(NZHerald) New Zealand's first biodiesel station has opened in Queenstown. The Queenstown Lakes Biodiesel Consortium will supply B20 blended biodiesel -- 20 per cent biodiesel and 80 per cent standard diesel -- to commercial vehicles. The consortium, set up by Otago Polytechnic
China No. 2 Fuel Ethanol Maker Eyes Overseas Plant
(Reuters) Henan Tianguan Group Co. Ltd, China's second largest fuel ethanol producer, plans to build plants in Southeast Asia to produce the renewable fuel and send it to China, company president Zhang Xiaoyang said on Wednesday. Based in China's central province
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
The View From Big Oil
by Alan Murray and Kimberley Strassel (Wall Street Journal) These days, giant oil companies find themselves trying to balance two big pressures on their business. Governments are trying to slash carbon emissions—but the world's thirst for oil is growing by leaps
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Todd Bodine and Frank Cicci Take Green Racing Commitment to NASCAR
"At almost 80 million strong, the NASCAR fan base can be an incredible force on a real threat that is upon all of us and impacts our future.” -- Frank Cicci, Get Green Racing Owner Meet Todd Bodine – Get Green Racing
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuels for Piston Aircraft
by Jeffrey Decker (RenewableEnergyWorld.com) Fighter planes of WWII hit faster speeds thanks to lead additives in their fuel and leaded "avgas" still remains the fuel of choice for top-selling piston aircraft. Automotive use of this toxic, high-octane blend was banned
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
New Genome Sequence Will Aid Study of Important Food, Fuel Crops
A global initiative that includes key scientists from Oregon State University has successfully sequenced the genome of the wild grass Brachypodium distachyon, which will serve as a model to speed research on improved varieties of wheat, oats and barley, as
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
ASABE Revises Its Biodiesel Standard
by Nicholas Zeman (Biodiesel Magazine) The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers has revised its standard for testing biodiesel fuel. ASAE EP552.1, Reporting of Fuel Properties when Testing Diesel Engines with Alternative Fuels Derived from Plant Oils and Animal
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Global Renewable Fuels Alliance Calls OPEC Report Self-Serving: Report Confirms Energy Security Risks
The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance responded today to a report produced for the International Energy Forum to be discussed this month at their meeting in Cancun, Mexico. The report, co-written by the former Secretary General of the OPEC oil cartel,
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
International Energy Forum's Assessment of Biofuels Potential and Limitiations
by Claude Mandil and Adnan Shihab-Eldin (International Energy Forum) Biofuels production, driven by the potential to contribute to energy security, climate change mitigation and rural development, has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Several countries have initiated policies to support
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
EADS Backs Algae As Future Biofuel
by Graham Warwick (Aviation Week) Airbus parent company EADS is backing algae as the best source of sustainable jet fuel, arguing that other feedstocks will not allow the airline industry to meet its carbon-footprint reduction goals. EADS Chief Technical Officer Jean Botti
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Biomass Feedstock Harvest from Conservation Reserve Program Land in Northwestern Oklahoma
by B. C. Venuto and J. A. Daniel (Crop Science) Development of a biofuel industry based on biomass will require large quantities of cellulosic feedstock. Among the proposals for acquiring this feedstock, without impacting other land uses such as food
March 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Firm to Build Bio-Fuel Refineries in 16 Local Councils in Ekiti
(The Punch, Nigeria) A green energy company, Crownek, has said that it will construct mini biofuel refineries in all the 16 local government areas in the state. ...”Alabi, who made the promise during a visit the Governor’s Office in Ado
March 19, 2010 Read Full Article
UK Looks to Produce 70bn Litres of Biofuel a Year from Pondlife
(clickgreen) The Carbon Trust has announced plans to take on the world in the global race to develop a sustainable, cost-effective biofuel from algae. The "dream team" of eleven leading UK institutions was unveiled who will work together with the Carbon
March 19, 2010 Read Full Article
How ‘Green’ Are Industrial Carbon Emissions?
(Alpha Galileo) There are various kinds of CO2. Emissions of fossil CO2 that result from the burning of fossil fuel affect the environment. Biogenic CO2 resulting from the burning of wood or biofuels, however, is 'climate neutral'. Scientists at the
March 19, 2010 Read Full Article
The Shell Game: What’s up with Biofuels’ “Quiet Company?”
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...(T)hough the biofuels industry should, and generally does, reacts with excitement when oil industry majors invest in biofuels ventures — such as Shell’s investment in cellulosic ethanol pioneer Iogen and in algal fuels pioneer Cellana
March 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Ferrari Wins First Formula One Race with Cellulosic Ethanol Blend
by Sam Abuelsamid (AutoblogGreen) Corvette Racing and several other teams in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) have been running on cellulosic ethanol for two years now but the alcohol fuel made its first appearance in Formula One this past
March 19, 2010 Read Full Article
The Power of Nature; The Speed of Technology
by Mark Emalfarb (Dyadic International) In addition to explaining Dyadic's C1 enzyme, its history and uses, this presentation includes clear diagrams of how enzymes are used in breaking down cellulose and hemicellulose and charts of the published effectiveness of a
March 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Navy’s Energy Reform Initiatives Raise Concerns Among Shipbuilders
by (National Defense Magazine) The secretary of the Navy’s announcement last fall of several initiatives to wean the sea service off fossil fuels has generated excitement but also some trepidation among energy researchers and defense contractors. Much of the hope for
March 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Availability of Funding to Promote Rural Biofuel and Bioenergy Production
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 funding is available again through three USDA programs to promote increased production of biofuel and bioenergy. The programs are authorized under the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008
March 18, 2010 Read Full Article
China's Lawmaker Promotes Production of Ethanol from Straws
(iStock Analyst) ...Li Rongjie, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, said the country could potentially produce 1.2 billion tons of dry cellulosic biomass per year, which has the energy content of 400 million tons of
March 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Microalgae Research Advances towards Biodiesel Production
(FIS) A team of researchers at the National Technological University of Mar del Plata (UTN) is working on a research project to produce biodiesel from marine microalgae, with the aim of developing economically viable and environmentally sustainable processes. The group already
March 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Today in Biofuels Opinion: “If Policymakers Thought This Is a CO2 Sequestration Approach…We Would Be Entirely Screwed.”
