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by Humeyra Pamuk and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The White House is delaying additional payments from a $12 billion aid package for farmers stung by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China because it expects Beijing to resume buying U.S. soybeans, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The move comes despite
China
December 14, 2018
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(Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials) Each year RSB brings its community together for the highlight of our calendar: our Annual Meeting. An opportunity to gather our members from many different sectors to discuss and debate the most pressing issues in the development of the sustainable bioeconomy and to make changes to our
December 14, 2018
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(Agora Verkehrswende) According to a new report, CO2 emissions from transport are still rising. If immediate action is not taken, more radical measures will be unavoidable in the future. — To keep global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius, the world’s leading economies must act immediately to reduce transport emissions.
December 11, 2018
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by Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton (Reuters) China is set to more than triple its ethanol production capacity by 2020, a government researcher said on Tuesday, with demand for the commodity expected to surge as the country shifts toward cleaner fuels. The nation is currently building or seeking approval for new
December 11, 2018
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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) U.S. ethanol exports are on a roll. For the third time this year, American ethanol exports have reached record numbers, with the total hitting 1.69 billion gallons (bg) on a rolling 12-month basis, according to Growth Energy. As of October this calendar year, exports totaled 1.41 billion gallons,
December 11, 2018
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(Argus Media) Angel Alvarez Alberdi is secretary general of the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA). He spoke to Argus about the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED) beyond 2020, the role of waste-based biofuels in Europe’s future renewable energy mix and legislation on indirect land use change (Iluc). Below is an edited transcript of
December 11, 2018
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by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Advanced Biofuels USA was pleased to host a meeting with a dozen government representatives and business leaders from Jiangsu Province, China to discuss implementation of biofuels policies and promotion of biofuels in the US and China. In the US for a brief educational tour,
December 10, 2018
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by Sarantis Michalopoulos (EurActiv) EURACTIV.com interviewed José Mendes, Portuguese First Secretary of State for Mobility – Environment and Energy Transition, on the sidelines of COP24 climate talks in Katowice, Poland — … Last week, the Portuguese government presented a plan which aims to make the Mediterranean country carbon-neutral by 2050. The plan
December 10, 2018
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by P.J. Huffstutter and Mark Weinraub (Reuters) … Federal economists have calculated that the nation’s losses in corn – its largest crop by harvest and export volume – amount to just a penny per bushel, a pittance farmers call absurd. That’s in stark contrast to the substantial $1.65 per bushel the
December 7, 2018
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by John Hageman (The Dickinson Press) A new refinery has been proposed for oil-rich western North Dakota, prompting questions from a local township chairman. AIC Energy Corp. filed an application earlier this month with Williams County planning and zoning officials. It described the so-called “Bakken Oil Refinery” as a 28,000
December 7, 2018
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(Chinese Academy of Sciences/Phys.Org) … Thus, it is important to develop a highly efficient water-resistant catalyst to directly and selectively convert crude aqueous oxygenate mixtures to value-added chemicals; water-immiscible ones (easy separation after reaction) are especially of great importance. However, the efficiency and selectivity of the transformation process for biomass-derived intermediates remains
December 7, 2018
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by Lisa Gibons (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Tariffs in China and Brazil have deeply affected U.S. ethanol exports, but other markets remain, new ones are opening and opportunities still abound for the world’s lowest-cost octane. Despite a 20 percent tariff rate quota implemented in 2017, Brazil has continued to purchase significant amounts
December 6, 2018
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by Adele Peters (Fast Company) At a steel mill outside Beijing, reactors attached to the building capture emissions from the factory. Those waste gases can then be turned into fuel. LanzaTech, a biotech startup that designed a way to turn those emissions into ethanol, recently blended that ethanol into jet fuel that powered
December 5, 2018
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by Ana Ionova and Marcelo Teixeira (Reuters) Brazilian sugar companies are increasing their capacity to produce ethanol in the face of depressed global sugar prices and government policies expected to boost demand for the biofuel. A shift to ethanol in the 2018-19 season slashed Brazil’s sugar output by 9 million tonnes to
December 3, 2018
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(Ruhr-Universität Bochum) How exactly certain algae enzymes produce hydrogen has previously been the subject of speculation. Dr. Martin Winkler, dr. Jifu Duan, Prof. dr. Eckhard Hofmann and Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Happe from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), together with colleagues from Freie Universität Berlin, succeeded for the first time in exactly reproducing the pathway of the
November 26, 2018
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by Srijan Kanoi (S&P Global Platts) China has switched to importing US ethanol via alternative routes since the US-China trade war erupted in April, the country’s General Administration of Customs data indicated Tuesday. … In a surprise to the market, the data showed that China imported ethanol from Indonesia and Malaysia,
November 15, 2018
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(Omaha World-Herald) A recent report from Iowa State University offers sobering findings that show why our country needs to resolve its tariff wars with China and other nations. The university researchers found that over the next year, the disruptions and loss of market share will cost the Iowa economy between
