News

April 20, Ireland’s Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment published a policy statement confirming its intention to increase the biofuel obligation to 10% from 1 January 2019 and to 11% in 2020. Ireland’s Biofuels Obligation Scheme requires suppliers of road transport fuel to ensure a certain proportion of the fuel that they place on the market is…
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Few topics in business today stir more debate than blockchain and digital coins. It is important, however, to not get distracted by the hype and polarisation of that discussion. Blockchain and digital coins are technologies that can bring important changes to the commodities markets, and for that reason are receiving growing attention and investment from players in the oil, natural gas, metals,…
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Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has announced that its biodiesel facility in Mainz is to temporarily cease production. A representative for the company told Biofuels International over email that production was planned to come to a halt at the end of March, ‘once all sales have been satisfied.’ The original statement announcing the temporary cessation of production said it was…
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The US Department of Energy Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkley Lab) have discovered an enzyme that enables the production of a renewable alternative to toluene, a petroleum-based octane booster in gasoline that sells 29 million tons per year. According to the researchers, the enzyme enables the production of aromatic hydrocarbon biofuel from…
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A bipartisan plan is to be unveiled March 28 for support biofuels at a national level to address the country’s increasingly pressing energy security concerns and to systemically promote the development, production and use of biofuels. The industry body Bioenergy Australia is throwing its weight behind Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and the Shadow Minister for…
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The International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted that unfairly dumped biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia have unfairly harmed US industry. ITC voted 4 – 0 in favour of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Fair Trade Coalition’s position that the industry has suffered because of the imports. According to NBB, the ITC decision means antidumping orders can be issued later in…
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The three smallest of Andeavor’s ten oil refineries are now exempt from US biofuels legislation. The ‘hardship’ waiver is meant to protect smaller refiners from being disproportionately impacted by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Last year, Andeavor posted $1.5 billion in net profits. The exemption allows Andeavor to disregard legislation requiring it to blend ethanol into…
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Scientists have created a genetically modified yeast that could quicken the path towards synthetic yeasts for a number of industrial applications, including the creation of bioethanol. The Tufts University researchers have created a yeast that can more efficiently consume xylose, in turn enabling the yeast to grow faster and to higher cell densities, according to their study, published in the…
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The US trade association is calling out the EPA following court approval of the agency’s settlement with the bankrupt refiner Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) and its granting of a ‘small refiner’ waiver for refining giant Andeavor. Damage to the environment and to agricultural communities are among Growth Energy’s complaints about these exemptions from the Renewable…
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Researchers at the National University of Singapore have identified a species of bacteria that converts cellulose into biobutanol, a replacement for petrol. The scientists first discovered and cultivated the bacterium in 2015 by isolating it from mushroom crop residue. The team claims that producing biofuels with the microorganism could replace traditional processes for producing biofuels due to…
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A new, £5 million project is set to develop the bioeconomy across Yorkshire, the Humber region and the Tees Valley in the north of England. Dubbed the THYME (Teesside, Hull and York - Mobilising Bioeconomy Knowledge Exchange) project, the three year initiative is being led by the University of York. It’s aiming to ‘build on’ expertise and innovation in the…
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The UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published its Energy Trends data for 2017. The report includes in depth statistics on the country’s biofuels industry. According to the report, overall biofuel consumption in transport was down 0.5% on the previous year, falling from 1,467 million litres to 1,460 million litres. However, year on year, biofuel…
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German renewable fuel producer Natural Energy West is to reduce its biodiesel output by 50%. According to Reuters, the company is making the cuts in response to surging biodiesel imports from Indonesia and Argentina to the EU. Reuters reports that the company will cut output ‘immediately and for an indefinite period’. Natural Energy West produces around 240,000 tonnes of biodiesel a…
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