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Jack Oswald, CEO, SynGest: “One of the things worth pointing out about most algae approaches, is that they rely on large sources of CO2. These will come from our existing fossil fuel sources such as
March 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Consortium Gets Government Backing to Turn Waste Biomass into Transport Biofuel
(Greenwise) A consortium of British businesses has netted £7 million of Government funding to develop a technology that could see mini refineries sited near landfill sites up and down the country producing cheap, carbon efficient biofuel for transport from waste. ...The
March 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Uhde Process for Biofuel R&D Project
(The Engineer) BioTfueL is a new joint project launched by five French partners and Uhde. BioTfueL integrates the various technology stages of the so-called biomass to liquid chain (BTL chain = biomass to fuel) with the aim of developing and
March 18, 2010 Read Full Article
“Fuel Is Strategic” says Aviation Expert at ITB; Biofuels Are Key to “Thinking out of the Box”
Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Germany, Dr. Jurgen Ringbeck, Senior Partner of Booz & Co said “Fuel is strategic, and there is an argument that can be made that an energy monopoly will be dominating the aviation industry.” Dr. Ringbeck
March 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Oil Subsidies Could top $500 BILLION
by Jacqui Fatka (Feedstuffs) A study on energy subsidies commissioned by G20 nations found that the world could be spending $500 billion annually to subsidize fossil fuels - the majority from subsidized end-user prices. The report, "Analysis of the Scope
March 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Sorghum's Gaining Momentum, Farmers & Policy-Makers Say
by Dave Mowtiz (AgricultureOnline) Grain sorghum is gaining the attention of eastern Corn Belt farmers in an area dominated by corn, soybeans and wheat, reports a category winner of the National Sorghum Producers Association's yield contest. Chris Robinson, who farmers in
March 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Craig Venter: Without Scale, Algae Fuel Companies “Playing”
by Katie Fehrenbacher (Earth2Tech) Craig Venter, considered to be the father of genomics and the founder of synthetic biology startup Synthetic Genomics, said there’s a fundamental problem with algae fuel at the Wall Street Journal’s Eco:nomics conference on Thursday: in
March 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Site Selection for Bio-Energy Projects
by Bob McNiesh (Harris Group) This paper describes factors in selecting a site for construction of a bio-energy facility. This general approach assumes that a marketing study has been completed to identify a specific area or areas that the facility would
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Daimler Committed to Jatropha Biodiesel
(TheBioenergySite) Daimler AG has started a new project for the cultivation of the biodiesel raw material jatropha in the south of India and the seedlings for the first 100 hectares have been planted. The company is supporting several village communities in
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
The Wrong Kind of Green
by Johann Hari (The Nation) Groups like Conservation International are among the most trusted "brands" in America, pledged to protect and defend nature. Yet as we confront the biggest ecological crisis in human history, many of the green organizations meant
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Small Biofuel Farm Bears Fruit
by Craig Gima (Star Bulletin) If the vision of father and son farmers Christian and James Twigg-Smith becomes reality, acres of now-fallow sugar cane land will be growing crops again. But rather than producing food, the land would be used
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
World Wildlife Fund, Novozymes: Industrial Biotechnology on the Way to a Green Economy
...Industrial biotechnology is one such sector. Even though the sector is still in it’s infancy, it globally avoids the creation of 33 million tonnes of CO2 each year through various applications, without taking ethanol use into consideration, whilst globally emitting
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
BIO Asks Congress to Support Deployment of Biotech Chemical Platforms to Create Green Jobs
Federal tax policies should incentivize commercial deployment of advanced industrial biotechnologies, which can create jobs, reduce reliance on petroleum, and achieve greenhouse gas reductions. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today released a white paper on the growth and jobs potential
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Southeast Asia – the Bio-Based Arabia?
