News

US biofuel heavyweights have urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that biofuel blend volume requirements match the statutory levels set by Congress under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The US RFS was created in 2005 by Congress in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand the nation’s renewable fuels sector while reducing reliance on imported oil.…
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The pile of letters sent to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the planned Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes for 2017 keeps on growing. This time around, 39 US Senators are urging EPA administrator Gina McCarthy to ensure the final 2017 ruling “promotes growth in the US biofuel sector and capture economic opportunity rather than drive investment overseas”. The 2017…
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US ethanol plant owners are seeking to diversify their operations to boost growth, according to Novozyme’s global marketing manager Jack Rogers. Speaking to Biofuels International at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) Conference in Milwaukee, US, about the US ethanol market, Rogers said: “Corn and ethanol prices have gone down in recent years but there has been an increasing demand for…
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Germany increased its production of bioethanol by 1.8% to 739,821 tonnes in 2015 compared to the year before, according to new statistics from Germany’s bioethanol trade association (BDBe). The report from the BDBe showed that 264,665 tonnes of bioethanol were produced from industrial beet in 2005, an increase of 9% from the previous year. Production of bioethanol made by feed grains…
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US-based scientists have altered the lignin in aspen trees in a way that increases access to biofuel building blocks without inhibiting plant growth. The scientists based at the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators have been able to do this by engineering a novel enzyme involved in lignin synthesis. Lignin is a natural component of plant cell walls, the…
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US agricultural specialist Monsanto Company and German biotechnology specialist Nomad Bioscience have announced a licensing agreement whereby Monsanto has obtained rights to apply Nomad’s proprietary technology to its genome-editing projects aimed at enhancement of agricultural crops. Nomad’s biomaterial pipeline consists of several selected product candidates, including plant-made…
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Borregaard, a Norway-based biorefinery specialist, and Rayonier Advanced Materials (Ryam) have concluded a market, technical and engineering analysis regarding a new lignin operation at Ryam’s Fernandina Beach site in Florida to serve the growing demand for natural lignin-based products. The final review of the investment by the companies’ boards of directors is anticipated during the…
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The global enzymes market is expected to reach $17.5bn by 2024 helped by strong demand for bioethanol in emerging economies, according to a new study by Grand View Research. Growing demand for enzymes in food and beverage products as they improve quality and eliminate deficiencies in the products is expected to propel industry growth in the near future. Increasing demand for bioethanol and…
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The UK government has set its fifth carbon budget in order to tackle climate change. The fifth carbon budget will cut carbon emissions by 57% by 2032, based on 1990 levels. This emissions reduction should leave the UK on track to meet its Climate Change Act target of an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050. The UK's Climate Change Act of 2008 sets the 2050 target. It requires the government to set…
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A team of three Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-D) students have come up with a prototype called FAME One to convert waste cooking oil into biodiesel. The invention, which outwardly resembles a washing machine, is not only eco-friendly but also affordable, which open doors for its use in rural setups to convert oil seeds into diesel. “We read somewhere that India generates the…
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Greentech Biofuels, an Irish firm specialising in green energy solutions, has teamed up with Saint Etienne Metropole and Ondaine Agro in order to bring biofuel-powered floodlights to one of the stadiums hosting Euro 2016. The three organisations will join forces to produce large amounts of biodiesel, which will be used to keep the floodlights at Stade Geoffroy Guichard lit throughout the…
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Scientists from ten institutions worldwide are challenging the notion that growing bioenergy crops hinders food production, which they see as harmful to new projects Traditionally in the “food v. fuel” debate, bioenergy crops have been blamed for food shortages as the land used for growing them could have been instead harnessed for food production. But a new report, titled Reconciling…
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