by Amy North (LetsRecycle.com)  The UK’s ‘largest’ biodiesel plant was opened in Bootle, Liverpool today (May 9) by transport minister Norman Baker.
The plant, developed by renewable energy firm Agri, will process used cooking oil to …

(Business Wire)  TMO Renewables (“TMO Group”), a leading technology provider for cellulosic biofuels production, today announced the company has advanced to demonstration scale on cassava stalk feedstock with major Chinese fuel and food producers. TMO …

(UK’s National Center for Biorenewable Energy, Fuels and Materials)  This report investigates the importance of allocation procedures in reporting and understanding energy and greenhouse gas balances from life cycle assessment of biofuels and bio-based chemicals.
Life …

(FarmingUK.com)  Latest government figures reveal that the vast majority of biofuels supplied in the UK are made from imported feedstock, with almost nine out of every 10 litres of foreign origin.
The NFU have said that …

(GreenAir Online)  The Committee on Climate Change (CCC), which advises the UK government on national carbon targets, has recommended international aviation and shipping emissions be included in carbon budgets and the UK’s 2050 overall target …

(NFU Online)  The updated Red Tractor farm assurance scheme for crops and sugar beet is on the verge of being officially accepted across the EU in time for this year’s harvest, the NFU said today.
The move is …

(Air Fuel Synthesis)   … The company’s demonstration unit fuel reactor has produced methanol fuels from carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and also from carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
The production of these first liquid hydrocarbon fuels – …

by Gavin Lumsden (CityWire)   The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into Sustainable AgroEnergy, a London-based company that promoted itself to Sipp investors as a specialist in renewable biofuel crops and ‘green oil’ from Asia.
According to Citywire’s New …

(Platts)  A decision in favor of recognizing Ensus, a UK biofuel sustainability certification scheme, will be taken in “a matter of weeks,” a European Commission source said Monday.
UK bioethanol producer Ensus received the support of …

by Simon Levey  (Industry Intelligence, Inc.)  Key part of biomass processing could be made 80% more energy-efficient, reducing cost of biofuels by 10%, by treating timber with ionic solvents, find Imperial College London scientists
A little …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  BP to showcase capabilities in low-carbon fuels at 2012 London Olympics. BP Biofuels chief Phil New outlines the BP’s path towards “getting biofuels right”.
“6 percent of the entire BP workforce …

(Midwest Energy News)  Military leaders are increasingly connecting the dots between energy, climate and national security issues. We’ve reported here before on the U.S. military’s push to go green with solar, biofuels and other renewable technologies.
Across the pond, …

Course objectives

Understand the wide range of sources and conversion pathways for biomass
Discover the multiple bioenergy markets and solutions: biofuels, biogases, biopower – plus their valuable co-products
Discuss both current bioenergy solutions and emerging “next generation” feedstocks …

(Fleet News)  Campaigners have accused the Treasury of ‘not doing its homework’ after analysis by the Save our Sustainable Biodiesel campaign identified a lack of demand for biodiesel certificates, calling into question the Treasury’s plans …

by Robert Vierhout (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Between April 2010 and April 2011, the U.K. used 428 million liters of used cooking oil (UCO) for the production of biodiesel. It has become the primary source for …

(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 …

(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 Alex Morales (Reuters)  European Union policies to promote the use of biofuels for transportation will cost consumers as much as 126 billion euros ($166 billion) between now and 2020, two environmental groups said.
The fuels, …

(International Institute for Sustainable Development)  The U.K. government is currently considering what policies will ensure it meets the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED) commitment of using 10 per cent by energy of renewable transport …

(Biofuels International)  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 …

(GreenAirOnline)  Although aviation is a key driver of growth, without tackling its global and local environmental impact, the industry will not be able to realise its economic potential, says the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). …

(EurekAlert)  …Now, a team led by Professor Will Zimmerman in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Sheffield, believe they have solved the problem. They have developed an inexpensive way of …

by Michael Hogan  (Reuters)    Govt advisors warn against biofuel feedstock imports
* Importing foods for biofuels could endanger supplies
* Biofuels industry says claims reckless
Germany should not increase imports of food to produce biofuels, because this could threaten …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   In the UK, Green Biologics Limited  announced the merger between GBL and butylfuel Inc., a US-based renewable chemicals and biofuels company. The new company will operate under the Green Biologics …

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 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 …

(MenMedia)  …Dr Constantinos Theodoropoulos and Prof Colin Webb from the University’s School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science decided to tackle the issue of a worldwide glut of glycerol.
Growing global demand for biodiesel means markets …

by Angela Monaghan (The Telegraph)  The plans, announced in the financial year so far, could create almost 12,000 jobs across the country according to research by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