November 14, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw, Michael Hirtzer (Reuters) U.S. ethanol producers drew a bleak picture of their industry in quarterly filings and analyst calls this week, detailing how the critical farm belt business has been devastated by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China and biofuels management policies that they say have tilted toward oil
November 12, 2018
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by Marcelo Teixeira (Reuters) Ubrabio, a Brazilian association of biodiesel producers, presented on Tuesday a proposal for the government to retain 10 percent of earnings from soybean exports, in a program to help the local soybean crushing industry. The money collected would be distributed among crushers proportionately to their sales of soymeal,
November 9, 2018
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(Bella Naija) In line with the goal of supporting the Federal Government’s backward integration agenda, Nosak Group hosted officials from the Edo State Government for a facility tour in Lagos State as a move to seek partnership with Edo State in the area of investment in agriculture and to support the state in
November 9, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Where is the industry right now?What are the 25 Key trends, how the industry is organizing, what’s up, what’s hot, what’s down, and what 6 Future Technologies should we keep a sharp eye on? Let’s take a look. … It has an array of players —
November 7, 2018
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(Vietnam.net) Common ethanol fuel mixture (E5 RON 92 gasoline) has been receiving many incentives from the State. However, high prices of materials for ethanol production and relevant materials plus the high tariff levied on imported ethanol have significantly eroded E5 gasoline’s advantages. … Up to the moment of speaking, it can
November 6, 2018
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by Matt Carr (Algae Biomass Organization/Biofuels Digest) Algae-derived products and technologies are on the cusp of changing nearly everything. Algae will transform how we eat; will make the materials in your shoes more sustainable; provide fuel for vehicles and planes; recycle greenhouse gases and deliver many more products that have yet to be commercialized. … There is a
November 6, 2018
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by Abhilasha Singh (Financial Express) India is a fast-growing economy, the need for energy is constantly on the rise. Considering that fossil fuel reserves are depleting along with their impact on the environment, India needs long-term solutions for renewable energy. — Bio D Energy, as the name suggests, is working to make bio-diesel
November 6, 2018
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by Akane Okutsu (Nikkei Asia Review) Biotech company euglena teams with ANA to fuel green commercial flights — Japan’s biotechnology company euglena is to start mass production of bio jet fuel and biodiesel out of algae and waste oil, with the aim of being the first company to fuel green commercial flights out of Japan.
November 5, 2018
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by Humeyra Pamuk and P.J. Huffstutter (Reuters) … Some of the nation’s 3.2 million farmers and ranchers, traditionally staunch Republicans, are wavering in this election because of the trade dispute with China, the main buyer of U.S. soybeans and pork, interviews with nearly two dozen farmers showed. Those interviews and a survey
November 2, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The BP Energy Outlook explores the forces shaping the global energy transition out to 2040 and the key uncertainties surrounding that transition. It shows how rising prosperity drives an increase in global energy demand and how that demand will be met over the coming decades through
November 2, 2018
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by Daniel Grant (FarmWeekNow) The rate of growth for the U.S. ethanol industry may have slowed in recent years, but it’s far from over, according to Bill Holbrook, senior analyst for ProExporter. Production capacity continues to grow as producers look to overseas markets to export ethanol and one of its key co-products,
October 26, 2018
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by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) In the U.S. ethanol industry, three plants are under construction, while a fourth makes its way through the permitting process. — In an industry with more than 200 existing plants, four new projects is a small figure. Greenfield ethanol plant development is in a lull,
October 24, 2018
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(Green Car Congress) Researchers with the US Department of Energy (DOE) Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), with colleagues in China, have produced the tricyclic sesquiterpenes epi-isozizaene, pentalenene and α-isocomene—promising jet fuel feedstocks—at high production titers, providing novel, sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based jet fuels. An open-access paper on their work appears in Biotechnology for
October 24, 2018
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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
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by Josh Lew (Mother Nature Network) As oil prices rise, airlines look to biofuels to protect their bottom lines. — … Today, airlines are bracing for a fuel price rise. For example, American Airlines cited rising fuel prices when it announced cutbacks on transpacific routes this year. As a result, even more airline companies
October 12, 2018
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by Beth Walker (The Third Pole) Biofuels will dominate future growth in renewables and are essential for decarbonizing the most difficult sectors; China and India should lead the way, argues new EIA report — … Bioenergy from liquid biofuels and biogas will continue to lead growth in renewable energy consumption to 2023,
October 12, 2018
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(The Star) Once surreptitiously dumped down drains in the dead of night, Asia’s used cooking oil is fast becoming one of the most sought-after commodities in Europe – as a feedstock for biodiesel. Aggressive green energy targets in the European Union that were bolstered further this year are pushing fuel makers
October 11, 2018
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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. Judit Sandquist gave this illuminating overview of the progress and promise of thermal gasification of biomass in
September 27, 2018
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A new study by researchers at Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development has determined current trade disruptions are having a significant impact on the state’s economy, including its ethanol industry. The study examined different scenarios. Overall, the study shows losses to Iowa’s
September 26, 2018
