February 2020 – Advanced BioFuels USA

Indonesia Prepares for Battle in Switzerland… Malaysia Lobbies in the UK … The 3-monochloropropane diol (3-MCPD) Debate ….

(Palm Oil Monitor) This week Indonesia and the EU are meeting in Geneva for a WTO consultation over the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The meeting is the culmination of

February 28, 2020 Read Full Article

Where Are European Biofuels Heading? Agriculture Special Report

(S&P Global Platts) The EU’s Green Deal has been one of the main topics for the renewable industry since beginning of this year. The Green Deal envisages Europe becoming the

February 28, 2020 Read Full Article

Discovering New Uses and Markets for Ethanol

by Carrie Muehling (Energy.AgWired.com) The 2020 National Ethanol Conference included a panel discussion on new uses for ethanol, moderated by Erik Huschitt, CEO and General Manager of Badger State Ethanol, LLC.

February 28, 2020 Read Full Article

Decarbonizing Your Ride for a More Stable Climate: Scientists Measure the Climate Benefits of Alternatives to Petroleum Fuels

(National Science Foundation) Transportation produces a sizable amount of greenhouse gas emissions, largely by using petroleum to power internal combustion engines. Alternatives –- for example, organic materials such as grasses to

February 28, 2020 Read Full Article

Would You Pay Higher Gas Prices to Slow the Climate Crisis? Governors in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States Are Pondering that Question.

by Justin Gillis (New York Times) A plan is under development in about a dozen Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States to tackle the country’s biggest source of greenhouse emissions, cut road

February 28, 2020 Read Full Article

Ohio Legislation on the Move

by Ellen Essman (Ohio Law Blog/Ohio’s Country Journal) … House Bill 400 “To authorize a nonrefundable income tax credit for the retail sale of high-ethanol blend motor fuel.” … The

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Congresswoman Angie Craig Leads Letter Reiterating Support for Biofuels, Reducing Carbon Emissions

(Office of Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-MN2)) Today, U.S. Reps. Angie Craig (MN-02) and Dave Loebsack (IA-02) delivered a letter signed by 11 members on the bipartisan Congressional Biofuels Caucus urging the

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

45Q, the Tax Credit That’s Luring US Companies to Capture CO2 — Cement, Ethanol, and Ammonia Makers Are among Those Looking to Convert Waste Carbon to Cash

by Melody M. Bomgardner (Chemical & Engineering News) … The most effective policies, economists and industrialists agree, are those that put a price on carbon. Doing so with a tax

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Neste and IKEA Finland to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Home Deliveries ‒ IKEA Is Aiming towards Emission-Free Deliveries by 2025

(Neste/Cision) Neste and IKEA Finland are offering lower emission home deliveries for Finnish consumers. Since the fall of 2019, IKEA has gradually started using Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ in its home deliveries

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

The Jenny Craig Problem and the Theory of Carbon Offsets

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Even though solar and wind to use an example, have smaller carbon footprints than, say, burning petroleum as a heating oil, they aren’t carbon

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Volvo Opts for Renewable Fuel HVO at Swedish Customer Centre

(Biofuels International) Volvo CE’s customer centre in Eskilstuna, Sweden is paving the way for a sustainable future by running its demonstration machines on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). The biodiesel fuel

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Aerospace Company Boom Supersonic to Use Sustainable Aviation Fuels in Test Programme

(Biofuels International) The company building the world’s fastest supersonic airliner, Boom Supersonic, has announced that is XB-1 test programme will be carbon neutral through the use of sustainable aviation fuels

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Udall, Grassley Introduce Bill to Ensure Taxpayers Get Fair Share for Public Lands Leasing

(Office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)) On the 100 year anniversary of the Mineral Leasing Act, senators introduce the Fair Returns for Public Lands Act of 2020 to modernize the

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Södra Makes First Delivery of Biomethanol in Sweden for Biodiesel Production

(Biofuels International) Swedish forest-owner association Södra has made a pilot delivery of biomethanol from the world’s first commercial plant for the sustainable fuel. Customer Emmelev plans to use the biomethanol

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Rep. McEachin and Chair Grijalva Unveil Landmark Environmental Justice Legislation Following Year-Long Collaborative Effort

(Blue Virginia) Great work by Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA04) on the landmark Environmental Justice for All Act, which they introduced at a at a press conference earlier today on Capitol Hill. As

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

EQTEC to Upgrade Spanish Waste to Energy Facility for Biofuel Production

(Biofuels International) Waste gasification to energy company EQTEC has been awarded a contract for the upgrade of the existing syngas research and development facility at the University of Extremadura in

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Seeing Starch: Novel Technique Enables Gentle Observation of Biofuel Materials

(Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method to peer deep into the nanostructure of biomaterials without damaging the

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

First Dredger with Ultra-Low Emissions Has Arrived in Belgium

(Jan De Nul Group) … For its maritime fleet, Jan De Nul Group goes for 100% renewable fuel, a certified sustainable substitute for fossil fuel made from waste flows. Since the

