(California Academy of Sciences) The future of biofuel technologies needs to take a whole-picture approach. WATCH VIDEO
Agricultural waste/residue
Back TO HOMEAnticipating Asia: Asian Biofuels Consumption Expected to Grow Substantially
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Conditions are ripe for biofuels demand and production to boom in Asia over the next few years, as steady growth in countries such as China, India and Japan will prompt an “astronomical” rise in
June 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Clean Technology: US Policy Aids Second Generation Biofuel Push
by Guy Chazan (Financial Times) In the world of biofuels, all eyes are on the tiny northern Italian town of Crescentino, site of the world’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which will start production this year. The venture might be small,
June 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Waste Lines: The Hottest Trends with Bio’s Coolest Feedstock
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Regardless of its naming deficiencies, waste has been hot and getting hotter as a bioenergy feedstock because it solves three of the most pressing problems blocking capacity expansion. 1. The feedstocks are available at fixed, affordable
May 29, 2012 Read Full Article
Biofuel Production Facilities Spotlight Next Generation
by Matt Daily (Reuters/Huffington Post) After a decade of promise, advanced biofuels makers are entering a crucial make-or-break period with the first of a new generation of production facilities about to come on line. The new facilities are designed to take
May 25, 2012 Read Full Article
US Military Looking at Wood-Based Biofuels
(Western Farm Press) The U.S. military is very interested in alternative fuels — in particular, the wood-based biofuels being researched and produced at the University of Maine. Three methods, or pathways, to producing biofuel for use in military jets are
May 25, 2012 Read Full Article
Cobalt Pre-Treatment Test Clears Way for Commercial Scale
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, Cobalt Technologies announced that it has successfully demonstrated its dilute acid hydrolysis pretreatment process, the first step of Cobalt’s process for converting sugars into n-butanol for use as a renewable chemical or fuel. Cobalt’s dilute
March 07, 2012 Read Full Article
Nigerian Government Agency Launches Microdistillery and Stoves to Provide Sustainable Ethanol Fuel for Household Cooking, Lighting and Small-Scale Power Generation
(Project Gaia) Nigerian Government Agency Launches Microdistillery and Stoves to Provide Sustainable Ethanol Fuel for Household Cooking, Lighting and Small-Scale Power Generation The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), a parastatal under the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, has commissioned
February 28, 2012 Read Full Article
Pioneer Studies Residue Removal for Cellulosic Ethanol
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) DuPont businesses Pioneer Hi-Bred and DuPont Industrial Biosciences are collaborating with Iowa State University in performing studies on residue to establish best practices in harvesting, storage and transportation, with an eye toward its use in cellulosic ethanol production in the
February 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Next-Generation Biofuels Driving the Growth of Global Biofuel Market
(Pangea/World of Bioenergy) Social and environmental benefits of next-generation biofuels, mainly cellulosic ethanol, Algae fuels, Drop in fuels, and biobutanol, are fuelling its rapid growth momentum, says RNCOS. According to our recent report, “Global Biofuel Market Analysis”, the global biofuel
January 12, 2012 Read Full Article
BASF Participates in US American Technology Company Renmatix
(Renmatix) BASF is participating with $30 million through BASF Biorenewable Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG in the American technology firm Renmatix Inc. The BASF subsidiary led a $50 million financing round, joined by new and existing investors. The technology company Renmatix
January 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Overcoming the Challenge of Cheap Sugars: Unmarketable Hawaiian Papaya Used to Produce Green Fuels
(Biotork) BioTork has successfully converted unmarketable Hawaiian papayas to fatty acids that can be refined into green fuels. This result is a first milestone in a developmental research project conducted in collaboration with the US Dept of Agriculture Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center
January 06, 2012 Read Full Article
New Biofuel Production Technologies: Overview of These Expanding Sectors and the Challenges Facing Them
(IFP Energies Nouvelles) The numerous research programmes looking at new-generation biofuels that were initiated over the last ten years are now starting to bear fruit. Although no plants are producing and marketing biofuels yet, the large-scale, industrial feasibility of second-generation biofuel production at
December 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Alta Vista Securities Announced It Has Closed a Seven Million Dollar Joint Venture Investm
(PRLog) Alta Vista Securities today (December 29, 2011) announced today a new Bioenergy Joint Venture focusing on the processing of Rice, Sugarcane and Coconut into energy producing Biofuels Pacific Biofuels Corporations will establish three biofuels plants in the Philippines. Each plant
December 30, 2011 Read Full Article
NEXIM Grants $695m Loans for Renewable Energy
by Emeka Ugwuanyi (The Nation) As part of contribution to developing and using renewable energy as against the current dependence on fossil fuels, the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) said it has given out $695 million as loans to five companies that
December 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Boosting Biofuels for Sustainable Energy and Environment
(European Commission CORDIS) Europeans believe in a sustainable environment, and a way of ensuring its future is to promote and build energy resources based on residual biomass. Supporting this objective is the BIOBOOST ('Biomass-based energy intermediates boosting biofuel production') project. Set
December 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Are Biofuels the Best Use of Our Limited Land Resources?
