by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As renewable fuel developers put steel in the ground, oil & gas points to a fossil-based transformation in transportation fuels just “five years away”. Today, it is the oil & gas industry talking in terms of
MSW (Municipal Solid Waste)
Back TO HOMEAdvanced Ethanol Council Releases Snapshot of Cellulosic Ethanol Production around the World
(Renewable Fuels Association) The Advanced Ethanol Council this morning released a report giving a snapshot of cellulosic ethanol producers in the U.S. and around the world. A look at facilities owned by companies such as Abengoa Bioenergy, Enerkem, INEOS Bio
December 19, 2012 Read Full Article
NREL and Johnson Matthey Announce Five-Year Collaboration on Biofuels
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Goal is to develop new catalysts to lower costs for producing biofuels The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will partner with Johnson Matthey, a global specialty chemicals company, in a five-year, $7 million
December 17, 2012 Read Full Article
British Airways’ Jet Biofuel Plant Will Open in 2015
by Leon Kaye (TriplePundit) ...British Airways (BA) announced that it has found a site for a bio-refinery that will generate up to 50,000 tons of jet fuel annually. In a partnership with the American aviation biofuel company Solena Fuels, BA will
December 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Despite Urban Migration, Scale Elusive for MSW-to-Fuels
by Mackinnon Lawrence (Biofuels Digest/Pike Research) There are few topics that get the clean technology sector excited less than trash. Meanwhile, the news is littered with stories discussing municipal areas from Zimbabwe to Los Angeles and Mumbai to Moscow struggling to
December 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Fulcrum BioEnergy Secures Commitments For $175 Million Of Financing For Commercialization Of MSW To Renewable Fuels Project
(Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc./Yahoo! Finance) Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc. announced today that it has successfully secured commitments and is proceeding toward closing financings totaling $175 million to fund construction of its first municipal solid waste ("MSW") to low-carbon fuels plant, the Sierra
November 30, 2012 Read Full Article
British Airways Pledges 10-Year Offtake Agreement as GreenSky Project with Solena Gathers Momentum
(GreenAirOnline) The British Airways and Solena GreenSky London project to build a sustainable jet biofuel facility in East London is gaining momentum, say the two partners. They won’t reveal the location but an exclusive option on a site for the
November 30, 2012 Read Full Article
Running from the Bear: Making Biofuels from Municipal Solid Waste
by Ed Hamrick (Biofuels Digest/Greenworld Fuels) ... There are more than two billion tons of MSW produced worldwide every year, with more than 250 million tons per year produced in the USA every year. Disposal of MSW is a thousand year
November 06, 2012 Read Full Article
California, No Longer the State Where the Future Happens First
by James L. Stewart (Biofuels Digest/BioEnergy Producers Association) For the past decade, repressive provisions in statute have discouraged developers of conversion technologies from operating in California. Among its statutory roadblocks, the state has a scientifically inaccurate definition of gasification, which, if
October 31, 2012 Read Full Article
Los Angeles County Votes in Favor of Waste-to-Energy Development
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) In California, Los Angeles County is taking action to support the development of technologies to convert landfill waste into biofuels and biopower. In late September the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors voted
October 31, 2012 Read Full Article
RETECH 2012: Policy and Planes
by Josh Rathod (Advanced Biofuels USA) RETECH 2012, an international conference on the business, policy, and technology of renewable energy, took place this year in DC at the regal Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, DC. Under the luxurious chandeliers and
October 24, 2012 Read Full Article
L.A. County Calls For Trash-to-Fuel Legislation
(Government Technology) In Los Angeles, one man's trash is another man's biofuel – or at least, it will be soon. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved a motion late last month that calls on federal and state legislators to
October 12, 2012 Read Full Article
Incitor and the Birth of a New Low-Cost Fuel Molecule
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A new drop-in, low-cost, high-octane fuel molecule? How does that work, and why, and when? How does it change the energy independence equation? Today, the Digest visits Incitor to find out about Alestron. ...Back in 2008,
October 04, 2012 Read Full Article
Fiberight Looking to Build Four New Maryland Sites, Add Jobs
by Sarah Gantz (Baltimore Business Journal) Fiberight LLC has been on the fast track to commercializing owner Craig Stuart-Paul’s technology for turning trash into biofuel since Stuart-Paul founded the company in 2007. READ MORE
October 02, 2012 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels Pioneer Terrabon Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: One-off or Trend?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Closely-watched green gasoline producer collapses as Waste Management declines next financing round. What does it mean for companies like Fulcrum Bioenergy, Enerkem, Agilyx, Agnion, Renmatix, Genomatica, and InEnTec? The Digest looks at the inside story. In
September 10, 2012 Read Full Article
Trash-to-Ethanol Saga Marked by Constant Change, Missed Deadlines
by Marc Chase (Northwest Indiana Times) With new owners possibly on the horizon for the proposed Schneider trash-to-ethanol plant, some Lake County waste officials say it is the perpetuation of a four-year-old game of musical chairs. The proposed purchase of the
September 07, 2012 Read Full Article
The Trash Spread: Enerkem Heads for Scale, with Advanced Biofuels from MSW
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Breakthroughs in making consistent syngas from negative-cost municipal solid waste spells “big prospects” for Enerkem in biobased fuels and chemicals. In oil we have the crack spread, corn ethanol and soy-based biodiesel we have the crush
