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Truly Sustainable Renewable Future
March 17, 2009 – 10:42 am | One Comment

Advanced Biofuels are high-energy liquid transportation fuels derived from: low nutrient input/high per acre yield crops; agricultural or forestry waste; or other sustainable biomass feedstocks including algae.  The key word is “sustainable.”
A technical definition that …

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Articles in Feedstocks

Neighborhoods Fighting Plans for Biofuel Plant West of Delray Beach
September 3, 2010 – 1:47 pm | No Comment

by Andy Reid (Sun Sentinel)  A biofuel plant offering renewable energy could become a never-ending headache for neighborhoods west of Delray Beach, worried residents argued Thursday.
Pressure from residents helped persuade the county Zoning Commission Thursday to …

A New Start: NREL Aquatic Species Program
September 3, 2010 – 1:23 pm | No Comment

by Lisa Gibson (Biomass Magazine) Ten years after NREL’s Aquatic Species Program was shut down, a similar initiative began and now is thriving in its algae research, which includes the evaluation of CO2 recycling.
Between 1978 and 1996, …

They’re Baaack: Speculators Return to Grain Markets En Masse
September 3, 2010 – 12:10 pm | No Comment

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association)  You may not have noticed, but hedge and index fund investors have quietly returned to the agricultural commodities market in droves over the past few weeks. With the stock …

USDA and DOE Partnership Seeks to Develop Better Plants for Bioenergy
September 3, 2010 – 10:51 am | No Comment

(US Department of Energy)  Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced research awards under a joint DOE-USDA program aimed at improving and accelerating genetic breeding programs to create plants better suited for …

Algae Bioenergy Solutions Plans Scale-Up in Georgia
September 3, 2010 – 10:07 am | No Comment

(Algae Industry Magazine)  Algae Bioenergy Solutions (ABS), of Augusta, Georgia, has announced preliminary plans to develop a three to five million gallons per year algae oil plant, expandable to forty million gallons a year, to produce …

Florida Feedstocks for Florida Biofuels Workshop
September 2, 2010 – 7:19 pm | No Comment

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel)  …The potential for energy crops in the state was one of the topics at the recent Florida Farm to Fuel Summit. One of the presenters was Bill Vasden Jr., Chairman of …

News: Fiberight Making Ethanol from Paper Mill Waste; Household Garbage May Be Next
September 2, 2010 – 6:59 pm | No Comment

by Dean Close (Vinton Today)  …In layman’s terms, what Fiberight does is take waste from a paper mill in Cedar Rapids, and uses rare bacteria – Stewart Paul refers to that bacteria as “the bugs” …

Boardroom Mayhem at D1 Oils as CEO Steps Down
September 2, 2010 – 6:37 pm | No Comment

by Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest)  …“If  there were a medal for valor in biofuels it would certainly go to the board of D1 Oils, which has now had to repel its third take-over attempt by …

Inauguration of World’s First Plant for BioDME Production
September 2, 2010 – 6:31 pm | No Comment

(Chemrec)  …BioDME is a novel and climate neutral biofuel produced from forestry feedstock. The fuel is primarily intended for use in heavy vehicles. BioDME provides superior energy and environmental benefits and allows greenhouse gas emission …

Honeywell UOP Technology Selected to Support Conversion of Biomass to Fuel at California Renewable Energy Facility
September 2, 2010 – 6:04 pm | No Comment

(PRNewsWire)  UOP refining technologies will be used to produce renewable fuels from biomass
UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced September 1, 2010, that its technology was selected for use in Rentech, Inc.’s Rialto Renewable Energy Center for the …

Mascoma’s Magic World for Magic Bugs
September 2, 2010 – 5:46 pm | No Comment

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …This is the Rome Labs site, which does quite a bit of intelligence-related R&D. The super-secret nature of cellulosic development is not entirely different – though hugh-hush cadres of generals …

Mascoma: Inside the SunOpta Acquisition
September 2, 2010 – 5:25 pm | No Comment

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In New Hampshire, Mascoma reported yesterday that it had acquired SunOpta BioProcess, a division of SunOpta Inc. (STKL)  This combination brings together the fiber preparation and pretreatment technologies of SBI …

Sorting Algal Strains for High Lipid Content Using NIR
September 1, 2010 – 11:01 am | No Comment

