News

In Porto Marghera, Italy, Eni has started collecting used cooking oil (UCO) from the homes of its employees to be used as feedstock for advanced biofuels. According to the Italian oil and gas giant, it is the first company in the world to take a traditional refinery and successfully transform it into a biorefinery using proprietary technology. The move to start collecting UCO forms part of a…
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French biodiesel producer Avril’s plants are running at full capacity for the first time since June, according to Reuters. However, the company’s CEO says it could soon be pushed back to part-time operation due to Argentine imports. The boost in production is explained by strong oil prices and a surge in biodiesel demand, Reuters reports. Avril is Europe’s largest biodiesel…
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Wilmar International has said that the implementation of the biodiesel programme in Indonesia has proven that there should be no concern that the use of biodiesel will affect vehicle engines.   After concerns were raised by Malaysian hauliers and automotive manufacturers on the implementation of the biodiesel programme in Malaysia, Wilmar International’s country head in Indonesia,…
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Environmental and conservation groups have filed a petition with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alleging it has ‘illegally’ allowed millions of acres of wildlife habitat to be converted into corn and soybean crops since the implementation of biofuel mandates in the US in 2007. The petition follows a report EPA itself submitted to Congress, revealing vast habitat loss…
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Reuters is reporting that the European Commission has proposed reinstating anti-subsidy duties on imports of Argentine biodiesel. A surge in biodiesel shipments from Latin America into the EU has threatened the industry and pushed the proposed renewal from the European Commission, Reuters claims, citing an EU document seen by the publication’s journalists. The latest development marks…
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In a Thursday 1 February interview with Fox News, US Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt said that the country’s biofuel policy was in need of an overhaul. The EPA administrator’s comments were in response to the recent bankruptcy of Philadelphia Energy Solutions, the largest oil refiner on the East Coast. When announcing its bankruptcy, the oil refiner pointed…
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The project will see the co-generation of fuel and power, and comes as part of a wider push to industrialise Nigeria’s agriculture. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Kogi State Government for the development of a cane-fed bioethanol plant. Kogi is a region about 200km south of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. This…
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New insights into how plants build cellulose could have import implications for the production of biofuels, according to new research from Penn State University. "Cellulose is the single most abundant biopolymer on earth," said Ying Gu, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State and senior author of the paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of…
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India’s Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the 2018 National Policy on Biofuels. Reduced dependency of imports and environmental benefits are among the goals for the legislation. The policy differentiates between ‘basic biofuels’ and ‘advanced biofuels’: the former covering first generation bioethanol and biodiesel, the latter…
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California based Fuel Delivery Services (FDS) has switched to Neste MY Renewable Diesel, the Finnish renewable fuels producer is reporting. FDS is a Stockton, CA based bulk transporter of refined petroleum products. The company provides transportation services to a variety of clients including major oil companies. Starting March 2017, FDS performed a test of Neste’s renewable diesel in 20…
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Researchers claim to have found a way to protect yeast from damage inflicted by pretreatment chemicals in the biofuel production process. Pretreatment chemicals are used in biofuel facilities to accelerate the breakdown of plant material, however, these chemical are sometimes poisonous to the yeasts that turn the plant sugars into fuel. In a study published in the journal Genetics, a team from…
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In a public release by the University of Michigan (UM), research professor at the U-M Institute, John DeCicco argues that growing and harvesting bioenergy and biofuels from crops is a ‘poor use of land’. The UM researcher said that untampered green areas such as forests and fields isolate carbon dioxide effectively enough, and that they are ‘one of society’s best…
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A technology to produce biofuel within ‘mobile production units’ has been developed by scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems (IMM). 12 research groups from the European Union’s Biogo project were involved in the development. The technology itself uses ingredients from local forests. “Wood waste and tree bark are available in great…
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Texas-based fuel producer Benefuel announced that they have begun a site search in Canada after British Columbia’s recently publicised climate change plan included an expanded ‘Low Carbon Fuel Standard’ incentivising biofuel producers. According to a press release, the initiative has ‘assisted’ Benefuel in prioritising its expansion efforts, given that British…
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