September 07, 2012 Read Full Article
The Top 10 Advanced Biofuels and Biorefining Companies in Asia
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...While the economic growth in China has been drawing virtually all the headlines in recent years, the “Tiger” economies of Southeast and South Asia have been fast-growing for a long time, and with resources including
September 04, 2012 Read Full Article
Iowa City Trash Could Become Ethanol
By Gregg Hennigan (KCRG.com) Iowa City is considering participating in a trash-to-ethanol project that could result in an 80-percent reduction in the amount of solid waste going to its landfill. City staffers have been talking with officials from Maryland-based Fiberight about
August 22, 2012 Read Full Article
Dating Your Feedstock and Never Marrying: The 6 Hottest Ways to Alleviate Food vs Fuel
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) With the US drought, food vs fuel has returned as an issue. What alternatives are scientists, entrepreneurs developing to take us beyond the old debate? ...1. Feedstock diversification. In biofuels, it is more talked about –
August 21, 2012 Read Full Article
Fulcrum Receives Conditional USDA Loan Guarantee for Nev. Plant
by Sue Retka Schill (Biomass Magazine) Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc. received a $105 million condition loan guarantee from the USDA, putting its planned 10 MMgy Sierra BioFuels Plant closer to groundbreaking. "This USDA loan guarantee provides a key piece of financing to
August 08, 2012 Read Full Article
Powers Given Another Month in Quest for Trash-to-Ethanol Plant Financing
by Marc Chase (Northwest Indiana Times) Powers Energy of America remained in breach of contract with Lake County's solid waste board but was given another month to try to prove it can finance its long proposed trash-to-ethanol plant. The extension until
July 20, 2012 Read Full Article
Waste Official: Clock Ticking on Trash-to-Ethanol Deal
by Marc Chase (Northwest Indiana Times) If a would-be trash-to-ethanol developer doesn't have the money in hand to complete its project by July 19, it doesn't have a deal with the county, a top solid waste district official says. "If you
July 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Energy Independence Day
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... The entropy problem in feedstocks In bioenergy, it’s the chief reason, for example, that otherwise perfectly acceptable fruit waste from citrus harvest is a difficult feedstock for energy production. The process for cellulosic conversion was
July 04, 2012 Read Full Article
Munster Council Sets Hearings on Trash-to-Ethanol Agreement
by Lu Ann Franklin (Northwest Indiana Times) The Town Council will hear public comments about signing the interlocal agreement with Lake County Solid Waste District for the proposed trash-to-ethanol facility in Schneider on June 4 and June 18. ...As proposed, the trash-to-ethanol
May 30, 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
SynGas and the Front-End Problem of Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Making good, affordable syngas from municipal solid waste to unlock 9 billion gallons of low-cost fuel? Covanta’s hot new gasification technology makes a big dent in the big challenge. ...The bumps in the road are three.
April 25, 2012 Read Full Article
No Project Is an Island: Four Crucial Milestones for Advanced Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Four projects, four technologies, four feedstocks, four geographies. Couldn’t be more differentiated, couldn’t be more linked in terms of affirming investor confidence in advanced biofuels. ...Virent CEO Lee Edwards... outlined four basic industry goals for 2012-13 that
April 18, 2012 Read Full Article
Former Brew Master, Recycler Pioneers Biofuel Technology
(Maryland Clean Energy Center/The Current) Serial entrepreneur Craig Stuart-Paul has found a novel formula for growing a business. For the CEO of Fiberight, personal expertise in brewing beer plus innovations in recycling residential waste has added up to a new process
March 26, 2012 Read Full Article
An All-of-the-Above Approach to Energy in America
by Sarah Bittleman (USDA/25 x '25) America needs and is developing a reliable, sustainable, fuel supply. If we are able to produce more of it here at home – rather than relying on foreign oil – we’ll generate good, middle-class jobs
March 20, 2012 Read Full Article
Enerkem’s $125M IPO: The 10-Minute Version
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In Canada, Enerkem has filed an F-1 registration statement for a proposed $125 million initial public offering. The number of shares to be offered in the proposed offering and the price range for the offering
February 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Conference Keynote: Landfills Will Become a Thing of the Past
by Anna Austin (Biomass Power and Thermal) ...(Sierra Energy CEO Mike) Hart was the keynote speaker at the third annual Pacific West Biomass Conference & Trade Show in San Francisco, Calif., Jan 16-18. He delivered a speech that emphasized the versatility
January 18, 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
Trash-to-Ethanol Plant Still Planned for Lake County
(Network Indiana) Evansville-based Powers Energy of America is still planning on buying land in south Lake County and building a facility that will convert trash into ethanol in about three years from now. Lake County Solid Waste Management District Executive Director
December 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Christmas Waste Paper Could Be Turned Into High Grade Biofuel
(RedOrbit) UK’s wrapping paper and festive cards could provide energy to send a bus to the moon more than 20 times If all the UK’s discarded wrapping paper and Christmas cards were collected and fermented, they could make enough biofuel to
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
The 10 Top Unanswered Biofuels Questions for 2011
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Your calls and emails are always the highlight of our days. Most questions can be answered johnny-on-the-spot. Some are still out there and well worth arguing over. Here are the Top 10 that are still
December 14, 2011 Read Full Article
The Garbage Anomaly: What is a Dirty Murf and What Can You Do about It?
