by National Corn Growers Association (Natural Resource Report) ... “AHL-TECH has developed an ethanol-hybrid locomotive to capitalize on the growing ethanol market in the United States and to replace the railroad industry’s aging diesel-electric locomotive fleet,” said Tom Mack, president and
Archive
Back TO HOMEOil Receives More Taxpayer Dollars: DTN Finds Oil Industry Subsidized Much Higher Than Ethanol
by Todd Neeley (Progressive Farmer) In the eternal mudslinging between supporters and opponents of biofuels, "subsidies" are one of the opponents' biggest and most painful mud balls. "If ethanol is such a good idea, why does it need government help?" the
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Uganda: Do We Have Reasons to Support Local Research?
(All Africa) ...CREEC - Centre for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation is an institution doing research in renewable energy (Biomass stoves and gasifiers); Biofuels; Solar PV and energy efficiency in households, industry and institutions. Obviously, CREEC gets a lot of
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Fifteen-Year Plan for Jatropha Plantation in Arid Districts
(Times of India) Beginning later this month, the jatropha crop will be planted across 30,000 acres in the arid districts of Bankura, Birbhum, West Midnapore and Purulia over the next 15 years. Around 10 lakh saplings will be transplanted this
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Getting Our Act Together: An All-Star Invitational Summit Brings Second Generation Biofuels and Global Policy Leaders to India
by Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest Asia) What if we could get all the decision-makers together in one room? I’m not the only person who believes a lot of problems in our industry would be solved. That’s been the premise behind a
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Alternative Fuels Center of Excellence to be Launched
(University of California, Riverside) Introducing new center on Oct. 14 at the Center for Environmental Research and Technology highlights day of alternative fuels related ...A $1.2 million grant from the California Energy Commission will allow the center of excellence to work
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Hunting Microorganisms for Lignocellulosic Biofuel
(Renewable Energy Focus) A consortium of research institutes, universities and industrial partners are looking for microorganisms with enzymes that could help process lignocellulosic biomass into biofuel. The EU-funded project, known as DISCO, is searching for microorganisms that can degrade lignocellulosic material. If successful,
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Shell Partners with MIT to Pursue New Energy Technology Solutions
(PRNewsWire) MIT Energy Initiative to receive $25 million to fund research and collaboration - Drives innovative technology solutions addressing the global energy challenge - Joins world-class industry and academic leader in the expansion of high value, sustainable technologies - Utilizes open innovation, leveraging
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Will the Proposed Pipeline Hurt Nebraska’s Ethanol Industry?
by Robert (Aglines) The battle is raging over the public airwaves about the proposed oil tar sand pipeline from Canada that will cross Nebraska. As, the proponents rightly state, there are plenty of oil and gas pipelines crossing Nebraska and some of
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Grants E15 Waiver for Newer Vehicles/A New Label for E15 Is Being Proposed to Help Ensure Consumers Use the Correct Fuel
(US Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today waived a limitation on selling fuel that is more than 10 percent ethanol for model year 2007 and newer cars and light trucks. The waiver applies to fuel that
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
The Culture Club: The World of Algae R&D and Commercialization, an Inside View, in Pictures
by Will Thurmond (Biofuels Digest) What exactly does the commercialization and research effort on algal fuels look like? A collection of highly funded home brewers? Secretive temples of technology peopled with mad scientists intent on unleashing bizarre Frankenfuels on an
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Future Transportation Fuels Role of Motorsport
by Richard Karlstetter (Shell Global Solutions-Germany) At the Future of Transportation Technology seminar at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia on September 30, 2010, in connection with the ALMS Petit Le Mans endurance race, Richard Karlstetter, Shell's Racing Fuels Technology Manager, demonstrated
October 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuel Project Hits Bureaucratic Snag
by Ron Brochu (BusinessNorth.com) ...Federal loan guarantees are available to support construction of the high-tech Flambeau River Biofuels refinery in Park Falls, but project sponsors say the government’s terms could derail their chance to succeed. Those Department of Energy terms, they
