by Martin Kadzere (AllAfrica/The Herald)  Ethanol producer, Green Fuel has put on hold its $1 billion expansion programme as the current environment does not support the scale of investment, sources have said.
The company, jointly owned …

(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)  Solar-to-Fuel System Recycles CO2 to Make Ethanol and Ethylene  —  Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have harnessed the power of photosynthesis to convert carbon …

by Lorenz Bauer (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) … Managing the water in biomass processes like food production, fermentations, pyrolysis, and biodiesel production is critical to success.   There is an increasing appreciation of the value of clean …

(Sugar News)   Indian scientists have demonstrated that waste water from some of the dirtiest industrial processes can be turned into a carbon source for preparation of energy storage materials.
Researchers led by scientists from Bhavnagar-based …

(Energy Today/Carnegie Mellon University)  How do you efficiently isolate hydrogen, unlocking its full potential as a primary, mainstream source of energy?  —  The universe consists of a number of elements, the most abundant of which …

(Greenbelt Resources Corporation/PR Newswire)  The Indonesian government’s Technical Committee on Verification of Environmentally Friendly Technology has officially recommended that Greenbelt Resources Corporation (OTC: GRCO) be awarded “Eco Friendly Technology” registration for its proprietary waste-to-energy systems process “ECOsystem” …

(CleanTech Canada)  In a discovery that could help jump-start the hydrogen economy, a team of physicists at the University of Houston have found a catalyst that can divide water using low-cost materials  —  Hydrogen gas …

(Greenbelt Resources/PR Newswire)  JababECO is the first U.S.-Indonesia municipal waste-to-bioproducts project  —  United States Vice President Mike Pence participated in a ceremony celebrating the signing of multiple Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) in Jakarta today, including …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Licella produces drop-in biofuels from a wide range of biomass and uses a supercritical water-based technology and catalysts to break up biomass and reform it into a drop-in fuel hydrocarbon.
The …

(Greenbelt Resources Corporation/PR NewsWire)  Greenbelt Resources Corporation (OTC: GRCO), an innovator of sustainable energy production systems, announced today the Paso Robles ECOsystem, known as PRECO, a waste-to-energy interconnected system (ecosystem) designed to produce half a …

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Successful water reduction and recycling require close attention to treatments and system impacts in ethanol production. —  …  As the industry has improved its efficiency and recycling, water …

Story by Todd C. Frankel and Peter Whoriskey; Photos and videos by Michael Robinson Chavez; Video editing by Jorge Ribas (The Washington Post)  In the thin air of the salt flats here, nearly 13,000 feet above sea …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Selection of 26 projects across two programs will make transportation cleaner and mitigate carbon dioxide emissions  —  The Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) today announced up to $70 million …

by Theo Kumah  (Biofuels Digest)  Researchers from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology came up with what could pose as one of the most interesting discoveries from plants. The researchers came up with a bio-photo-electro-chemical (BPEC) …

by Almuth Ernsting (Biofuelwatch/The Biomass Monitor)  …  As far as Branson and his airline, Virgin Atlantic, were concerned, the flight was indeed no more than a stunt: The “biofuel test flight” burned 95% ordinary kerosene and …

by Geoffrey Carr (The Economist)  If agriculture is to continue to feed the world, it needs to become more like manufacturing, says Geoffrey Carr. Fortunately, that is already beginning to happen  —  Tom Rogers is an …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Licella produces drop-in biofuels from a wide range of biomass and uses a supercritical water-based technology and catalysts to break up biomass and reform it into a drop-in fuel hydrocarbon.
The …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  What’s up at the nexus of food, water and energy systems — what technology is critical, what’s being modeled and why? CBET Division Director JoAnn Slama Lighty answered the question …

(South Florida Caribbean News)  As renewable energy demands increase globally, biofuel developer Benchmark Renewable Energy LLC has officially announced plans to develop a large scale bio-ethanol operation in Jamaica.
The company has confirmed that the project …

by Dave Evensen (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Research finds where bioenergy crops would grow best while minimizing detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystems  —  … Researchers at the University of Illinois used detailed models to examine impacts …

by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest)  In Italy, IEA Bioenergy and the Global Bioenergy Partnership have published the “Examples of Positive Bioenergy and Water Relationships,” which includes examples that illustrate an encouraging variety both in terms …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  You may not know it, but you are short on hydrogen. Right now. We live in a hydrogen-starved world, and it’s expensive to make. And most of what we make is …

