by Spencer Ackerman and Noah Shachtman (Wired) The Navy is hoping to one day run a huge chunk of its fleet on biofuels. So the Navy’s advanced researchers — and their partners at the U.S. Department of Agriculture — are turning
Sweet sorghum
Back TO HOMEFlorida Agriculture Seeking to Enter Ethanol Business
by Aaron Deslatte (Orlando Sentinel) ...Since 2006, Republican lawmakers and governors have created and disbanded an energy commission; funded and de-funded solar initiatives; and created tax incentives for renewable energy producers that expired before the industry could take root. They
January 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Sorghum Biofuel Plant Mulled
by James Konstantin Galvez (The Manila Times) The Department of Agriculture (DA) is in talks with San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. (SCBI) for the construction of a bioethanol processing plant in Negros Occidental to push the development of sweet sorghum in
December 15, 2011 Read Full Article
S. African Biofuel Plan May Boost Sorghum Sixfold, Grain Says
by Carli Lourens (Bloomberg) South Africa’s proposed mandatory blending of biofuels with gasoline and diesel may signal the start of a biofuels industry and boost sorghum output sixfold, an economist at the farmers’ body Grain SA said. ...South Africa could introduce mandatory
December 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Halting Harmful Invaders: Research Identifies Acceptable Biofuel Feedstocks
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Good biofuel feedstocks are highly productive, have low input requirements and are widely adaptable. Unfortunately, those same traits are also common with invasive species. Language addressing invasive species is included in the Biomass Crop Assistance
December 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Brazil Looks to Sweet Sorghum
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Monsanto providing seed for off-season ethanol feedstock Every year, Brazilian sugarcane mills clear and replant about 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) of cane. This year, some mills are planting sweet sorghum developed by Monsanto
December 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Crop of the Week: Sugar Cane
by Kurt Nolte(Yuma Sun/Yuma County Cooperative Extension) • Sugar cane is an exploratory crop in Yuma County and, like sweet sorghum, is being researched for the production of biofuels in Arizona. • Sugar cane is considered as one of the top
November 28, 2011 Read Full Article
What's Not to Like about Developing and Using Biofuels? Nothing
(Highlands Today) Editorial: ...We believe ethanol is a big part of the immediate solution to U.S. fuel shortages. Our country must become energy independent. Nothing can bring us to our knees quicker than having someone shut off oil to our
November 16, 2011 Read Full Article
US Gives $3M to Energy Company to Use Less Corn
by Kevin Welch (Amarillo Globe-News) The U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving White Energy, with ethanol plants in Hereford and Plainview, a $3-million grant to promote using materials other than corn to make biofuels. Those materials can range from crop residue
November 07, 2011 Read Full Article
University of Arizona Researchers Fine-Tune Crops for Biofuels
By Paul M. Ingram (Wick Communications Science/Green Valley News and Sun) ...Under ideal conditions, half the weight of the plants will be converted into liquid, turning 2 tons of vegetation into 1,000 gallons of “juice.” On this day, however,
November 07, 2011 Read Full Article
BP, Unlilever among Investors Pouring $49M into ZeaChem, Chromatin, Agradis
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...There’s a rumor going around the biofuels and biomaterials business that today represents one of the most difficult periods to raise capital. Apparently, the rumors did not reach ZeaChem, Chromatin or Synthetic Genomics, which this
October 26, 2011 Read Full Article
Monsanto Sorghum Seeds to Yield Brazil Ethanol During Cane Break
by Stephan Nielsen (Bloomberg) Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, will sell enough sweet sorghum for 20,000 hectares (49,400 acres) of plantations in Brazil this year as sugar cane mills struggle to meet demand for ethanol and are seeking
October 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Uganda: Planned Sweet Sorghum Project to Create 250 Jobs
by Dennis Picco (Esse Community) Up to 250 jobs are expected to be created in Kayunga District, Uganda, after the launch of the Sweet Sorghum Energy Plant. The plant will use sweet sorghum stems as the primary raw material. The $30m (Shs78b)
October 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Pinal Energy Explores Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Production