by Per Dahlen (Portelet Asia and Biofuels Digest) “Saudi Arabia is the largest crude oil producer in the world and produces some 11 million barrels per day. Southeast Asia has the potential of producing 14 million barrels per day of renewable
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Nanobiotechnology for the Production of Biofuels from Spent Tea
Bioenergy is the only alternative and cheap source of energy which can be made easily available to the world. The present experiment included three steps for the conversion of spent tea (Camellia sinensis) into biofuels. In the first step, spent
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
OriginOil CEO Presents on Algae Extraction Methods, Algae Oil Production
by Riggs Eckelberry (Origin Oil) In his presentation at the World Biofuels Markets conference March 2010 in The Netherlands, Eckelberry reviewed current industry approaches to extraction and harvesting in depth. These approaches typically require high capital investment, heavy energy usage,
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
GlycosBio Technology Nears Commercialization
by Lisa Gibson (Biomass Magazine) Texas-based Glycos Biotechnologies Inc. is producing lactic acid and advanced ethanol in a pilot commercial-size facility with the capacity to produce 150,000 liters of chemicals. It’s a major benchmark in the company’s quest to commercialize
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Fermentable Sugars by Chemical Hydrolysis of Biomass
by Joseph B. Binder and Ronald T. Raines (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Abundant plant biomass has the potential to become a sustainable source of fuels and chemicals. Realizing this potential requires the economical conversion of recalcitrant lignocellulose
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Federal Loan Programs Ill-Suited for Cellulosic Ethanol
by Cole Gustafson (Prairie Business Magazine) ... In addition to problems on Wall Street following the collapse of the financial markets, cellulosic biofuel producers have lacked standard benchmarks of performance like those used in grain corn ethanol plants (1 bushel
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
SAIC Awarded $21 Million Blanket Purchase Agreement For Biomass Engineering
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, R.W. Beck, has been awarded a blanket purchase agreement by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Golden Field Office to support The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Biomass
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
GreenTrackers Algae Biofuels Company Database Launches
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Strategic Fit: ...(I)t is important to remember that the original success of 1st generation biofuels stemmed from Brazil having an advantaged sugar industry that achieved scale and innovation benefits. This allowed diversification into biofuels when
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Sneak-Peek at “Fuel from Thin Air”: Joule Biotechnologies and Its “Game-Changing Technology”
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In the Joule technology, biomass is not used as an intermediate. Via a solar converter unit, the microorganism obtains carbon and oxygen by fixing atmospheric CO2 or utilizing direct fed waste CO2, and obtains hydrogen
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Florida Woody Biomass Economic Study
In 2008, the Florida Legislature passed legislation requiring the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct an economic impact analysis on the effects of granting financial incentives to energy producers who
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Space Could Increase Production of Bio-Fuel
by Aaron Pickering (KOLD) ...The experiment, National Lab Pathfinder-Cells 3, is aimed at learning whether microgravity can help jatropha curcas plant cells grow faster to produce biofuel, or renewable fuel derived from biological matter. Jatropha is known to produce high
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Nippon Oil and Hitachi Aim at Mass-Producing Microbe-Derived Biofuel
by Serkan Toto (Crunch Gear) Major Japanese oil wholesaler Nippon Oil and Hitachi subsidiary Hitachi Plant Technologies are developing a technology that’s supposed to make it possible to mass-produce eco-friendly jet fuel from Euglena, single-celled organisms that live in ponds
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Waiting for Godot: The Financing of Commercial Scale Advanced Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...“Cellulosic ethanol is not the same as first generation ethanol,” (Arnie) Klann (Bluefire Ethanol CEO) noted. “There, you had the corn growers, and there was a vested interest, and companies like ADM, Cargill to provide the support.
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Europe Kicks Off the Global Bioenergy Project
At least 20% of the energy needs in Europe can be met by bioenergy from sustainable agriculture without compromising food safety and security. Key sustainability issues such as the use of water and maintenance of biodiversity can be respected. In
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
How Food And Water Are Driving a 21st-Century African Land Grab
by John Vidal (The Guardian; The Observer) ...The farm manager shows us millions of tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables being grown in 500m rows in computer controlled conditions. Spanish engineers are building the steel structure, Dutch technology minimises water use from two
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
University of Minnesota Speaker Says Global Land Use Must Be Considered in Biofuel Debate
by Heather Thorstensen (AgriNews.com) John Sheehan of the University of Minnesota says the debate on biofuels should shift from food versus fuel to how land is used globally for biofuel production and other purposes. "We need to not look at land
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
U.S. Government Awards DuPont, Partners with Technology Investment Agreement for Macroalgae-to-Biobutanol Research
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has awarded a Technology Investment Agreement to DuPont for the development of a process to convert sugars produced by macroalgae into next-generation biofuels called isobutanol. Bio Architecture Lab (BAL)
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Over There: The Yanks are Coming (同胞, Can You Spare a Dime?)
