Articles by Joanne I
Scaling up to the next level & developments inprocessing technology from harvesting,separation to extraction
Key Highlights
Assessment of the possible scale of algae cultivation & biocrude potential across Australia
Open Pond systems with high saline algae – Muradel …
CONNECT with the World’s Renewable Energy Leaders from Government, Utility, Finance
and Technology
RETECH 2012 is the only event dedicated to delivering coverage on EVERY discipline of renewable energy technology. RETECH is THE renewable energy industry’s meeting place for over 3,000 …
CONNECT with the World’s Renewable Energy Leaders from Government, Utility, Finance
and Technology
RETECH 2012 is the only event dedicated to delivering coverage on EVERY discipline of renewable energy technology. RETECH is THE renewable energy industry’s meeting place for over 3,000 …
The Premier Green Chemistry Event of the Year!
One location
Three Days
More than 20 sessions
A full day of programming devoted to registered students
Who should attend
Chemists, engineers, researchers, policy analysts, managers/directors, venture capitalists, chemistry and engineering students. In …
To be held July 29th to August 1st in the center of Sonoma County’s world-class wine country, we are focusing on the practical use and production of biochar at the community level and what will …
To be held July 29th to August 1st in the center of Sonoma County’s world-class wine country, we are focusing on the practical use and production of biochar at the community level and what will …
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) Ferrari is the world’s premier builder of expensive beautiful cars. But, Ferraris are not simple pretty car show models. From the 250 GTO of 1965 to the current …
The organisers wish to invite abstracts for oral papers and posters, to be reviewed by the Programme Advisory Committee. The submission deadlines are March 31, 2012 (for papers) and May 15, 2012 (for posters). Although the …
by Anna Austin (Biomass Power and Thermal) …(Sierra Energy CEO Mike) Hart was the keynote speaker at the third annual Pacific West Biomass Conference & Trade Show in San Francisco, Calif., Jan 16-18. He delivered a …
by Kevin Bullis (MIT Technology Review) Virent says supplementing biomass with fossil fuel could increase yields and lower costs.
Virent, a biofuels company based in Madison, Wisconsin, has developed a potentially inexpensive way to make gasoline …
by Simone Sebastian (FuelFix) The United States became the world’s leading exporter of ethanol in 2011, selling a record level of the biofuel into overseas markets, according to the Renewable Fuels Association.
The nation has made a …
by Gal Luft (The Washington Times) …At current oil prices, ethanol is more costly than gasoline while the alcohol fuel methanol, primarily made from natural gas, is cheaper than gasoline on a per-mile basis. But …
by Umair Irfan (ClimateWire/Scientific American)Scientists are seeking help from microbes to produce road-ready biofuels
…As they move, breathe, eat and reproduce, bacteria produce byproducts like ethanol and hydrogen while feeding on simple sugars, starches and sunlight. …
by by Kevin Robinson-Avila (New Mexico Business Weekly) Algae ponds are starting to color New Mexico’s desert landscape green.
Sapphire Energy Inc., which uses a proprietary process to turn algae oil into renewable gasoline to replace fossil …
by Christopher Demorro (Gas2.org) …And if you’re into horsepower (like me) than stories like this Ferrari FF making an extra 225 horsepower on E85 is music to your ears.
Ferrari’s are notoriously expensive cars, where something as …
by James Robertson and Jessica Wright (The Sydney Morning Herald) THE NSW government’s plan to ban regular unleaded fuel has been thrown into doubt by the revelation that the state’s only ethanol producer, Manildra, has failed …
by Sean Meyers (Sustainable Business Oregon) Arundo donax has passed its first test as a possible biofuel alternative to coal being burned at Portland General Electric’s Boardman power plant.
Farmers and researchers in eastern Oregon and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …So, along comes Joule. It’s a known fact that some microorganisms could be modified or evolved to ferment gaseous carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide. Combine that with some hydrogen taken …
by Karen Walker (Air Transport World) Biofuel-powered commercial flights could become standard operations within five to seven years, according to Lufthansa’s (LH) head of aviation biofuel.
