News

Plant cell walls contain a renewable, nearly limitless supply of sugar that can be used in the production of chemicals and biofuels. However, retrieving these sugars isn't all that easy. Imidazolium ionic liquid (IIL) solvents are one of the best sources for extracting sugars from plants. But the sugars from IIL-treated biomass are inevitably contaminated with residual IILs that inhibit growth…
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Last week, US Senators Deb Fischer and Tammy Duckworth introduced the Renewable Fuel Standard Integrity Act 2019, which addresses timing and transparency issues related to the small refinery exemption (SRE) programme under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The bipartisan bill would set a deadline for refiners to submit petitions for exemptions for the RFS to ensure that waivers are prospectively…
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Danish shipping giant Maersk is now offering carbon neutral biofuel under pilot projects to customers deploying sustainable supply chain solutions. According to Maersk, the biofuel is the same blend of used cooking oil that has already been tested and validated in a trial with the Dutch Sustainability Growth Coalition and Shell, carried out earlier this year. H&M Group is the first customer…
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Research commissioned by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has shown that air passengers support the development of new technologies and sustainable aviation fuels to reduce aviation carbon emissions. These two proposals were preferred over the implementation of ‘environmental’ taxes, such as a Dutch proposal for a European Union-wide tax on air tickets. According to…
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Norwegian state-owned airport operator Avinor has partnered with Quantafuel to purchase sustainable aviation fuel derived from domestic biomass. According to Avinor, the biofuel will be produced in a pilot plant, which will be partly funded by Norwegian investment bank ENOVA. Avinor has committed to purchase fuel for NOK 8 million (€827,505). “Sustainable aviation fuel is essential to…
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Maas Companies has announced the auction of Global Fuels’ $11 million (€9.67 million) biodiesel plant, located in southeastern Missouri, US. The facility, which has a capacity of 5 million gallons of biodiesel per year, was built in 2007 with an initial capacity of 3.1 million gallons per year. The capacity was increased after a technology upgrade in 2013, which also enabled feedstock…
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Renewable Energy Group (REG) has announced it will set up a Monarch Fueling Station at its biodiesel plant near Newton, Iowa, US. The habitat for monarch butterflies will cover approximately one and a half acres of land. According to REG, the biorefinery will initially spray the area to eradicate non-native grasses this summer and again in the autumn, before carrying out dormant seeding of native…
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Classification service provider the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has published its ‘Advisory on Gas and Other Low Flashpoint Fuels’, to offer guidance on current technologies, regulatory requirements and operational considerations for adopting gas and low flashpoint fuels. “The majority of the deep-sea shipping fleet will be using conventional and emerging lower sulphur…
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Japan’s largest airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced in June that it has signed an offtake agreement with LanzaTech for the purchase of sustainable aviation fuel. The agreement targets 2021 for the delivery of the fuel, according to the company, and is part of the airline’s efforts to minimise its environmental impact and meet sustainable development goals. "ANA has always been…
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North American biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group (REG) has launched a new website that offers resources about biodiesel and renewable diesel. Educational, product and technical information is available on regi.com to those wanting to learn more about cleaner burning fuels. “For more than 20 years, REG has been transforming renewable resources into cleaner fuels to meet the growing…
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A team of researchers from South Korea has developed a new strategy to efficiently produce fatty acids and biofuels from glucose. In a study published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, researchers from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have shown how glucose and oleaginous microorganisms can be transformed into microbial diesel fuel, through direct fermentative…
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Waste to bioproducts producer Greenbelt Resources has teamed up with New Age Renewable Energy to offer a sustainable solution for processing dairy industry wastes into bioproducts. The recently signed technology collaboration agreement will see NARE’s fermentation formulation combined with Greenbelt’s ECOsystem model, which converts food, beverage and agricultural industry wastes into…
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Flint Hills Resources has announced its decision to halt production at its Duonix biodiesel plant in Beatrice, Nebraska, US, as first reported by the Beatrice Daily Sun. The decision to idle the 50 million gallon per year biodiesel plant was made due to tough economics driven by low soybean prices. “Corn oil was less expensive,” Michael Wilhelmi, manager of communications and…
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The Finnish government has this week introduced its Government Programme, which includes ambitious climate targets and a goal of achieving a carbon neutral country by 2035. A key element of reducing emissions from the transportation sector is a target of 30% biofuels share in aviation, which will be achieved through a blending obligation. “This is a significant goal, enabling Finland to…
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