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) BIO exec VP Brent Erickson ruefully noted in a conference with reporters that the biofuels industry was “very disappointed in the loan guarantee program. Biomass was mixed in with wind and solar, which have much
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Coskata Confirms 100 Gallon Per Ton, ZeaChem Confirms 135 Gallon Per ton, in Advanced Biofuels Updates
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Starting off the call, BIO section EVP Brent Erickson compared the scale up of the advanced biofuels industry to the scale up and evolution of the oil industry which took place over 120 years as
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Algae Industry Magazine Launched
William Laski & David Schwartz, publishers, launched an online magazine addressing the growth and development of the algae biofuels and co-products industry: • its influential personalities • developing technologies • evolving businesses • breakthrough products • important news and timely information READ MORE
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Kentucky Awards a Combined $530,000 to Develop Alternative Fuels and Renewable Energy Technologies
(MFRTech) Two Kentucky companies have been awarded a combined $530,000 in funding from the Kentucky New Energy Ventures Fund. The state program provides public funds to promising, early-stage Kentucky companies developing and commercializing alternative fuels and renewable energy technologies. ...Southeast Biofuels,
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Review of the Potential for Biofuels in Aviation
by E4Tech (UK Committee on Climate Change) The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) is an independent body which provides advice to (UK) Government on defining and setting carbon budgets, and on wider climate change issues. The CCC’s first report, published
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
ASABE Revises Biodiesel Fuel Testing Standard
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has revised its standard for testing biodiesel fuel. ASAE EP552.1, Reporting of Fuel Properties when Testing Diesel Engines with Alternative Fuels Derived from Plant Oils and Animal Fats, covers the reporting
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Harvard’s Nano Sized “Lab in a Pocket” Could Speed Discovery of New Biofuels
by Tina Casey (CleanTechnica.com) Leave it to Harvard University to invent an entire laboratory the size of an iPod nano. The device, which actually is slightly smaller than an iPod nano, makes it possible to sort enzymes and compounds 1,000
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Brazil’s Petrobras to Double Production at Its Biggest Biodiesel Unit
(MacauHub) Brazilian state oil company Petrobras said Monday it would invest 66 million reals to double production at the country’s biggest biodiesel factory. The investment will make it possible to increase production at the Candeias unit from 108.6 million litres per
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Canada Invests C$80 Mln in Quebec Biofuel Plant
(Reuters) Canada will invest nearly C$80 million ($77 million) to expand a Quebec ethanol plant, the government said on Tuesday, as it promotes the use of the grain-based fuel as a substitute to gasoline and creates jobs. Ottawa, through its ecoENERGY
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
House GOP to Launch Another Salvo at EPA Emission Rules
(New York Times) House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and other key Republicans plan to unveil a formal resolution that would effectively veto EPA's "endangerment" finding. That determination, issued last December, finds that greenhouse gases threaten public health and
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Groups Challenge EPA on Greenhouse Finding
by Light and Medium Truck (Transport Topics Online) A group including motor carriers, businesses, several members of Congress and a conservative public interest legal foundation has filed a lawsuit in federal appeals court challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s finding
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Dyson Racing Expected to Run Cutting-Edge Alternative Fuel in No. 16 Lola-Mazda
by John Dagys (SpeedTV.com) Following a two-race trial last year, biobutanol has become an approved fuel choice for LMP teams in the American Le Mans Series, IMSA confirmed late Thursday. The cutting-edge alternative fuel, developed in conjunction with BP and
March 14, 2010 Read Full Article
ARPA-E(mpty): Fantastic Program, Not Enough Money
by David J. Leeds (GreentechMedia) After sitting through presentations from a "who's who" of the energy world these past two days at the DOE's inaugural ARPA-E Innovation Summit, any one of the more than 1,700 individuals in the room likely needed
March 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Brazilian Sugarcane Ethanol to Power IZOD IndyCar Series in 2010
Brazilian sugarcane industry association UNICA announced this afternoon it has renewed its fuel supply agreement for the second year with the Indy Racing League (IRL) for the majority of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season. UNICA became the official fuel
March 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Improved Biomass Deconstruction Technologies Will Speed the Use of Non-Food Feedstocks as a Source of Cost-Effective, Infrastructure-Compatible Renewable Biofuels
Virent Energy Systems, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded $2.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a $33.8 million grant to the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium (NABC). The NABC aims to develop technologies to
March 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Honeywell's UOP Awarded Funding for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Reuse Through Algae Growth and Biofuel Production
UOP, a Honeywell ( HON) company, announced today that it has been awarded a $1.5 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Energy for a project to demonstrate technology to capture carbon dioxide and produce algae for use in
March 11, 2010 Read Full Article
University of Queensland Institute Ignites Plans for Jet Biofuel
(Queensland Business Review) The University of Queensland (UQ) has entered into a new agreement with an American alternative energy company to turn Queensland sugar cane into jet biofuel. Researchers from UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering & Nanotechnology (AIBN) will work with
March 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Bye Energy Launches "The Green Flight Project"
Bye Energy, Inc., an integrator of alternative energy and renewable fuel technologies for business and general aviation aircraft, is launching “The Green Flight Project” to enhance the development of an electric and electric-hybrid propulsion system (EHPS) forcommercial application. The objective
March 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Flying High on Algae?
(TodayOnline) Can algae oil be viably converted to kerosene for jet fuel that might one day power the world's aircraft? This is something a new 12-month collaboration between A*Star's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences and global aerospace and defence
March 11, 2010 Read Full Article
$200M Refinery to Convert Wood Products into Fuel, Electricity
(Nashville Business Journal) Another green energy company is coming to Tennessee, but this one doesn’t have anything to do with solar power, unless you count photosynthesis. Hawaii-based ClearFuels Technology has agreed to partner with Hughes Hardwood to develop a biorefinery in
March 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Jet Stream: Biofuels Digest Special Report on Aviation Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) If 2009 brought us the “summer of Algae”, 2010 is certainly looking to usher in “Jet Spring,” with a series of stunning developments in the commercialization of aviation biofuels — shaping up as the first
March 11, 2010 Read Full Article
University of Florida Breaks Ground on Taylor Ethanol Plant
by Nathan Crabbe (Gainsville Sun) The farms and forests of the state could be providing more fuel for its vehicles in the future if a new University of Florida plant is a success. UF officials held a groundbreaking Monday for the
March 09, 2010 Read Full Article
The DeltaWing Indy Race Car Is Not Only the Future: It’s Important!
by Bob Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) It is Memorial Day Weekend 2013, the annual Indianapolis 500 car race is attracting the largest crowd in years. The televison audience is also looking to be a record, and not everyone is tuning
March 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Transitioning from 1st Generation to Advanced Biofuels
by GTM Research in partnership with Enterprise Florida, Inc. In recent years, the growth in the U.S. biofuels production and consumption has been driven largely by policy measures. Mandates are requiring increasing amounts of biofuels to be blended into the
March 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Solid Separation, Product Drying and Oil Extraction Opportunities
by Tony Prehm (Virtuoso Biofuels Services) Prepared for the March 2010 National Algal Association conference in Las Vegas, reviews a variety of processes used in algal biomass-to-biofuels production, including separating solids, drying the product and extracting oils. The processes are
March 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Spring Algae Bloom: an Inside Look at the DOE’s New Algal Fuels Consortium, the NAABB.
