by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  It may be renaissance times for the Clean Fuels Development Coalition. Their long quest to upend proposed Obama-era vehicle efficiency rules that ignored the potential to improve efficiency and emissions via …

by Emily Druckman (Renewable Fuels Association)  The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today encouraged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to strongly consider the role of high-octane fuels and higher …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … According to POET CEO Jeff Broin, there’s a deal on the table — changing almost by the hour, but a deal none the less. A deal on the table to provide year-round E15 …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  The Energy Department today (February 15, 2018) released two studies from the Co-Optimization of Engines & Fuels initiative (Co-Optima). The study, Fuel Blendstocks with the Potential to Optimize Future Gasoline Engine Performance, identifies …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Have you ever wondered why corn farmers march for the RFS, but Wall Streeters don’t? Or why merchent oil refiners want the US Renewable Fuel Standard repealed but major oilcos generally …

by Graham Noyes and Doug Durante (Low Carbon Fuels Coalition/Clean Fuels Development Coalition/Biofuels Digest)  … While not as entertaining to watch as a Godzilla film with a three-headed flying monster, the current regulatory struggle over national …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The US Department of Energy has a key project called Co-Optima, which aims to determine key fuel properties that enable improved engine efficiency, provide key science to enable high efficiency combustion …

In his article suggesting scrapping Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards in favor of a Clean Air Act life cycle analysis-based methodology for CO2 transportation emission reduction, Bob Kozak advised, “(I)f anyone asks what will be …

by Robert Kozak* (Advanced Biofuels USA)  The 2025 Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard of 54.5 miles/gallon has become a significant issue since the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. Besides the …

by Bob Dinneen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  … This new era of getting our country back on track has and will continue to extend into the biofuels industry, making sure we are providing the cleanest, lowest-cost and …

by Dan Crisler (The Public Opinion)  Watertown automotive and fuel retailers and technicians got a special visit from one of the most respected automotive reviewers in the country in Marc Rauch.

Rauch, an executive with internet …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  There’s one crossing worse than the Valley of Death and that is the Valley of NLACM.
Although it sounds more like a goose trying to say “You’ll like him” — it’s …

by Jeff Barber (Oil Price Information Service)  he U.S. ethanol industry is hoping it can obtain from the Trump administration something it could not get from the Obama White House: an acknowledgement that higher levels …

(Agri-Pulse)  Research aimed at finding the right combination of fuels and engine technology that would maximize a car’s performance while reducing its greenhouse gas emissions has reached a milestone that ethanol advocates hope gets wider …

by Chris Clayton (DTN The Progressive Farmer)  … (EPA Administrator Scott ) Pruitt also noted that EPA will be “assessing higher levels of ethanol-free gasoline.”
Ethanol-free gasoline translates into higher volumes of aromatic chemicals to raise …

by Dave VanderGriend (ICM Inc./Wichita Business Journal)  I was driving home last week and was surprised to see the price differences on the gas station sign. Regular 87 octane gas was $.40 cheaper than “No Ethanol” …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the US Patent & Trademark Office has just issued a “notice of allowance” for a patent by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency for a high efficiency, high …

by Emily Skor (Growth Energy/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Growth Energy’s CEO explains the importance of the recent ASTM standard for 100 RON test fuel in helping the ethanol industry achieve its goal of expanding the availability of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Let’s look at the letter behind the headlines.
“Rest assured that your president and this administration values the importance of renewable fuels to America’s economy and to our energy independence. As …

by Marc J. Rauch (The Auto Channel) … For a guy who grew up primarily in Brooklyn and Queens, farming was as alien to me as the dark side of the moon. Nevertheless, the story was riveting …

by Mark Dorenkamp (Brownfield Ag News)  A Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) director says the auto industry path to improved fuel economy includes higher blends of ethanol.
Randall Doyal, CEO of Al-Corn Clean Fuel in southeast Minnesota, tells …

by Jim Seurer (Glacial Lakes Energy/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Our good friend and colleague Dave VanderGriend wrote in this column in April that a little place called Watertown, South Dakota, could be the beginning of a revolution …