by David Bransby (Auburn University/Biofuels Digest) ...In contrast, infrastructure for collection of municipal solid waste (MSW) is already in place and paid for, and those who collect and dispose of it get paid for their services. This results in very
November 28, 2011 Read Full Article
New Report Highlights Growth of Advanced Biofuels in US
(The National Non-Food Crops Centre) Renewable Waste Intelligence have published a free municipal solid waste to biofuel report, which explores the current state of the market in the US. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is increasingly being used to drive biofuels
November 16, 2011 Read Full Article
LanzaTech Makes Its First Commercial Sale
(LanzaTech) LanzaTech has just signed its first commercial customer, marking a milestone in the clean energy technology company’s global development. The customer is Concord Enviro Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd (CES), a Mumbai-based company which has broad ranging investments in various forms
November 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Researchers Discover New Process for Biofuel
(R&D) Researchers have long been interested in waste products as sources of biofuel. In Maine, those waste items could include treetops and limbs deemed by the forest products industry as unusable and often left behind in the woods. A University of
October 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Schneider Property Proposed for Trash-to-Ethanol Plant Now up for Sale
by Marc Chase (Northwest Indiana Times) The land deal for a proposed trash-to-ethanol plant in Schneider is off, according to county solid waste district officials, and the town's top official questions whether it ever will be built. Schneider Town Council President
October 25, 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
Biorefining from Waste Plastics, Algae
by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine) Sean Arnold, chief operating officer for Cleveland, Ohio-based Vadxx Energy and Lawrence Walmsley, CEO of New York-based Culture Fuels Inc. discussed how waste plastics and algae are viable feedstock for the production of green fuels, chemicals
October 13, 2011 Read Full Article
How Waste Management Treats Waste as Resource
by Tilde Herrera (GreenBiz.com) ...That's because for Waste Management, garbage isn't just garbage anymore. "You can begin to extrapolate some pretty interesting business models when you think of waste as a resource," said Tim Cesarek, managing director of Waste Management's Organic
October 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Ryfa to Powers: Show Evidence of Financing for Trash-to-Ethanol Plant
by Marc Chase (Northwest Indiana Times) A Lake County solid waste management official wants to give Earl Powers 90 days to prove he can finance the trash-to-ethanol plant that he pledged more than 1,000 days ago to build. Griffith Town Councilman
October 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Nuke It, Baby: Plasma2Energy’s Microwaves Aim for Super Low-Cost Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A lesser-known pilot project in Mexico says it can produce biofuels at parity with $33 oil. Can this ultra-low cost project replicate its results at scale. Where is it deploying, and when? ...With gasification technologies, the
October 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Fulcrum Bioenergy’s $115M IPO: The 10-Minute Version
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The first zero-cost feedstock biofuels company comes to the public markets with its IPO. ...Fulcrum becomes the 12th company to file for an IPO in the industrial biotech boom, which began with a successful listing on
September 26, 2011 Read Full Article
Town Hopes for Trash-to-Ethanol Plant, but Frustrations Mount
by Marc Chase (NWI.com) What had been all excitement regarding a possible economic boon for this south Lake County town is turning into some frustration and deflated spirits, according to one Schneider official. Town Council President Richard Wright said he still
August 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Biomass 2011: Replace the Whole Barrel, Supply the Whole Market Presentations Posted
(US Department of Energy) ...More than 600 speakers, moderators, sponsors, exhibitors, and attendees were able to listen to discussions about the ongoing challenges and achievements in the bioenergy industry. Biomass 2011 addressed key issues in important areas, such as feedstock supply, conversion pathways,
August 15, 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
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
The Loaves and the Fishes: Drop-In Renewable Biofuels, from Unlikely Sources
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...A conversation with Terrabon COO Simon Upfill-Brown ...BD: Fuels or chemicals, for the first project? SU-B: We are still very much focused on fuel, we feel that fuel is the way to go for the first plant
August 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Energy Commission Awards Over $29 Million For Biofuel and Natural Gas Technology
(The California Energy Commission) The California Energy Commission has approved more than $29 million for projects that advance biofuels and demonstrate California's commitment to develop cleaner transportation fuels. The seven awards total $29,675,072 and are funded through the Commission's Alternative
July 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Accellerase® TRIO Helps Reduce Ethanol Production Costs, Lowers Dosage And Offers Environmental Benefits
(Genencor) Genencor today (June 22, 2011) announced a product advancement, Accellerase® TRIO. This new product will enable biofuel producers to more cost-effectively manufacture cellulosic ethanol from a wide range of renewable nonfood feedstocks such as switchgrass, wheat straw and corn
June 27, 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
Study Shows How Australia and New Zealand Can Establish Their Own Sustainable Aviation Biofuels Industry
(GreenAirOnline) A study to determine the feasibility of the Australian and New Zealand aviation sector using sustainable biofuels to meet industry carbon reduction targets concludes that a bio-derived jet fuel industry could decrease aviation emissions by 17 per cent and
June 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Valero and Waste Management Team Up Again, Investing in the Capacity Scale-Up of a Celebrated Waste-to-Biofuel Technology.
