Enerkem, a Canadian waste-to-biofuels and chemicals producer, has raised CAD152.6 million (€103.7 million) in financing.  Simultaneously, the company announced it has initiated the production of biomethanol from non-recyclable household garbage at the Enerkem Alberta Biofuels facility in Edmonton, Canada. ‘I must say a huge thank you to our... [Read More]

Indonesia's state-owned energy company Pertamina expects demand for fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) to jump almost six-fold to 4.8 million kilolitre in 2016 from an estimate of 830,000kl in 2015. The projection is in accordance with the government's road map to increase FAME content in biodiesel to 20%, the company says in a statement. The mandatory mix of FAME in biodiesel... [Read More]

Harbour Marina at Lake Pomme de Terre in Missouri has become the first US marina to sell petrol blended with Gevo's renewable isobutanol at the pump. Introduction of the initial isobutanol and petrol fuel blend took place at the beginning of September on the marina docks. Lake Pomme de Terre is located in one of the premier recreational boating regions of the country. Gevo... [Read More]

Researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have successfully introduced an engineered lipid remodelling system into a transgenic plant to enhance biofuel production. Triacylglycerols from plants can be used to produce environmentally friendly and renewable biodiesel, and there has been great interest in using genetic engineering to enhance triacylglycerol... [Read More]

US ethanol production hit a 16-week low last week, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data analysed by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). In the past week, ethanol production averaged at 948,000 barrels per day, equalling 39.82 million gallons a day. These numbers are down 4,000 barrels a day from the week before and the lowest in 16 weeks overall. The... [Read More]

Perstorp has announced its intent to acquire an existing biodiesel plant in Fredrikstad, Norway. ‘We have ambitious growth plans for biofuels, now and in the future, and we see how the demand will increase to meet the global climate challenges,’ says Lars Lind, vice president – biofuels at Perstorp. ‘In order to grow with the market, we need to... [Read More]

The Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung prompts the country’s relevant agencies to undertake measures to boost the production and consumption of E5 and E10 ethanol-blended petrol. The Southeast Asian country has had an implementation plan in effect since 2012 to promote environmental protection and national energy security, but progress has been slow as consumers... [Read More]

Vireol Bio Energy has ceased production at its 62 million gpy ethanol plant in Hopewell, Virginia, US after the 48% plummet in crude oil prices in the past year dragged gasoline prices down with it and placed a cap on ethanol. US Federal Standards require petrol producers to blend their final product with 10% ethanol. EPA’s proposal earlier this year to reduce ethanol consumption... [Read More]

Chicago, US-based Lakeview Energy has purchased the assets of the former Producer’s Choice Soy Energy facility in Moberly, Missouri. Lakeview made the purchase with the aid of a $3.3 million (€2.9 million) loan from the USDA Rural Energy for America programme. With a further $5 million investment, Lakeview plans to upgrade the 10 million gpy capacity biodiesel... [Read More]

Deinove, a French biotech company developing processes for producing biofuels and bio-based chemicals by using Deinococcus bacteria, has produced muconic acid in their laboratory using second-generation substrates. This July Deinove announced that it had deployed a new R&D platform dedicated to the production of muconic acid, a versatile chemical intermediate... [Read More]

Scientists have mutated variants of a certain fungus to double the production of endoxylanase enzymes, which are used in bioethanol production. The discovery comes as part of a hunt for more cost effective methods to convert biomass into ethanol, particularly in the form of easier production of enzymes used to fire the conversion process. These enzymatic catalysts are... [Read More]

Project Solaris in South Africa has earned the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) certification for the production of the energy rich tobacco crop ‘Solaris’ in the Limpopo region of South Africa. Solaris is a nicotine-free and GMO-free crop variety that yields significant amounts of sustainable oil that can be used as feedstock for bio jet fuel. Project... [Read More]

Agro BioFuels and BioEnergy, a joint venture between the US branch of India-based Agro Pulping Machinery and JatDiesel, is set to invest $11 million (appr. €9.8 million) in a 15 million gpy biodiesel plant near Dayton, Ohio, US. The plant, once finished, will produce fuel from oils and fats derived from plants and animals. The company has addressed concerns about... [Read More]

Olleco, the UK's largest converter of used cooking oil (UCO) and food waste into renewable energy, has successfully acquired Convert2Green. This acquisition is in line with Olleco's goal to achieve 100% resource recovery for the food industry. The move will increase the number of Olleco's depots to 17 across the UK and will enable it to improve efficiencies and coverage... [Read More]

Over its 10-year lifespan, the Renewable Fuel Standard's (RFS) requirement to substitute biofuels for fossil fuels has displaced nearly 1.9 billion barrels of foreign oil and reduced US transportation-related carbon emissions by 589.33 million tonnes. These are the findings of an analysis released by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). Brent Erickson, executive... [Read More]

Argent Energy, a waste-to-biodiesel producer, has commissioned BDI BioEnergy International with the implementation of phase two of its multi-feedstock plant in the UK. Within seven months of work starting on the BDI High FFA Esterification unit, Argent energy commissioned the second phase.   This technology makes it possible to convert commercial and industrial waste... [Read More]