Advanced BioFuels USA – Truly Sustainable Renewable Future

The LCFS Re-Adoption and Its Possible Repercussions

by John Sens (Biodiesel Magazine/EcoEngineers) ... Some important items that have resulted from this re-adoption process are: -Setting compliance curve to meet 10 percent GHG reduction by 2020. -Cost containment measures, including a price ceiling of $200 per CI credit. -A two-tiered system for

April 08, 2015 Read Full Article

Unique Oakland Biodiesel Project Receives $3.4 Million Grant

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Viridis Fuels, a state-of-the-art biodiesel project in Oakland, California, is prepared to receive an official notice of award today for a $3.4 million state grant at a California Energy Commission business meeting in Sacramento. A

April 08, 2015 Read Full Article

CALL FOR SPEAKERS: 2015 Rural Summit – “ASPIRE Rural Maryland” — December 1-2 — Annapolis, MD DEADLINE: July 1, 2015

The Rural Maryland Council (RMC) Conference Planning Committee is accepting speaker proposals. We are especially interested in presentations on best practices, engagement, and/or innovation in these areas: Agriculture Broadband implementation and access Youth Engagement Workforce and Economic Development Community Development Health Care Energy Tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, December

April 08, 2015 Read Full Article

The Experiment in Exploitation of Engines Working on Biofuel Has Been Completed in Sweden

(Ukrainian Biofuel Portal) Stockholm authorities reckoned up the results of a four-year experiment in testing the trucks with engines using alternative fuel. Within the framework of the experiment, fifty trucks appeared on the roads of Stockholm, equipped with methane-diesel, diesel-electric and

April 08, 2015 Read Full Article

UH Researchers Discover N-Type Polymer for Fast Organic Battery

by Jeannie Kever (University of Houston) New Material Opens the Door to Low-Cost, Environmentally Friendly Energy Use -- Researchers at the University of Houston have reported developing an efficient conductive electron-transporting polymer, a long-missing puzzle piece that will allow ultrafast battery applications. The discovery

April 08, 2015 Read Full Article

American Ethanol Car to Appear at Nebraska State FFA Convention

(Nebraska Ethanol Board) American Ethanol is proud to announce its partnership with the Nebraska Corn Board, Nebraska Ethanol Board and ethanol producer Green Plains Inc. to promote homegrown American Ethanol at this week’s Nebraska State FFA Convention held April 8-10,

April 08, 2015 Read Full Article

54.5-mpg Rules Expected to Stick

by David Shepardson (Detroit News) A growing number of foreign automakers believes U.S. regulators won’t soften the planned 54.5-mpg fleet-wide average by 2025, and that could make it tougher for truck-heavy U.S. automakers to challenge the requirements. U.S. fuel efficiency standards will

April 08, 2015 Read Full Article

Residue or Residon’t: Untapped Fuel Yields from the US Corn Production System

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Why not use the materials we don’t need, to produce the fuels we do need? ... (R)educe, re-use, recycle. Use what’s already there. And there’s nothing more powerful in the Imperial Department of Re-Use than sustainable agricultural

April 08, 2015 Read Full Article

Algenol Joins U.S. Mission to China

(Algae Industry Magazine) Fort Myers, Florida-based Algenol has joined the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker, on a business development mission to China. Other influential companies including GE, Southern Company, Honeywell, Praxair,

April 08, 2015 Read Full Article

Billionaire Environmentalist Comes to Sacramento, Clashes with Businesses over Climate Change Bill

by Allen Young (Sacramento Business Journal) Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer came to Sacramento on Tuesday to promote a wholesale expansion of air quality regulations promoted by the governor and Senate leader Kevin de León. Asked point blank why Steyer approved of the

April 08, 2015 Read Full Article

Ethanol Industry Continues to Evolve as Usage Levels off

by Loretta Sorensen (Midwest Producer) ... Kansas Corn CEO Greg Krissek said there is some slowing of ethanol production on the eastern and western edges of the cornbelt. But ethanol industry leaders are responding to market conditions by implementing new technology

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Telling the Story of Energy Through Online Educational Resources

