News

Zimbabwe’s energy sector regulator plans to licence new ethanol producers to avoid dependency on single supplier Green Fuel (GF). Under the country’s mandatory blending policy, only GF can license or is accredited to trade the commodity for petrol blending purposes. The current law states that an ethanol producer for mandatory blending has to be in partnership with the State, and…
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Enerkem has made three separate announcements relating to development plans in China. Firstly the waste-to-biofuels and chemicals producer announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Shanghai Environmental Group, a municipal solid waste (MSW) company and subsidiary of Shanghai Chengtou Holding, to develop a project partnership to build a municipal solid waste-to-biofuels and…
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China imported 51,507 tonnes of biodiesel in October, down 58.32% from September, data released by the General Administration of Customs shows. The country's main source of palm methyl ester is exported from Indonesia. These figures fell 56% month on month to 46,500 tonnes in October, while UCO methyl ester exports from Hong Kong fell 28.17% to 4,972 tonnes. PME shipments from Malaysia dropped…
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A fire at a north Mississippi, US, biofuels plant is reported to have been burning since yesterday, after a total of three explosions rocked the facility. Mississippi Emergency Management Agency officials are quoted as saying that authorities are trying to figure if they should extinguish the fire or let it burn out. No injuries have been reported, though a voluntary evacuation order for about 50…
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Aemetis announced earlier this month that its 50 MMgy biodiesel and refined glycerin production facility in Kakinada, India, has been upgraded to produce high-quality distilled biodiesel. The plant was built in 2008 using advanced technology to produce biodiesel and refined glycerin using nonfood byproducts from the edible oil industry as feedstock to supply the biofuel, pharmaceutical and…
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This week, the German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) revealed that biodiesel sales fell by 300,000 tonnes in 2013. Last year’s sales figures stood at 2.2 million tonnes, compared to an average of 2.5 million tonnes, which remained stable throughout the period between 2009 and 2012.   The Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen (UFOP) has announced…
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Stanford University scientists have found a unique liquid ethanol production method that uses carbon monoxide gas. The scientists hope this new discovery will provide an eco-friendly, efficient alternative to conventional ethanol production from corn and other crops. Results from the study are published in the advanced online edition of the journal Nature, released on April 9. Matthew Kanan, an…
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A Zimbabwean investor is looking to plough $500 million (€360 million) into an ethanol production plant in Kawambwa, Luapula Province, in Zambia. Luapula Province's permanent secretary Chanda Kasolo says the 110,000 hectare sugar plantation has been delayed because of lobbying with the Ministry Mines, Energy and Water Development to issue a Statutory Instrument (SI) to authorise…
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Drexel University will conduct research to improve knowledge on the feasibility of grease-to-biodiesel processes. The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) has chosen the university to monitor and quantify the composition of waste greases. The Extraction of Lipids from Wastewater to Produce Biofuels project is an evaluation of the economic and environmental sustainability of converting…
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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 sourced sustainable…
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Algae technology company Heliae has paired up with Japan-based waste management Sincere, to develop a commercial algae production facility in Saga City, Japan. Construction of the Saga City facility by the joint venture, known as Alvita, is expected to start in 2015. The Japanese facility will be designed based on Heliae's first algae production facility located in Gilbert, Arizona, operational…
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The US' NASCAR race has now seen 6 million miles of competitive racing completed using an ethanol blend. For more than three years, NASCAR has run its races on a fuel blended with 15% American Ethanol, Sunoco Green E15 and on 27 July at the Brickyard in Indianapolis, the race reached the 6 million mile mark. 'For nearly six million miles, NASCAR has highlighted the incredible performance and…
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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 at Valero Renewables'…
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Sales of commercial and passenger vehicles, particularly flex-fuel vehicles that allow end users to choose customised biofuel-fossil fuel blends have increased. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of the Global Automotive Biofuels Market, has found that the market generated revenues of $94.61 billion (€73.63 billion) in 2013 and estimates this will reach $149.25…
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