News

BP Biofuels, a subsidiary of UK energy giant BP, and US agri-tech company DuPont have formed Butamax Advanced Biofuels to accelerate biobutanol commercialisation. BP and DuPont have conducted four years of extensive technology development and fuel testing. The technology demonstration facility located at the BP Saltend site in Hull, UK, is planned to be operational in 2010. The first…
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Researchers at the US’ Argonne National Laboratory are studying a systems approach to sustainable biomass feedstock production. If implemented the approach could mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of biomass for biofuels production on food crops, help restore contaminated water resources and reduce the cost of transporting biomass. In the study, agricultural, energy and…
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Brazilian company Vale plans to develop a $305 million (€218 million) palm oil biodiesel project, with the capacity to produce 500,000 tonnes of palm oil and 48 Mgy of biodiesel. The plant, which is to be completed by 2014, will utilise feedstock produced by a consortium formed between Vale and Biopalma da Amazônia. The biodiesel will be used in a B20 concentration to supply locomotives in…
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Philippine biofuel producer Eco Global Bio-Oils is pursuing further areas in which to grow jatropha to use as biodiesel. The company had initial targets of planting 100,000 hectares of jatropha, locally called tuba-tuba, but it has furthered its plans to expand to 200,000 hectares in the next two years. Eco Global is attempting to convince members of local tribes to plant the feedstock in their…
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Following the success of the second Biofuels International expo & conference in Amsterdam this year (www.biofuelsinternationalexpo.com) leading global publication Biofuels International magazine is expanding its portfolio with Biofuels International Asia expo & conference. The two-day conference and exhibition will be held in the petrochemical hub of Asia, Singapore, on 19-20 November…
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Belgian holding company Ackermans & van Haaren has signalled its intentions to move into the Brazilian bioethanol market after agreeing to take a minority stake in Alcofina in a preliminary deal. The move comes after a deal between Ackermans and Sibco Holding, which will see Sibco selling its 30% of Alcofina which in turn holds 45.3% of Swiss trading firm Alcotra, active in the bioethanol…
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The largest biodiesel refinery in the US was put up for sale after the owner shut down the $70 million (€50 million) facility due to declining demand. GreenHunter Energy has plans to sell the Houston, Texas-based 105 Mgy plant by the end of the year in order to meet its $50 million financing obligations with a key lender. The plant, which only opened in June 2008, has been sitting idle since…
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Energy giant BP and cellulosic ethanol developer Verenium have been selected by the US Department of Energy (DoE) to enter the due diligence phase of its Title XVII Loan Guarantee Programme. The project is entitled to a loan guarantee from the DoE, which would support debt funding for first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, covering up to 80% of eligible costs. 'We believe this…
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US, Ohio-based Dayton Power and Light (DP&L) has issued a request for proposals to use biofuels at its generating stations. The company is stepping towards incorporating renewable energy resources into its services. DP&L has indicated its plans to purchase a maximum of 15,000 tonnes of biomass fuels by the end of 2009 and a maximum of 100,000 tonnes in the following five years, in…
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Cavendish Farms, a North American potato product producer, has finalised the construction of an anaerobic digestion facility that will generate biogas from potato waste. The project is a first for the potato industry. The new plant in Price Edward Island, Canada, will accompany the existing wastewater treatment facility, and will handle production rates of 120,000 tonnes per year. The plant…
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The US Department of Agriculture could offer US farmers greater financial incentives for developing cellulosic ethanol projects. The USDA announced it would guarantee $80 million (€57 million) in loans for the production of cellulosic ethanol. Increased biofuel production will be necessary as the industry works to comply with current national energy policy, which is drawn to wean consumers…
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Michigan, US-based Dow Chemical has backed Algenol Biofuels’ pioneering pilot-scale project to convert algae and carbon dioxide into ethanol fuel. The project will use Algenol's technology that calls for carbon dioxide and saltwater supplied to algae in photobioreactors to produce the biofuel. The project aims to create a breakthrough in ethanol production that does not use food…
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Sweden-based Chemrec has been granted SEK 500 million (€45 million) in funding from the Swedish Energy Agency’s Energy R&D Board to build an industrial scale renewable fuel plant. The plant will use biomass through gasification of black liquor. The planned location for the plant is the Domsjö biorefinery complex in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Production in the Chemrec plant is targeted…
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