(American Farm Bureau Federation) The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has launched new, free energy-based educational resources online for middle- and high-school educators and volunteers. Educators will discover the power of energy education and the unique connections to agricultural literacy with

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Fees, Taxes Increase with Highway Funding Package

(Rapid City Journal) South Dakota drivers will be paying more for that privilege in the very near future. The 2015 S.D. Legislature, with guidance from an Interim Committee on Highway Needs and Financing, overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 1 and Governor

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

4 Minutes with… Douglas O. Cochran, Manager, Rail Projects Creative Rail Solutions

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Creative Rail Solutions, LLC helps clients who want to secure the efficiency, economy, and environmental friendliness of rail transportation. ... My primary role is to meet with the prospect or client, observe the site conditions, develop

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

4 Minutes with… Keith Brazzell, Chief Operating Officer, Genera Energy

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Leaders looking for cellulose feedstock often first consult with Genera. We then prepare the supply. ... I was asked to startup and manage the cellulosic ethanol business in Tennessee that is now wholly owned by

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

4 Minutes with… Richard Palmer, President & CEO, Global Clean Energy Holdings

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... We develop non-food based oil seed crops to be used as a feedstock for biofuels and renewable chemicals. Our crops do not take away from food land and when grown at scale can compete with

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

4 Minutes with… Ezekiel Oyediji, Managing Director/CEO, Elzek Multilink Services & Investment

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Elzek Multilink Services & Investment[E M S I]LTD.is a private limited liability company duly registered in Nigeria.This is a small company that is aspiring to grow big with the co-operation of a Technical Partner to

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

In Vietnam, Many Provinces about to Sell Biofuels Following Gov’t Decision

(Tuoi Tre News) Authorities in many localities in Vietnam have prepared to widely distribute E5 and E10 biofuels to spur consumption and gradually replace traditional fuels following a roadmap set out by the central government three years ago, according to

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Germany: Start-Up of Second Generation Biofuel Production through the Bioliq™ Project

(Air Liquide) Conducted in partnership with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the bioliq™ pilot plant aims at demonstrating the feasibility of a process to produce high-quality sulfur-free fuel from residual biomass. These “second generation” biofuels are produced using the inedible

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

BioTfuel: A Project to Produce Biofuels via Thermochemical Conversion

(Total) The BioTfueL project focuses on producing second-generation biodiesel and bio-jet fuel via thermochemical conversion. Total is working with five partners to bring the process to commercial-scale production. In the BioTfueL project, Total is working with five partners to develop technologies for

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Ceres and Raízen Sign Multi-Year Collaboration to Scale-Up Sweet Sorghum for Ethanol

(Ceres) Ceres, Inc. (Nasdaq:CERE), an agricultural biotechnology company, and Brazilian energy company Raízen S.A., today announced that they have signed a multi-year collaboration agreement to develop and produce sweet sorghum on an industrial scale. Sweet sorghum can be grown to

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Gevo Sells Renewable Jet Fuel to NASA

(Gevo/Biomass Magazine) Gevo Inc. has announced that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has purchased Gevo's renewable alcohol-to-jet fuel (ATJ) for aviation use at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Gevo's ATJ is manufactured at its demonstration biorefinery

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

European Biomethane Roadmap

(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe) The GreenGasGrids project has reviewed the present market status and has thoroughly looked at the obstacles hindering the broader production and application of biomethane. The Roadmap indicates, that - if the necessary actions will be taken - the level

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Businesses Fight Oregon’s New Rule on Clean Fuels

by Ilene Aleshire (The Register-Guard) Energy and manufacturing groups file a lawsuit challenging the state’s standard ... The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, the American Trucking Associations and the Consumer Energy Alliance, whose backers include oil companies and large manufacturers, filed suit

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

The Algae Whisperer

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A new project aims to capture atmospheric CO2, affordably, using traits and techniques known to algae for millenia. ... To date, no one has figured out how to get the CO2 out of the air, or the air

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Ethiopia: Ministry to Step Up Bio-Fuel Development Efforts

by Daniel Beyene (AllAfrica/Ethiopian Herald) The Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy announced that the ongoing efforts in tapping the rich bio-fuel resources in Ethiopia would be stepped up with a view to ensuring domestic energy security, rapid economic development

