Amyris, a renewable energy provider, has designed microorganisms that convert plant sugars to a molecule called farnesene. Farnesene is then converted into a pure hydrocarbon through a secondary process. The resulting product, farnesane, can be blended with Jet A/A1 at 10% blends, in accordance with the revised ASTM standard. Amyris is currently producing renewable farnesene... [Read More]

The Brazilian government gets ready to test a higher percentage of ethanol in commercial petrol. Over the next two months, testers will analyse the viability of increasing the mandatory blend of the biofuel in petrol. Ethanol is currently blended into petrol at the maximum of 25%. Despite no information released on what higher blends will be measured, the cane industry... [Read More]

A $1.8 million (€1.3 million) federal grant has been awarded to Clinton, North Carolina, for its water and sewer equipment at the city's cellulosic biofuels refinery. The $200 million investment, which looks set to produce 20 million gallons per year of cellulosic biofuels, is expected to start production in October and be fully operational by the end of 2016. The... [Read More]

The European Renewable Ethanol Industry Association (ePURE) has published its first industry report, detailing both Europe's ethanol production and consumption. It also notes the opportunities and challenges the industry will face in the future and the influence the EU policy will have on the ethanol industry's status and growth. Rob Vierhout, ePURE's secretary general,... [Read More]

Amyris, an industrial bioscience company and energy providers Total have announced their drop-in jet fuel, which contains a 10% mix of renewable farnesane, under a newly revised ASTM standard. The duo have closely coordinated the release of the fuel with Boeing, who aims to see biofuels account for a 1% share in the total jet fuel supply within 10 years. The fuel has... [Read More]

Manchester Metropolitan University's biofuel research skyrockets following the longest worldwide commercial flight using sustainable fuels. Researchers at the Centre for Aviation Transport and the Environment (CATE) are members of a European team looking to send biofuel-fuelled planes around the world, which saw last month's flight set a new record. The team's latest flight... [Read More]

UPM has signed a sales agreement with oil and biofuels specailist, North European Oil Trade (NEOT), for the distribution of UPM's BioVerno renewable diesel. The sustainable energy provider's bioproduct is produced in its Lappeenranta Biorefinery. 'By blending it with fossil fuel we are able to fulfill part of the bio target set for Finnish transport, and increase Finland's... [Read More]

An Taisce, The National Trust for Ireland, has raised serious fears over the European Union's 'unsustainable' biofuels policy. The National Trust says that under the current EU policy, 70 million hectares of land will be needed to grow a sufficient amount of materials to reach the targets set. Ireland is also reliant on imported used cooking oil (UCO) as a source of biofuel,... [Read More]

As research into alternative energy has grown, Japan is now looking to replace crude oil. Makoto Watanabe, a phycologist and professor at the University of Tsukuba's Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, believes algae is the best alternative to algae. Watanabe works with two species of microalgae, the photosynthetic Botryococcus braunii, and Aurantiochytrium,... [Read More]

IncBio, a Portuguese engineering company specialising in automated ultrasonic biodiesel plants, has delivered a 120,000MT per year ultrasonic transesterification reactor to be installed in South America. The reactor will be used in an existing plant to increase its efficiency, while reducing its operational costs. 'Ultrasonic reactors not only speed up the conversion,... [Read More]

Clinton, Mississippi, has received $1.7 million (€1.3 million) to build a water and waste water infrastructure to aid the new Chemtex cellulosic biofuels plant. This project will use energy grasses to produce up to 20 million gallons per year of ethanol and bio-based chemicals in a bid to lower levels of greenhouse emissions. Its feedstock, Arundo Donax, which was... [Read More]

EU energy ministers have agreed to limit the production of biofuels made from food crops to 7%. The ministers' compromise is welcomed following last year's deadlock when European Union governments failed to agree on a proposed 5% cap on the use of biofuels based from crops used in transport fuel. The 7% compromise includes a 0.5% target aimed at second generation biofuels,... [Read More]

A research project, initiated at Qatar university (QU), is looking at the use of biofuels sourced from indigenous natural resources. QU vice-president for research Dr Hassan al-Derham hopes that the project, led by Qatar Biofuel project manager Hareb al-Jabri, contributes toward attaining the Qatar National Vision 2030. The project aims to produce clean and environmentally-friendly... [Read More]

Methes Energies, a renewable energy company, has chosen Genscape as its Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) provider for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) verification. In a statement Methes said 'Genscape's robust programme is registered with the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] and ensures our RINs will maintain a high standard for quality and reliability while providing... [Read More]

The EU Energy Council is expected to reach political agreement on measures to incorporate indirect land use change (ILUC) into EU biofuels policies on 13 June, which would effectively bring a close to almost two years of investment-blocking policy paralysis in the low carbon fuels sector. This is according to a statement from the UK's Renewable Energy Association (REA). Both... [Read More]

REG Synthetic Fuels, a wholly owned subsidiary of North American advanced biofuels producer Renewable Energy Group (REG), has acquired the remaining 50% ownership interest in Dynamic Fuels, previously owned by Tyson Foods. The following the closing of its purchase of substantially all of the assets of Syntroleum and the closing of this transaction with Tyson, REG now takes... [Read More]