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Vow ASA Enters Plastic to Fuel Deal with Test Plant in the Oil Refining and Petrochemical Industry

(Vow ASA/Globe Newswire) Vow ASA, through its subsidiary ETIA, has been awarded a contract to provide a pyrolysis testing unit for processing of waste plastics and polymers for Unipetrol in

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Beans Grown with Urine and Martian Soil, New Cosmetic Ingredient Produced by Fermentation, Plant-Based Superglue, and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of February 27th

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What a weird week – yummy string beans fertilized with human urine in the form of struvite and cultivated using artificial Martian and lunar soil, making

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

We Need Better Transportation Options, Not More Roads and More Lanes

by Parris N. Glendening (Washington Post/Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute) When President Trump attempted to eliminate California’s more stringent fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for cars and trucks, local

February 27, 2020 Read Full Article

Gov. Ricketts Calls on U.S. Automakers to Design Cars to Run on Higher Ethanol Blends

(Office of Governor Pete Ricketts (R-NE)) Recently, Governor Pete Ricketts sent a letter to American automakers Fiat Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors, urging them to increase production of passenger vehicles

February 26, 2020 Read Full Article

Diamond Green Diesel to Enhance Distribution Logistics Per Agreement With St. Rose IMTT Terminal

(Darling Ingredients Inc./Market Watch) Darling Ingredients Inc. DAR, -5.44% today announced that its joint venture with Valero Energy Corporation, Diamond Green Diesel (“DGD”), has entered into a long-term lease agreement with IMTT. The agreement will

February 26, 2020 Read Full Article

Biomass Sugars to Hydrocarbon Biofuels: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Enzymatic Hydrolysis Development Efforts

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Reducing cost and improving manufacturability of the biomass sugar platform through Continuous Enzymatic Hydrolysis (CEH) technology is one of the goals for NREL. James D.

February 26, 2020 Read Full Article

USDA’s 30 Year Vision: No Need to Wander Like Moses

by Douglas Duarante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/Biofuels Digest) … U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) … presented a 10 year plan for E15 and a 30 year plan for E30 that

February 26, 2020 Read Full Article

QUOTE OF THE WEEK — Douglas Durante

“I would have shown (USDA) my new magic trick where I can make 30 years disappear. It’s a simple trick. Provide a list of regulatory barriers, eliminate those barriers, and

February 26, 2020 Read Full Article

Fuel Retailers Meet, Say Ethanol Gas Saves Money and Betters the Environment

(KLKN TV) Fuel retailers met … to discuss ethanol and how using it helps save the planet and some change in your pocket. “We’re excited the people are here and

February 23, 2020 Read Full Article

USDA: Ag Innovation Agenda Will Benefit Biofuels, Bioenergy

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The USDA unveiled its Agriculture Innovation Agenda on Feb. 20. The initiative, in part, aims to support renewable fuels, including ethanol, biodiesel and biomass. This

February 23, 2020 Read Full Article

Netherlands All for Sustainable Palm Oil, Against EU Biofuel Ban

by Translator: Ricky Mohammad Nugraha (Tempo.co) The Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Stef Blok said the Netherlands is not backing the European Union biofuel ban that targets Indonesia-produced crude palm oil (CPO). However, Blok asserts that this issue

February 21, 2020 Read Full Article

Carolina Opportunity Funds Chooses BioEconomy Solutions

(Carolina Opportunity Funds/PR Newswire) Inaugural Investment for IMPACT Carolina QOZ Fund — Carolina Opportunity Funds is pleased to announce that BioEconomy Solutions, a technology leader in sustainable agricultural crops for biofuels,

February 21, 2020 Read Full Article

Optimizing Co-Product Production: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Alkaline-Oxidative Pretreatment of Woody Biomass

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Two birds with one stone – if you can get BOTH a clean sugar stream for the production of hydrocarbon fuels AND lignins that can feed

February 21, 2020 Read Full Article

Low Carbon Hydrogen on the Way in the UK

by Jim Lane (Hydrogen Digest) From the UK, news is arriving out of research circles about a project called HyPER project (Bulk Hydrogen Production by Sorbent Enhanced Steam Reforming), that

February 21, 2020 Read Full Article

The Competitive Edge: Catalyxx

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Catalyxx was formed with the purposes of owning the exclusive rights to a technology, originally developed by Abengoa Bioenergy, that converts ethanol into n-butanol, n-hexanol,

February 21, 2020 Read Full Article

Bio Innovation Conference — October 5-6, 2020 — ONLINE

Presented by Maryland Life Sciences, a division of the Maryland Tech Council, the Bio Innovation Conference is driving the future of life sciences in Maryland. This conference provides a forum

February 21, 2020 Read Full Article

From Middle School to College, Educators Explore Teaching Sustainability; Advanced Biofuels USA Consults on Power of Renewable Transportation Fuel Options — Your Contributions Are Welcome

by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) At Hood College just blocks from Advanced Biofuels USA’s headquarters, the Biology Department’ Sustainability Work Group has proposed a new undergraduate major in Sustainability

