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by DeLoss Jahnke (Farm Week Now) NCERC has contributed dozens of technologies being used by manufacturers across the country, and interest in continued collaboration keeps growing. In just 15 years, the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) has become a nationally recognized research facility and made a major impact on ethanol production throughout the
History of Advanced Biofuels
by Tammy Klein, Douglas Faulkner and Gerard J. Ostheimer (Biofuels Digest) … After the Paris Agreement in 2015 the urgent challenge of mitigating climate change forced numerous people across the advocacy-to-action spectrum to look for practical options to de-carbonizing the entire economy. People who five years ago couldn’t be bothered to think
October 18, 2018 Read Full Article
By Umer Khayyam and Tehzeeb Bano (The Express Tribune) … Carbon dioxide/greenhouse gas emissions, generated from the burning of fossil fuels, are increasing in Third World societies like Pakistan. … To negate the negative atmospheric results of non-renewable energy sources, global and regional societies have to look for infinite and less
October 15, 2018 Read Full Article
by Doug Durante and Doug Sombke (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/South Dakota Farmers Union/Biofuels Digest) … However, we may have a unique and perhaps unprecedented opportunity for a do-over with the proposed fuel economy rule. While we take no position on exactly what the mileage standards should be, whatever they are we can
October 11, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) IEA Bioenergy Task 33 is a working group of international experts with the aim to promote the commercialization of efficient, economical and environmentally preferable thermal biomass gasification processes. Kevin Whitty gave this illuminating overview of the progress and promise of thermal gasification of biomass in the
September 26, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Canada, we hear that Enerkem has tested and validated the production of fuel-grade bio-DME made from unrecoverable carbon-rich municipal solid waste. More than 1,000 hours of operations at its Innovation Centre in Westbury, Quebec have been completed.has successfully produced renewable bio-dimethyl ether (Bio-DME), a by-product
September 26, 2018 Read Full Article
(Vivergo Fuels) Today, we regret to announce that given the continued difficult trading environment and delays in the implementation of E10 in the UK over time, Vivergo Fuels Ltd proposes to cease production. Mark Chesworth, Managing Director, Vivergo Fuels Ltd, commented: “I am extremely disappointed at having to announce the proposed
September 7, 2018 Read Full Article
by Mikkel Pates (Forum News Service/Bismark Tribune) Now more than ever, farmers who believe in the future of ethanol need to speak up for it, says Gerald Bachmeier, president of the North Dakota Ethanol Producers Association. Bachmeier, who also serves as chief executive officer of Red Trail Energy LLC, in
September 3, 2018 Read Full Article
(University of Idaho National Biodiesel Education Program) The goals of the Biodiesel Fuel Education Program as originally established in Sec. 9004 of the Farm Security Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8104) were to stimulate biodiesel consumption and to stimulate the development of a biodiesel infrastructure. The information and outreach activities
August 17, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) For several years now we have seen a significant number of players pivoting from biofuels towards smaller but higher-value markets in chemicals, nutrition, nutraceuticals, pharma, materials, flavorings, fragrances, cosmetics and more. We’ve reported on the proliferation of applications both in the Digest and in What’s Nuu? and
August 9, 2018 Read Full Article
(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today welcomed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) request for public comments on how high octane fuels could facilitate engine efficiency improvements and reduced emissions under 2021-2026 fuel economy and tailpipe GHG standards for light-duty automobiles (CAFE/GHG). The solicitation for comments on high
August 2, 2018 Read Full Article
by Brady Dennis, Michael Laris and Juliet Eilperin (The Washington Post) The Trump administration on Thursday announced plans to freeze fuel efficiency requirements for the nation’s cars and trucks through 2026 — a massive regulatory rollback likely to spur a legal battle with California and other states, as well as create potential upheaval in the
August 2, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jessie Stolark (Energy and Environmental Study Institute) On Wednesday July 25, the House Energy & Commerce Committee held a hearing to educate members on the complexities of the compliance markets for biofuels, as Environment and Economy Subcommittee Rep. Shimkus (R-IL), chair, explores reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Shimkus (R-IL)
August 1, 2018 Read Full Article
by Kurt Liedtke (Herald and News) On Wednesday, members of Red Rock Biofuels, political dignitaries, corporate representatives and a large community contingent gathered on the outskirts of Lakeview for a groundbreaking ceremony for the $320 million renewable fuels facility. Taking woody biomass waste products such as pine needles, agriculture waste,
July 30, 2018 Read Full Article
by Catherine Clifford (CNBC) A bacteria found in the gut of a rabbit can now help cars run in a more eco-friendly way. The bacteria, identified by biotech start-up LanzaTech, helps turn factory carbon emissions, a.k.a. pollution, into ethanol …. … “While there are many sustainable sources of sugar-derived ethanol … it’s not enough
July 30, 2018 Read Full Article
by Alex Guillén (Politico’s Morning Energy) The Trump administration is expected to formally roll back vehicle fuel economy and emissions requirements later this week, and a draft version of the EPA-NHTSA rule posted Friday evening by The New York Times offers up details that confirm the many of the changes previously
July 30, 2018 Read Full Article
University of Illinois professor Stephen Long, explaining the need for home-grown biofuels said, “(P)eople of my age have seen these past (oil) disruptions. You know we’ve probably three major ones since the ’70s really in our oil supplies. You know they are vulnerable, that and we know that they won’t last
