News

According to Reuters The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to propose new targets for the final three years of the nation’s renewable fuel programme in January. The new targets will replace the ‘ambitious’ decade-old goals that were set by Congress. The planned reset of the US Renewable Fuel Standard is likely to cause animosity between two large biofuel producers.…
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The world’s largest chemical firm BASF announced that it has started the production of methanol based on renewable raw materials according to the biomass balance approach. Named EU-REDcert-methanol, the product is made from second-generation raw feedstocks and uses waste as well as residual materials. BASF claims that as a result of the methanol production, the final product reduces the…
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The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has outlined how the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) small refinery waivers have caused ‘clear destruction’ to ethanol’s demand and price. Supported by new analysis conducted by the RFA, the report looks at how the increasing numbers of small refinery exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) under former EPA…
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Biorefineries are indispensable for hitting zero CO2 emissions, writes Novozymes’ Thomas Schrøder This article originally appears in the November/December issue of Biofuels International. Sign-up for a free copy here. The world has been discussing climate change for years. In the meantime, global temperatures have continued to rise at an alarming pace. Scientists now say[1] the world…
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Glycerol waste from the biodiesel production process could be ‘simply’ converted into a clean burning sustainable fuel, according to new research from scientists at the University of Miskolc, Hungary, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, the researchers have investigated using glycerol carbonate, generated from the excess…
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Reuters reports that on the 26th of November Malaysia announced that it intends to start phasing in a higher biodiesel mandate starting from next month. The new rule will be officially put into place from February 2019 as the country hopes that this will bolster palm oil prices. The provisionally named B10 biodiesel programme intends to raise the minimum bio-content that local producers are meant…
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Chairman of the US House of Representatives’ House Ways & Means Committee, Kevin Brady has released a proposal to make technical corrections to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The National Biodiesel Board (NNB) reports that this is set to extend several tax credits, including the biodiesel and renewable diesel tax incentive. Brady’s proposal would mean that the current credit rate of…
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New research has evaluated a number of specific regions across the United States and concluded Florida is the best for algae production. According to a statement, the 19 month long study involving scientists from NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) and Arizona State University (ASU) concluded that Florida’s humidity and lack of dramatic swings between hot and cold made it the best…
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Reuters reports that BP’s chief executive for biofuels, Mario Lindenhayn has said that the latest biofuels policy in Brazil has improved the outlook for ethanol production. Brazil expects that by 2020 its policy, RenovaBio will be enacted. The policy should face no obstacles and won’ be stopped by the government of President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, Lindenhayn predicts. BP’s…
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Trials of the ‘world’s first’ zero emission drop-in marine biofuel have been completed, according to GoodFuels Marine. According to a statement, the trials of the fungible marine biofuel have been carried out with Norden, a bulker and tanker owner and operator. ‘Hundreds’ of tonnes of GoodFuels’ Bio-Fuel Oil were taken on-board the 37,000 deadweight tonne…
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The EPA announced that it has finalised the required renewable fuel volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2019, as well as biomass-based diesel for 2020. “Issuing the annual renewable volume obligations rule on time is extremely important to all stakeholders impacted by the Renewable Fuel Standard program,” said EPA acting administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Unlike the…
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According to the University of York, scientists who have been studying the digestive system of a wood-eating crustacean have recently discovered that it may have the answer to sustainably converting wood into biofuel. Small marine invertebrates, Gribble have evolved to perform an important ecological role eating the large amount of wood that has been washed into the sea from river estuaries.…
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German car manufacturer Volkswagen announced that its R33 BlueDiesel (R33) biofuel has successfully completed its testing phase. According to Volkswagen, the ‘innovative’ biodiesel can save upwards of 20% in carbon emissions compared to conventional fuels. R33 was developed by Volkswagen and the Coburg University among other project partners. The current supplier of the fuel is oil…
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In a press release, UK-based technology company Renovare announced that it has been awarded support by Innovate UK for aviation fuel testing through the Sustainable Aviation for Clean Growth programme. With an office based in London, the firm has developed a technology it describes as converting waste into biofuel that could ‘replace’ traditional fossil fuels. The technology itself…
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