by Tyler Hamilton (OilPrice.com) ...This isn’t just about corn; it’s also about how we choose to use agricultural residues, municipal organic waste, wood waste, algae biomass, and non-food crops. Does it make sense to just burn this material for energy, or
December 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Gaia Association and SEI Launches New Initiative to Produce Clean Cooking Fuel from Waste for Addis Ababa Households
(Project Gaia) On November 23, Gaia Association, in partnership with Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority, launched the new project “Fuel from Waste: Demonstrating the Feasibility of Locally Produced Ethanol for Household Cooking in Addis Ababa.” Ethiopian
December 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Drop-in Biofuels Take Flight in Commerce City, Colorado
by John Schueler (US Department of Energy) The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy works in partnership with industry to develop, build, operate and validate integrated biorefineries across the country at various scales (pilot, demonstration, and commercial). One
December 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Nipawin Biomass Ethanol Advances Research through SRC Contract
by Matt Soberg (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Saskatchewan-based Nipawin Biomass Ethanol New Generation Co-operative Ltd. has contracted with the Saskatchewan Research Council to further develop its catalytic process for cellulosic ethanol production. The technology is also being integrated into Fulcrum BioEnergy
October 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Avec le Projet Futurol, la France Mise sur les Biocarburants de Seconde Génération
(Le Monde) Dans de vastes hangars sont stockés des bottes de paille, des tiges de miscanthus (sorte de roseau parfois appelé "herbe à éléphant"), des rondins de saule et de peuplier. D'autres bâtiments sont réservés aux copeaux et résidus de
October 20, 2011 Read Full Article
China’s Vision for Renewable Energy: The Status of Bioenergy and Bioproduct Research and Commercialization
Elizabeth R. Nesbitt, Paul Thiers, Johnway Gao, Sharon Shoemaker, Manuel Garcia-Perez, Julie Carrier, Joy Doran-Peterson, John Morgan, Guangyi Wang, Pierre Christian Wensel, Shulin Chen (Journal of International Commerce and Economics) The Chinese government is vigorously promoting commercialization of renewable energy and bioproducts, given environmental issues plus food, energy, and national security concerns,
August 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Garbage in, Energy out: Turning Trash into Biofuel
by David Biello (Scientific American) Making biofuels from waste makes dollars--and sense ...Turning garbage into fuel is potentially an answer to two pressing problems—diminishing the world's dependence on fossil fuels and an alternative to burying trash in landfills. In fact, the 468 million
August 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Is China for You? Part II: The Resources and Investor Perspective
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The drivers for biofuels and cleantech as a whole? According to the 2010 China Statistical Yearbook, from 2005 to 2009 the gross domestic product of China grew at a compound annual growth rate of 16.5%
July 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Spain's Cepsa to Expand into Second-Generation Biodiesel
by Ivan Castano (Renewable Energy World) The firm will begin making the fuel with palm oil, animal fats and other residues at its recently expanded La Rabida plant in Huelva in July and will subsequently begin manufacturing it in its
July 21, 2011 Read Full Article
Lignol Phases Out Demo Project, Pursues Commercial Opportunities
by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine) Lignol Innovations Inc., a subsidiary of Vancouver-based Lignol Energy Corp., has reached an agreement with the U.S. DOE’s Biomass Program to discontinue work of a proposed 2.5 MMgy cellulosic ethanol demonstration-scale project in Grand Junction,
July 21, 2011 Read Full Article
LS9 and HCL CleanTech Awarded a $9 Million Grant From the Department of Energy
(LS9) LS9, Inc., a technology leader in the development of sustainable products, today announced that it has been awarded in conjunction with partner HCL CleanTech Ltd., a $9 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to improve and demonstrate
July 19, 2011 Read Full Article
New Research Facility Recovers Value from Waste, Lowers Emissions