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

EPA Opens Comment Period on Cellulosic Waiver Credit Rules

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) On April 3, the U.S. EPA published its direct final rule and parallel proposed rule on cellulosic waiver credits (CWCs) in the Federal Register, officially opening a 30-day comment period. The agency released prepublication

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

The Motley Fool Criticizes Ethanol Subsidies That Don't Exist

by Denise Robbins (Media Matters) The multimedia financial services company The Motley Fool criticized ethanol for allegedly relying on government subsidies -- despite the fact that subsidies for corn ethanol, which comprises the vast majority of ethanol used in the

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

US Safety Board: Oil Train Tank Cars Need Urgent Upgrades

by Matthew Brown (Associated Press/Monterey Herald) Fuel-hauling tank cars need retrofits to prevent more explosive train wrecks — and the public can't wait another decade for the improvements as has been suggested by industry, U.S. safety officials said. The National Transportation Safety

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Opinion: Learning about Fusel Oils

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... Back in early February I got an email from a reader searching for ethanol producers that want to sell fusel oil. He was contacting me on behalf of a trading company located in Saigon,

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Corn Husks a Promising Source of Renewable Fuel

(Yahoo! News/Agence France-Presse) US scientists said Monday they have found a way to use discarded corn husks and stalks to make cheap hydrogen fuel that doesn't pollute the environment like fossil fuels. The advances by a team at Virginia Polytechnic Institute

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Prices Giving Positive Ethanol Margins, Negative for Corn Farmers

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Market conditions in mid-March indicated ethanol producers could pay about 10 percent more than the current cash corn price before reaching the plant “shut-down level,” according to an analysis by retired Iowa State

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Sen. Kaine Visits Hopewell Ethanol Plant

by Shelby Mertens (Progress-Index) U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine made a stop at the Vireol Bio Energy LLC plant in Hopewell on Monday for the first leg of his five-day spring break tour of Virginia. Kaine said he has been hoping to visit

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

4 Minutes with… Ulla Pettersson, Director, e for energy Management Consulting

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... I am currently working on a big survey about Staff Motivation Factors in different sources of power generation and would be happy to have more participants in this survey! (email: survey_motivation_survey@e-for-energy.com) I am also working on

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Biodiesel Industry Seeks to Reverse Argentina Import Decision

(National Biodiesel Board) The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is calling for the EPA to stay its recent decision to streamline Argentinian biodiesel imports to the U.S. under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) pending public review and comment. In a petition filed

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Grease-to-Biodiesel Truck Startup Raises nearly $1M

by Katharine Grayson (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal) Revolution Fuels, a startup that mounts equipment for converting grease to biofuel on trucks, has raised nearly $1 million in funding, according to a regulatory filing. The St. Louis Park-based company rounded up $983,332

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Confronting and Solving “Chicken or Egg” Conundrums in Renewable Project Development

by Tim Sklar (Biofuels Digest) Looking to turn vicious project financing cycles into virtuous cycles? This case study in developing a small-scale Bio-LNG plant offers cautionary tales and a way forward. In July 2014, Biofuels Digest had published an article titled

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Lund Researchers Develop Optimized Two-Phase Enzymatic Process for Production of Biodiesel

(Green Car Congress) Researchers at Lund University (Sweden) have developed an optimized two-phase enzymatic (lipase) system for the conversion of plant oils to biodiesel. Applied to the solvent-free ethanolysis of rapeseed oil, the system delivered a yield of 96% under mild

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

N.J. Man Charged in Biodiesel Scam Accused of Death Threats, Report Says

by Myles Ma (NJ.com) Prosecutors say a Bergen County man accused in a $90 million biodiesel trading scam threatened to harm or kill anyone who provides evidence against him, the Star Press of Muncie, Ind., reported Monday. Joseph Furando, 49, was

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

4 Minutes with Gerard Goma, Emeritus professor, INSA

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... My lab is “laboratory of engineering of biosystems and bio process” in Toulouse France .inside a scool of engineer :INSA Our lab is recognized By CNRS and INRA. I built this lab now with a