by Jeremy Martin (Union of Concerned Scientists)  … 9 things you need to know about high octane fuel, and my perspective on a path forward.
High octane fuel enables more powerful or more efficient engines
… But in the context …

by Brian Jennings (American Coalition for Ethanol/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  It’s the Holy Grail for many in the ethanol industry to increase demand for our fuel based on its octane value proposition.
The American Coalition for Ethanol …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … The initiative aims to accelerate the introduction of affordable, scalable, and sustainable biofuels and high-efficiency, low-emission vehicle engines. The simultaneous fuels and vehicles research and development (R&D) is designed to …

by Donnelle Eller (Des Moines Register)  Energy security remains a top concern, even with growing U.S. supplies of oil, natural gas and renewable energy, said U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, kicking off a public forum on energy policies, electric markets …

by Dave VanderGriend (ICM/Urban Air Initiative/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  … Watertown is challenging conventional wisdom in order for biofuels like ethanol to finally realize their true potential.
Conventional wisdom says our nonflex autos can only operate on 10 percent …

by Reuben Sarkar (Department of Energy)  Recently I had the pleasure of briefing members of Congress on EERE’s groundbreaking fuel-engine co-optimization initiative. The new, multi-year project combines previously independent areas of biofuels and engine combustion research …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  I really enjoyed learning about research into midlevel ethanol blends from Timothy Theiss and Brian West, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “E25, E40 for the masses” went live …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Widely introducing consumers to ‘super premium’ ethanol blends could offer substantial benefits, but the barriers to making it happen are significant as well.  —  Which needs to come first, …

by Renee Schoof (Bloomberg BNA)  A group of farm-state governors and some advocates for clean energy are pressing the Environmental Protection Agency to get tougher on toxic air pollution from motor vehicles in a way that …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Is ethanol really worth $3.81 for the octane but costs only $1.39 on the market? How could that be?  Math majors around the country are frequently perplexed by this one. If …

by By Mikkel Pates (Grand Forks Herald)  …  Brian West, deputy director of the Fuels, Engines and Emissions Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., said the issue shouldn’t be difficult with …

by Robert E. Kozak and Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)   This year, for a change, in the introduction to his remarks at the Washington, DC Auto Show, US Energy Secretary Dr. Ernest Moniz pointed out …

(Ethanol Across America)  Despite the effectiveness of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in providing an entry ramp to the fuel market, the potential for corn ethanol to contribute to meeting a range of public policy …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) The Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) had a call for information on Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines (Optima). The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) submitted comments stating that the Association …

(Defour Group/Transportation Fuels Consulting)  Dean Drake of the Defour Group LLC (D4) and Gary Herwick of Transportation Fuels Consulting (TFC) have submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Request for Information about co-optimization of fuels …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In a time of rising gasoline demand and targets for higher engine efficiencies, the world could use more octane.  What about ethanol, and what about iso-octane itself? The Digest looks at …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Q. How have the US elections and the regulatory situation in the US impacted development of biofuels for other countries, particularly Latin America? …  Not much impact from the 2014 …

by Brian Jenning (Ethanol Producer Magazine/American Coalition for Ethanol)  Each fall the American Coalition for Ethanol brings members together to identify the goals we’ll pursue for the coming year. We did a series of listening …

(Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing examining the health impacts of current octane sources and the need for cleaner, cost-effective octane providers. Octane is necessary for …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) have released a request for information (RFI) titled “Co-Optimization …

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing examining the health impacts of current octane sources and the need for cleaner, cost-effective octane providers. Octane is necessary for vehicle performance and …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  Back in September I brought you a story about Orrie Swayze, an active ethanol advocate, who wants all drivers to use E30 in their cars. At the time, there was a …

by Doug Durante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/Biofuels Digest)  In the aftermath of revelations of how Volkswagen had their thumb on the scale as they cheated not just the EPA, but all of us who breathe …