Speaking in Washington Jan. 13, LH VP aviation fuel Joachim …
by Troy Krause (Redwood Falls Gazette) …The Highwater board recently approved a move to a new product called butanol through a letter of intent it signed with Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels. The agreement, which was announced …
(TheIndyChannel.com) Analysts Predict Higher Prices Ahead
…AAA said Monday that both gasoline and crude oil prices are at historic highs for this time of year.
The national average for regular gas climbed four cents a gallon last …
by Loreto Urbino (AMÉRICAECONOMÍA/Worldcrunch) A London-based project dubbed OPEC (Orange Peel Exploitation Company) aims to make biofuel from the waste from the more than 10 million tons of oranges that Brazil squeezes into juice each …
by Mario Giampietro (Cassandra’s Legacy) …(Y)ou may find a lot of help in the recent book “The Biofuel Delusion” by Mario Giampietro and Kozo Mayumi. If you are unsure about why exactly biofuels are the disaster …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …In California, SG Biofuels has completed a $17 million Series B financing led by Thomas, McNerney & Partners with participation from Finistere Ventures and current investors Flint Hills Resources and …
by Jon Hilkevitch (Chicago Tribune) The Obama administration is committed to “help buy down the cost” of building refineries and growing feedstocks for use in producing clean, renewable aviation fuels, even though the …
by Brian Jennings (Ethanol Producer Magazine/American Coalition for Ethanol) … The new CAFE standards apply to light-duty vehicles beginning in model year 2017, requiring a nationwide average of 54.5 miles per gallon by model year 2025. …
by Robert Vierhout (Ethanol Producer Magazine) One would think that a relatively easy way for governments to promote biofuels would be to tax biofuels less than fossil fuels—avoid lengthy debates on mandates and simply change …
by Tom Buis (Growth Energy/Ethanol Producer Magazine) …The intent of Congress when it wrote the renewable fuel standard was to grow an American fuels industry that would help us break free from this addiction …
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …In July 2011, the European Union belatedly approved the first seven voluntary sustainability schemes for biofuels as required by the Renewable Energy Directive. The directive, commonly referred to as …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Ethanol producers are adding corn oil extraction to their technology arsenal in increasing numbers, providing an ideal opportunity for the ethanol and biodiesel industries to cooperate or even co-locate. …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The ethanol industry’s understanding of hedging has evolved over the years, making it a vital puzzle piece in profitable operation
…One common hedging practice is for ethanol producers to also …
TAPPI’s International Bioenergy and Bioproducts Conference will focus on technical advancements and commercialization of bioconversion technologies that leverage the forest products manufacturing infrastructure.
The conference will include technical presentations, expert panels, case studies, and reports from …
TAPPI’s International Bioenergy and Bioproducts Conference will focus on technical advancements and commercialization of bioconversion technologies that leverage the forest products manufacturing infrastructure.
The conference will include technical presentations, expert panels, case studies, and reports from …
Join us in the home of Canada’s emerging hybrid chemistry cluster to share up-to-date information about best practices in the bio-economy.
Presented by the Bioindustrial Innovation Centre, this International Conference will provide a unique and outstanding …
(FreePressRelease/FACT Foundation) On April 13, 2012, the FACT Innovation Award will be held for the first time. The objective for the innovation award is to stimulate and accelerate innovations in biofuels and bioenergy for local …
by Jacob Barker (Columbia Tribune) Despite large cuts to the federal program supporting it and concerns from some groups about environmental impacts, a project to begin growing a giant perennial grass to serve as a …
(Construction & Maintenance) Ramboll Energy and Ramboll in Norway’s Climate Department in Oslo have been appointed by the Norwegian airport operator, Avinor, to investigate the possibilities of utilising sustainable and profitable biofuel for civil aviation …
by Steve Meyer (National Hog Farmer) … In a recent newsletter, Rob Musser of NutriQuest, Mason City, IA, (www.nutriquest.biz) lays out the economic proposition for ethanol plants removing corn oil from DDGs. First, corn oil …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …We cannot relax now; we must work harder.