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Pinal Energy LLC has constructed a pilot plant next to its 50 MMgy corn/milo ethanol plant in Maricopa, Ariz., to test sweet sorghum production processes. The project is a joint venture with the University of
October 05, 2011 Read Full Article
PHL May Produce Sweet Sorghum Bioethanol by 2013
(GMA News) By 2013, the country may start producing the first sweet sorghum-based bioethanol, the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) said Monday. According to the bureau, the Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC) is now in exploratory talks with the
September 27, 2011 Read Full Article
How To Choose What To Plant For Biofuel
By: Sarah Zielinski (Smithsonian Magazine) If one of the goals of growing plants for biofuel is to be kinder to the environment than you are by extracting oil from the earth, you wouldn’t want to plant anything that could be harmful to
September 16, 2011 Read Full Article
China’s Vision for Renewable Energy: The Status of Bioenergy and Bioproduct Research and Commercialization
Elizabeth R. Nesbitt, Paul Thiers, Johnway Gao, Sharon Shoemaker, Manuel Garcia-Perez, Julie Carrier, Joy Doran-Peterson, John Morgan, Guangyi Wang, Pierre Christian Wensel, Shulin Chen (Journal of International Commerce and Economics) The Chinese government is vigorously promoting commercialization of renewable energy and bioproducts, given environmental issues plus food, energy, and national security concerns,
August 30, 2011 Read Full Article
A Sweet Opportunity for Biofuels
by Florentino Lopez (United Sorghum Checkoff Program/Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...Just like our dedication in promoting grain sorghum for biofuels production, the Sorghum Checkoff is now looking to the future to find the most profitable possibilities for all sectors of the
August 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Sweet Sorghum Boosts the Efficiency of Ethanol
by Benjamin Burroughs (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Ethanol has some distinct advantages as a fuel, and sweet sorghum promises even better input/output ratios ...In addition to having a higher ratio, the cost of production for sweet sorghum is lower than for corn. For
August 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Louisiana Biofuels Plan Would Decentralize Production
by Michael K. Bullard (Ethanol Producer Magazine) How the 2008 Recession Halted the Progress of Louisiana’s Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative ...The Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative (Act 382) represents a complete strategy to not only address the aggressive federal mandates
August 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Catching the Sugar Wave
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Not content to let Brazil hog all the glory, three development-stage companies eye sugar-based ethanol feedstocks ...If successful, California Ethanol & Power LLC will be the first ethanol production company bankrolled partially by Brazilian money,
August 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Nigerian, Chinese Firms to Float N27.4b Biofuel Projects across West Africa
by Sulaimon Salau (The Guardian Nigeria) Renewable energy projects in West African sub-region are set for a new shift, as a Nigerian energy firm, Global Biofuels (in alliance with some Chinese and African firms) has unveiled plans to float
August 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Missouri University Professor Helps to Plant Seeds for an Advanced Biofuel Economy
by Megan Cassidy (Columbia Missourian) Shibu Jose and his team believe that today’s soggy river bottoms could be untapped grounds for the largest advanced biofuel economy in the nation. Jose, director for MU’s Center for Agroforestry, is proposing to cultivate and harvest
August 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Sweet Sorghum Boosts the Efficiency of Ethanol
by Benjamin Burroughs (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Ethanol has some distinct advantages as a fuel, and sweet sorghum promises even better input/output ratios Traditionally agriculture has been in food/feed stock production for humans and livestock, but as we move farther into this
July 25, 2011 Read Full Article
$70M Approved for Ethanol Plant
by Bob Moser (The Advertiser) Lacassine Syrup Mill will be joined by nation's first sugar-to-ethanol facility Bonds worth $70 million to help build the nation's first sugar-to-ethanol plant in Lacassine passed a first step of approval Monday by the Louisiana Public
July 14, 2011 Read Full Article
New Sorghum Ideotypes to Meet the Increasing Demand of Biofuels
(IEA Bioenergy Task 39 Newsletter) Geopolitical tensions in some oil producing regions and the uncertainties surrounding the future availability of fossil fuels, as well as the urgent necessity to mitigate negative impacts on climate through reduced CO2 emissions, have created