(City of Edmonton, Enerkem, Alberta Innovates) Plug-and-play pilot plant and lab to convert waste to biofuels and value-added chemicals Edmonton is now home to one of the world’s most sophisticated waste-to-biofuels research facilities, thanks to a partnership between Alberta Innovates – Energy and
June 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Project to Turn Nearly Any Organic Waste into Biofuels
by Melissa O'Neil Perdue (Washington State University) An innovative idea for making advanced biofuels such as jet fuel, diesel and gasoline from regional resources is moving forward with a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). “This process will demonstrate the
May 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Canadian Based G2 BioChem Launches Advanced Biofuel Venture
(Canadian Renewable Fuels Association/MarketWire) The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association today lauded the launch of G2 BioChem, the latest Canadian based venture to develop and commercialize advanced renewable fuels and next generation ethanol. G2 BioChem is a collaborative effort between GreenField
May 10, 2011 Read Full Article
OpEd: A Diverse Biofuels Economy
by Tom Vilsack (USDA/The Daily Mail) ...Last year, the United States produced more than 13 billion gallons of ethanol with the bulk of it coming from the Midwest. But Congress set a national goal of using 36 billion gallons of
May 04, 2011 Read Full Article
China Set to Increase Use of Biofuels
by Wang Xiaotian (China Daily) The nation has plans to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 45 percent by 2020 China can become a leader in the production of second-generation (2G) biofuels, made from agricultural waste instead of foodstuffs, such
May 02, 2011 Read Full Article
MHI Establishes Technology to Produce Biofuel Locally at Low Cost from Rice and Barley Straws
(JapanCorp.net) Project to Make Efficient Use of Soft Cellulose Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has successfully established technology to produce ethanol for automobile fuel, satisfying the standards of the Japanese Automotive Standards Organization (JASO), from lignocellulose (soft cellulose) such as rice
April 29, 2011 Read Full Article
AE Biofuels Gets Grant for Co-Located Cellulosic Pilot Plant
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) AE Advanced Fuels Keyes Inc. is aiming for the future. At the same time the company is working to restart a 55 MMgy ethanol plant located in Keyes, Calif., it announced approval of a
April 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Abengoa on Schedule to Secure 100 Percent of the Biomass Requirement for its Hugoton, Kansas, Cellulosic Ethanol Facility
(Abengoa) Abengoa, the company that develops innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, is on schedule to secure 100 percent of the biomass raw material for its Hugoton, Kansas, cellulosic ethanol plant. The company has signed
April 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Food vs Fuel: Are Biofuels Moral or Immoral?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The public says “depends on the feedstock,” but generally more moral than converting land for oil & gas or housing. An in-depth Digest survey looks at a wide variety of cases. In Florida, respondents to a
April 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Neste Oil Celebrates the Grand Opening of Its ISCC-Certified Renewable Diesel Plant in Singapore
(Neste Oil) Neste Oil with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Mr. Teo Chee Hean, Finnish Minister for Ownership Steering Mr. Jyri Häkämies, and some 200 guests celebrate the grand opening of its renewable diesel plant in
March 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Laila Padi 'Waste' Found to Have Great Potential as Biofuel
by Ubaidillah Masli (Brunei Times) LAILA, the rice variety heralded as the answer to Brunei's food self-sufficiency woes, might also fuel the Sultanate's cars in the future as an efficient and more environment-friendly biofuel. This is the finding of a
January 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Kingdom Considers Producing Ethanol from Waste
by Querubin J. Minas (The Saudi) In line with the Saudi government’s initiative to diversify energy resources and promote clean environment at the same time, a US company is introducing an innovative, versatile biofuel solution to produce ethanol using
