News

A new study by energy consultancy Ecofys shows ethanol is not causing food price increases. The study, Biofuels and Food Security: Risks and Opportunities, highlights that the impact of EU biofuels demand up until 2010 only increased world grain prices by about 1-2%. The Ecofys study examines the casualty between biofuels production, global crop commodity prices and implications for food…
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Flagship VentureLabs has announced Midori Renewables is to deploy a new catalyst technology which melts non-food biomass into low-cost sugar. The technology, branded Breaking the Biomass Barrier, is a solid material, not an enzyme, micro-organism or aqueous acid, that can be separated from the reaction and reused for the production of renewable products and animal feed. ‘We evaluated…
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With the vote on whether to cap first generation biofuel in transport fuel at 5.5% is due around the start of Biofuels International conference the timing couldn't be better. This is your last chance to register and hear from top biofuel producers, regulators and experts for only €300 a day (when two delegates attend) Topics covered will include whether a 5.5% cap is the best way…
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Algae International Group (AIG) and Syngar Technologies signed a joint venture using the Syngar technology to stimulate the growth of algae cell mass. AIG will use Syngar’s PlusWave technology to increase the amount of oil harvest for extraction by upwards of 24% as it affects any fermentation process by applying an ultrasound frequency, generated over a range of time, and power levels…
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Aemetis, an advanced fuels and renewable chemicals company, has been granted US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval to produce ethanol using grain sorghum and biogas. The move means the plant’s existing combined heat and power system can generate higher-value D5 advanced biofuels renewable identification numbers (RINs). The EPA approval also includes D5 RIN generation for…
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A multi-university study into biomass-to-energy has claimed to have found a new lignin gene which could aid conversion. A research project involving universities in Scotland, the US and Belgium used the model plant Arabidopsis thanliana and identified an enzyme called caffeoyl shikimate esterase (CSE), which fulfils a central role in lignin biosynthesis. The research says by removing the CSE gene…
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A new law has been passed in New York City new law for a 5% blend of biodiesel to be used in the city’s vehicle fleet beginning next year. The new law comes into effect 1 July 2014 plus the city will also launch a pilot programme prior to 1 December 2016 to study year round usage of B20 with no fewer than 5% of its fleet. Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed the legislation into law and the…
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A new bioethanol plant development has been launched by the Indonesian government this August. To be located in East Java, the plant will use molasses as its base feedstock and have a production capacity of 30 million litres when complete. The project is the result of a partnership between the Indonesia Industry Ministry and the Japanese New Energy and Industrial Technology Development…
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An ethanol plant in Texas, US is to restart operations after a seven month idle period. White Energy claims the Plainview Ethanol facility will resume production before November and the company is holding job interviews over the summer. It hopes to be running at around 80% of its 325,000 gallons of ethanol a day capacity to begin with, before working up to full capacity before the end of…
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Jatropha grown in Hawaii is the subject of a new partnership in the US state. Pacific Biodiesel (PB) have signed an agreement with Hawaii Pure Plant Oil under its PB Technologies brand for the crop under the federally funded Hawaii Military Biofuel Crop project. The project involves developing production models for jatropha, and other crops, to eventually share with potential biofuel crop growers…
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Ghana-based Smart Oil, active in the production of renewable energy from jatropha curcas and subsidiary of Italian company Smart Oil 2, has signed a license and services agreement with Quinvita, a developer of jatropha as a sustainable bioenergy crop. The agreement provides Smart Oil with access to Qunivita’s advanced agronomy know how as it plans to further develop its 700 hectare jatropha…
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Commercial iso-butanol producer Gevo has cut the ribbon on its new biorefinery this August. The demonstration-scale plant is located adjacent to its jet fuel plant in Texas, US and will produce renewable paraxylene, a chemical prevalent in fibre and plastic production. Gevo is working with Toray Industries to develop the renewable chemical at the plant, having successfully worked towards that…
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Darling International, a provider of rendering, recycling and recovery solutions to the US food industry, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the assets of Rothsay, a division of Maple Leaf Foods, for approximately CA$645 million (€459 million) in cash. Rothsay is a biodiesel producer and recycler of animal by-products in Canada by processing raw materials into finished…
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