Because, in growing as fast as it has, the industry has frightened those who only believe in a failed yesterday of “fossil fuels …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …The company was founded as Aurora Biofuels – solely to do biofuels. As time went on, and the company came closer to realizing its performance targets, it discovered that its …
(OriginOil) Company partners with Idaho National Laboratory to enable algae growers to enter the global crude oil market
OriginOil, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough technology to extract oil from algae and an emerging leader in the …
by Ann Marie Edwards (DomesticFuel.com) …The Ft. Myers Marathon station, opened the E85 station last week. Mid-State Energy also opened up a Circle K E85 fueling station in 2010 in Lake Wales, Fla., with partner Protec Fuel.
…Protec …
by Jolene Stevens (Le Mars Daily Sentinel) A”great marketing tool” is how Carl Nelson, of the Marcus Junction board, describes the new flexible fuel blending pump he says is expected to be installed at the …
by Anne Marie Edwards (DomesticFuel.com) Last July, the government announced plans to raise corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards to 54.5 MPG by 2025. The automotive industry responded saying the MPG number was an attainable goal …
(BBI International/Marketwire) BBI International and NEAtech announced this week a joint venture to develop a new international consulting service called BBI Consulting Services. Utilizing existing resources, the service will allow BBI International and NEAtech to …
by Jeff Coelho (Reuters/Baltimore Sun) Global investment in clean energy hit a record $260 billion in 2011, up 5 percent from the previous year as investment in solar grew by more than a third despite …
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …Power plants were found to be the largest stationary source of direct emissions, producing a combined total of more than 2,300 million metric tons of CO2e from 1,555 facilities …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) …During a press conference at AFBF (American Farm Bureau Federation) on Monday, (Agriculture Secretary Tom) Vilsack said he believes it is important to keep the RFS2 in place for multiple reasons. “One, …
by Lori Valigra (Massive High Tech) In an area of Maine generally known for its strip malls and big box stores, newcomer Sebago Farms plans to build a 1.7 million square foot mixed-use facility that …
by Jonathan Grass (Alaska Journal of Commerce)
Alaskan Brewing Co. has entered the final stage of a 16-year process in setting a precedent in renewable energy. The Juneau-based brewery has a new boiler to make its …
(Abengoa) Abengoa, the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, has been selected by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and FINEP, the promotion and investment agency …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Brooke Coleman, executive director of the Advanced Ethanol Council, turned attention to free market principles and market access, after the New York Timesran astory on cellulosic biofuels mandates, titled “A Fine …
(Globe Newswire) Clean Energy Pathways, Inc., has received early support for its concept to co-fire coal utility boilers with liquid biofuel, forming an alliance with the Mid-Atlantic Soybean Association to promote the solution for utilities …
(BlackGold Biofuels/Biodiesel Magazine) Through a partnership between BlackGold Biofuels and SLM Facility Solutions Nationwide, restaurants around the U.S. will soon be able to more easily recycle greasy kitchen waste while saving money.
BlackGold and SLM have …
Fraudulent biofuel blending credits have flooded the marketplace.
Bad Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) have already cost private industry hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and absconded revenue. On top of EPA-imposed penalties, oil companies and …
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) It’s only been a few months since Abengoa Bioenergy broke ground on its 23 MMgy multifeedstock cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kan., but so far, construction of its first …
(Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences – University of Florida) Many building dedications feature a ribbon-cutting; this one included a front-end loader ceremoniously dumping a scoopful of pulverized sugarcane stalks.
It was an appropriate way to …
(Farm Futures) Even without VEETC ethanol is still making gasoline cheaper
In its monthly short-term outlook, the Energy Department expects U.S. benchmark crude oil prices to average over $100 a barrel in 2012 and touch an …
(Chicago Tribune) …Congress and the federal agencies responsible for managing the biofuel industry need to stop trying to artificially create a market for a high-tech product that may never exist on a commercial scale.
