Joule, a US producer of liquid fuels from recycled CO2, has announced that its fuel grade Sunflow-E ethanol has been registered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for commercial use in E10 and E15 gasoline blends. Earlier this year Joule announced that Sunflow-E had successfully passed the tests for ASTM D4806 and DIN EN 15376 certifications, US... [Read More]

A new $1 million (appr. €890,000) relationship between Michigan State University (MSU) and ExxonMobil will expand research designed to progress the fundamental science required to advance algae-based fuels. The overall goal of the partnership is to improve the efficiency of photosynthesis in microalgae to produce biofuels and bioproducts. The key to bioenergy is the... [Read More]

  The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) will lead a $13.5 million (€12 million) multi-institutional research effort to improve sorghum as a sustainable source for biofuel production. Funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), the five-year grant takes a comprehensive approach to better understand how plants and microbes interact and to learn which sorghum... [Read More]

Chemical engineers from Iran have found a way to produce biodiesel from castor oil without the need for extra petrochemical methanol using a biorefinery set-up. Producing biodiesel from vegetable oils is not completely renewable, as the standard transesterification process requires the use of methanol, which is usually produced from petrochemical sources. The researchers,... [Read More]

Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers and external collaborators have synthesised and characterised a new DNA-templated gold nanocluster (AuNC) that could resolve a critical methodological barrier for efficient biofuel cell design. Ligands, molecules that bind to a central metal atom, are necessary to form stable nanoclusters. For this study, the researchers chose... [Read More]

The Biofat project, a microalgae-to-biofuel FP7 demonstration project, has confirmed algae’s potential as a sustainable biofuel source with low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The project has concentrated on improving and demonstrating sustainability in the process, considering both environmental (e.g. use of marine strains to limit freshwater use) and economic (e.g.... [Read More]

In the US, California's Air Resources Board (ARB) has listed biodiesel as the lowest-carbon fuel in the state’s revised Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS). The new standard affirms biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% and often by as much as 81% when compared with petroleum, giving biodiesel the best carbon score among all liquid... [Read More]

Wood-based BioVerno diesel by Finland’s UPM has been found to significantly reduce harmful tailpipe emissions, the company reports. A number of engine and vehicle tests have been carried out across key research institutes, such as VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, University of Vaasa in Finland, and at FEV, internationally recognised vehicle engineering company... [Read More]

Dutch grain trader Nidera has suffered a loss in biofuels and ceased working in the business due to the actions of a ‘rogue trader’. The company declined to provide a figure of the suffered losses, but said Nidera will still post a profit for the fiscal year ending this month. CEO Ton van der Laan says the company nonetheless suffered significant loss and the... [Read More]

Hippo Valley Estates, a sugar producer based in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe, has announced it has reached an ethanol production capacity of 41 million litres per month and is now applying for a licence to supply the local market. Zimbabwe requires a monthly supply of 50 million litres of petro, of which 7,5 million litres is ethanol under the country’s E15 blending mandate. Hippo... [Read More]

The state House of Representatives in Pennsylvania, US, has voted to remove the ethanol-blending mandate for petrol sold in the state. In 2008, Pennsylvania set a requirement for sold petrol to be blended with a minimum of 10% ethanol whenever in-state ethanol production exceeded 350 million gallons. However, Republican State Representative Seth Grove says the in-state... [Read More]

US-based Algenol has signed a memorandum of understanding MOU South China’s Fujian Zhongyuan New Energy Company (ZYNE) to develop projects throughout Southern China, utilising carbon emissions to create renewable fuels. The goal of the two companies’ cooperation is to provide solutions for accessing clean air, cleaning water, and providing sustainable fuels,... [Read More]

Global biofuels capacity will grow to 61 billion gallons per year (BGY) in 2018, up from 55.1 BGY in 2014, according to Lux Research. Ethanol and biodiesel will continue to dominate with 96% of the capacity in 2018, but novel fuels and novel feedstocks will be major drivers of capacity growth. Novel fuels and novel feedstocks will grow at a rapid 27% and 16% compound... [Read More]

Locomotive producer Reloc – Electroputere VFU Craiova, part of the railway group Grampet, has developed the first locomotive in Romania which runs exclusively on pure biodiesel or vegetable oil. The engine is equivalent to a traditional diesel-powered engine in power and performance, but with much lower polluting emissions, the company says. The locomotive is still... [Read More]

The Danish biotech company Novozymes has announced the launch of a new enzyme for ethanol producers who want to reduce their use of chemicals without sacrificing yield. Liquozyme LpH is an alpha-amylase effective at low pH that thins the mash by breaking down starch into shorter dextrin chains. A more fluid mash ensures more efficient operational performance for ethanol... [Read More]

Nidera, an agriculture supply company, has earned the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) certification for the production and trading of biofuels from used cooking oil (UCO). Nidera, based in the Netherlands, operates worldwide as a commodity service and solutions provider for the global agricultural markets and has an active presence in more than 18 countries. The... [Read More]