News

Renewable diesel producer Neste has published its financial results for the first half of 2017. The Finnish company reports a continuation of its ‘solid’ performance alongside record sales volumes in renewables. These results have come despite the uncertainty in early 2017 surrounding the US Blender’s Tax Credit. "Neste's solid performance continued in the second quarter. Oil…
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The Canadian government is set to invest $2.6 million (€1.8 million) into Sustane, a Halifax, Nova Scotia based waste-to-energy company. Sustane claims to have developed a new process which converts municipal solid waste into clean burning fuel and other recycled products. The investment will be used to scale up Sustane’s technology, supporting the creation of a demonstration facility…
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Green Plains, a Nebraska-based, US, ethanol producer, has reported a second-quarter loss for the three months ended 30 June, 2017, after profit margins collapsed amid abundant supplies. The company announced that it had a loss of $16.4 million (€13.83 million) for the second quarter compared with a net income of $8.2 million for the same period in 2016. Revenue was at $886.3 million for the…
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Scientists from an Oak Ridge National Laboratory-led research team have developed a simple method to convert used cooking oil into biofuel. Bizarrely, the system uses reusable carbon material derived from old rubber tyres. The Oak Ridge team’s approach combines modified, recovered carbon with sulphuric acids, which is then mixed with free fatty acids in household vegetable oil to create…
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US researchers are examining discarded papayas as part of a zero-waste system to produce algal oils for biodiesel. In Hilo, Hawaii, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant pathologist Lisa Keith is leading an effort to produce biodiesel using a type of green algae known as Auxenochlorella protothecoides (formerly Chlorella protothecoides). She is also using the pulp of discarded…
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The Biofuels International Conference, a world leading biofuels event, will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 4 and 5 October 2017, covering the whole biofuels supply chain. The show will focus on all the new developments and the latest challenges. Topics covered in the seminars include global policy uncertainty, reintroducing E10, RED II and the future of the bioethanol market. For the…
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has held a public hearing on the proposal for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and has heard the views of industry experts. US trade body National Biodiesel Board (NBB) had several witnesses testify before the EPA staff and advocate for higher volumes of advanced biofuels and biomass-based diesel. “The current numbers short-change the progress…
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Nine EU Member States have asked the European Commission (EC) for permission to pollute above national limits set in EU law, according to the European Environmental Bureau (EBB). Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland and Luxembourg have all asked for the limits that should have been met in 2015 to be raised so that they no longer appear to have breached them. The…
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The Biofuels International Conference, a world leading biofuels event, will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 4 and 5 October 2017, covering the whole biofuels supply chain. The show will focus on all the new developments and the latest challenges. Topics covered in the seminars include global policy uncertainty, reintroducing E10, REDII, and the future of the bioethanol market. For the first…
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The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was mistaken to use the methodology it did for lowering the 2016 renewable fuel standard. The decision is being hailed as a major victory for the biofuels industry. The ruling was made on Friday (28th July, 2017). This decision was in response to a joint petition filed in January…
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According to trade body Renewable Energy Association (REA), the UK government should consider enforcing E10 to boost the biofuels industry. The UK’s biofuel industry employs more than 10,000, largely in the North-East of England. ‘Warning of closures’ More than £1bn (€800 million) has been invested in existing production facilities, yet the industry is warning of…
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Scientists in Russia have used high-resolution mass spectrometry to determine the composition of a biofuel obtained from the microalgae Spirulina platensis. Two biofuel fractions obtained using a special algal mass treatment method were studied, allowing the researchers to prove algae biofuel has little in common with oil in terms of composition. Published in the Journal of Mass Spectrometry,…
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The European Commission (EC) has postponed a vote designed to set its response to Argentina's successful World Trade Organization (WTO) challenge to EU anti-dumping duties on biodiesel imports, according to media reports. The vote was postponed on Thursday 27th July, 2017. The current anti-dumping duties for Argentina amount to about 25% and in the case of Indonesia around 19%. This was set…
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Los Angeles is to transition to a fully electric, zero-emissions bus fleet by 2030, according to recently announced plans. The Californian city has a reputation for extreme bouts of smog, something city authorities hope the electricity transition will help to alleviate. 2,200 vehicles will be purchased as part of the transition, which is expected to last ten years and cost $1 billion (€854…
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