July 22, 2018 Read Full Article
Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … Some of these started with biofuels then went into chemicals, nutrition or protein and some are going back to their beginnings. What they all have in common, however, is they are transforming…as markets change, as the economy changes, as technologies change, they recognize that the
July 16, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) For over 20 years, Fluid-Quip has been engineering and manufacturing separation equipment for corn wet milling and pulp and paper applications. Fluid-Quip Process Technologies has more recently leveraged wet milling knowledge to develop enhancements for dry-grind ethanol plants — and clean sugar technology at the forefront,
July 10, 2018 Read Full Article
(U.S. Government Accountability Office) The Renewable Fuel Standard aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand the nation’s renewable fuels sector through 2022. It requires that transportation fuels (such as gasoline and diesel) sold in the U.S. contain annually increasing amounts of conventional renewable fuels (such as ethanol) and advanced biofuels
July 8, 2018 Read Full Article
(Environmental Protection Agency) This report is the second of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) triennial reports to Congress required under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). EISA Section 204 calls for EPA to report to Congress on the environmental and resource conservation impacts of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)
July 2, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … (C)onsider this venture about Making the Right Stuff — that is, how you translate an entire generation of innovation in digital biology, biobased chemical engineering and advanced fabrication into actual stuff. Or, how you get ASAP to high-value, high-performance applications. Checkerspot recently emerged from the
June 26, 2018 Read Full Article
by Chrysa Glystra (Platts) European ethanol delivered an average of more than 70% greenhouse gas savings compared with fossil fuels in 2017, according to new data from European ethanol producers, the European renewable ethanol association, ePure, said Wednesday. This has been certified by auditing firm Copartner. “For the sixth year in a
June 20, 2018 Read Full Article
by Lawrence Sullivan (Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining) … After much efforts to fund the development of biofuels by both governments and the venture capitalists, there were some awakenings and realizations. One, the capital-intensive nature of power and petroleum means adoption of new technologies must await the amortization of old technologies. There is no Moore’s
June 18, 2018 Read Full Article
by Grant Bradley (New Zealand Herald) When a brand new Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-1000 flies from France to Hong Kong on Wednesday it will be partly powered by biofuel. The 334-seat plane will have a 10 per cent blend of biofuel next to traditional jet fuel in its tanks which can
June 18, 2018 Read Full Article
by Philip T. Pienkos (R&D Magazine) … This time, the leading force was not the DOE (U.S. Department of Energy), but the investment community acting in the belief that the power of modern biotechnology could be brought to bear against the hurdles that stymied the ASP (Aquatic Species Program). Dozens of
June 18, 2018 Read Full Article
by John Gilbert (Super Chevy) The big draw to E85 for gearheads was its 105 octane rating that’s no longer posted on the pump. It’s been a while since there’s been any mention of E85 connected with the new vehicles, but E85 is still around, and now with E10 gasoline prices
June 7, 2018 Read Full Article
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory/Ethanol Producer Magazine) If there’s an easier, more efficient method, science will find a way. That’s certainly the case in producing cellulosic biofuels, which, at least for now, requires a two-step process to free the sugars trapped in plant matter and convert them into something else. Scientists at
June 7, 2018 Read Full Article
by Ramya Natarajan (Economic Times/Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy) For the past several winters, Delhi has drawn global attention for its life-threatening smog levels. This is attributed, in part, to the open burning of biomass residues like paddy straw and stubble in the neighbouring states of Punjab and
May 24, 2018 Read Full Article
by Marc J. Rauch (Auto Channel/Daily Caller) The website “FillUpOnFacts.com” is sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute (API). It exists to bash ethanol and its hypocrisy begins with the website’s name. The website is filled-up with lies. This website lists 13 categories, and then links to details that API pretends are
May 24, 2018 Read Full Article
by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) The Trump Administration is taking a new look at Obama Administration era Co2 regulations. On the transportation side, these include reviewing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards; threatening to take away California’s authority to set their own mileage and pollution controls, including CO2 (carbon dioxide)
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Near Reno, Nevada, Fulcrum BioEnergy broke ground today for its 10 million gallon per year first commercial plant that makes jet fuel from municipal solid waste. For thousands of years we have had a love/hate relationship with waste. We love to make it, we hate
May 17, 2018 Read Full Article
by James Temple (MIT Technology Review) In the closing weeks of 2008, the US Department of Energy invited politicians and press to a dedication ceremony for the Joint BioEnergy Institute in Emeryville, California. The state-of-the-art lab, backed by $125 million in federal funding, filled the top floor of a glimmering glass
May 16, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) “The fuels market is about the largest in the world,” says Terry Mazanec. “Each succeeding generation of inspired inventors and entrepreneurs, with visions of immense profits dancing in their heads, have taken on the challenge of energy. Now the world turns its lonely eyes to biofuels.