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) was a cold Wednesday afternoon in January when the news came through that a consortium called the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts had received a $44 million grant from the Department of Energy.
March 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Warning Issued Over Invasive Biofuel Crops
(New Energy Focus) The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention (the Council of Europe Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats), has adopted a new recommendation for biofuels. The recommendation, which is legally binding to member states, states
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuel ‘Worse than Regular Petrol or Diesel’
(ETA) The environmental impact of clearing forests to make way for biofuel crops is such that using fossil fuel in cars is better for the environment than biofuels made from crops such as palm oil. Under the minimum sustainability standard set
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuels 2.0: Sustainable Startups
by Jack Oswald, CEO of SynGest (MIT/Stanford Venture Lab) In this PowerPoint presentation, SynGest's CEO took his experience as a "start-up guy" and applied it to a strategy for developing biofertilizers in concert with biofuels. He illustrates key points about
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Ensus Signs with Shell, Sends First Tanker
by Luke Geiver (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The first tanker of ethanol has left Ensus, Europe’s largest wheat-based ethanol facility. Headed for the Netherlands, the cargo, which has been purchased by Shell as part of a long term deal, is a
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Canada's Ethanol Boom, Minus the Boom
by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail) Three years ago, a tiny Ottawa biotechnology firm, Iogen Corp., had the very rare privilege of being singled out by the government as a company that would benefit directly from a federal budget measure. As
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
E85 Infrastructure Legislation Supported in Indiana
by Michelle Kautz (DomesticFuel.com) E85 infrastructure legislation that will extend grants of $100,000 up to 50% is one step closer to being a reality. According to BrighterEnergy.org, House Bill 1261 was voted through without opposition in the Indiana state Senate. The
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Pipeline No Longer Pipe Dream
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel) Those attending the Renewable Fuels Association 15th annual National Ethanol Conference in Orlando last month had the opportunity to see the Kinder Morgan terminal in Orlando and hear about the first pipeline in the country to
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Honeywell's UOP Awarded Funding for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Reuse Through Algae Growth and Biofuel Production
UOP, a Honeywell (NYSE:HON) company, announced today that it has been awarded a $1.5 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Energy for a project to demonstrate technology to capture carbon dioxide and produce algae for use in biofuel
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Stacking Traits in Algae is Focus of Grant to Iowa State University Researcher
Genetically stacking traits in corn in order to increase production, resist insects, improve standablity and many other characteristics is so common in agriculture that producers have come to expect it. Some traits found in corn help it function as a better
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Senators to Propose Abandoning Cap-and-Trade
by Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson (Washington Post) Three key senators are engaged in a radical behind-the-scenes overhaul of climate legislation, preparing to jettison the broad "cap-and-trade" approach that has defined the legislative debate for close to a decade. The
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Cellulosic Ethanol Support Lags Ambitions
by Naureen S. Malik (Dow Jones Newswires) Makers of cellulosic ethanol warn that ambitious U.S. government goals to significantly boost production of the technologically advanced fuel over the next 12 years won't be met without stronger backing from Washington. ...industry executives
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
NASDAQ Launches New Clean-Tech Index
by Nicholas Zeman (Biodiesel Magazine) U.S. biofuel companies get no representation on NASDAQ’s new DB NASDAQ OMX Clean Tech Index (DBCC), launched Feb. 10, after a rigorous selection process performed by Deutsche Bank’s Climate Change Advisors. Solar, geothermal and waste
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Green Jobs Highlighted at Expo
by Ryan Howard (Fergus Falls Daily Journal) ...(F)rom North Dakota State University, Dr. F. Larry Leistritz, a professor of agribusiness and applied economics, and Nancy Hodur, a research scientist in the same department, created a presentation about how Minnesota and
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Steven Cole Smith: Keep Ethanol in the Fuel Mix, GM Exec Says
(Orlando Sentinel) ...(Tom) Stephens, who was in Orlando last week to speak at the National Ethanol Conference, is vice chairman of global product operations for General Motors. He knows as well as anybody that our gasoline supply won't last forever,
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Clean Fuels Clearinghouse Publishes White Paper and Basic Briefings on RFS and RINs
by Clayton McMartin(Clean Fuels Clearinghouse) To say the RFS2 rule is complex would be a huge understatement. In reality this rule is much more complex than RFS1. Recognizing this, and the fact that thousands of companies throughout the industry will need
March 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Sustainable Foresting: Easier Said than Done
E. Detlef Schulze and Inge Schulze(Science) letter to editor It is commonly held that planting forests helps to mitigate climate change, because forests sequester carbon dioxide into long-lived biomass and soils. However, our personal experience shows that managed forests are unlikely
