News

A recent impact study by University of Nebraska-Lincoln economists reveals Nebraska's ethanol production capacity growth between 1995 and 2014 is tenfold. The results of the 'Economic Impacts of the Ethanol Industry in Nebraska' study were released during a press conference on 14 April. The authors - Dr. Kathleen Brooks, UNL agricultural economics professor; Dr. Dennis Conley, UNL agricultural…
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NexSteppe, a producer of sustainable feedstock solutions for the bio-based industries, sold more than 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of its Palo Alto biomass sorghums in Brazil this past growing season, compared to just over 1,000 hectares in the previous year. Just as many of the leaders of the bio-based economy have begun proving their conversion technologies at commercial scale, NexSteppe says…
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Taiwan's largest integrated steel maker, China Steel Corporation (CSC), has announced formal Board approval of a 1.4 billion TWD (€42.8 million) capital investment in a LanzaTech commercial ethanol facility. This follows the successful demonstration of the revolutionary carbon recycling platform at the White Biotech (WBT) Demonstration Plant in Kaohsiung using steel mill off gases for…
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Total has announced an investment of €200 million to transform the La Mède refinery and create France's first biorefinery, which will be one of the biggest in Europe, to meet growing demand for biofuels. In order to sustainably restore the competitiveness of its La Mède site, Total will transform some existing units for activities with strong future prospects. The group will…
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Aventine Renewable Energy, a producer, marketer and supplier of ethanol, has announced its first BNSF unit-train shipment of ethanol produced at its two ethanol facilities in Aurora, Nebraska. On 19 April Aventine's first unit train pulled out of Aurora heading to Birmingham, Alabama. The ethanol will be blended in petrol to enhance octane, and will also help reduce America's dependence on…
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ZeaChem, a biorefining project developer and operator, has launched its Technology Institute & Processing Services in Boardman, Oregon. The company has been operating its 250,000 gallon per year demonstration biorefinery in Boardman, Oregon since 2012. The company is now developing a commercial facility and, having realised the challenges involved in scaling up technology, has decided to take…
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Hainan Airlines, Boeing and Sinopec have celebrated China's first passenger flight with sustainable aviation biofuel. The regularly scheduled Hainan Airlines flight – which carried more than 100 passengers from Shanghai to Beijing – used biofuel made by Sinopec from waste cooking oil collected from restaurants in China. Both of the airplane's CFM International CFM56-7B engines were…
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In San Francisco, US, petrol blended with 85% ethanol (E85) is now available to flex-fuel vehicle owners. Robert White, VP of industry relations at the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), says: 'There are more than 18 million flex-fuel vehicles registered in the US. Drivers of these vehicles deserve access to E85.' E85 is approved for use in all flex-fuel vehicles and more than 3,450 stations are…
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Air Liquide has announced the start-up of a second generation biofuel production plant in Germany through the 'bioliq' project, in partnership with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The bioliq pilot plant aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a process to produce high-quality sulfur-free fuel from residual biomass. These 'second generation' biofuels are produced using the inedible…
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Ukrainian state-run spirits group Ukrspyrt has brought online an upgraded bioethanol plant in the western region of Ternopil, it has been reported. Investments in the plant's modernisation stood at UAH 60 million (€2.3 million), with financing coming from Armenian investors, according to a company statement. The facility was launched on the premises of Zarubynsky spirits plant, creating 100…
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The Transport Energy Task Force has highlighted the important role sustainable biofuels will play in meeting the UK's future transport needs, in its concluding report. The report identified that there is a clear role for sustainable biofuels over the medium to longer term and at least to 2030 when fossil transport fuels will still be dominant. It also called for a 'robust and long-term route for…
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The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is calling for the EPA to stay its recent decision to streamline Argentinian biodiesel imports to the US under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) pending public review and comment. In a petition filed 30 March with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Gina McCarthy, NBB cited the lack of public comment on the EPA decision and little transparency…
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In Washington, ethanol and agriculture industry groups have written a letter to the House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Programs Committee on Appropriations to advocate for continued funding of US blender pump initiatives and US export promotion efforts. The letter countered a request led by Representatives Bob Goodlatte, Peter Welch, and Jim Costa to eliminate…
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