In Canada, Enerkem Inc has closed a $60 million financing round that includes Valero Energy Corp. who joins existing investors Waste Management, Rho Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures and Cycle Capital, who have each invested in the new equity round. ...“With Valero joining
June 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Scheub Says $600 Million Committed to Ethanol Production
by Bill Dolan (Northwest Indiana Times) Lake County Commissioner Gerry Scheub, D-Merrillville, announced Thursday that an out-of-state investment firm is committing $600 million to the construction of trash-to-ethanol production. "The groundbreaking will be sometime after Memorial Day. The festivities will be
May 20, 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
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
New Biofuel Facility Underway
by Annie Ilnicki (WANE.com) Nature's Fuel to open by end of year A company in Huntington is on its way to turning trash into liquid gold. Officials from Nature's Fuel broke ground Wednesday afternoon, on a facility that'll turn everyday
May 03, 2011 Read Full Article
$1.6 Million in Biofuels Center Grants to Accelerate Commercialization of Renewable Fuels
(Biofuels Center of North Carolina) The Biofuels Center of North Carolina has awarded $1.6 million for 15 projects statewide to accelerate the commercialization of renewable liquid fuels. Awards are made through the 2011 Statewide Biofuels Development Grants Program. Biofuels Center president
May 02, 2011 Read Full Article
The Biofuels Technology Square Dance
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...How’s an investor to parse out all these technologies. For many, it’s a case of “you’re making what, from what, using what?” ...Here at the Digest, we think of it as a kind of old fashioned
April 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Key Players: Advanced Biofuels
by David Beattie (Renewable Energy World Magazine) ...Importantly, and what sets these latest fuels apart from their first-generation predecessors, is the fact that they are produced using feedstock that would normally be classed as waste or non-food. These include parts
April 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Under the Big Banana, “Garbage in, Energy out”
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...(F)or some time, observers have been waiting for an intermediate group of technologies to spring up, or even one, that takes in unsorted MSW from a municipality, crushes, sorts and spits out an low-cost stream
March 07, 2011 Read Full Article
The Brew Barons: Masters of Advanced Fermentation, Driving the Redefinition of Biofuels: Pt 1
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Is there enough energy, food, fiber and feed for all? Advances in industrial fermentation – a/k/a an incredulous “you’re making what? from what? using what? – will be the key to answering that question. The stars of this drama
March 01, 2011 Read Full Article
American Jianye Greentech Holdings Expands Into Alcohol-Based Biodiesel Production With Plan Approval For 200,000 Metric Ton Plant
(GlobeNewsWire) 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 AJGH has received approval to undertake a new project in alcohol-based biodiesel fuel production. Specifically, AJGH
February 24, 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
Tagging the Most Promising Feedstocks for Biofuels
by Cole Gustafson (Western Farm Press/North Dakota State University Extension Service) A USDA-funded study is developing new pricing and trading standards for cellulosic biomass feedstocks. A first step in the study is to identify the most promising feedstocks and the
February 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Terrabon Exceeds Yield Targets for Biogasoline from Garbage
(Eco Friendly Magazine) Using CRI/Criterion’s catalyst technologies, Terrabon, Inc. has exceeded its target yield threshold of 70 gallons of biogasoline per dry ton of garbage received from the cafeteria dumpsters and paper shredders at Texas A&M University. ...The catalysts enabled Terrabon to
January 26, 2011 Read Full Article
Enerkem Awarded Loan Guarantee from U.S. Department of Agriculture for Its Mississippi Waste-to-Fuel Biorefinery
(Enerkem) Enerkem Inc. today announced that Enerkem Corporation, its wholly-owned U.S. affiliate, has obtained a conditional commitment for an US$ 80 million loan guarantee by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), for the construction of its landmark waste-to-biofuels project in Pontotoc, Mississippi, which
January 20, 2011 Read Full Article
NX Global to Develop Canadian, US Algae Projects
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) NX Global Inc. has received a $100 million funding commitment from a private U.S.-based organization. The financial support will be used to purchase property and fund construction on a waste-to-energy and algae facility in Canada.