March 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuel-Averse State Oil companies Get Tough Love in the Indian Government’s 2010-11 Budget
Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest) In India, the state oil companies were discovered to have systematically defied the government’s biofuel blending mandates with the help of paid insiders in the oil ministry. As a result the government not only lost face but
March 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Claims in ActionAid Publication against Biofuels Largely Questionable
(European Bioethanol Fuel Association) “Meals per Gallons”, a publication against biofuels recently produced by ActionAid, is based largely on unfounded claims, disputed data and one-sided arguments says eBio, the European Bioehtanol Industry Association. “In particular, the report paints biofuels as the villain
March 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Propel Fuels' Ethanol Offer Lures 500
by Melanie Turner (Sacramento Business Journal) Propel offered E-85 ethanol for 85 cents a gallon, down from a typical retail price of $2.39 a gallon, at each of its stations. Propel estimates it served about 500 vehicles during Wednesday’s promotion between
March 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Integrated Catalytic Conversion of -Valerolactone to Liquid Alkenes for Transportation Fuels
byJesse Q. Bond, David Martin Alonso, Dong Wang, Ryan M. West, James A. Dumesic (Science) Efficient synthesis of renewable fuels remains a challenging and important line of research. We report a strategy by which aqueous solutions of gamma-valerolactone (GVL), produced
March 01, 2010 Read Full Article
TerraSolutions Take Top Honors at 23rd Annual Business-Plan Competition
by Phillip Fiorini (Purdue Newsroom) Student-led companies that develop consumer products from the byproducts of ethanol production and a tissue-healing technology that also reduces scarring took top honors at Purdue University's 23rd annual $100,000 Burton D. Morgan Business Plan Competition. ...TerraSolutions
February 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Interview with Fatih Birol, Chief Economist, International Energy Agency (IEA)
(World Refining Association) We expect alternative fuels will have an important role to play as we look to diversify supply, improve energy security and reduce emissions. Looking at the alternative fuels produced today, biofuels account for an overwhelming majority. Although
February 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuels Programme at The Maltings, South Milford
(Mytum & Selby Waste Recycling, Ltd) “The fuel of the future is going to come from fruit like that sumach out by the road, or from apples, weeds, sawdust, and even municipal waste - almost anything.” Henry Ford, 1925 This quote
February 27, 2010 Read Full Article
A Green Energy Alternative …The Free Enterprise Approach
(GeneSyst International, Inc.) This presentation from a 2009 Virginia Energy Summit explains, complemented by charts and graphs, GeneSyst's combination of patents and proprietary technologies for converting waste to energy, utilizing the Gravity Pressure Vessel (GPV). Of particular interest may be a quote from a local
February 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Key Metric Comparison of Five Cellulosic Biofuel Pathways
by Ben A. Thorp (TAPPI BioEnergy Technologies Quarterly) (T)he modern pathways for cellulose biofuels are pyrolysis, gasification, acid hydrolysis, and enzymatic hydrolysis. … Commercial efforts in cellulosic biofuels are new and data to compare a specific offering with others within a
February 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Alcohol-Fueled Engines - Takin' The Green Biobutanol: The Next Methanol?
by Rob Fisher (Circle Track) Racers running alcohol-fueled engines should perk up when they hear the word biobutanol. Touted as an environmentally friendly advanced biofuel, biobutanol gained recent exposure when an American research and development company specializing in the fuel was
February 27, 2010 Read Full Article
ALMS Goes Greener with MICHELIN
(Michelin) The USA's American Le Mans Series endurance racing championship, which was first organised in 1999, has released its new slogan: 'Global Leader, Green Racing'. Meanwhile, MICHELIN will continue to back the 2010 MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge which will cover all
February 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Crude Oil Imports and National Security
by Robert M. Ames, Anthony Corridore, Edward Hirs, Paul W. MacAvoy (Yale Graduates Energy Study Group) The authors demonstrate that the United States profits handsomely in all circumstances by imposing an embargo on imports of foreign crude oil. The US removes its
February 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Syngenta Keen on Sugarcane Biotech Research in Brazil
(SugarcaneBlog.com) European biotech giant Syngenta has set up partnership with Brazil’s Instituto Agronomico (IAC) to increase development of sugarcane varieties, particularly for the production of ethanol. READ MORE and MORE
February 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Cosan Reviewed
by Brendan Coffey (Cabot Wealth Advisory) Lately, we're seeing increasing strength in the shares of ethanol-related companies. Commodity broker Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has built up its position as an ethanol refiner, building its own plants and buying up other
February 26, 2010 Read Full Article
American Process Inc. Establishes Pilot Plant
by Holly Jensen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) American Process Inc. (API), an Atlanta, Ga., based company, held a ribbon cutting ceremony this week at its pilot plant. It will utilize a trademarked process, called American Value Added Pulping (AVAP), to fractionate
February 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Put Transportation Biofuel Commercial Deployment Where It Belongs: USDOT
by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) Contemplating the continued inability of the US to meet the biofuels and advanced biofuels production and sales expectations codified in the Renewable Fuels Standard, the Advanced Biofuels USA board passed a resolution to introduce
February 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Would Things Be Different without RFS1or2? Not Really.
