(U.S. Department of Energy) ... U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced the publication of a report, titled Biofuels and Bioproducts from Wet and Gaseous Waste Streams: Challenges and Opportunities. The report is the first comprehensive assessment of
Archive
Back TO HOMEMeet the Plant that is Bridging Renewable Energy, Rural Development, and Environmental Benefits
by Kristen Johnson (U.S. Department of Energy) ... Growing deep-rooted perennial crops, like switchgrass or willow, together with annual crops and livestock in a farming system is starting to gain traction. This is due in large part to the potential economic and
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Technology Converts Wastewater Sludge to Renewable Natural Gas
(U.S. Department of Energy) Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has developed technology that synergistically uses two waste biomass streams to generate two bioproducts. The technology enhances the process of anaerobic digestion of wastewater sludge by incorporating biomass-derived, carbon-sequestering char within the
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Report Analyzes the Use of Biogas-Derived Electricity To Power Electric Vehicles
(U.S. Department of Energy) With joint funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Strategic Programs, Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), and Vehicle Technologies Office, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) published a report titled Analyzing the Impacts of a Biogas-to-Electricity
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
BETO Announces Launch of Consortium of National Laboratories To Overcome Catalysis Challenges
(U.S. Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announces the launch of its Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio), a research and development consortium dedicated to identifying and overcoming catalysis challenges for biomass conversion
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
National Black Farmers Association Scholarship Program Applications Requested DEADLINE: April 28, 2017
FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) Foundation has established a scholarship program to assist African American farmers, their dependent children and other African American students who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs. The program is administered by Scholarship
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
The RFS in 2017: A Brave New World
by Michael McAdams (Biomass Magazine) ... First, we must finalize the 2017 renewable volume obligation (RVO) rule for the RFS program. Second, we must push for the 2018 mandates to be published before the Nov. 30 deadline to send a strong
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Biologicals and BMPS: A Modern Digester's Blueprint for Success
by Will Charlton (Biomass Magazine/Digester Doc) ... The anaerobic digestion process, unlike most any other energy-producing process, relies upon a workforce we do not see—microbes that consist of bacteria and methanogens working hand-in-hand to achieve the best results they can. In their
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Commercial Proving Grounds
by Ron Kotrba (Biomass Magazine) With help from investors, Cielo Waste Solutions Corp. plans to fast-track deployment of its renewable diesel technology at a shuttered, gutted biodiesel plant in Alberta. -- ... CWS has been developing its technology, designed to
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Iowa Biodiesel Board to Request Funding to Support Biodiesel Infrastructure Program at Annual Biodiesel Day on The Hill
(Biofuels Journal) Biodiesel production is expanding in Iowa, and proactive state policies have played a pivotal role in keeping the state’s title as the national leading producer. In advance of its annual Biodiesel Day on the Hill, the Iowa Biodiesel Board
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Two-Thirds of Europeans Want More Biofuels
(German Bioethanol Industry Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) A large majority of Europeans want biofuels production and use to grow, according to the German Bioethanol Industry Association. A recent Europe-wide opinion poll found that 69 percent of consumers surveyed in the 28 EU
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
State Board Dismisses Appeal of Delaware City Refinery's Ethanol Project
by Scott Goss (Delaware Online/The News Journal) An appeal of DNREC's decision to approve the Delaware City Refinery's planned Ethanol Marketing Project failed Monday before it could begin. The Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board voted 5-1 to toss the case, ruling the
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Scottish Farmers Body Calls for Rethink over Distillery Biomass Plants
(Bioenergy Insight) The Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (SFTA) is repeating its warning to the UK government that the "headlong drive to produce renewable energy from by-products of the distilling industry through anaerobic digesters and biomass plants will cause severe damage
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo Fleet Awards Nominations Open DEADLINE: March 24, 2017
(Advanced Clean Transportation Expo) The Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo Fleet Awards are the ultimate recognition of fleet operators who show true leadership in sustainable transportation—having gone above and beyond to achieve sustanability in their transportation operations. To nominate a fleet,
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
UK Claim That Burning Biomass Is Clean Seen as 'Flawed'
by Anna Hirtenstein (Bloomberg/Renewable Energy World) The U.K. government’s view of biomass as a carbon-neutral energy source is a “flawed assumption,” according to report from Chatham House. The U.K. counts emissions from the supply chain that produces and delivers wood pellets
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
How Brown Rot Fungi Could Lead to More Efficient Biofuels Production
(Lab Manager/U.S. Department of Energy) Wood’s complex structure makes it highly resistant to biological or chemical decomposition. The structure includes cellulose, long chains of linked sugar molecules, embedded in a scaffolding of a chemical known as lignin. Brown rot fungi,
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Ethanol Brings $2 Billion Per Year to Minnesota's Economy
(Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) The ethanol industry continued to boost Minnesota's economy in 2016, contributing $1.98 billion to the state's gross domestic product (GDP). A new study released by ABF Economics, which was commissioned by the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association, said
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
The Carinata Kings: The Digest’s 2017 8-Slide Guide to Agrisoma
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The production of Agrisoma’s Resonance Carinata is being expanded to multiple locations globally to provide a supply of sustainable, non-food oils for meeting the demand for sustainable biofuels. Resonance Carinata is certified sustainable by the
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Ethanol Battle Escalates Amid Rumors of RFA-Icahn Deal
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) (R)umors of a deal surfaced between the Renewable Fuels Association and Carl Icahn, shifting renewable fuel obligations away from oil refiners, in return for Icahn’s support for a Reid Vapor Pressure waiver for E15 ethanol that
February 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Nominations Requested for George Washington Carver Award DEADLINE: March 10, 2017
(Biotechnology Innovation Organization) The George Washington Carver Award was created to recognize significant contributions by individuals in the field of industrial biotechnology and its application in biological engineering, environmental science, biorefining and biobased products. This award will emphasize the important
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Growing Hemp for Industrial Purposes to Be Allowed in South Australia
by Lauren Novak (The Advertiser/News.com.au) Growing and manufacturing hemp for industrial purposes, such as cosmetics, clothing or construction materials, will be allowed in South Australia now the State Government has thrown its support behind a Greens proposal. The change will bring
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: 2nd Global Soil Biodiversity Conference--Biochar for Soil Biota and Biodiversity --- October 15-19, 2017 --- Nanjing, China DEADLINE: April 1, 2017
