by Simla Tokgoz (U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service) By law, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets targets for blending renewable fuels such as ethanol with traditional transportation fuels to implement the mandates set by the Energy Independence and
grain sorghum/milo
Back TO HOMEGrain Sorghum: Economic Potential and Technological Innovations Boost Planted Area in Brazil
(IHARA) With an expanding market, sorghum stands out for its versatility, providing economic benefits for both farmers and Brazilian agribusiness -- Sorghum, one of the most cultivated cereals in the world, continues to gain prominence in Brazil, with the planted area growing
December 13, 2024 Read Full Article
Grain Sorghum: Economic Potential and Technological Innovations Boost Planted Area in Brazil
(IHARA (Google Translation)) With an expanding market, sorghum stands out for its versatility, providing economic benefits for both farmers and Brazilian agribusiness -- Sorghum, one of the most cultivated cereals in the world, continues to gain prominence in Brazil, with the planted
December 10, 2024 Read Full Article
Drought Causes Challenges for Kansas Ethanol Plant
by Mark Dorenkamp (Brownfield Ag News) The CEO of an ethanol plant in northwest Kansas says 2024 has been a challenging year. Derek Peine is with Western Plains Energy in Oakley. “For us in particular, we suffered another year of drought. So that’s
November 23, 2024 Read Full Article
From Popping to Biofuels: Discover the Versatile Uses of Sorghum
by Ricardo Hernandez (Nebraska TV) ... "We had an 18% increase across Nebraska for sorghum," explainedKristine Dvoracek-Jameson Executive Director at Nebraska Grain Sorghum Board and Nebraska Sorghum Producers Association. Sorghum is growing throughout the state, with about 400,000 acres being grown this
September 14, 2024 Read Full Article
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Could Help Clear the Air, Former Kansas Senator Says | Opinion
by Pat Roberts (Wichita Eagle/Americans for Clean Aviation Fuels) ... Unfortunately, SAF represents less than one percent of the current market and costs two to four times more than traditional jet fuel. To tackle this challenge, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act
July 15, 2024 Read Full Article
Nissan Starts Trial of Stationary Power Generation System Fueled by Bio-ethanol
(Nissan) Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. today (March 6, 2024) announced that it has developed a stationary, bio-ethanol-fueled system capable of high-efficiency power generation. Trials have begun at Nissan’s Tochigi Plant in Japan aimed to improve power generation capacity toward full-scale operations
March 07, 2024 Read Full Article
Trends in the Operational Efficiency of the U.S. Ethanol Industry: 2023 Update
by Scott Irwin (farmdoc Daily) The operational efficiency of any industry is key to long-term profitability, no less so for the U.S. ethanol industry. Fortunately, the USDA began publishing the Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production report in October 2014 and this important data
February 12, 2024 Read Full Article
Webinar Recording: Overview of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Activities at the Bioenergy Research Centers
(Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative) Dr. Brian Davison (CBI), Tim Donohue (GLBRC), Dr. Jennifer R. Gottwald (GLBRC), Dr. Andrew Leakey (CABBI), and Dr. Aindrila Mukhopashyay (JBEI) present an Overview of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Activities at the DOE Bioenergy Research Centers READ
November 29, 2023 Read Full Article
Biofuel Is Good, But Could It Be Great?
by Treena Hein (Seed World) As demand rises for biofuels, plant breeders are working hard to increase biofuel feedstocks’ productivity and biofuel’s sustainability. -- ... (I)nfrastructure development and plant breeders’ efforts during the past decade have put biofuels on the map in
November 22, 2023 Read Full Article
Biofuels Timeline Reveals 'Incredible Accomplishment'
by Noah Fish (Echo Press) The biofuels industry has made incredible strides since Michael McAdams joined the sector in 1978. McAdams, president of the Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA), manages the voice in the U.S. capital for the advanced biofuels industry. ... In an interview
April 19, 2023 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2022 Multi-Slide Guide to Red Leaf Biologics
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A deep dive into the potentiality of sorghum, as presented recently at ABLC Connect by company president Sean Voigt. READ MORE WATCH PRESENTATION
September 06, 2022 Read Full Article
Cattle Farmers Say Gulf of Carpentaria Could Become 'Food Bowl to Asia' after First Sorghum Crop Harvested
by Lucy Cooper and Larissa Waterson (ABC North West Queensland) ... For the first time in the region's history, Mr Camp (Burke Shire Mayor Ernie Camp) has harvested 2,500 hectares of top-grade sorghum — a drought-resistant grain commonly used in cereal,
August 26, 2022 Read Full Article
EPA Approves RFS Fuel Pathway for Kansas Ethanol Plant
by Tom Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) According to the EPA, corn ethanol produced via Kansas Ethanol’s dry mill process achieves a GHG reduction of 45.6 percent, while its grain sorghum ethanol process will achieve a 50 percent reduction. -- The U.S.
