by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest/S4CO2) ...An entirely new use of the by-products that can deliver returns directly to the plants is required in order to offset the losses and sustain the ethanol plants. ...CO2 from ethanol plants are regarded as high
Archive
Back TO HOMEFAPRI: RIN Prices Could Be on the Rise
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) There could be big money in store for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs)… or not. A new report from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri(FAPRI-MU) says that the ethanol blend wall could
December 12, 2012 Read Full Article
Just the Ethanol Facts
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The National Corn Growers Association has created a simple website that offers just the facts about ethanol. The website EthanolFacts.com offers information about E15, food versus fuel, energy security, jobs in rural America and more. There is a lot
December 12, 2012 Read Full Article
3 Uses for Biomass No One Ever Saw Coming
by Jim Lane (Biobased Digest) Biomass in cancer drugs, perfumes, baby-safe cleaners, cosmetics and more. “I can tell you one thing,” Solazyme CEO Jonathan Wolfson reflected with the Digest not too long ago. “When Harrison and I were first developing the
December 12, 2012 Read Full Article
Algae Biomass Organization Invites Abstracts of Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles for Posting
As a service to Algae Biomass Organization members, ABO invites abstracts of peer-reviewed journal articles (authors, title, citation, abstract, author affiliations) to the ABO website. All articles published in 2012 and after are eligible for posting. The articles should be
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Low-Cost Cellulosic Sugars, Ho! EdeniQ to Build demo Plant in Brazil
by Jim Lane (Biobased Digest) California’s cellulosic gearhead gurus head from the San Joaquin Valley to Sao Paulo, in search of big, aggregated loads of sugarcane bagasse. In California, Edeniq announced that it has begun engineering and construction of a bagasse
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Tick-Tick-Tick. Crude Oil from Algae in 60 Seconds, Really?
by Robert Rapier (Biobased Digest/Energy Trends Insider) Researchers tout a process to make oil from algae biomass – is it pyro oil or a real biocrude? ...Researchers at the University of Michigan announced that they had sped up the process that
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Brazil Sugar-Cane Research Agency to Build Demonstration Plant
by Stephan Nielsen (Bloomberg) Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira, the Brazilian sugar-cane research agency, will build an 80 million- real ($38.5 million) plant to demonstrate a method of producing ethanol from crop residues. The plant, with the capacity to make 3 million
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Idemitsu, Cambodia Sign Biofuel Production Deal
(Daily Yomiuri) Idemitsu Kosan Co. said Monday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Cambodian government to promote biofuel production in the Southeast Asian country. The move is part of plans by the Japanese energy firm to produce bioethanol
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
500 Farmers Recruited For Gigantic Iowa Biofuel Plant
by Tina Casey (Clean Technica) DuPont is building one of the world’s largest cellulosic biofuel plants in Nevada, Iowa; and it’s going to take a lot of corn stover to keep this baby humming, to the tune of 30 million gallons of ethanol
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Propel Fuels Lands $21 Million as Top Biofuels Downstream Player Expands
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...With the new funding, Propel will be able to accelerate the build out of its network of stations that offer drivers the cleanest, most sustainable, domestically produced fuels on the market today. ...Propel operates a growing
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Brighter Horizon for Biofuels
by Brent Erickson (Biotechnology Industry Organization/Biofuels Digest) The biofuel industry breathed a big sigh of relief last month when the EPA declined several governors’ petitions to waive the Renewable Fuel Standard. Then, after a herculean group effort, the industry and
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Methes Energies Receives CRFA's New Producer of the Year Award
(Menthes Energies International/Biodiesel Magazine) ... Recently commissioned, Methes Energies’ new Sombra, Ontario, facility has a capacity of 50 MMly (13 MMgy). The facility operates with Methes’ own technology, the Denami 3000, which can produce biodiesel from a wide variety of feedstock. ...Founded in 1984,
