(EurekAlert) ...In their article, "Global mapping of Jatropha curcas yield based on response of fitness to present and future climate," Antonio Trabucco and colleagues point out that Jatropha grows in a wide range of climatic conditions, including tropical and subtropical
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Back TO HOMEAll Systems Go at World's Largest Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
(SunHerald.com) Inbicon Biomass Refinery now producing The New Ethanol and other biofuel at Kalundborg, Denmark Inbicon is declaring Energy Independence Day for Planet Earth as the first Inbicon Biomass Refinery swings into operation. It turns wheat straw into 1.4 million gallons
July 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Benchtop Biofuels: Fine-Tuning Growth Conditions Helps Cyanobacteria Flourish
by Richard Harth (Arizona State University) Cyanobacteria are among the oldest living forms in nature, responsible for generating the atmospheric oxygen we breathe today. Now Hyun Woo Kim and Raveender Vannela, researchers at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University
July 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Tax Truth: We Need to Raise the Levy on Gasoline
(Washington Post) Editorial ...What better time to revisit the enduring, maddening, illogical contrast between how little Americans actually pay to drive -- and how fiercely they resist even modest gasoline tax increases that would go a long way in addressing
July 08, 2010 Read Full Article
The Other Oil Spill: The Campaign Against Palm Oil
(The Economist) Palm oil is a popular, cheap commodity, which green activists are doing their best to turn into a commercial liability. Companies are finding them impossible to ignore. ...The charges against palm oil are serious: environmental groups regard it as
July 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Hydrocarbon Fuels: Biobutanol's Contribution to Renewable Fuels Industry Growth
by Tyler Ames (Chief Science & Technology Officer, Butamax) Butamax, a product of a joint research program between DuPont and BP, is working to commercialize biobutanol. Biobutanol can be made from several feedstocks, has excellent fuel properties, and is compatible with
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Hydrocarbon Fuels: The Thermochemical Biorefinery
by Dan Burciaga (President & CEO, TRI) Burciaga discusses TRI's proprietary steam reforming gasification system, and its applicability to the production of biofuels, biochemicals, and renewable power. TRI's biorefineries are feedstock-flexible, controlled to maximize thermal efficiency, scalable, and potentially self-powered. The
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Hydrocarbon Fuels: Sugar to Diesel via Microbial Fermentation
by Kirk Apt (Chief Research Scientist, Martek) Martek extracts sugars from cost-effective sources like lignocellulosic biomass or sugar cane. They employ a proprietary microorganism to biochemically convert the sugars into lipids or oils, which can be upgraded into usable hydrocarbon fuels
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Government of Canada Announces Investment to Promote Clean Technology Projects and Help Support Jobs Creation
(SDTC) Eighteen clean technology projects from across Canada that will help green Canada’s economy today received $40 million in funding to help move innovative technology solutions to the market. The announcement, confirming the decision of the Board of Directors of Sustainable
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
The Future of Biorefineries
by Doris de Guzman (ICIS Green Chemicals) ...One big news from the (BIO World) conference is the release of a new report from the World Economic Forum about the importance of industrial biorefineries not only in reducing carbon emissions but
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Helps Ryan Ride and Fund Cancer Research
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel) Thanks to the collective support of a number of sponsors, including ICM-Ethanol USA, Ryan Hunter-Reay will continue to drive the No. 37 IZOD-sponsored car for Andretti Autosport for the rest of the season. The car will continue to
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
RFA Response to San Francisco Chronicle “Dead Zone” Article
(Renewable Fuel Association) ...Let’s start with what the scientists say. Those scientists who served on federal agency panels convened in recent years to examine hypoxia issues concluded that the hypoxia zone has many causes and it is difficult—if not impossible—to positively
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Dead Zone in Gulf Linked to Ethanol Production
by Carolyn Lochhead (San Francisco Chronicle) While the BP oil spill has been labeled the worst environmental catastrophe in recent U.S. history, a biofuel is contributing to a Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" the size of New Jersey that scientists say could
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
The Biofuels Investor Migration to Brazil
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel) A colleague of mine, Will Thurmond, who is the CEO of markets research firm Emerging Markets Online, sent me this great article about why companies are spending billions of dollars investing in advanced biofuels in Brazil
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Algae Collegiate Scholarship
With an eye toward young water-process and civil engineering, talent leading the future development of the algae biofuel and biomass industry, the National Algae Association and Algae Industry Magazine.com are collaborating to produce, sponsor and host a collegiate scholarship that
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Evogene Castor Oil Demonstrates Suitability as Biojet Feedstock
