On the 13 June, the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) reached a decision on measures relating to the indirect land use change (ILUC) in the EU biofuels policy, which includes a 7% cap...

The European Commission (EC) has reached a decision to apply anti-dumping duties on all US ethanol which enters the European Union (EU) through Norway. The ruling comes as a result of US exporters shipping...

In April this year, 21 US states filed a brief requesting the Supreme Court to review a lower court decision to challenge the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which sets out that carbon intensity in transportation...

In response to comments from the White House National Climate Assessment, released on 6 May, the world’s largest trade association representing biotechnology companies, academic institutions and...

The European ethanol market initially looked as though it might reach the end of May fairly unchanged. However, following a round of producer investment and purchasing, prices increased. Margins have been...

The US biodiesel industry continues to notch successes, which includes the country’s largest producer, Renewable Energy Group (REG), announcing in late April that it reached 1 billion gallons in...

The verdict on biofuels is in and the catchphrase seems to be ‘overpromised and under delivered’. First generation biofuels made out of sugar, starch and edible oils still occupy a major share...

Despite the production of first generation biofuels occupying a considerable proportion of the biofuels market, producers are now taking a progressive approach towards second generation production in light...

On 13 June, the European Union Energy Council met to finalise its decision to incorporate indirect land use change (ILUC) into EU biofuel policies and to limit the production of first generation biofuels...

The ‘keep it simple, stupid’, or KISS, principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated. Simplicity, therefore, should be a key goal and unnecessary...

Fossil-fuel dependence presents several problems, two of which appear inescapable: fossil fuels are a finite resource that are increasingly expensive to extract and process, and their carbon-rich nature...

Ethanol is currently commercially produced in Australia from wheat starch, red sorghum grain and sugarcane molasses. There are three main ethanol producers with a combined annual production capacity of...

Biomass is increasingly cited as a potential alternative to nonrenewable, petroleumbased resources, particularly as worldwide environmental, economic and political threats tied to our reliance on fossil...

The global population, which will surpass eight billion by 2030, is expected to consume over 30% more energy than today1. With oil reserves declining and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuels...

US-based Viesel’s first batch of ASTM D6751 specified biodiesel rolled out of its facility in July 2013. At that point it was producing at a rate of one or two trucks a week, a reflection of both...

Starch-based ethanol production is a business that requires patience, courage and a stubborn solutions-oriented mentality. Creating a profitable business is often a challenge. Rumours of changes in the...

After the imposed anti-dumping measures against Argentina and Indonesia at the end of 2013, the expectations of European biodiesel producers were set high. All anticipated that the ceasing of soya- and...

Biodiesel production has been promoted by a number of governments around the world and major programmes for its manufacture have been announced. Irrespective of the politics or the implications of the...

At approximately 2,000 years old, glycerine is one of the oldest chemical compounds used by mankind. The glycerine industry has been around for hundreds of years and over that time the supply and demand...

To be sustainable in a challenging and volatile marketplace, vegetable oil facilities should be prepared to process a number of locally produced materials and create a diverse product set. Vegetable oil...

At the heart of the biodiesel industry is a simple transesterification chemical reaction, which allows for the conversion of oils to a usable liquid fuel with similar combustion properties to regular petroleum...

With the lapse of the US biodiesel tax credit this year and the ambiguity around the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) current Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) proposal, many biodiesel producers...

Biodiesel is traditionally produced via esterification of fatty acids and transesterification of triglycerides with an alcohol such as methanol and sodium methylate. The transesterification of triglycerides...

Biodiesel fuel is based on long-chain monoalkyl (methyl, ethyl, or propyl) esters derived from plant oil or animal fat. These fatty acid esters are usually formed by reacting alcohol with the lipids extracted...

Turning a vegetable oil biofuel plant into one that is feedstock flexible is essential for many biodiesel producers today in order to remain profitable. As the modification of a single unit in an existing...

The biofuels sector, although having already come through a period of uncertainty, faces continuing turmoil. While biofuel targets exist courtesy of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) in Europe, future...

The biofuels sector is in turmoil. This politics-laden topic has been losing public and regulator interest for a while and, technology and environmental issues aside, biofuels depends on attention. Appearing...

About 23 million tonnes of biodiesel are used worldwide and further growth is expected, especially in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America. New and higher mandates for biofuels in countries such as...