October 13, 2021 Read Full Article
Salk Plant Researchers Launch Collaboration to Breed Carbon-Capturing Sorghum
(Salk Institute) Salk will team up with experts at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to study the genetics of sorghum -- Researchers at the Salk Institute’s Harnessing Plants Initiative (HPI) have established a five-year, $6.2 million collaboration with Nadia Shakoor, principal investigator
September 17, 2021 Read Full Article
New Report: 21st Century Agriculture Renaissance: Solutions from the Land
(Solutions from the Land) “There has never been a greater need for an Agricultural Renaissance. The many voices of farmers, echoing across centuries of scarcity and abundance, challenge us to find new ways forward, paths that produce abundance for expanding populations
February 18, 2021 Read Full Article
Nano Grain-Based Ethanol Unit Opened at NSI
(Times of India) A nano grain-based ethanol unit, installed at the National Sugar Institute-Kanpur, was inaugurated by the vice-chancellor of the Harcourt Butler Technological University Kampur, on Thursday This unit is integrated with existing molasses-based ethanol unit and thus now the
November 10, 2020 Read Full Article
Govt May Extend Soft Loans to Grain-Based Units to Spur Ethanol Output
(Business Standard/Trust of India) Under the scheme, the government has extended twice the interest subvention that comes up to Rs 4,600 crore for a loan amount of Rs 22,000 crore -- To boost ethanol production in the country, the government is considering extending
October 29, 2020 Read Full Article
Sorghum Producers Call for Ethanol Support
(RFD TV) Sorghum producers take to the field to highlight biofuel's roll in rebuilding the ag economy. Kansas farmer Rocky Ormiston planted the message "#SupportEthanol" using the latest in precision agricultural tools and a mix of red and white/yellow sorghum
October 20, 2020 Read Full Article
Rep. Marshall Works to Boost Ethanol Exports
by Sarah Motter (WIBW) Congressman Roger Marshall says Kansas is home to 10 biofuel facilities providing high-quality jobs for plant workers in rural communities throughout the state, along with thousands of bushels of soybeans and milo each year. He says overall,
August 27, 2020 Read Full Article
Farmers, Researchers Agree: COVID-19, Climate Change Revealed Holes in Agriculture System
by Sarah Spicer (Wichita Eagle) To preserve the environment, mitigate climate change and stabilize the U.S. food system, Midwest farmers should diversify their crops and move away from raising corn and soybeans, researchers say. The current crop system, which was founded after
July 29, 2020 Read Full Article
Can U.S. Homegrown Sorghum Help the Ag Industry Get through Covid-19?
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) It’s been only two years since the Environmental Protection Agency approved sorghum oil as an eligible feedstock under the Renewable Fuel Standard, but a lot has happened since then. The EPA’s announcement marked a significant step
May 11, 2020 Read Full Article
OSU Receives $3.1 Million Research Grant to Improve Sorghum Data and Savings
(Oklahoma State University) Forage sorghum is being grown in Chickasha as part of the bio-energy research center work on using sorghum in the production of Cellulosic ethanol. Oklahoma received a $3.1 million grant to improve field-level data collection. -- A recent
February 19, 2020 Read Full Article
Researchers Double Sorghum Grain Yield to Improve Food Supply
by Charlotte Hu (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory/Phys.org) Plant scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), in their search for solutions to global food production challenges, have doubled the amount of grains that a sorghum
November 07, 2019 Read Full Article
North American Outlook on Biofuels Challenges and Opportunities
by Steve Hartig (Biofuels Digest) The North American biofuels market can be split into three main segments all of which have major dynamics. What I would like to do is give a high-level overview of what I see as some of both
November 06, 2019 Read Full Article
DOE Taps Danforth Plant Science Center for Research to Improve Sorghum as a Bioenergy Crop
(Green Car Congress) The US Department of Energy (DOE), through its Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), has launched a major initiative to develop bioenergy crops through genomics-based research. Danforth Center Principal Investigator, Andrea Eveland, Ph.D., will lead a multi-institutional project
September 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Iowa State University Is Home to a New Bioenergy Crops Research Farm
(Iowa State University Extension and Outreach) Iowa and Midwest agriculture has started to change in recent years. One visible change is the interest to grow crops for biofuel and bioproducts (referred to as “energy crops”). Fossil fuel usage contributes to the