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by Dayo Laniyan (Morning Star/Alliance News) Engineering and technology solutions provider China New Energy Ltd said it has seen continued success in the first half of 2018 due to changed policies in China, leading to increased production of ethanol and new contracts. … China New Energy said revenue growth was caused
September 25, 2018
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Minnesota, Reuters reports that Green Plains is mothballing its ethanol production plants in Superior, Iowa and Lakota, Iowa as well as running its Fairmont, Minnesota plant at half capacity as President Trump’s trade war takes a bite out of demand from China. Together, the three facilities produced
September 18, 2018
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) Carinata is proving that it is a feedstock to be reckoned with, a compelling catalyst for change, with the latest news that Agrisoma, United Airlines and World Energy came together for the longest transatlantic biojet flight yet. Lots of biofuel flights have been happening over the
September 17, 2018
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(RUDN University/Phys.Org) A chemist from RUDN synthesized new catalysts with ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticles for producing biofuel from organic biowaste. Nanocatalysts support more intensive and sustained reactions than the compounds currently available in the market. The results of the study were published in the ChemSusChem journal. Rafael Luque, an external specialist from RUDN, works
September 14, 2018
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by Chen Huizhi (Shine) The number of gas stations in Shanghai offering a hybrid fuel mixed with biodiesel made from “gutter oil” increased to 40 in August, the food safety commission said yesterday. Gutter oil, so called because it is sometimes dumped in gutters and drains, is expired cooking oil. Sinopec, the
September 14, 2018
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(The Guardian Nigeria) The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Chinese consortia to develop sustainable biofuels in the country. At a ceremony yesterday in Beijing on the sidelines of the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, the two pacts were signed between NNPC and OBAX-COMPLANT
September 5, 2018
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by D’Arce McMillan (Western Producer) They may seem like a novelty now, but electric vehicles could quickly grow in number and significantly reduce the demand for gasoline and biofuel. — … I wonder when the number of electric vehicles will become so numerous that they will lower the overall demand for gasoline, and
September 1, 2018
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(Mission Innovation India) Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 23 countries and the European Union to accelerate the global clean energy innovation. As a part of this initiative, the participating countries have committed to double their government’s clean energy research and development (R&D) investments over five years while
August 30, 2018
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by Helena Bottemiller Evich, Catherine Boudreau and Liz Crampton (Politico) The Trump administration on Monday detailed how it will dole out $6.3 billion in aid to assist farmers stung by retaliatory tariffs — and it’s already sparking backlash from some sectors where industry leaders say growers won’t get their fair share.
August 28, 2018
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by Lusha Zhang and Tony Munroe(Reuters) The Chinese city of Tianjin will replace gasoline with ethanol at 10 gas stations on Saturday, Xinhua News Agency reported, the first outlets to do so in a wider push to get vehicles in the city to switch to the biofuel. Tianjin will later replace
August 28, 2018
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(China Daily) Startup company MotionEco launched an initiative in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, in June to collect waste cooking oil and gutter oil to be converted into sustainable, low-carbon green fuel for use in diesel vehicles. It is one of China’s first commercial efforts to collect and process used cooking oil and
August 27, 2018
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by Hallie Gu, Josephine Mason (Reuters) China corn futures rallied on Thursday after the central government said it would promote the use of ethanol in vehicles, its first public statement on its ambitious biofuel policy in almost a year. China will promote the use of ethanol in 15 regions this year, including
August 25, 2018
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Malaysia, Chinese investors are keen to set up bio-processing businesses including a Beijing Sanju Environmental Protection and New Materials Co who is seeking to set up a $200 million plant that will use palm kernel shells, palm fiber, empty fruit brunches and palm oil milk effluent
August 23, 2018
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Argentina, exporters have been shipping raw, unprocessed soybeans to China en masse, a move the government has put a stop to last week by freezing export taxes on beans at 26% as well as freezing taxes on meal and oil at 23%. Taxes on beans were
August 22, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) For many people, a key question in the advanced bioeconomy continues to be: “what is Amyris becoming, and when, and where and how?” Becoming a global leader in the health and beauty market, and self-funding operations in 2018 with at least $10 million in EBITDA this
August 22, 2018
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by O. Kay Henderson (RadioIowa) Republican Congressman Steve King today said the best thing the Trump Administration could do to alleviate farmers’ angst about the trade war would be to allow higher percentages of ethanol to be blended into gasoline year-round. “Let the market determine what that blend could be It could
August 17, 2018
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Earnings Season: as Novozymes, DSM, Amyris, Gevo, Corbion, and Aemetis Report, Who’s up, Who’s down?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In today’s Digest, let’s look at trends driving the industry’s results at scale — and while money is not the measure of all progress, it is the ultimate yardstick and especially for companies that have reached industrial scale. So, let’s look at Q2 earnings statements now
August 17, 2018
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by John Siciliano (Washington Examiner) … On top of that, a senior Senate aide close to the pro-ethanol camp led by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said “there is debate” over whether it will take legislation to enact the changes Trump seeks. “We view it as a technical correction,” the aide
August 14, 2018
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by O. Kay Henderson (RadioIowa) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s acting administrator met privately with Iowa commodity group leaders at the Iowa State Fair today — but Andrew Wheeler told reporters afterwards there is no decision yet on regulations that would allow a higher blend of ethanol to be sold year-round.