(Indiana University Bloomington) Combining bacterial genes and virus shell creates a highly efficient, renewable material used in generating power from water  —   Scientists at Indiana University have created a highly efficient biomaterial that catalyzes the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Byogy has developed a catalytic platform that converts any source of ethanol, butanol, mixed alcohols, or related olefins, into full replacement, and cost competitive biofuels including gasoline, diesel and jet …

by Claire Vath (DTN/The Progressive Farmer)  … “We had something like 200 trespass cows from a nearby land lease,” Willow says. So, they constructed a fence. And while it kept animals out, the damage had already …

(University of Illinois/Biomass Magazine)  The University of Illinois has been awarded a 3-year, $5 million grant from the DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy as part of its OPEN 2015 funding initiative (ARPA-E OPEN). Under Principal Investigator …

(Greenbelt Resources/Business Wire)  POM Wonderful®, the largest grower and producer of fresh pomegranates and pomegranate juice in the United States, has extended its feedstock testing contract with Greenbelt Resources Corporation(OTC: GRCO), an award winning provider …

by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA)  A time for taking stock and giving thanks; for appreciating the value of creating a truly sustainable renewable energy future.
A recent press release, Vapor Capture System Fabricated by Greenbelt Resources …

by Kristen Johnson and Alicia Moulton  (U.S. Department of Energy)  At the Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, we’re actively working to develop the advanced biofuels industry in a way that leads to positive impacts and …

(Algenol)  U.S.-based Algenol will partner with South China’s Fujian Zhongyuan New Energy Company, Ltd. (ZYNE) to develop projects throughout Southern China, utilizing carbon emissions to create renewable fuels. The goal is to provide solutions for …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  OriginClear Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of Dallas-based Progressive Water Treatment Inc., (PWT) a profitable and fast-growing designer, builder and service provider for a wide range …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Does bioenergy place such massive pressure on water resources that it zeroes out the climate change benefits? Tweets around a recent article from PNAS say “yes, that’s so!” But is it really so?
The …

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

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)  The following are key excerpts from Pope Francis’ Encyclical, “Laudato Si,” or “Praised Be,” in which he calls for renewable fuel use, energy efficiency, transition from harmful, smoky cooking fuels …

(Masdar Institute)  Research puts UAE at forefront of global movement to create sustainable, alternative fuels that do not compete with food production
Based on ground-breaking research at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, the Sustainable …

by Greg Cunningham (Argonne National Laboratory)  A new version of an online tool created by the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory will help biofuels developers gain a detailed understanding of water consumption of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … After a decade as the bioenergy technology leader, I just created a new role building a new initiative in water. Water is a critical barrier to sustainable energy in …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Hydrocarbon fuel from seawater and nothing else? Is it possible?  Not only possible, but demonstrated as a process, and tested in a model plane.   How does it rate on the …

by Bill Jones (Fresno Bee/Pacific Ethanol)  The Bee published a commentary on Feb. 14 by Tom Tanton titled “Making Ethanol is Wasting California’s Water.” The premise of the opinion piece was that the nation’s Renewable …

by Matthew McFeeley (The Energy Collective)  Fracking’s water footprint is higher than previously thought, according to a new report that combined data from many sources to provide one of the most comprehensive looks at how water is …

(Ag Professional/USDA Agricultural Research Service)  Farmers in the semiarid central Great Plains have traditionally used a two-year, no-till, dryland, winter wheat/fallow cropping system, which stretches scarce soil water supplies and minimizes crop failure from water …

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 …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The Renewable Fuels Association has spoken out to criticize a study published by Rice University and the University of California-Davis that claims climate change will increase irrigation costs for …

by Tom Rickey  (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)   A new analysis shows that the nation’s land and water resources could likely support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based …

(US Department of Energy/Department of Defense)  General Comments
Although the author has done an extensive literature reading in the biofuels area, the paper does not have any analysis of critical issues of energy systems including petroleum …

by Marianne Lavelle and Thomas K. Grose (National Geographic)  The amount of fresh water consumed for world energy production is on track to double within the next 25 years, the International Energy Agency (IEA) projects.
And even …

