Articles tagged with: Texas
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … In an exclusive Digest interview, Shell’s VP for Alternative Energy, Matthew Tipper, reveals the company’s thinking about RFS2, their increasing re-focus on North America and the EU. Plus, Shell’s ambition …
by Aldo Svaldi (The Denver Post) Cool Planet Energy Systems took a step closer Friday to a corporate relocation and expansion that could bring nearly 400 jobs to the metro area and place the state …
by Emily Pickrell (FuelFix) On Jan. 1, Congress made algae-based fuel production eligible for a $1.01-per-gallon cellulosic biofuel production federal tax credit.
Cellulosic biofuels typically are made from woody, non-food material such as grasses or wood …
by David Wogan (Scientific American) The idea is straightforward: grow algae in large quantities and harvest the energy dense byproducts as an alternative to fossil fuels. Like larger plants, microalgae use solar energy to fix …
(EurekAlert!/American Chemical Society) Genes from the family of bacteria that produce vinegar, Kombucha tea and nata de coco have become stars in a project — which scientists today said has reached an advanced stage — …
(Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute/PR NewsWire) The $100K ACC Clean Energy Challenge, a business plan competition supported by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) encouraging students from universities in the southeastern United …
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Jeffrey David Gunselman, 30, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 188 months in federal prison, fined $175,000 and ordered to pay more than $54.9 million in …
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) …And some, such as the folks at Algae.Tec, are looking to green shipping containers to grow a literal green feedstock.
“What we wanted was a significant bulk outcome, in other words fuels and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Could a switch to biofuels make super-dense JP-10 military aviation fuels affordable? Could F18A Super Hornets add payload or extend range?
Currently reserved for tactical missiles because of cost, biofuels could …
(PR WEB/DieselGreen Fuels) After recycling oil from Austin and San Antonio commercial kitchens since 2006, DieselGreen is announcing a drop off program for small amounts of used cooking oil. Oil can be dropped off at …
by Jim Lane (Biobased DIgest) Bringing your biobased technology forward through the Valley of Death may require a bridge over troubled waters. Here are partners worth knowing.
… Bioenergy commercialization is long, expensive and risky. Derisking …
(Biofuels International) Biodiesel provider Gulf Hydrocarbon Partners has partnered with Akash Energy to resume operations at the Houston, Texas-based Lone Star Terminal, which now offers renewable and biodiesel.
The Lone Star Terminal has a total capacity …
(PR NewsWire/Yahoo! News) Top 5 States For Advanced Biofuel Companies: Calif., Ill., Colo., Texas and Iowa; New Web Site at www.FuelingGrowth.org Documents Impact of Growing Industry
California is home to nearly 30 advanced biofuel companies, but dozens of …
by Li Jiao (SciDev.net) Deep inside insects’ guts may lie the key to one of the biofuel industry’s great challenges: how to cost-effectively turn tough plant waste into profit-making fuel.
About 50 million tonnes of lignin …
by Holly Jessen (Biodiesel Magazine) A two-year research project aims to crack the lignin question by engineering a microbe to break down the byproduct into a lipid, or fat, and then into biodiesel. The research …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Biodiesel Experts International has unveiled its new, fully automated, skid-mounted enzymatic biodiesel processing system. After two years of development work to hone the process and build the first unit, the …
(Department of Energy) As part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above strategy to develop every available source of American energy, the U.S. Department of Energy today announced more than $10 million to five projects in California, …
(Renewable Fuels Association) The Advanced Ethanol Council this morning released a report giving a snapshot of cellulosic ethanol producers in the U.S. and around the world. A look at facilities owned by companies such as …
(US Department of Agriculture) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $10 million in research grants to spur production of bioenergy and biobased products that will lead to the development of sustainable regional systems and help …
by J.B. Smith (WacoTrib.com) …“It’s farmers vs. ranchers,” said McLennan County Farm Bureau president and delegate Kevin Huffman in an interview.
Huffman, who raises cattle, corn, wheat and cotton near McGregor, opposed both amendments but said …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have developed a proof-of-concept design to harvest, dewater and convert algae to biodiesel in a one-step process using resins. In a paper …
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) Just as ethanol producers have been able to market the co-product dried distillers grains (DDGs) as livestock feed, those folks producing algae for biodiesel want to find more uses for what’s …
by Art Hovey (Lincoln Journal Star) The economic bounce that comes from the combination of corn and cattle in Nebraska “is unmatched any other place in the country,” agricultural economist Bruce Johnson told the Nebraska …
by Blair Fannin (Texas A&M University) Dr. Bill McCutchen sees the potential for the southeast to become the ‘Saudi Arabia’ for production of dedicated energy crops.