January 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels Developers Get a Taste for Waste
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...a lot of strong commentary from the readership on the potential for Fischer-Tropsch technologies. And brought out some very strong feelings about waste. On F-T, one reader wrote: “Expansion of FT? Hardly. Its the narrowing of
January 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Malaysia's Sime Darby, Japan's Mitsui Engineering Sign Biofuel Deal
(Japan Today) Malaysia’s Sime Darby Plantation is collaborating with Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co to construct and operate a bioethanol demonstration plant in Malaysia’s Selangor State. The plant will convert oil empty palm fruit branches, available year-round and in abundant
January 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Mendota Firm Gets $1.5M for Bioenergy Testing
(Business Journal) A Mendota biofuel company will be using a $1.5 million grant from the California Energy Commission to test the feasibility of converting sugar beets and agricultural waste into ethanol and other forms of clean energy. ...If proven feasible, the project
December 03, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuels From Trash Could Replace Half of EU Gasoline by 2020, Study Says
by Alex Morales (Bloomberg) Biofuels made from plant waste and municipal trash rather than food crops could replace more than half of gasoline used in the European Union by 2020, industry analyst Bloomberg New Energy Finance said today. The 27-nation bloc could
September 16, 2010 Read Full Article
New Waste to Bio-Fuel Facility Opened in Delhi
(Waste Management World) A new waste to biofuel facility in Delhi, India has been inaugurated by the government of Delhi’s chief minister, Sheila Dikshit. Located at Delhi Secretariat, the plant is part of an initiative to make Delhi an energy efficient
August 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Cedar Grove Composting Announces Partnership with BIOFerm
(BIOFerm) Cedar Grove Composting announced today that it is working with BioFerm Energy Systems, a German-based clean energy generation company owned by The Viessmann Group, to integrate anaerobic digestion into its composting process. The proposed technology employs a high-solids anaerobic digester
July 20, 2010 Read Full Article
Bion Confirms Participation in SUNY Oswego’s Forum
(Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc.) Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. (OTC BB: BNET) today confirmed its participation at a public issues forum on July 14, hosted by SUNY Oswego's Office of Business and Community Relations at their Campus Center auditorium. The forum,
July 20, 2010 Read Full Article
Petrobras and BIOeCON Announce Joint Technology Development for the Enhanced Conversion of Biomass to Next Generation Biofuels and Chemicals
(BIOeCON) Petrobras and BIOeCON announced their partnership in the joint development of a novel process for enhanced conversion of biomass, as found in agricultural wastes such as sugarcane bagasse, into chemicals that can be used to produce green plastics, or further
July 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Firms Eye Profits in Leftover Corn Plant Products
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) ...Now, agribusiness companies Monsanto Co., Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Deere and Co. see profits in stover and are collaborating on research into economical ways of harvesting, processing and using the stuff, including as
May 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Till, Baby, Till: Syngest CEO Offers “Cornucopia” Vision for Food, Feed, Fuel, Fertilizer from Corn
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...“It allows us to produce a greater abundance of all three which are at the heart of the intersection of energy and agriculture. We can put an end to the “food vs. fuel” debate and
May 07, 2010 Read Full Article
IntAct Targets Energy-Neutral Water Treatment
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...IntAct Labs LLC has been awarded a $46,770 U.S. EPA grant to further research ethanol stillage treatment using a microbial fuel cell process, according to Justin Buck, chief technology officer for the company. The microbial
April 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Sustainable Feedstock Resource Availability