August 14, 2018
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by Dan Looker (Successful Farming) Lawsuits and EPA petitions are in the works. — … “I would say the status quo right now is unacceptable for the industry,” says Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy. “If he’s (President Donald Trump) supportive of year-round E15, let’s do it. Let’s see it.” These
August 10, 2018
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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
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by Yu Wang, Ming‐Hsun Cheng, Mark Mba Wright (Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining) Converting corncobs into fuel ethanol is different from converting stover because cobs have higher hemicellulose and lower lignin than stover. Current research provides life‐cycle assessments of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for stover ethanol but lacks such assessments for corncob ethanol.
August 8, 2018
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(Inventure Renewables/PR NewsWire) Facility in Taizhou, China Will Process Waste from Soybean Processing into High Value Oleochemicals — Inventure Renewables has announced an agreement with Wilmar International and Desmet Ballestra Group to begin construction on a new facility in Jiangsuprovince, China. The plant, which will bolt on to an existing Wilmar facility,
August 8, 2018
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by Vishnu Rajamanickam (Freight Waves) … But unless the manufacturing process and the raw material sourcing is regulated and stabilized, it would be hard to sell EVs to the larger middle-class populace. This is because the on-road price of an electric vehicle is much higher than its combustion engine equivalent, as the
August 6, 2018
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The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s German Chancellor Fellowship program is targeted at recent university graduates from the U.S. and other countries who have an international outlook and initial leadership experience. The fellowships give graduates the opportunity to spend a year in Germany networking with other prospective leaders from abroad and
August 3, 2018
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by Marcelo Teixeira (Reuters) Second-generation ethanol production is overcoming the technical difficulties that had slowed its development and is now seen as commercially competitive with oil prices near $70 per barrel, industry representatives said on Thursday. As countries worldwide prepare to deliver on their respective commitments to the Paris climate deal,
July 31, 2018
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) Sorghum sights are set high with EPA approval and recent genetic improvements — … U.S. EPA opened up pathways for sorghum oil to become renewable fuels. … Sorghum is a grass grown in many places and regions around the world, but also is increasingly being grown
July 30, 2018
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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
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by Damian Paletta and Caitlin Dewey (Washington Post) The U.S. Agriculture Department on Tuesday plans to announce a $12 billion package of emergency aid for farmers caught in the midst of President Trump’s escalating trade war, two people briefed on the plan said, the latest sign that growing tensions between the
July 24, 2018
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(Celanese/BusinessWire) Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE), a global specialty materials company, today announces that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Chengzhi Shareholding Co., Ltd., to further the development of acetic acid-based ethanol as a clean energy source in China. From 2014 to 2017, Celanese operated a 275,000 metric ton per
by Christina Siantar (S&P Global/Platts) Thailand’s ethanol producers are exploring the possibility of resuming ethanol exports after a five-year hiatus due to ample supply in the domestic market, trade sources said Tuesday. … However, traders were skeptical of Thailand returning to the export market as current international prices, dominated by US and
July 17, 2018
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It’s an annual, three-day event that brings together technology and equipment of the biomass energy sector to present and discuss its most recent technical developments. This year’s edition will be dedicated to innovation of Bioenergy in China. The event brings together the industry to discover the latest trends, showcase innovation,
July 16, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Because if you want it, here it is, come and get it, biofuels that is, and especially of the advanced type. If you like it from waste, even better. Out of the east, the dual and sometimes dueling engines of biofuels growth are changing the
(IUCN) Banning palm oil would most likely increase the production of other oil crops to meet demand for oil, displacing rather than halting the significant global biodiversity losses caused by palm oil, warned an IUCN report published today (June 26, 2018). The IUCN report, Palm Oil and Biodiversity, is an objective analysis
July 11, 2018
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by Christina Siantar (S&P Global/Platts) China’s production of fuel ethanol is expected to rise to around 10 million mt/year, which will help meet part of the 13 million mt/year ethanol demand for E10 mandate by 2020, Xiao Gang, general manager of consultancy Hangzhou Grainsmore Agricultural Development, said at an industry conference in
July 11, 2018
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by Kelly Gilblom and Anna Hirtenstein (Bloomberg) BP and Shell have bought electric-car charging companies; Power utilities are boosting sales to homes, chargers on roads — A red-hot electric vehicle market has triggered a face-off between Big Oil and utilities. Oil majors, who’ve sold fossil fuels to cars for a century, are now moving
by Leah Marie Angelou (Small Cap Network) … China is at a crossroad as it shifts to cleaner and renewable energy sources. Can the country keep up with its environmental pledge? — In September 2017, the government rolled out a new nationwide ethanol mandate (NEA 2017), which requires the use of E10 fuel,
June 29, 2018