“It’s the Bioenergy Belt,” said McCutchen, executive associate director of …
by Harry Cline (Western Farm Press) Castor beans are back in California as a possible source crop for making biofuels; Castor’s main toxic protein, ricin, is so potent that a single milligram is sufficient to kill …
(Energy Digital/MarketWire) Global Clean Energy, Inc., continues to develop its plan to provide the most efficient feedstocks for biomass fuel production. The company has begun to provide for production of Jatropha and switch grass in rural …
by Roy Roberson (Southeast Farm Press) • Sounds like a good deal for grain growers and a bad one for livestock producers and consumers, but are such high prices really good for any of us?
• …
(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 …
(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 …
by Luke Geiver (Biomass Magazine) A new research effort by BP Biofuels has reaffirmed the energy giant’s role in the Gulf Coast region’s economic health. Through a three-year project, BP Biofuels will work with Texas …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have developed a proof-of-concept design to harvest, dewater and convert the dried algae to biodiesel in a one-step process using resins.
In a …
(National Algae Association/PR Log) Raceway ponds were never meant to be used for industrial algae production.
When the Department of Energy initiated the Aquatic Species Program years ago, there was no other choice. Raceway ponds were …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …While the economic growth in China has been drawing virtually all the headlines in recent years, the “Tiger” economies of Southeast and South Asia have been fast-growing for a long …
(National Science Foundation) The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced 15 Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) grants for fiscal year 2012, awarding nearly $30 million to 68 investigators at 26 institutions.
During the next …
(National Science Foundation/Biodiesel Magazine) Researchers contend that manufactured nanomaterials—now popular in consumer products such as shampoos, gels, hair dyes and sunscreens—may be detrimental to the quality and yield of crops, as reported in a paper in …
(Renmatix) Companies embark on program to explore viability of MSW as inputs for PlantroseTM process
Waste Management, Inc.
, the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services, and Renmatix, the leading manufacturer of biobased sugar intermediates for …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …Talk of a possible renewable fuel standard (RFS) waiver request became a reality in mid-August, when the U.S. EPA was officially petitioned. The clock starts on a 90-day deadline …
The 2013 Collegiate Design Series (CDS) competition schedule, registration fees, maximum number of teams accepted for each event and the registration opening and closing are listed below.
You must read and follow the registration requirements and …
(Texas AgriLife) BP Biofuels and Texas AgriLife Research, part of The Texas A&M University System, have signed a three-year agreement to develop and commercialize cellulosic feedstocks for the production of advanced biofuels.
The collaboration will utilize …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The recent focus on drought, and the scarcity scare, shows that diversification and yield enhancement remain the bioeconomy’s chief weapons in the war on availability and affordability. The USDA and …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Criminal proceedings are underway against Jeffrey David Gunselman, former CEO of Texas-based Absolute Fuels, in U.S. District Court as Judge Sam Cummings filed an official complaint last week authorizing Gunselman’s …
(Algae Industry Magazine) A recent study at the University of Texas at Austin demonstrates that it is theoretically possible to produce about 500 times as much energy from algae fuels as is needed to grow …
(PR Web) Mason & Morse Farmland Group Partners with TerViva Regarding Pongamia Projects
A California company has come up with a compelling twist on farmland investing for private clients and institutional investors focusing on real assets. …
by Steve Clark (The Brownsville Herald) After a year in development, Tire Recycling & Processing, a facility unlike anything else in Texas and possibly the United States, has thrown the switch in Harlingen.
On Friday, …
by Mauricio Espinoza (Ohio State University/North Texas d-News) Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) will play a key role in the engineering of a novel plant-based fuel, funded by a $5.7 million grant …
by Kay Ledbetter (Texas AgriLife/Southwest Farm Press) Biomass gasification is being considered as a possible technology for converting 60 million acres of Texas brush into biofuel, according to Dr. Jim Ansley, Texas AgriLife Research …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A major plant opening by Novozymes in Nebraska and a project announcement from ExxonMobil in Texas, highlight the opportunities and challenges for industrial biotechnology
…In Blair, Cargill’s corn-based, wet mill ethanol …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Most of the stories we write at the Digest on the subject of biofuels feedstocks fall into the well-established realms of normal. But every once in a while, a feedstock …
by Ken Wells (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) …In the last decade, the industry says, it has put $71 billion into zero- and low-emission and renewable energy technologies. The U.S. government, by contrast, has spent about $43 billion on similar …
by Blair Fannin (Texas AgriLife Research/Algae Industry Magazine) Texas AgriLife Research scientist, Dr. Tryon Wickersham, and graduate student, Merritt Drewery, have been conducting feeding trials of algae leftover products (after oil extraction, in powdered form) …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Emerald Biofuels announced that it will build an 85 million gallonrenewable-diesel refineries at a Dow Chemical site in Plaquemine, Louisiana. The company will use Honeywell’s UOP/Eni EcoFining process technology for the …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) The U.S. EPA issued a Notice of Violation to Houston-based Green Diesel LLC April 30 for generating more than 60 million invalid biomass-based diesel (D-Code 4) renewable identification numbers (RINs) …
(University of Florida) A University of Florida-led research team has been selected to participate in a five-year, $125 million energy project involving the United States and India, U.S. Department of Energy officials have announced.