Crop Residue- What’s It Worth? Robert Fireovid (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service) explained the interest in crop residues, concerns about crop residues, how USDA-ARS is addressing these concerns, what research it has shown, and what would be the next
April 13, 2010 Read Full Article
South Dakota State University Studies Corn Stover Pretreatment
(Biomass Magazine) Using a high shear bioreactor (extrusion) pretreatment process can help prepare corn stover as a feedstock for making cellulosic ethanol, a South Dakota State University study finds. The SDSU study explored different temperatures, screw speeds, and enzymes to learn
April 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Woodland Biofuels Awarded $4 Million by Ontario For Revolutionary Cellulosic Ethanol Demonstration Plant
Ontario is investing $4 million through the Innovation Demonstration Fund (IDF) to help Woodland Biofuels Inc. and its partners build a groundbreaking demonstration plant that will efficiently produce cellulosic ethanol from renewable wastes. The plant will use Woodland’s patented technology, which
April 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Uganda Scientists Find Ways to Get Ethanol from Stems, Leaves
by Halima Abdallah (The East African) Uganda scientists have made a breakthrough in extracting bio-ethanol from non-food parts of plants — cassava stems, cassava leaves, pineapple leaves, elephant grass stems and wood — opening the way for commercial production of ethanol
March 29, 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
New Enzymes Turn Waste into $US2/gallon fuel
Novozymes launches the first commercially viable enzymes for production of biofuel from agricultural waste. Breakthroughs in enzyme technology enable cellulosic biofuel as a competitive alternative to gasoline. Novozymes’ new Cellic® CTec2 enzymes enable the biofuel industry to produce cellulosic ethanol at
February 17, 2010 Read Full Article
New Alternative-Energy Plant Could Create 150 Jobs in Indian River County
by Henry A. Stephens (TCPalm.com) ...“Our project is a brand-new opportunity with new technology,” Tex Carter, vice president and chairman of INEOS New Planet BioEnergy LLC, said Thursday. “We’re turning garbage into ethanol.” ...The company has been discussing buying and converting
February 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Honeywell's UOP Awarded U.S. Department Of Energy Grant For Conversion Of Waste Biomass To Green Transportation Fuels
UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced it has been selected for negotiation of a $25 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to build a demonstration unit in Hawaii to convert cellulosic biomass into green transportation fuels. As part
January 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Research Shows Promise of Low-Cost Biofuel Production from Sugar Beets
(Atlantic Biomass) Research reported in the December issue of the American Society of Microbiology’s journal Applied and Environment Microbiology on the development of a thermostable enzyme opens the way to a new pathway for low-cost biofuel production using sugar beet
December 09, 2009 Read Full Article
Thermal Stabilization of Erwinia chrysanthemi Pectin Methylesterase A for Application in a Sugar Beet Pulp Biorefinery
(Applied and Environmental Microbiology, the Journal of the American Society for Microbiology) Directed evolution approaches were used to construct a thermally stabilized variant of Erwinia chrysanthemi pectin methylesterase A. The final evolved enzyme has four amino acid substitutions that together
November 20, 2009 Read Full Article
Cow Manure to Algae for Biodiesel in Vermont
(NECN.com) At Blue-Spruce Farm in Vermont, algae is grown using cow manure to produce biodiesel. WATCH VIDEO
July 17, 2009 Read Full Article
US/India Cooperative Agreements for 2nd Generation Biofuel Production
Indian government-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is tying up with US-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for a pilot project to produce second generation biofuel. This biofuel — essentailly bio-ethanol — would be produced from cellulosic biomass or degradable agricultural waste
May 13, 2009 Read Full Article
How to Beat the High Cost of Gasoline. Forever!
by Adam Lashinsky and Nelson D. Schwartz (CNN Money/Fortune Magazine) You probably don't know it, but the answer to America's gasoline addiction could be under the hood of your car. More than five million Tauruses, Explorers, Stratuses, Suburbans, and other vehicles