January 17, 2011 Read Full Article
INEOS Bio JV Receives Commitment for $75 Million USDA Loan Guarantee
(INEOS Bio) Funding will create jobs through the construction and completion of advanced commercial facility in Florida INEOS Bio and its joint venture partner, New Planet Energy, today announced they have received a conditional commitment for a $75 million loan guarantee
January 05, 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
Indiana County Won't Own Ethanol Plant After All
by (AP/The Republic) ...The Lake County Solid Waste Management District board unanimously adopted a revised contract Thursday that strips away the county's ownership of the plant that Powers Energy of America wants to build near the town of Schneider. The Times of
December 20, 2010 Read Full Article
Scientist: Ethanol the Wrong Path for Lake County, Alternative Fuels
by Marc Chase (The Times/istockanalyst.com) Lake County's public-private plan to transform trash to ethanol would generate an inferior fuel with a questionable future, a former National Science Foundation official and energy adviser to the federal government said. John Regalbuto, a chemical engineering
December 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Flex Ethanol Australia Brings Waste-To-Ethanol Plant A Step Closer
(The Auto Channel) A ground-breaking plant capable of turning household rubbish into ethanol is one step closer with a new company, Flex Ethanol Australia, to be formed. Making the announcement to Melbourne business leaders at the American Chamber of Commerce today, Holden
December 09, 2010 Read Full Article
In Crowded Ethanol Market, Waste Has the Edge
by Iris Kuo (VentureBeat/Reuters) ...The good news is, biofuels and solar technology are the most likely of all alternative energies to reach the holy grail of grid parity in the next decade — that is, they may become competitive with
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Fulcrum BioEnergy Project Selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to Advanced to the Final Stage for a Loan Guarantee
(Fulcrum BioEnergy) Fulcrum Receives Detailed Term Sheet Proposal from DOE Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc. announced November 16, 2010, that the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) has selected Fulcrum’s Sierra BioFuels Plant to enter the final phase of DOE’s Loan Guarantee Program. Fulcrum has
November 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Queries Welcomed
by Diane Krieger Spivak (Post-Tribune) Earl Powers said he is ready to answer questions regarding his proposed nearly $300 million garbage-to-ethanol plant. Powers, president of Evansville-based Powers Energy of America, said Wednesday he will attend the Lake County Solid Waste Management District's
November 08, 2010 Read Full Article
REVIVAL! Hawai’i Bi-O Style: Elite Squad of Scientists Aim to Boost Hawaii via Bioenergy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Hawaii is a code word meaning “paradise” not only to sun-starved tourists, but to bioenergy developers. It has all the hallmarks of the “perfect market”. 1. A state that generates no energy from fossil fuels and
October 26, 2010 Read Full Article
New Oil Reports Breakthrough in Processing Algae for Fuel without Dewatering
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Louisiana, New Oil Resources announced that it has developed a process that uses hot, pressurized water to treat the biomass in a process commonly referred to as hydrothermal liquifaction or thermal depolymerization. According to the research
October 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Maverick Biofuels Plans to Build Pilot Biorefinery in North Carolina
(Maverick Biofuels) Maverick Biofuels, a second-generation biofuels company, October 12, 2010, announced that it is planning to build a pilot scale biorefinery to produce mixed-alcohol biofuels from biomass and municipal solid waste. With 85% of the energy of gasoline, Maverick’s mixed-alcohol
October 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Griffith Trash Pact 60 Percent Higher than Ethanol Plant Fee
by Diane Krieger Spivak (Post-Tribune) If the town approves any of three recently opened trash hauling bids, residents here would likely pay 60 percent more to have their trash taken to a landfill than to a proposed garbage-to-ethanol plant. Town officials, who
October 18, 2010 Read Full Article
INEOS Bio Secures Key Permits for BioEnergy Center in Florida
(INEOS Bio) INEOS Bio’s first commercial project in the United States has secured key permits to build its waste to bioenergy facility in Indian River County, Florida. The INEOS Bio joint venture has obtained its final air permit and environmental