July 05, 2019 Read Full Article
Hawaii’s Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Tropical Feedstocks
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The University of Hawai’i is on top of the latest research on Hawaii’s tropical agriculture, its hot zone and tropical feedstocks for the bioeconomy. Peter Matlock, Strategic Advisor for Aviation Fuels and Special Projects for Joint BioEnergy
June 24, 2019 Read Full Article
Study of Sorghum-Munching Aphids Earns NSF Award
(University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources) ... University of Nebraska–Lincoln entomologist Joe Louis is investigating ways to help sorghum naturally resist sugarcane aphids, the crop’s most damaging pest in the United States. Louis earned a five-year, $1.5 million Faculty Early
April 26, 2019 Read Full Article
10-Slide Guide to the US Ethanol Industry
by Douglas B. Rivers (Biofuels Digest/Lee Enterprises, Inc.) Past, Present and Future Douglas B. Rivers, PhD, from Sunflwr Consulting and a member of Lee Enterprises Consulting, offers this illuminating overview of the U.S. ethanol industry’s history, current technologies, new developments
February 26, 2019 Read Full Article
Audio: Grain, Ethanol Market Development Work To Surge With USDA ATP Funds
(U.S. Grains Council) New funding to the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) from the Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) Program – part of a larger “trade aid” package offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the wake of new tariffs and global
February 11, 2019 Read Full Article
California Carbon Check
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) With values better than 1.6 cents per gallon per point, driving down carbon intensity brings a nice payback in the Golden State. -- From solar power to dairy biogas to membrane dehydration, not to mention
January 25, 2019 Read Full Article
We’ll Begin Production of Ethanol, Glucose Syrup from Sweet Sorghum Soon
by Vincent A. Yusuf (Daily Trust) Nigeria will in the first quarter of 2019 begin the production of ethanol and glucose syrup from sweet sorghum for industrial use. In this interview, the Director General of Raw Materials Research Council (RMRDC), Dr.
January 15, 2019 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide ABLC Guide to ARPA-E’s Agro-Energy Programs
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) advances high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment. ARPA-E awardees are unique because they are developing entirely new ways to generate, store, and use energy. ARPA-E
December 06, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide ABLC Guide to Aemetis
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Aemetis owns and operates 110 million gallons per year of ethanol and biodiesel facilities in the US and India, and is upgrading the plants using patented technology to produce lower carbon, higher value advanced biofuels and
November 23, 2018 Read Full Article
It’s Time for Action to Unlock Growth of Biofuels in Kansas
by Jesse McCurry (Wichita Eagle/Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission & Producers Association) ... Our grains reach markets around the world and feed production at a dozen Kansas ethanol plants that produce nearly 500 million gallons of clean, renewable biofuel each year. Ethanol
September 14, 2018 Read Full Article
Corn-ering the Market
(Advantage News) Passersby can’t help but notice the 12-foot tall corn growing in front of The NCERC (National Corn To Ethanol Research Center) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s University Park. SIUE students are working the “Feedstock Diversity Showcase” that features not only
August 06, 2018 Read Full Article
“There’s No Place Like Home” Grown Sorghum
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) Sorghum sights are set high with EPA approval and recent genetic improvements -- ... U.S. EPA opened up pathways for sorghum oil to become renewable fuels. ... Sorghum is a grass grown in many places and regions around
July 30, 2018 Read Full Article
Fischer Joins Acting EPA Administrator to Announce Approved Fuel Pathway for Sorghum Oil
(Office of Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE)) U.S. Senator Deb Fischer, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement today after participating in an event at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to announce an approved fuel pathway for grain
July 24, 2018 Read Full Article
EPA Issues Notice of Data Availability on Grain Sorghum
(National Sorghum Producers) On May 25, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of data availability (NODA) concerning renewable fuels produced from grain sorghum under the RFS program. EPA’s analysis shows grain sorghum, when used to make ethanol at
July 24, 2018 Read Full Article
Can USDA Stretch Corn, Soybean Farmers' Safety Net with Tariff Relief?