May 16, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) From Southern California the report has arrived that Verdezyne is winding down as a company, and today is the last day of operations. The low oil price environment has claimed another victim among the renewable chemical pure-plays. Why oil prices have doomed more chemical players than
May 16, 2018 Read Full Article
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) … Simply put, allowing exported ethanol to count toward compliance with an oil company’s RFS obligation would lead to further demand destruction for U.S. ethanol producers and corn growers who are already suffering the consequences of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s exuberant issuance of “economic hardship”
May 14, 2018 Read Full Article
by Mahmood Ebadian and James D. McMillan (IEA Bioenergy Task 39 Newsletter) … The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) was enacted in 2007 to enhance domestic production of fuels and spur economic development while reducing reliance on imports and improving the environment (through reducing both the absolute level of fossil fuel
May 11, 2018 Read Full Article
by Glenn Farley (K5 News) In the Boeing test, a 777 freighter, ran on residual animal fats and plant oils. — In a historic first, Boeing has flown the first commercial jet on 100 percent biofuel. The flight was Seattle to Memphis and back — all without using petroleum. The test was
May 11, 2018 Read Full Article
(The Missouri Soybean Association/Biodiesel Magazine) In the early 1990s, Missouri soybean farmers funded research into making renewable fuel from soybean oil. Initially called soy diesel, and now, biodiesel, the fuel has significantly lower emissions than petroleum-based diesel, is safer to store and transport, and contributes to energy independence. In late April,
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What will biorefineries look like, accomplish and cost in the future? Daniel Lane of Saille Consulting and Lee Enterprises Consulting looked at that topic in this illuminating overview of the promise and prospects for the technological future at ABLC 2018 in Washington 2018. READ MORE
May 10, 2018 Read Full Article
by Mike Carr (New Energy America/The Hill) Recently, Chet Thompson of American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) testified before Congress and proposed a “fuel neutral” octane standard as a “potential replacement” for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Octane is a fuel characteristic that allows engines to run more efficiently and without “knock.” Refiners use
May 9, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ABLC 2018 wrapped up with the ABLC Wolfpack including James Iademarco from Strategic Avalanche, David Dodds with Dodds & Associates, Ron Cascone from NEXANT, independent consultant Paul Bryan, and Joel Stone from ConVergince. While they didn’t howl at the moon, they were voracious, vicious wolves analyzing 8 major projects with
April 24, 2018 Read Full Article
by Sean Flynn (Newport Daily News) Newport Biodiesel LLC saw a big jump in demand for its product at the beginning of the year when a Massachusetts regulation took effect that requires a minimum 10 percent biodiesel component of all home-heating fuel sold in the state. “Overnight, it changed the
April 11, 2018 Read Full Article
by Sudheer Mopperthy (Asian Age) The EU adopted this new fuel with rigour and pledged that by 2020, 10 per cent of all transport fuels in EU nations would be biodiesel. … The EU’s palm oil ban will effectively push three million small hold farmers into poverty and generate a disastrous ripple
April 6, 2018 Read Full Article
by Orrie Swayze (Argus Leader) Sen. Kent Frerichs looked to further capitalize on the genius of our incredibly successful ethanol policy taxing imported petroleum one cent/gallon at the pipeline to fund incentives to build a strong South Dakota ethanol industry. His Senate Bill 210 used $1 million of those remaining funds to
April 2, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Iogen says it has “one of the world’s largest and most experienced teams in developing, designing, de-bugging, scaling-up and deploying cellulosic biofuel technology. We’re using innovative thinking and disciplined engineering to transform cellulosic biofuels into real, reliable and cost-effective fuels for today’s cars and trucks.” Also, the
April 2, 2018 Read Full Article
by Landon Hall (Fuel Freedom Foundation) The price of oil reached a record high of $147 on July 11, 2008. Could such a sharp, unexpected spike occur again? … Market forces alone aren’t likely to cause oil prices to rise to $147 anytime soon, not with the U.S. drilling at a record pace,
March 30, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … According to POET CEO Jeff Broin, there’s a deal on the table — changing almost by the hour, but a deal none the less. A deal on the table to provide year-round E15 approval for the biofuels industry and that may offer some relief to small merchant oil
March 23, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Have you ever wondered why corn farmers march for the RFS, but Wall Streeters don’t? Or why merchent oil refiners want the US Renewable Fuel Standard repealed but major oilcos generally support RFS reform? Why are biodiesel producers so focused on tax credits and trade? Why
March 16, 2018 Read Full Article
by Travis J. Tritten (Washington Examiner) … (Former Navy Secretary Ray) Mabus’ vision is, however, quietly moving forward under the Trump administration. The Pentagon has authorized $140 million to help build two biofuel refineries in recent months, a move that has agitated some top Republican lawmakers who have long opposed
March 13, 2018 Read Full Article
by Chris Clayton (DTN The Progressive Farmer) A study commissioned by the country’s largest oil refiner explains how a waiver credit would freeze ethanol demand. Ethanol industry groups are pointing to several statements in the oil industry’s own report to make the case that arguments over regulatory waivers or caps are
March 12, 2018 Read Full Article
by Robert Rapier (Forbes) … This year begins the ninth year of cellulosic ethanol mandates in the U.S. Today I want to give a brief review of cellulosic ethanol, review the original targets, and examine the current status of the industry. … The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) increased and
February 27, 2018 Read Full Article
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A consortium of investors and project developers led by Texas-based Frankens Energy recently purchased the former Ineos Bio Indian River Biorefinery in Vero Beach, Florida, and has announced plans to convert the site to an eco-district “harmoniously integrating a series of businesses, all focused on