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by Berkeley Lovelace Jr. (CNBC) Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says President Trump has told him to assure American farmers that they won’t suffer from the U.S. trade fight with China. Perdue says he is calculating the potential impact of trade disruptions on a weekly basis, and making it known to the Trump
June 29, 2018
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by Chuck Abbott (Successful Farming) Rumors of USDA’s Tariff Easing Strategy Not Confirmed — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is giving himself a couple of months – until around Labor Day – before deciding whether to proceed with President Trump’s promise of shielding farmers from “China’s unfair retaliation.” For tactical reasons, Perdue
June 28, 2018
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(EurekAlert!/University of Science and Technology of China) Liquid multi-carbon alcohols such as ethanol and n-propanol are desired as renewable transportation fuels. They offer high energy densities, ease of long-range transport, and direct drop-in usage in existing internal combustion engines. Engineering catalysts that favor high-value alcohols is desired. A research team led
June 26, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) UPM is going through a transformation to ensure sustainable value creation in the long term. The aim is to improve profitability, generate growth and increase the value of the company’s business portfolio. UPM has been transforming its business model, business portfolio and business performance. UPM consists
June 22, 2018
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by Suzanne Danforth and Jim Venhof (Genscape) U.S. domestic ethanol demand suffered this spring relative to 2017, despite consistently favorable blending values and increasing Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements. The decline, following a period of historically low ethanol prices this winter, forced the ethanol industry to diversify and seek new demand opportunities
June 20, 2018
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(Inventure Renewables/Cision/PR Newswire) Patented Technology Converts By-Product from Soft Oil Seed Refining Into FAME for Oleochemical and Biodiesel Production. — Inventure Renewables has announced the successful implementation and nearly year-long operation of its Mixed Super Critical Fluid technology at a Wilmar International processing plant in Jiangsu province, China. The technology is being used to
June 20, 2018
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by Christine Siantar (Platts) China’s ministry of commerce said the import duty on US-origin denatured ethanol will rise to 70% on July 6 from 45%, as part of a wider retaliation to the US imposing import tariffs on Chinese goods. Other agriculture products such as sorghum, soybeans and wheat were
June 19, 2018
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(National Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine) New polling shows that voters across three Midwestern states are disappointed with Trump administration decisions they view as broken promises of support for local agriculture and renewable fuels industries. In a survey of voters in Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota, respondents overwhelmingly say they support federal policies to
June 18, 2018
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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
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by Bob Yirka (Phys.org) A team of researchers with members from institutions in Singapore, China and the U.K. has found a way to improve electron transfer in enzymatic biofuel cells. In their paper published in the journal Nature Energy, they describe their technique and how well it works. Huajie Yin and
June 12, 2018
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(Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen (UFOP)) Biodiesel imports from Argentina have increased considerably over the past several months. In contrast, imports of soybean oil as feedstock from Argentina have been virtually non-existent. The reverse trend can be seen in regard to imports from Indonesia. Since EU import duties were
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … In Illinois, carbon recycling company, LanzaTech, and its joint venture partner, Shougang Group, a leading Chinese iron and steel producer, announced the successful start-up of the world’s first commercial facility converting industrial emissions to sustainable ethanol. The facility, located at the Jingtang Steel Mill in Caofeidian
June 11, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … We’ve organized the state of biodiesel into 10 areas of vital interest ranging from the development of markets to the entry of ancillary products and new feedstocks. #1 Tax & Trade Free trade vs fair trade: Dumping and tax credit issues continue to mezmerize the
June 7, 2018
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by Marcelo Teixeira (Reuters) Longping High-Tech Agriculture Co, an agricultural firm controlled by China conglomerate CITIC Group Corp [CITIC.UL], sees Brazil expanding corn output up to 5 percent per year in coming years and is investing heavily to grab a third of the country’s corn seed market. Longping, which bought its corn
May 31, 2018
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by Christina Siantar (Platts) Chinese ethanol buyers are turning to Central and South America for arbitrage supply, after Beijing’s imposition of additional 15% import tax on US ethanol has priced US cargoes out of the Chinese market. A Chinese oil refiner has bought 16,000-17,000 mt of fuel ethanol from Costa Rica this week, for
May 30, 2018
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(Scania/Automotive World) A fossil-free commercial transport system in the timeframe of the Paris Agreement target is not only possible, but also financially attractive from a societal perspective. This is the key conclusion of a study initiated by Scania. … A comprehensive analysis undertaken by Scania, and reviewed by an external academic
May 24, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Yield10’s Brave New World of Metabolic Engineering, Benson Hill’s cloud biology and CRISPR/Cas9 from Purdue and the Chinese Academy of Sciences? Crop yield may never be the same. And developers using crops for bioindustrials or nutrition stand to reap the benefit via bigger refineries and lower input
May 24, 2018
