental impact …
by Jim Kinney (Gazette) A company that runs recycling centers all over the country has researchers in UMass’ biofuels program thinking trash can to gas can.
ReCommunity Recycling has committed $635,000 to the Institute for Massachusetts …
(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe) IEA Bioenergy invites feedback as part of a global study on sustainability certification of bioenergy. The main goal of the study is to make recommendations for improving the effectiveness of governance and certification …
byRobert Rapier (Christian Science Monitor) In this column energy expert Rapier provides three examples — originating with both Democrats and Republicans and impacting both renewable energy and fossil fuels — of how constantly shifting legislation …
by Kay Ledbetter (Texas AgriLife/Southwest Farm Press) Biomass gasification is being considered as a possible technology for converting 60 million acres of Texas brush into biofuel, according to Dr. Jim Ansley, Texas AgriLife Research …
by Marc Gunther (GreenBiz.com) St. Louis doesn’t turn up on lists of America’s most innovative cities. But when it comes to plants, the city matters, thanks in part to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. And if …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Attacks from the usual opponents are generally in the form of statements that sound vaguely scientific, or fact-based. Often with a scientist in tow. Beware. Not every person in the …
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) On May 4, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released monthly data on biodiesel production in the United States since 2009. Biodiesel production fell dramatically during 2010 when Congress decided not …
After years of development, many biofuels and bio-based technology companies now are ready to deploy their technology into the marketplace. However, securing the capital to commercialize biofuels and bio-based chemical technologies at times can be …
(Algae Industry Magazine) The Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the U.S. Department of Transportation has released its analysis of a test conducted with algae-based biofuel on one of its large commercial-size vessels. This research used marine …
The 2012 Collective Biofuels Conference hosted by Promethean Biofuels will take place August 17th through 19th at the beautiful Temecula Creek Inn. This years’ conference will feature a wide variety of topics including biofuel basics, …
(PRNewsWire/Enerkem) Enerkem Inc., a waste-to-biofuels and chemicals company, announced today the initial production of cellulosic ethanol from waste materials at its demonstration facility in Westbury, Québec.
“The start of ethanol production at our Westbury facility is …
(Phys.org) — Researchers at the Center for Energy Research at UC San Diego recently demonstrated the best performance for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) operating directly on ethanol without external reformation. The work was performed …
by Felix Mormann and Dan Reicher (New York Times) If renewable energy is going to become fully competitive and a significant source of energy in the United States, then further technological innovation must be accompanied …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Terrabon CEO Gary Luce says the biofuels industry must rethink the Renewable Fuel Standard, to create the stability for capital formation and prevail over a coalition of wealthy, entrenched opponents.
…As …
(Biofuels International) The 48th edition of the ELE Rally in the Netherlands hosted races that had cars fuelled by Gasoline Ethanol Methanol (GEM) from second generation biofuels producer BioMCN.
…The BioMCN GEM concept has been developed and …
by Meg Cichon (Renewable Energy World) As a proposed ban on military investment and use of biofuels inches closer to fruition in Washington, several groups are speaking out against the bill.
Pentagon Budget Bill, H.R. 4310, …
by Greg Martin (AgInfo.net) …DINEEN: The RFS is under attack in Washington today. I don’t see for a moment that it will be unraveled this year but they will continue to fight next year and …
