News

Earlier this month, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its proposed biofuel targets for 2020, eliciting strong condemnation from industry players, including Growth Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE). The EPA’s proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) fails to include a mechanism to offset refinery exemptions…
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Louisiana State University (LSU) has published a research project that revealed a different internal structure of corn than originally thought, which can assist in optimising how the plant is converted to ethanol. “Our economy relies on ethanol, so it’s fascinating that we haven’t had a full and more precise understanding of the molecular structure of corn until now,” said…
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Albioma has announced the industrial commissioning of the first peak-load combustion turbine (CT) operating mostly on bioethanol in Saint-Pierre, Réunion Island. The commissioning will begin on the 25 February 2019 and the total cost of the investment is around €60 million ($68 million). The new CT is going to work with two types of fuel, 80% bioethanol distilled from sugarcane…
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Members of the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition (DSGC) have partnered with A. P. Moller – Maersk on the world’s largest maritime biofuel project. Dutch companies FrieslandCampina, Heineken, Philips, DSM, Shell and Unilever will work with Maersk on a pilot, which will use up to 20% sustainable second-generation biofuels to power a triple-E ocean vessel. According to the project…
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Irish university NUI Galway has announced the official opening of a new research laboratory to generate biofuels from waste products. A team of 25 PhD and post-doctoral researchers will work in the new laboratory under Professor Piet Lens in the Department of Microbiology. The researchers are undertaking a major research project to transform waste and wastewater treatment into production…
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Renewable fuels producer Neste has teamed up with AirBP to offer an option to refuel with sustainable aviation fuel at Caen airport in France. Produced by Neste, the sustainable alternative jet fuel (SAJF) is being supplied to Caen Carpiquet airport by AirBP. The fuel is produced from non-palm renewable and sustainable raw materials and, according to Neste, will produce up to 80% fewer emissions…
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Sapp Brothers Petroleum has added a 30,000 gallon biodiesel tank to its facility in Sioux City, Iowa, enabling wholesale buyers to purchase the fuel and sell it on to customers at gas stations, Siouxland News reports. "It's a green product, so it's a cleaner burning fuel, obviously the stock that makes this biodiesel is predominantly made out of soybeans which are locally grown and it's refined…
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The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has sent a letter to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) acting administrator Andrew Wheeler regarding the biomass-based biodiesel blending obligations for 2021 and 2022. With the obligations being calculated for a release in spring 2019, which is deemed in the letter as the ‘reset rule’, the RFA has requested that the EPA account…
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Oil and gas company Shell has joined as equity partners with Air Liquide, Enerkem, Nouryon and the Port of Rotterdam on a proposed Rotterdam project to make valuable chemical and biofuels out of non-recyclable waste materials. The W2C project will be the first advanced waste-to-chemicals facility in in Europe. General manager, Advanced Biofuels at Shell said Andrew Murfin, “Industry…
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US biofuels producer Gevo announced its financial results from the fourth quarter of 2018, which includes its outlook for 2019. Revenues in the three months ending December 31, 2018 were $6.6 million (€5.8 million) compared with $6.7 million in 2017’s final quarter. Gevo attributes the $0.1 million loss to lower production values combined with the elimination of a lease for feedstock…
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The EU is committed to carbon neutrality by the middle of the century, but long-term objectives require ambitious action today. The clean energy and climate package, including a set of legislations to ensure the EU is on track to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 40% by 2030, have now all been adopted. An important legislation is the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), which obliges…
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Advanced biofuels producer NEXT Renewable Fuels (NEXT) has entered into a long-term feedstock supply agreement with BP Products North America (BP). Under the agreement, NEXT will purchase approximately 2 million metric tons of renewable feedstocks annually for NEXT’s planned renewable diesel facility in Port Westward, Oregon, US. Feedstock supplied by BP will include used cooking oil,…
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Members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), have urged the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update an outdated environmental analysis on ethanol to improve trade. Research carried out by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that US ethanol lowers greenhouse gas emissions between 39-43% more…
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Finnair has announced its new service that allows customers to offset the CO2 emissions of their flights by supporting a CO2 emission reduction project. They will also be able to reduce emissions by buying biofuel. In December of last year, the company announced it had begun the first phase of its CO2 and biofuel offset service, selecting the partners that will collaborate on the…
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