October 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Scientists Say It Is High Time for Hemp-Based Biofuel
by Danny Bradbury (BusinessGreen) University of Connecticut reveals plan to build biofuel research plant capable of turning hemp into biodiesel. Researchers at the University of Connecticut have found that hemp is a viable feedstock for biodiesel fuel and are now working
October 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuels Incentives: A Summary of Federal Programs
by Brent D. Yacobucci (Congressional Research Service) ...Ethanol and biodiesel, the two most widely used biofuels, receive significant government support under federal law in the form of mandated fuel use, tax incentives, loan and grant programs, and certain regulatory requirements. The
October 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Future of Electric Cars? Running Fuel Cells on Biodiesel
(Science Daily/Research Council of Norway) A smart diesel reformer and a tolerant fuel cell are the core components of a new type of electric power supply unit. Environmentally friendly and flexible, the unit could be a serious contender in the
October 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Home Made Biodiesel is Cheap and Easy
by William Surman (Farmers Guardian) Buy a litre of diesel today and it will cost you £1.20, but do it yourself and it can cost you as little as 20 pence per litre. That was what visitors to EBEC – the UK’s
October 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Breakthroughs in Fixing Ethanol in Fuel Problems; Bell Performance MIX-I-GO and Marine MXO
(BYMNews) ...With the government's proposed mandate that all gasolines use up to 15% ethanol, are you ready for the switch? Using a highly advanced formula developed first for car engines, Bell Performance's MIX-I-GO and Marine MXO are the first products on
October 12, 2010 Read Full Article
American Biofuels Now Coalition Calls for Real American Energy Policy
(BusinessWire) American Biofuels Now is a broad coalition of local (Tampa, Florida) biofuels producers, trade and environmental organizations, academics, and energy users who want smart, comprehensive policies to support the development of American Biofuels Now. America Biofuels Now wants a homegrown solution
October 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Japanese Invests in $120-M Ethanol Plant in Isabela
by Melody M. Aguiba (Manila Bulletin Publishing) The biggest in the Philippines tochu Corp. of Japan is investing $120 million in an ethanol plant in San Mariano, Isabela, which is expected to become the Philippines’ biggest and the only integrated biofuel
October 11, 2010 Read Full Article
British Sugar and Air Liquide Partner in Bioethanol CO2 Liquefication Capacity
(British Sugar) British Sugar and Air Liquide have today announced their partnership in a new carbon dioxide recovery and liquefaction plant at British Sugar's Wissington factory, scheduled for commissioning in the summer of 2011. The plant will be able to recover
October 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Melbourne Sites Vie for Waste-Fed Biofuel Plant
by Barry Park (Business Day) Biofuels company Coskata plans to name a Melbourne-based site for its $400 million waste-to-ethanol plant within the next few months. Wes Bolsen, chief marketing officer of the US-based company that has attracted business partners including car maker
October 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Dry Ice to be Manufactured from Ethanol Plant CO2
(The Andersons) Supply Agreement Reached between The Andersons Marathon Ethanol and Continental Carbonic Products, Inc. The Andersons Marathon Ethanol LLC (TAME), a partnership between The Andersons, Inc. and Marathon Petroleum Company LP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corporation, announced October 6,
October 11, 2010 Read Full Article
The Top 100 People in Bioenergy Poll Results Announced: Includes Advanced Biofuels USA Executive Director
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack headed the “Top 100 People in Bioenergy” as voted by the readers of Biofuels Digest and the Digest’s editors, just edging out POET CEO Jeff Broin and a trio
October 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Arizona Firm Banks on Farm Troughs for Commercializing Algae
by Rebecca McClay (Arizona Capitol Times) ...One Arizona firm, Phyco Biosciences, is banking on its agricultural-style series of plastic-lined troughs bubbling with oxygen and nutrients to commercialize algae biomass. The Phyco system is different from the standard mass-cultivation process of growing
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Enzyme May Hep Ulock Bofuels from Waste
by Alister Doyle (Reuters) * Enzyme accelerates breakdown of biological waste * Could help in producing "second generation" biofuels * Help shift from using crops for biofuels A new chemical process may help unlock biofuels from trees and plant waste in a shift from