…At current …
by Bob Dineen (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) …The scientific community has better data, improved modeling tools, and a better appreciation of the uncertainty and complexity involved in ILUC analysis. But, above all, they …
by Richard G. Steiner (Los Angeles Times) OpEd: Not two years after the Deepwater Horizon debacle, the U.S. is proceeding with plans to expand oil drilling instead of pushing alternatives.
…And after making only modest reforms, many …
by David Louie (ABC Local) Solazyme, a company that focuses on biofuels, recently made an interesting cosmetics discovery.
Algae is turning out to be a very versatile product. Solazyme can turn it into jet fuel. And …
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The cost to remove corn oil from distillers grains (DGs) is high, but even so, an increasing number of ethanol producers are expected to begin extracting the valuable product …
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) …In recent weeks, many headlines have trumpeted the argument that gas prices will be higher as a result of expiration of the VEETC. As is often the case, a …
(The Engineer) A new method of producing biodiesel from microalgae aims to overcome some of the previous drawbacks of the fuel.
Using a novel catalyst, the researchers at the Technical University of Munich were able to …
(Pangea/World of Bioenergy) Social and environmental benefits of next-generation biofuels, mainly cellulosic ethanol, Algae fuels, Drop in fuels, and biobutanol, are fuelling its rapid growth momentum, says RNCOS.
According to our recent report, “Global Biofuel …
by Erik Anderson (KPBS) A survey by the San Diego Association of Governments found the algae biofuels industry is responsible for 466 local jobs. That’s a significant jump over the 210 jobs that existed two …
(TBPetroleum.com/Petrobras) Began operating today (10), with fuel supplied by Petrobras, the Construction: ethanol that will illuminate the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station. With this initiative, Brazil will be the first country to use biofuel for energy …
(Mascoma/BusinessWire) Mascoma Corporation, a renewable fuels company, announced today that it has implemented key components of the commercialization strategy for its Mascoma Grain Technology, or MGT™, yeast product, which is the first commercial application of …
(Cool Planet BioFuels/MarketWatch) Cool Planet BioFuels announced today it has received approval from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to begin fleet-testing its negative carbon gasoline. Cool Planet BioFuel’s technology converts low-grade biomass — such …
by Pavel Molchanov (Raymond James) As energy investors know well, it is much better to own the oil than to refine it. In other words, the bulk of the value is in the upstream of the …
by Jonathan Williams (Biofuels Digest) Who’s in front in the development of algal-based fuels and biomaterials? India, China, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Israel, the EU, or the US. The NAABB’s globe-trotting chief parses it out.
In New …
(Japan Times) Not many people imagine that resource-poor Japan might one day become an oil exporter. But someone who does is Makoto Watanabe, a leading expert in research on producing oil from microscopic algae.
Research into …
(Australian Aviation) Boeing and CSIRO have launched a year-long study on the potential for growing new feedstocks in northern Queensland that could be turned into sustainable aviation biofuels.
The first phase of the study will focus …
by Lynn Yarris (PhysOrg.com) JBEI researchers determined the structure of the AgBIS enzyme and found it to consist of three helical domains, the first three-domain structure ever found in a synthase of sesquiterpenes. This …
by Mike Salciccioli (Frontiers in Energy Research) Researchers combine experiments and fundamental models to unveil the previously unknown mechanisms for how biofuels are generated from biomass
A series of complex processes fracture large biomolecules containing millions of …
by Damian Carrington (Government Online) For the first time in a decade, the vast biofuel industry has stalled. But with crude prices still high, charting a course towards biofuels that do more good than harm is …
by Nalin Viboonchart (The Nation) Mitr Phol Group targets revenue of Bt100 billion within three years, driven by sugar-related businesses such as ethanol and the biomass power plants it is investing in here and in …
(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) The Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research (CABER) in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign is offering an online class in bioenergy …
(BioJet) The Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) today announced formation of a strategic business relationship with BioJet International. CERT is comprised of 57 sovereign Indian tribesas members. CERT members collectively own and manage more …
(Market Watch/Gevo) Plans Include Working with Land O’Lakes Purina Feed’s Renowned Research Center to Explore Opportunities to Upgrade Value-Added Applications in Animal Feed Products
Gevo, Inc., a renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company, today (January 10, …
by Rich Christianson (Woodworking Network) Sundrop Fuels Inc. has selected Rapides Parish, LA, as the site of its first gasification plant to produce gasoline from forest waste.