Known as the …
(Algae Industry Magazine) Below the Surface’s “Driving Innovation” Team established the first official algae-fueled motorcycle speed records during The Texas Mile land speed event on March 24th, 2012. Team leader Kristian Gustavson reached 94.6 mph …
(National Algae Association) National Algae Association is pleased to announce the opening of a Testing Center. This first-of-its-kind initiative has been on-going as a part of NAA’s algae production incubator program to assist new algae …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Texas, the National Algae Association called on presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich to issue a retraction of statements he made at a campaign speech in Pennsylvania, branding the Speaker’s claim that …
(OPISNet.com) It’s been a long time coming, but ethanol now dominates the U.S. gasoline blending landscape. The number of wholesale terminals supplying only conventional clear gasoline for truck loadings has trimmed down to just nine …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …But in the past two years, five technologies have emerged that are focused on renewable gasoline (along with some others that have the capability of producing gasoline-like fuels but are …
by Kay Ledbetter (PhysOrg.com) Crude glycerin, a byproduct of biodiesel production, could be an economical ingredient in cattle diets, according to studies by Texas AgriLife Research and West Texas A&M University personnel.
Dr. Jim MacDonald, AgriLife …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What are Google, BP, Conoco, and GE investing? Is 3,000 gallons per acre of renewable gasoline possible?
In the past few weeks, news has begun to circulate around the industry – …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) While confusion reigneth on Shell’s plans for cellulosic ethanol, the company quietly builds a drop-in biofuels pilot plant in Texas, based on Virent’s bioforming technology.
…After a stunning move to establish …
by Lori Ranson (FlightGlobal) Successful commercial biofuel flights operated by US carriers in late 2011 were underpinned by an understanding that price and supply chain infrastructure remain the big hurdles to creating a viable full-scale …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Some of the first American visitors to Yellowstone, who began to record their journeys into the wilds of northwestern Wyoming during the early 1870s, noted the horrible taste of …
by Logan Hawkes (Southwest Farm Press)
Biodiesel is experiencing a historic surge worldwide.
Pongamiapinnata is becoming a popular oilseed choice for biofuel production and has captured the attention of U.S. growers.
Pongamia is one of the few nitrogen-fixing trees …
by Bryan Sims (Biodiesel Magazine) Clean Cities coalitions in Texas have partnered with Renewable Energy Group Inc. and Omaha, Neb.-based wholesale biodiesel distributor Bosselman Energy to co-host four workshops in four different cities throughout the …
(National Corn Growers Association) Ongoing media coverage on corn usage tends to sensationalize trends by pitting demand from the ethanol industry against that from livestock, but Corn Board member Wesley Spurlock, a Texas farmer, has …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …(Addison) Lawrence, a project leader and scientist in charge at Texas AgriLife Research Mariculture Laboratory at Port Aransas, Texas, explains that two things have hit the U.S. domestic shrimp …
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 Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Despite the promise of methane from anaerobic digestion technology, low natural gas rates and other factors have kept ethanol producers from jumping in with both feet.
…On top of the …
by Ron Kortrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Last week the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality concluded that air quality is simply not a reason for concern regarding biodiesel volumes associated with federally required use. The federal renewable …
by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine) The biorefining sector reached an important new milestone this year with at least five companies undergoing successful initial public offerings (IPOs). As we move into the new year, members of …
by Angela Kean (Proactive Investors Australia) Leaf Energy (ASX: LER) has signed worldwide exclusive licence agreement with Texas A & M University to develop the marine yeast Debaryomyces hansenii as a production platform for high …
by Luke Geiver (Biorefining Magazine) The second week in November could go down as one of the most significant weeks for advanced biofuels, airline companies and the use of biofuel-blended jet fuel in the U.S. …
(Courthouse News Service) A fuel distributor claims two companies sold it millions of “fraudulently created, and thus invalid” renewable fuel identification numbers. RIN numbers are part of the U.S. EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard program, to …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) What happens when sorghum doesn’t have to put energy into flowering and grain production? High-biomass sorghum that grows up to 20 feet tall, that’s what.
Texas AgriLife Research, part of …
by Carrin Hall (Energy Digital) As the natural gas industry targets vehicles, what will happen to biofuels development?
