Article Archive for September 2012
by Gale Buchanan, S.Z. Li, James R. Fischer and Joshua Yean (25 x ’25) The following guest blog is a response to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial that criticized U.S. biofuel policy. The authors of this rebuttal are from Gale …
(University of New Hampshire News) Xiaowei Teng, assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of New Hampshire, has received two National Science Foundation grants totaling nearly $1 million to improve the efficiency of ethanol …
(Associated Press/Washington Post) Wet winters and cool, dry summers make Oregon’s Willamette Valley one of the best places on the globe to produce seeds for organic broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and a variety of …
by Will Nichols (Business Green) Preferred site has been chosen for London facility set to generate two per cent of BA’s fuel from waste
BA is set to begin initial construction on a planned biofuel-from-waste plant …
by Seema Singh (Forbes India/SME Mentor) … After three years of technology development and plant engineering, Praj is now building a commercial scale demonstration plant to produce ethanol – also called cellulosic ethanol – from biomass, …
by Mackinnon Lawrence (Biofuels Digest/Pike Research) …Still a nascent industry and a relatively minor player in industrial CHP, industrial biorefining is not explicitly mentioned in the “Executive Order on Accelerating Investment in Industrial Energy Efficiency”, …
By John Murawski (News and Observer/Bradenton.com/Bradenton Herald) It’s billed as a champion energy crop that yields three times as much ethanol per acre as corn, a fast-growing field grass that’s ideal for making clean auto …
by Watchara Pussayanawin (The Nation) Bangchak Petroleum plans to build a second biodiesel plant next year with an investment of Bt800 million, adding 300,000 litres of biodiesel annually to the current total of 660,000 litres.
President …
(Algae Industry Magazine) Six student scientists were presented with the first Young Algae Researcher Awards today in Denver for their contributions to fields of algae biology and engineering on the final day of the 2012 Algae …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …“Fuels America is built around one core idea: renewable fuel is essential to the U.S. economy, our nation’s energy security, our rural communities and the environment,” said former Congressman Jim …
(Biofuels Center of North Carolina) To accelerate development of a statewide biofuels industry, the Biofuels Center of North Carolina funds projects and activities supporting its legislatively mandated mission of implementing North Carolina’s Strategic Plan for …
(VTT Technology) … So far, conventional diesel buses and conventional diesel fuel have dominated the market, with some contribution from natural gas buses. Now we are in a situation in which the technology options are increasing rapidly. …
by Tia Ghose (California Watch) Once a promising source of green energy, high-tech biofuel is being eclipsed by skin cream and food products as manufacturers shift to more lucrative products.
After Congress enacted a renewable fuel standard in …
by Rich Keller (Ag Professional) As most of the reports circulating in the United States are about anticipated grain shortages in meeting demand, a report came out this week from one organization that was headlined: …
(Algae Industry Magazine) Aurora Algae has announced the successful completion of requirements for a two million dollar (AUD) Low Emissions Energy Development (LEED) grant, which has been used to advance the Company’s algae-based biomass production at …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) In the face of increasing calls to waive the nation’s Renewable Fuel Standard, biofuel industry stakeholders today announced a major new communications campaign to educate consumers and policy makers about the …
(Phys.Org) Scientists from the University of Liverpool are part of an international research project to apply the properties of drought-adapted desert plants, like agave, to poplar trees, a recognised biofuel crop.
Dr James Hartwell, from the …
(American Association of Swine Veterinarians) The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization recently published a book entitled Biofuel co-products as livestock feed – Opportunities and challenges. AASV member Dr Harold Tilstra co-authored Chapter 3; ”Impact of …
(Journal of Commerce) The largest organics biofuel facility in Canada will be built in Surrey, B.C., as a way to divert waste from the landfill and turn it into natural gas.