(Algae Industry Magazine)  A recent post in Forbes by Chris Rhodes currently buzzing talks about a new method for identifying high lipid content strains of algae based on Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. The near infrared wavelength …

New Process for Production of Biodiesel Directly From Wet Algal Biomass Could Reduce Energy and Financial Costs
September 1, 2010 – 10:58 am | No Comment

(Green Car Congress/FavStocks)  Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed and demonstrated the feasibility of a two-step hydrolysis-solvolysis process to produce biodiesel directly from wet algal biomass. Their process eliminates the need for biomass …

Mumias Sugar of Kenya Gets $20 Million Loan for Power Plant, Nation Says
September 1, 2010 – 9:51 am | No Comment

by Eric Ombok (Bloomberg)  Mumias Sugar Co., Kenya’s largest producer of the sweetener, secured a 1.6 billion-shilling ($20 million) loan for its ethanol plant to be commissioned next year, the Daily Nation reported.   A group …

Rush Township Landfill Project Changes Course
September 1, 2010 – 9:35 am | No Comment

by Anne Danahy  (CenterDaily.com)  Dumpsite scaled back as developer focuses on ethanol

The developer who had proposed building a landfill in Rush Township said the project has changed direction and the company is now working on …

Enerkem Announces Construction Start of World’s First Municipal Waste-to-Biofuels Facility in Edmonton, Alberta
August 31, 2010 – 2:49 pm | No Comment

(NewsWire)  Enerkem Inc., a leading waste-to-biofuels company, today held a groundbreaking ceremony to signify the start of construction of its municipal waste-to-biofuels facility with its partners, the City of Edmonton and the Government of Alberta. …

Fall River Officials to Sit in on Taunton City Council Meeting, Show their Support for Trash Disposal Plan
August 31, 2010 – 9:08 am | No Comment

by Charles Winokoor  (Tauton Daily Gazette)  …Taunton Mayor Charles Crowley has said that EOEA officials consider the process by which such a facility operates in violation of DEP’s 20-year-old moratorium on new facilities that incinerate …

Georgia’s First Wood-to-Ethanol Plant Opens
August 31, 2010 – 8:58 am | No Comment

by Dave Williams (Atlanta Business Chronicle)  The nation’s first commercial plant producing ethanol from wood wastes is open for business in the timber country of southeastern Georgia.

More than a year and a half behind its original …

Arizona Set to Become Center for Algae-Based, Biofuel Industry
August 31, 2010 – 7:32 am | No Comment

by William Hermann(The Arizona Republic)   Clean, green energy source could replace fossil fuels.
…With its ideal climate and abundance of available land, Arizona is poised to become a major center of a multibillion-dollar, algae-based, biofuel industry.

Scientists …

Zero Discharge Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Process Development
August 31, 2010 – 7:30 am | No Comment

(PRNewsWire)  AdvanceBio LLC, a Cincinnati-based advanced biofuel technology company, today announced the development of its next generation, sugar-based fuel ethanol process.
The process is capable of utilizing sugars derived from sugar cane, sweet sorghum, sugar beet and …

The Promise and Challenge of Algae as a Renewable Source of Biofuels September 8, 2010 Webinar 2:00 EDT
August 31, 2010 – 7:20 am | No Comment
The Promise and Challenge of Algae as a Renewable Source of Biofuels    September 8, 2010  Webinar 2:00 EDT

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Biomass Program is hosting a Webinar on Wednesday, September 8, 2010, from 2:00–4:30 p.m. EDT entitled “The Promise and Challenge of Algae as a Renewable Source of Biofuels.” This …

Africa: Up for Grabs
August 30, 2010 – 1:28 pm | No Comment

(Friends of the Earth International)   The African continent is increasingly being seen as a source of agricultural land and natural resources for the rest of the world. National governments and private companies are obtaining access …

Pond Scum Seen Lucrative in Argentine Biofuels Push
August 30, 2010 – 1:03 pm | No Comment

by Luis Andres Henao (Reuters)   An Argentine company opened Friday the country’s first factory to make biodiesel from algae, hoping to use pond scum as a replacement for soy in making biodiesel as part of a …