Call for abstract submission: Session 15, Biochar for Soil Biota and Biodiversity Scope and aim: Over the last 5 years, interests in biochar research and technology development as well as production have been growing across policy makers, institutions, business sectors and
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Biorefinery Optimization Workshop Summary Report Published
(U.S. Department of Energy) The Biorefinery Optimization Workshop Summary Report is now online! Read this new report for an overview of industry challenges and opportunities discussed during the Biorefinery Optimization Workshop, which was held on October 5–6, 2016, in Chicago, Illinois. The
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
A First-Hand Report: Competing in MIT'S THINK Science Competition
by Erika Tan* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Let me introduce myself - my name is Erika Tan, and I’m a current sophomore attending Freehold High School in New Jersey. If someone had told me at the beginning of this year that
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
US Drivers to Rely on Internal Combustion for Decades to Come
(Fuel Freedom Foundation/Ethanol Producer Magazine) By 2050, there will be three billion light-duty vehicles (LDVs) on the road. Even under the most optimistic forecast, alternative vehicles will account for — at best — 50 percent of the total worldwide fleet,
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Ethanol Advocates Critical of EPA Proposed RFS Revisions in REGS
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The comment period for the U.S. EPA’s rule revisions to the renewable fuel standard (RFS) have closed, with 254 comments posted to regulations.gov regarding the Renewables Enhancements and Growth Support Rule, dubbed REGS. ... In its
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
IRFA: ‘Merchant Refiners Not Paying for RINs’
(Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... The main argument of the petitioners is that they are paying for millions of dollars of RINs to meet their RFS obligations, and that this is somehow unfair and inequitable. Yet, a review
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Government to Formulate Policies on Ethanol, Methanol to Bring Down Crude Import Bill: Nitin Gadkari
(PTI/The Financial Express) The Centre will soon come out with policies on the second-generation ethanol as well as methanol, non-conventional fuel resources, which will bring down the crude import bill by Rs 1 lakh crore, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Egypt Produces Jet Biofuel from Jatropha
(SciDev.Net) Research team produces aviation fuel from jatropha plants grown in desert with sewage water; Aim is to cut aviation emissions, but high cost remains a challenge for use by the end of 2017; Semi-industrial experiments kicked off to develop a production method
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Fueling Comeback of Agriculture: Commitment to Biofuels Can Help Reinvigorate Farm Economy
by Jeff Broin (POET/Journal Gazette) ... Plummeting farm income, falling land values and depressed commodity prices over the last few years threaten to undo the prosperity of the previous decade. All indicators point to farms in trouble. • Net farm income is projected
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
CPAC Panel: Ethanol Regs Aren’t Helping Corn Belt Economies
by Andrew Follett (The Daily Caller News Foundation) Members of the Conservative Political Action Conference panel “Energy Rationing: The Tragic, Unintended Consequences,” argued the federal ethanol mandate isn’t benefiting the regions of the country it’s supposed to. ... America supports ethanol via
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Attorney: $50M Biofuel Tax Scam Charges Should Be Dismissed
by Rudy Miller (Lehigh Valley Live) The attorney for a man charged with participating in a $50 million biofuel scam says the charges should be dismissed because his client got bad legal advice. David Dunham, of Bethlehem, allegedly claimed $50 million in tax credits
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Scripps Research Vessel, ‘Sproul,’ Realizes Biofuel Milestone
by Judith Garfield (San Diego Community Newspaper Group) ... In my first article “Scripps research on biofuels hits close to home Part 1,”readers traveled with me on Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s R/V Sproul as I helped carry out research on
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Interview: AFPM President Calls for Biofuels Regulation Reform, End of RFS
by Josh Pedrick (Platts) The US ethanol market is ready to stand without support from government regulations and the Renewable Fuel Standard should be repealed, Chet Thompson, president of the American Fuel and Petrochemicals Manufacturers organization, said this week in an
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
A Global Corporate Market for Low-Carb Fuels: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Below50
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Below50 is an initiative that brings businesses together with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Roundtable for Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) and Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) to promote the best-of-breed of sustainable fuels
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Mind the (Carbon) Gap: With Sustainable Aviation Fuels, What Will It Take, Who’s Gonna Pay?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) So there’s this gap, say researchers at Utrecht University in their report on aviation biofuels, between the emission goals that airlines have set themselves (call this, carbon-neutral growth), and what is going to be achieved
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Better Science, Better Fuels
by Stephen Rapundalo (Morning Consult/MichBio) The United States Department of Agriculture just dropped a truth bomb. According to the agency’s new landmark report, the carbon benefits associated with homegrown ethanol have far surpassed previous expectations and continue to improve thanks
February 27, 2017 Read Full Article
European Parliament Votes for Reforms to the EU ETS from 2020 that Would Tighten Aviation Emissions Cap
(GreenAir Online) The European Parliament has voted to increase the ambition of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for the next phase of the scheme starting in 2021, which includes tightening the emissions cap of the aviation sector. The sector
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Government Policy Action Is Key to the Large-Scale Deployment of Aviation Biofuels, Hears ICAO Seminar
(GreenAir Online) Although sustainable alternative fuels are key to meeting the aviation sector’s long-term emissions goals, supportive government policies are required to bring these fuels to global deployment. This was a central theme of last week’s ICAO Seminar on Alternative
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Expert: Clear Sustainability Framework Needed for Advanced Biofuels
by Sarantis Michalopoulos (EurActiv) If the EU wants to avoid a U-turn on advanced biofuels, then it has come up with a “clear and robust” sustainability framework that will provide policy certainty and investment security, biofuel expert Laura Buffet said
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Propel Fuels Serves Largest US E85 Market in California
(Propel Fuels/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Propel Fuels, the nation’s leading retailer of E85 Flex Fuel, welcomed the 2017 National Ethanol Conference to California, America’s largest E85 market. Having cracked the code to high volume E85 sales, Propel sells more than 500
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Trump Signals He's Backing away from Ethanol Mandate
by Timothy P. Carney (Washington Examiner) ... Ethanol mandate champions, such as Obama Agriculture Secretary and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack started worrying aloud in December that Trump might abandon the ethanol mandate. The letter President Trump just sent to the National
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Sierra Club Threatens to Sue EPA Over Clean Air Act Violations
by Lauren Tyler (NGT News) The Sierra Club has filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its failure to conduct the required environmental impact analysis on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), effectively violating Section
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Groups Call Food-vs.-Fuel Fight Truce
by Todd Neeley (DTN The Progressive Farmer) ... Now, representatives of two ag groups previously at odds over the RFS say they have moved on. The reason, they say, is that the 5 billion bushels of corn demand created by U.S.
