Diesel car owners could face a tax hike in order to tackle the rising problem of air pollution, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has indicated. McLoughlin said that it had been a mistake for former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to cut taxes on diesel. In an interview with the Evening Standard, McLoughlin said: "We have got to look at that. It is something the chancellor... [Read More]

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has issued a report on methanol and ethanol, saying they are good potential alternatives for reducing both the emissions and carbon footprint of ship operations.  As they are sulphur-free, use of methanol and ethanol fuels would ensure compliance with the European Commission Sulphur Directive.  The report stated that... [Read More]

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it intends to build a new energies portfolio that would include biofuels, hydrogen, solar and wind assets. The company recently unveiled a new medium-term strategy that envisages asset sales and other cost-cutting measures following its takeover of UK peer BG Group earlier this year. Shell’s goal is to achieve... [Read More]

Repreve Renewables, a US-based bio-feedstocks firm, has opened a new processing centre in Greensboro, North Carolina. The company’s primary crop is giant miscanthus, a drought tolerant perennial that needs low inputs yet provides high yields.  Research has shown the crop also improves soil and water quality. Giant miscanthus can be used as a feedstock... [Read More]

Alaska Airlines has used Gevo’s biofuels products to fly its planes. Alaska Airlines Flight 388 from Seattle to San Francisco departed on 7 June with its engines using a mixture of traditional jet fuel and a 20% blend of biofuel made from fermented corn. In a push to establish sustainable fuel sources, the airline has been flying demonstration flights with a variety... [Read More]

A new clean technology to turn sunlight into liquid fuel could drastically shrink the need for large plantations to grow crops for biofuels, while combating climate change, according to Harvard University researchers. That could help protect food supplies and local people’s land rights, they suggested. Dubbed “bionic leaf 2.0”, the technology uses solar... [Read More]

UK-based Axion Polymers has added two new Axfuel High CV Polychip alternative fuels to its existing range of environmental solid recovered fuel (SRF) products. According to the firm, its new product provides a consistent and sustainable energy solution with low-carbon impact. Suitable for use in the cement industry and energy-from-waste sectors, Axfuel High CV Polychip... [Read More]

Rail is the primary mode of transport used to transport US biofuels, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Although pipelines, tankers, and barges are widely used to transport liquid fuels to, from, and within the US, several types of liquid fuels, including crude oil, ethanol, and biodiesel, are transported by rail in large volumes. EIA... [Read More]

Researchers at South Korea-based Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have created a waterless toilet system that can convert human waste into biofuels. The system is part of a wider creative studio and research lab called the ‘Science Walden Pavillion’, which is now open to the public. It is nestled in the centre of the UNIST campus. The... [Read More]

The use of nitrogen fertiliser on switchgrass crops can produce a sharp increase in emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas up to 300 times more harmful than carbon dioxide and a significant driver of global climate change, according to a new, three-year study from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Centre and Michigan State University (MSU). Switchgrass... [Read More]

Sunbird Bioenergy Africa, a biofuels producer which develops projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, is expected to sign an Investment Promotional and Protection Agreement (IPPA) on or around 30 June, 2016, in order to push ahead with its Zambian bioethanol project. An IPPA is an international agreement between governments for the promotion and protection of investments made by... [Read More]

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US Department of Justice (DOJ) have settled an environmental enforcement case with Newport Biodiesel, resulting in reduced air emissions and improved safety controls at the company’s biodiesel manufacturing plant in Newport, Rhode Island. EPA and DOJ alleged that Newport Biodiesel violated various Clean Air Act (CAA)... [Read More]

Abengoa Bioenergy has stopped operations at its bioethanol plant in Lacq, France. An Abengoa spokeswoman gave a statement to Biofuels International. However, the firm did not disclose what the incident was or the cause of the incident. The statement said: “An incident occurred in one of the fermenters during a scheduled shutdown of the plant for maintenance.  “There... [Read More]

Finnish fuel producer Neste is set to start a trial project to turn used cooking oil (UCO) into biodiesel at its biorefinery in Finland. The trial, to be held at the company’s Kilpilahti refinery in Porvoo and expected to last until the end of 2017, will examine how UCO can be most effectively used as a biofuel feedstock. Neste aims to process 20,000 tonnes of the... [Read More]

More countries around the world are investing in renewable energy and last year spent more than green sources than on new coal and gas-fired power plants, according to a new report. The report is entitled Renewables 2016 Global Status and was published by REN 21, an international body backed by the UN. An estimated 147 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable power generation... [Read More]

ICM, a US ethanol dryer specialist, has announced that its Selective Milling Technology (SMT) has allowed ethanol producers to boost their production. In a statement, the company said that it’s SMT has shifted from a new technology to a proven process at approximately 15% of the ethanol plants in the US and has allowed them to produce more than 300 million gallons... [Read More]