News

Total has commenced production at the La Mède biorefinery in the southeast of France, reporting first production of biofuel. The former oil refinery has been converted into a ‘new energies’ facility through a project that began in 2015 with a total capital expenditure of €275 million. The La Mède facility includes: a biorefinery, with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes…
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Earlier this month, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its proposed biofuel targets for 2020, eliciting strong condemnation from industry players, including Growth Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE). The EPA’s proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) fails to include a mechanism to offset refinery exemptions…
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VERBIO Group subsidiary VERBIO Diesel Canada has completed the purchase of a biodiesel plant located in Dain City, Ontario, Canada. Previously announced in May, the purchase agreement was signed between VERBIO and Atlantic Biodiesel, subject to various conditions, which have now been satisfied. The biodiesel plant has an annual capacity of approximately 150,000 tonnes of biodiesel and 18,000…
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Biofuel supply chain company Eco-Energy has launched its Ethanol Logistics Service, extending the company’s current logistics management capabilities to a wider range of ethanol buyers and shippers. The new platform will provide customers with improved visibility and control over their ethanol supply chain performance, according to Eco-Energy. Eco-Energy’s technology is based on…
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US airline Delta has flown its first carbon-neutral delivery flight, using biofuels and carbon offsets, as the airline continues towards its goal of a 50% carbon emission reduction by 2050. Delta has teamed up with biofuel supplier Air BP for the provision of biofuels for an initial 20 delivery flights from the Airbus final assembly line in Mobile, Alabama, US. The Airbus aircraft are…
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The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California has fined American Biodiesel for violations of the Clean Water Act at the company’s site in the Port of Stockton. On 8 July, US District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller sentenced the producer to probation after American Biodiesel, also known as Community Fuels, admitted to allowing the discharge of industrial wastewater into the…
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Jan De Nul Group has announced its commitment to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 15% per year during maintenance dredging works at the Nieuwpoort marina in Belgium. Under a collaboration with the Flemish government, the company also intends to include a minimum requirement of 15% CO2 reduction in 80% of maintenance dredging contracts in Flanders by 2020. With this commitment, the…
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Enerkem’s waste-to-biofuel technology chemically recycles carbon molecules in waste into added-value products Imagine giving your living room a makeover using a bright new coat of paint – made from rubbish. Fiction? Not anymore. As countries around the world look for ways to transition from a linear economy – in which we take, make, use and dispose – to a circular economy…
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An international group of researchers has developed a two-step method to more efficiently break down carbohydrates into single sugar components, an essential process in the production of green fuel. Led by scientists at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) in Japan, the researchers published their results in April in the American Chemical Society Journey, Industrial &…
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Plant cell walls contain a renewable, nearly limitless supply of sugar that can be used in the production of chemicals and biofuels. However, retrieving these sugars isn't all that easy. Imidazolium ionic liquid (IIL) solvents are one of the best sources for extracting sugars from plants. But the sugars from IIL-treated biomass are inevitably contaminated with residual IILs that inhibit growth…
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Last week, US Senators Deb Fischer and Tammy Duckworth introduced the Renewable Fuel Standard Integrity Act 2019, which addresses timing and transparency issues related to the small refinery exemption (SRE) programme under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The bipartisan bill would set a deadline for refiners to submit petitions for exemptions for the RFS to ensure that waivers are prospectively…
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Danish shipping giant Maersk is now offering carbon neutral biofuel under pilot projects to customers deploying sustainable supply chain solutions. According to Maersk, the biofuel is the same blend of used cooking oil that has already been tested and validated in a trial with the Dutch Sustainability Growth Coalition and Shell, carried out earlier this year. H&M Group is the first customer…
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