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 …

by Pat Lorentz (Shelton Group)  It’s a new year! So after you’ve headed to the gym, put down your smokes, taken up a new hobby and willed yourself to stick to your resolutions for a …

by Mary Rosenthal (Biomass Magazine)  Just a few weeks ago, the National Research Council released its report on the sustainability of biofuels derived from algae, affirming the potential of our industry to meet global fuel …

by Bailey (Planet Forward)  It’s not magic, it’s chemistry!  That’s what the chief executive of Air-Fuel Synthesis says about their fuel that’s made, literally, out of thin air!
The company says they’ve developed technology that creates …

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today provided an update on its ongoing national study currently underway to better understand any potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. Results of the study, which …

(Chromatin/BusinessWire)  Chromatin’s Sorghum Seed Recognized for Water Use Efficiency and Versatility
Chromatin, Inc., a privately held provider of innovative crop breeding technology, sorghum seed products and feedstocks, announced it has generated the first crop of sorghum …

(Science Daily)  Scaling up the production of biofuels made from algae to meet at least 5 percent — approximately 39 billion liters — of U.S. transportation fuel needs would place unsustainable demands on energy, water, …

(US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service)  …Of the five regions, the Southeast has the greatest natural capacity in the continental United States, with sufficient sunshine, soils, water, and other natural resources to produce more …

(Phys.Org)  Putting the water-use-efficient and turbo-charged photosynthesis from plants such as agave into woody biomass plants such as poplar can hedge against predicted long-term increases in temperatures and reduced precipitation. It can also provide dedicated …

(Iowa Renewable Fuels Association)  As a part of its 10th Anniversary celebration of progress and prosperity, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) today released a list of the ethanol and biodiesel industry’s Top 10 efficiency …

(Pangea)  Partners for Euro-African Green Energy (PANGEA) published a new report, Africa’s Water-Bioenergy Nexus. Ensuring Sustainable Water Management in Africa’s Biofuel Sector. The report describes ways to ensure a low water footprint in the African …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The results of a Google search of the words ethanol and water use are varied and interesting. Some of the information is up-to-date and lays out the industry’s dramatic …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Dire US media headlines abound: “Drought!”  What’s real, what’s hype, and what are the impacts?  More importantly, what alternatives does science give us now, and in the future, with more …

(CORE BioFuel, Inc.)  CORE BioFuel Inc. announced today (May 2, 2012)  that it has selected Technip, a world leader in engineering, construction and project management in the energy industry, to complete the construction engineering of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  There’s water, water everywhere, hardly a drop to use. The latest on Sustainable, Affordable, Reliable, Available biomass feedstocks that keep down the stress on our water tables.
…The basic dilemma in …

(US Environmental Protection Agency)  The Biofuels and the Environment: The First Triennial Report to Congress (External Review Draft) (EPA/600/R-10/183A) report, prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA’s Office of Research and Development, is …

(PR NewsWire/Organic Tree Fruit Growers Alliance)  At a recent legislative hearing in Olympia, the Washington StateHorticultural Association and its lobbyist Jim Halstrom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvVO8tJc7zI) publicly opposed legislation (House Bill 2192) that would provide a relatively small amount of new water …

by Holly Jessen   (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Idled ethanol plant Bionol Clearfield LLC is working to get approval to sell some of the water it would be using for ethanol production to sell to the …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  A one-month plant trial showed a commercial enzyme could help extract water from distillers grains, saving natural gas, electricity and water used in the ethanol process. More work needs …

by Art Hovey  (Lincoln Journal Star)  Movers and shakers in York County, one of the most prolific places for corn production in Nebraska and the United States, have spun off plenty of other profitable corn …

by Ann Perry (US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service)  A commercial enzyme could reduce overall costs linked with producing ethanol from grain, and also reduce associated emissions of greenhouse gases, according to a study …