…City spokeswoman Tara Foslien says …
(MarketWatch/Enterprise Holdings) Enterprise Holdings, owner and operator of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands, is piloting a program with Mansfield Oil Company to use renewable synthetic diesel fuel in …
(Herald Online) The biorefining sector, which employs a variety of technology platforms to convert biomass feedstocks into a range of high-demand bio-based products including fuels, chemicals, power, food, and renewable oils, currently sits at the …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Jobs, global expansion, proteins vs fuels, new R&D funding – all the big issues are under debate both on and off the floor at the Algae Biomass Summit.
…Jobs Dr. John …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) A new study, Global Biofuels Outlook to 2025, authored by Hart Energy, finds a disconnect between mandates established in the U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and Renewable Energy Directive in the European …
A team of engineering students from Utah State University has set a new land speed record using a car that burns a new form of sustainable biofuel made from a waste product of the cheese manufacturing process.
“How many people …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …For all the excitement about fuels — biobased products may be even a hotter trend for the renewables sector’s hottest feedstock.
One of the big trends this week? The biobased product …
by Ashley Player (Biodiesel Magazine) You may or may not have noticed that the U.S. EPA released a direct final rule and proposed rule on Sept.17 modifying the definition of heating oil in the renewable …
by Tom Bryan (Biodiesel Magazine) The algae industry’s ambition to build a global industry that is fundamentally sustainable, safe and responsible was the chief topic of discussion on day two of the 2012 Algae Biomass …
(Reuters) * EU shift away from food-based biofuels will need big investment
* EU will need millions of tonnes of non-food biofuels to meet targets
* Investment incentives currently not enough
Large new investment incentives will be needed …
(Herald Online) Biodico, Inc. and LamdaGen Corporation have announced a collaboration whereby LamdaGen’s nano-based Meta-Catalytic Surface (MCS) technology will be integrated into Biodico’s Research & Development programs for biomass-based diesel, combined heat and power, and biochemicals. …
(Denver Business Journal) Enerjetik LLC of Denver said Tuesday it will partner with a North Carolina company to build a pilot-scale facility in Denver to produce biofuels from solid waste.
The joint technology agreement was reached …
by Ben Sandilands (Crikey) With the West Texas Crude oil price at well under $US 100 per barrel and the cross over price for aviation grade biofuels largely assigned to the $US 140-150 barrel …
(Reuters) A small Scottish whisky maker is aiming to turn its by-products into biofuel and become the world’s first whisky distillery to fuel car and trucks in a move which could see Scotland’s 100-plus distilleries …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …But carbon dioxide emissions remain. In fact, large corn ethanol plants are considered “major emitters” under EPA rules because one-third of the corn kernel, by weight, is released as carbon …
by Emily Roehler (NebraskaTV) It’s being billed as “8 Seconds of Corn-fed Madness.”
Street-legal muscle cars doing 180 mph on a quarter-mile track, powered by ethanol, the renewable fuel made from corn, will race down the track …
by Jamal Thalji (Tampa Bay Times) The transformation of the Port of Tampa will start on land.
The port is nearing completion of the $11 million Tampa Gateway Rail Terminal, a 2-mile rail loop that will speed …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) E15 sales in Iowa are proving to be strong right out of the pump. This may be a poor metaphor, but the good news is that Linn Co-op Oil Company, the first …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) Both President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney say they support maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard in answers to an American Farm Bureau Federation questionnaire on agricultural issues.
“Our rural communities, farmers, and …
(Shoreham Herald) A SUSSEX MEP is the latest to say “no” to a proposals for a biofuel power station in Shoreham.
Adur District Council is currently considering an application, to build the facility at the town’s port. …
by Sue Roesler (Minnesota Farm Guide) Energy beets are growing hardy for the second year in a row in crop fields south of Minot’s NDSU Northern Research Extension Center near Minot, N.D.
They will soon be …
(BioJet) JATRO AG today (September 25, 2012) announced formation of a major Horizontal Collaboration Agreement with BioJet International Ltd.
