News

US ethanol association Growth Energy has announced the election of Nathan Vander Griend to the organisation’s board of directors. Vander Griend is president and CEO of ERI Solutions, which provides environmental, health and safety non-destructive testing (NDT), sustainability and risk control solutions to a range of industries, including biofuels. He also oversees Paragon NDT, a…
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Finnish airline Finnair has flown the first biofuel flight supported by its ‘Push for Change’ carbon reducing initiative. On 5 August, a Finnair flight departing from San Francisco Airport to Helsinki in Finland was fuelled with a 12% biofuel blend. Another flight will depart on 7 August, with the total carbon dioxide emission from the two flights reduced by around 32 tons. “The…
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Cielo Waste Solutions has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Renewable U Lethbridge to build a renewable diesel refinery in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The two companies intend to enter a joint venture (JV) agreement to enable the construction and operation of a refinery that will convert waste into high grade renewable fuels, using Cielo’s conversion technology. As…
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Renewable fuels producer Gevo has achieved International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) under the ISCC Plus scheme for food, feed, industrial applications, energy and biofuels outside Europe. The ISCC certification demonstrates the company’s sustainable cultivation of corn, which is then converted into renewable isobutanol, or biobutanol. ISCC Plus enables Gevo to validate…
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An ethanol plant in northwest Iowa, US has suspended production ‘until further notice’, according to a statement from the plant’s owner Plymouth Energy. The company’s ethanol plant is one of at least 10 in the US to temporarily suspend operations, with a further three closing for good, Radio Iowa reported. “A lot of the experts say we’ve got about a 10% overage of production and…
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Renewable fuels producer Neste has announced the appointment of Thorsten Lange as executive vice-president for renewable aviation, and member of the company’s executive committee. Lange will join Neste in February 2020 at the latest, and will report to president and CEO Peter Vanacker. He is moving to Neste from a position with German airline Lufthansa Group. “I am happy to have…
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The US could potentially produce enough energy by harnessing waste each year to power the states of Oregon and Washington, according to recent analysis from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers. The findings, published in the journal Nature Energy by UCLA industrial ecologist and energy economist Deepak Rajagopal and urban planning doctoral candidate Bo Liu, also show that…
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US renewable fuels producer Pacific Ethanol has released its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2019, with both sales and production impacted by the ‘current poor margin environment’. Pacific Ethanol reported net sales of $346.3 million (€313.6 million) for the second quarter of this year, down from last year’s sales. Total gallons sold in the quarter stood at…
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A coalition comprised of agricultural and biofuels industry stakeholders has filed a petition with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, requesting the court to lift a stay placed on a 2018 petition asking the court to protect the renewable fuels industry from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The petition ask the EPA to revise its Renewable Fuel Standard…
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Brazilian meat processing company JBS plans to invest in a biodiesel plant through its processed foods unit, Seara Alimentos. Seara will invest R$180 million ($47.5 million; €42.6 million) in a new plant, which will convert fat and scraps from pork and poultry into biodiesel, Reuters reported. The new plant will be located in Brazil’s Santa Catarina state, and will double JBS’s…
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Renewable diesel producer Neste has celebrated the expansion of capacity at its refinery in Singapore with the laying of a foundation stone. Construction on the expansion project started at the beginning of 2019. The €1.4 billion investment will be used to expand Neste’s renewable products production capacity in Singapore. “The Singapore expansion marks an important step in the…
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The Aviation Initiative for Renewable Energy in Germany (aireg) has welcomed two new members: Rosneft Deutschland and BP Europa. Founded in 2011, the German initiative aims to promote the research, production and usage of sustainable aviation fuels in Germany. Members of aireg include universities, research institutions, plant manufacturers and operators, petroleum companies, engine and…
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Two US Senators have renewed their bipartisan efforts to repeal the ethanol mandate under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), claiming that it negatively impacts the environment and increases prices. Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) have introduced the Restore Environmental Sustainability to Our Renewable Energy (RESTORE) Act, which would abolish the ethanol mandate…
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Air Liquide company Airgas has opened its new liquid carbon dioxide and dry ice facility, which will convert gaseous carbon dioxide (CO2) produced as a by-product of ethanol into liquid CO2. Located in Stockton, California, the facility will capture and recycle all process and rain water that comes into contact with equipment to create a zero discharge site. CO2 in gas form, which would…
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