(VIASPACE) VIASPACE Inc., a clean energy company growing Giant KingTM Grass as a low-carbon, renewable energy crop, announced that Chief Executive Dr. Carl Kukkonen made an invited presentation at the International BIOMASS Conference and Expo held May 4-6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
by Cary Blake (Delta Farm Press) The long-term growth of the U.S. sorghum industry depends in part with scientists unraveling paths to produce cellulosic ethanol economically. “We are very excited about the future of energy (forage — whole plant) sorghum as the
(US Department of Energy) DOE also released May 6, 2010, a new video which showcases how cellulosic biofuel technologies can help decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil, spur growth in the domestic biofuels industry, and provide new revenue opportunities to farmers in many
by Daniel Walsh (pressofAtlanticCity.com) Mike Smith wants to bring the green energy revolution to Vineland. He plans to take the world’s fastest growing plant and make it grow even faster. Then burn it to create a natural gas and transform that
by Andy Eubank (Hoosier Ag Today) USDA Rural Development has a proposed rule on the table that would exclude the Louis Dreyfus biodiesel plant from USDA Advanced Biofuel Payment Program eligibility because of its foreign ownership. Many in Indiana, including
(American Soybean Association) The American Soybean Association (ASA) provided comments today to the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Economic and Environmental Impacts of Increasing Biofuels Production. ASA told the Committee that biodiesel made from soybean oil can play a vital
(Biofuels Association of Australia) The Biofuels Association of Australia fired back at claims made by the Australian Lot Feeder's Association that biofuels are diverting crops away from food sources or pushing up food prices in Australia. "These sorts of comments by the
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...“It allows us to produce a greater abundance of all three which are at the heart of the intersection of energy and agriculture. We can put an end to the “food vs. fuel” debate and
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) When we say bioisoprene, think synthetic rubber – but only for a start. Think “platform” for renewable diesel, jet fuel, renewable gasoline, and synthetic adhesives. It replaces fossil-based oils, can make money now, and can
(Ecological Society of America) Analyzing biofuel sources and predicting effects on water, soil and the atmosphere: The promise of switchgrass, the challenges for forests and the costs of corn-based ethanol production: Ecological scientists review the many factors surrounding biofuel crop production
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...With respect to energy security, consider this: it is estimated that ten percent of all US military casualties come from the delivery of fuel. Even if it were true that none of the deployments of
by N P Nghiem, K B Hicks, D B Johnston, G Senske, M Kurantz, M Li, J Shetty and G Konieczny-Janda (Biotechnology for Biofuels) Background : US legislation requires the use of advanced biofuels to be made from non-food feedstocks. However,
by Jeremy Shere (EnergyWorld.com) excerpts from his in-process book on the history of biofuels: ... Promoting alcohol as motor fuel would benefit not only the automobile industry, Ford thought, but also help farmers would find a ready and lucrative market for their surplus
by Shanna Shipman (Gatehouse News Service, HollandSentinel.com) ...(S)ientists and farmers are looking closer at one plant, formerly considered a mere botanical pest, and are discovering a world of beneficial possibilities. In short, this plant has the potential to yield unprecedented amounts
(Farm Futures) A recently completed analysis from Purdue University concluded that the California Air Resources Board overestimated the indirect land use change impact of grain-based ethanol by a factor of two in developing its Low Carbon Fuels Standard one year
(New World Energy) Indonesia based PT New World Energy (NWE) and leading multi-national appliance manufacturer, Bosch and Siemens Home Appliance Group (BSH) of Germany recently partnered together on a pilot project to bring clean cooking technology to rural communities on
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) Ethanol producers and corn farmers who were hoping for President Obama to make a strong show of support for the ethanol industry when he appeared at a POET plant in Missouri on Wednesday were probably a
by Meredith Cohn (The Baltimore Sun) In response to a national call for homegrown, Earth-friendly fuels to fill Americans' gas tanks, a couple of University of Maryland researchers are planting trees. Fuel derived from the hardy, fast-growing common poplar could eventually