(MarketWire) Analysis Conducted in Collaboration With NASA, AFRL, and Honeywell's UOP Evogene Ltd. announced July 7, 2010, that biojet(1) produced from castor varieties under development by Evogene, meets the key international standards for alternative aviation fuels. The analysis was conducted by Evogene, Inc., a
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Bio Innovation Contest
Purpose: The Bioenergy field is growing in terms of acceptance, which is driving new technology. International Bioenergy Days would like to help promote new and burgeoning technologies to a wide audience. Process: Complete an application and email it to bionnovation@IBED2010.com. Applicants will
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
ABO Recommends Three Key Changes to USDA Biorefinery Assistance Program
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Among the changes proposed by the (Algal Biomass Organization) were: providing more flexible revenue requirements for qualifying under the program, including allowing consideration of co-product, or chemicals sales as part of revenue floors; increasing the
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
VEPOWER Signs Agreement with Jatropha Africa for 50,000 Hectares
(Environment-Expert.com) VEPOWER Limited has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Jatropha Africa with the goal of financing the Company’s 50,000 hectare plantation in Ghana, West Africa. VEPOWER will thus secure more than 40,000 tonnes of crude bio-fuel. ...The plantation in Ghana
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Construction Begins on £25m UK Facility for Bioenergy Research
(ClickGreen) Work has begun on construction of a multi-million pound research facility for bioenergy and biofuels, brewing technology and food and drink processing at The University of Nottingham. The Bioenergy Centre, the first of its kind in the country, is being
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
25 Million Acres of Corn with Nowhere to Go, by 2030? A Digest Special Report
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...(D)oomsayers who have been predicting an inevitable conflict between food and fuel appear to have been completely off the mark. Rather than a shortage of food, the increased pace of biotechnology innovation associated with bioenergy is
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Considerations for Factoring Biomass into Clean Energy
(Washington Post) Editorial ...Many lawmakers want the government to require utilities to derive a certain percentage of their electricity from clean sources. And one of the sources that would probably qualify is so-called renewable biomass -- everything from forest debris
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Firm to Deploy 15,0000 Electric-Car Chargers in 13 Cities, Including District
by Danielle Douglas (Washington Post/Capital Business) ...Many of the nearly 200,000 electric hybrids on U.S. roads use internal generators to create power, but a fraction of these cars are plug-in hybrids, the market's fastest growing segment. Yet, there are only 465
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Growing Biomass Innovation: Progress Towards Transformative Energy Technology Innovation
by Dr. Eric Toone (Program Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, U.S. Department of Energy) Dr. Toone described the role and mission of ARPA-E, the process related to ARPA-E's first Financial Opportunity Announcement (FOA1), project selection and awards at the Biomass 2010 Conference March
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
DOE Breaks Down Market Barriers with Online Technology Commercialization Portal
(US Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today the launch of the Technology Commercialization Portal—an online resource that will serve as a tool for potential investors to identify opportunities to invest in work being conducted by DOE
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
2010‐2011 Investment Plan for the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program
(California Energy Commission) The investment plan for the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (program) serves as the guidance document for the allocation of program funding and is prepared annually based on input and advice of the Assembly
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Smith's Bill Will Increase Ethanol Blender Pumps
(The Grand Island Independent) With renewable fuel supporters upset with the EPA's continued delay of allowing E15 at gasoline pumps and with more and more E85 vehicles on the road, Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., along with Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin,
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
New Generation Biofuels Receives Go Ahead for Long Term Boiler Test and Evaluation Program with Baltimore City Schools
(New Generation Biofuels) Company’s Test Burns in the City of Baltimore’s Boilers Shows Significant Emissions Reduction Renewable fuels provider New Generation Biofuels Holdings, Inc., announced that the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners has approved a long term boiler test and
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Regional Inequities in Votes, Dollars and Jobs May Imperil USDA’s Plan for Achieving RFS2
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...It has been pointed out repeatedly by advanced biofuels developers that the public sector must craft long-term, stable national policies to support and incentivize new capacity, with the return on investment coming in the form
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Analysis - Bioethanol Trumps Biodiesel Say Europe's Producers