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Summit Highlights Frustration Over Regulations
(Nebraska.TV) ...(Duane) Kristensen, General Manager for Chief said, "Most leaves the state and a lot goes west, so California's a big market for us." ...Bill Roddy of ethanol firm ICM of Wichita said, "The downside is when you add that number and
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Domestic Ethanol Industry Approaching 'Feed Wall'
by Jacqui Fatka (Feedstuffs.com) On the ethanol fuel side, the industry has heard much about the blending wall. Just as the fuel side approaches the maximum amount of blending, the use of distillers grains has a maximum use amount domestically, according
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Report from Cato Institute Briefing: Rethinking Biofuel Policy
By Cindy O’Connor (Advanced Biofuels USA)The Washington DC, September 30 briefing topic was why the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) should not be renewed. The first speaker, Dr. Harry de Goerter, Cato Fellow and Professor, Applied Economics and Management, Cornell
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA and NHTSA Announce a First Step in the Process for Setting Future Greenhouse Gas and Fuel Economy Standards for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks
(US Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), are announcing the next step toward reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Montana State University Researchers Discover Chemical Trigger that Doubles the Yield of Algal Lipids for Biodiesel from Farmed Algae
(MSU News Service) Algal biofuel production could double in yield and in far less time, thanks to a chemical trigger discovered at Montana State University. The chemical trigger is a well-timed dose of bicarbonate, a low-cost, easy-to-use chemical, similar to common
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Brown University Chemists Simplify Biodiesel Conversion
(Physorg.com) As the United States seeks to lessen its reliance on foreign oil, biodiesel is expected to play a role. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a branch of the Department of Energy, biodiesel "represents a significant energy resource and
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
University of Cincinnati Research Wins 2010 Earth Award For Biofuel-Producing Foam
(HealthNews)An artificial photosynthetic foam developed at the University of Cincinnati has won the 2010 Earth Award. David Wendell, PhD, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and civil and environmental engineering, received the award for the foam, designed with Carlo Montemagno, PhD,
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Program to Create Biodiesel from Brown Grease Begins Operation at San FranciscoTreatment Plant
(PowerMag.com) A demonstration plant that creates biodiesel fuel from restaurant trap grease (commonly called brown grease), located at the Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Plant in San Francisco, has begun operation. Developed by URS Corporation, it is the first municipal wastewater program in the
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Calif. Officials Write Law By Overestimating Pollution 340%
(Jalopnik) The California Air Resources Board put tough restrictions on off-road trucks three years ago based on estimating such machines burned 1 million gallons of diesel a year. Its estimates were off 340%, and now CARB has to weaken its rules. Turns
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Engine Could Reduce Foreign Oil Demand
(CleanSkies.com) Argonne Laboratories are working on technology that could change the way your car drives. It's an engine that runs on any type of fuel - an omnivorous engine. That could be music to the ears of carmakers, and biofuels
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
A Biorefinery Goes 'Mod' and Small
(Energy Empowers) Minnesota-based company sells small-scale, easy-to use biorefineries Modular systems use feedstock scraps and wastepaper to fuel plant Company estimates creating an additional 100 jobs in the next year to fulfill orders Imagine a biorefinery small enough to fit in your town’s department
October 07, 2010 Read Full Article
NASCAR Near Deal with Ethanol Lobby Group
by Sporting Wire Service (Yahoo Sports) NASCAR is poised to sign its first new high-profile sponsorship in 20 months and take a significant step forward in the green initiative it began two years ago by aligning with an ethanol lobby group
October 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Bio-Based Fuels and Materials through 2015: Growing Capacity Past a Drop in the Bucket
(Lux Research, Inc.) ...Tallying more than 1,000 producing and planned biorefineries,we forecast that global biofuel capacity will grow 7.8% annually to 53 billion gallons in 2015, while materials grow at 17.7% per year to reach 8.1 million tons. Modeling probable
