News

Renewable energy company Abengoa is to open a bioethanol plant in Paysandú, Uruguay, after signing a contract with Alcoholes de Uruguay. The bioethanol plant will produce about 70 million litres of ethanol a year and 50,000 tonnes of distillers grains. For feedstocks, the plant will use sorghum, maize, barley and wheat; and will process the materials using dry milling and batch…
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Renewable fuel company Amyris has signed a memorandum of understanding with ethanol producer ETH Bioenergia to produce renewable farnesene called Biofene. The companies will use up to 2 million tonnes of sugar cane a year, which they will crush at an ETH greenfield mill in Brazil. Although ETH will control the joint venture, Amyris will market the Biofene that is produced on the site. Production…
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Greenleaf Biofuels has closed full project funding needed for its biodiesel plant, which it is developed in New Haven, Connecticut, US. Sovereign Bank will provide the funds needed Greenleaf's first project, before the Connecticut Investment Corporation (CTCIC) and the SBA 504 program assume almost half of this loan when the plant comes online. In addition to Sovereign and CTCIC, the State of CT…
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Operations have begun at Futurol's demonstration-scale bioethanol plant, located in Pomade and Bazancourt, France. The facility required a $104.5 million investment (€75 million), 40% of which was supplied by the National Innovation Agency, as well as partnerships with both public and private organisations, such as the National Agricultural Research Institute. Development of the project…
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Renewable fuels producer Pacific Ethanol has entered into an agreement with Pacific Ethanol Management Services (Pacific Services), a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Ethanol, and ZeaChem. Together the companies will provide operations, maintenance and accounting services for ZeaChem's Boardman, Oregon, US-based biorefinery. Under the terms of the agreement, Pacific Services will provide…
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Air France has successfully completed a flight powered by biofuel. The Airbus A321 flew from Toulouse and Paris/Orly, using a 50/50 blend of biofuels and aviation fuel in both engines. This biofuel/jet fuel mix, combined with the use of 'optimised' air traffic management (ATM) procedures, such as continuous descent approach, helped to slash the flight's CO2 emissions by 50%. Airbus said the…
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US-based Alabama Renewable Energy is looking to invest in a new biodiesel plant at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The company has asked for a six-month option on an empty facility located on 3.5 acres of land, according to The Advocate. The facility was previously used as a specialty chemicals plant and has road, rail, pipeline and shipping infrastructure. The 30 million gallon a…
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A new study says biofuels produced from woody biomass from forest on the west coast of the US can increase carbon emissions by ‘at least 14%’ if operations are not efficient enough. The research, released by the scientists from the College of Forestry at Oregon State University and other institutions in Germany and France, looked at 80 forest types in 19 eco-regions in Oregon,…
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In Spain, Iberia and Repsol have flown an Airbus A320 from Madrid to Barcelona on a combination of biofuel and jet fuel. The flight consumed 2,600kg of camelina-derived bio-jet and conventional Jet A-1fuel, which led to a CO2 saving of 1,500kg. Honeywell-UOP manufactured the synthesised paraffin bio-kerosene, while Repsol evaluated and certified it at its Technology Centre. 'The fight against…
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Targa Resources Partners, a supplier of midstream natural gas and natural gas liquid services in the US, has acquired two US-based terminals for refined petroleum products and crude oil storage. The first, Targa Sound Terminal, is located on the Hylebos Waterway in the Port of Tacoma, Washington. It has a capacity of 758,000 barrels and handles refined petroleum products, LPGs and biofuels,…
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A Boeing 757 flew from Birmingham Airport, UK to Lanzarote on 6 October, on a 50/50 blend of bio-jet fuel derived from cooking oil and conventional jet fuel. The one-off Thomson Airways flight took off at 2.25pm. Two hundred and thirty-two passengers were on board, making it Britain's first biofuel powered commercial flight. Thomson hopes to make biofuel flights a regular occurrence from 2012,…
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FuturaGene, a company dedicated to enhancing the yield and sustainability of woody crops for biofuels and biopower, and Guangxi Academy of Sciences (GXAS) have entered into a development agreement. Under the agreement, FuturaGene and GXAS, which is primarily focussed on bioenergy research and the development of non-food crops, will develop and optimise second generation biofuel production from…
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In China, Empire Oil Refineries has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire Promethean Biofuels, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. 'We are pleased with the execution of the LOI between Empire and Promethean as it fits into our strategic plan to acquire assets in the biofuel clean energy space,' says Arshad Shah, president and CEO of Empire Oil Refineries. 'We feel that the addition…
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