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Biofuels: A Partnership Between Our Military and Our Department of Agriculture
byK. McDonald (BigPictureAgriculture.com) ...Liquid fuels are embedded into our everyday lives and provide us with what we need. There are the tractors and combines used in agriculture, and the trucks which haul the just-in-time deliveries of every item, down every
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Unleash Clean Power
(Union of Concerned Scientists) Communities can benefit financially and environmentally from bioenergy produced from common sources such as vegetative waste materials, fast-growing grasses, and agricultural residues. And clean fuel and electricity produced from these sustainable, non-food sources are a key
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Biomax Sets up Venture with Jeddah Firm for Bio-Fuel Unit
by Amit Mitra (The Hindu Business Line) Bio-fuel maker Biomax Fuels has set up a 50:50 joint venture with the Jeddah-based Middle East Environment Protection Co to set up the first bio-fuel plant in Saudi Arabia. The $40-million plant, which is
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
EPA Renewable Fuel Standards Cost Wendy’s $174 Million in Costs
by Christopher Goins (Politic365.com) The chairman of Wendy’s Restaurant’s supply chain cooperative, which is responsible for food purchases for Wendy’s Restaurants, says that because of EPA Renewable Fuel Standards every individual Wendy’s Restaurant has to pay $20,000 to $30,000 more per
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Biobased Briquettes, Not Bombs, for the Taliban?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) From time to time, we report on correspondence exchanged with our veterans and serving men and women in the field, on the subject of the strategic and tactical opportunities in biofuels and bioenergy. This week, we heard
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Fossil-Fuel Subsidies of Rich Nations Five Times Climate Aid
by Alex Morales (Bloomberg) Rich countries spend five times more on fossil-fuel subsidies than on aid to help developing nations cut their emissions and protect against the effects of climate change, the Oil Change International campaign group said. In 2011, 22 industrialized
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
46% Expect to See Biofuels IPOs in the Next 12 Months
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In a recent survey conducted with bioenergy leading industry experts ahead of the 8th annual World Biofuels Markets Congress & Exhibition, 51% of those who responded rated their government’s policy as supportive, while 15% rated them as
December 11, 2012 Read Full Article
Climate Talks Focus on Fossil Fuel Subsidies
by Karl Ritter (Associated Press/Salt Lake Tribune) Hassan al-Kubaisi considers it a gift from above that drivers in oil- and gas-rich Qatar only have to pay $1 per gallon at the pump. ...Qatar — the host of U.N. climate talks that
December 10, 2012 Read Full Article
Tennessee Continues Leadership in Energy Crops Research
by Patricia McDaniels (University of Tennessee/Southeast Farm Press) A genetic engineering research effort led by a University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture plant scientist is among 66 award-winning projects selected by the U.S. Department of Energy as potentially transformational in
December 09, 2012 Read Full Article
British Airways’ Jet Biofuel Plant Will Open in 2015
by Leon Kaye (TriplePundit) ...British Airways (BA) announced that it has found a site for a bio-refinery that will generate up to 50,000 tons of jet fuel annually. In a partnership with the American aviation biofuel company Solena Fuels, BA will
December 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Australia : Coalition Supports International Biodiesel Plant in Dandenong
(Equities.com) Innovation, Services and Small Business Minister Louise Asher today officially launched, in conjunction with McDonald s Australia, Neutral Fuels new biodiesel processing facility in Dandenong. Neutral Fuels has secured McDonald s as a major customer able to use converted waste
December 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Game-Changers: Could Electrofuel Euphoria Exceed Natural Gas Glee?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The first patent issued out of ARPA-E’s electrofuels program suggests that this technology class is heading for the short-list of “next big thing” in energy conversations. ...Or, that participants were aware of the fast-spreading meme that
December 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Peterson Brothers Take Gangnam Style to the Farm
by Cindy Zimmerman (Precision Pays) The Peterson Brothers from Kansas became social media rock stars in June with a little YouTube video called “I’m Farming and I Grow It” which now has nearly 8 million views. The boys now have a new video just released,