by Chuck Abbott (Successful Farming) Rumors of USDA's Tariff Easing Strategy Not Confirmed -- Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is giving himself a couple of months – until around Labor Day – before deciding whether to proceed with President Trump’s promise of
June 28, 2018 Read Full Article
Global Sorghum Seed Market Is Driven by Growing Demand Biofuel across the Globe
(Futures Trading Charts) The global sorghum seed market revenue is expected to expand at a lucrative CAGR over the forecast period. Sorghum is a cereal grain used as human feed and livestock feed and the rest is turned into ethanol. Sorghum
May 18, 2018 Read Full Article
RFA to CARB: Ethanol Plays a Key Role in LCFS Success Story
by Emily Druckman (Renewable Fuels Association) Ethanol has played a key role in the success of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and is poised to make even greater contributions to the state’s climate policy objectives if certain regulatory actions are
April 27, 2018 Read Full Article
In New Sign of Trade Battle, China Slaps U.S. Sorghum Producers with 179 Percent Deposit
by Emily Rauhala (The Washington Post) China announced temporary anti-dumping measures Tuesday on U.S. sorghum, potentially hitting U.S. growers and exacerbating the brewing trade war between Beijing and Washington. China’s Ministry of Commerce said that starting Wednesday, Chinese importers of U.S. sorghum,
April 17, 2018 Read Full Article
Trump Ethanol Moves May Be Worse for Farmers Than Soy Tariff
by Mario Parker (Bloomberg) Change to biofuel mandate may mean destruction of corn demand; Growers already dealing with trade concerns, crop gluts -- Based on his own back-of-the-envelope calculations, Minnesota farmer Kirby Hettver could lose tens of thousands of dollars of earnings because
April 10, 2018 Read Full Article
The Secret to Tripling the Number of Grains in Sorghum and Perhaps Other Staple Crops
by Jennifer Michalowski (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) Scientists have figured out how to triple the number of grains that the sorghum plant produces: by lowering the level of a key hormone, generating more flowers and more seeds. This points toward a
March 05, 2018 Read Full Article
Moran Gets Pratt Energy Ethanol Plant Tour
by Gale Rose (Pratt Tribune) Sen. Jerry Moran got a personal tour of the Pratt Energy Ethanol Plant Dec. 29. He visited with several plant workers that explained each step of producing ethanol. When U.S. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas paid his
January 08, 2018 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Grain Sorghum Oil Pathways
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking provides notice and an opportunity to comment on the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with biofuels that are produced from grain sorghum oil extracted at dry mill ethanol plants. EPA's
December 26, 2017 Read Full Article
Inside the Cellulosic Industry
by Susanne Retka Schill and Ann Bailey (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Ethanol Producer Magazine provides an update on 10 cellulosic ethanol projects around the world striving for continuous, large-scale production. -- Some things have changed in the U.S.’s cellulosic ethanol sector in
August 04, 2017 Read Full Article
Gates Foundation Extends Sorghum Research with a $6.1 Million Grant to the Danforth Center
(Donald Danforth Plant Science Center) The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, one of the world’s largest independent plant science institutes, today announced a three-year $6.1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand and accelerate the development
February 03, 2017 Read Full Article
Farmers Looking at On-Farm Ethanol Plants
by Nat Williams (Illinois Farmer Today) A handful of farmers are not just raising the crops that can be used as biofuels. They’re also working on producing the fuel itself. A Minnesota-based company is in the developmental stage of offering
February 03, 2017 Read Full Article
USDA to Pay Farmers More than $7 Billion Due to Low Crop Prices
by Tom Polansek (Reuters) The U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay more than $7 billion of taxpayers' money to farmers this fall to keep them afloat in the face of low crop prices, agency officials said on Tuesday. The USDA released the
October 05, 2016 Read Full Article
USDA ARS: Tapping Sorghum's Genetic Potential
by Dennis O'Brien (USDA Agricultural Research Service/Ethanol Producer Magazine) An Agricultural Research Service plant geneticist has developed new genetic resources that allow the breeding of sorghum varieties with higher grain yields and greater resistance to diseases and pests. The work by Robert R. Klein and his
October 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Biofuels Developments in Australia
by Susan van Dyk and Stephen Schuck (IEA Bioenergy Task 39 and Bioenergy Australia) ... While Australia has large energy resources, it is a net importer of crude oil and refined petroleum products. In 2013, net product imports were 325,000 bbl/d, according to the Australia
September 30, 2016 Read Full Article
Mexican #Ethanol Producers Consider Sorghum as Feedstock