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

The Scale of Investment Needed to Decarbonize International Shipping

by Randall Krantz, Kasper Søgaard, Dr Tristan Smith (Global Maritime Forum) To make the decarbonization of the maritime shipping sector successful, the coming three decades will need to see a

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

New Framework for Biofuels Leaves Many Questions Unanswered

by (Business Maverick) The recently published Biofuels Regulatory Framework is an important step in the attempt to develop a national biofuel industry, but it is far from sufficient to ensure

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Scientists Develop Open-Source Software to Analyze Economics of Biofuels, Bioproducts

by Julie Wurth (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Perennial grasses can be converted into everything from ethanol to bioplastics, but it’s unclear which bioproducts hold the greatest potential. BioSTEAM, a new open-source

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Big Oil Explores Adding More Cheap Ethanol to Gasoline in Iowa

by Jeffrey Bair and Michael Hirtzer (Bloomberg/Yahoo! Finance) BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are exploring adding more ethanol in gasoline in top corn state Iowa to take advantage of

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Oil and Gas Firms ‘Have Had Far Worse Climate Impact than Thought’

by Jonathan Watts (The Guardian) Study indicates human fossil methane emissions have been underestimated by up to 40% — … Although the research will add to pressure on fossil fuel companies,

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

CALL FOR PAPERS, POSTERS: Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB) Annual Meeting — August 9-12, San Francisco, CA DEADLINES: March 31, May 15, June 12, 2020

The 2020 program committee welcomes you to submit presentations in the Society’s core topic areas. Poster abstracts, as well as student oral session abstracts and contributed oral abstracts may be

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

CANCELLED Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB) Annual Meeting — August 9-12, San Francisco, CA

The SIMB Board of Directors has voted to cancel the Annual Meeting scheduled in August in San Francisco. The decision was made based on predicted infection rates for COVID-19 over

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Wide-Ranging Partnership to Deploy B100 Biodiesel Technology in Daily, High-Mileage Class 8 Trucks

(National Biodiesel Board) Wide range of organizations announce a partnership for validation project of biodiesel technology to demonstrate viability in real-world, high-mileage fleet applications — Innovative system allows for seamless

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Why the U.S. Faces a Steep Path to a CO2-Free Grid

by Peter Behr (E&E News) Nearly two dozen states and the District of Columbia have committed to slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with several planning at least an 80% cut. Some

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

IRS Unveils 45Q Guidance

by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) Almost two years after Congress initially expanded a tax incentive for carbon capture and sequestration projects as part of its 2018 budget bill, the IRS

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Farmers Join Forces for Sustainability and Responsible Climate Policy

(American Farm Bureau Federation) Twenty-one farm and ranch groups representing millions of U.S. farmers and ranchers are launching Farmers for a Sustainable Future (FSF), a coalition committed to environmental and

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

USDA Takes Aim at Farmers’ Environmental Footprint

by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) The Agriculture Department is expected to announce today that it aims to cut farming’s environmental footprint in half by 2050 while increasing farm productivity

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Ukraine May Lose the Rapeseed and Corn Markets of the EU — UGA

(APK-INFORM) Ukraine may be banned to supply corn and rapeseed to European Union countries, due to exceeding of the permissible emissions of greenhouse gases in terms of the reporting crops growing,

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Drive on Bioethanol from Rotterdam

(Port of Rotterdam) Europe’s largest biorefinery is located in the heart of the Port of Rotterdam. Alco Energy Rotterdam converts corn into bioethanol fuel in a production process that generates

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

1st Commercial-Scale Production of 5-HMF, 1st Hydrogen-Based Residential Area, Largest Fuel Cell System Ever on Major Ship, and More: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the Week of February 20th

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) It’s fun to be 1st and this week is full of them…from the first hydrogen-based residential area in the Netherlands to the world’s first commercial-scale production

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Democrats Debate Climate Change Issues in Las Vegas — Finally

(Our Daily Planet) At the Democratic Debate in Las Vegas last night, the moderators asked a series of questions on climate change and environmental issues, and the candidates had a chance

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production Pathway Approved by ASTM

(Biofuels International) ASTM International has approved a new production pathway for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), created by Applied Research Associates (ARA) and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG). The new production pathway,

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Finnish Biofuel Producer Fintoil Invests €100 Million in Biorefinery

(Biofuels International) Fintoil, a biofuel producer based in Finland that is partly owned by investment company Taaleri, has invested over €100 million in a biorefinery in Hamina, Finland. The company

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

U.S. Gain Opens RNG Fueling Station at the Moreno Valley USD

by Matthew Mercure (NGT News) U.S. Gain, a company that specializes in the development, procurement and distribution of renewable natural gas (RNG), says it has completed a new onsite natural gas fueling

February 20, 2020 Read Full Article

Germany Eyes New Offshore Wind Farms Dedicated to Green Hydrogen Production

by Bernd Radowitz (ReCharge) Move would be a world first in fast-moving sector — part of government plans to spend billions of euros to build up an industrial-scale domestic market