October 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels Capacity to Reach 3.917 Billion Gallons by 2015; Free Downloadable Project Database
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Biofuels Digest is projecting that global advanced biofuels capacity will reach 3.917 billion gallons by 2015, based on company announcements to date. Today, the Digest released version 1.6 of its free Advanced Biofuels Tracking Database, projecting
October 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Scania Gets SEK30 Million Grant To Develop Biofuel Truck Engine
by Stockholm Bureau (Fox Business News) Scania said it has been granted SEK30 million by Sweden's Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation Initiative to develop a biofuel engine intended for heavy commercial vehicles. ...Focus will be on developing an engine using sustainable
October 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Spanish Biodiesel Plant to Get Upgrade
(Argus Media) Austrian biodiesel engineering company BDI has been commissioned to upgrade a Spanish biodiesel plant, in a move that is hoped will meet growing biodiesel demand in Spain and reduce the cost of imported vegetable oil feedstocks. ...BDI will install
October 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Malaysia Mulls Ways to Boost Biofuel
(Jakarta Globe/Agence France-Presse) Malaysia will consider cutting a diesel subsidy next year in a bid to make its biofuel industry more attractive after production of the alternative fuel virtually ground to a halt. ...Plantations and Commodities Minister Bernard Dompok said the
October 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Growth of Biofuel Industry Hurt by GMO Regulations, Say Experts
(Science Daily) Faster development of the promising field of cellulosic biofuels -- the renewable energy produced from grasses and trees -- is being significantly hampered by a "deep and thorny regulatory thicket" that makes almost impossible the use of advanced
October 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Texans Seek Industry Legal Protection from Higher Ethanol Use
by Darren Goode (The Hill) Texas lawmakers in both parties are seeking legal protection for oil refiners and others that fear exposure to costly lawsuits if EPA allows an increase in the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline. ...The Texas lawmakers
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Planting Seeds of Support: State Politicians Speak in Favor of Industrial Hemp
by Campbell Wood (Business Lexington) "I'm a farmer, and that's why I'm here tonight," said State Senator Joey Pendleton, Hopkinsville-D, speaking at the Lexington Public Library after a showing of a documentary film, The Hemp Revolution, sponsored by the Good Foods
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
'Energy Beet' Crop Grown Here is Called a Success
by Ad Crable (Lancaster Online) Proposed plant in Rapho would use them. The results are in: Special sugar beets can be grown in and around Lancaster County to produce the alternative fuel ethanol. What's more, farmers in the region should be eager
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
New 3475 Placard Mandated for 10%-Plus Ethanol in Gasoline
(Bulk Transporter) New placarding regulations took effect October 1 for fuel haulers handling gasoline blends with more than 10% ethanol. The placard ID number is 3475 for gasoline/ethanol blends above 10%. The easiest way to comply with the requirement is to put
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Corn Mash: Boaters Leery of Push for E15 Fuel
by Robert Montgomery (ESPNOutdoors) Clogged carburetors, crumbling components, ruptured fuel lines. Boats stalled at sea, lives put at risk, and thousands spent on repairs. That's the legacy of gasoline with 10 percent ethanol (E10) used to power marine engines. ...That's but one
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
More than 22,000 Americans E-mail President Obama Urging Him to “Say NO to Untested E15
(FollowTheScience.org) More than 22,000 Americans have e-mailed President Obama urging him to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from approving a 50 percent increase in the amount of ethanol in gasoline until comprehensive, independent and objective scientific testing can show that higher
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
E15 Scenarios
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) Sometime in the coming days, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to announce a partial waiver decision allowing the use of E15 in light duty vehicles with a model year (MY) of 2007 or
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
The Health Benefits of Ethanol
(Ethanol Across America) C. Boyden Gray, one of the architects of the historic 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments that established the nation's reformulated gasoline program, called for increased regulation of air toxics by the Environmental Protection Agency and in so