Algae.Tec Off and Running
August 27, 2010 – 8:50 am | No Comment

by Greg Peel  (ninemsn)  …Algae.Tec is also in the process of an IPO. However at A$7.5m, Algae.Tec’s issue is hardly one that can be described as exploitative or prematurely opportunistic, and the company’s legally protected …

Barbour: Biofuel Project Tops Mississippi Session Agenda
August 27, 2010 – 8:31 am | No Comment

by Emily Wagster Pettus  (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)  Mississippi lawmakers on Friday (August 27, 2010) will consider $50 million in state incentives for research and production of renewable fuel made from timber, one of the state’s most …

Biofuel Company to Locate in Columbus
August 27, 2010 – 8:24 am | No Comment

(The Dispatch)   …KiOR of Houston, Texas, plans to locate three facilities in Mississippi, the first of which will be in Columbus on the southern fifth of The Island, at the Columbus-Lowndes Port’s east bank. …Additional …

ABO in Final Preparation of “Minimum Descriptive Language” Document
August 27, 2010 – 6:39 am | No Comment

(Algal Industry Magazine)  The Technical Standards Committee of the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) is currently in late stage review of its Algal Industry Minimum Descriptive Language Document, recommended for characterizing the economic and environmental inputs and …

Energy Grasses Take Center Stage at Ceres Field Day
August 26, 2010 – 1:05 pm | No Comment

(PRNewsWire)  Energy industry executives joined investors and policymakers near Houston, Texas earlier today to take a firsthand look at energy grasses and research developments that are expected to push bioenergy to the forefront of renewable power …

Chromosome Designer Moves Into Biofuels
August 26, 2010 – 1:00 pm | No Comment

by Michael Kanellos (GreenTechMedia)  Chromatin says sorghum is the ideal crop.
The company, which designs chromosomes and tools for genetically modifying agricultural crops, has launched an effort to get into biofuels on its own. It has come …

Case Study: Mascoma: Seeking a Market Toehold
August 26, 2010 – 12:38 pm | No Comment

by Nidhi Subbaraman  (MIT Technology Review)  …The company announced plans to build one of the first commercial-scale cellulosic-ethanol plants, in Kinross, MI; it would be able to produce 80 million gallons per year.
But as of the …

Bunge Invests in Solazyme: Ties between Brazilian Sugarcane, US Advanced Biofuels Deepen
August 26, 2010 – 10:21 am | No Comment

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …“The simplicity is astounding. Here’s the big idea.  Take an existing, stranded ethanol factory or conglomerate. Buy it for a substantial discount. Start with cheap sugar. Drop in a new …

Thai Ethanol Plant Set for October Start-Up
August 26, 2010 – 10:20 am | No Comment

(Argus Media)  Thailand’s Double A Ethanol expects to start production at its 250,000 t/yr cassava-based ethanol plant in Prachinburi in October.  Construction of the plant is entering its final stages. When operational it will produce mainly 99.5pc …

TNAU Proposes to Initiate Bio-Fuel Plantations
August 25, 2010 – 6:18 pm | No Comment

(The Hindu)  The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has proposed to initiate and establish bio-fuel plantations with financial assistance of Central Government.
…“Increasing interest is shown towards the utility of Tree Borne Oilseeds (TBOs) like jatropha, pungam, …

New Waste to Bio-Fuel Facility Opened in Delhi
August 25, 2010 – 6:10 pm | No Comment

(Waste Management World)  A new waste to biofuel facility in Delhi, India has been inaugurated by the government of Delhi’s chief minister, Sheila Dikshit.
Located at Delhi Secretariat, the plant is part of an initiative to …

Woodford Equipment Brings Biomass Business To Emmetsburg
August 25, 2010 – 4:26 pm | No Comment

by Jane Whitmore (Emmetsburg Reporter Democrat)  …The fact that the business is not officially open hasn’t stopped customers from dropping in. Eric is already working with farmers interested in cob harvesting.
“We have been following biomass …

Syracuse University Research Team Uses Nanobiotechnology-Manipulated Light Particles to Accelerate Algae Growth
August 25, 2010 – 3:15 pm | No Comment

by Ariel DuChene  (Syracuse University)  Scientists and engineers seek to meet three goals in the production of biofuels from non-edible sources such as microalgae: efficiency, economical production and ecological sustainability. Syracuse University’s Radhakrishna Sureshkumar, professor …