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

Biodegradable Plastics from Potato Waste for High-Tech Applications

(Bio-on) Bio-on S.p.A., the leader in eco-sustainable chemical technologies, and Pizzoli S.p.A., Italy's largest operator in the potato sector, will collaborate to build Italy's first PHAs bioplastic production plant using waste product from the potato agro-industrial process. The collaboration, signed by

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

The Wealth Effect, and Farm Impact on the US Economy

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Though representing just 1.3% of the US GDP, if the farm sector has a major impact on US economic health, it may tie back to what economists call “the wealth effect”. In today’s Digest, we

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Prairie & Native Grass International Conference — September 30 – October 2, 2015 — Knoxville, TN DEADLINE: June 30, 2015

The conference will bring together scientists and students interested in switchgrass and other prairie grasses to discuss the state of the art of prairie grass research. It will be an excellent opportunity to meet and interact with researchers from a

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

SouthEast Energy Development (SEED) Fellowship Recipients Selected

(Southeast Partnership for Integrated Biomass Supply Systems) As a part of the Southeast Partnership for Integrated Biomass Supply Systems (IBSS) project goals centered on education and job training, the Southeast Energy Development (SEED) Fellowship has selected five new fellows to participate

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

In China’s Inner Mongolia, Mining Spells Misery for Traditional Herders

by Simon Denyer (The Washington Post) ... The vast, wind-swept grasslands of Inner Mongolia have been home to nomadic pastoralists for thousands of years, but the rich resources that lay under these rolling prairies have proved a curse to the people

April 07, 2015 Read Full Article

RFA: Economic Models Are One Thing, Reality Is Another

(Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Science Magazine has published yet another study from environmental activist and attorney Timothy Searchinger that re-packages his already disproven theory of food vs. fuel. His assertions about the impact of biofuels on food markets run

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

ISU Agronomist Weighs Impacts of Corn Residue Removal

(Iowa State University/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Farmers who are considering selling corn residue from their fields to produce cellulosic ethanol first should weigh a range of site-specific factors to their operations, according to new research from an Iowa State University agronomist. Mahdi

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

National Farmers Union Concerned over Omission of RFS from GHG Reduction Plan

(National Farmers Union/Ethanol Producer Magazine) National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson recently expressed concern over the exclusion of the renewable fuel standard (RFS) in President Obama’s formal submission of a plan to the United Nations to cut United States greenhouse

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

Industry Provides Input to SAB Biogenic Carbon Emissions Panel

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) In late March, the U.S. EPA’s Science Advisory Board Biogenic Carbon Emissions Panel held a public face-to-face meeting to review the agency’s Framework for Assessing Biogenic CO2 Emissions from Stationary Sources. A public teleconference

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

Update Released to BETO’s Multi-Year Program Plan

(US Department of Energy) The Bioenergy Technologies Office is pleased to announce the release of its newly updated Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP). The MYPP sets forth the goals and structure of the Office. It identifies the research, development, demonstration, market

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

EPA Approves Efficient Producer Pathways for 5 Ethanol Plants

(Ethanol Producer Magazine) In March, the U.S. EPA approved five new corn ethanol pathways under the agency’s Efficient Producer petition process (EP3), including Heron Lake BioEnergy LLC, Heron Lake, Minnesota; United Wisconsin Grain Producers LLC, Friesland, Wisconsin; Guardian Lima LLC,

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

France Increases Biodiesel Limit to 8 Percent in Diesel Fuel

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) France’s energy ministry recently issued an order to up the allowable biodiesel concentration in diesel fuel sold at public fueling stations across France. Ministerial order DEVR1431074A increases the allowable concentration of biodiesel from 7 to 8 percent.