It came as …

(PR NewsWire)  Start of demolition works at the former chemical plant in Castleford
Black Pearl Capital Partners (“BPCP”) today announced that it has acquired a 118 acre infrastructure site near Blackburn, UK. The site which formerly operated …

(Global Bioenergy Partnership)  In November 2011 the GBEP Steering Committee endorsed the report The Global Bioenergy Partnership Sustainability Indicators for Bioenergy. It was developed by GBEP Partners and Observers through the GBEP Task Force on Sustainability …

(RedOrbit)  UK’s wrapping paper and festive cards could provide energy to send a bus to the moon more than 20 times
If all the UK’s discarded wrapping paper and Christmas cards were collected and fermented, they …

(Warehouse News)  At its distribution centre at Brackmills, Northamptonshire, leading retailer John Lewis is turning waste cooking oil from its in-store restaurants into eco-friendly biodiesel which it is using to power  a Jungheinrich counterbalanced forklift …

(Click Green)  The UK’s advertising watchdog has ruled in favour of oil giant Shell over marketing claims its biofuels reduced CO2 emissions.
A national ad campaign for Shell included the boast that biofuel was “one of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …1. The USDA’s crop land report.
What: An in-depth analysis of U.S. land use patterns released this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows total cropland decreased by 34 million …

by Charis M. Cook, Arsalan Daudi, David J. Millar, Laurence V. Bindschedler, Safina Khan, G. Paul Bolwell, Alessandra Devoto (Science Direct)  In this study, an EST library (EH663598–EH666265) obtained from xylogenic tissue cultures of tobacco that had been previously generated was annotated. …

Maximising Algae’s Business Potential Today, for the Markets of Tomorrow
Join us once again at ACI’s European Algae Biomass held in London, UK, on 25-25 April 2012. The 2nd edition is building on the success of the …

by John Sherman  (Car and Driver Magazine)  Driving Under the Influence: Ethanol-injection systems aim to use alcohol responsibly.
Thanks to the adoption of direct fuel injection, teaming gas and ethanol has the potential to beat diesel …

(Wired-gov.net)  Transport for London (TfL)is to use an environmentally friendly biofuel in 12 of its Dial-a-Ride vehicles in a year-long trial.
It is estimated the vehicles will produce 25 per cent less carbon emissions than a …

(Butamax)  Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels, the leading global biobutanol technology development company, announces agreement on commercialization principles with Highwater Ethanol, the first entrant to the Butamax Early Adopters Group.
Butamax’s business model is to offer current ethanol …

(The Economist)  Green-minded motorists are making car fuel at home, from used cooking oil
…The recipe starts by filtering the breadcrumbs out with a mesh screen. After that you warm the oil up and add sodium …

(Biofuels International)  Adair Turner, chairman of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), has acknowledged that the aviation sector may be an area in which fossil fuels have to be used, highlighting that we are looking …

by Luke Geiver (Biodiesel Magazine)  A London-based private fleet service has listened to customer feedback regarding the fleet’s use of environmentally friendly vehicles, and now Greentomatocars has added biodiesel. The fleet, mainly made up of …

(ZME Science)  Developing alternative but sustainable energy resources to save scarce fossil resources and understanding the dynamics of changing water cycles to improve ecosystems in South Asia.
These are the broad areas agreement for green-field collaborative …

by Will Nichols (Business Green)  Government research body says next generation biofuels made from waste are a feasible low carbon option
The UK could miss its renewable transport targets unless it spends £900m over the next …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  In New Delhi, India, the Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts, announced plans for a £10M joint call for sustainable bioenergy research between the UK and India. The call …

(GreenWise)  UK festivals are being encouraged to switch to biodiesel and other renewable energy forms, as a new report shows the energy consumed by the sector could power 10,000 homes.
The research, to be released today at …

by Luke Geiver (Biorefining Magazine)  …“I came to the U.S. four years ago to really make what we wanted to be on a piece of paper a reality,” she (Sue Ellerbusch, president of BP Biofuels …

(The Green Car Website)  …According to reports, nearly one million motorists could suffer as the government prepares to increase the biofuel content in unleaded fuel from five per cent to ten per cent as directed by the EU.
Some …

by John C.K. Daly (http://oilprice.com)   On 28 October Air China conducted its first trial flight of a passenger jet powered by a mix of biofuel and traditional aviation fuel.
The Jet A-1 biofuel kerosene used in …

by Damian Carrington (The Guardian/The Observer)  The collapse of Sun Biofuels has left hundreds of Tanzanians landless, jobless, and in despair for the future
“People feel this is like the return of colonialism,” says Athumani Mkambala, chairman …