A cap on RIN prices and a waiver of the Environmental Protection Agency’s E15 ban were discussed to try and reach a ‘win-win’ solution to the competing interests of Big Corn and Big Oil in the biofuels debate. The meeting was of a mix of industry representatives and Senators from oil producing and corn producing states. Statements describing the discussion... [Read More]

The project will see the co-generation of fuel and power, and comes as part of a wider push to industrialise Nigeria’s agriculture. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Kogi State Government for the development of a cane-fed bioethanol plant. Kogi is a region about 200km south of Nigeria’s... [Read More]

SIKB, a ‘network organisation’ based out of the Netherlands, has observed accelerated corrosion in uncoated steel tanks when they store biofuels and has released a report into the causes. The aim of the report is to adjust legislation related to storage, says the organisation. The interim report finds that when biodiesel is added to conventional diesel the... [Read More]

A study from a government-owned research group is urging increased biofuel use to develop a renewable low-carbon transport sector. The report follows two years of research by Crown Research Institute Scion and looks at how New Zealand could grow and refine feedstocks into biofuels for heavy transport, shipping and air travel. According to the Institute, in 2015 burning... [Read More]

The grass is native to the US, non-edible and grows across North America. Fuel produced from the plant emits far less CO2 than gasoline. Researchers from Colorado State University (CSU) in the US have studied switchgrass as an alternative biofuel feedstock to corn (corn often comes under fire for being resource intensive and competing with demands for food). The new fuel... [Read More]

The US Department of Energy (DoE) has granted a team of researchers money to create enhanced sugarcane (also called ‘energycane’) and elephant grass to increase the production of green fuels. The new crops can reach up to 20% oil content, compared to less than an tenth of a percent in conventional crops, says the university. Announced 25 February, the new research... [Read More]

University of York researchers have discovered another source for an enzyme that might be able to improve cellulose digestion and produce biofuels more efficiently. The paper shows that the enzymes that insects called firebrats (which are closely related to silverfish) use to digest cellulose could be applied to industrial processes, including ‘the production of... [Read More]

The Agron Bioenergy biodiesel production facility in Watsonville, California has reopened. Located in Monterey Bay area, the biofuel facility shut down in 2016. However, California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard has sparked new interest in biodiesel in California. Wall Lake, Iowa based Western Iowa Energy recently purchased the idled plant, marking the first time the... [Read More]

FS Bioenergia, a joint venture between Tapajós Participações and Summit Agricultural Group, is planning to open the company’s second corn-only ethanol plant in Mato Grosso, Brazil, following R$1 billion (almost €250 million) in investment. The new plant will also have the capacity to co-generate energy at a capacity of 170 thousand MWh per... [Read More]

Non-road engines conforming to exhaust emission category EU Stage IV are suitable for operation with pure biodiesel, claims new research. The University of Rostock research relates to EU Stage IV engines for industry and agriculture. Long-term studies and comparative measurements with fossil diesel fuel show that engine performance and exhaust gas aftertreatment system... [Read More]

A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) says the EU could double the renewable share in its energy mix, cost effectively, from 17% in 2015 to 34% in 2030. In order to reach long term decarbonisation goals, the report argues that all renewable transport options – both biofuels and electric vehicles, are necessary. The report also argues... [Read More]

A consortium of companies, including Canadian advanced biofuel producer Enerkem, have signed a project development agreement for an advanced waste-to-chemistry facility in Rotterdam. According to a statement, the new facility will be the first of its kind in Europe. It will provide a sustainable alternative solution for non-recyclable waste, allowing plastics and other... [Read More]

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) based out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) is moving from the development of crop-based ethanol to creating fuels and chemicals that are fungible with their petroleum-based equivalents. The change was announced at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Austin,... [Read More]

China is set to expand its production and consumption of bioethanol in 2018, according to the country’s State Administration of Grain. The move comes as China seeks more channels to use its grain and corn stockpiles, according to Brinkwire.com. Continued state support for corn farmers has left China with a substantial stockpile of grain and corn. Data from the country’s... [Read More]

An explosion at a Saipol oilseed factory in France has left two people dead, according to Reuters. Saipol is the oilseed branch of Avril, the largest biodiesel producer in Europe as well as France’s largest table oil producer. The explosion took place on 17 February at 10:00am, at the Saipol factory in Dieppe. Alongside the fatalities, one person was slightly injured... [Read More]

An international team of scientists have found a group of enzymes in fungi that can break down a main component of wood, enabling a more efficient refining process. The researchers say that the process could be used to convert wood into a variety of useful chemical products according to a University of York press release. They hope that the discovery can help the viability... [Read More]