December 09, 2012 Read Full Article
25x'25 REsource: Standard Definition of Biomass Needed
(25 x '25) ... In any strategy aimed at meeting America's soaring energy demand, biomass must be considered a principal among the several renewable, sustainable solutions that make up the fastest growing domestic energy sector since 2006. ...While there also has been
December 09, 2012 Read Full Article
DOE Funds $650K for Algae Research at Stevens Institute
(Algae Industry Magazine) Funded by a $650,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Biomass Program, Dr. Adeniyi Lawal of Stevens Institute of Technology will be leading a team investigating microalgae as a biomass fuel source. Dr. Simon Podkolzin,
December 09, 2012 Read Full Article
What a Treat: Dupont Summit 2012: Pressing Issues Amid the Political Maelstrom
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) As part of its mission to bring together people who feel that policies (and not just government policies, but policies of companies, of universities, and indeed of all kinds of institutions) should be informed
December 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Novel Pretreatment for Cellulosic Bio-Ethanol Production “Glycerol Bio-Refinery Process”
(Leaf Energy) The patent application titled “Methods for Converting Lignocellulosic Material to Useful Products” (“Glycerol Bio-refinery process”) describes the process developed at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) by Zhanging Zhang, Ian O’Hara and William Doherty. The production of biofuels from
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Combined Bacterial/Metal Catalysis Turns Sugars to Jet Fuel
by John Timmer (Ars Technica) ...The process relies on a specific species of bacteria, Clostridium acetobutylicum. Given a source of sugar (which can be obtained by digesting cellulose in plants), these bacteria will produce a mixture of small carbon compounds: acetone,
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Could Biofuels Be Produced from A Tobacco Tree?
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) With a grant from the European Union, researchers at Royal Holloway, School of Biological Sciences, will test this theory based on initial findings that the Nicotiana Glauca produces compounds that could be used to produce biodiesel or
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
IISD-Led Seminar Offers Global Perspective on Biofuel Subsidies: Issues Policy Brief
(International Institute for Sustainable Development) “Rational policies should be based on understanding the real impacts of government support to biofuels on the environment and the society,” said Sirpa Pietikäinen, MEP and chair of GLOBE EU. “The spiralling food versus fuel
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Texas Farm Bureau Conference Exposes Rift on Ethanol
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 he understood the sentiment behind
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
CO2 Emissions Could Feed Algae Biofuel Bonanza
by Max Paris (CBC News) U.S. Steel Canada announces pilot project that will test Pond Biofuels technology U.S. Steel Canada announced Tuesday it will partner with Union Gas and Pond Biofuels to test an innovative system that pulls carbon dioxide directly
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Shell Helix Sets the Standard in Biofuels Compatibility
(MoneyLife) ...For the first time, however, the oils also went through a new CEC L-105 Low-Temperature Pumpability test. This analysed theirperformance in the presence of a biofuel, reflecting the growing importance of these fuels in the energy mix. Both Shell Helix Ultra
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Peruvian Sugar Giant Gears up for Ethanol Production
(Argus Media) Peru's Coazucar is set to become that country's third producer of fuel-grade ethanol. Coazucar, a subsidiary of Peru's multinational Grupo Gloria and the country's largest sugar producer, has secured the required permits to begin ethanol production using sugarcane feedstock
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
SavOn Converts to Ethanol-Free Location
(Convenience Store News) SavOn Convenience Stores converted its store at the corner of Genesee and Main Streets in Oneida to offer ethanol-free fuel only. The operator of 12 convenience stores in central New York noted that the move was in response
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Energy Information Administration Releases Annual Energy Outlook 2013 Reference Case; $8 Gasoline, $268 Oil Ahead, Despite Increased US Energy Production, Says EIA