by George C. Schoneveld, Laura A. German, and Eric Nutakor (World Bank) This paper assesses the effectiveness of the Ghanaian legal and institutional framework in managing the trade-offs of large-scale land acquisition, particularly for biofuel feedstock expansion. The research focuses
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) At the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in Washington, Chromatin CEO Daphne Preuss announced that the company is expanding its technology development portfolio to produce fit-for-purpose sorghum as a biofuels feedstock, and also announced that it
by Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Ph.D. (Director, Office of the USDA Chief Scientist) The USDA has a diverse protfolio of programs supporting the production of advanced biofuels. In this presentation to the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in Washington, DC in April 2010,
(News Channel 34) New York sources of biofuel made from wood, grass and other forms of biomass could reduce New York’s gasoline consumption by as much as 16 percent of projected use in 2020 and play a significant role in
by Jim Lane (BiofuelsDigest) ...Also, what exactly is up with biobutanol, perhaps the most important fuel you never heard of — one that is gaining serious traction among bioenergy cognoscenti as a more perfect solution to the ethanol blend wall
by Jason Paur (Wired) ...A small company in Indiana is leading the way for creating an alternative fuel for piston-powered airplanes around the world. Swift Enterprises has created a biomass-derived, synthetic fuel that has already been successfully tested in several
(University of Minnesota) The Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE) recently awarded over $5.1 million to 24 renewable energy research and demonstration projects at the University of Minnesota. The selected projects focus on a wide-range of topics including solar
(Cattle Network) ...One of the first products that may be digested in a cellulosic ethanol plant is switchgrass, which is a warm-season grass native to this part of the world. Agronomically it can be produced, but will it be economically
(The Motorship) BC Ferries in Canada is now using 5 percent blend of B5 biodiesel to fuel its vessels, making the company one of the largest consumers of biodiesel in British Columbia. The ferry company is now burning a B5 fuel
(POET) Technology ready, CEO says, but loan guarantee, policy stability and market access still needed to achieve vision. POET plans to have a hand in producing 3.5 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year by 2022, POET CEO Jeff Broin said
by Chrispin Inambao (New Era) LL Biofuels Namibia, a highly ambitious foreign-initiated and multi-billion-dollar venture, has secured 300 000 hectares of land from chiefs in Caprivi to plant jatropha, whose seeds will be press-crushed to produce much-sought-after biodiesel. Biodiesel that could be
(Honduras News) Agroipsa Farm in Choluteca has deployed the “BEI Jatropha Wave Harvester”, a mechanical harvesting system for jatropha which has successfully completed an eight-month trial. The system was used for a mechanical harvest of a 550 hectare plantation of three-year
(UOP) Fuel produced using process technology from Honeywell's UOP under contract from U.S. Defense Energy Support Center. UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced April 22, 2010, that Honeywell Green Jet Fuel(TM) produced using Honeywell UOP's renewable jet fuel process technology powered a U.S.
(Michigan State University) Using productive farmland to grow crops for food instead of fuel is more energy efficient, Michigan State University scientists concluded, after poring over 17 years’ worth of data to help settle the food versus fuel debate. "It's 36
(Environmental Protection) Gernot Pehnelt, Ph.D., director of GlobEcon, released a study that says the Renewable Energy Directive discriminates against foreign biofuels. “European Policies Towards Palm Oil: Sorting Out Some Facts,” demonstrates that the default assumptions embedded in the directive about the
(SG Biofuels) SG Biofuels announced it has established a strategic partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory to accelerate the analysis and testing of oil produced by its Latin American Jatropha plantations. The company was selected by Brookhaven National Laboratory to provide
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) Mansfield Oil Company has acquired East Fork Biodiesel of Algona, Iowa … a 60-million-gallon-a-year refinery that will get its feedstock of corn oil from Mansdfield’s network of C&N Companies ethanol plants in the Midwest. ...this will give
(CattleNetwork) ...U.S. ethanol industry exported 5.64 million metric tons (mmt) of distillers grains worth nearly $1 billion in 2009, which was 24 percent above 2008 levels. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) touts the worldwide livestock feeding of distillers grains as displacing