The intended horizontal collaboration between the Companies in the format of a Strategic Alliance is meant to create a …
The Summit will be held at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, DC on Friday, December 7, 2012. The purpose of the conference is to promote dialogue about current policy concerns and to provide …
The Policy Studies Organization (PSO) invites you to submit a proposal for the Dupont Summit focused on science, technology and environmental policy issues. The Summit will be held at the Carnegie Institution for Science in …
by Laura Millsaps (DOE Pulse) Pioneering mass spectrometry methods developed at DOE’s Ames Laboratory are helping plant biologists get their first glimpses of never-before-seen plant tissue structures.
The new method opens up new realms of study, ones that might …
(SwissInfo.ch) Biofuels have an undeserved reputation for environmental friendliness, according to a study commissioned by the Federal Energy Office and released Monday. The study re-evaluated the ecological effects of biofuels and their production processes.
Empa, an …
by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Canada, the first flight in the world to ever be entirely powered by biojet fuel will depart from Ottawa in late October. In partnership with Applied Research Associates and Agrisoma …
(Renmatix) U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) visits facility to discuss job creation and growth of biobased markets
Renmatix, the leading manufacturer of cellulosic sugars for biobased chemical and fuel markets, marked the opening of a new …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Reoptimizing its technology, now expects return to reach target isobutanol production rates in 2013.
In Colorado, Gevo announced that, while making significant progress towards economic production levels, the company does not …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Algenol hits 7000 gallon per acre mark in field operations. What’s the impact for Algenol, for energy independence, for the cost of transport fuel?
…Algenol CEO Paul Woods revealed that the …
by Joe Cogliano (Dayton Business Journal) A division of Honeywell International Inc. is being tapped by the U.S. Air Force to expand the domestic supply of biofuels.
On Thursday, the Defense Department announced Des Plaines, Ill.-based UOP LLC was …
(Washington University/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Through the International Experience Program at Washington University in St. Louis, undergraduate students gain real-life and classroom experiences focusing on the difficult energy decisions countries must make.
This unique program takes students …
by Dan Conable (Cato Analytics LLC/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Despite weather challenges and the learning curve for farmers unfamiliar with this energy sorghum, one of the first commercial-scale plantings of the crop in the northeastern U.S. has …
by Brian Wallheimer (Purdue University) If Purdue University researchers have their way, the term “biofuel plant” will take on a whole new meaning.
A team received a $5.2 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to develop a …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Oshawa Port Authority in Ontario is planning an event to help answer questions its local community has with regard to a proposed ethanol plant. The OPA announced its …
(Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) As predicted, the Sept. 15 expiration of EPA’s summer volatility restriction has resulted in an increase in E15 offerings. This week five stations in Kansas begin offer E15, bringing the …
(The Bioenergy Site) Canada’s canola sector will benefit from a targeted research and development plan to promote the industry’s strategic growth. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced support for the Canola Council of Canada in developing …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) U.S. Reps. Pete Olson, R-Texas, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced the Stop RIN Fraud Act of 2012 (H.R. 6444) Sept. 20 to shore up weaknesses in the U.S. EPA’s renewable identification …
(RedOrbit/PR NewsWire) Dyadic International, Inc., a global biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of enzymes and other proteins for the bioenergy, bio-based chemicals, biopharmaceutical and industrial enzyme industries, announced today the …
by Jason Mick (Daily Tech) New method could repurpose existing equipment, improve the efficiency of biodiesel extraction
Biodiesel production tends to boil down (no pun intended) to one of two methods –repurposing waste oil to auto-capable fuel or …
(Times-Standard) The Arcata City Council voted this week to allow a proposed biodiesel plant on Giuntoli Lane.
The council unanimously approved environmental findings, a mitigated negative declaration and a planned development permit. The council continued the …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …You see it everywhere. Oil producers are happy, refiners are squeezed. Corn, soy and sugar prices are at historic highs, ethanol and biodiesel producers are squeezed. Iron prices are high, …
by Dan Liefgreen (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Eni SpA (ENI), Italy’s largest oil company, plans to convert its Venice refinery into a biofuels facility by 2014.