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...Overall, the reference case predicts that total primary energy consumption will grow by 7 percent, from 98 quadrillion Btu in 2011 to 104 quadrillion Btu in 2035. This is 2.5 quadrillion Btu less than
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Ethanol Use in Gasoline Production Would Be the Same with or without RFS Waiver
by Daryll Ray and Harwood D. Schaffer (Southwest Farm Press/University of Tennessee) ...On November 16, 2012, the EPA denied the request of Governor Perdue and others. The short story is that while the EPA recognizes the impact of the drought
December 06, 2012 Read Full Article
How to Keep Biofuels Sustainable
by RP Siegel (TriplePundit) While the bio-based economy should be more sustainable than the alternative – any good idea can be implemented poorly. I asked Jesper Hedal Kløverpris, Sustainability Manager for Novozymes, how we can ensure that biofuels are being produced in
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Guyana, UK Company Sign Contract for Bioethanol Oroduction at Albion
by Denis Scott Chabrol (Demera Waves) The United Kingdom-based Whitefox Technologies, together with its partner Green, have secured a bioethanol contract with the Guyanese Government. Whitefox said it is working together with the Brazilian company, Green, to install the units for
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Cote d’Ivoire Launches PPP for Biofuels
(Alternative Energy Africa) A public-private partnership (PPP) has been launched to promote the production of ethanol from cassava and sugarcane in Cote d’Ivoire which would be used for clean cook stoves. READ MORE
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Grass for Biofuel Could be the Next Cash Crop in Aroostook County
by Julia Bayly (Bangor Daily News) ...The Center for Rural Sustainable Development at the University of Maine at Fort Kent last week announced it has received a $62,334 grant to study farmer interest in large-scale grass biomass production and the economic feasibility of
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
ICM, Inc. Successfully Completes 1,000-Hour Run Proving Generation 1.5: Integrated Fiber to Cellulosic Ethanol Technology
(ICM) ICM, Inc. announces that it successfully completed its 1,000-hour run of an integrated fiber campaign conducted at its pilot plant in St. Joseph, Missouri. ICM has developed and validated its proprietary Generation 1.5 Integrated Fiber to Cellulosic Ethanol Technology
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
NAFA Urges Action To Restore Federal Tax Credits For Biodiesel And Alternative Fuels
(NAFA Fleet Management Association/Free-Press-Release-Center) Uncertainty surrounding a pair of alternative fuel incentives is impacting vehicle purchase decisions and fuel planning by many fleets. While the country is focused on the so-called "fiscal cliff", lost in the negotiations is an important extension
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Garbage Bug May Help Lower the Cost of Biofuel
(University of Illinois/EurekAlert!) One reason that biofuels are expensive to make is that the organisms used to ferment the biomass cannot make effective use of hemicellulose, the next most abundant cell wall component after cellulose. They convert only the glucose
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels: Key to Military Energy Security
(Pew Charitable Trusts) The Department of Defense is the world’s largest consumer of liquid fuels (more than 375,000 barrels of oil per day). Last year alone, the military’s energy bill was $17 billion and over the last two years, the Pentagon has
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
CU-Led Team Receives $9.2 Million DOE Grant to Engineer E. coli into Biofuels
(University of Colorado--Boulder) A team led by the University of Colorado Boulder has been awarded $9.2 million over five years from the U.S. Department of Energy to research modifying E. coli to produce biofuels such as gasoline. ...The team is working
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
EPA Grants Biofuel Pathway for Grain Sorghum
(FarmFutures) Qualifies some ethanol plants to produce domestic advanced biofuel The Environmental Protection Agency Monday announced it has approved grain sorghum as an eligible feedstock under the Renewable Fuels Standard. "This is a significant step forward for the sorghum industry," said Bill Kubecka,
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Bioethanol and Biodiesel 'Crucial' to Meeting Energy Needs
(FarmingUK.com) Biodiesel and bioethanol markets are crucial to meeting future energy needs according to the NFU. The news follows a series of meetings between biofuel professionals, producers and the Secretary of State for Transport Norman Baker in a bid to get
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