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

Western Victorian Farmer Growing Crops to Produce Biofuel

by Brett Worthington (ABC Rural) Farmers spend thousands of dollars a year buying fuel that comes from the other side of the world. They do so to grow crops in variable, and often difficult, conditions. One farmer, tired of wheat

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

PureVision to Scale up Biorefining Technology at ZeaChem Site

(PureVision Technology Inc./Ethanol Producer Magazine) PureVision Technology Inc., a Colorado-based biorefinery developer, recently announced that it will scale up its biorefining technology at an industrial site in Boardman, Oregon, owned by ZeaChem Inc. The public announcement was made March 28

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

Recent Researches of European Scientists Evidence a Strong Possibility to Prevent Deforestation Caused by Biofuel Production

(Ukrainian Biofuel Portal) Nonetheless, the ecologists demonstrated their critical attitude towards the results of the research. Lately, the use of biofuel is regarded as one of the most efficient ways to reduce the emissions into the atmosphere by automobiles, motor

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

4 Minutes with…Professor George Willis Huber, Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... I lead a research group of graduate students and post-docs whose mission is to design new catalyst processes for more efficiently and economically converting biomass into fuels and chemicals. We have some excellent collaborators here

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

Netherlands-Based Firm to Open Ethanol Plant

(Sun Star) A Netherlands-based firm is set to pour in P13.5 billion investments in the eastern coast of Zamboanga City. Second district Representative Lilia Nuño said the Van Kessel Inc. is putting up an Ethanol processing plant in the village

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

Study Shows: Big Oil Is Chicken Little over Ethanol

by Ryan Koopmans (Des Moines Register) ... For the last decade, Big Oil has been running nervously through the halls of the U.S. Capitol and the EPA, screaming — to anyone who will listen — that the Renewable Fuel Standard is

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

IH2* Technology Licensed to Leading Global Forest Products Company

(BusinessWire/IH2) Producing liquid transportation fuels from woody biomass -- A leading global forest products company headquartered in Northern Europe has entered into an FEL-1 license agreement with CRI Catalyst Company (CRI), a global catalyst technology company. IH2 technology is a thermal catalytic

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

SDTC Looking for Canada’s Next Cleantech Innovators

(Government of Canada and Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC)) On behalf of the Government of Canada, SDTC is looking for the next wave of innovative cleantech entrepreneurs. The SD Tech Fund™ and the SD Natural Gas Fund™ are open for

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

AG Ventures Alliance, Cellulose Sciences Int'l form New JV Stover Ventures

(Ag Ventures Alliance Cooperative and Cellulose Sciences International/AgriMarketing.com) Ag Ventures Alliance Cooperative (AgVA) of Mason City, Iowa, and Cellulose Sciences International (CSI) of Madison, Wis., completed a financing agreement resulting in the formation of a new joint venture, Stover Ventures,

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

California Air Resources Board Holds Workshop on LCFS Re-Adoption

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, the California Air Resources Board held a workshop on the Low Carbon Fuel Standard re-adoption process. The CARB workshop presentation is now posted online, ... CARB’s revision of indirect land-use change (ILUC) modeling resulted in reduced penalties for

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

US Poised for Biobased Chemicals Breakout, Says National Research Council

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Though challenges remain, particularly in affordable feedstock, the US National Research Council says “Despite impressive recent and projected growth, the manufacturing of chemicals using biological synthesis and engineering could expand even faster.” ... In Washington, the National

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

Cellulosic Ethanol Is Getting a Big Boost from Corn, for Now

by Ryan Fitzpatrick (Third Way) Cellulosic fuels offer economic, environmental, and national security benefits, but scaling-up the technology has proven difficult and costly. Companies with an extensive background in the corn ethanol industry are cracking the cellulosic code, with projects that

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

Rand Paul Finds Way to Champion Iowa Ethanol

by Jennifer Jacobs (Des Moines Register) It looks like presidential hopeful Rand Paul has found a clever way to champion ethanol, with an issue that's in harmony with his keep-government-out-of-the-marketplace mentality. Paul, a Republican U.S. senator from Kentucky, has teamed

April 06, 2015 Read Full Article

Algae from Wastewater Solves Two Problems: Biofuel and Clean-Up

(Science Daily/Rice University) In one of the first studies to examine the potential for using municipal wastewater as a feedstock for algae-based biofuels, scientists found they could grow high-value strains of oil-rich algae while simultaneously removing more than 90 percent of

