Bioethanol News

US trade body Growth Energy has praised a new ASTM standard and said it is a “major victory for the ethanol industry”. Last week, ASTM International published an important new high-octane fuel standard, ASTM D8076 – 17, Standard Specification for 100 Research Octane Number Test Fuel for Automotive Spark-Ignition Engines. This new specification intends to describe and align…
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US bioethanol producer Poet has filed a lawsuit in US District Court of Sioux Falls alleging that the Sioux Falls-based company Nelson Engineering has misappropriated Poet’s trade secrets. The lawsuit is captioned “POET, LLC and POET Research, Inc. v. Nelson Engineering and Jerry Baker,” Case No. CIV 17-4029. The trade secret in question is known at Poet as “Delayed…
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Investment in ethanol production from waste biomass could have great economic environmental benefits, according to a new study from researchers from the Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory. In this study, the researchers found that ethanol produced using waste biomass, such as dead or dying trees, is more cost-effective and could achieve higher benefits in the long term than…
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Growth Energy has released economic analysis that it says “identifies numerous problems” associated with changing the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) point of obligation. The US ethanol trade body strongly supports EPA’s proposed denial to move the point of obligation. “Changing the point of obligation would have a disastrous impact on the industry, retailers, and…
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The European renewable ethanol association ePure has released a position paper on the European Commission’s (EC) proposed revision of the EU Renewable Energy Directive II (RED2). In the paper ePure urges the EU not to abandon its climate and energy goals by phasing out conventional, first-generation ethanol fuels. “Decarbonising the EU transport sector requires concrete and realistic…
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Researchers at Egypt’s National Research Centre have produced a biofuel suitable for aeroplanes after successful semi-industrial experiments conducted last December, according to a media report from scidev.net. The centre was officially commissioned by the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation to find a local biofuel to power aircrafts. This was to support the implementation of the…
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More than two thirds of citizens in EU Member States have a positive attitude towards plant-based biofuels, a Europe-wide opinion poll has revealed. According to the poll, commissioned by the European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePure), 69% of the consumers surveyed in the 28 EU Member States think the use of biofuels should be encouraged, with 15% opposed and 16% with no opinion on the…
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Spanish ethanol producer Abengoa has announced a €7.6 billion loss for 2016, six times more than the previous year, as the multinational attempts to restructure. Abengoa shareholders last year approved a €1.17 billion rescue package from banks and investment funds, following years of frenzied, unsustainable expansion worldwide. The company has recently published its 2016 financial…
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US biofuels lobby group Fuels America has disassociated itself with the counterpart Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) over plans to change the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Fuels America represents a diverse coalition, including farmers and companies such as Archer Daniels Midland and DuPont. The tumult began after Bob Dinneen, chief executive of the RFA, issued a statement saying the…
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US biofuels technology company ICM will build a biorefinery showcasing its technology. The company said its plant will be called ICM Element. In a statement, ICM said: “We see every individual as an integral element to the success of the planned 70 MMGY revolutionary plant estimated at a cost of $175 million (€166m) to build. ICM plans to be the majority owner and is in current…
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California-based sustainable energy production company Greenbelt Resources Corp. has unveiled a new waste-to-energy interconnected system designed to produce half a million gallons of bioethanol from a variety of feedstocks. The system is called Paso Robles ECOsystem (PRECO). PRECO utilises such feedstocks as waste trub from the nearby Firestone Brewery and winery wastes from the over 310…
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Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has said that he has been assured President Donald Trump’s administration will support producers of ethanol and biodiesel fuels, according to media reports. According to the Des Moines Reporter, Branstad was aware of reports to change the point of obligation in relation to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). "I know the rumors and I can tell you who was…
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Poet-DSM Advanced Biofuels will build an on-site enzyme manufacturing (OSM) facility in Emmetsburg, Iowa, pending state and local approvals. The facility will be integrated into the Project Liberty technology package, replicable in future facilities. For Project Liberty, the OSM will directly pipe enzymes into the Liberty production process without requiring downstream processing, stabilizers and…
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Zero-cost materials such as water hyacinth and grass have the potential can yield a high percentage of biofuel, Indian researchers have discovered. Research conducted by a team from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IITK) indicates that pore-scale phenomena can be used to increase the yield of fermentable sugars and bioethanol from hemicellulose. Water hyacinth, a free-floating and…
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