by Joanna Schroeder (Energy.AgWired.com) A contingency of ethanol producers from Mexico recently visited the U.S. to look at the option of sorghum as an ethanol feedstock as the country’s industry continues to grow following the announcement by Pemex, the country’s
August 02, 2016 Read Full Article
Limpopo Receives R940m Investment for Renewable Energy from US, Chinese Companies
(African News Agency/Engineering News) American and Chinese companies are set to invest R940-million in Limpopo to pursue renewable energy and ethanol profits, government and investors have announced. The United States’ Bio-Processing Innovation and the Beijing Singling Technology Centre said on
May 12, 2016 Read Full Article
Increased Demand from Feeders and Ethanol Keep Sorghum Sales up
by Chris Cogburn (American Agriculturist/Farm Progress) Drop in demand from China finds domestic markets stepping up, putting balance sheet back to the future -- For years, the sorghum balance sheet never changed. On an annual average, a third of the
January 27, 2016 Read Full Article
Dirt Work Begins on Ringneck Energy as Project Details Finalized
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... “Most investors are from South Dakota by far,” he reported, but the project did attract investors from Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. “Generally, from areas where they understand the ethanol investment,” he
January 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Green Ideas for Emerging Resources: The Digest’s 2015 8-Slide Guide to VerdeNero, CelloFuel and Russian Opportunity
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) “We are a boutique technical consulting and service firm to the alternative energy and resources industry,” said the VerdeNero manifesto, adding: “We provide services in technology transfer, system analysis and integration. We operate at the boundaries between engineering, economics, environment
November 30, 2015 Read Full Article
Corn Has Competition as Ethanol's Leading Grain
by Anna McConnell (Agriculture.com) In terms of ethanol production, corn has some competition this winter— grain sorghum. The grain, also known as milo, produces the same amount of ethanol per bushel, but uses one third less water in the process
November 20, 2015 Read Full Article
Sorghum Is Making a Big Splash
by Nicholas Bergin (Lincoln Journal Star) Sorghum, a grass with a colorful seed about the size of a BB, was selling at more than a dollar a bushel above corn thanks to China’s voracious appetite for grain free of genetically
October 05, 2015 Read Full Article
Aemetis Harvesting Biomass Sorghum in California
(Aemetis/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Aemetis Inc., an advanced renewable fuels and biochemicals company, announced the harvesting of 12- to 15- foot tall biomass sorghum grown in Central California that was produced using proprietary Nexsteppe seed genetics. Biomass Sorghum is a feedstock
September 30, 2015 Read Full Article
Sustainable, Affordable, Reliable, Available: The Digest’s 8-Slide Guide to NexSteppe and advanced sorghum
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) NexSteppe is dedicated to pioneering the next generation of scalable, reliable, cost-effective feedstock solutions for the biofuels, biopower and biobased products industries. Using advanced breeding techniques and cutting-edge analytical technologies, NexSteppe is developing Malibu sweet
September 24, 2015 Read Full Article
Bringing in the Biomass for Cellulosic Ethanol
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A multitude of questions surround the challenge of bringing in the mountains of biomass needed to feed a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant: Are crop residues a reliable resource? Will farming communities support the
September 14, 2015 Read Full Article
US Navy Seeks Australian Cane and Grain Biofuels to Help Power Its Fleet
by Marty McCarthy and Arlie Felton-Taylor (ABC Rural) Could Australian agriculture help to literally fuel the United States Navy's expansion in the Asia-Pacific? -- That is the question a Queensland researcher is trying to answer, as the US moves towards powering
August 24, 2015 Read Full Article
Cellulosic Ethanol Performance Tests Successful
by PJ Griekspoor (Agri-View) St. Joseph, Mo., pilot plant completes tests of making cellulosic ethanol that also yields value-added co-products -- The prospects for profitable cellulosic ethanol just got a little brighter with the completion of two successful 1,000-hour performance runs for
August 20, 2015 Read Full Article
Katter's Australia Party 10 Per Cent Ethanol Mandate Plan Divides Feedlot and Grain Growers Again
by Arlie Felton-Taylor (ABC Rural) The ethanol debate has heated up in Queensland again after Katter's Australia Party put an increased mandate back on the agenda. The party said it will pull support for the Palaszczuk Government if it does not
August 19, 2015 Read Full Article
USDA Scientist Helps Texas Sorghum Growers Reduce Water Use
(USDA Agricultural Research Service/Ethanol Producer Magazine) USDA scientist is providing much needed guidance to sorghum farmers in the Texas High Plains who are trying to save water by using less-than-optimal amounts of it. Farmers in the area are turning to sorghum because