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by Scott DiSavino (Reuters) China’s interest in reducing its trade surplus with the United States through increased energy imports could advance plans for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and ethanol sales, analysts and energy executives involved in developing new LNG facilities said. Washington and Beijing stepped back from the brink
May 23, 2018
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(GrainNet) Industry and government officials from 17 countries in Asia and Oceania are meeting with members of the U.S. ethanol industry and U.S. officials in Minneapolis this week at the Ethanol Summit of the Asia Pacific (Summit), focused on current and future prospects for expanded ethanol use throughout the region. The
May 22, 2018
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(Greenbelt Resources) Greenbelt Resources Corporation GRCO, +23.29% (Greenbelt), the developer and provider of a sustainable ECOsystem model that transforms waste into bio-ethanol, today announced that CEO Darren Eng will visit China this month by special letter invitation to assist in enhancing the domestic production capacity up to the over four billion gallons of ethanol
May 9, 2018
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(China Daily) To boost industrial demand for corn and cut emissions, China has launched corn-to-ethanol pilot programs in 2004. However, the promotion of bioethanol, the cleaner alternative to traditional fuels like diesel and gasoline, remains a challenge even after more than a decade. It seems not many petrol stations sell
May 7, 2018
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(Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves) The Alliance partnered with China’s Ministry of Agriculture, Shell, local governments, and SSM to develop and launch a new clean cooking project in Zhejiang province of China. The project aims to encourage commercial enterprises to switch from wood and coal to biomass pellets. The pilot interventions
May 3, 2018
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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
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by Gunjan Mukherjee (Advanced Biofuels USA/Chandigarh University Institute of Biotechnology (UIBT)) The International Conference on Sustainable Biofuel was held at the India Habitat Center, New Delhi, India. The concept of the conference was that use of fossil fuels for transportation contributes significantly to global greenhouse gases (GHG) emission. On the
April 23, 2018
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by Jieyi Lu (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) Making Vehicles More Efficient Is Critical to Reduce Emissions — … Over the next 30 years, electric vehicles (EVs) will grow and fuel economy will increase, but conventional gasoline vehicles will continue to dominate the U.S. vehicle fleet. That was the conclusion witnesses came
by Dominique Patton (Reuters) Grain trader and processor China Beidahuang Industry Group has signed an agreement with the mayor of Inner Mongolia’s Baotou city to build an ethanol facility with annual capacity of 350,000 tonnes, it said on its website on Thursday. The 960 million yuan ($153.04 million) facility will use
April 20, 2018
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(Ethanol Europe Renewables/EurActiv) The Energy Directive (RED 2) transport decarbonisation ambitions ostensibly promote major capital investment in truly advanced biofuels breakthrough technologies. However, the Directive will not generate meaningful advanced biofuels investment. Instead, it incentivises fake wastes to meet biofuels targets for 2030. This is clear from what has happened
April 17, 2018
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by Emily Rauhala (The Washington Post) China announced temporary anti-dumping measures Tuesday on U.S. sorghum, potentially hitting U.S. growers and exacerbating the brewing trade war between Beijing and Washington. China’s Ministry of Commerce said that starting Wednesday, Chinese importers of U.S. sorghum, used by the Chinese for animal feed and brewing
April 17, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw and Chris Prentice (Reuters) The Trump administration is considering allowing the sale of a higher ethanol fuel blend in the summer, a source familiar with the issue said, a move that would placate corn growers worried about the future of U.S. biofuels policy. … Trump has tried in
April 12, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The Trump administration will delay any moves to reform the nation’s biofuel policy for about three months, according to three sources briefed on the matter – a decision one of the sources said was meant to shield farmers worried about a potential trade war with China. The
April 11, 2018
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by Mario Parker (Bloomberg) Change to biofuel mandate may mean destruction of corn demand; Growers already dealing with trade concerns, crop gluts — Based on his own back-of-the-envelope calculations, Minnesota farmer Kirby Hettver could lose tens of thousands of dollars of earnings because of President Donald Trump. But damaging as the brewing trade war with
April 10, 2018
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(Argus Media) China faces several challenges to hit an ambitious 10pc (E10) ethanol blending target in its gasoline fuel mix by 2020, according to participants at the Argus China Ethanol conference in Beijing. The government announced the target last year to reduce congestion and support the domestic agriculture sector. Its policy
April 5, 2018
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) The Trump administration escalated trade-war tensions with China on Tuesday, publishing a proposed list of 1,300 Chinese imports that it will hit with retaliatory tariffs in response to China’s intellectual property practices, Pro’s Adam Behsudi reports. The list includes a host of battery technologies, which
April 4, 2018
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by David Stanway (Reuters) China met its 2020 carbon intensity target three years ahead of schedule last year, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the country’s top climate official Xie Zhenhua. China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, cut its 2005 carbon intensity level, or the amount of climate-warming
April 2, 2018