by Mark Warner (Warner Advisors LLC/Biofuels Digest) Not enough time or money to scale-up following the traditional rules of advanced biotechnology (10:1 scale-up factor, 1,000 hours of integrated pilot/demo operation, etc)? Welcome to the reality of the biotechnology start-up world. The common question in that situation is: if I do not have
February 16, 2018 Read Full Article
In his article suggesting scrapping Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards in favor of a Clean Air Act life cycle analysis-based methodology for CO2 transportation emission reduction, Bob Kozak advised, “(I)f anyone asks what will be the economic incentive for a revised, more effective CO2 GHG reduction plan that uses renewable
by Robert Kozak* (Advanced Biofuels USA) The 2025 Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard of 54.5 miles/gallon has become a significant issue since the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. Besides the Administration’s near religious fervor against Climate Change and the reduction of Green House Gases (GHG),
by Michael Eggleston* (Advanced Biofuels USA) “If we do not break the lock-in effect of our dominant fuel sources, we may in fact facilitate mother nature in breaking the lock-out of her dominant species,” wrote Stephen L. Bi in The Path Dependent Road to Sustainable Personal Transport: Increasing returns economics
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The makers of the world’s favorite advanced biofuel — a/k/a the biodiesel industry — descended upon Texas to mingle, make and renew ties at the 2018 National Biodiesel Conference. And, to champion new ideas and find new supply chain and distribution partners. Bummer that there wasn’t
February 7, 2018 Read Full Article
by Terry J. Mazanec (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) … Most modern refineries comprise more than 20 individual unit operations, each of which is a complex process on its own. And different refineries are optimized for different blends of crude oil, different product slates, and under different environmental and legal regulations. This
February 2, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This week in the Digest, we begin a Special 8-part Series: The State of the Advanced Bioeconomy: Challenges and Priorities for 2018. As we head into the final month before ABLC 2018, these in-depth examinations from a group of renowned industry experts will set the stage for
January 31, 2018 Read Full Article
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Biodiesel Magazine spotlights four companies—a respected producer, a service-oriented wholesaler, a 200-year old chemical firm, and a fuel conditioning company—that enable biodiesel’s role as an effective change agent. PQ Corp. … John Votta, global business director for PQ’s silica adsorbents unit, says biodiesel producers are familiar with
January 24, 2018 Read Full Article
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Seven years after the U.S. EPA published the final rule for administering the Renewable Fuel Standard, the path to getting corn kernel fiber-to-ethanol approvals appears to be getting much shorter. Edeniq CEO Brian Thome reports it now takes six weeks from the time the data
January 23, 2018 Read Full Article
by Alec A.K. Nielsen (Asimov/Biofuels Digest) … As you sit quietly, trillions of cells in your body are performing a frenetic dance of biochemical computation that makes your existence possible. Consider this: You were once a single cell – a fertilized egg. This single cell was equipped with a genetic program capable
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Fiberight is a privately held company founded in 2007 with current operations in Virginia, Maryland and Iowa. The company focuses on transforming post-recycled municipal solid wastes and other organic feedstocks into next generation renewable biofuels, with cellulosic ethanol and renewable compressed natural gas as core products.
January 12, 2018 Read Full Article
by Alex Acquisto (Bangor Daily News) The company behind a state-of-the-art solid waste disposal facility in Hampden designed to convert trash into biofuel has secured enough funding to begin operations in May. Craig Stuart-Paul, CEO of Maryland-based Fiberight LLC, announced this week that his company has secured $70 million for a municipal solid waste
January 8, 2018 Read Full Article
by Amy Mayer (Harvest Public Media/NetNebraska) Advanced biofuels have been touted as the next step beyond the corn-based ethanol that’s the bulk of the country’s renewable fuel for cars and trucks. But cellulosic ethanol is harder to make and companies have faced other challenges. Advanced biofuels have been touted as the
January 3, 2018 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Algae.Tec has (once again) shifted its business focus, and what was once a developer of algae bioreactors to make cost-competitive fuels is now in the business of “heirloom cannabis varietals”. So, um, High Times at Algae.Tec. … It’s tough to bring an audience along when
December 29, 2017 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Over the years we’ve all seen a lot of curveballs in the advanced bioeconomy. You see companies like Valero, which lobby the United States Congress with unbridled intensity to get rid of the Renewable Fuel Standard, on the verge of becoming the single-biggest producer of RINs
December 27, 2017 Read Full Article
by Peter Z. Grossman (Washington Examiner) … People forget how we wound up with an ethanol mandate worth over $20 billion per year (and that doesn’t include various subsidies). EISA was passed because Americans besieged members of Congress, demanding a solution to soaring gasoline prices. Congress didn’t have one, but needed to “do
December 8, 2017 Read Full Article
by Cecilia Connell (ABC News) An Australian-first biofuel demonstration facility in the New South Wales Hunter Valley has been touted as a game-changer in the food versus fuel debate, that has overshadowed the production of ethanol for some time. The Federal Government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced
November 21, 2017 Read Full Article
by Rachel Gantz (Renewable Fuels Association) Nearly 90 percent of new 2018 model year (MY) vehicles are explicitly approved by the manufacturer to use 15 percent ethanol blends (E15), according to the results of an annual analysis of warranty statements and owner’s manuals conducted by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). That is up
