Researchers from Michigan State University are experimenting with harvesting seed oil in the hope of developing a biofuel that could one day power jets and cars. In a recently published study detailing their work, the scientists demonstrate how chloroplast, where photosynthesis occurs, participates in new ways to provide seed oil precursors. More commonly known as vegetable... [Read More]

US biorefining company Aemetis reported a net loss of $6 million (€5 million) for the three months ending 30 June, 2017, compared to a net loss of $5 million for the same period the previous year. Revenues were $40.8 million for the second quarter of 2017, compared to $33.1 million for the second quarter of 2016. The increase in revenue was primarily attributable... [Read More]

New research claims that air pollution policy reduces the extent to which population growth in urban areas results in increased pollution emissions, without disrupting the economic growth resulting from this urbanisation. More than half of the world’s population currently lives in urban areas, and the United Nations predicts another 2.5 billion people will move to... [Read More]

California-based biorefining company Aemetis is now producing cellulosic ethanol from orchard waste. The company has announced the news after successfully completing the construction and commencement of an integrated demonstration unit. The company said it produced the material from technologies from itself, LanzaTech and InEnTec. The plant is a continuously operating... [Read More]

The UK Department for Transport has released its Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) statistics for the period April 2016 to April 2017. The report shows 1,541 million litres of biofuels were supplied in the period. Under the RTFO, transport fuel suppliers have to ensure that a proportion of the fuel they supply comes from renewable sources, i.e. biofuels. The legislation... [Read More]

Former US Vice President Al Gore has arrived in the UK to address how the perils of climate change can be overcome as he promotes his new documentary An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. The film is a follow-up to his blockbuster 2006 global warming film, An Inconvenient Truth. It was a massive box office hit. His new film hammers home the same message as his first... [Read More]

EU ethanol production is expected to grow in 2017 and 2018, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s EU Biofuels Annual 2017. This growth will come despite bioethanol consumption being in decline since 2011. “In 2014, the sector benefitted from low feedstock prices and restrictive measures on bioethanol imports, and as a result EU bioethanol production... [Read More]

Algal biofuel production is “neither environmentally nor commercially sustainable”, claims a marine biologist from Swansea University in an article appearing on The Conversation. Professor Kevin Flynn claims the hype surrounding the potential of third-generation algal biofuel has been ‘misplaced’. He notes that millions of dollars and euros have... [Read More]

Greenbelt Resources Corporation has received “Eco Friendly Technology” registration for its ECOsystem process. Greenbelt claims that the certification gives the company a greenlight to offer its waste-to-energy process as a solution available to address Indonesia’s food waste challenge. Indonesia is the world’s second biggest ‘food waster’... [Read More]

Scientists from Sandia National Laboratories are working to see if one of California’s most polluted lakes can be turned into a profitable source of algae biofuel. The 350-square-mile Salton Sea in Southern California has elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus due to agricultural runoff. Algae thrives in these conditions, something which causes a host of environmental... [Read More]

A Jamaican biodiesel research programme is now in the vehicular trials phase, according to a press release from the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ). PCJ has been working on the research with Jamaica’s Ministry of Agriculture, Bodles Agricultural Research Station and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute. It aims to develop a B5 biodiesel... [Read More]

Biodiesel production in Malaysia for 2017 is expected to be little changed from 2016, according to Reuters. According to the Malaysian Biodiesel Association (MBA), forecasts have been revised down since the start of the year due to delays in meeting biofuel mandates. "(Last year) saw half a million tonnes of biodiesel production. Unless we move to B10 or B7 this year,... [Read More]

Helsinki airport has been awarded the international Airport Carbon Accreditation certificate (ACA) to verify its carbon neutrality. “The ACA certificate awarded to Helsinki Airport is an important milestone in the implementation of Finavia’s accelerated climate programme at our airports.  Our climate programme comprises a number of different measures,... [Read More]

Minnesota is set to double its biodiesel standards to a 20% blend, following endorsement from the commissioners of the state's agriculture, pollution and commerce departments From next summer the state’s biodiesel standard will be 20%, up from the current 10%, the administration of Governor Mark Dayton announced at the state’s recent Farmfest. “Implementing... [Read More]

A team of chemists have discovered a new way to produce carbon-based liquid fuels from CO2. The new additive, identified by a team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), selectively converts CO2 ­fuels containing multiple carbon atoms, a step towards producing renewable liquid fuels which are not derived from coal or oil. "The results... [Read More]

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has reacted to the US Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit’s decision to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from lowering the Renewable Fuel Standard’s volume obligations. Although hailed as a significant victory by the biofuels industry, the Court’s decision is far from universally popular. According... [Read More]