by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Nature hasn’t (so far) selected algae for long life. Generally, the little one-celled growth factories survive by blooming slightly faster than they get eaten. Making a world that’s safe for algae is like breeding ice
Alabama
Back TO HOMEBridges to Commercialization
by Jim Lane (Biobased DIgest) Bringing your biobased technology forward through the Valley of Death may require a bridge over troubled waters. Here are partners worth knowing. ... Bioenergy commercialization is long, expensive and risky. Derisking the enterprise by making the
February 14, 2013 Read Full Article
New Ethanol Terminal in Birmingham Could Mean Cheaper Gas, CEO Says
by Stan Diel (AL.com) A new $17 million ethanol terminal near I-65 and Finley Boulevard could lower the cost of gasoline at the pump for Alabama consumers, the CEO of the terminal's owner said today. The BlendStar, LLC terminal, which receives
February 14, 2013 Read Full Article
Alabama Inventors Patent Algae Extraction Method
(Algae Industry Magazine) Streamline Automation, of Huntsville, Alabama, has been assigned a patent (8,303,818) developed by four co-inventors for a “method and apparatus using an active ionic liquid for algae biofuel harvest and extraction.” The co-inventors are Roberto Di Salvo,
January 03, 2013 Read Full Article
What Do People Think About Biofuels?
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) What do people in the Southeast think about biofuels? Do they support biofuel ventures? Who will grow the biomass? Will those in established industries fight against it? These are just a few of the questions researchers
December 27, 2012 Read Full Article
Green Plains Subsidiary Opens New Terminal
(Biofuels International) Ethanol producer Green Plains Renewable Energy's wholly owned subsidiary BlendStar has commenced operations at its newly built 96-car train terminal in Birmingham, Alabama. READ MORE
December 21, 2012 Read Full Article
NASA-Rooted Biofuel Project Aims for Shores of Mobile Bay
by Marc D. Anderson (AL.com) A company using NASA-licensed technology is looking at a small patch of bayfront property to launch what one day could be a revolutionary wastewater-treating and biofuel-creating endeavor. Since 2009, Algae Systems LLC of Carson City, Nev.,
November 16, 2012 Read Full Article
The Sherpas: 7 Biofuels Feedstock Developers Clearing Paths to the Summit
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Every great biofuels technology has its own companion feedstock strategy – with unique advantages and technical challenges. Who’s got what it takes to be a great Sherpa, providing that feedstock or intermediates edge that puts
October 15, 2012 Read Full Article
Professor Wins Bioenergy Grant, Fuels Change
by Nathan Simone (The Auburn Plainsman) Sushil Adhikari, assistant professor of biosystems engineering, recently received a $335,748 grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct bioenergy research, specifically Adhikari’s speciality, the conversion of biomass into biofuels and products, for three
July 31, 2012 Read Full Article
New E85 Fueling Stations in Birmingham
by Bryant Sommerville (ABC3340) ...City vehicles will now be able to fill up at one of the two E85 ethanol fuel stations. One is at the Equipment Management Facility on Sixth Avenue South and the other is at the North Public
July 17, 2012 Read Full Article
Entrepreneur at University of Alabama Eyes Kudzu as Ethanol Source
(Birmingham Business Journal) Scientists at the University of Alabama's manufacturing technology center are looking at kudzu, the non-native leafy vines that have spread across the South's fields and forests, as one of several sources that could be used to make
June 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Sorghum Goes Epic, or Is That EPEC? A Primer on Biofuels’ Underdog Feedstock
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What’s up? What’s next? New pathways, plus country-by-country yield data. Sorghum. It’s a feedstock right out the pages of the old South – sorghum syrup served with corn bread and Lowcountry boils. ...There’s sweet sorghum and grain
May 30, 2012 Read Full Article
Ceres Sweet Sorghum Hybrids Processed by Amyris
(Ceres) • Pilot project validates U.S.-produced sweet sorghum as a potential feedstock for advanced biofuels and bio-products. • Conversion efficiency of sweet sorghum sugars were similar to sugarcane. Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. (Nasdaq: CERE) today announced its improved sweet sorghum hybrids
May 04, 2012 Read Full Article
American Jianye Greentech Holdings in Marketing Partnership with Gulf Coast Energy Ltd. to Accelerate Retail Expansion in United States
(The Business Journals/American Jianye Greentech Holdings, Ltd.) American Jianye Greentech Holdings, Ltd., a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of alcohol-based automobile fuel and civil-use fuel in China, today announced that it has signed a marketing partnership agreement with US Gulf Coast
March 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Fueling Education Loud and Clear: AIDB’s Biodiesel Program Provides Unparalleled Work Experience for Its Students
by Bryan Sims (Biodiesel Magazine) Alabama native Helen Keller once said, “No one has the right to consume happiness without producing it.” The same could be said of biodiesel at the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind in Talladega, Ala.