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Last week, DowDuPont said it was exiting the cellulosic biofuels business and you’d think that the company just burned down the warehouse with the original text of the Renewable Fuels Standard — the coverage of the announce in few cases focused on the changes in DowDuPont’s
November 14, 2017 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Illinois, today is Fly Green Day, sponsored by the O’Hare Fuel Committee, at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. 7 commercial airlines, plus Atlas Air and FedEx are flying out of O’Hare today on Gevo-based sustainable aviation fuel. Among them: Lufthansa, United Airlines, Etihad, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Japan Airlines, Korean Air,
November 8, 2017 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … In South Dakota, POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels achieved a major breakthrough in cellulosic biofuels production at its Project LIBERTY plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa. The company has solved the critical challenge in pretreatment, overcoming what has been the No. 1 hurdle to commercialization for producers around the world, according
November 6, 2017 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) “Italian newspapers reported over the weekend that cellulosic ethanol developer Mossi & Ghisolfi shuts down this week,” reported a source from Europe. “227 people of whom 121 from the Crescentino ethanol refinery are to stay at home. The Crescentino operation has 60 days to present a
October 31, 2017 Read Full Article
by Niamh Boyle (Biodiesel Magazine/Prima Markets) Prima Markets provides a comprehensive summary of the growing international demand for low carbon fuels, including U.S. policy drivers and waste feedstock consumption, along with a detailed overview of the international trade of low carbon feedstock. … Policy changes in the U.S. and Europe are
October 30, 2017 Read Full Article
by Yuthana Praiwan (Bangkok Post) The late King laid the groundwork for Thailand’s path toward energy independence. — … Although biofuel took longer to develop because it required more deliberate scientific research and experimentation compared with other agriculture projects, it has now become a mainstream fuel source. The late King wanted to help
October 28, 2017 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) There’s one crossing worse than the Valley of Death and that is the Valley of NLACM. Although it sounds more like a goose trying to say “You’ll like him” — it’s the Natural Law of Alternative Commodity Markets, and it’s the biggest single impediment, globally, retarding
September 26, 2017 Read Full Article
by Kelsi Bracmort (Congressional Research Service; posted by OurEnergyPolicy.org) Congress has expressed ongoing interest in the RFS, particularly the challenges associated with implementing the RFS and with compliance for entities required to use renewable fuels. Some question whether it is time to amend or repeal the RFS, while others contend the
August 23, 2017 Read Full Article
by Anju D. Krivov (Biofuels Digest/Lee Enterprises Consulting/GSR Solutions LLC) … In the late 1990s, the low oil prices of less than $20 a barrel brought down the Algal Species Program’s initiative started in the 1970s oil crunch environment, whereas the recent below $50 oil environment pivoted the algae companies to
August 23, 2017 Read Full Article
by Denton Cinquegrana (Oil Price Information Service(OPIS)) What you need to know as the refining, agricultural and auto industries gear up to vie for their piece of a multi-billion-dollar market — Premium gasoline has clearly become a sought-after commodity for U.S. drivers. After an extended period of relatively mild consumer cost
August 22, 2017 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Louisiana, reports surfaced in Alexandria’s TownTalk online paper that Sundrop Fuels has struck an agreement to sell the 1200-acre site where it once planned to build its $450 million, 50 million gallon capacity first commercial plant to produce green gasoline from woody biomass. The company selected
August 16, 2017 Read Full Article
by Graham Noyes (Noyes Law Corp./Biodiesel Magazine) Over the past decade, California has developed a complex policy framework pertaining to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction including policies that drive demand for low carbon fuels. The original authorizing statute was the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) and set
June 5, 2017 Read Full Article
by Tom Slunecka (Biodiesel Magazine) … Fifteen years ago, March of 2002, a gallon of unleaded gas averaged around $1.36 a gallon. … Minnesota became the first in the nation to require that all diesel fuel sold in the state contain at least a 2 percent blend (B2) of biodiesel. It may
June 5, 2017 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) For the world of renewable fuels — the only significant carbon legislation on the books, it really doesn’t matter what the oil price is. The RFS creates a separate market for renewable fuels and they compete against each other as alternatives within that market. It’s not
May 10, 2017 Read Full Article
by Tim Snyder (Equities.com/Crudefunders) … With that in mind, we decided to break down the question of, “Is it worth it?” into four parts: price benefits, reduction of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), oxygenate replacement and green fuel alternatives. … Ethanol was introduced in 2006, into the gasoline supply to replace a compound known
May 1, 2017 Read Full Article
by Marc J. Rauch (The Auto Channel) … Faced with some actual governmental actions that were detrimental to gasoline/diesel dominance, instead of the virtual carte blanche pro-petroleum fuel policies that they usually receive from the government, the petroleum oil industry is facing serious challenges to its primacy. For the time being,
by Daniel A. Lane and Joel A. Stone (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) … As the market for gasoline grew, a shortage soon developed for the lighter fractions of crude oil. This shortage led to the development of the catalytic cracker, which breaks long hydrocarbon chains into smaller molecules. This new technology allowed
April 24, 2017 Read Full Article
by Patrick C. Miller (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Is the growth in shale oil production a potential boost for ethanol? The theory goes that because the light crude produced from fracked shale produces lower-octane gasoline, greater oil production from shale will translate into an increased demand for ethanol as an octane booster.