August 03, 2015 Read Full Article
Crews Harvest Crop Residue for Biomass
by Amy Bickel (Kansas Agland/The Garden City Telegram) The wheat field here is shaved down to a schoolboy’s haircut, but Courtney Wilson’s harvest is just beginning. “I sometimes feel like a door-to-door salesman,” the man admitted as he stood in a field
July 06, 2015 Read Full Article
Fueling the Sorghum Ethanol Coproducts Engine
by Kelli Fulkerson (Ethanol Producer Magazine/National Sorghum Producers) Producers work to expand markets for sorghum distillers and oil. While exports are undeniably the hottest market for grain sorghum right now with China set to buy over 70 percent of the 2014-’15
June 29, 2015 Read Full Article
Queensland Issues Biofuels Mandate Discussion Paper, Launches Public Forums
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Australia, the Queensland state government has released the Towards a clean energy economy: achieving a biofuel mandate for Queensland discussion paper, which outlines key issues associated with the proposed mandate and provides details on the
June 15, 2015 Read Full Article
5 Reasons to Plant Grain Sorghum This Year
by Kayla Wilkins (High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal) Strong demand from both domestic and international markets is sending strong signals to growers, indicating it is prime time to increase grain sorghum acres. This strong demand established by a number of market
May 11, 2015 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Continues to Evolve as Usage Levels off
by Loretta Sorensen (Midwest Producer) ... Kansas Corn CEO Greg Krissek said there is some slowing of ethanol production on the eastern and western edges of the cornbelt. But ethanol industry leaders are responding to market conditions by implementing new technology
April 07, 2015 Read Full Article
Moonshine, Hogs and Drought Fuel Sorghum Boom Across U.S. Plains
by Megan Durisin, Jeff Wilson, Lydia Mulvany (Bloomberg) ... A kernel-yielding stalk that’s native to Africa, sorghum has three things going for it right now: it’s cheap to plant; it holds up better in drought-like conditions than other crops; and most importantly,
March 31, 2015 Read Full Article
Chromatin Sorghum Hybrids Produce Fivefold Yield Increase in East Africa
(Chromatin, Inc.) Chromatin, Inc., an agriculture technology company, announced today that its newly introduced hybrid sorghum seed products have achieved unprecedented yields in East Africa. Chromatin introduced the new hybrids at a grain sorghum workshop it hosted in Kampala, Uganda. To
March 23, 2015 Read Full Article
Tough Characters: Looking for Biofuel Plants that Can Survive Drought and Other Harsh Conditions
by Chris Woolston (Bioenergy Connection) With its crown of pink blossoms, the humble seashore mallow may look unassuming, even delicate. But when it comes to brutal environments, this seaside shrub is no pushover. Seashore Mallow can survive one drought after
February 16, 2015 Read Full Article
10 Biggest Bioeconomy Blockbuster Stories of 2014 (Americas)
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) POET-DSM, Abengoa, Enerkem, GranBio, Raizen plant openings lead the list; REG’s M&A campaign, EPA’s RFS debacle, are other key trends. They said that cellulosic fuels were “five years away, and always will be,” but five major
December 23, 2014 Read Full Article
Milo in the Limelight
by Nicholas Gergin (Lincoln Journal Star) ... The ancient grain, also known as milo, is enjoying some time in the limelight thanks to strong demand from China and low corn prices. ... Milo takes less water to grow than corn, input costs
December 16, 2014 Read Full Article
Abengoa Plant May Reopen
by Joshua Lucero (Portales News-Tribune) More than two years after the Abengoa plant went off-line, Houston, Texas, based Natural Chem Group is looking to acquire the plant and resume operations. Roosevelt County Community Development Corp. Director Stan Livengood said the company
December 09, 2014 Read Full Article
Milo Poised to Help Water Woes in Western Kansas
by Tim Unruh (Salina Journal) Grain sorghum could be among the keys to reducing the massive mining of water in western Kansas, once it’s deemed economically desirable. Long an ugly stepcousin in the family of Kansas staple crops, grain sorghum —
December 08, 2014 Read Full Article
Pacific Ethanol Receives $3 Million Grant
by Reed Fujii (Recordnet.com) State energy officials awarded Pacific Ethanol Inc. $3 million to help develop grain sorghum as a low-carbon feedstock, replacing some of the corn traditionally used, at its plants in Stockton and Madera. The award came at the
November 25, 2014 Read Full Article
4 Minutes with…Tim Lust, CEO, National Sorghum Producers
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... NSP is focused on several items at the moment: successful advanced biofuel RFS2 pathways for grain sorghum oil to biodiesel and sweet sorghum to ethanol, a cellulosic RFS2 pathway for biomass sorghum, and improved
November 19, 2014 Read Full Article
Liquid CO2, or Liquid Gold? Maybe Both, as Aemetis Adds CO2 Liquefaction at Its Keyes, CA Plant
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... To Aemetis, a route to improved margins that will also help the environment. Here’s how. News arrives from Aemetis, via its latest SEC filings, that the company has “entered into an agreement with Denmark-based Union