March 02, 2012 Read Full Article
Company Advocates for the Use of Biodiesel at Power Plants
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) Alabama-based Clean Energy Pathways Inc. is working to help coal-fired utilities meet state and federal compliance standards by helping to identify methods to increase efficiency and produce a portion of renewable energy. This includes the
January 30, 2012 Read Full Article
Soybean Checkoff to Partner with Nine Clean Cities Coalitions
(Jackson County Times-Journal) The United Soybean Board (USB) and soybean checkoff have announced the participants in the 2012 biodiesel and Bioheat® communications program, which helps cities across the United States spread the word about the only commercially available advanced biofuel. The
January 19, 2012 Read Full Article
Wayne Keith Sets a New World Wood Gas Speed Record
by David Bransby(Auburn University/Biofuels Digest) We hear a lot about “drop-in” fuels these days. While this term typically means an infrastructure-compatible liquid transportation fuel, Wayne Keith has come up with his own version of a “drop-in” fuel: wood, or any
December 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Coskata’s $100 million IPO: The 10-Minute Version
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The first gas fermentation technology to come to the public markets: Coskata files its $100 million IPO. Here’s our 10-minute version of the filing, with a translation of the risks into English. ...Coskata, which in the
December 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Cooking Oil, Anyone?
(SmyrnaVinings.com) The City of Smyrna plans to open a biodiesel processing plant, designed to cut fuel costs and reduce fossil fuel consumption, by January 2012. The use of biodiesel results in the substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons. The Biodiesel Program in Smyrna
December 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Green Plains' BlendStar to Build New 96-Car Unit Train Terminal
(Green Plains Renewable Energy) Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc., announced today (November 10, 2011) that its wholly-owned subsidiary, BlendStar LLC, will build, own and operate a new ethanol unit train terminal in Birmingham, Alabama on the BNSF Railway. The new
November 15, 2011 Read Full Article
YouTube Video Documents Alabama Biodiesel Success Stories
by Luke Geiver (Biodiesel Magazine) For several years the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition has been providing informative workshops, seminars and just about everything else to help Alabamans understand the benefits of biodiesel. Now, led by Mark Bentley, executive director, the
November 10, 2011 Read Full Article
CEP Markets Biodiesel as Energy Substitute for Coal
by Bryan Sims (Biodiesel Magazine) Dothan, Ala.-based renewable energy solutions firm Clean Energy Pathways Inc. has introduced a new line of custom-blended biodiesel for use as a Btu-substitute in coal-fired utility and commercial boilers, or for use in diesel-powered equipment. Available as
October 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Coskata, Inc.’s Semi-Commercial Facility Demonstrates Two Years of Successful Operation
(Coskata) With More than 15,000 Run Hours, Company Focus Turns to Commercial Scale Facilities Coskata, Inc., a developer of technology for the production of advanced biofuels and biochemicals from biomass and waste materials, achieved two years of successful operations at
October 17, 2011 Read Full Article
UT Center for Renewable Carbon Named as Lead Institution for $15 Million USDA Grant
(University of Tennessee) Center to coordinate woody biomass production and utilization studies The Center for Renewable Carbon, a program of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, has been named by the USDA as a recipient of one of five coordinated
September 30, 2011 Read Full Article
MAPCO Puts Another E85 Pump on the Map in Alabama
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) Flex-fuel vehicle owners in Madison, Alabama now have more choices in filling up with E85, thanks to MAPCO Express and Protec Fuel. This is the first location for the multi-state MAPCO Express to offer 85 percent ethanol blended fuel.