by Jeffrey Barbee (Global Post) ...Sun Biofuels, a British company, has been planting thousands of acres of jatropha at a former tobacco farm here and in other sites in Africa. The company hopes the jatropha oil will help it cash
(The Business Standard) The biofuel industry is finding it tough to remain in business, with both government pricing and raw material availability working against them. ...Senior officials of the National Oilseeds and Development Board (NOVOD) said 76 institutions across the country
by Matt Ford (Ars Technica) ...When it comes to the processing of organic feedstocks for use in biofuel operations, getting plant matter down to size often represents a significant cost, as grinding and milling do not come cheap. New work by
by Stephanie Yao (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have long-term studies underway to examine growing camelina as a bioenergy crop for producing jet fuel for the military and the aviation industry. This research supports the recently signed memorandum of
(TradingMarkets.com) South Korea's EN3 Green Energy Co. Ltd plans to produce bio-ethanol using cassava root as the basic material in South Sulawesi. EN3 already have three factories in Gowa and Takalar in that province producing cassava chips and tapioca flour exported
(Daily Express) Two South Korean companies will set up a multi-million dollar project to produce biofuel using cassava, starting with a plantation in Banggi Island, off Kudat , middle of this year. Jusin Group, a South Korean company, and counterpart Gaiax
by Vance Owens (South Dakota State University). He stated that the overall objective was to” perform replicated field trials of diverse biomass feedstocks at different locations,” and in this way to determine the most promising feedstock as a future bioenergy
Crop Residue- What’s It Worth? Robert Fireovid (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service) explained the interest in crop residues, concerns about crop residues, how USDA-ARS is addressing these concerns, what research it has shown, and what would be the next
M. Cristina Negri (Argonne National Laboratory) directed her talk toward the Laboratory’s system perspective; “waste as another sector’s resource” in biomass production. The growth of biofuels needs to be sustainable meeting economic, environmental, and social standards. An important research question in
by Nick Chambers (Gas2.0) Calling themselves the “underdogs,” the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) has today launched an advertising campaign and a new website, sweeteralternative.com, to bring awareness of the successes of the Brazilian ethanol industry to a U.S. audience. The
In their continuing effort to evaluate crops that can serve as biofuel feedstocks as well as cover crops (and that can fit into crop rotations in Pennsylvania and the Northeast) researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have found
by Hembree Brandon (Delta Farm Press) As Mid-South states continue to lose much of the traditional manufacturing-based industries that migrated to the areas beginning in the 1950s, new bio-based opportunities are emerging, says Pete Nelson. “We’re among the best in the
by Nikolas Kozloff (Foreign Policy) ...Buffeted by the oil price shock of 1973, the country's military dictators grew concerned about Brazil's reliance on foreign imports of fossil fuels. Their solution: Pour government subsidies into the sugar industry and mandate ethanol
(Biomass Magazine) Using a high shear bioreactor (extrusion) pretreatment process can help prepare corn stover as a feedstock for making cellulosic ethanol, a South Dakota State University study finds. The SDSU study explored different temperatures, screw speeds, and enzymes to learn
Evogene Ltd., on April 8, 2010, announced the results of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biodiesel produced from castor bean varieties being developed by the Company. The assessment shows that such biodiesel reduces Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions by 90% compared to
Energy Allied International, a Houston-based energy projects development company, and The Seawater Foundation and Global Seawater, Inc., pioneers in the development of Integrated Seawater Agriculture Systems (ISAS), have executed an MOU to jointly develop the world’s first commercial scale seawater-based
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Scott Carpenter once noted that we know more about the heavens than the sea — but for biofuels, there is every urgent reason to look carefully to salt-friendly projects that can utilize brackish water, or