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
California Lawmakers Release Environmental Bills in Attempt to Thwart Trump
by Rory Carroll (Reuters) Democratic state senators in California on Thursday unveiled a series of bills designed to freeze in place Obama administration-era environmental regulations in the event the Trump administration moves to weaken them. The bills, collectively known as the
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Exxon's New Chief Endorses Carbon Tax to Combat Climate Change
by Joe Carroll (Bloomberg) Darren Woods makes first blog post since succeeding Tillerson; Comment mirror’s former CEO’s long-standing position on levy -- In his first blog post since succeeding Rex Tillerson, the new head of Exxon Mobil Corp. focused on climate
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Schmidt Fund Awards Go to Projects with Transformative Potential
by Catherine Zandonella (News at Princeton) Three projects with the potential for broad impacts in science and technology have been selected to receive support from the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund. The projects include a technology for improving ultrasound's
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Sunflowers Could Become Maui’s New Biofuel
by Brain Perry (Maui Times) Biofuel crops, including sunflowers, will be grown on 115 acres in Maui’s central valley as part of a demonstration project this month, according to an announcement from Pacific Biodiesel. The announcement of a Hawaiian blessing for
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Study: U.S. Ethanol Industry Makes “A Significant Contribution to the Economy”
(Renewable Fuels Association) The U.S. ethanol industry added $42.1 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product and supported nearly 340,000 jobs in 2016, according to a new study commissioned by ABF Economics. The study, released today by the Renewable Fuels
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Back on Track: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to the RFA Ethanol Outlook
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Looking to better understand the outlook for the US ethanol industry, but lack the time to wade through the entire 40-page Ethanol Outlook 2017 from RFA (which is right here, for download, in complete form)? Well,
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Shifting the Burden of Proof on High-Ethanol Blends
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Also appearing this week from the The Urban Air Initiative and several partners were filed comments with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that disrupts the agency’s current rationale for controlling ethanol blends under the
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Trump at the Renewable Pump: Will He Bump, Thump or Dump?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Let’s look at the letter behind the headlines. “Rest assured that your president and this administration values the importance of renewable fuels to America’s economy and to our energy independence. As I emphasized throughout my campaign,
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Report: Six States Propose New Electric Vehicle Fees
by Robert Walton (Utility Dive) The Sierra Club says six states have proposed legislation this year that would add to the cost of owning an electric vehicle, worrying clean energy advocates who say owning emissions-free vehicles should be incentivized rather
February 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Potential LCFS for Massachusetts - - Comment Deadline is Tomorrow (Friday, February 24, 2017)
(Low Carbon Fuels Coalition) Massachusetts is currently conducting a rulemaking that could provide the basis for a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) type program in Massachusetts. The Low Carbon Fuels Coalition (LCFC) has been actively participating in the rulemaking and
February 23, 2017 Read Full Article
Pacific Ethanol CEO Honored at National Conference
(Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Pacific Ethanol CEO Neil Koehler, cofounder of California’s first ethanol production company, has received the Renewable Fuels Association’s 2017 Industry Award. The award is given annually to individuals who demonstrate great dedication and innovation within
February 23, 2017 Read Full Article
Ethanol, the Key to Recovery of the Farm Economy
by Gary Truitt (Hoosier Ag Today) The U.S. ethanol industry added $42.1 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product and supported nearly 340,000 jobs in 2016, according to a just released study. The report suggests that continued growth of the
February 23, 2017 Read Full Article
UNICA Says that Unintended Consequences from EPA Proposal Could Limit US Access to Advanced Biofuel
(Green Car Congress) UNICA, Brazil’s Sugarcane Industry Association, has noted with potential concern that a current EPA proposal that would allow, among other things, biofuel producers to partially process renewable feedstocks at one facility and further process them into renewable
February 23, 2017 Read Full Article
Iowa State Engineer Helps Journal Highlight How Pyrolysis Can Advance the Bioeconomy
(Iowa State University) A special issue of the journal Energy Technology details the latest advances in pyrolysis technologies for converting biomass into fuels, chemicals and fertilizers. Two pyrolysis experts are guest editors of the issue: Robert C. Brown, the director of
February 23, 2017 Read Full Article
Gov. Hogan Visits Local Poultry Farm Turning Manure into Energy
by Dani Bozzini (WMDT) The governor of Maryland toured the Eastern Shore today and one of his stops was to a farm in Dorchester County with a ground breaking new program, converting animal waste into energy. Governor Larry Hogan, along with
February 23, 2017 Read Full Article
Neutral Fuels Pioneers Dairy Waste As New Biofuel Feedstock
(Neutral Fuels) Recycling waste dairy products to help meet Dubai ' s Zero Waste target -- After two years of research into new and improved ways to create biofuels, Neutral Fuels has become the first company to successfully use butter, cream
February 23, 2017 Read Full Article
BCPG Close to Renewable Deal
by Yuthan Praiwan (Bangkok Post) ... At the same time, BCPG's parent firm state-majority-owned oil refiner BCP is conducting a feasibility study for a new investment project, worth 3 billion baht. President Chaiwat Kovavisarach, said that the new project entails a
February 23, 2017 Read Full Article
New Biobased Chemical Options: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Rennovia
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Rennovia, Inc. is a chemical process technology development company focused on the creation of novel processes for the cost-advantaged production of commodity and specialty chemicals from renewable feedstocks. Rennovia is developing processes for the production of
February 23, 2017 Read Full Article
Thousands of Emails Detail EPA Head’s Close Ties to Fossil Fuel Industry
by Brady Dennis and Steven Mufson (The Washington Post) In his previous role as Oklahoma’s attorney general, the Environmental Protection Agency’s new administrator regularly huddled with fossil fuel firms and electric utilities about how to combat federal environmental regulations and spoke to
February 23, 2017 Read Full Article
Reporters Curious About #Ethanol Issues
by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) Reporters covering the National Ethanol Conference in San Diego had questions about a number of topics when given the opportunity to have a press “scrum” with Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen. The first questions
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
Dinneen: 'Ethanol Lifts Ag'
by Todd Neeley (DTN The Progressive Farmer) Though there is angst in rural America about the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard and agriculture trade in particular, the leader of the nation's largest ethanol interest group told an ethanol industry
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
Big Corn Courts Old Foe Big Oil to Combat Electric Car Threat
by Chris Prentice (Reuters) A U.S. biofuels lobbying group on Tuesday said it is seeking to work with longtime rival the oil industry to fight the threat to both from subsidies for electric vehicles. The two industries have been at loggerheads
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
Penn State Forest Economist Helping to Propel African Croton Biofuel Effort
by Jeff Mulhollem (Penn State News) Africa and agroforestry — defined as agriculture that incorporates the cultivation and conservation of trees — are in Penn State professor Michael Jacobson's blood, and the combination has helped shape his career. In turn, the
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
RFA Statement on Senators’ Letter to EPA on E15 Volatility Regulation
by Rachel Gantz (Renwable Fuels Association) Today (February 17, 2017), five Senators, led by Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, asking him to address EPA’s volatility regulation that makes it more difficult to sell ethanol blends
