Alliance BioEnergy Plus subsidiary Ek Laboratories has developed a pathway to produce JP-8, an advanced military grade aviation biofuel, at the suggestion of US government officials. Aviation biofuels offer a variety of advantages over conventional petroleum based jet fuels. Cellulosic biofuels using the CTS process can produce a jet fuel that is nearly 90% cleaner than... [Read More]

Bankrupt Spanish bioenergy company Abengoa’s US unit has hired Ocean Park Advisors to find a buyer or investor for its cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kansas. The Hugoton plant produced ethanol from plant fibres and was supposed to be a technological advance over producing ethanol from corn or other grain, reports The Wichita Eagle newspaper. The facility operated... [Read More]

In the US, the National Chicken Council (NCC) is asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce the production volumes proposed for ethanol in 2017 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and reassess the US biofuels policy as a whole. In a statement submitted to the EPA, the council says it finds the proposed 2017 volumes to be “overly aggressive”... [Read More]

Siouxland Ethanol has begun construction on the expansion project of its Nebraska bioethanol plant, which will see the installation of two new fermenters. The $8.5 million (€7.7m) project seeks to increase the processing capacity of the Siouxland’s facility, located in Nebraska’s Dakota country, from the current 20 million corn bushels annually. “We're... [Read More]

The Malaysian Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities will be meeting with car manufacturers tomorrow to discuss the implementation of B10 biodiesel. The Southeast Asian country’s government wanted to introduce 10% palm oil biodiesel already in June, but the decision was delayed due to “inadequate data”, reports The Sun Daily newspaper. The... [Read More]

Japanese companies Mitsui Zosen Machinery & Service (MZM) and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. (MCC) have formed a partnership to produce and sell zeolite membranes, which are used in bioethanol production. Under the agreement MCC will purchase MZM’s entire output of zeolite membranes and hold the sole sales rights in the US and other global markets, SeeNews reports. The... [Read More]

The Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) has delivered over 24,000 comments from recreational boaters to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to urge the agency to stop adding more ethanol to the nation’s petrol supply. BoatUS had asked the boating public to add their voice to a proposal to increase the amount of ethanol to be blended... [Read More]

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced funds worth up to $15 million (€13.5m) for the advancement of algae-based technologies for biofuels. This funding will advance the research and development of advanced biofuel technologies to speed the commercialisation of renewable, domestically produced, and affordable fossil-fuel replacements, the DOE said in a statement. The... [Read More]

A total of 17 members of the US-based House Biofuels Caucus have urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to change its 2017 biofuels blend target from 14.8bn gallons to 15 billion gallons. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) was among several associations to submit comments in a letter to the EPA. According to the association, there’s no justification for... [Read More]

Boeing, South African Airways (SAA) and low-cost carrier Mango have operated Africa’s first sustainable-fuelled flights powered with tobacco-based biofuels. The SAA and Mango flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town, operated by a Boeing 737-800, used sustainable biojet fuel produced from Sunchem’s nicotine-free tobacco plant Solaris, refined by AltAir Fuels... [Read More]

The UK’s new Prime Minister Theresa May has scrapped the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in her Cabinet reshuffle. DECC policy areas will now move to the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The energy portfolio will now be led by former Communities Secretary Greg Clark. A DECC spokesman confirmed to Biofuels International... [Read More]

Within 25 years, the US could produce enough biomass to support a bioeconomy, including renewable aquatic and terrestrial biomass resources that could be used for energy and to develop products for economic, environmental, social, and national security benefits, a new study finds. The 2016 Billion-Ton Report, jointly released by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and... [Read More]

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is significantly underestimating biodiesel’s capacity to deliver more advanced biofuel to US consumers, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) says. NBB has called in a public comment on the EPA to strengthen the biodiesel and overall advanced biofuel volumes under the proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) before they... [Read More]

The US Senate has introduced a bill to extend the $1/gallon biodiesel tax credit through 2019 and to transform it from a blenders’ credit to a domestic production credit. The bill mirrors a House of Representatives legislation introduced in May, which had the similar goals of extending the tax credit and revamping it as a producers’ credit. Anne Steckel, VP... [Read More]

Higher use of ethanol in Europe would contribute to a 14.1% greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction in European transport, a new study finds. Conducted by global consultancy Ricardo Energy & Environment and commissioned by ePure, the study states that the reduction will stand even after possible land use change (ILUC) emissions have been taken into account. It explores... [Read More]

Finnish oil refiner and biofuels producer Neste has released a list of four reasons why the company believes the world of tomorrow needs biofuels. Combating climate change Combating climate change forces the world to seek alternative, low-carbon sources of energy and fuel, Neste says. Since traffic is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas, i.e. carbon emissions,... [Read More]