(GreenAirOnline) The US Air Force has carried out the first-ever feasibility flight powered solely by a blended hydrotreated renewable jet fuel. The twin-engined A-10C Thunderbolt used a 50/50 blend of conventional military JP-8 jet fuel and a biofuel derived from
Ontario is investing $4 million through the Innovation Demonstration Fund (IDF) to help Woodland Biofuels Inc. and its partners build a groundbreaking demonstration plant that will efficiently produce cellulosic ethanol from renewable wastes. The plant will use Woodland’s patented technology, which
by Cary Blake (Western Farm Press) The long-term growth of the U.S. sorghum industry lies in part with scientists unraveling paths to economically produce cellulosic ethanol. “We are very excited about the future of energy (forage-whole plant) sorghum as the cellulosic
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The source of (Jack) Oswald’s excitement? An analysis from ex-USDA Peoria Lab director Peter Johnson, now CTO at BMI Biodiesel. Oswald relates: “Claim is that in any given year switching from corn to soybeans, those acres
by Alyssa Danigelis (Discovery News) ...Humberto Blanco-Canqui, assistant professor at Kansas State University's Agricultural Research Center-Hays, published an article in a recent issue of Agronomy Journal (abstract) arguing convincingly that we shouldn't use crop residue to make cellulosic ethanol. Blanco-Canqui
(PSFK Conference New York) Following Haiti’s devastating earthquake, new methodologies for organic and economic growth quickly began to sprout. Supported by American bio-diesel company, Sirona Fuels and the Sirona Cares Foundation, Haitian farmers began working to cultivate Jatropha plants on
by Roy Roberson (Southeast Farm Press) Research under way at Virginia Tech Universitiy’s Tidewater Research and Extension Center near Suffolk, Va., is geared to giving area growers better information on the benefits of barley/soybean double-crop rotations versus wheat/soybean double-crop, full-season
(AllAfrica.com) Sun Biofuels, a British firm that has invested in jatropha plantations in Tanzania, envisages offering full time employment to 1,500 Tanzanians in its jatropha biofuel project at Kisarawe. Of the 1,500 people, 400 are already in the full time employment
by Simone Pfuderer, Grant Davies, Ian Mitchell (Food and Farming Analysis, Defra) This paper is part of a larger body of work that aims to shed more light on what led to the high agricultural commodity prices in 2008. The
by Joshua Kagan (GreenTechMedia) This week's announcement that the Air Force successfully tested a A-10C Thunderbolt "Warthog" plane on a 50:50 blend of petroleum jet fuel and camelina-based biofuel has brought the two disparate ways of producing aviation biofuels into
Companies would evaluate non-food Indian feedstocks for the production of green diesel and green jet fuels as well as the development of renewable power applications from biomass waste. UOP, a Honeywell company, announced March 31, 2010, that it signed a memorandum
by Richard Johnson (GlobeGazette.com) ...Mt. Valley will use all types of feed stock — grease, soy, sunflower seeds — in a closed-loop, emissions-free facility. It will be able to produce 3 million gallons of biodiesel fuel per year for its first
by Samuel King, Jr. (Air Force Material Command) Air Force officials, embracing the national priorities of cleaner fuel and energy independence, took a step toward a greener, energy independent future when an A-10C Thunderbolt II here took to the air
(YahooNews, ANI) A revolutionary new technology that produces a key tire ingredient from renewable feedstocks rather than petroleum-derived feedstocks will enable motorists to drive on the world's first "green" tires within the next five years. The technology, described at the 239th
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) An Iowa inventor and entrepreneur is promoting a harvester he developed that can produce ethanol from sweet sorghum right in the field. Lee McClune of Knoxville, Iowa invented the SORGANOL® Process (PatPend) and Sor-Cane Harvester after studying
General Motors Co. announced on March 30, 2010, a five-year partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to help develop the potential of the jatropha plant as a sustainable biofuel energy crop. Traditionally considered a weed, jatropha plants produce
by Michael Felberbaum (AP) ...Tobacco is an attractive "energy plant" because it can generate a large amount of oil and sugar more efficiently than other crops, said Vyacheslav Andrianov, a researcher at the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories at Thomas Jefferson University in
by Mokagedi Gaotlhobogwe (MmegiOnline) Coal-rich Botswana has announced its ambitious plans to reduce carbon emissions by setting up a 50 million-litre per year bio-diesel processing plant to be fed from jatropha (oil seed) plantations by 2012. The project will be funded
