Refineries in the Iowa, US, will begin full operations using feedstocks other than corn kernels. Iowa has two major cellulosic plants under construction that will use corn plant leaves, stalks and cobs to produce ethanol. Project Liberty, a plant in Emmetsburg built by Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based ethanol-maker POET and biotechnology company Royal DSM. The $250 million... [Read More]

Green Fuel is setting up an ethanol project in Zambia, which will see the company build a $500-million facility. The biodiesel processor supplier entered into a partnership with the Development Trust of Zimbabwe (DTZ) resulting in the creation of a company called Zimbabwe Bio-Energy in 2008. It is this company that will implement the ethanol project. The move comes after... [Read More]

As demand coming from the US slows, biofuels growth in the 2013-18 period will be modest compared to the 2008-13 period, says the Freedonia Group report. Asia, the Africa/Mideast region and Central and South America will drive global biofuels demand to 115 million tonnes in 2018, up 18.7 million tonnes from 2013 figures, reports the Freedonia Group's new study, 'World... [Read More]

Secure energy margins have led to Red River Energy's South Dakota plant coming back online. The 25 million gallon facility has been idle since early 2013. 'The margins are good in ethanol, corn is abundant at this point with a record crop coming in. We're optimistic about our future here. We have to get up and operating at full capacity, but we see good margins being a... [Read More]

Renewable energy specialist Summit Group will construct a corn ethanol production facility in Brazil. The Iowa-based Summit Group will develop a $140 million (€107 million) plant near Lucas do Rio Verde in Mato Grosso.Summit Group will use ICM's technology to power its 50 million gallon per year Brazilian ethanol plant. Initial work on the plant will begin within... [Read More]

Lurgi, a member of the Air Liquide group of companies, has completed construction and start-up of an ethanol facility for Calgren Renewable Fuels. The Calgren plant is currently the only ethanol plant operating in the US state of California. Calgren and Lurgi worked together to design a plant that optimises the plant's energy efficiency, while producing value added co-products. The... [Read More]

There is still no approval admitting DDGs into China with Syngenta's MIR 162 trait, despite the last date for departure delayed from 24 July to 18 August. A considerable amount of tonnes remain on contract, but have not yet shipped. Those contracted values significantly exceed their value in the current marketplace. Along with DDGs shippers, the Chinese General Administration... [Read More]

Switzerland-based MBP Group, a waste fats and oils collector, has earned the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials sustainability certification for its commitment in waste material collection, commerce and distribution. 'Sustainability was—and still remains—a key ingredient of our business activities and its success. We are pleased to see that our company... [Read More]

Biofuels technology providers ICM has commissioned and started production at a dry-mill corn ethanol plant in Cordoba, Argentina. The plant excelled the initial production capacity of 400 cubic metres per day during the testing period. The facility completed construction and installation in February 2014.... [Read More]

Nurul Darni, Asia biofuels editor, Argus Media, is contributing in our September/October issue and will be speaking at this year's Tank Storage Asia on the 24th – 25th September, in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. In our upcoming issue, Darni takes a look at recent biodiesel and ethanol developments taking place in Asia. By 2030, Biofuels will account for up to 14%... [Read More]

For all of our subscribers out there, the September/October issue of Biofuels International magazine will soon arrive at your desks. This issue is full to the brim with interviews and technical articles from those in the know, including Boeing, Airbus, Honeywell, Butamax, Novozymes and Incbio, to name just a few. Asia has been a hive of activity in 2014 and we have got... [Read More]

Valero Renewable Fuels Company, international transportation fuels manufacturer, has restarted its recently purchased Mount Vernon ethanol plant. The Mount Vernon plant is the 11th corn ethanol plant in Valero Renewables' system and its second in Indiana. With an annual production capacity of 110 million gallons, the plant uses Delta-T technology that is similarly used... [Read More]

Algae Systems has finished constructing its biofuel production demonstration project in Daphne, Alabama. The company uses a process that combines wastewater with algae to cultivate the world's first energy-producing wastewater treatment process, using carbon-negative technologies to produce biofuels. 'This is the first demonstration of producing clean water and biofuel... [Read More]

Indonesia Sekawan Intipratama, a company predominantly involved in the coal mining industry, plans to invest $239 million (€181 million) in an ethanol plant in East Kalimantan province in 2015. Swiss-based ProCone will provide technology for the facility, which aims to produce 60,000 metric tonne per year of ethanol, using coal as its feedstock. The plant is expected... [Read More]

Colorado State University (CSU) researches Camelina sativa, a feedstock that could be used to power vehicles. CSU scientists are conducting a three-year study on Camelina sativa to study its potential as an economically viable and environmentally sustainable biofuels crop. In July, the research team led by CSU agriculture professor John McKay was presented with a $1.5... [Read More]

The White House is evaluating a mandate sent by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), outlining planned quotas for renewable fuels. These are confidential at present, as the Office of Management and Budget carries out a final interagency review, offering biofuels producers, refiners and gives refiners, biofuel producers and other shareholders a final chance to comment... [Read More]