News

Plant and crop improvement business Syngenta has signed a contract with Arkalon Ethanol in Kansas for the plant to start using corn which features its Enogen trait technology. Syngenta claims Enogen, a field-to-fuel system, will help deliver alpha amylase enzyme directly in corn grain thus saving the costs of adding liquid enzymes and improving process efficiency. The way Syngenta explains the…
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Maverick Biofuels, a provider of biofuels production technology, has been awarded three US patents for producing a mixed-alcohol fuel from synthesis gas (syngas) via a methanol intermediate. Maverick develops and commercialises technology for producing renewable clean transportation fuels and bio-based chemicals using combinations of proven technologies to produce high-value products by…
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In Thailand, the ministries of Commerce and Energy are reportedly set to cooperate to develop a strategy to promote the production of ethanol from cassava. Energy minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisarn is believed to have been tasked with overseeing the country’s production of cassava as an energy and food crop, with one objective being to prevent a price drop. Raktapongpaisarn has recently been…
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The South African Department of Energy has stated a time from which fuel producers will have to start blending petrol and diesel with biofuels. The date has been set exactly two years from 1 October and producers will be required to blend between 2 and 10% of bioethanol into petrol, and a minimum of 5% biodiesel in diesel. A move of this kind is hoped, as with many other countries, to reduce…
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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), in cooperation with Chemieanlangenbau Chemnitz, has produced renewable fuel at its Bioliq (biomass to liquid karlsruhe) pilot plant. With the synthesis stage of the plant now operational, all stages of the Bioliq process (flash pyrolysis, high-pressure entrained-flow gasification and synthesis) are online and the pilot facility is a step closer to producer…
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Waste from dairy farms and beer breweries could provide the necessary ingredients to grow algae-based biofuels say the leaders of a project based in Vermont, US. The US Department of Agriculture awarded the association, which includes the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), a $51,000 (€37,000) grant to research biofuels technology using algae during a news conference at…
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Hong Kong-based ASB Biodiesel is to start generating biodiesel at its processing plant in November. Located at the Tseung Kwan O industrial estate and expected to start in November, ASB is excepting to produce around 100,000 tonnes of biodiesel a year. The plant, to reach that figure of B100 blends, is expecting to use 200,750 tonnes of grease trap waste as feedstock. The bulk of initial…
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Butamax Advanced Biofuels, a biobutanol technology company, and Highwater Ethanol, a first generation ethanol producer, have begun to retrofit Highwater's ethanol plant in Minnesota, US for the production of biobutanol. The pair have entered into definitive agreements for license of Butamax's patented corn oil separation technology, and installation of system has already commenced with commercial…
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Alternative fuel company Primus Green Energy is to commission a 100,000 gallon a year natural gas to petrol pre-commercial demonstration plant at its New Jersey, US facility. The demo plant will use Primus’ proprietary technology, a four reactor catalytic process which converts syngas derived from natural gas or other feedstocks to petrol, jet fuel, diesel or aromatic chemicals without, it…
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The Minnesota Departments of Agriculture, Commerce and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency have announced a move to a B10 biodiesel mandate after certain conditions were met. All departments are required to determine whether four statutory conditions had been met before increasing the minimum biodiesel content mandate to B10, which was originally due in 2012, before next moving to B20 in…
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BlueFire Renewables, a renewable fuels company, is to integrate a wood pellet production plant with its ethanol facility in Mississippi, US. The reconfigured design will see a 400,000 tonne per year wood pellet factory integrated with the company's existing 9 million gallon per year ethanol plant in Fulton. The pellets will be sold under long-term contracts into the European mandated renewable…
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As butanol continues to show strong potential as a biofuel, a new ASTM International standard has been introduced covering butanol intended to be blended with petrol at 1 to 12.5% volume for use as an automotive spark-ignition engine fuel. ASTM D7862-13, the specification for Butanol for Blending with Petrol for Use as Automotive Spark-Ignition Engine Fuel, was developed by a subcommittee of ASTM…
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A new report produced for the Greater London Authority (GLA) by LRS Consultancy has sparked further support from the Mayor of London to entice the biodiesel industry into the capital. After reviewing The market for biodiesel production from used cooking oils and fats, oils and greases in London, Mayor of London Boris Johnson says: ‘By capturing used cooking oil right here in London and…
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