(POET)  POET Biorefining — Mitchell to cut even more water use
Mitchell is layering another level of water recycling on top of its current system with a new process to use storm water from nearby retention …

by Liz Ahlberg (University of Illinois)   Many energy researchers and environmental advocates are excited about the prospect of gaining more efficient large-scale biofuel production by using large grasses like miscanthus or switchgrass rather than …

by Gouri Shankar Mishra and Sonia Yeh (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Study recalculates water consumption with expanded system boundaries and coproduct credit
Recent studies have estimated the “consumptive water use,” “water embodied,” and “water footprint” of corn-based …

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association)  …In this week’s installment of the RFA’s series on efficiency, RFA Vice President Geoff Cooper takes on the critics who contend that both farming and ethanol production is simply too …

by Zak Richards (University of Virginia)  Algae-based fuel is one of many options among the array of possible future energy sources. New University of Virginia research shows that while algae-based transportation fuels produce high energy …

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association)  Over the past 30 years, and in particular in the past decade, ethanol production has quietly become increasingly efficient.  From improvements in corn production to greater efficiencies at ethanol …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  In the Philippines, a new study by that Asian Development Bank finds that “Pongamia provides better economic returns [than other Indian feedstocks]. Even under a 15% social discount rate …

by Anna Jauhola  (The Daily Republic)  In a continuing effort to operate as green as possible, Poet Biorefining is the first ethanol plant in the state to apply to use storm water in the facility …

(EurekAlert!/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)  Growing perennial grasses on the least productive farmland now used for corn ethanol production in the U.S. would result in higher overall corn yields, more ethanol output per acre and …

by Rep. Jim Sacia  (Journal-Standard)  …Ethanol is another source of alternative energy that has established a foothold in America, and we can be very proud of our own Adkins Energy ethanol plant in Lena.
One of …

(Nature:  International Weekly Journal of Science)  Biofuels have big boots to fill. After more than 150 years of using petroleum and its products we have become dependent on it. First generation biofuels are showing us …

(US Department of Energy)  The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Biomass Program will be conducting detailed biennial peer review meetings of its activities throughout the first half …

by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA)  In 1568, a Spanish Conquistador by the name of Pedro Maraver de Silva led his men on a mission to capture Incas who had escaped with their gold. Journeying …

by Steven Medina (Biofuels Digest)  “He intensively grows corn for ethanol in clay soil that once grew corn for bootleg liquor and a variety of other crops to varying degrees of success, allowing my mother’s …

(Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)  Choosing optimal growing locations limits algal biofuel’s water use
High oil prices and environmental and economic security concerns have triggered interest in using algae-derived oils as an alternative to fossil fuels. But …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Oak Investment venture partner (and now Aurora chairman) Brian Hinman noted that “Aurora Biofuels has made a significant genetic engineering achievement in doubling the productivity of its proprietary algae, and …

(US Geological Survey)   Growing corn for biofuels production is having unintended effects on water quality and quantity in northwestern Mississippi.
More water is required to produce corn than to produce cotton in the Mississippi Delta requiring increased …

by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Houston Chronicle)  Letter to Editor   …The Chronicle says natural gas from shale deserves federal subsidies for production, but says ethanol doesn’t because it requires too much water to produce. The …

by Matt Hartwig (Renewable Fuels Association)  That the Houston Chronicle would be anti-ethanol is not surprising to anyone.  It is Houston, Texas, after all.  But that the editorial board would play fast and loose with the …

(United Nations Environment Programme) Water, land use change and invasive species are key factors that must be addressed alongside greenhouse gas cuts
Water could determine the degree to which bioenergy can contribute to combating climate change by …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …In a note at CO2science.org, a trio of authors contend: “There simply is not enough freshwater on the face of the earth to make the production of biofuels a viable …

By Audrey McAvoy (AP)  The federal government has turned to a 130-year-old Hawaii sugar grower for help in powering the Navy and weaning the nation off a heavy reliance on fossil fuels.
It will spend at least …

by Erica Gies   (New York Times)  …One group, Growth Energy, has blanketed the Metro subway station closest to the U.S. Capitol with ads that send a pointed message: “No beaches have been closed due to …

The extent to which increased biofuels production will affect the nation’s water resources depends on the type of feedstock selected and how and where it is grown.  … (N)ext generation feedstocks have not yet been …

by Robert F. Service (Science Magazine)  At first blush, it’s easy to make the case for biofuels. By converting crops into ethanol or biodiesel, farmers can reduce demand for imported oil, lower national dependence on …