(US Department of Energy)  Research Opportunities Highlighted in Report Lay Out Options for America’s Clean Energy Future — Today (September 10, 2015), the Energy Department released its second Quadrennial Technology Review (QTR), which examines the current …

(Department of Energy)  … We know many of you are interested in some of the presentations from our great lineup of speakers. We have posted select presentations from the conference to our Bioenergy 2015 presentations website.
They …

by  Joern Huenteler and Henry Lee (Belfer Center Programs or Projects)  The promise, prospects, and public policy trade-offs related to second-generation biofuels in road transport were addressed in an executive session convened at The Henry …

by  Laura Small (Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  On July 14, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a petition from the Energy Future Coalition and other biofuel interests to review an Environmental Protection Agency …

by John Siciliano  (Washington Examiner)  A federal appeals court slammed the ethanol industry on Tuesday for suing the Environmental Protection Agency, and then slammed the EPA’s defense even though the agency won the case.
The D.C. …

(Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition held a briefing examining the current state and potential future of the transportation fuel supply. While combustion engines …

(Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition invite you to a briefing examining the current state and potential future of the transportation fuel supply. While …

(25 x ’25)  … The latest report, which is from experts at the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), describes a study that explores the potential performance benefits of high-octane ethanol blends in the legacy fleet …

by Mikkel Pates (Agweek)   While the mainstream ethanol advocates are pushing toward E15, some want much more. Orrie Swayze, a Wilmot, S.D., semi-farmer and former South Dakota Corn Growers Association president, says the Environmental Protection Agency …

Derek A. Splitter and James P. Szybist (Oak Ridge National Laboratory/Energy & Fuels)  The present study experimentally investigates spark-ignited combustion with 87 AKI E0 gasoline in its neat form and in midlevel alcohol–gasoline blends with …

by Dan Morgan (Des Moines Register)  … President Barack Obama didn’t mention ethanol, biofuels, or agriculture in his State of the Union address, even as he boasted that the country was “number one in oil and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Have low gas prices changed the equation for drivers looking to reduce pain at the pump? Who’s the best on cost?   And, is there surprising news on emissions?
…
We looked at …

by Dean Drake (Minnesota Corn Growers Association)  Inexpensive high‐octane gasoline disappeared when emission regulations forced leaded gasoline out of the market in the early 1970s. This in turn led to reduced engine compression ratios and …

(Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  According to an analysis of vehicle owners manuals for model year 2014 and 2015 cars, conducted by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), two-thirds of new car owners’ manuals approve the use of E15 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, what has been described within the industry as “The growing movement to call out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its ethanol emissions testing procedures” picked up support …

(Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  On October 27, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the use of ten percent ethanol in the gasoline supply has lowered gasoline energy’s content by three percent in a …

by Lori Nicholson (IWP News)  EPA’s recent decision in its “Tier III” vehicle emissions rule to increase the amount of ethanol in certification fuel used to determine an automobile’s compliance with the standard could complicate …

by Jim Lane  (Biofuels Digest)  … With great sessions at conferences, delegates are usually keen to get a hold of the powerpoint decks. But how do you get a hold of the great Q&A that follows …

by William Woebkenberg (Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America)  In these presentation slides from a July 2014 US Department of Energy EIA conference, Bill Woebkenberg explains Mercedes’ support for world-wide B5 biodiesel/FAME blends and the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Why is everyone yakking about E85? FTC investigations. Key Senators on the warpath. Antitrust allegations. In short, all kinds of crazy.  What’s exactly going on?
In today’s Digest, we’ve prepared our illustrated …

(US Environmental Protection Agency)  Based on extensive input from the public and a broad range of stakeholders, including public health groups, auto manufacturers, refiners, and states, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today finalized emission …

(The Green Car Website)  How much of an impact could a mid-level biofuel blend have on the efficiency of the vehicles we drive? According to researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the improvements could be …

by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA)  As part of the recently proposed Tier 3 motor vehicle fuel and emission regulations, www.epa.gov/otaq/tier3.htm, EPA included a very forward looking idea that could bring higher octane, higher ethanol …