October 28, 2014 Read Full Article
Abengoa Celebrates Grand Opening of Its First Commercial-Scale Next Generation Biofuels Plant
(Abengoa/GlobeNewswire) U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and Kansas Senator Pat Roberts offer remarks during on-site event commemorating landmark occasion for advanced biofuels industry. Abengoa's proprietary enzymatic hydrolysis technology turns crop residue (stalks, stems and leaves)
October 17, 2014 Read Full Article
Boosting Biomass for Bioenergy
by Katie Fletcher (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Many dedicated energy crops hold promise as feedstocks for next-generation ethanol. Extensive R&D is still needed, however, to overcome the challenges in making these plants viable for commercial applications. ... This year, $12.6 million was awarded to
October 01, 2014 Read Full Article
“But I Won’t Cry for Yesterday”: The Re-Making of the US Ethanol Industry
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The migration from first-gen to next-gen biofuels is becoming less ‘Invisible’ — and the new landscape is not, by anyone’s estimation, an ‘Ordinary World’. If Aemetis’ latest earnings hadn’t rocked your world quite enough, here
May 22, 2014 Read Full Article
Biobased Investment Triples, to $391M for Q1; Biofuels Digest’s 5-Minute Guide to the Investment Landscape
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Florida, Biofuels Digest reports that 9 biobased ventures raised $391 million in new capital in Q1 2014, while 8 biobased ventures raised $128.6 million in Q4 2013. This compares to $363.8M million in Q2,
April 03, 2014 Read Full Article
Why the New Biofuel Feedstocks Deserve Investment, Incentives
by Brent Erickson (Biotechnology Industry Organization/National Geographic Magazine) ...Biotechnology companies today are working to develop cyanobacteria, algae, and even municipal waste as feedstocks for advanced biofuels. But these promising abundant non-food sources lack either the government subsidies or the commercial
November 01, 2013 Read Full Article
Industrial Biobased Ventures Raise $364M in Q3 2013; 5-Minute Guide to the Bioinvesting Landscape
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Biobased investing continues surging, both direct and via strategics. The Digest has the data and the scoop in our 5-Minute Guide. In Florida, Biofuels Digest reports that 9 biobased ventures raised $363.8 million in new capital
October 23, 2013 Read Full Article
Tulare County Farmers Hear about Raising Sorghum for Biofuel
by David Castellon (Visalia Times Delta) When the subject of biofuel comes up, chances are you’ll think of corn converted to ethanol. But on Wednesday, representatives from a Chicago-based seed manufacturer tried to change that way of thinking by inviting Valley farmers
October 02, 2013 Read Full Article
‘Sorghum Ethanol’ Is a Topic in Nebraska
by Ken Anderson (Brownfield Ag News) Sorghum Field Days are being held at six locations in Nebraska this week. One of the stops will be the John Dvoracek farm near Farwell, where there are more than 50 sorghum varieties planted
September 18, 2013 Read Full Article
Seeking Delta: Biofuels, Algae, Natgas, CO2 and the Finding of True Value
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... “What you really are in the business of,” Aemetis CEO Eric McAfee reflects, “is capturing the arbitrage between the commodity price of your most expensive feedstock — and the price of your finished molecule plus
September 09, 2013 Read Full Article
Ethanol Plant Promises New Jobs for Plainview
by Sarah-Blake Morgan (KCBD) Good news for the Plainview economy. White Energy has announced that their Plainview Ethanol Plant will be up and running by late October, after sitting idle since January. ..."With the updating that they did, they are going to
August 20, 2013 Read Full Article
Aemetis Transitions from Corn Ethanol to Advanced Biofuels at Keyes Plant
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, Aemetis announced that its 60 million gallon per year capacity ethanol facility in Keyes, CA has completed maintenance and Advanced Biofuels retrofit, and is now restarting production. Last December, the EPA issued a final
April 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Biofuels Given a New Lease on Life
by Andre Janse van Vuuren (City Press/Fin24) Dormant plans to establish a local biofuel sector – earmarked to create up to 50 000 jobs and save the country at least R8.9bn in foreign exchange payments – could be given a
April 09, 2013 Read Full Article
Pacific Ethanol Says Importing Sorghum to Make Biofuel
by Karl Plume (Reuters) Pacific Ethanol Inc said that it is importing sorghum as well as buying the grain from domestic sources as prices for corn, the primary feedstock for the U.S. ethanol industry, hovered near historic highs. "Both as a
April 02, 2013 Read Full Article
Renewed Interest in Grain Sorghum in Nebraska
by Ken Anderson (Browfield Ag News) A combination of dry weather and increased demand from the ethanol sector could have grain sorghum poised for a comeback in Nebraska. Grain sorghum plantings in the state plummeted from 550-thousand acres in 2000 to just