September 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Construction of Ethanol Fuel Stations Begins in Birmingham
by Melynda Sides (MyFoxAL.com) Construction of two new E-85 ethanol fuel stations in Birmingham began today. One of the stations will be located at 515 6th Avenue South. ...A grant from the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition is paying for 80 percent
August 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Phase Shift: 12 Hot Gas-Based Biofuels Technologies
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...But a new generation of technologies is coming along fast, primarily in advanced biofuels, which is gasifying biomass at the front end along its path towards making fuels, chemicals or other biomaterials – or in
August 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Hoover Algae-to-Oil Fuel Plant Fails to Get Grant
by Steve Irvine (The Birmingham News) The Ohio-based company seeking to put a pilot plant in Hoover that would harvest oil from algae to form an alternative fuel didn't receive the $45 million grant it was seeking to build the
July 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels Arrive in Tarrant, Alabama
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) ...Pacific Pride Services, a subsidiary of Wright Express Corporation, has announced that in partnership with Quality Petroleum of Alabama the opening of the first Commercial Fuel Center offering both biodiesel for fleet customers as well as
July 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Veggie Oil Shortage Slows County Biodiesel Plan
by Laura Johnson (Anniston Star) Inside the Calhoun County Highway Department’s complex at McClellan, Eric Feemster brews batches of biodiesel fuel. ...It’s a program that has garnered Calhoun County two awards from state associations in the past 12 months. The fledgling
May 25, 2011 Read Full Article
KiOR Breaks Ground, and Draws Customers, for Columbus Biofuels Plant
by Garthia Elena Burnett (Commercial Dispatch) FedEx is the latest company to sign an offtake agreement with Kior, a biofuels plant slated to begin production in Columbus in 2012. FedEx plans to use oil produced from biomass, mainly wood chips,
May 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Municipal Solid Waste to Biofuels Summit: Conference Report
by Bill Brandon (Advanced Biofuels USA) On February 10 & 11, about 120 participants gathered in chilly Chicago for the first Municipal Solid Waste to Biofuels Summit presented by the British firm, Eye for Energy. The conference drew participants from
February 21, 2011 Read Full Article
New Eco-Friendly Fuel Pumps Arrive in the Wiregrass
by Jim Cook (Dothan Eagle) Local drivers of flex fuel vehicles can enjoy the benefits of their eco-friendly rides now that two E85 fuel stations have opened in the area. On Thursday, the Inland Food Stores at 2747 Ross Clark Circle
February 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Company Developing Fuel for Future
by Jenette Sturges (Naperville Sun) In only a few short years, it could be fueling cars and trucks while producing 90 percent less greenhouse gas, providing energy security for the nation, and creating high-tech jobs in the Naperville area. It’s a process
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Coskata Supported Biorefinery Selected To Receive $250 Million Loan Guarantee From USDA
(Coskata) Guarantee will support a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Alabama Coskata Inc., a developer of technology for the production of renewable fuels and chemicals, was notified by the USDA of their intent to provide a $250 million loan guarantee in
January 20, 2011 Read Full Article
Hoover Eyed for Site to Grow Algae for Biofuel
by Val Walton (The Birmingham News) Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos wrote a letter of support last week for the SouthEast Region Algae Consortium (SERAC) -- a group of scientists, engineers and experts in biofuels and algae research which is pursuing a