Clean Energy Fuels, a leading natural gas provider in Seal Beach, has teamed up with Quarles Petroleum Inc. …
(National Algae Association) Due to the lack of sufficient data on the performance of industrial-scale photobioreactors, fermentation, dewatering/harvesting and extraction equipment, the NAA is announcing a new collaborative testing center starting in The Woodlands, Texas …
by Graham Warwick (Aviation Week) As airlines launch the first commercial biofuel flights in the U.S., the government is working with industry to scale up production of biomass-derived jet fuel to commercial quantities beginning in …
(Platts) The US Environmental Protection Agency may end up deeming more biodiesel renewable identification numbers (RINs) as invalid following federal investigations into two companies that allegedly sold RINS without producing the appropriate volumes of biodiesel, …
by Kevin Welch (Amarillo Globe-News) The U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving White Energy, with ethanol plants in Hereford and Plainview, a $3-million grant to promote using materials other than corn to make biofuels.
Those materials …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) United and Solazyme, Alaska and Dynamic Fuels hook up, as producers scramble to make fuel, raise cash, ratchet down costs. Will producers scale, or fail?
…United Airlines will operate the first …
by Walt Nett (Avalanche-Journal/LubbockOnline) Absolute Fuels tried twice to make biodiesel, but lost money the first time around and couldn’t produce usable fuel the next time, according to information in federal affidavits filed in connection …
(Railway Age) Amtrak says that it found the use of a renewable biodiesel fuel blend to power its daily Heartland Flyer train “resulted in no more wear on the locomotive than traditional diesel fuels and …
by Robert Burns (AgriLifeToday) Feeling pain again at the gasoline pump? Don’t blame it on corn and the cost of ethanol.
Well, at least don’t blame it entirely on corn, said Dr. Mark Welch, Texas AgriLife …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Susan Ellerbusch: Now, at BP there are dozens of BP people who are experts in growing crops design, farm logistics. We are building an agriculture team after having acquired the …
by Luke Geiver (Biorefining Magazine) For all the gripes, some government-backed programs are working
… (Founder of Westar Trade Resources, Cindy) Thyfault speaks with Biorefining Magazine about the programs that have worked to fund the economic needs …
(US Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced $2 million over three years for six regional awardees to create and administer a network of student-focused business creation competitions and inspire young …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A lesser-known pilot project in Mexico says it can produce biofuels at parity with $33 oil. Can this ultra-low cost project replicate its results at scale. Where is it deploying, …
(Department of Energy/ARPA-E) ARPA-E Projects in 25 States Will Accelerate Innovation in Clean Energy Technologies, Increase America’s Competitiveness and Create Jobs
Arun Majumdar, Director of the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), today announced …
(BusinessWire/Yahoo!Finance) Air Force Purchase is for Jet Engine Testing and Feasibility Flight Demonstration
Gevo, Inc., a leading renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company, received a $5 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) …
by Carol Skewes (The Vindicator) A farm in Liberty County, Texas, has started growing energy grasses as part of a BP project to produce cellulosic ethanol. BP is planning to build a 70-million-gallon cellulosic-ethanol plant, …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) The International Biorefining Conference & Trade Show in Houston wasn’t exclusively about biobased chemicals and next-gen biofuels. In fact, the event featured two speakers who presented novel biodiesel technologies that …
by Barry Harrell (Statesman.com/PluggedIn) …AlgEternal Technologies LLC is near completion of a commercial facility at UT’s J.J. Pickle Research Campus. The facility, which had its ribbon-cutting last week, is a collaboration among AlgEternal, UT’s Center …
(Southwest Research Institute) Southwest Research Institute launched a collaborative effort to assist our clients to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to address governmental mandates for alternative fuel production and tightened emissions standards. SwRI’s new …
by Helen Knight (New Scientist) Ammonia produces just nitrogen and water vapour when burned and, unlike hydrogen, it is relatively easy to store in liquid form. That means transporting ammonia will not require costly new infrastructure, …
(Algae Industry Magazine) National Algae Association Executive Director Barry Cohen has announced the completion of additional commercial-scale pilot closed-loop photobioreactors (PBR’s) at the Biotech Institute at Lone Star College, The Woodlands, Texas.
“Thanks to contributions of …
by Luke Geiver (Biodiesel Magazine) Aquaflow Bionomic Corp., a New Zealand-based algae technology developer, is taking a broad approach to algae-to-fuel development—one the company’s director Nick Gerritsen said may include nonalgae feedstocks. Aquaflow recently agreed …
(Emerging Markets Online) Emerging Markets CEO Will Thurmond introduces the concept for The Greater Houston Partnership’s Biofuels Task Force initiative at the Americas Energy City Summit.
The Greater Houston Partnership is a non-profit, policy advocacy group. …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) A new E85 station has opened at the Stripes Convenience Store in Corpus Christi, Texas and is now the only E85 station within 100 miles. The pump is located at its location …
by Bill Moore (Stuff.co.nz) Nelson-based biofuel company Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation has announced a deal with a Texas-based renewable fuel company that paves the way for the building of a multimillion-dollar biofuels plant.
Its agreement is with …
