News

At the G7 Environment, Energy and Oceans Ministerial Meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, global waste-to-biofuels and chemical producer Enerkem announced that it will be exploring opportunities to act against oceans plastic waste and marine litter. After constructing the ‘world’s first’ waste-to-biofuels facility in Edmonton, Canada, Enerkem is seeking to use its expertise and…
Read More »

In a bid to boost engagement with EU citizens on the subject of renewable ethanol, ePURE has launched a new website named Ethanol Facts. The site is designed to serve as an online resource for information about renewable ethanol. Specifically, it aims to help inform the public about the production, use, sustainability and importance of ethanol as a renewable fuel. ePURE, the European…
Read More »

The ongoing legal dispute between renewable fuels and chemicals company Aemetis and cellulosic and biorefining technology company Edeniq has “many years of litigation ahead”, according to Aemetis Chairman and CEO Eric McAfee. In a statement issued last week, Edeniq announced that Aemetis’ claims had been dismissed on summary judgement by Santa Clara Superior Court. Judge Peter…
Read More »

Japanese brewer Sapporo Holding has licensed Thailand-based fuel retailer PTG Energy to manufacture cassava-based bioethanol. The Nikkei Asian Review quoted Sapporo, when it said that “this will mark the world's first attempt at commercial production of ethanol from the pulp of the cassava, a plentiful Thai crop whose tuberous root is used to make tapioca”. Innotech will use…
Read More »

China’s exports are steadily falling as a share of gross domestic product in a decline that could soon make the country less reliant than India on sales abroad, according to the Financial Times. The shift highlights the growth in the Chinese domestic economy, which could make Beijing better able to withstand trade tensions under US president Donald Trump, who has threatened to hit the…
Read More »

Republican Party Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner has introduced two bills aimed at reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the national biofuels mandate. The bills call for the additional study and evaluation of the ethanol mandate . According to Sensenbrenner, this is to ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency’s “volume obligations are based in reality”. The…
Read More »

Iowa ethanol and biodiesel producers both set production records in 2016, processing a record amount of Iowa corn, soybean oil, animal fats and other feedstocks into clean-burning renewable fuels, according to a new report. As that economic activity flowed throughout Iowa, it left a significant impact, according to an economic impact study commissioned by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association…
Read More »

Investment in ethanol production from waste biomass could have great economic environmental benefits, according to a new study from researchers from the Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory. In this study, the researchers found that ethanol produced using waste biomass, such as dead or dying trees, is more cost-effective and could achieve higher benefits in the long term than…
Read More »

The long running controversy regarding palm oil is coming to a climax, with members of the European Parliament (MEPs) set to debate a report calling on the European Commission to phase out palm oil in biofuels. The controversial report also calls for a single certification scheme for the commodity to enter the EU market. Czech GUE (Confederal Group of the European United Left) member…
Read More »

The US International Trade Commission has announced it will start an investigation into imports of biodiesel from Indonesia and Argentina. In particular, the probe will look for evidence of dumping and subsidisation from the two countries, according to Reuters. A preliminary decision will be made by 8 May on whether biodiesel imports from Indonesia and Argentina are harming US biodiesel…
Read More »

The Advanced Biofuels Association (ABA) has joined forces with NATSO, the national association representing truckstops and travel plazas, to urge Congress to extend the biodiesel blender’s tax credit. In letters to Members of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, lawmakers are asked to refrain from changing the US’ existing biodiesel tax credit…
Read More »

A team of biologists and biochemists have successfully sequenced the genome of a green alga called Chromochloris zofingiensis. The single celled organism is one of the most prolific producers of a type of lipids called triacylglycerols, which are used in biofuel production. In a statement, the genome is labelled a ‘goldmine of data’. The new insights into the alga could lead to…
Read More »

Finnish advanced biofuels producer Neste is putting a large amount of resources into research on waste and residue raw materials and promoting the circular economy. In addition to biofuels, also bioplastics can be produced from waste and residues in the future. The company is also focusing its raw materials research on waste plastics as a substitute for crude oil in the manufacture of oil…
Read More »

The government of Queensland, Australia has announced plans for a new biorefinery in the state. The new facility, which will be built and operated by US company Amyris, suggests the drive to attract biorefinery investors to Queensland is starting to pay off. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, speaking in San Diego at the BIO2017 International Convention, said the planned biorefinery could…
Read More »