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(Algae Industry Magazine/Science Trends) enguang Zhou writes in Sciencetrends.com about work recently published in the journal Bioresource Technology regarding why Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) of microalgae — a bio-oil technology which does not require dewatering and drying of algal biomass — up to now, has rarely been commercialized. One of the problems impeding its industrialization is
by Srijan Kanoi (Platts) China’s Ministry of Commerce said Friday that they might impose an additional 15% duty, along with the existing 30% duty, on denatured ethanol imports from the US if both China and US fail to reach a trade compensation agreement within stipulated time. The rising tension between both the
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
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by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Researchers from Nanjing Tech University in China have published a paper in Biotechnology for Biofuels on their method to increase lipid content and reduce peroxidation in Schizochytrium sp., a marine microalgae rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is touted for its human health benefits. The researchers say stress induction to
March 21, 2018
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by Karl Plume (Reuters) U.S. agricultural exports could be at risk in any retaliation over tariffs implemented by the White House, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said on Monday. … Perdue said that while the United States is not currently in a trade war, there have already been repercussions seen
March 20, 2018
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by Meng Meng, Josephine Mason (Reuters) China’s top independent oil refiner is buying ethanol and two others are seeking government approval to blend the biofuel into their gasoline ahead of the country’s 2020 deadline to add it to the nation’s fuel supply, several sources told Reuters. … The push by the private
March 20, 2018
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by Susan Reidy (World-Grain.com) A $1.5 billion settlement has been reached in the nationwide class action suit over Syngenta’s genetically modified corn seed. It is believed to be one of the largest agricultural settlements in U.S. history. The settlement covers all U.S. corn producers, grain handling facilities and ethanol plants who
March 14, 2018
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by Bridget Asiimwe (The Observer) Uganda Investment Authority has entered a multi-billion deal with a Malaysian firm with an aim of transforming the country into a green economy by 2040 through a series of four integrated green projects led by bio-fuels. The $70bn project will be implemented by Bionas East Africa Group
March 5, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, ABLC 2018 opens amidst a flutter of government rollbacks of deployment support but the hope of regulatory relief, breakthroughs in financial structuring, a decisive shift in early-stage projects to nutrition & health, and an increasing number of deployments in advanced biofuels and a surge
February 28, 2018
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(Autocar Pro News Desk) A new product launched by Mahle has the potential to revolutionise the ethanol industry at a global level. MBE2 (Mahle Bioethanol 2) is a solution that increases the production of ethanol by a minimum of 10 percent without the need to increase the area of planted sugarcane.
February 27, 2018
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by Chrysa Glystra (Platts) The European Commission announced Tuesday it will initiate an expiry review of the antidumping duty against US fuel ethanol imports, with the duty staying in the place for another 15 months while the investigation takes place. The duty of 9.5% has been in place since February 23,
February 20, 2018
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(China Daily) The Shanghai municipal government is planning to increase the number of biodiesel fueling stations in the city from the current 21 to 200 by the end of this year, said Xu Kunlin, vice-mayor of Shanghai, during a news conference on Feb 9. Achieving this goal, said Xu, would mean
February 20, 2018
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by John Voelcker (Green Car Reports) It’s accepted wisdom among electric-car fans and advocates that within a few years, mass-market car buyers will start snapping up battery-electric cars. First, battery prices have to come down to the point that electric vehicles aren’t much pricier than comparable models with gasoline engines. But
(WIREs Authors/Advanced Science News) To confront global warming, climate changes and a potential energy shortage, biodiesel received increasing interest as a substitute for diesel fuels in efforts towards sustainable development. Microalgae-derived biodiesel is a promising energy source. The advantages of microalgae as a biodiesel feedstock are many, for example, efficient photosynthesis, high
February 6, 2018
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by Helena Taveres Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … Environmental groups have long been against palm oil plantations on these crucial climate fighting forests. But consumers are using more palm oil products, from cosmetics to biofuels to food ingredients, and the demand for palm oil continues to increase, thus pushing along the expansion
February 5, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … The clearest intersecting theme is bio-methanol. Let’s see why. For one, Södra has much more going on than Silva, and we reported on a major development in December when we related that Södra will invest more than $12.5 million in the production of biomethanol, a
January 25, 2018
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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
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Argus Biodiesel China 2018 will be held over 28-29 March 2018 in Beijing, China. Expect to meet global participants for half a day of networking in a laid-back setting and one day of market discussions. Conference features 1½-day event — half day of networking, pre-registration and exhibition and one day
As one of the biggest gasoline consumers in a fast-growing automotive industry, China plans to implement a nationwide E10 mandate by 2020 as part of efforts to control emissions. Beijing is looking to hit its blending targets while reducing ethanol imports and achieving self-sufficiency through the development of ethanol plants.