by Martin Roberts and Michael Hogan (Reuters) Cheaper, local ingredients make bioethanol more profitable, and sustainable, than far more widely produced biodiesel in Europe, even though it adds to a surplus of conventional gasoline while diesel remains more in demand. ...However,
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Tim Hortons Cups Turned into Biofuel
(CBC News) Discarded Tim Hortons coffee cups are being turned into ethanol by researchers at the University of Manitoba Microbiologists Richard Sparling and David Levin said they came up with the idea of using the paper cups after walking past some
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
North Dakota Project Produces Biofuel and Energy
(Biofuels International) A biomass plant is currently under construction in Spiritwood, North Dakota, US. Owned by electricity provider Great River Energy, the plant will be constructed in two phases. ...During phase two of the project a cellulosic ethanol refinery will be
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
New Technique Improves Efficiency Of Biofuel Production
(North Carolina State University) Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a more efficient technique for producing biofuels from woody plants that significantly reduces the waste that results from conventional biofuel production techniques. The technique is a significant step toward
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Iowa State University Researcher Develops Green, Bio-Based Process for Producing Fuel Additive
(ISU) A new green, bio-based method for producing a much-used fuel additive and industrial chemical that is currently made from petroleum products has been developed by an Iowa State University researcher. Thomas Bobik, professor of biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, invented a
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
NASCAR Chairman Says Green Initiatives Still in the Works
by Dustin Long (Virginian-Pilot) NASCAR Chairman Brian France said that the series might not use ethanol next season, going against previous comments from series officials that it would be used in 2011. "I don't know that we'll see (ethanol) in 2011 as
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Algae Aviation Fuel
(Compact Contractors for America/YouTube/Algae Industry Magazine) The Dry Process Bio Jet Fuel from Algae utilizes raw algae for fuel for any aircraft or land based turbine. This methodology uses a variety of algae biomass to create a powdered turbine fuel.
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Brazilian Sugarcane Industry's 'Virtual Mill,' a Hit at Major Events, Now Also on the Web
(PR Newswire) It's about as close as you can get to a personal visit to a Brazilian sugarcane processing mill without actually being there, and it's now available on the Web. It's called the 'Virtual Mill,' an interactive multimedia tool created
July 05, 2010 Read Full Article
Thai Oil Looking at Gasohol, Ethanol, Solar
(The Nation) Amid downturn in refining industry, company looks at alternative sources of energy. Environmental crises aside, the downturn and volatility in the oil-refining industry is pushing Thai Oil towards becoming an energy converting company and diversifying into non-oil products to
July 05, 2010 Read Full Article
Subsidy Extended to 100 Per Cent Biodiesel
by Grant Bradley (New Zealand Herald) The Government is boosting support for the growing number of biofuel makers by extending its subsidy scheme to 100 per cent pure biodiesel. Under the present criteria, to qualify for a 42.5c-a-litre subsidy only up to
July 05, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Likely to Have Major Role as Fuel
by Jim Kenzie (Wheel.ca) ...So far, everyone seems to think that the only way we’ll wean ourselves off decomposed dinosaur remains is if we either can’t find any more, or it becomes so expensive to find/extract/ship/refine that we’ll have to find
July 05, 2010 Read Full Article
EcoloCap Solutions Inc. Sells First NPW-30 Biodiesel Processor to Kansas Producer
(MarketWire) The NPW-30 represents the most efficient biodiesel processing technology on the market, reducing cost and time, opening the door for large production and profitable operation for alternative fuel producers EcoloCap Solutions Inc., an integrated network of environmentally-focused technology companies utilizing nanotechnology
July 05, 2010 Read Full Article
F1 Teams Seek to Cut Carbon Footprint
(Reuters/Globe and Mail) The sport is keen to transform its image with more environmentally-friendly technology such as kinetic energy recovery systems. Formula One teams said on Wednesday (June 30, 2010) they aimed to cut their carbon footprint by reducing emissions by 12.4 percent
July 05, 2010 Read Full Article
VTT Allies with Deinove to Bolster Biofuel Production and Green Chemistry
(Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News) VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Deinove are joining forces to progress research efforts in biofuels and green chemistry. Deinove is focused on exploiting the natural properties of Deinococcus bacteria for the production of biofuels
July 02, 2010 Read Full Article
USDA Produces Short Video on Ethanol, E85
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Just two weeks after USDA released its “Regional Roadmap to Meeting the Biofuels Goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard,” it now has a short video, touting the importance of ethanol and other biofuels in
July 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Cellulosic Ethanol Needs Boost
(Journal Star) Editorial The environmental advantages of renewable fuels could hardly be more evident than now, when the consequences of risky deepwater oil drilling are fouling the water and shorelines of the Gulf of Mexico. Yet the federal government is not
July 02, 2010 Read Full Article
A Simpler Path to Cutting Carbon Emissions