WABCG 2010: Sugar Beet Could Have Substantial Role in EU Biofuels
August 25, 2010 – 1:49 pm | No Comment

by Richard Allison (Farmers Weekly Interactive)  Nearly 15,000ha of sugar beet being grown this season in Germany is destined for biogas production, equivalent to about one-tenth of the total area in the UK given over to …

Wyo. Plant Turns Sugar Cane Waste Into Biofuel
August 25, 2010 – 1:32 pm | No Comment

by Bob Moen (AP)  Wyoming is a long way from places where sugar cane is grown, but a test plant in the northeast part of the state will soon be turning sugar cane waste into …

Beet Ethanol Plant Survives Legal Challenge in Rapho Township
August 25, 2010 – 1:08 pm | No Comment

by Cindy Stauffer (Lancaster Online) Plans for a beet ethanol plant in Rapho Township have survived a court challenge. 
A Lancaster County Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit by four businesses who own land near the site.

Maibach …

Beet as a New Energy Crop
August 25, 2010 – 12:55 pm | No Comment

(The Bioenergy Site)  For the past two years, North Dakota State University Biofuels Economist, Cole Gufstafson, has been working in partnership with Green Vision Group and Heartland Renewable Energy (HRE) to create an energy beet for …

EU Beet Growers’ Recommendations to Policy Makers on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
August 25, 2010 – 12:44 pm | No Comment

(International Federation of Agricultural Producers) …The achievements and commitments of EU beet growers in adapting to and mitigating climate change, in particular through the provision of sustainably produced feedstock for renewable energy production, show the …

New Energy Economics: 2010 Energy Beet Field Days
August 25, 2010 – 10:54 am | No Comment

by Cole Gustafson (North Dakota State University Extension Service)  Farmers observing the trials were quite excited to see a new crop being developed
Last week, I participated in North Dakota’s first energy beet field days. Energy …

Ceres Opens Brazil Subsidiary To Develop Sweet Sorghum Crop Business
August 25, 2010 – 10:30 am | No Comment

(Green Car Congress/FavStocks)  Ceres, Inc. earlier this month established a subsidiary in Brasil focused on developing sweet sorghum as a feedstock for the ethanol industry. The company’s goal is to be the first supplier of …

Water: Is There Enough for Biofuels at Scale?
August 25, 2010 – 8:54 am | No Comment

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …In a note at CO2science.org, a trio of authors contend: “There simply is not enough freshwater on the face of the earth to make the production of biofuels a viable …

Biodiesel Industries Selected for Proposed Grant by the California Energy Commission
August 25, 2010 – 7:40 am | No Comment

(PRNewsWire)  Biodiesel Industries announced today the company’s selection by the California Energy Commission for a project grant to support the state’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. This Biofuel Production Plants grant provides funding …

Wide Use of Corn-Based Ethanol Fuel Not Choice for China: Experts
August 24, 2010 – 11:06 am | No Comment

(People’s Daily Online)  Agricultural experts said Saturday it was too early for China to adopt corn-based ethanol fuel to feed automobiles, given the expensive production costs and the country’s large population.
Li Xinhua, a professor at …

African Case Study: Palm Oil and Economic Development in Nigeria and Ghana; Recommendations for the World Bank’s 2010 Palm Oil Strategy
August 24, 2010 – 10:49 am | No Comment

by Thompson Ayodele (Initiative for Public Policy Analysis)  Forward by  Dr. Matthew O. Eshalomi:  Growth and prosperity of an economy are central to the longterm reduction in poverty for both economic and environmental sustainability. Palm oil …

Brazilian Biofuels Run into EU Obstacles
August 24, 2010 – 10:32 am | No Comment

by Yans Felippe Geckler (IPS News)  Brazil has begun a counterattack on the European Union’s measures for certifying crop-based fuels, which could lead to import barriers for this energy source coming from the South American …

Atlanta Firm Launches Cellulosic Ethanol Project in Michigan
August 24, 2010 – 9:29 am | No Comment

by James Cartledge (BrighterEnergy.org)  Atlanta company American Process Incorporated has started work on a waste-to-ethanol biorefinery at Alpena, Michigan.  The company held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site last week, attended by Michigan Governor Jennifer M …