October 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Terrabon: Accelerating Commercialization of Drop-In Fuels, Waste-to-Energy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) (T)he Digest spent time this week with Gary Luce, CEO of Terrabon, whose advanced biofuels technology converts MSW and other residues into drop-in biogasoline, renewable diesel and jet fuel. The company, which has attracted investment from Waste
October 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Melbourne Sites Vie for Waste-Fed Biofuel Plant
by Barry Park (Business Day) Biofuels company Coskata plans to name a Melbourne-based site for its $400 million waste-to-ethanol plant within the next few months. Wes Bolsen, chief marketing officer of the US-based company that has attracted business partners including car maker
October 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Blairstown Ethanol Plant Gets $2.9 Million State Grant
by George Ford (SourceMedia Group News/Eastern Iowa Business) The Iowa Power Fund Board awarded a $2.9 million grant to a cellulosic ethanol plant in Blairstown. Fiberight-Blairstown Operating LLC received the grant to demonstrate how municipal solid waste can be converted into cellulosic
September 17, 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
Fulcrum Bioenergy Begins Work on Ethanol Plant
(Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc. will begin construction and engineering work on a new plant in Nevada to convert household garbage into ethanol fuel. The Sierra Biofuels plant, which will produce fuel for cars and trucks, is due to begin operations in
September 13, 2010 Read Full Article
American Jianye to Convert Waste to Alcohol-Based Fuels
by Anuradha Shukla (Smart-Products TMCnet) ...American Jianye Greentech Holdings, Ltd., a China-based developer, manufacturer and distributor of alcohol-based automobile fuels and civil-use fuels, including methanol, ethanol, and blended fuels, announced plans to build a second waste conversion facility, this one
September 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Bioethanol Effort Gets Boost in Florida
by Diane Krieger Spivak (Post-Tribune) Project in south Lake County based on same technology. A proposed Florida bioethanol plant that will use the same process as a planned Schneider plant will use has been issued an air permit for the project. The
September 09, 2010 Read Full Article
News: Fiberight Making Ethanol from Paper Mill Waste; Household Garbage May Be Next
by Dean Close (Vinton Today) ...In layman’s terms, what Fiberight does is take waste from a paper mill in Cedar Rapids, and uses rare bacteria – Stewart Paul refers to that bacteria as “the bugs” – to convert the sugar
September 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Rush Township Landfill Project Changes Course
by Anne Danahy (CenterDaily.com) Dumpsite scaled back as developer focuses on ethanol The developer who had proposed building a landfill in Rush Township said the project has changed direction and the company is now working on plans for a waste-to-ethanol plant. Ed
September 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Enerkem Announces Construction Start of World's First Municipal Waste-to-Biofuels Facility in Edmonton, Alberta
(NewsWire) Enerkem Inc., a leading waste-to-biofuels company, today held a groundbreaking ceremony to signify the start of construction of its municipal waste-to-biofuels facility with its partners, the City of Edmonton and the Government of Alberta. Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, Edmonton
August 31, 2010 Read Full Article
Fall River Officials to Sit in on Taunton City Council Meeting, Show their Support for Trash Disposal Plan
by Charles Winokoor (Tauton Daily Gazette) ...Taunton Mayor Charles Crowley has said that EOEA officials consider the process by which such a facility operates in violation of DEP’s 20-year-old moratorium on new facilities that incinerate solid waste. In addition, state officials
August 31, 2010 Read Full Article
Florida Ethanol Plant Gets Boost from New Jersey Solar Firm
(Get Solar.com) In many ways, it's a match made in renewable energy heaven. A South Lake County, Florida garbage-to-ethanol plant will soon begin installing a massive solar installation with the aid of Edison, New Jersey solar installer and developer SunDurance
August 20, 2010 Read Full Article
The Blue Phoenix: BlueFire Ethanol Repositions as BlueFire Renewables
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The Digest took the opportunity to visit with BlueFire’s CEO Arnold Klann, who has been working in the cellulosic biofuels space for more than a decade, and continues to be a driving force in the
August 18, 2010 Read Full Article
BlueFire Ethanol Fuels Rebrands as BlueFire Renewables, Inc.
