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 …
Political news and views from Capitol Hill.
Conferences and Events List in Addition to Coming Events Carousel (above)
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 …
Name of Provider: eTraining
Type: course required for those working with/potentially exposed to hazardous substances
Course: HAZWOPER 40 Hour Course (24 Hour Course, 8 Hour Refresher)
Course description:
eTraining’s online 40 Hour Hazwoper Course has been designed for, and is required to …
(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 …
SXSW Eco will feature sessions from experts in the public, private and academic sectors committed to finding solutions for a sustainable world.
SXSW Eco is a three-day conference addressing the need for a concerted, cross sector approach …
by Maria Sheahan and Victoria Bryan (Reuters) …Airlines, keen to cut pollution from jet fuel ahead of EU penalties from next year, and biofuel associations at the Berlin ILA air show this week said their …
(US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service) …Of the five regions, the Southeast has the greatest natural capacity in the continental United States, with sufficient sunshine, soils, water, and other natural resources to produce more …
(Phys.Org) Sweet sorghum is primarily grown in the United States as a source of sugar for syrup and molasses. But the sturdy grass has other attributes that could make it uniquely suited to production as …
by Chuck Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The President of the Chicagoland Speedway believes that Illinois Farmers and American Ethanol have been great partners for NASCAR.
…The Chicagoland race featured an Illinois Family Farmers exhibit in Champions Park outside the track that featured …
by Sarah Miller (Grist) …The challenge is not that we are an economy with a dearth of disgusting grease; the problem is getting said disgusting grease from people who would otherwise throw it out to …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What will bigger targets mean for producers, livestock, obligated refiners, and the diesel-using public?
In Washington, the EPA issued its final rule for 2013 establishing 1.28 billion gallons as next year’s …
(Oregon State University) Diatoms, tiny marine life forms that have been around since the dinosaurs, could finally make biofuel production from algae truly cost-effective – because they can simultaneously produce other valuable products such as …
(EnergyMarketPrice) Speaking at the opening of an environmental conference in Paris, the French President François Hollande announced he has rejected several applications to begin extracting natural gas and oil from shale using hydraulic fracking practice, …
(Algae.Tec/PR NewsWire) Algae.Tec Limited is pleased to announce that Algae.Tec and Lufthansa have signed a Collaboration Agreement for the construction of a large-scale algae to aviation biofuels production facility.
The site will be in Europe adjacent to an …
Over the past decade, the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and bioprocessing has become the largest industrial biotech gathering in the world. The 2013 BIO World Congress will be held June 16-19 in Montréal, …
by Jim Lane (Biobased Digest) One of the most interesting biobased resources we have found – covering the world, but Europe-based – is the AgroBioBase, created and managed by the IAR consortium, a French organization …
(Channel News Asia) The European Commission rejected Monday charges that EU biofuel policy was contributing to soaring food prices but confirmed that it will trim its targets for their use.
Biofuels were once seen as a …
(FlightGlobal)The future looks green for US-German relations following an alternative aviation fuels development agreement signed at ILA.
German transport minister Peter Ramsauer and US ambassador Philip Murphy signed the pact designed to strengthen co-operation in a …
by Natalie Obiko Pearson (Bloomberg) Finland’s Chempolis Ltd. is in talks with Indian sugar companies to set up a biorefinery in the South Asia nation.
The Oulu-based company, which provides technology that allows raw materials like …
by Jason Keyser (Associated Press/St. Louis Post Dispatch) For two decades, one of the most commonly used types of rail tanker has been allowed to haul hazardous liquids from coast to coast even though transportation …
(Argus Media) …“There’s a lot of talk about the drought. But the biggest challenge is access to the market,” he (Jeff Lautt, CEO of POET) says. The Environmental Protection approved E15 last year. However, representatives of …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Once described as a “moon shot”, Beta Renewables’ commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol project hovers just over the lunar surface, weeks from completion. It’s transformative cost structure may well reignite the …
by Richard Baillie (Renewable Energy World) Emissions trading is growing in popularity across the globe, but doubts about its high costs and ultimate effectiveness at promoting renewable energy have hampered its adoption. The key question …
(Algae Industry Magazine) Seventeen-year-old Sara Volz, of Colorado Springs, CO, has been awarded a $50,000 scholarship for her science project, “Enhancing Algae Biofuels: Investigation of the Environmental and Enzymatic Factors Effecting Algal Lipid Synthesis.” Her …
(Propel Fuels/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Propel Fuels, a leading retailer of renewable fuels and clean mobility solutions, has announced the opening of its newest renewable fuel station, co-located at the Mak’s Valero station at 1101 Broadway …
(Agricultural Energy Coalition/Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Agriculture Energy Coalition (AgEC) today (September 12, 2012) called on Congress to pass a five-year Farm Bill with mandatory funding for a strong Energy Title. The Senate has passed …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) For years, National Sorghum Producers have advocated for increasing the use of grain sorghum, or milo, as an ethanol feedstock. Lately, the idea seems to be gaining steam. …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) …Twenty-nine local investors applied and were approved for a Resource Enhancement and Protection grant (REAP). They group also received Iowa Infrastructure funding to aid with the costs of installation. The FAST …
(Phys.Org) Putting the water-use-efficient and turbo-charged photosynthesis from plants such as agave into woody biomass plants such as poplar can hedge against predicted long-term increases in temperatures and reduced precipitation. It can also provide dedicated …
(EurActiv) A French plan to fight food price volatility took further shape yesterday (12 September) with a call to pause global development of biofuels, just a day after President François Hollande pushed for creation of …
by Louise Gray (The Telegraph) Drivers will be forced to pay an extra £35 a year due to a European climate change target, a report by Oxfam has found.
…The report states that a family currently …
(ConstructionWeekOnline.com) S Lootah International has teamed up with Germany company Arndt GmbH to offer fully automatic locally-manufactured biodiesel plants for the Middle East.
The plants convert used cooking oil into biodiesel, which can be used to …
by Brian Winter (Reuters/Chicago Tribune) After years at each other’s throats, Brazil and the United States are working together to promote the use of ethanol in a collaboration that could revolutionize global markets and the makeup of …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Joule continues to move out of stealth and into the light with its transformative Sunflow-E and Sunflow-D fuels, made biologically from waste CO2, sunlight and saline water with no intervening …
Don’t miss the opportunity to network with industry leaders and peers at the 18th Annual National Ethanol Conference (NEC): Driving Forward, February 5-7, 2013 at the Wynn Las Vegas. Widely recognized as a “must-attend” event, the …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Magellan Pipeline Company has completed a new biodiesel distribution facility in Des Moines, Iowa. The new equipment will allow for unloading, storage and blending of biodiesel at the terminal. The infrastructure …