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
Ethanol to Drop-In Fuels: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Oak Ridge’s Catalytic Ethanol Upgrade Technology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The program objective seen in these slides is to take a technology from Technical Readiness Level 2 to TRL 3/4 — a technology that directly upgrades ethanol to a drop-in hydrocarbon fuel at a high
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
Biodiesel Sees the Sea: New Sailing School Vessel Fueled with B20
(National Biodiesel Board) Newport Biodiesel provides 6,000 gallons of B20 for voyage ending in Cuba -- A one-of-a-kind ship with a special mission is now fueled with 20 percent biodiesel as it begins a voyage from New England to Florida,
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
Fuel Retailers, Marketers and End Users Urge EPA to Maintain Current RFS Compliance Requirements
(NATSO/PR Newswire) Truck Drivers, Railroads, Highway Users, Renewable Fuel Groups and Fuel Retailers Unified in Opposition to Fuel Program Changes -- As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) public comment period on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) closes today, NATSO is
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
Thousands of Spills at US Oil and Gas Fracking Sites
By Matt McGrath (BBC) Up to 16% of hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells spill liquids every year, according to new research from US scientists. They found that there had been 6,600 releases from these fracked wells over a ten-year period
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
Trump Reaffirms RFS Support
by Anthony Adragna (Politico's Morning Energy) Trump sent a letter to the National Ethanol Conference Tuesday again reiterating support for renewable fuels and the Renewable Fuel Standard, Pro's Eric Wolff reports. "Rest assured that your president and this administration value
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
CALL FOR POSTERS: RRB-13, the 13th International Conference on Renewable Resources and Biorefineries — June 7-9, 2017 — Wroclaw, Poland DEADLINE: March 15, 2017
The 13th edition of the International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries will take place in Wroclaw, Poland from Wednesday June 7 until Friday June 9, 2017. Based on the previous RRB conferences, this conference is expected to welcome about
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Refinery, DNREC Seek Dismissal of Ethanol Challenges
by Scott Goss (The News Journal) The legal battle over Delaware City Refinery’s plans to expand its ethanol operations is heating up, days before a state board will hear the case. ... On its surface, the dispute centers on refinery owner PBF
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Ethanol Expansion: Mo. Department of Agriculture to Offer Grants to State Fuel Retailers to Install Biofuel Infrastructure
(Hannibal Courier-Post) The Missouri Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for the 2017 Extended Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership (BIP) grant program to accelerate the use and availability of higher blends of ethanol fuel as clean burning, renewable alternatives to conventional unleaded
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Canadian Company Envisions Maine as Site for Biorefinery
by Tex Turkel (Portland Press Herald) Ensyn Corp., which makes heating oil from wood waste, already supplies Bates College and needs more customers before it can build a plant here. -- A Canadian company that turns leftover wood from forestry
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
New Enzyme From Novozymes Can Boost Ethanol Yields
by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) Novozymes is launching a new line of advanced enzymes to increase ethanol yields by converting sugar that would otherwise be wasted. The Spirizyme® T Portfolio is an advanced suite of glucoamylase enzymes with trehalase and other yield
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Dipping a Toe into RFS Reform
By Anthony Adragna (Politico's Morning Energy) A bipartisan group of lawmakers have begun discussing how to craft a compromise to update the decade-old rules governing the nation's biofuel market and hope to draft a bill this summer, Pro's Eric Wolff
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Singapore Budget 2017: 6 Things to Know about the New Carbon Tax, Tweaked Vehicle Emissions Schemes
by Lydia Lam (Straits Times) Singapore plans to implement a carbon tax from 2019, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in Parliament on Monday (Feb 20) as part of his Budget 2017 speech. Mr Heng also announced adjustments to two vehicle
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Boat and ATV Owners, Others Seek Rollback of E15 Mandates on Fuel
by Mike Schoonveld (Outdoor News) ... The new administration ran on a plank of rolling back or eliminating federal regulations. It would make sense for the Renewable Fuel Standards’ ethanol mandate to be one of the first to go. Groups representing boaters,
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Europe Needs a Higher Price on Carbon
(Bloomberg) Europe’s promise to lower greenhouse-gas emissions looked bright a dozen years ago, when its leaders created the first big market for trading carbon permits. Sadly, though, its system has failed to encourage investment in clean technology and appreciably lower
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
$185M Biofuel Agreement Will Mean 'Major Changes,' Botwood Mayor Says
by Chris Ensing (CBC News) Botwood is one step closer to an economic boost that the mayor hopes could bring financial stability to the central Newfoundland town and neighbouring communities for decades to come. The Newfoundland and Labrador government has signed an agreement
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
The Sunliquid Technology – A Unique and Validated Pre-treatment Approach to 2G Ethanol
by Markus Rarbach (Clariant) ... Our approach at Clariant when developing the sunliquid® technology was to deliver an entirely integrated process from feedstock to finished product including our proprietary enzyme and fermentation organism platform, where all process steps are optimized to guarantee
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
From Off-Take to Take-Off: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to the US Renewable Jet Fuels Program
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In June 2011, the Secretaries of Agriculture, Energy, and Navy signed MOU to commit $510M (up to $170M from each agency) to produce hydrocarbon jet and diesel biofuels in the near-term. This initiative sought to
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Ground Delay: Where Are the Sustainable Aviation Fuels?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... (S)omething less than $200 million has been so far positively and affordably earmarked by lenders to revolutionize the entire supply chain of US air transportation fuels. Which is to say, you can just about get
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Work Underway on Kenyan Biogas and Drinking Water Plant
(Bioenergy Insight) Waste recycling company Asticom K reports that construction is underway on a biogas plant in Kenya on a five acre plot of land donated by a local housing co-operative. The plant is being built with $12.7 million (€11.9m) funding
February 21, 2017 Read Full Article
Rocky Road Ahead for Farm Bill’s Energy Title
by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) The Farm Bill’s Energy Title provides loans and grants to farmers, ranchers and small businesses to encourage investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and the production of renewable bioproducts such as fuels
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
2016 DDGS Exports Reached Second Highest Level on Record
(Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) U.S. exports of distillers grains totaled 11.48 million metric tons (mmt) in 2016, down 10 percent from 2015’s record-high but still the second-highest on record, according to a 10-page summary of 2016 ethanol co-product trade
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Provides Critical CO2 Supply
by Steffen Mueller (University of Illinois at Chicago/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Strategically located ethanol sources cannot be economically replaced. -- Carbon dioxide sourced from corn-ethanol plants is not a waste-recovery product but a coproduct that, in many regions, can only be
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
Adding Flowability
by Debbie Sniderman (Ethanol Producer Magazine/VI Ventures LLC) New DDGS additive saves ethanol plants energy and improves flowability. -- A new mineral additive technology offering energy and yield benefits to DDGS processing has been developed by Nucleus Ag & Bio
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
No Waiver? No Sense.