July 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Southeast US Offers Huge Energy Crop Potential
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Southeast is ripe for energy crop development, according to several panelists who spoke during a session devoted to next-generation feedstock strategies June 28 at the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo in
June 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Ceres Files $100M IPO – The Complete Digest Analysis
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In California, energy crop breeder Ceres has filed for a $100 million IPO on Nasdaq, with Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital as underwriters. ...From the S-1: “We are an agricultural biotechnology company selling seeds to produce renewable
May 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Potential in Giant Sweet Potatoes
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) At the International Biomass Conference and Expo last week, Dr. Janice Ryan-Bohac attracted a lot of attention carrying around a sweet potato the size of a newborn baby. Ryan-Bohac is president of CAREnergy, Carolina Advanced Renewable Energy, located
May 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Dedini Developing Machinery to Convert Sweet Sorghum to Ethanol
by Stephan Nielsen (Bloomberg) Dedini SA Industrias de Base, a Brazilian maker of ethanol-production machinery, is developing systems that will process sweet sorghum into renewable fuel, as an alternative to the widely used used sugar cane. ...“There’s growing interest among cane mills
May 06, 2011 Read Full Article
USDA and DOE Award Biomass Research and Development Grants to Reduce America's Reliance on Imported Oil
Projects will help develop sustainable, renewable biofuels in the U.S. As part of the Obama Administration's comprehensive plan to address rising gas prices, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a total of $47 million
May 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Cabiao, Candaba Set to Grow Sweet Sorghum for Food, Fuel
by Tonette Orejas (Business.Inquirer.net) Test farming of sweet sorghum in the last six years showed crop production in the Philippines to be 50 percent higher than in India, increasing the crop’s potential as a source of food, fodder and fuel
April 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Chromatin Announces Dual-Purpose Hybrid Sorghum for Sugar and Bioenergy Production
(Chromatin) Chromatin Inc. announced its dual-purpose SweetFuel™ sorghum hybrids, which combine high yields of both fermentable sugar and biomass per acre. Chromatin's SweetFuel™ hybrids are ideal for capturing the value of sugars produced in sorghum juice as well as the
March 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Chromatin’s Sorghum Hybrids Top in Biomass Yield, Energy and Sugar Content
(Chromatin/BusinessWire) Chromatin, Inc., announced that its sorghum hybrids showed top performance in its 2010 biomass and sugar testing programs when compared to other materials from public, private, and commercial sorghum collections. In the first trial, 50 biomass sorghum entries were
February 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Regents Give LSU AgCenter 5-year Extension on Biofuels Institute
(Louisiana State University) The LSU AgCenter has received a five-year extension from the Louisiana Board of Regents to continue with the establishment of the Louisiana Institute for Biofuels and Bioprocessing. “We appreciate the vote of confidence,” said John Russin, LSU AgCenter interim
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Crops to Be Turned into Fuel on Big Island
by Mark Niesse (AP/Washington Examiner) Crops grown on Hawaii's Big Island will be converted into liquid fuel as part of a deal announced Thursday between Hawaiian Electric Co. and renewable energy company Aina Koa Pono. The agreement is the first in
January 07, 2011 Read Full Article
National Sorghum Producers Teams Up with Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Association
(National Sorghum Producers) National Sorghum Producers and the Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Association (SSEA) are happy to announce a formal collaborative agreement between the two organizations. While NSP and SSEA have worked together in the past, the new collaborative agreement will allow
December 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Sweet Sorghum for Ethanol Collaboration Announced
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Two major organizations have announced that they will collaborate on key issues moving forward. The National Sorghum Producers (NSP) and the Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Association (SSEA) will begin working together to develop and expand the sweet sorghum
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