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

New Bill Could Add Value To Iowa Biofuel

(WHOTV.com) ... At the Iowa Biotech Association’s Partnering for Growth event on April 1st, Director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority Debi Durham was a keynote speaker. She talked about using Iowa’s ethanol and biodiesel production, and incentivizing, “bolt on” facilities to

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

Cool Planet Offers Help to California on Water Usage

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Cool Planet, a California-based company that makes an organic, water-saving soil enhancer, was inspired by the order and is offering to help reach this goal by delivering a truckload of its water-saving CoolTerra product to reduce water usage

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

Global Bioenergies Heads for Demo Scale: A Magic Path to Isobutane in Sight

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... In France, Global Bioenergies announced that it has completed the financing of its demo plant, and is commencing construction immediately. The 5,000L demonstration-scale facility will be completed in spring 2015, and will be located at

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

University of Toledo Gets Nearly $200,000 Grant for Biofuel Project

(The Toledo Blade) The University of Toledo is getting $199,997 for an algae biomass research project. U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) said in a news release today that the National Science Foundation is awarding the grant to advance research and

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

RFA Slams Misleading Statements on Ethanol Availability Made by Oil Industry

by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) sent a letter to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to set the record straight and counter misleading and inaccurate statements about ethanol availability and infrastructure made by

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

4 Minutes with… Warren Nevad, Director, TREEDC

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... TREEDC is a statewide grassroots organization of 96 Tennessee mayors who work together to create a path to help fast track renewables in Tennessee since 2008. We are now replicating our approach with universities and

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

China New Energy Making Progress on Hungarian and Thai Ethanol Projects

by Isabel Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the UK, China New Energy reports that its projects in Hungary and Thailand are proceeding well. Visontai Bioetanol Fejlesztő Korlátolt Felelősségű Társaság has informed CNE that the 30 million Euro project finance has been

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

4 Minutes with… Andrew Holt, Director, Catal International

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Contract R&D Organization in Catalyst Technologies developing Catalysts and Catalytic Processes for waste and Biomass upgrading. Development of conversion technologies for Pyrolysis derived oils. READ MORE

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

The Unrecognized Value of Bio-Energy

by Chad Smith (Midwest Producer) "We threw a whole bunch of stuff up on the wall to see if anything sticks." Dave VanderGriend quoted a Kansas state legislator describing House Bill (HB) 2401, a proposal to add a 4.5-cent per gallon

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

Vehicles Running on Cooking Oil Deliver Big Carbon Savings

by Jack Loughran (MRW Magazine) A study has shown that low-carbon trucks running on used cooking oil (UCO) can achieve 97% carbon savings in comparison with dual diesel/gas engines. READ MORE

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

More Gevolution

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The results from Gevo’s 4th quarter are in, and a worth a look-see, not only for fans of isobutanol and its prospects. Also for a look at how this member of the 2010-12 IPO group of

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

Plowing Prairies for Grains: Biofuel Crops Replace Grasslands Nationwide, U.S. Study Shows

(Science Daily/University of Wisconsin-Madison) Clearing grasslands to make way for biofuels may seem counterproductive, but researchers show that crops, including the corn and soy commonly used for biofuels, expanded onto 7 million acres of new land in the U.S. over

April 03, 2015 Read Full Article

The Urban Air Initiative's Comments On EPA’s Proposal to Update the Air Quality Standards for Ground-Level Ozone Docket ID#: EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0699

(The Urban Air Initiative) UAI appreciates this opportunity to comment on EPA’s proposal to strengthen the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground level ozone, as set forth on November 25, 2014. As summarized here and developed more fully

April 02, 2015 Read Full Article

End the Ethanol Mandate: Our View

(USA Today) ... Apart from Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, they all supported the mandate, including Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, the latest conservative darling, who arrived at his pro-ethanol position thanks to a 180 degree reverse back flip that would

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

Minnesota Bio-Fuels Assoiation Member Spotlight: Christianson & Associates

(Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) Christianson & Associates, PLLP (C&A) is a full service Certified Public Accounting firm established over 28 years ago, with offices in Willmar and Litchfield, MN. C&A has deep roots in the agricultural industry; the partners and many