April 24, 2017 Read Full Article
by Jennifer Aurandt (Valicor/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Centrifugal separation of corn oil from stillage is the accepted method for distillers corn oil (DCO) recovery throughout the ethanol industry. While plant operating parameters influence a plant’s oil yield and performance, the efficiency is fundamentally governed by a simple Nobel Prize-winning formula: Stokes’ Law.
April 24, 2017 Read Full Article
by Larry R. Knight* (Reciclaje Pura Vida for Advanced Biofuels USA) There are those who would argue that global warming is not occurring. While the evidence suggests otherwise, it would be political and intellectual suicide to argue that our global population is not outgrowing the neighborhood. In the process, the availability
April 12, 2017 Read Full Article
by Amina Khan (Los Angeles Times/The Washington Post) George Olah, a chemist and Nobel laureate who found new ways to study previously imperceptible stages in hydrocarbon-related chemical reactions, died March 8 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 89. … Dr. Olah’s research fueled the advancement of cleaner-burning gasoline,
March 31, 2017 Read Full Article
by Stephanie Mercier (Farm Journal Foundation/AgWeb) This blog will present the author’s perspective on a wide range of timely agricultural policy topics, touching on both domestic and international issues. … The long term answer, that ultimately ethanol will primarily be produced from inedible components of plants, such as corn stover, wheat
March 24, 2017 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Louisiana, the Diamond Green Diesel facility in Norco will expand its annual production capacity of renewable diesel from 10,000 barrels per day to 18,000 bpd (275 million gallons per year), using Honeywell UOP’s Ecofining process technology. We originally reported that the project, which came
March 20, 2017 Read Full Article
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 and repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard. Individuals and markets
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 updates BETO’s strategy out to 2040, to assure it is
February 13, 2017 Read Full Article
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) On BDI-BioEnergy International’s 20-year anniversary, Biodiesel Magazine takes a look back at the company’s beginnings, accomplishments and biodiesel production technology. — In September, dozens of biodiesel producers from around the world gathered in Vienna, Austria, not for a conference or exhibition, but to celebrate the
January 23, 2017 Read Full Article
by Will Smith (Springhouse Consulting/Biodiesel Magazine) While the majority of U.S. biodiesel is still produced from soybean and canola oil, the role of alternative feedstock has increased steadily over the past decade. The lower production costs they afford have had a significant effect on economic viability as the industry undergoes
January 23, 2017 Read Full Article
by Gene Gebolys (World Energy/Biodiesel Magazine) … Trying to make a living in biodiesel for two decades now, the hard way is about the only way it happens. … 2016 was a breakthrough year for the biodiesel industry, and for World Energy. We brought our third and fourth biodiesel plants online to
January 23, 2017 Read Full Article
by Anthony Hulen (Biodiesel Magazine) The U.S.’s largest biodiesel manufacturer, Ames, Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group Inc., matures from its single plant, single feedstock origins to a multifeedstock, multinational business. — … “For the petroleum and ethanol industries, 50 million gallons a month isn’t a big deal,” says REG CEO Daniel
January 23, 2017 Read Full Article
by Carl Zulauf (FarmDoc Daily) Ethanol was a factor in both the price run-up that began in 2006 and the price run-down that began in 2013. Tepid growth replaced explosive growth. The question for the future is, “What is ethanol’s organic growth rate (growth without government policy stimulus)?” Recent history
December 2, 2016 Read Full Article
(Federal Register/Environmental Protection Agency) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to deny several petitions requesting that EPA initiate a rulemaking process to reconsider or change its regulations that identify refiners and importers of gasoline and diesel fuel as the entities responsible for complying with the annual percentage standards adopted
November 23, 2016 Read Full Article
(Times of India) The Union government will invest Rs 15,000 crore to increase the capacity of Panipat oil refinery in Haryana from existing 15 million tonnes (MT) to 25 MT to raise quality of fuel and create more employment opportunities. Also, an ethanol plant would be set up at a
October 12, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jerry Purvis (Gering Citizen) On Sept. 21, the Nebraska Ethanol Board rolled out a new campaign to increase awareness of the 15 percent alcohol/gasoline blend called E15. While encouraging renewable fuels, the ethanol industry also plays an important role in promoting the nation’s corn market. Todd Sneller with the
October 7, 2016 Read Full Article
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Renewable Energy Group Inc. is quietly celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a series of videos being released to commemorate the company’s—and the biodiesel industry’s—significant growth and maturation over the past decade. REG has been discreet about its anniversary videos, only mentioning them as asides in other
October 5, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jamie Kitman (Automobile Magazine) “It is “a universal assumption that [ethyl] alcohol in some form will be a constituent of the motor fuel of the future.” — So wrote Scientific American. The year was 1920, and the respected journal was not alone in this belief. In October 1921, less than
October 1, 2016 Read Full Article
(Progress-Index) For Hopewell’s fledgling ethanol industry, it appears the third time may be the charm. — For Hopewell’s fledgling ethanol industry, it appears the third time may be the charm. Ten months after Green Plains became the third operator to take over Hopewell’s troubled ethanol plant, the company opened its
October 1, 2016 Read Full Article
(Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) Big Oil has been fighting the ethanol industry for a long time. Since the 1920s, to be exact. — In a recent feature by Automobile Magazine, the publication traces the roots of the war against ethanol to 1921 when ethanol was considered as an additive to gasoline