US to Develop Sugarcane Ethanol Industry
(ITS International) The first major sugarcane ethanol refinery in the continental United States will be built in the Imperial Valley of California, said to be one of the best locations for growing sugarcane in the world. The ethanol will meet California’s
November 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Valley Company to Test New Crop for Biofuel
(The Business Journal) A $2-million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) will help to install a testing facility in Hanford to evaluate biofuel production using a crop new to the Central Valley. The grant, part of a $9.6-million allocation across the
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
Biofuel Battles
by Michael Stein (Maui Magazine) Advocates say biofuels could save big agriculture in the Islands, and reduce Hawaii’s unsustainable dependence on imported oil. Are we willing to pay the price? ...But over the past decade, Maui has lost Pioneer Mill sugar
September 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Zero Discharge Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Process Development
(PRNewsWire) AdvanceBio LLC, a Cincinnati-based advanced biofuel technology company, today announced the development of its next generation, sugar-based fuel ethanol process. The process is capable of utilizing sugars derived from sugar cane, sweet sorghum, sugar beet and other similar crops as feedstock
August 31, 2010 Read Full Article
Chromosome Designer Moves Into Biofuels
by Michael Kanellos (GreenTechMedia) Chromatin says sorghum is the ideal crop. The company, which designs chromosomes and tools for genetically modifying agricultural crops, has launched an effort to get into biofuels on its own. It has come up with an optimized pathway
August 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Ceres Opens Brazil Subsidiary To Develop Sweet Sorghum Crop Business
(Green Car Congress/FavStocks) Ceres, Inc. earlier this month established a subsidiary in Brasil focused on developing sweet sorghum as a feedstock for the ethanol industry. The company’s goal is to be the first supplier of new hybrids with high levels
August 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Ceres Opens a Subsidiary in Brazil to Develop the Business of Sweet Sorghum
(Ceres) Ceres , Inc., a leader in developing cultivars for bioenergy created a subsidiary in Brazil. The announcement marks an expansion of the subsidiary activities of sweet sorghum in Brazil and the company's goal to be the first supplier to the
August 03, 2010 Read Full Article
Company Says Biofuel Can Replace Off-Shore Oil
(Tampa Bay Online) Low carbon ethanol and renewable power produced from Florida grown sugar - biomass crops can help displace off-shore drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and contribute to energy independence, according to a press release distributed Friday. Highlands
June 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Chromatin Opts for Sorghum as Key Advantaged Biofuel Feedstock; Acquires Sorghum Partners, Milo Genetics
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) At the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in Washington, Chromatin CEO Daphne Preuss announced that the company is expanding its technology development portfolio to produce fit-for-purpose sorghum as a biofuels feedstock, and also announced that it
May 03, 2010 Read Full Article
Bio-Based Potential for Delta Ag
by Hembree Brandon (Delta Farm Press) As Mid-South states continue to lose much of the traditional manufacturing-based industries that migrated to the areas beginning in the 1950s, new bio-based opportunities are emerging, says Pete Nelson. “We’re among the best in the
April 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Company Promotes In-Field Production of “Sorganol”
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) An Iowa inventor and entrepreneur is promoting a harvester he developed that can produce ethanol from sweet sorghum right in the field. Lee McClune of Knoxville, Iowa invented the SORGANOL® Process (PatPend) and Sor-Cane Harvester after studying
April 05, 2010 Read Full Article
Highlands County, FL, Still Waiting for Biofuels
by Gary Pinnell (Highlands Today) In April 2008, Congressman Tim Mahoney told county commissioners that Highlands was poised to become "the biofuels capital of America." They were expected to produce hundreds of jobs and millions in revenues. Two years have gone
March 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Sorghum Poised for Bigger Role in Ethanol Production
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Today, about 1/3 of the sorghum crop goes into ethanol production. An interesting little piece of information I picked up when I spoke with Gerald Simonsen, the Chairman of the National Sorghum Producers during Commodity Classic.