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

4 Minutes with… Bill Topp, Manager, Biotechnology Associates

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... We provide due diligence analyses to the venture capital community of investment opportunities in firms that exploit advanced technologies ... Most of our work at the present time is coming out of the Middle East. This is a naive

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

Industry, Water Advocates Come Together on Bioenergy Bills

by Frank Jossi (Midwest Energy News) Environmentalists and bioeconomy advocates reached an agreement last week to modify a bill moving through the Minnesota legislature that they hope will create a new clean energy and green chemical industry in Minnesota. The BioEconomy

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

Moonshine, Hogs and Drought Fuel Sorghum Boom Across U.S. Plains

by Megan Durisin, Jeff Wilson, Lydia Mulvany (Bloomberg) ... A kernel-yielding stalk that’s native to Africa, sorghum has three things going for it right now: it’s cheap to plant; it holds up better in drought-like conditions than other crops; and most importantly,

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

EPA Awards Student Fellowships in 25 States and Puerto Rico to Support the Next Generation of Environmental Scientists

(US Environmental Protection Agency) Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 34 fellowships for undergraduate students in 25 states and Puerto Rico to pursue environmental science and related fields of study at universities and colleges across the nation, helping

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

Energy Beets Slow to Catch on in North Dakota

by Mikkel Pates (Agweek) Development of energy beets in North Dakota is still nebulous, while projects in California are moving forward. Attendance was light for a recent series of grower meetings about energy, or industrial, sugar beet production hosted by North

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

Challenge to Manage Farms during Volatile Periods

by Martha Blum (AgriNews) The mood in agriculture is cautiously optimistic. “A few years ago agriculture was going like gangbusters, but now it is in transition,” said David Kohl, professor emeritus of agricultural and applied economics at Virginia Tech. ... The flyover

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

Foreign Company Studied Installing Biodiesel Plant in Nicaragua

(Prensa Latina (Google translation)) The company Plastic Energy presented a project to estimate the feasibility of installing a biodiesel processing plant in Nicaragua, said today the deputy mayor of Managua, Enrique Armas. Currently, foreign capital enterprise that has just presented the

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

Zambia: ZDA Okays U.S.$150 Million Ethanol Plant

(AllAfrica/Times of Zambia) THE Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) has given Sunbird Bio-energy Africa an investment licence to set up a US$150 million ethanol plant in Luena farm bloc in Kawambwa District of Luapula Province. ... In a separate interview, Luapula Province Permanent

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

Wall Street Losing Millions From Bad Energy Loans

By Nick Cunningham (OilPrice.com) Oil companies continue to get burned by low oil prices, but the pain is bleeding over into the financial industry. Major banks are suffering huge losses from both directly backing some struggling oil companies, but also

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

Rubber Security

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Though we usually think of diversifying away from petroleum via the fuels for our cars — what about the petroleum in the tires? Rubber security, as it turns out, offers some of the same chills

March 31, 2015 Read Full Article

Croda to Manufacture Surfactant from Ethanol, Opening New Market

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Specialty chemical manufacturer Croda Inc. is planning to break ground in April on a $170 million upgrade to its Atlas Point manufacturing site in Delaware. When completed in about two years, the company

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

'Where's my ethanol?'

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... The ethanol industry would like nothing better than to have every consumer that wants E85 to have access to it. Unfortunately roll out of E85 stations has been slow, especially outside the Midwest, where

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

Maintenance Managers Meet to Share Experiences, Meet Vendors

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Ethanol maintenance managers met in Des Moines, Iowa, for their semiannual gathering to meet with vendors and learn from each other. In the best attendance yet, nearly 50 maintenance managers from plants in

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

Know Your Oil: Creating a Global Oil-Climate Index

by Deborah Gordon, Adam Brandt, Joule Bergerson, Jonathan Koomey (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) Oil is changing. Conventional oil resources are dwindling as tight oil, oil sands, heavy oils, and others emerge. Oil is changing. Conventional oil resources are dwindling and technological