Eni staff met labor unions and city staff to review the project, …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Coproducts are becoming an increasingly important factor in ethanol plant profitability, according to the third annual benchmarking report released Sept. 18 by Christianson & Associates PLLP.
Coproduct revenue had remained …
by Luzi Ann Javier (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Rallies in corn, wheat and soybeans because of drought in the U.S., the top grains shipper, are probably over and it would need worsening weather elsewhere to push up …
The essential course to prepare professionals to work in the expanding field of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development
McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development and the law firm of Fasken Martineau are …
(Associated Press/The Guardian) Officials stress the need to avert a trade war with major economic powers such as China and the United States
European officials signaled on Tuesday that they may recommend the suspension of the continent’s …
(American LeMans Series) … The pioneering, dart-shaped Nissan DeltaWing will compete in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda on Oct. 17-20 at Road Atlanta. The revolutionary race car was designed to perform like …
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(Environmental Protection Agency) WHAT IS EPA’s P3 Program? P3 stands for People, Prosperity and the Planet. Through this EPA program, college students can benefit people, promote prosperity and protect the planet by designing solutions that …
by Nigel Hunt and Charlie Dunmore (Reuters) European Union plans to cap the use of food-based biofuels are a major setback for an industry once seen playing a central role in the fight against climate change, …
by Reese Ewing (Reuters) Brazilian ethanol is rushing back into the United States after a three-year ebb, drawn less by the severe drought that has inflated corn costs than by biofuel regulations that could more …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) The Renewable Fuels Association’s (RFA) annual National Ethanol Conference (NEC)is a great place to learn the ins and outs of the ethanol industry as well as network with key industry experts. That is …
(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe) Finland-based UPM’s facility is located in Lappeenranta, south-eastern Finland, and will produce biodiesel from crude tall oil at the company’s Kaukas mill site. This integration will offer synergies, such as a wastewater treatment …
by Ned Stowe (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) In the wake of the devastating heat wave and drought which covered much of the United States this year, it has become clear that there will be less …
(Global Renewable Fuels Alliance) Today (September 20, 2012) the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) criticized OECD senior counsellor, Carmel Cahill, for making unsubstantiated comments targeting the role of biofuels mandates in food price inflation. Evidence …
by C.-C. Tsao , J. E. Campbell, M. Mena-Carrasco, S. N. Spak, G. R. Carmichael, and Y. Chen (Environmental Science and Technology) Although biofuels present an opportunity for renewable energy production, significant land-use change resulting from …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Christopher D. Barry and Paul Kamen of the Ocean Renewable Energy Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers have scribed a fascinating, 26-page “Overview of Ocean Renewable Energy,” which includes …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Big Auto, Bio Oil, Big Ag, Big Pharma, Big Food – touching them all, now and increasingly, is Big A, as algae technologies gain in scale, scope and world-wide reach.
… “Identification …
by J.E. Anderson, D.M. DiCicco, J.M. Ginder, U. Kramer, T.G. Leone, H.E. Raney-Pablo, T.J. Wallington (Fuel) Ethanol provides a significant contribution to road transportation fuel in the US, Brazil, and elsewhere. Renewable fuels regulations in the …
by John Miller (The Energy Collective) …All politics aside, what factors have actually contributed towards reducing U.S. oil imports recently?