March 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Kentucky Awards a Combined $530,000 to Develop Alternative Fuels and Renewable Energy Technologies
(MFRTech) Two Kentucky companies have been awarded a combined $530,000 in funding from the Kentucky New Energy Ventures Fund. The state program provides public funds to promising, early-stage Kentucky companies developing and commercializing alternative fuels and renewable energy technologies. ...Southeast Biofuels,
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Eco-Biofuels from the Tropics
Palm oil from South-East Asia, sugarcane from Brazil and sweet sorghum in China are the most sustainable energy crops at present. Maize from the US and wheat in Europe have a much more negative environmental impact. This conclusion was drawn
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Miscanthus, Sweet Sorghum, Energy Cane Advancing at SERC
Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Mississippi, MSU professor Brian Baldwin provided an update on feedstock research at the MSU’s Sustainable Energy Research Center, where a focus on biofuels grasses has produced the recently licensed Freedom varietal of giant miscanthus. ...Baldwin’s presentation
February 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Sweet Sorghum to Ethanol: Technology, Plant & Machinery
PRAJ, through its Development Center (Matrix- the Innovation Center), conducted studies and evaluated options for optimizing sweet sorghum based alcohol production. This effort was conducted in two phases: · Agricultural trials and studies for evaluating suitability, technical feasibility and commercial viability
February 10, 2010 Read Full Article
Algae-Powered Vehicles within Five Years
Alan Fischer (University of Arizona and Western Farm Press) University of Arizona (UA) researchers believe the microscopic organism algae will be providing fuel to power vehicles within the next five years. Joel Cuello, UA professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, said
February 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Florida Sugar-Based Ethanol Company Projects 80 Percent Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions than Gasoline
Highlands EnviroFuels LLC has completed a life-cycle analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that demonstrates that the company’s planned sugar–based ethanol process will result in 80 percent lower GHG emissions than the equivalent petroleum-based gasoline. The detailed study, completed by Life
September 09, 2009 Read Full Article
Nigerian,Oni, Donates Land for Chinese Ethanol Project
by Toba Suleiman (This Day) Ekiti State Governor, Segun Oni, has donated 15,000 hectares of land to Chinese investors handling the ethanol project at Oke-Ayedun, Ikole Local Government area of the state, for cassava plantation. His media aide, Mr. Lere Olayinka,
August 21, 2009 Read Full Article
Potential for Sweet Sorghum Ethanol is Very Sweet, Indeed
by Barney DuBois (BioBasedNews.com) ... Sorghum – and particularly sweet sorghum – seems finally prepared to emerge from behind the dense biomass shadows it casts with its giant 15-foot stalks! Sweet sorghum – a resilient grass that can be grown
August 20, 2009 Read Full Article
US/India Cooperative Agreements for 2nd Generation Biofuel Production
Indian government-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is tying up with US-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for a pilot project to produce second generation biofuel. This biofuel — essentailly bio-ethanol — would be produced from cellulosic biomass or degradable agricultural waste
May 13, 2009 Read Full Article
Industrial Biotechnology in China Amidst Changing Market Conditions
by Elizabeth Nesbitt (Journal of International Commerce and Economics) The increasing use of industrial biotechnology by the Chinese liquid biofuels and chemical industries is expected to help offset energy security and environmental concerns generated by China’s robust economic growth. The expanding use of bioprocesses
February 27, 2009 Read Full Article
'Sweet' Biofuels Research Goes Down On The Farm
(Science Daily) Oklahoma State University’s sorghum-related biofuels research is taking a localized approach, with the aim of making possible the effective production of ethanol in the farmer’s own field. Sweet sorghum can be grown throughout temperate climate zones of the United