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) Since the provisions of the RFS were written into the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 without a realistic funding provision, RFS and RFS2 are, as a practical matter, “Sense of
February 25, 2010 Read Full Article
2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty Leads Heavy-Duty Trucks in Capability, Now Fuel Ecomomy and B20 or E85 Compatibility Too
The Ford F-Series Super Duty is the most powerful and fuel efficient for the 2011 model year, offering customers their choice of either gas or diesel engines ...B20 compatibility added for 2011 model year: The strict testing work also ensured the
February 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Putting In a Good Word for Algae
by James Kanter (New York Times) A European lobbying group weighed in Tuesday on a fierce debate over the environmental value of using algae to produce biofuels for vehicles. The group, the European Algae Biomass Association, said members of its scientific
February 25, 2010 Read Full Article
New Clear Lake Company Promotes Algae as Biofuel
by John Skipper (Globe-Gazette) A company based in Clear Lake is turning waste and algae into renewable fuels. Bud Jermeland, 51, president of Energae LP, said the primary focuses of his company are waste-based ethanol and the use of algae in
February 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Government Earns 400% ROI on Ethanol Blender’s Credit
by Mark (Corn Commentary) ...The next issue can already be seen on the horizon and it can be seen clearly because it is not a “new” criticism. It is called the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC). This is the
February 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Growth Energy Responds to Cornell Paper
In response to a paper published by two Cornell University professors – a paper that is critical of the Environmental Protection Agency’s calculations that grain ethanol emits far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional gasoline – Growth Energy released the
February 25, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Greenhouse Gas Accounting Is Flawed and Inaccurate, Cornell Experts Say
A recent EPA announcement that corn-based ethanol achieves a 21 percent greenhouse gas reduction compared to gasoline is based on false accounting assumptions and could actually lead to more fossil fuel consumption, according to Cornell University economists whose research will
February 25, 2010 Read Full Article
A Tree in Your Tank? $3.2M NSF Grant Funds Effort to Transform Poplar Trees into Biofuel
Gas money for your tank doesn't grow on trees, but one day you might be filling up with fuel that does. A team of researchers at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Bowie State University is working on ways to
February 25, 2010 Read Full Article
China Shrub Shows Biofuel Promise
China's poisonous jatropha shrub is showing promise as biofuel and could boost the country's efforts to reduce dependency on imported crude oil. In the past, farmers planted the poisonous perennial only as a barrier to ward off animals from their fields.
February 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Vilsack: Administration Wants to Expand Biofuels
(DTN Ethanol Center) President Barack Obama will continue championing biofuels as a job creator, said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack when he spoke to members of the Governors' Biofuels Coalition on Monday. Vilsack is hopeful for a positive decision on
February 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Co-location Could Make Algae Biofuels Affordable
by Mark Fischetti (Scientific American) ...But as more new and established companies examine how to scale up lab processes to commercial levels, scientists and engineers seem to be finding that standalone operations may not be economically viable. Co-locating algae farms
February 24, 2010 Read Full Article
The State of U.S. Biodiesel: Up the Creek Without a Paddle?
by Joshua Kagan (GreenTechMedia) ...Although biodiesel has many positive attributes, it is not immune from the criticisms leveled at first-generation ethanol, specifically the "food vs. fuel" debate. Biodiesel production uses at least 10% of the U.S. soybean crop and 60%
February 24, 2010 Read Full Article
North Dakota State University Economist Helps Sort Out Biofuel’s Future
by Mikkel Pates (AgWeek) Need some help in deciding what to make into biofuels and what the government should be spending on it? If you’re a North Dakotan, you’ve hired Cole Gustafson to do some of this thinking for you.
February 24, 2010 Read Full Article
The SD Tech Fund™ will be accepting Statements of Interest from February 24 to April 21, 2010.
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) is calling on entrepreneurs and technology developers across Canada to submit Statements of Interests to the SD Tech Fund™, as SDTC opens its 17th round of funding. “Investing in promising clean technology solutions developed in Canada
February 24, 2010 Read Full Article
ALMS: Highcroft Adds GE
(Speed-TV) Reigning American Le Mans Series LMP1 champions Patrón Highcroft Racing has formed a unique technical and sponsorship partnership with GE for the 2010 season. GE Capital has become one of the team's sponsors for 2010, while Highcroft Racing has
February 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Tunisia: Local Scientist Develops New Technique for Extracting Biodiesel
(AllAfrica.com) ...The latest achievement which comes to us from Sfax, is the development of a new technique for extracting biodiesel from olive water (a black liquid formed primarily by water discharged from olives during oil extraction). Developed by Dr Kamel Halouani,
February 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Villagers Turn Local Fruit into Biodiesel
(New Tang Dynasty Television) The kamani tree grows well throughout the coastal area in Yogyakarta, and produces abundant fruit. Traditionally, the fruit is used for cooking and firewood. But villagers in Yogyakarta are using it for biodiesel. This new “green business”
February 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Butalco Announces It Is to Produce Its First Cellulosic Ethanol in Summer 2010
(PRInside.com) This summer, Butalco will use its proprietary new yeast technology to produce biofuel from agricultural waste in a pilot plant in Southern Germany. Butalco’s new microbial catalysts will enable up to 30% increased yields in cellulosic ethanol production. ...Traditionally, yeasts are
February 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Aviation Biofuels: The Bumpy Road to Scale Production
by Niall O'Keeffe (FlightGlobal) Both of the major commercial airframers have joined forces with industry peers to pursue new biofuel research initiatives, reflecting an intensification of concern about future availability of alternative fuels in the quantities required by aviation. In January,
February 23, 2010 Read Full Article
"Changes in Gasoline IV" Features New Chapter on Flex-Fuel Vehicles
"Changes in Gasoline IV” is the 2009 edition of the ongoing series of “Changes in Gasoline” manuals. The first manual, “Changes in Gasoline & the Automobile Service Technician,” was originally published in 1987. Numerous editions of the manual have been
February 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Rep Appointed to California Panel
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) At least one ethanol industry representative has been appointed to an expert work group attempting to assess the true carbon footprint of all fuel sources under the California’s proposed Low Carbon Fuel Standard. POET Senior Vice President