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
NREL Releases BioEnergy Atlas – a Comprehensive Biomass Mapping Application
(US Department of Energy) BioEnergy Atlas, a Web portal that provides access to two bioenergy analysis and mapping tools, was released September 28, 2010, by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The visualization screening tools, BioPower and BioFuels
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Ceres Publishes Best Practices on Energy Crop Production
(Ceres) Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. has published two new crop management guides that include the most current recommendations on the establishment, management and harvest of switchgrass and high-biomass sorghum. Energy grasses, which provide high yields of biomass that can be converted
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
SG Biofuels Develops Jatropha Hybrid Seed Technology
(SG Biofuels) SG Biofuels, a bioenergy crop company developing and producing elite seeds of Jatropha, today announced it has established a proprietary technology for large-scale Jatropha hybrid seed production. Hybrid seeds result in greater yield, uniformity and vigor while significantly reducing
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Lexington Woman Recognized for Innovative Environmental Leadership: Honoree Receives Audubon/Toyota TogetherGreen Fellowship
(Audubon) A Lexington, KY woman is the recipient of a national conservation fellowship, enabling her to bring biofuel education to Kentucky schools. TogetherGreen Fellow. Supported by a conservation alliance of Audubon and Toyota, the TogetherGreen Fellowship offers specialized training in
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
American Le Mans Series Cuts Carbon Footprint by Over One Third
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) According to Robert P. Larsen, Director Emeritus of the Center for Transportation Research at Argonne National Laboratory, the results of the 2010 Petit Le Mans race showed more than a 38% displacement of oil through
October 05, 2010 Read Full Article
Public Hearings Scheduled for Utah Governor's Ten-Year Energy Initiative
Governor Gary R. Herbert announced today an important next step in the creation of his 10-Year Strategic Energy Plan, with four public hearings scheduled across the State. "We are moving forward with our plan to responsibly develop Utah's abundant energy resources,
October 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Friends of the Earth Calls for Moratorium on Synthetic Bio-Based Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, Friends of the Earth released a report “Synthetic Solutions to the Climate Crisis: The Dangers of Synthetic Biology for Biofuels Production,” concluding that synthetic biology projects including the creation of algae with synthetic
October 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Taiwan Unveils Microalgal Biofuel Technology
(Focus Taiwan) ...The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) , which developed the technology, showed off the process of turning microalgae into biodiesel at the four-day Taipei International Invention Show and Technomart exhibition organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council... During
October 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Ford Joins in Researching Algae for Vehicle Fuel
(USA Today) ...Ford says it wants to better understand the use of biomass to produce future biofuels as part of an overall strategy to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil and address climate change. ...This year, Ford researchers visited Wayne
October 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Seaweed: A New Wave of Investment in Macro-Algae
by Will Thurmond (Biofuels Digest/Emerging Markets Online) Macro-algae attracts greater investment for sugar-based Advanced Biofuels, Drop-In Fuels and Chemicals An emerging rise in investment in from petrochemical majors and governments in Asia, Europe and the Americas aims at extracting sugars from
October 04, 2010 Read Full Article
2010 Petit Le Mans: Cellulosic E85 Powers Champions
[caption id="attachment_12726" align="alignleft" width="257"] E85 cellulosic racing fuel used by Corvette at Petit Le Mans. Photo: J. Ivancic[/caption] by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) For the first time in any race anywhere, all the cars using E85 used cellulosic ethanol racing
October 03, 2010 Read Full Article
2010 Petit Le Mans: Michelin Green X Challenge ALMS Race Recap
by MSulka (Paddock Talk) ...The (Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda2) race was the first in which all five energy and fuels permitted in ALMS competition (GTL-diesel, E85R; E10; Isobutanol, and hybrid electric) were on track together in competition. The Hilliard,