News

Olleco, the UK's largest converter of used cooking oil (UCO) and food waste into renewable energy, has successfully acquired Convert2Green. This acquisition is in line with Olleco's goal to achieve 100% resource recovery for the food industry. The move will increase the number of Olleco's depots to 17 across the UK and will enable it to improve efficiencies and coverage to enhance the UCO…
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Over its 10-year lifespan, the Renewable Fuel Standard's (RFS) requirement to substitute biofuels for fossil fuels has displaced nearly 1.9 billion barrels of foreign oil and reduced US transportation-related carbon emissions by 589.33 million tonnes. These are the findings of an analysis released by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). Brent Erickson, executive VP of BIO's industrial…
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Argent Energy, a waste-to-biodiesel producer, has commissioned BDI BioEnergy International with the implementation of phase two of its multi-feedstock plant in the UK. Within seven months of work starting on the BDI High FFA Esterification unit, Argent energy commissioned the second phase.   This technology makes it possible to convert commercial and industrial waste fats with a high free…
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Project Solaris in South Africa has earned the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) certification for the production of the energy rich tobacco crop ‘Solaris’ in the Limpopo region of South Africa. Solaris is a nicotine-free and GMO-free crop variety that yields significant amounts of sustainable oil that can be used as feedstock for bio jet fuel. Project Solaris has involved…
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Agro BioFuels and BioEnergy, a joint venture between the US branch of India-based Agro Pulping Machinery and JatDiesel, is set to invest $11 million (appr. €9.8 million) in a 15 million gpy biodiesel plant near Dayton, Ohio, US. The plant, once finished, will produce fuel from oils and fats derived from plants and animals. The company has addressed concerns about smells and hazards and hopes…
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Deinove, a French biotech company developing processes for producing biofuels and bio-based chemicals by using Deinococcus bacteria, has produced muconic acid in their laboratory using second-generation substrates. This July Deinove announced that it had deployed a new R&D platform dedicated to the production of muconic acid, a versatile chemical intermediate whose derivatives…
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Chicago, US-based Lakeview Energy has purchased the assets of the former Producer’s Choice Soy Energy facility in Moberly, Missouri. Lakeview made the purchase with the aid of a $3.3 million (€2.9 million) loan from the USDA Rural Energy for America programme. With a further $5 million investment, Lakeview plans to upgrade the 10 million gpy capacity biodiesel production facility, now…
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Vireol Bio Energy has ceased production at its 62 million gpy ethanol plant in Hopewell, Virginia, US after the 48% plummet in crude oil prices in the past year dragged gasoline prices down with it and placed a cap on ethanol. US Federal Standards require petrol producers to blend their final product with 10% ethanol. EPA’s proposal earlier this year to reduce ethanol consumption…
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The Philippines' National Bioethanol Board (NBB) says the future of the bioethanol industry in the country looks promising, as local and foreign direct investments in the sector have grown from $206 million in 2012 to $386 million in 2015. Investments are projected to double to $770 million in 2016. ‘When the policy guidelines on the utilization of locally-produced bioethanol was…
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Propel Fuels has begun offering Neste’s renewable NexBTL diesel at 13 Southern California locations. The provided fuel is marketed as Diesel High Performance Renewable (HPR) and it consists of 98.5% NexBTL. Diesel HPR has also been launched in commercial and bulk availability across California, with the fuel bundled with Propel Fuels’ CleanDrive emissions account software. The…
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The EU has given permission to the Czech government to continue providing aid for biofuels until the end of 2020. The Czech government’s aid system, launched in 2008, provides cuts in excise duty or tax refunds to pure or highly concentrated biofuels. All biofuels benefiting from the aid programme must meet set sustainability criteria. ‘The commission concluded that the scheme would…
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Ethanol producer Poet has made a positive impact on the US economy, the company’s first published economic impact study suggests. The study, published yesterday, reports Poet has generated a total of $13.5 billion (appr. €12bln) in sales for US businesses, added $5.4 billion in national gross domestic product, supported an estimated 39,978 full time jobs, and contributed $3.1 billion…
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South Africa is reforming its biofuels funding incentive in the wake of global crude oil prices dropping by half over the past year. The South African government is concerned that the funding programme is becoming unaffordable. The country has set an initial target of having 2% of its annual fuel consumption – totalling at around 400 million litres – come from domestic fuel supplies…
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