by Ann Bailey (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The ethanol industry sees one-pound waiver for E15 as a no-brainer. -- Perplexed about why E15 does not get a one-pound waiver? That’s a sign you clearly understand the issue, says Monte Shaw, Iowa
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
Passing the Test with Flying Colors
by Ann Bailey (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Glacial Lakes challenge in Watertown, SD, demonstrates E30 is a winner. The midlevel ethanol blend caused no check engine lights, mileage was virtually unchanged and resulted in real savings. -- The E30 Challenge
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
‘Zero Net Energy Farm’ in California Draws Midwest Farmer Interest
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, farmers from the Midwest are in California’s Central Valley touring the first-of-its-kind Zero Net Energy Farm, or “ZNEF,” to learn how to generate all electrical and heating power needs from on-site renewable resources,
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Don Siefkes (E100 Ethanol Group/Biofuels Digest) ... When the CARB (California Air Resources Board) refers to Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs), they are talking only at the tailpipe and every time they or the Wall Street Journal uses the ZEV designation, it
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
ZEVs Don’t Have Zero Emissions: Letter
by Don Siefkes (E100 Ethanol Group/Biofuels Digest) In an unpublished letter to the Wall Street Journal, Don Siefkes, Executive Director of the E100 Ethanol Group writes: Regarding Mike Spector’s Feb. 13 article, “Biggest Driver of Cleaner-Car Rules …,” Ms. Mary Nichols, Chairwoman
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
Low Cost Sugars and Lignin Streams: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Pretreatment and Process Hydrolysis
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) According to this presentation deck from NREL’s Melvin Tucker, “to produce high concentration sugar and reactive lignin streams at high yields and low costs from biomass to meet BETO’s 2017 ($5/GGE) and 2022 ($3/GGE) Goals and Targets,
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
The Republican Carbon Tax Is Republican, Say Republicans
by Robinson Meyer (The Atlantic) There’s just one problem: other Republicans. ... But in an unregulated market, there’s no mechanism to keep people from emitting carbon dioxide, because it is cheap. So, et voilà, you invent just such a mechanism. You
February 18, 2017 Read Full Article
Biotech Firm to Produce Renewable Fuel in New Office Space
by Emily Witty (MD Biz News) ... (Ryan) Powell and his business partner Onur Unal are the founders of Manta Biofuel, a Baltimore-based biotechnology firm producing renewable crude oil through the harvesting and processing of algae. Just two and a half
February 18, 2017 Read Full Article
Advances in Biofeedstocks and Biofuels, Volume One: Biofeedstocks and Their Processing
(Scrivener Publishing) The most comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of all the possible aspects for biofeedstock processing and the production of energy from biofeedstocks. Audience Chemical engineers, petroleum engineers, process engineers, students in chemical engineering, biotechnology, petroleum engineering, agricultural biotechnology, applied microbiology, environmental
February 18, 2017 Read Full Article
Investor to Build N5.2bn Biofuels Refinery in Kogi State
by Festus Okoromadu (Leadership) The managing director of Biodiesel Nigeria Limited, Engr. Hussaini Solomon, has said his company has concluded arrangement to establish a mini-biodiesel refinery in Lokoja, Kogi state worth N5.2 billion. In an exclusive chat with LEADERSHIP, Solomon said his
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
RFA Suggests Retool for REGS
by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) In comments submitted this week on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Renewables Enhancement and Growth Support (REGS) rule, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) said the proposal fails to address key regulatory barriers that are constraining growth
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
New Willow Harvester In Action
(NewBIO) Something new happened in the bioenergy willow world this week in Pennsylvania. A new type of willow energy crop harvester got its first run on a willow crop in Pennsylvania. The machine, a 2 row harvester, was acquired as part
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
Cattle Pastures and Other Degraded Lands Become New Oil Palm Plantations
(Phys.Org) A new study published last week in the journal Environmental Research Letters by researchers at the University of Puerto Rico offers the first regional look at lands being converted to palm oil plantations in Latin America. Palm oil is
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
MECO on Track to Beat Renewable Energy Goals--State Aims to Be 100 Percent by 2045
by Chris Sugiduno (Maui News) ... MECO’s updated Power Supply Improvement Plan calls for Molokai to reach the renewable energy benchmark by 2020, with Lanai completing it by 2030 and Maui by 2040. The plan submitted to the state Public Utilities
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
Iowa to Pruitt: Don't Change RFS Point of Obligation
(Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... “We have a slogan in the renewable fuels family that says ‘Don’t mess with the RFS,’” said IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Let me make this perfectly clear: changing the point of obligation is
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
Scott Pruitt, Longtime Adversary of EPA, Confirmed to Lead the Agency
by Brady Dennis (The Washington Post) Scott Pruitt, who as Oklahoma’s attorney general spent years suing the Environmental Protection Agency over its efforts to regulate various forms of pollution, was confirmed Friday as the agency’s next administrator. Pruitt cleared the Senate
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
New Research: Forcing Local Peoples off Their Lands Drives Almost Two-Thirds of Conflicts Between Companies and Local Communities in Africa
(RightsAndResources.org) Experts at Dakar event point to a significant cause of investment losses, work stoppages and violence across Africa: the failure of governments and companies to respect the land rights of indigenous and local communities Sixty-three percent of disputes related to
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
Ace Ethanol to Install D3MAX Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant
(BBI International/Ethanol Producer Magazine) D3MAX has announced the completion and shipment of its pilot plant employing the patented D3MAX cellulosic ethanol technology. The pilot facility will be installed at ACE Ethanol LLC, in Stanley, Wisconsin, in late February. Installation is
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
The USDA Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program (9003 Program) Is currently Accepting Applications
(U.S. Department of Agriculture) This program assists in the development, construction, and retrofitting of new and emerging technologies for the development of Advanced Biofuels, Renewable Chemicals, and Biobased Product Manufacturing by providing loan guarantees for up to $250 million. Who may
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
Fact Sheet: Jobs in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (2017)
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines green jobs as either "jobs in businesses that produce goods and provide services that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources" or as "jobs in which workers'
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
Technology Roadmap: How2Guide for Bioenergy
(International Energy Agency) Bioenergy is the largest source of renewable energy today, providing heat and electricity, as well as transport fuels. Yet, more so than for other low‑carbon energy technologies, the complex and multi‑faceted supply chains of bioenergy projects call
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
POET-DSM Plans On-Site Enzyme Manufacturing Facility at Project Liberty
(POET) POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels will build an on-site enzyme manufacturing (OSM) facility in Emmetsburg, Iowa, pending state and local approvals. The facility will be integrated into the Project Liberty technology package, replicable in future facilities. For Project Liberty, the OSM
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
Makin’ Hydrocarbons: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Catalytic Upgrading of Thermochemical Intermediates
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) To demonstrate an advanced biofuels technology that integrates a catalytic biomass pyrolysis step and a hydroprocessing step to produce infrastructure compatible biofuels, here’s the basic recipe, according to a research team led by David Dayton at RTI
February 17, 2017 Read Full Article
CALL FOR PAPERS: 10th Biofuels International Conference and Expo — October 4-5, 2017 — Edinburgh, Scotland DEADLINE: uncertain
Do you want to meet more Biofuels producers and be part of our 10th year celebrations? Now that the European Commission has released its plans for biofuels post 2020 with RED II, the industry can plan and prepare accordingly. Opportunities undoubtedly
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS and POSTERS: Biochar: Production, Characterization and Applications — August 20-25, 2017 — Alba, Italy DEADLINES: June 30, 2017 (posters)
One-page abstracts should be submitted as soon as possible and no later than the deadlines. The abstract should include both the significance of the research as well as results that will be discussed to allow a scientific assessment of the
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
CALL FOR INNOVATIONS, ABSTRACTS: Defense Innovation/Energy/SBIR/STTR Summit --- October 3-5, 2017 --- Tampa, FL DEADLINES: June 29 and June 9, 2017
Join global innovation, business and defense leadership as they accelerate state-of-art technology solutions in support of national security and the warfighter. SUBMIT YOUR INNOVATIONS: Energy & Resilience Challenge Cyber Security Challenge Medical & Biotech Challenge Electronics & Systems Challenge Space Technologies Challenge SUBMIT BY - JUNE 29 ABSTRACTS
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Algae Biomass Summit — October 29-November 1, 2017 — Salt Lake City, UT DEADLINE: March 15, 2017
Submit an Abstract to the Largest Algae Biomass Conference in the World! The Algae Biomass Organization is now accepting abstracts for speaking and poster opportunities for the 2017 Algae Biomass Summit, to be held at the Grand America Hotel in
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
My Voice: Renewable Fuel Standard Problems after 2022?