by Thom Gabrukiewicz (Argus Leader) A native perennial might hold the promise of being not only a new source crop for cellulosic ethanol, but also a way to help capture and store carbon. South Dakota State University plant breeders are helping investigate
by John Nolan (Dayton Daily News) The Air Force flew an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, operating solely on a biomass-derived jet fuel blend Thursday, March 25, in a major step toward the service’s goal of diversifying its sources for aviation fuel. Officials
(Focus Taiwan) Taiwan is suggesting its South Pacific allies plant Jatropha trees to help solve energy shortages. ..."Jatropha is the recipe for green energy, " said Tao Wen-lung, secretary-general of Taiwan's International Cooperation and Development Fund, which is in charge of
Accelergy Corporation, a global leader in high-grade domestically sourced liquid fuels, today announced that it has begun production of their highly efficient fuel from coal and biomass, to be evaluated by the United States Air Force (USAF) as the industry
Camelina oil and domestic coal will soon be blended to create clean biojet fuel using coal-biomass-to-liquid technology (CBTL), thanks to an agreement between Accelergy Corporation and Great Plains Oil & Exploration – The Camelina Company. "This teaming gives Great Plains the
Iogen Energy announced today that its cellulosic ethanol helped fuel Drayson Racing’s “Lola-Judd” in the 58th running of Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, March 20th. This is the first time Iogen Energy’s cellulosic ethanol has been blended into an
by Henrique Almeida (Reuters) Angola's parliament on Wednesday approved a new law to regulate the production of biofuels, opening the way for multi-billion dollar investments in the sector. The African nation, which rivals Nigeria as the continent's top oil producer, hopes
by Gary Pinnell (Highlands Today) In April 2008, Congressman Tim Mahoney told county commissioners that Highlands was poised to become "the biofuels capital of America." They were expected to produce hundreds of jobs and millions in revenues. Two years have gone
(Biofuels International) According to Bio Base Europe the first crop of genetically modified poplar plants will be converted into ethanol in a Flemish-Dutch pilot installation. The poplars were planted in May 2009 in an outside field in Ghent, Belgium. The crop
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Today, about 1/3 of the sorghum crop goes into ethanol production. An interesting little piece of information I picked up when I spoke with Gerald Simonsen, the Chairman of the National Sorghum Producers during Commodity Classic.
by Shutapa Paul (liveMint.com, Wall Street Journal) The 140-year old construction firm, Shapoorji Pallonji and Co. Ltd, signed an agreement with the government of Ethiopia to take on lease up to 50,000ha of land to cultivate pongamia pinnata—a feedstock for
by Biomass Advisors Available for USD $695, the Camelina Market Opportunity and Renewable Energy Report includes: Graphs, charts and at-a-glance summaries for a quick understanding of key information Summaries and updates of over 50 North American Camelina trials and research and development
SG Biofuels, a sustainable plant oil company specializing in the development of Jatropha as a low-cost, sustainable source of oil, today announced it has developed the first large-scale Jatropha community-farming initiative in Central America and entered into the first project
(Balkans.com) The US firm Farmers' Ethanol plans to invest USD135 million into the construction of an eco fuel - bioethanol factory in Smederevo, the company representatives announced, Betanews reported. Farmers' Ethanol spokeswoman in Serbia Maja Fragner told the press that the
by Mutale Kapekele (The Post Online) The government should set up a biofuels fund, Biofuels Association of Zambia (BAZ) chairperson Professor Thomson Sinkala has advised. ...“Biofuels is a turnkey industry for Zambia. We must go beyond potential and turn the
(Reuters) Henan Tianguan Group Co. Ltd, China's second largest fuel ethanol producer, plans to build plants in Southeast Asia to produce the renewable fuel and send it to China, company president Zhang Xiaoyang said on Wednesday. Based in China's central province
A global initiative that includes key scientists from Oregon State University has successfully sequenced the genome of the wild grass Brachypodium distachyon, which will serve as a model to speed research on improved varieties of wheat, oats and barley, as
by B. C. Venuto and J. A. Daniel (Crop Science) Development of a biofuel industry based on biomass will require large quantities of cellulosic feedstock. Among the proposals for acquiring this feedstock, without impacting other land uses such as food
