News

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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Malaysia's biodiesel exports surged twelvefold year on year to 46,601mt in July, bolstered by an open arbitrage to Europe. Exports are at their highest level since the Malaysian Palm Oil Board began reporting statistics in January 2008. The July total was up from 3,610mt in July 2014 and also up 105.56% from 22,670 mt in June, the board's data shows. The total value of the July exports was…
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Biobased chemical company GF Biochemicals has started commercial production at its 10,000 MT/a capacity levulinic acid plant in Caserta, Italy. GF Biochemicals is the first company to produce levulinic acid at commercial scale directly from biomass. Levulinic acid can be used to produce potential biofuels, including methyltetrahydofuran, valerolactone, and ethyl levulinate. ‘A fundamentally…
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Blume Distillation, a biorefinery systems provider for bioethanol production, has announced the sale of its first Africa-based biorefinery. The Blume biorefinery system has been purchased by Numbitrax, based in Touwsriver, Western Cape, South Africa, which has completed a purchase agreement and fund transfer. The purchase represents an investment worth several million euros for Numbitrax, which…
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In the US, renewable biofuels company Red Rock Biofuels says it will produce approximately 3 million gallons a year of renewable jet fuel for FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. The agreement runs through 2024, with first delivery expected in 2017. FedEx joins Southwest Airlines in purchasing Red Rock's total available volume of jet fuel. Red Rock's first refinery, funded in part by a $70…
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Rennovia, a privately held company that develops novel catalysts and processes for the cost advantaged production of chemical products from renewable feedstocks, and Johnson Matthey Process Technologies, a global provider of advanced process technologies, have started-up a mini-plant for production of glucaric acid from glucose using jointly developed technology. In March 2014, Johnson Matthey…
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Bank of America (BoA) has pledged to increase the company’s current environmental business initiative from $50 billion to $125 billion (appr. €45 billion to €112.5 billion) in low-carbon business by 2025 through lending, investing, capital raising, advisory services, and developing financing solutions for clients around the world. BoA’s initiative and commitment focus on…
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Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff launched Iogen Energy's cellulosic ethanol technology at the official opening of Raizen's newly expanded Costa Pinto sugar cane mill in Piracicaba, Brazil. Iogen, a cellulosic biofuel technology developer, and Raizen, one of the world's largest producers of sugarcane ethanol, completed construction of the $105 million (appr. €95 million) advanced biofuel…
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A research team from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a multi-program US security laboratory, has received an additional $1 million (appr. €907,000) to protect algal crops by developing ‘probiotic’ bacteria to combat pond infestation and increase ecosystem function and resilience. Algal biomass can be converted to advanced biofuels that offer promising alternatives to…
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The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen its proposal for biodiesel volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In its comments submitted to the agency on the pending RFS rule, NBB cited compelling benefits of increased biodiesel production and significant additional capacity for growth in the industry. 'The growth and expansion…
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The Rural Business Cooperative Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued an interim final rule making changes to the USDA's Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program. Formerly referred to as the Biorefinery Assistance Program, the programme provides loan guarantees of up to $250 million (€228 million) of senior debt for the…
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Pacific Ethanol, a producer and marketer of low-carbon renewable fuels in the US, has begun commercial production of corn oil utilising Valicor's corn oil recovery system at its Columbia ethanol plant located in Boardman, Oregon. With the completion of this two-year initiative, all four of the western Pacific Ethanol plants are now producing corn oil. Neil Koehler, the company's president and…
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North American advanced biofuels producer and developer of renewable chemicals Renewable Energy Group (REG) has expanded its line of credit agreement with Wells Fargo Capital Finance, from $40 million to $60 million (€36.5 million to €54.5 million). In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, REG disclosed that two wholly owned subsidiaries exercised their option to expand…
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