…Since 1973 U.S. domestic oil production (crude oil + natural gas (NG) liquids) declined continuously to …
by Prafulla D. Patil, Veera Gnaneswar Gude, Aravind Mannarswamy, Peter Cooke, Nagamany Nirmalakhandan, Peter Lammers, Shuguang Deng (Fuel) In this comparative study, direct conversion of algal biomass into biodiesel using supercritical methanol (SCM) and microwave-assisted (MW) …
by Anh N. Phan, Tan M. Phan (Fuel) Alkali-catalyzed transesterification of waste cooking oils, collected within Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with methanol was carried out in a laboratory scale reactor. The effects of methanol/waste cooking …
by N.H. Tran, J.R. Bartlett, G.S.K. Kannangara, A.S. Milev, H. Volkb, M.A. Wilson (Fuel) Micro-algae are seen as one of the major future fuel sources. Culture and growth of oil rich micro-algae and catalytic process for …
by Masato Kouzu, Jyu-suke Hidaka (Fuel) Vegetable oil is one of the biomass resources generated from carbon dioxide and water with the aid of photosynthesis, and is converted into an alternative to fossil diesel fuel …
by Yogesh C. Sharma, Bhaskar Singh, John Korstad (Fuel) Heterogeneous catalysts are now being tried extensively for biodiesel synthesis. These catalysts are poised to play an important role and are perspective catalysts in future for biodiesel production …
by Haiping Yang, Rong Yan, Hanping Chen, Dong Ho Lee, Chuguang Zheng (Fuel) The pyrolysis characteristics of three main components (hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin) of biomass were investigated using, respectively, a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) detector …
by Y.C. Sharma, B. Singh, S.N. Upadhyay (Fuel) An ever increasing demand of fuels has been a challenge for today’s scientific workers. The fossil fuel resources are dwindling day by day. Biodiesel seems to be a solution for …
by Nicholas Zeman (Engineering News-Record) As U.S. subsidies for ethanol continue to disappear, retrofit installations to produce butanol—touted as a superior fuel with superior financial incentives—are catching on at plants, says butanol technology provider Butamax, …
by Kim McDonald (Algae Industry Magazine) Chemists at UC San Diego have developed a method that for the first time provides scientists the ability to attach chemical probes onto proteins and subsequently remove them in …
(Frost & Sullivan/Sacramento Bee) Removing subsidies for conventional fuels and providing incentives for biofuels will bolster market growth
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.chemicals.frost.com), Strategic Analysis of Southeast Asian Automotive Biofuels Market, finds that the market …
by Jean Décotte (Reuters) * A horsey twist to the search for alternative aviation fuel
* French project targets use of farm waste on a large scale
* Inventor dismisses fears of biofuel vs food competition
Passenger jets …
(Soros Economic Development Fund) Soros Economic Development Fund and IFU Invest Millions in Food Security and Clean Cooking Venture in Africa
Funding for CleanStar Mozambique benefits smallholder farmers and the environment, creates jobs, and protects families …
(PR NewsWire/Louisville Biodiesel Cooperative) The Louisville Biodiesel Cooperative and St. Francis School are pleased to announce a partnership to recycle Waste Cooking Oil.
Co-founded by St. Francis School parent Christian Thalacker, the Louisville Biodiesel Cooperative collects used …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The annual rankings competition opens up for the hottest companies in the sector; who will be #1 – who will get your vote? New annual Biofuels Databook published for selectors; …
The Bio-based Chemicals Conference and Exhibition will return for a 5th year as part of Europe’s largest bioeconomy event – the 8th Annual World Biofuels Markets. Taking place in Rotterdam at the Beurs-World Trade Center, …
by Jonathan Trent (Slate) …Algae are single-celled organisms that thrive globally in aqueous environments and convert CO2 into carbohydrates, protein, and natural oils. For some species, as much as 70 percent of their dry weight is …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) A team of faculty and students from Utah State University set a land speed record this month in a student-built car run on biodiesel fuel also produced by the …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Bioheat veteran Michael Devine and his company Earth Energy Alliance Inc. struck an agreement with Amerigreen Energy to help New York metropolitan fuel dealers thrive as New York City’s biodiesel-blended …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What exactly happens in depolymerization, as hydrogen bonds break down? How could that revolutionize the process of making fuels, solvents, thinners, lacquers or paints out of biobased materials?
Before one is …
by Steve Everly (The Kansas City Star) …A multiprong effort that includes increased domestic oil and natural-gas production, energy efficiency, and more biofuels has already helped push petroleum imports down to 45 percent of the …
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) About EPRINC: EPRINC is a non-profit group funded by Big Oil, staffed by former oil company employees, and directed by a board of trustees that is a veritable who’s-who …