by Dave Mowtiz (AgricultureOnline) Grain sorghum is gaining the attention of eastern Corn Belt farmers in an area dominated by corn, soybeans and wheat, reports a category winner of the National Sorghum Producers Association's yield contest. Chris Robinson, who farmers in
(TheBioenergySite) Daimler AG has started a new project for the cultivation of the biodiesel raw material jatropha in the south of India and the seedlings for the first 100 hectares have been planted. The company is supporting several village communities in
by Craig Gima (Star Bulletin) If the vision of father and son farmers Christian and James Twigg-Smith becomes reality, acres of now-fallow sugar cane land will be growing crops again. But rather than producing food, the land would be used
by Per Dahlen (Portelet Asia and Biofuels Digest) “Saudi Arabia is the largest crude oil producer in the world and produces some 11 million barrels per day. Southeast Asia has the potential of producing 14 million barrels per day of renewable
by Aaron Pickering (KOLD) ...The experiment, National Lab Pathfinder-Cells 3, is aimed at learning whether microgravity can help jatropha curcas plant cells grow faster to produce biofuel, or renewable fuel derived from biological matter. Jatropha is known to produce high
by John Vidal (The Guardian; The Observer) ...The farm manager shows us millions of tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables being grown in 500m rows in computer controlled conditions. Spanish engineers are building the steel structure, Dutch technology minimises water use from two
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has awarded a Technology Investment Agreement to DuPont for the development of a process to convert sugars produced by macroalgae into next-generation biofuels called isobutanol. Bio Architecture Lab (BAL)
(MFRTech) Two Kentucky companies have been awarded a combined $530,000 in funding from the Kentucky New Energy Ventures Fund. The state program provides public funds to promising, early-stage Kentucky companies developing and commercializing alternative fuels and renewable energy technologies. ...Southeast Biofuels,
(MacauHub) Brazilian state oil company Petrobras said Monday it would invest 66 million reals to double production at the country’s biggest biodiesel factory. The investment will make it possible to increase production at the Candeias unit from 108.6 million litres per
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) If 2009 brought us the “summer of Algae”, 2010 is certainly looking to usher in “Jet Spring,” with a series of stunning developments in the commercialization of aviation biofuels — shaping up as the first
by Nathan Crabbe (Gainsville Sun) The farms and forests of the state could be providing more fuel for its vehicles in the future if a new University of Florida plant is a success. UF officials held a groundbreaking Monday for the
(ETA) The environmental impact of clearing forests to make way for biofuel crops is such that using fossil fuel in cars is better for the environment than biofuels made from crops such as palm oil. Under the minimum sustainability standard set
by Jack Oswald, CEO of SynGest (MIT/Stanford Venture Lab) In this PowerPoint presentation, SynGest's CEO took his experience as a "start-up guy" and applied it to a strategy for developing biofertilizers in concert with biofuels. He illustrates key points about
by Luke Geiver (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The first tanker of ethanol has left Ensus, Europe’s largest wheat-based ethanol facility. Headed for the Netherlands, the cargo, which has been purchased by Shell as part of a long term deal, is a
by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail) Three years ago, a tiny Ottawa biotechnology firm, Iogen Corp., had the very rare privilege of being singled out by the government as a company that would benefit directly from a federal budget measure. As
(SugarcaneBlog.com) European biotech giant Syngenta has set up partnership with Brazil’s Instituto Agronomico (IAC) to increase development of sugarcane varieties, particularly for the production of ethanol. READ MORE and MORE
by Brendan Coffey (Cabot Wealth Advisory) Lately, we're seeing increasing strength in the shares of ethanol-related companies. Commodity broker Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has built up its position as an ethanol refiner, building its own plants and buying up other
China's poisonous jatropha shrub is showing promise as biofuel and could boost the country's efforts to reduce dependency on imported crude oil. In the past, farmers planted the poisonous perennial only as a barrier to ward off animals from their fields.
by Mikkel Pates (AgWeek) Need some help in deciding what to make into biofuels and what the government should be spending on it? If you’re a North Dakotan, you’ve hired Cole Gustafson to do some of this thinking for you.