September 30, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The most important technological advance in biodiesel in recent years has reached commercial-scale in Eastern Nebraska, with the startup of the Duonix Beatrice biodiesel plant, which is and the first commercial-scale application of Benefuel’s innovative ENSEL technology. ENSEL technology is capable of converting a range
by Bart Barnes (The Washington Post) William C. Holmberg, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who received the Navy Cross for his actions on a Korean battlefield and later spent decades as an advocate on Capitol Hill for renewable energy and environmental causes, died Sept. 8 at a hospital in Palm
September 19, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … But so far, the company and its celebrity investors and directors such as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and famed venture capitalist Vinod Khosla had escaped close scrutiny. … The methods for keeping the truth bottled up were not pretty. According to our sources
September 19, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Edeniq is torn between two lovers: its current ownership group, which shuffled together a financing this week; and Aemetis, which is supposed to be acquiring Edeniq this year for $23 million. How Edeniq landed in this situation, we’ll endeavor to explain. And we’ll revisit our
September 14, 2016 Read Full Article
by Michael McAdams (Advanced Biofuels Association/Biomass Magazine) For advanced biofuels under the Obama administration, what started out with a boom in 2008 ended with a whimper in 2016. … As the nascent industry began to develop, companies hoping to deliver the next generation of biofuels came to Washington intending to participate
September 11, 2016 Read Full Article
by Robert Rapier (Forbes) … It would have been one thing if Congress had based the mandates on a fuel that existed commercially. However, they essentially attempted to mandate a nonexistent industry into existence. Unsurprisingly, economic challenges again arose. Despite the mandates, there was no qualified (i.e., certified by the EPA) cellulosic
September 11, 2016 Read Full Article
by Rebecca Chillrud (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) On July 18, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released their Draft Technical Assessment Report (TAR), providing a midterm evaluation of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger
September 9, 2016 Read Full Article
by Paul Ivice (TC Palm) INEOS Bio is selling its $130 million biofuel plant on Oslo Road, where it’s been developing yard waste-to-ethanol technology since August 2013. INEOS, which received millions in taxpayer-funded incentives for its joint venture with New Planet Energy Florida, has said it converted several types of waste
September 8, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jamie Kitman (Automobile Magazine) Getting real about ethanol — … But until solar and wind power charge our national fleet of electric and hydrogen vehicles, ethanol is worth discussing. Because all in all, gasoline is better with it in it. Its infirmities are real but often overstated. Its foes, especially
August 22, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … There’s a separate category of RINs for advanced biofuels. These are fuels that have at least a 50% reduction in fossil fuels compared to 2005 baseline gasoline. Overall, to qualify under the RFS, you need a minimum of a 20% reduction — but in theory,
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A recent column provides some insight into anti-ethanol stances by making a connection between beef prices, the cow herd expansion and restaurant profits, with rather breath-taking simplification. — A recent column in Forbes from contributing writer Thomas Landstreet provides some insight by making a
August 16, 2016 Read Full Article
(Mankato Free Press) Why It Matters: Ethanol as a clean energy has come under criticism but the pollution caused by fossil fuels remains the reality. — … First, environmentalists complained we were paying farmers too much in subsidies to plant corn fence-row-to-fence row, along with the complementary amount of nitrogen and
August 12, 2016 Read Full Article
by Rachel Gantz (Renewable Fuels Association) On Monday, Aug. 8, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) celebrated its 11th anniversary. Not on a first name basis with acronyms? It’s the law that gave us the original renewable fuel standard, or RFS1, for up to 7.5 billion gallons of biofuel
August 12, 2016 Read Full Article
by Ron Lamberty (Ethanol Producer Magazine) There is no such thing as a 10 percent blend wall unless petroleum marketers don’t allow a choice. Independent retailers are demonstrating the blend wall can be breached. — When the U.S. EPA held hearings in November 2013, after its first attempt to (illegally)
August 5, 2016 Read Full Article
(Mankato Free Press) Why It Matters: Ethanol as a clean energy has come under criticism but the pollution caused by fossil fuels remains the reality. — The politics of green energy have evolved over the last two decades in a way that must have farmers scratching their heads. First, environmentalists
August 3, 2016 Read Full Article
by Irshad Ahmed (Lee Enterprises) … I believe cellulosic ethanol is here to stay for the long haul and it is finally exhibiting real potential to establish a critical-mass commercial base alongside the corn-ethanol industry. Its commercial success will come from the technical ability of the processes to extract value from all
August 2, 2016 Read Full Article
(U.S. Department of Energy) Algae-based biofuels and bioproducts offer great promise in contributing to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office’s vision of a thriving and sustainable bioeconomy fueled by innovative technologies. The state of technology for producing algal biofuels continues to mature with ongoing investment by DOE
July 21, 2016 Read Full Article
(ADI Analytics) There is an increasing level of interest in conventional and advanced biofuels around the globe. Many countries are increasing biofuel mandates for several reasons ranging from stimulating agriculture, energy security, and most notably to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study gives a detailed overview of biofuels markets and technologies
July 18, 2016 Read Full Article
by Christopher Findlay (Renewable Fuels Association) This month marks the 120th anniversary of an automotive milestone: Henry Ford’s test drive of his first vehicle, the Quadricycle. The 20-mile-an-hour Quadricycle, which was literally built using two sets of bicycle wheels, would launch the career of an industrial pioneer and push the world into
