News

US-based Protabit, an off-shoot from the California Institute of Technology, has been awarded a Small Business Innovative Research grant (phase one) for engineering cellulose enzymes. The computational protein software platform designers will use the award from the National Science Foundation to engineer cellulose enzymes,  which are used in the production of biofuels from non-edible corn…
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The executive VP of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation’s (BIO) Industrial and Environmental Section, Brent Erickson, has issued a statement in response to what he called ‘false claims’ made by the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) president Charles Drevna in regard to cellulosic biofuels. Erickson’s statement was sent to the House Energy and…
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After successful demonstration of its catalytic process for making jet fuel, diesel and high octane gasoline from renewable energy sources AliphaJet is taking the project to the next level. AliphaJet used plant oil and animal fat to produce its biofuels and is now launching a programme to build a demonstration scale facility with an annual capacity of 500,000 gallons a year, due for completion…
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Vivergo Fuels has confirmed that the start-up its proposed new biorefinery in eastern England will be delayed until towards the end of 2012. The biorefinery, claimed to be one of the biggest in Europe upon its completion and based near Hull, is set to use over one million tonnes of feed wheat to produce 420 million litres of bioethanol a year. An approximate by product of 500,000 tonnes of…
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has closed public comment on the approval of grain sorghum as an advanced biofuel under the renewable Fuels Standard. The period for comments has been open for over a month and been championed by sorghum producers country-wide, with National Farmer’s Union president Roger Johnson supportive from the beginning. Johnson was quoted as saying:…
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Production developer of biofuels and bio-based chemicals Codexis has signed an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement with Shell. Shell has agreed to negotiate exclusively with Codexis and would grant the company certain rights and licenses in the biofuels field to develop and sell cellulase enzymes to third parties on a worldwide basis, except Brazil. Codexis has exclusive rights to commercialise its…
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The Wisconsin Institute for Sustainability Technology (WIST) has been issued a patent to create biofuels from plant fibre. It is WIST’s first patent will allow for a process that can create biofuels and other products from cellulosic plant material including agricultural residues like corn stover or plants grown specifically for fuel production, such as hardwood and softwood…
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A biofuels scheme has gained European approval so that UK feedstocks can now have Red Tractor status. The proposal, named The Red Tractor Crops and Sugar Beet Scheme, will ensure traceability on feedstocks back to individual UK farms and has been backed by the European Commission, ensuring recognition across all 27 member states. It has taken two years of lobbying by Red Tractor alongside the UK…
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A new pilot plant in Ontario, Canada is due to demonstrate how spent solvent and waste water converter KMX’s technology can reduce operational costs for biofuels and green chemical manufacturers. KMX believes pathways to cellulosic ethanol and biobutanol can be aided by its hydrophobic and hydrophilic membrane technology. The pilot plant will show how it can capture and dehydrate small…
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A redeveloped Columbia Pacific  ethanol plant has delayed production due to being confronted with what it calls ‘declining market conditions’. Columbia Pacific had hoped to begin ethanol production in February but have now taken the decision to wait out a combined slump in ethanol price while corn feedstock price remains high. General plant manager Dan Luckett was quoted as…
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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has joined forces with jet engine producer General Electric (GE) Aviation, in addition to the Ohio Aerospace Institute, air carriers and producer groups, to produce renewable jet fuel from agricultural products. The biojet will be provided at GE Aviation's Cincinnati, Ohio-based facilities and GE Aviation plans to buy around 5 million gallons of the biojet,…
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The US Department of Defence (DoD) has announced a public-private partnership opportunity to support an integrated domestic advanced drop-in biofuel biorefinery. The funding opportunity is designed to share the cost of establishing one or more first-of-a-kind biorefineries and feedstock supply chains to provide the US military with already certified blends of biofuels. The Biotechnology Industry…
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Public-listed Greenergy Holdings has confirmed a planned PHP25 million (€476,550) investment in a local Philippines biofuel company Isabela Alcogas. Greenergy’s board of directors disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that the company had the ‘green light’ to subscribe the PHP25 million worth of Isabela Alcogas shares, with authority to even go up as high as PHP50…
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