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

4 minutes with… Edward Huxel, Co-Owner, Osage Orange BioProducts Company

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Our company theme is to create a profitable company that raises Osage Orange (Maclura promifera)trees on the southern plains of Oklahoma and Texas, and process the tree fruit for nonfood biomass products for renewable energy,

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

Hastert Delivers Personal Pitch for Ethanol

by Alan K. Ota (Roll Call) Former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert delivered a blunt reminder to farm-state lawmakers about the clout of the ethanol industry with a visit for nearly an hour to the main lobby off the Senate floor

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

Sustainable Biofuels Highlighted as Key for Future Transport Needs

(Click Green) The Transport Energy Task Force has today highlighted the important role sustainable biofuels will play in meeting the UK’s future transport needs, in its concluding report. The report identified that there is a clear role for sustainable biofuels over

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Risi Competizione's Ferrari Takes the Green at Sebring

(Department of Energy) Each new Green Racing season brings with it new opportunities for manufacturers to demonstrate advanced transportation technologies and renewable fuels, and the Twelve Hours of Sebring race at Sebring International Raceway provides excellent testing grounds. Built on a former

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

Dennis Seid: Enerkem’s Ethanol Plant Still a No-Go

by Dennis Seid (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal) ... In fact, if you visit Enerkem’s website, there’s no mention of Pontotoc. Nothing on its facilities or projects – where Pontotoc once had a prominent location. Nothing when you do a search

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

Value-Addition in Production of Ethanol from Macro Algae

by K. S. Rajgopal (The Hindu) As the quest for alternate sources of energy in the face of global warming due to fossil-fuel usage gains momentum, the focus has turned to macro algae (sea weeds) as a source of bio-fuel. A

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

Growth Energy Supports Senators Paul and Grassley Efforts to Give Consumers Choice at the Pump

(Growth Energy) Following the introduction of S. 889, the Fuel Choice and Deregulation Act, legislation by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), which contains a provision to extend the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) volatility waiver to E15, Tom

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

Algae.Tec to Expand Georgia Algae Production Facility

by Isabel Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Georgia, following successful algae growth trials, Algae.Tec has commenced the expansion of its development and manufacturing facilities in Cumming, Georgia and the building of an initial small scale plant for the production of algae

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White House Science Fair Celebrates Student Research

By Emily Conover (Science Magazine) Sixteen-year-old Sophia Sánchez-Maes is all about algae. The slimy green stuff is an attractive candidate for biofuel production, but Sánchez-Maes wondered why the biofuel startups near her hometown of Las Cruces, New Mexico, weren’t having more

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

API, AFPM Sue EPA over RFS Delays

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) On March 18, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and American Petroleum Institute filed a new lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia against the U.S. EPA regarding delays in finalizing

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Group of Lawmakers Continues to Seek Ways to Block Biofuels, Through Any Means Possible

(Energy and Environmental Study Institute) On March 23, a letter signed by 18 members of Congress to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture asked the subcommittee to include “language to limit continued government support for corn ethanol,” primarily by limiting

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Our Federal Policy on the Use of Ethanol

(New York Times) To the Editor: Re “End the Ethanol Rip-Off,” by Robert Bryce (Op-Ed, March 10): The notion that the Renewable Fuel Standard is somehow a hidden tax is a strange assessment for a policy that is reducing costs

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

Look, up in the Sky! The Best of the Aviation Biofuels Slides from ABLC 2015

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Great Scott! New molecules, new feedstocks, new technologies, and reaching scale — the best of the best. At ABLC 2015, the focus on innovation included a complete program on aviaiton — and numerous producers elsewhere

March 30, 2015 Read Full Article

CALL FOR SPEAKERS: The Australian Bioenergy and Bioproducts Symposium (TABBS): Realising the Bioeconomy – It’s Hot in the Tropics! — October 12, 2015 — Brisbane, Australia DEADLINE: open

TABBS provides an excellent platform to ensure that the Bioeconomy is recognised as a key opportunity on economic development. Approximately 40% of the world’s population live in the Tropics; and globally, we are experiencing increasing demand for solutions that provide