March 29, 2013 Read Full Article
Chromatin Signs Pact with POET to Use South Dakota-Grown Sorghum in Ethanol Production
(Chromatin) Chromatin, Inc., a leading provider of innovative crop breeding technology, sorghum seed products and feedstocks, said today it has entered into an agreement with POET, LLC, one of the world’s largest ethanol producers, to use sorghum grown in South
March 14, 2013 Read Full Article
Ethanol Plants Turning toward Grain Sorghum
by Art Hovey (Lincoln Star Journal) ...On a much brighter note, the managers of ethanol plants in Trenton and Ravenna are pushing hard to make a crop also known as milo the main ingredient in their renewable fuels recipes. ...Drought hardiness
March 05, 2013 Read Full Article
Chromatin and Calgren Renewable Fuels Sign Multi-Year Alliance for Locally-Grown Sorghum for Ethanol Production
(Chromatin/MarketWatch) Chromatin, Inc., a leading provider of innovative crop breeding technology, sorghum seed products and feedstocks, and Calgren Renewable Fuels, a leading ethanol producer located in Pixley, CA, announced today an alliance to develop a local supply chain for sorghum
February 26, 2013 Read Full Article
Chromatin Signs Sorghum Supply Deal with Aemetis
(Chromatin/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Chromatin Inc., a leading provider of innovative crop breeding technology, sorghum seed products and feedstocks, and Aemetis Inc., an advanced fuels and renewable chemicals company, have announced that they have entered into a multi-year agreement to source
February 25, 2013 Read Full Article
The Biorefinery Project of the Future — Today
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... As we highlighted this week in the Digest, Chromatin and Pacific Ethanol announced that they have entered into a multi-year agreement to produce, deliver and use locally grown sorghum in the production of ethanol. The
February 21, 2013 Read Full Article
S.J. Farmers Sought for Ethanol Project
(Menafn /The Record/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services) A seed producer is recruiting area farmers to produce sorghum, a grain crop also known as milo, for use in ethanol production, including at the Pacific Ethanol Inc. plant in Stockton. Chromatin Inc. will host a
January 24, 2013 Read Full Article
The 8 Upsides of the New Ethanol
by Jim Lane (BioInvest Digest) The technologies out there are five in number. They are all in commercial deployment now, though some are at the capacity-construction stage. Some of them vary the feedstock, some vary the products produced. What they
January 23, 2013 Read Full Article
Aemetis Idles California Ethanol Plant, Plans Sorghum Shift
by Andrew Herndon (Bloomberg) Aemetis Inc., a U.S. ethanol producer, idled production at its plant in Keyes, California, citing “unfavorable market conditions for corn ethanol” and will upgrade the facility to also produce fuel from grain sorghum. The company shut down
January 18, 2013 Read Full Article
Vinema Plans $354 Million Brazil Grain-Ethanol Projects
by Stephan Nielsen (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Vinema Biorefinarias do Sul Ltda., a Brazilian biofuel company, plans to spend 720 million reais ($354 million) building the nation’s first six ethanol-fuel mills that use grains as raw material. ...The plants will be built in
January 14, 2013 Read Full Article
The New Milo-naires: Corn, Milo and the Biofuels Market’s Invisible Hand
by Jim Lane (BioInvest Digest) An obscure EPA ruling may change the economics of ethanol production, forever — who wins, who loses, what’s the investor’s bottom line? Just before Christmas, the EPA issued a final rule, determining that ethanol made from
January 02, 2013 Read Full Article
Sorghum Acres to Grow Due to Drought Tolerance, New Varieties
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Sorghum is poised to come into its own as an alternative to corn. It proved its mettle in the 2012 drought, producing decent dryland yields with very little rainfall. And, with the U.S.
December 31, 2012 Read Full Article
Kansas Ethanol Plant Poised to Start up Anaerobic Digester Soon
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) If all goes as planned, a 50 MMgy ethanol plant in Oakley, Kan., will someday produce advanced biofuel from sorghum. To qualify as advanced biofuel, the company will power the plant with methane from
December 31, 2012 Read Full Article
Open up the RFS, Says Ethanol Across America White Paper
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) KATZEN International chief says generation 1.5 ethanol is the key path to reaching RFS2 targets – with new feedstocks, advanced fermentation plants. Phil Madson, President of KATZEN International, has authored a new Ethanol Across America White
November 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Good Digestion: It’s Been a Bumpy Road to Full-Scale Adoption of Anaerobic Digestion Technologies at Ethanol Plants
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Despite the promise of methane from anaerobic digestion technology, low natural gas rates and other factors have kept ethanol producers from jumping in with both feet. ...On top of the digester, Western Plains Energy utilizes