(New Tang Dynasty Television) The kamani tree grows well throughout the coastal area in Yogyakarta, and produces abundant fruit. Traditionally, the fruit is used for cooking and firewood. But villagers in Yogyakarta are using it for biodiesel. This new “green business”
by Niall O'Keeffe (FlightGlobal) Both of the major commercial airframers have joined forces with industry peers to pursue new biofuel research initiatives, reflecting an intensification of concern about future availability of alternative fuels in the quantities required by aviation. In January,
(S)ays Professor Simon Turner, one of the University of Manchester researchers whose BBSRC-funded study is published in Development (Wednesday 10th February 2010), “Our work has identified the two genes that make plants grow outwards. The long, thin cells growing down
Researchers at the (Teesside) University’s Contaminated Land and Water Centre began the project in 2004 to see which plants could best be grown on brownfield sites as a way of improving unsightly blots on the landscape.Now, the research by the
(Environment News Service) The risk that biofuel crops will become invasive and outcompete native species is increasing as more advanced biofuel crops are planted, according to new research into this previously neglected but potentially costly problem. A new report by the
(Renewable Energy Magazine) Albeit it hazy, news regularly filters out of China about the progress this country is making in using cassava as a raw material for producing bioethanol. The latest is that the Chinese have completed mapping the genome
by Oil Price (iStockAnalyst) ...additives and substitutes such as biofuels will play an ever-increasing role by stretching beleaguered production quotas. As market forces and rising prices drive this technology to the forefront, one of the richest potential production areas has
SG Biofuels, a sustainable plant oil company specializing in the development of Jatropha as a low-cost, sustainable source of oil, today announced the launch of JMax 100, a proprietary cultivar of Jatropha optimized for growing conditions in Guatemala with yields
Palm oil from South-East Asia, sugarcane from Brazil and sweet sorghum in China are the most sustainable energy crops at present. Maize from the US and wheat in Europe have a much more negative environmental impact. This conclusion was drawn
Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Mississippi, MSU professor Brian Baldwin provided an update on feedstock research at the MSU’s Sustainable Energy Research Center, where a focus on biofuels grasses has produced the recently licensed Freedom varietal of giant miscanthus. ...Baldwin’s presentation
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...(S)aid Sarah Dunham of the EPA, the EPA received real data during the comment period that helped shape the rule, including indirect land use change (ILUC). “I can safely say that this is the
(TheBioenergySite) Daimler AG has started a new project for the cultivation of the biodiesel raw material jatropha in the south of India and the seedlings for the first 100 hectares have been planted. The company is supporting several village communities
by John Vidal (The Guardian) EU companies have taken millions of acres of land out of foodproduction in Africa, central America and Asia to grow biofuels for transport, according to development campaigners. The consequences of European biofuel targets, said the
by Gregor Heard (FarmOnline) THEY’RE back - after being flavour of the month in the middle years of the decade, renewable fuels were knocked out of the water over the past three years, and consigned to the scrap-heap by many. A
(New York Times) letters to editor Re “Sensible Rules for Ethanol” (editorial, Feb. 11): While American corn farmers are pleased the Environmental Protection Agency recognizes that corn ethanol offers significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions compared with gasoline, we disagree strongly
Jonathan Fahey (Forbes.com) It is becoming ever more apparent that there is one big squishy variable in the calculations that determine whether biofuels help the planet or help destroy it. That variable is called the indirect land use charge (sic),
by Douglas Fischer (Scientific American) The Obama administration last week gave the green light to corn ethanol as a low-carbon renewable fuel – in apparent contradiction to California's declaration last summer that the biofuel's carbon footprint was too big to
by Dennis O'Brien (Agricultural Research Service) U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their colleagues at the Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute announced that they have completed sequencing the genome of a kind of wild grass that will
(OPIS) The New York Times is praising U.S. EPA for including the international indirect land use change (ILUC) calculation in its lifecycle greenhouse gas reduction threshold as part of the finalized expanded renewable fuels standard (RFS2), issued last week. ...In response,
by James Kanter(New York Times)...In a memorandum, Jean-Luc Demarty, the top civil servant in the agriculture department at the European Commission, wrote to a colleague in December that “an unguided use of I.L.U.C. would kill biofuels in the E.U.” His words
Verenium Corporation, a pioneer in the development of next-generation cellulosic ethanol and high-performance specialty enzymes, announced the introduction of Xylathin, a highly active enzyme designed to significantly improve the economics of fuel ethanol production from cereal grains. Xylathin rapidly breaks