The company is purchasing about 1,200 acres of land …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …First commercial projects from newly-minted public companies Solazyme, Gevo and KiOR. Two trash-to-biofuels projects from INEOS Bio and Enerkem, located in Florida and Alberta. Europe’s largest biosuccinic acid project, scheduled …
by Guy Gugliotta (New York Times) …Dr. (David A.) Mullin (a professor of molecular biology at Tulane University)was collecting manure from giraffes and other exotic ruminants at the zoo, a few blocks from his laboratory. …
by Victoria Bryan (Reuters) German carrier Lufthansa is ending the trial use of a biofuel mix for its planes because it has used up stocks of certified biofuel and no other reliable supplies are available.
The trial, …
by Marc Chase (Northwest Indiana) The former Lake County sheriff is seeking answers regarding the absent financing for a proposed south county trash-to-ethanol plant.
And the chief political champion of the plan, Lake County Commissioner Gerry …
University of Southern California (University Park Campus – downtown LA)
*Includes tour of OriginOil’s facility after workshop – Los Angeles, California
Algae biofuel has the potential to meet the world’s growing energy demand. Due to its high …
(Cellectis) Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS), the French genome engineering specialist, is today announcing that it has signed an agreement with Total to develop microalgae-based oil substitutes. The research program includes an initial one-year phase, which may be …
(Platts) Polish transport fuel producers can decrease their biofuel-blending requirements by 15% if they buy supplies from approved producers, according to a government source, citing a blending provision effective January 1.
In order to take advantage …
by Don Siefkes (E100 Ethanol Group/Biofuels Digest) To The Editors of the Wall Street Journal: Cellulosic ethanol has been a debacle, but not for the reasons stated in your editorial “The Cellulosic Ethanol Debacle” of …
Case Competitions have emerged as a vital learning opportunity for students. ISEEESA has identified this, and will host its 1st Annual International Case Challenge in Calgary, Canada. This Challenge is offered to all students in …
A comprehensive 1-day briefing on how Fuels and Energy can be created from Biomass feedstocks
13 March 2012, World Biofuels Markets, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Note: The course can be attended as a stand-alone session but also provides an …
(Collegiate Energy Association) The Collegiate Energy Association is organizing a special student program at the 2012 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit (February 27-29, 2012). Participants in the program will have their registration fees for the conference …
(US Environmental Protection Agency) EPA is issuing a direct final rule identifying additional fuel pathways that EPA has determined meet the biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel or cellulosic biofuel lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements specified …
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) On Jan. 5, the U.S. EPA issued a direct final rule regarding RFS2 pathways for four new biofuel feedstocks, including camelina oil, energy cane, giant reed and napiergrass. While the …
(AllAboutFeed) …Despite initial concerns about the capacity of US or foreign livestock feeders to utilise DDGs, they are now the second largest category of processed feed used in the US, amounting to an estimated 29.1 …
by Gary Truitt (Hoosier Ag Today) Jay Berry, with Central Indiana Ethanol in Marion, says many stations do not have the equipment to handle higher ethanol blends. He told HAT there are no regulations that …
by Heather Thornstensen (AgriNews) While they had a leader from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association at their recent annual convention, the Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association brought together a panel to discuss whether the ethanol and …
by Mark Steil (Minnesota Public Radio) A couple of key federal subsidies for the renewable fuel industry are about to end, cutting billions of dollars tax credits for the ethanol and biodiesel industries.
Congress could renew …
by Robert Pear (New York Times) …“We are in a fairly prosperous period for agriculture,” said Dean C. Taylor, a former president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. “Agriculture has not been as much of a …