(Blue Fire Renewables) Name Change Designed to Better Reflect Its Fuel and Energy Production Capabilities BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc., a company focused on changing the world's transportation fuel paradigm through the production of renewable fuels from non-food cellulosic wastes, today announced that
August 17, 2010 Read Full Article
British Airways Acts Quickly on Waste Biofuel
by Ivan Gale (The National) British Airways (BA), which is preparing to become the first airline to buy jet fuel from a planned waste-to-biofuels plant in east London, is expected to scale up the project if it is successful. ...The biofuel
August 10, 2010 Read Full Article
British Airways, Solena Plan to Create 1,200 London Jobs at Biofuels Plant
by Alex Morales (Bloomberg) British Airways Plc and Solena Group Inc. plan to build a waste-to-biofuels plant in east London, creating 1,200 jobs, sending less trash to the landfill and reducing jet emissions of greenhouse gases. Solena, which will spend as much
July 23, 2010 Read Full Article
CleanTech Biofuels Technology for Converting Municipal Solid Waste to Cellulosic Biomass Feedstock Receives U.S. Patent
(CleanTech Biofuels) CleanTech Biofuels, Inc., an early stage provider of cellulosic biomass feedstock derived from municipal solid waste (MSW) for renewable energy and bio-based chemical production, is pleased to announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office recently issued US
July 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Consultation Launch on Revised Waste Framework Directive
(UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) A consultation on how to implement the revised EU Waste Framework Directive in England and Wales was launched today. The Directive will bring together new and existing measures to promote waste prevention, recycling,
July 13, 2010 Read Full Article
CleanTech Biofuels, Fiberight Agree to Create Municipal Solid Waste to Cellulosic Ethanol Demonstration Plant
(Business Wire) CleanTech's Demonstration Vessel to be Installed at Fiberight's Lawrenceville, Virginia Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant CleanTech Biofuels, Inc., an early stage provider of cellulosic biomass feedstock derived from municipal solid waste (MSW) for energy and bio-based chemical production, announced an agreement
July 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Novo Energies Corporation Enters Into Collaboration Agreement With Novo Energies International, Ltd.
(MarketWire) Agreement to Focus on the International Commercialization and Implementation of Waste to Energy Technology Novo Energies Corporation, an alternative energy company, announced June 4, 2010, that it has entered into a Technology Co-Operation Agreement ("Agreement") with Novo Energies International, Ltd. ("NEI"). NEI, an independently-owned
June 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Grant Support for Teesside Bioethanol Plant
(Evening Gazette) An advanced bioethanol from waste plant, set to be developed on Teesside, has received a multi-million pound boost. INEOS Bio has been awarded a £7.3m grant from regional development agency One North East and the Department for Energy and
June 14, 2010 Read Full Article
S**t Hits the Fan(Belt): Manure, Sewage as Biofuel Materials
by John Timmer (ars technica) If you look at any single source of biofuels, the numbers can seem depressing, as it's very difficult to obtain enough raw material to account for more than a small percentage of the United States' liquid
May 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Sewage Sludge Could be a Competitive Feedstock for Biodiesel
(Environmental Protection) Existing technology can produce biodiesel fuel from municipal sewage sludge that is within a few cents a gallon of being competitive with conventional diesel refined from petroleum, according to the article, “Biodiesel Production from Municipal Sewage Sludges,” which was
May 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Plant Makes Fuel from Waste and Fiber
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) An Iowa corn ethanol plant has been converted to produce commercial cellulosic biofuels from fiber and municipal waste. Clean technology company Fiberight announced today that it has started “commenced production at the nation’s first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant
May 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Enerkem Announces Funding from Alberta Energy for Its Edmonton Waste-to-Biofuels Facility
(Enerkem) Enerkem announced that it has been selected by Alberta Energy to receive funding for its future Edmonton waste-to-biofuels facility, operated under the name of Enerkem GreenField Alberta Biofuels. The $3.35 million funding will come from the Biorefining Commercialization and Market
May 11, 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
Massachusetts City Agrees to Begin Talks on Waste-to-Ethanol Project
by Charles Winokoor (Tauton Daily Gazette) The city’s plans for what would be a landmark ethanol-based waste treatment plant cleared an important hurdle at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. The Council and its Committee on Solid Waste voted unanimously to enter
April 06, 2010 Read Full Article
British Airways Calls for Carbon Revenues to Be Used to Help Scale up the Development of Aviation Biofuels
(GreenAirOnline) Carbon pricing is critical to the business case for aviation biofuels as airlines join schemes such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), which starts in 2012, said British Airways’ Head of Environment Jonathon Counsell at last week’s
March 29, 2010 Read Full Article
Trash Plant Plan Moves Forward
by Gerry Tuoti (Tauton Daily Gazette) Mayor Charles Crowley is enthused by the feedback he’s received from the state about Taunton’s plans to create a new trash processing facility that will use trash to produce ethanol and other industrial materials. ...