by Brian Baskin (SugarcaneBlog.com, Dow Jones) U.S. ethanol producers are facing their toughest fight yet to keep long-standing trade protections intact. Producers of ethanol, which in the U.S. is usually distilled from corn and then blended to make gasoline, have
David M. Lapola, Ruediger Schaldach, Joseph Alcamo, Alberte Bondeau, Jennifer Koch, Christina Koelking, and Joerg A. Priess (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Abstract: The planned expansion of biofuel plantations in Brazil could potentially cause both direct and indirect
(Central Valley Business Times) The mass production of biofuels could be a major step toward eliminating dependence on fossil fuels, but a number of factors have stood in the way, including the argument against using productive agricultural land for fuel
by Markus Schmidt (Progress-Index.com) As the launch of operations at Hopewell's new ethanol plant gets closer, Osage Bio Energy LLC has already hired a total of 44 employees, with nine more positions to be filled. If everything goes as expected, the
by Anna Austin (Ethanol Producer Magazine) In roughly one month’s time, North Dakota growers harvest close to 5 million tons of sugar beets. North Dakota and Minnesota combined produce about 55 percent of the nation’s sugar beets every year. With
by Ian Berry (Dow Jones Newswires) ...Brazil, faced with tightening supplies of its sugarcane-based ethanol as growers there find better profits in sugar, said last month it is considering importing U.S., corn-based ethanol. While there are limits on how much
Perennial grasses could become popular biomass crops in the future. Many perceive these grasses require little to no management for insects or other pests. However, researchers are finding rather than being pest-free, the identity of insect pests and their effects
Rentech, Inc. and ClearFuels Technology Inc., jointly announced that their project to construct a biomass gasifier at Rentech's Energy Technology Center ("RETC") in Denver has been awarded a conditional $22.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE"). The
by Catherine Saillant (Los Angeles Times) Members of the Southern California Assn. of Governments reject $11 million in federal stimulus money to set up 55 stations throughout the Southland. They say ethanol causes environmental problems. A regional panel Thursday turned
The United Soybean Board (USB) released a new peer-reviewed life cycle profile that documents multiple energy and environmental benefits of U.S. soybean farming and processing. It confirms why manufacturers are increasingly using U.S. soy in green chemistry for a wide
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Bionol Clearfield LLC, a 110 MMgy ethanol plant in Clearfield, Pa., is up and running, according to Roger Schmidt, general manager. The plant was undergoing performance testing on Feb. 8. “We are at or
(Earth Times) UK-based Carbon Credited Farming congratulated NASA on the successful launch of the Endeavour Space Shuttle today. It blasted off from Kennedy Space Center taking with it new scientific experiments, including a study of the Jatropha curcas plant, used
by Melody M. Aguiba (Manila Bulletin) A P100-million Vehicle Testing Research Laboratory (VTRL) has been put up to test the technical viability of the jatropha methyl ester (JME) which has so far gone through successful pilot testing at the Industrial
PRAJ, through its Development Center (Matrix- the Innovation Center), conducted studies and evaluated options for optimizing sweet sorghum based alcohol production. This effort was conducted in two phases: · Agricultural trials and studies for evaluating suitability, technical feasibility and commercial viability
by Rhett A. Butler (Mongabay.com) The European Union may be planning to classify oil palm plantations as forests, raising fears among environmental groups of expanded conversion of tropical rainforests for biofuel production, reports the EUobserver, which cites a leaked document
by Patrick Rial (Bloomberg) Toyota Tsusho Corp., the trading affiliate of Toyota Motor Corp., plans to start growing jatropha next year as it bets that higher crop yields and oil prices will make the plant a profitable alternative fuel. ...“We
Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest) In India, a variety of reports have been published on the medicinal properties of jatropha curcus, most recently a report in the African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology that found that jatropha has cancer-fighting properties, “inhibiting
by Katie Zenk (MNDaily.com) letter to the editor Over break, I had the chance to think about the recent Minnesota Daily editorial attacking corn ethanol. My hometown is Olivia, Minn., billed “The Corn Capital of the World.” Of the roughly
(FreshPlaza) Entrepreneurs at eFarms LLC believe they have an answer for farmers with crop overproduction, high fuel costs and the need for quality animal feed. The company is developing a "Renewable Fuel System," which will take crop products including corn,
President Obama announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a proposed rule for the new Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) that intends to spur the expansion of dedicated non-food crops for renewable energy and biofuel production. A public comment
(Queensland Business Review) The University of Queensland (UQ) has entered into a new agreement with an American alternative energy company to turn Queensland sugar cane into jet biofuel. Researchers from UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering & Nanotechnology (AIBN) will work with
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