January 23, 2018
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(ICIS News) China’s imports of mixed aromatics may wane due to high costs and amid calls for a nationwide use of ethanol gasoline. … Chinese buyers favour Thailand-origin mixed aromatics with a high benzene content due to their low price. … Meanwhile, demand for mixed aromatics may take a hit as China moves toward using
January 22, 2018
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(Enerkem/PR Newswire) Enerkem Inc. (www.enerkem.com), a world leading waste-to-biofuels and renewable chemicals producer, announced today it has signed an agreement with Sinobioway Group worth over C$125M in the form of equity investment in Enerkem Inc., future licenses, equipment manufacturing and sales, as well as for the creation of a major joint venture
January 22, 2018
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(Phys.Org/World Scientific Publishing) Recent research published in a report in Nano showed biofuels were obtained from Jatropha Oil using carbon nanotube (CNT) catalyst, which showed efficient cracking activity. The performance was activated by the high stability, metal sites, acid sites, electroconductivity, and coking tolerance of CNT. Two cracking circulations were found in the
January 19, 2018
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by Dan Charles (the salt/NPR) … The story, however, is more complicated than it seems. For one thing, that boom in Argentine biodiesel exports is over, at least for now. Last summer, the United States accused Argentina of subsidizing its biodiesel producers and “dumping” cheap biodiesel on the world market. In
January 18, 2018
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by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) The Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) has taken stock of its busy 2017 and has set priorities for 2018. Highlights on the sustainable alternative jet fuel (SAJF) front include development of many resources available to the public on the CAAFI website. Progress on
January 12, 2018
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(Convenience Store News) … Consumers and Alternative Fuels 2017, the latest installment of the Fuels Institute’s annual measure of American consumers’ sentiment on vehicle purchases, found that significantly more consumers stated they were very likely or somewhat likely to purchase an alternative fuel vehicle than actually made such a vehicle purchase
January 4, 2018
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(Southern Farm Network Today) Texas Senator Ted Cruz recently proposed to put a cap on the price of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) as a way to control the cost for refiners that blend renewable fuels into the nation’s gasoline supply. What exactly is an RIN? Here’s Mike Zuzolo from Global Commodity
January 4, 2018
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(North Iowa Today) Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa marked a series of policy and oversight accomplishments in 2017. … Grassley introduced the Food Security is National Security Act of 2017, which would give top U.S. agriculture and food officials permanent representation on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). It would
January 4, 2018
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by Michael Eggleston* (Advanced Biofuels USA) In order to meet the global temperature reduction target which was agreed upon at the Paris Climate Accord, delegates from the Biofuture Platform met in Bonn, Germany for the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) on November 16th to discuss plans to scale up
January 4, 2018
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by Hiroko Tabuchi (New York Times)The suspensions pointed to Beijing’s growing willingness to test forceful antipollution measures and assume a leading role in the fight against climate change. READ MORE
January 3, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Florida, the Digest today releases its annual review of biofuels mandates and targets around the world, looking at the state of biofuels mandates in 65 countries. The bulk of mandates continue to come from the EU-27, where the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) once specified a
January 2, 2018
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In China, the little ethanol it is importing is coming almost entirely from Pakistan as shown in November when 6,449 cubic meters of the 6,466 cu m total imports that month came from China’s southern neighbor. READ MORE China Nov Ethanol Imports Second Highest This Year;
December 28, 2017
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(Algae Industry Magazine) China Daily Editor Zhang Shiyu writes that Wang Qiang, the lead scientist behind a project at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Hydrobiology, said a new strain of microalgae they are developing has recently entered a test phase for cleaning emissions produced by the refineries of
December 28, 2017
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by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) To kick off the new year, we rounded up a few experts to discuss five main industry topics: exports, policy, production, finance and technology. Find out what they said. — As we head into 2018, ethanol producers have plenty to think about and likely have predictions
December 27, 2017
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by Jack Stewart (Wired) For all the hype, electric cars still make up a tiny percentage of global vehicle sales. Like, less than one percent tiny. But there’s a growing movement around the world to put a deadline on the life of the internal combustion engine. This year India, the UK, Norway,
December 27, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) With apologies to every other region around the world. we continue to see Asia as the epicenter of the biobased revolution over the next 20 years. The reasons are three and relatively straightforward: 1. Continued and robust economic growth. 2. Massive biomass resource. 3. Lack of
December 26, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Below50 is an initiative that brings businesses together with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Roundtable for Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) and Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) to promote the best-of-breed of sustainable fuels. The companies and organizations driving the initiative include ABBI, Arizona State
December 26, 2017
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) 2017 was a roller coaster year. There was a paradigm shift in biofuels, technology advancements, innovations abounded, politics chaotic. Some companies shut down and disappeared like the Hobo vanishing in the snow atop the Polar Express. Some companies showed leadership and stayed strong getting through
December 26, 2017
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Pius Rugonzibwa In Mwanza (Daily News) The production of cassava in the country has received a major boost after the government recently signed a deal with a Chinese firm worth over 2.5trl/- aimed at commercialising its farming. — Opening the annual review and planning meeting of the African Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) here
December 15, 2017
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(Platts) Chinese ethanol traders face a lot uncertainty in terms of next year’s domestic demand generated by the E10 nationwide policy, which is due to be implemented by 2020, amid a lack of clarity on the new mandate from the government. As reported by Chinese media on Friday, the next step
December 11, 2017
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