CN's $2.6M Mystery U.S. Trips Never Unloaded Biodiesel
(CBC News) A CBC News investigation has uncovered a cross-border mystery involving unexplained shipments of biodiesel tanker cars that were sent back and forth numerous times between Canada and the U.S. by CN Rail but were never unloaded. According to leaked
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Expert in Biofuels: EU Biofuel Policy Is Addressing the Wrong Issue
(Hveiti) European policymakers should focus on how to organize the synergies between food and fuel rather than wasting time on theoretical models of land use changes that do nothing to improve matters in the real world, says biofuel expert André
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
RFA to EPA: “Time is Now” to Revise Lifecycle GHG Analyses of Corn and Sugarcane Ethanol
(Renewable Fuels Association) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should immediately initiate a process to update its obsolete lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) analyses of corn and sugarcane ethanol for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2), according to a letter sent Friday to EPA Administrator
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Portland General Electric Tests Biofuel Options to Replace Coal at Boardman Plant
(AP/Oregon Live) Portland General Electric is in its second year of testing the giant cane known as Arundo donax as a potential replacement for coal at the Boardman Power Plant. But the utility is also looking at other biomass sources that
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
California-Grown Sorghum Used in Ethanol Production
(Chromatin/BusinessWire) Chromatin’s Sorghum Seed Recognized for Water Use Efficiency and Versatility Chromatin, Inc., a privately held provider of innovative crop breeding technology, sorghum seed products and feedstocks, announced it has generated the first crop of sorghum that has been grown and
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Despite Urban Migration, Scale Elusive for MSW-to-Fuels
by Mackinnon Lawrence (Biofuels Digest/Pike Research) There are few topics that get the clean technology sector excited less than trash. Meanwhile, the news is littered with stories discussing municipal areas from Zimbabwe to Los Angeles and Mumbai to Moscow struggling to
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Cornell Cooperative Extension Oneida County Launches New Bio-Fuel Educational Outreach Tool.
(Cornell Cooperative Extension Oneida County) Meeting the needs to provide educators information on research-driven information on renewable energy technology, Cornell Cooperative Extension Oneida County launches a new Bio-Fuel Educational outreach tool geared for 8th/9th grades. It is an electronically-available
December 04, 2012 Read Full Article
Despite Setbacks, Investor Is Bullish on Clean Technology
by Randall Smith (The New York Times) ...Since then, Mr. Khosla, the founder of Khosla Ventures, has watched much of those paper gains evaporate. As the clean energy industry broadly has taken a hit, shares of the biofuel companies —
December 03, 2012 Read Full Article
How Can Algae Be Converted into Biofuel?
by Susan Cassidy (How Stuff Works) Believe it or not, one day algae may provide at least one part of the answer to our dependence on fossil fuels. But using algae as a biofuel isn't quite as simple as skimming the green stuff
December 03, 2012 Read Full Article
Kenyan Biofuel Dream Proves Elusive for Alberta Firm
by Sara Mojtehedzadeh (Edmonton Journal) Bedford Biofuels’ plantation is stalled, and along with it the company’s promise to provide jobs and cash for community development ...Though this is an arid and unforgiving area, the land surrounding Garsen should have been green with
December 03, 2012 Read Full Article
SGB's Jatropha Vision: Jet Fuel Grown from Seeds
by Jennifer Alsever (CNN Money) ... While most of its rivals raced to commercialize the fuel, San Diego-based SG Biofuels took a different path: It hired plant geneticists. They hunkered down in the laboratory to come up with the best genetic variations
December 03, 2012 Read Full Article
GOP Lawmakers Float Resolution to Keep Carbon Tax Grounded
by Ben Geman (The Hill E2Wire) ... Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) said Thursday that they’re seeking support for a resolution declaring that a carbon tax would be economically harmful. “There’s a lot of talk in Washington
December 03, 2012 Read Full Article
Group to Sue EPA to Force U.S. Carbon Rules for Transport
by Valerie Volcovici (Chicago Tribune/Reuters) A policy reform group plans to issue a notice on Wednesday informing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it will file a lawsuit to force the agency to use federal rules to cap and charge