by Vinod Khosla (Washington Post) If our goal is carbon reduction, a cap-and-trade or carbon-pricing bill, with its likely compromises, would be worse right now than no regulation. Pricing carbon below $40 per ton will not change how industry does
July 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Green Driving? Putting Second Generation Biofuels to the Test
(Alpha Galileo) An interdisciplinary team headed by Empa researcher Rainer Zah has been studying the sustainability of second generation biofuels and has calculated how much fuel might be saved in Switzerland through the use of these new products. The investigation,
July 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Biodiesel Mix to Fuel Hybrid Transit Bus in Trials
(The Financial/EIN News) Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Hino Motors Ltd. (Hino) and Showa Shell Sekiyu K. K. (SSSKK) announced on June 30 they plan to begin trials on July 1 of a diesel-electric hybrid transit bus fueled by a CO2 emissions-reducing mixture
July 02, 2010 Read Full Article
CleanTech Biofuels, Fiberight Agree to Create Municipal Solid Waste to Cellulosic Ethanol Demonstration Plant
(Business Wire) CleanTech's Demonstration Vessel to be Installed at Fiberight's Lawrenceville, Virginia Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant CleanTech Biofuels, Inc., an early stage provider of cellulosic biomass feedstock derived from municipal solid waste (MSW) for energy and bio-based chemical production, announced an agreement
July 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Green Victory: the Flip Side of “NIMBY, NUMBEE and Nod”
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Meanwhile, one suggestion that emerged was, in the grand tradition of funding the Statue of Liberty, for the public to do what Congress and Big Business won’t – that is, fund Green Victory out of
July 02, 2010 Read Full Article
FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership Given 'Thumbs Up' Review Plus Support for Multiple Technologies R&D
National Research Council report says continued near- and long-term Government /Industry R&D is needed to reduce petroleum dependence and greenhouse gases In its third report on the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership (FC&FP), the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies
July 01, 2010 Read Full Article
New Government Program Develops Future Fuels
by Sharon Epperson (CNBC) New financing from the federal government may help biotech companies develop fuels of the future, helping reduce America's dependence on oil. One such company is Agrivida, a small, agricultural biotech outside Boston. Until recently, most of its funding
July 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Federal Stimulus Dollars to Convert Vehicles to Alternative Fuels
by Amber Stearns (WIBC) A federal stimulus grant through the U.S. Department of Energy will allow eight Indiana public and private agencies to convert over 900 work vehicles to use alternative fuels. The Greater Indiana Clean Cities Coalition and the Indiana
July 01, 2010 Read Full Article
New Ethanol Fact Book Now Available
(Ethanol Across America) The Flagship publication of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition and the Ethanol Across America program for nearly 15 years has been the Ethanol Fact Book. This unique document provides hundreds of sourced facts relating to ethanol and
July 01, 2010 Read Full Article
The Gulf of Mexico and the Future of the Ethanol Industry
(E100 Group/Biofuels Digest) The recent oil platform blowout in the Gulf of Mexico shows the madness of the United States continuing to use 140 billion gals of gasoline/yr to power our light duty cars and trucks. The E100 Ethanol Group believes it
July 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Iowa’s Corn Growers Fuel Fourth Successful Indy 250
(Iowa Corn) Iowa corn grower leaders and membership witnessed the fourth running of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer at the Iowa Speedway in Newton as a victory for corn-based ethanol and for Iowa agriculture. It was also a victory
July 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Ceres Develops First Salt Tolerant Energy Crop
by Joanne Schroeder (DomesticFuel) Now this is interesting. I was reading earlier this morning in Cadillac Desert about how agriculture in many areas is suffering from water issues that include too much salt. The salt damages the soil, kills the crops
July 01, 2010 Read Full Article
USDA Report Punches Another Hole in Land Use Change Theory
(Renewable Fuels Association) The amount of land dedicated to crops in the United States has dropped for the second straight year in 2010, according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The report, which shows total cropland
July 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Group Asks Senate to Consider Biofuels Bills While Addressing Oil Spill, Energy Legislation
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, three ethanol industry groups have asked that legislators keep biofuels in mind. “It is likely that the Senate will take up an energy bill, heavy
July 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Genera Energy Partners with Tennessee DOT to Plant Switchgrass along Interstates
(Genera) Renewable Energy Crops Could Reduce Maintenance Costs A perennial grass known for producing cellulosic ethanol may now have another use. Genera Energy LLC, a Knoxville-based renewable energy company, recently planted several plots of switchgrass along interstate corridors in Tennessee in conjunction
July 01, 2010 Read Full Article
NIMBY, NUMBEE and Nod
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) editorial A recent US poll, taken in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil leak, revealed that 58 percent of Americans believe that US energy policy needs to “fundamentally” change, but 51 percent say