Bioethanol News

US advanced biofuels company Gevo has announced that it will be partnering with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on a project to fine-tune the composition of the catalyst used in Gevo's proprietary ethanol-to-olefins (ETO) process, in order to improve performance and accelerate scale-up…
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Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer Abengoa Bioenergia Brasil has filed for bankruptcy protection, according to Bloomberg. This follows on from the country’s economic crisis and slump in commodity prices, according to the news agency. The company, a unit of Spain’s Abengoa SA, requested judicial protection in a court in Santa Cruz das Palmeiras municipality, Sao Paulo state,…
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Ethanol, a well-established biofuel additive for gasoline, is traditionally produced from biomass such as corn or sugar cane. New research however, claims to have developed a catalyst to produce the fuel directly from carbon dioxide. Scientists from the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a new electrocatalyst made up of copper nanoparticles that…
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Gillian Harrison, CEO at Whitefox Technologies, will be speaking at this year’s Biofuels International Conference. Harrison started her career as a finance lawyer at global law firm Clifford Chance in London, where she focused on corporate finance, infrastructure projects, and cross border mergers and acquisitions. During her ten years working as a lawyer, she spent two of those years in…
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A quirk in US federal gasoline volatility regulations means E15 sales to non-flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) are usually halted from 1 June to 15 September. However, Hurricane Harvey means E15 sales have returned earlier than usual. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) reports that in response to gasoline supply shortfalls and price hikes resulting from the devastation caused by Hurricane…
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A newly published study is the first to link changes in rainfall and other conditions during crop growth to potential detrimental effects on biofuel production. According to an article on Phys.org, the US Department of Energy led research underlines the need to develop production systems that can tolerate sugars produced under stress, and turn those sugars into the desired biofuels. Plant based…
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China is planning to extend its use of bioethanol as it seeks to intensify its anti-pollution efforts. China plans to use an ethanol gasoline blend across the country by 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration (NEA) said on 13 September, 2017. “The plan was unveiled as the country is pushing the use of biofuel, which is renewable, applicable,…
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A new computational method to rapidly screen the effects of point mutations in bacteria has the potential to make biofuel production more efficient. The conversion of fibrous plant waste such as corn stalks and wood shavings into fermentable simple sugars is a basic requirement of biofuel production, but the process is far from simple. Bacteria must break down tough leaves, stems and other…
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The UK government has made proposals to introduce a cap on crop-based biofuels in order to meet its renewable fuel obligations. The maximum level for the use of fuels made from agricultural crops will begin at 4% in 2018 and reduce linearly year on year from 2021 to reach 3% in 2026 and 2% in 2032. In a statement, the Department for Transport said: “The level is intended to provide a market…
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UK bioethanol producer Vivergo Fuels has cautiously welcomed the government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RFTO) proposal. The UK government has made proposals to introduce a cap on crop-based biofuels in order to meet its renewable fuel obligations. The maximum level for the use of fuels made from agricultural crops will begin at 4% in 2018 and reduce linearly year on year from…
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Clariant, a developer of specialty chemicals, and Enviral, Slovakia’s largest bioethanol producer, have announced a license agreement on sunliquid cellulosic ethanol technology. The move will see one of Europe’s first advanced biofuel plants built at the Enviral site in Leopoldov. Enviral will use Clariant’s sunliquid technology to help construct a full-scale commercial plant…
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Enerkem has announced that commercial production of cellulosic ethanol has started at its facility in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. According to a statement from the company, it is the first commerical scale plant in the world to produce cellulosic ethanol from non-recyclable, non-compostable mixed municipal waste. “The commercial production of cellulosic ethanol at our facility in Edmonton…
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