March 26, 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
A Green Energy Alternative …The Free Enterprise Approach
(GeneSyst International, Inc.) This presentation from a 2009 Virginia Energy Summit explains, complemented by charts and graphs, GeneSyst's combination of patents and proprietary technologies for converting waste to energy, utilizing the Gravity Pressure Vessel (GPV). Of particular interest may be a quote from a local
February 27, 2010 Read Full Article
British Airways Signs Deal to Make Biofuel for Aircraft
by Gerard Wynn (Reuters) British Airways will start sourcing a small portion of its jet fuel from municipal waste from 2014, under a deal with U.S.-based biofuel company Solena Group, the two companies announced on Monday. British Airways, one of the
February 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Waste-to-Ethanol Plant Plan Questioned
by Diane Krieger Spivak (Post-Tribune) Lake County (Indiana) Solid Waste Management Commission chief Jeff Langbehn defended a planned $256 million bioethanol plant Friday before the Lake County Advancement Committee. ...Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez questioned whether the expense of the plant, which
February 17, 2010 Read Full Article
ENVIROTEK's "Extreme Bio-Diesel" Division Completes Phase I of Bio-Diesel Refinery Expansion
ENVIROTEK announced the company's Corona, California-based Extreme Bio-Diesel (EBD) division has successfully completed the first phase of its refinery expansion and is in full production of Bio-Diesel fuel, ahead of the projected January 2010 schedule. ENVIROTEK President, Robert Thompson, announced the facility
December 16, 2009 Read Full Article
Enerkem Awarded $50 Million Funding by U.S. Department of Energy for Its Mississippi Biorefinery Project
Enerkem Inc. today announced that Enerkem Corporation, its wholly-owned U.S. affiliate, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to receive US$50 million in funding for the construction and operation of its waste-to-biofuels facility to be located in
December 07, 2009 Read Full Article
Group Helps Small Cities Go Green
by Larisa Brass (Knoxvillebiz.com) A number of new organizations are springing up across Tennessee with a green glint in their eye. Among them is the Tennessee Renewable Energy and Economic Development Council, a group that's working with smaller cities to implement green
December 03, 2009 Read Full Article
Fiberight to Produce MSW-Based Cellulosic Ethanol
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The former Xethanol LLC ethanol production facility in Blairstown, Iowa, has been purchased by Fiberight LLC and will soon be producing cellulosic ethanol at a demonstration scale. The company recently acquired the shuttered plant
November 30, 2009 Read Full Article
Quebec Company Turns Trash Into Fuel
by John Lorinc (New York Times) Enerkem, a green energy company based in Quebec, has developed an alternative approach to mining the carbon out of non-recyclable plastics, construction waste and other materials found in the municipal waste stream. The company says it
October 29, 2009 Read Full Article
Is Garbage The Solution To Tackling Climate Change?
(Science Daily) Converting the rubbish that fills the world’s landfills into biofuel may be the answer to both the growing energy crisis and to tackling carbon emissions, claim scientists in Singapore and Switzerland. New research published in Global Change Biology:
October 24, 2009 Read Full Article
Qteros and Applied CleanTech Announce Novel Solution for Turning Cellulose from Municipal Wastewater into ethanol Fuel for Cars
Recyllose™, a recycled solids-based material produced from municipal wastewater, can now be turned into fuel for cars, announced Applied Cleantech and Qteros, the advanced biofuels company whose breakthrough Q Microbe™ technology can turn biomass into cellulosic ethanol. Qteros has entered into
October 07, 2009 Read Full Article
Fulcrum BioEnergy Makes Ethanol from Garbage
Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc., a leader in the next generation of advanced biofuels, announced today that it has successfully demonstrated the ability to economically produce renewable ethanol. This milestone – achieved at the company’s TurningPoint Ethanol Demonstration Plant – confirms the
September 08, 2009 Read Full Article
Waste to Fuels Presentations Available
Videos of presentations from the 2009 Waste to Fuels Conference held May 17-19 in San Diego have been published. Topics include: overview of conversion technologies, use of forest waste, municipal solid waste and other waste feedstocks to make biofuels, along with sessions related to financing and
July 17, 2009 Read Full Article
Edmonton Waste-to-Energy Project Expands with Research Center
by Hanneke Brooymans (Edmonton Journal) ...There are three different pieces to the city's (Edmonton's) efforts to convert garbage to fuel. The largest piece is a waste-to-biofuel plant, which will begin construction late this year. The plant will be built by Enerkem
July 10, 2009 Read Full Article
California’s Looming Showdown over Waste Feedstocks
by Biofuels Digest special correspondent Scott Miller A showdown is looming in the California State Senate this summer over an issue that is at the heart of the nationwide drive to develop and deploy bioenergy conversion technologies. In a state
June 24, 2009 Read Full Article
US Department of Commerce Awards First Exclusive Bioreactor Patent to ATI Petroleum
ATI Petroleum, a petroleum exploration management and operations company, announced that the US Department of Commerce awarded the first patent on bioreactor technology to ATI Petroleum. The bioreactor technology was created through a collaborative effort with the US Department of Energy,
June 17, 2009 Read Full Article
Rentech Announces Plant to Produce Renewable Synthetic Diesel and Green Electric Power from Urban Waste
Rentech, Inc., announced a plan to build a plant in Rialto, California for the production of ultra-clean synthetic fuels and electric power from renewable waste biomass feedstocks. The Rialto Renewable Energy Center (Rialto Project) is designed to produce approximately 600