February 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Gene Discovery to Increase Biomass Needed for Green Fuel
(S)ays Professor Simon Turner, one of the University of Manchester researchers whose BBSRC-funded study is published in Development (Wednesday 10th February 2010), “Our work has identified the two genes that make plants grow outwards. The long, thin cells growing down
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Everyday Grass Could Provide Green Fuel
Researchers at the (Teesside) University’s Contaminated Land and Water Centre began the project in 2004 to see which plants could best be grown on brownfield sites as a way of improving unsightly blots on the landscape.Now, the research by the
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Invasive Biofuel Crops an Overlooked Danger
(Environment News Service) The risk that biofuel crops will become invasive and outcompete native species is increasing as more advanced biofuel crops are planted, according to new research into this previously neglected but potentially costly problem. A new report by the
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
China Continues down Path to Use Cassava for Bioethanol Production
(Renewable Energy Magazine) Albeit it hazy, news regularly filters out of China about the progress this country is making in using cassava as a raw material for producing bioethanol. The latest is that the Chinese have completed mapping the genome
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Oil Reserve Uncertainty Creates Biofuel Opportunities In Central Asia
by Oil Price (iStockAnalyst) ...additives and substitutes such as biofuels will play an ever-increasing role by stretching beleaguered production quotas. As market forces and rising prices drive this technology to the forefront, one of the richest potential production areas has
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Next Generation Bio-Based Chemicals Summit Review
by Pete Davey (Advanced Biofuels USA) Currently many of the world’s chemicals originate from petroleum based sources, causing a major dependence on petroleum that encompasses more than transportation fuels. Some of the chemicals currently derived from non-sustainable sources are the
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
American Le Mans Series Supporting Global ReLeaf
In an effort to support environmental efforts globally, the American Le Mans Series will join forces with American Forests to support its “dollar-a-tree” Global ReLeaf campaign. Throughout the 2010 season, Series’ teams, manufacturers, corporate partners and fans will have multiple ways
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
'Fuel Cocktail' to Increase Bio-Diesel Yields
(The Hindu) Chemists at UC (University of California) Davis have developed a new process that enable oilseed crops such as safflower to be made into a fuel cocktail that could increase yields of bio-diesel by up to 24 per cent. The
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
SG Biofuels Launches World’s First Elite Jatropha Cultivar
SG Biofuels, a sustainable plant oil company specializing in the development of Jatropha as a low-cost, sustainable source of oil, today announced the launch of JMax 100, a proprietary cultivar of Jatropha optimized for growing conditions in Guatemala with yields
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
RINs Improved as Part of RFS2
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA has come up with a new system for renewable identification number (RINs) that should be easier to use as well as cut down on the possibility of human error. ...Tony Miller,
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
U.S. Foodservice-SF Moves to B5
(Biodiesel Magazine) U.S. Foodservice-San Francisco, the only green-certified broadline food distributor in California—one of only a handful across the country—is now running its entire delivery fleet on B5. All of the San Francisco division’s 136 tractors and 148 trailers began using
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Eco-Biofuels from the Tropics
Palm oil from South-East Asia, sugarcane from Brazil and sweet sorghum in China are the most sustainable energy crops at present. Maize from the US and wheat in Europe have a much more negative environmental impact. This conclusion was drawn
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
DMC Green Awarded DOE Grants for Ethanol Fueling Infrastructure
(CleanTechPRWire) DMC Green, Inc., announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded DMC Green two separate grants to support their on-going green fuel infrastructure projects in California. The two grants will help fund E85 ethanol installation for ten gas
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Perspectives on Green Racing from Dayton International Speedway’s Garage and Pits
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Advanced Biofuels USA is perhaps the only biofuels-related organization keeping an eye on biofuels in racing with a page describing various projects that promote and encourage innovative, green racing, to numerous articles and posts
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Green Racing Fuel 'Ignite' Gains Proven
by Michael Berenis (Tampa Sports Car Examiner) The world of green racing fuels is about to change! Eddie Bello is the world record holder for fastest Porsche in the Texas Mile. In 2008, he set the record with his 1200
February 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Indiana Company Leading ARCA West Fuel Conversion
(Inside Indiana Business) Sales and marketing arm of ARCA West, Itzen Media officially announced that Ignite Racing Fuel will become the title sponsor of the ARCA West Series. Ignite Racing Fuel will be replacing previous title sponsor MAC’s Convenience at
February 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuels Association Publishes 2010 Ethanol Industry Outlook
Our industry produced a record 10.6 billion gallons of ethanol in 2009. Efficiency enhancements and innovations in production combined with improved farming techniques allowed us to achieve this record with existing corn acreage and reduced process water. As we look to
February 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Experts Push for Farm Change
“Our current industrial model of agriculture is only possible because of cheap fossil fuels,” said Francis Thicke, a candidate for Iowa secretary of Agriculture. “We’re nearing the end of our cheap fossil-fuel era.” Laura Krouse, the owner of Abbe Hills Farm,
February 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Aerospace Chief: Industry on Track to Deliver 'Greener' Aircraft
(EurActiv.com) Industry is on track to ensure "carbon-neutral growth" in the aviation sector from 2020, but strengthened European Union support for research and development (R&D) is vital to help manufacturers deliver the green technologies required, François Gayet, secretary-general of the
February 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Orange Peels, Newspapers May Lead to Cheaper, Cleaner Ethanol Fuel
(ScienceBlog) University of Central Florida professor Henry Daniell has developed a groundbreaking way to produce ethanol from waste products such as orange peels and newspapers. His approach is greener and less expensive than the current methods available to run vehicles
February 18, 2010 Read Full Article
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