by Merle Pochop (Argus Leader) ... Currently, stakeholders have a say in how the current RFS is operated through their congressional delegates since the program is overseen by federal lawmakers. However, in 2022, the RFS will be handed over entirely to the
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
EPA Answers Renewable Fuel Standard Lawsuit – DTN
by Todd Neeley (DTN The Progressive Farmer/AgFax) In a point-by-point answer to a number of plaintiffs who filed suit challenging how the Renewable Fuel Standard is implemented, attorneys for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contend in a legal brief filed on
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
EPA Staff Told to Prepare for Trump Executive Orders: Sources
by David Shepardson, Timothy Gardner and Richard Valdmanis (Reuters) Staff at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have been told that President Donald Trump is preparing a handful of executive orders to reshape the agency, to be signed once a new administrator
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
Association of Commonwealth Universities' Early Career Academic Grants
Early Career Academic Grants are open to early career academics employed by ACU member universities, enabling them to participate in a conference held in a Commonwealth country other than their own. A minimum of 30 grants are on offer in 2017. At the time of
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
Research Experience for Undergraduates Summer Program ---
(Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites ) Starting with the summer of 2017, the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites (CB2), will be establishing a new Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site designed to provide undergraduate students a chance to participate in
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
Pacific Ethanol To Produce Cellulosic Ethanol at Its Madera Plant
(Pacific Ethanol/Globenews) Edeniq’s yield-enhancing Pathway Technology will now be installed at two Pacific Ethanol plants -- Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX), a leading producer and marketer of low-carbon renewable fuels in the United States, and Edeniq, Inc., a biorefining and cellulosic
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
INTERVIEW-Argentina Could Double Percentage of Ethanol in Fuels -Official
by Maximilian Heath (Reuters) Argentina in the next two to three years could double the proportion of ethanol used in gasoline from the current 12 percent of the blend, a government official told Reuters. If the government goes forward with the
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
Praj Industries Unveils ‘Steady’ Financial Results and Raves about Cellulosic Ethanol Opportunities
(Biofuels International) ... "... We are highly excited to participate in the domestic cellulosic ethanol opportunity, which has the potential to redefine energy matrix for the country,” said Pramod Chaudhari, executive chairman at Praj Industries. The company also reiterated its plans about
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
A New Hydrocarbon Brew: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Technical Market Analysis for Biochemical Conversion
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As the project team behind this presentation explains, there’s trouble right here in River City when it comes to accessing good market and technical data on making hydrocarbons from a biochemical process. Process and economic data
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
AY-YI YI-YA AAAY, Gevo Just Can’t Stop Dancin’
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... But there’s something so cool in that technology that we can’t take our eyes off the company and its progress, even though looking at the balance sheet can feel like watching a car crash in slow
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
Global Biofuels to Rise to 67 Billion Gallons in 2022 as Next-Generation Technologies Take Over
(Lux Research, Inc.) Advanced biofuels will nearly double in five years to 9.6 billion gallons per year as first-generation fuels like traditional biodiesel lose out to newer low-carbon fuels, says Lux Research -- New biofuel technology is finally starting to
February 16, 2017 Read Full Article
G20 Urged to Ditch Fossil Fuel Subsidies by 2020, Go Green
by Alister Doyle (Reuters) Investors and insurers with more than $2.8 trillion in assets under management on Wednesday called on the Group of 20 economies to phase out fossil fuel subsidies by 2020 despite U.S. doubts about climate change. G20 nations
February 15, 2017 Read Full Article
Ethanol Still Big Player in Renewable Energy Game
(Kearney Hub) ... Across the United States, about 70 percent of all gasoline burned in everyday vehicles like cars and light trucks is blended with ethanol, and of that ethanol, about 2 billion gallons is produced by the state’s 25 plants
February 15, 2017 Read Full Article
Letter to Editor: Ethanol Is a 'Win-Win'
by Rick Fox (Ohio Ethanol Producers Association/The Courier) ... Back in 1996, well before the Renewable Fuel Standard was ever implemented, corn was $3.67 a bushel. Today it is $3.64 a bushel. Why? Thanks to technology and improvements in farming practices, farmers are
February 15, 2017 Read Full Article
The United States of Oil and Gas
by Tim Meko and Laris Karklis (The Washington Post) There are more than 900,000 active oil and gas wells in the United States, and more than 130,000 have been drilled since 2010, according to Drillinginfo, a company that provides data and
February 15, 2017 Read Full Article
UK Grocer First in Europe to Use New Trucks Fuelled by Food Waste
by Umberto Bacchi (Reuters) A British supermarket has become the first retailer in Europe to use a new type of tank that keeps trucks motoring on fuel made from food waste for 500 miles, almost twice the current average. The longer driving
February 15, 2017 Read Full Article
A Step toward Renewable Diesel: Chemical Engineers Program Yeast to Convert Plant Sugars into Oils.