June 14, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In what might become the most transformative development in fermentation yields since Noah debuted winemaking technology in the Book of Genesis, US-based White Dog Labs have unveiled a new process that eliminates the emission of CO2, a potent greenhouse gas, during fermentation and instead shifts the carbon
June 13, 2016 Read Full Article
by Gerald Kutney (Lee Consulting/Biofuels Digest) … From the time of the caveman until the early Industrial Revolution, biofuels – namely wood and the advanced biofuel of the day, charcoal – reigned supreme. Both fossil fuels and biofuels originate from biomass. The major difference between them is that fossil fuels are sequestered
(Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative) We are proud to announce the 10th Anniversary of the initiation of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) as of May 24, 2016, and more importantly, to reflect on the success we’ve achieved to date, and to similarly look ahead to solving the challenging issues
May 27, 2016 Read Full Article
by Tomas Ekbom (Task 39 May 2016 Newsletter) The production and use of biofuels in Sweden have increased substantially since the mid-2000s. According to preliminary statistics from SPBI, the share of renewable energy in the road sector was 14.7% in 2015 based on energy content (Figure 1). If the calculation is
May 20, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels DIgest) … Old KiOR was exciting, dramatic, and fast, and the headlines it produced between 2008 and 2011 were candy for a renewables-hungry world. A Breakthrough in Catalytic Pyrolysis to make cost-competitive, drop-in renewable fuels. A “Magic Catalyst”. The backing of a celebrity investor in Vinod Khosla.
May 18, 2016 Read Full Article
by Dick Roche (EurActiv) The European Commission’s proposal to scrap the mandate for the use of biofuels and, in effect, to ‘kiss biofuels goodbye,’ is a catastrophic policy based largely on arguments that have no solid foundation, writes Dick Roche. … Initially, biofuels were seen as a ‘good thing’: a strident
May 9, 2016 Read Full Article
by Robert Rapier (Forbes) Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that during the first quarter of 2016, just over 1 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol were produced. In fact, production for the month of March jumped 64% from the previous month to 446,000 gallons produced, the highest levels
April 27, 2016 Read Full Article
(Federal Aviation Administration) The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has played an integral role in development, testing and recent approval of a new alternative, environmentally-friendly, bio-based jet fuel, bringing the total number of these approved products for use in air travel to five. This new fuel will make air travel more
April 15, 2016 Read Full Article
by Cindy Zimmerman (AgWired) Back in the early years of the biodiesel industry, Merle Haggard was one of the stars who came out in support of the American-made biofuel. The country music legend who died last week at the age of 79 made a legendary appearance at the 2007 National
April 11, 2016 Read Full Article
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Biofuel number crunchers in the know are finding their jobs easier because of a website hosted by the USDA Economic Research Service where the Interagency Council on Agricultural & Rural Statistics pulls together links to government data from multiple sources on one page. The Biofuels
April 8, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) A cornerstone of U.S. environmental policy has been the reduction of harmful tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks. Thanks to EPA regulations of mobile sources, air pollutants have been reduced by millions of tons in the urban environment. Several EPA fuel regulations
April 7, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … It’s been a couple of years since we visited REG and the difference is palpable. The company has become a little ADM, rather than a big Amyris or TerraVia. You see the trading desks at the bigger ethanol operations like Green Plains — relatively massive
April 5, 2016 Read Full Article
(Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.) Many Americans today, including many legislators at the federal and state levels, were not yet born when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created by President Nixon in 1970, or they were too young to appreciate how air and water quality were deteriorating until governments,
March 23, 2016 Read Full Article
by Mario Parker (Bloomberg Business) … Back in 2007, when crude oil was headed toward a record $147.27 a barrel, ethanol was being touted as a cheap alternative from abundant domestic resources. The U.S. is the world’s biggest corn grower and exporter. Then-President George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and
by Marc J. Rauch (The Auto Channel) … Our exchange began with his comments that government should not decide which fuel is the winner; that fossil fuels dominance over alternative fuels was due to consumer choice; and that society owes a great thanks to fossil fuels for giving us such a
March 16, 2016 Read Full Article
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … If jatropha faltered, never mind, went the argument, we’ll always have switchgrass. Or giant miscanthus, or pongamia, or poplar, or camelina. The list could get really long. For example, try this list of the 44 weirdest things ever converted in biofuels. The good news is
by Dan Quadros* (Advanced Biofuels USA) This article is the result of a technical trip to Germany and the UK to participate in strategic meetings and visit labs; to attend seminars, an expo, a short course and a symposium. Posted after the article are two interviews with important researchers in this
by Tristan R. Brown (The Conversation) The 2016 primary race is defying conventional wisdom, with erstwhile fringe candidates competitive in the polls despite their unorthodox policy positions. The Iowa Republican Caucus provided additional material for this storyline as Senator Ted Cruz defied projections and won the state. His victory came despite his
by Thomas Content (Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel) … In one project among several around the nation, ExxonMobil is working with researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on technology to bring down the cost of renewable diesel and jet fuel. Researchers led by George Huber, a professor of chemical and biological
February 24, 2016 Read Full Article
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