by Anne Trafton (MIT News) MIT engineers have genetically reprogrammed a strain of yeast so that it converts sugars to fats much more efficiently, an advance that could make possible the renewable production of high-energy fuels such as diesel. The researchers,
February 15, 2017 Read Full Article
Health Effects Institute Takes Hard Look at Ethanol vs Aromatics
by David Hallberg (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Urban Air Initiative) Candid discussions at the Health Effects Institute offer hope ethanol's positive emissions profile will be taken seriously, writes a UAI advisor and Siouxland Ethanol board member in the Clearing the Air column
February 14, 2017 Read Full Article
Will Bioplastics Repeat the Biofuels Saga?
by Meadhbh Bolger (Friends of the Earth Europe/EurActiv) It took years for politicians to wake up to the destructive impact of biofuels, in no small part because of their green-sounding name. With bioplastics we risk falling into the same trap,
February 14, 2017 Read Full Article
Biodiesel Volumes Challenged
by Todd Neeley (DTN The Progressive Farmer) A biofuels group and two petroleum interest groups have asked a federal appeals court to review the final 2017-2018 biodiesel volumes in the Renewable Fuels Standard published in the Federal Register. A handful of
February 14, 2017 Read Full Article
Dems Probe Trump Adviser Icahn’s Role in Ethanol Policy
by Timothy Cama (The Hill) Senate Democrats are investigating the role that President Trump’s adviser Carl Icahn is playing in setting the administration’s ethanol policy. The Democrats are concerned that Icahn, a prolific investor whose holding company owns more than 80
February 14, 2017 Read Full Article
Ethanol and Biofuel Policies
by Nicolas Loris (DownsizingGovernment.org/The Heritage Foundation) ... The problem is not with the voluntary use of biofuels in the marketplace, but rather policies that mandate and subsidize biofuels. ... Congress should end its intervention in the biofuels industry. It should terminate subsidies
February 14, 2017 Read Full Article
India’s Numaligarh Refinery Signs Biorefinery Contract with Chempolis
(Biofuels International) India state-controlled oil and gas company Bharat Petroleum’s Assam based facility Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has signed a term sheet with Chempolis, a Finland -based bio refining technology for setting up a biorefinery unit. ... NRL is implementing India's first biorefinery in Assam at an estimated cost of
February 14, 2017 Read Full Article
Alberta Awards More than C$6 Million in Grants for Biofuel Companies
by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Canada, the provincial government of Alberta awarded four biofuel companies just over C$6 million in grant funds under the Climate Change Program’s Bioenergy Producer Program. Both Permolex Ltd. and ADM Agri Industries were awarded C$1.8
February 14, 2017 Read Full Article
Aviation Firms Turn to Seaweed, Sugar
(AFP/China Post) The air transportation sector is turning slowly toward sustainable fuels as part of the global fight against climate change. But adoption has been delayed due to a lack of incentives and low oil prices. ... Even partially replacing jet fuel with
February 14, 2017 Read Full Article
PHYCO2, MSU Make Wastewater Reusable through Pure Algae Growth
(PHYCO2/Biodiesel Magazine) PHYCO2 LLC, an emerging algae production, waste water treatment and carbon dioxide sequestration company, announced the successful treatment of wastewater from breweries to comply with state water discharge limits for nitrates and phosphates. During Phase 4 of the multiyear trial
February 14, 2017 Read Full Article
Microbial Fuel Cells: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to KeegoTech’s MudWatt and MFC technology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) KeegoTech aims to catalyze the development of emerging technologies by employing the talent and creativity of the greater public — in this case, giving a basic backgrounder about microbial fuel cells, which have a long-range
February 14, 2017 Read Full Article
How to Reduce Aviation Emissions, On the Ground and In the Sky
by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle (Environmental Leader) The number of commercial airplanes in service is projected to nearly double by 2030. At the same time, international agreements and individual countries’ laws require the aviation industry to reduce carbon emissions. Advances in biofuel
February 13, 2017 Read Full Article
Montclair State University Professor Receives PECASE Award
(Montclair State University/Biomass Magazine) Pankaj Lal, associate professor of Earth and Environmental Studies and associate director of the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies at Montclair State University, is among 102 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers.
February 13, 2017 Read Full Article
Researchers Produce Renewable Car Tires from Trees, Grass
(University of Minnesota/Biomass Magazine) A team of researchers, led by the University of Minnesota, has invented a new technology to produce automobile tires from trees and grasses in a process that could shift the tire production industry toward using renewable
February 13, 2017 Read Full Article
The Next Step in the Bioeconomy – Looking Beyond Fuels
by Jessie Stolark (Energy and Environmental Study Institute) The Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), in the Office of Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy (EERE), released its updated strategic plan in January. Revised every five years, the strategic plan refreshes and
February 13, 2017 Read Full Article
The Ethanol Action Team Discusses Demand
(National Corn Growers Association) Members of the National Corn Growers Association’s Ethanol Action Team (ETHAT) gathered last week in Savannah, Ga. to review programs aimed at expanding demand for corn ethanol. “Our agenda covered topics from fuel dispenser infrastructure to