News

The Californian Water Resources Control Board has approved expanding the state’s limit for underground storage of biodiesel blends from the existing B5 limitation up to B20. This ruling builds on the ASTM specifications adopted late last year allowing the underground storage of the biodiesel B5 blend, from the previous law of no underground storage of any biodiesel blend. The 25-year-old…
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The German parliament’s upper house has vetoed government proposals to cut its biofuels blending target this year and further raise taxes on biofuels. The upper house, which represents the federal arm of the governments, has refused to accept a plan to cut the 2009 blending target to 5.25% biofuel content in fossil fuel from 6.25% originally intended. As members of the EU, the government are…
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Biofuels Manufacturers of Illinois has completed the first commercial harvest of a weed called pennycress. The plant once called ‘stinkweed’ is a member of the mustard family with seeds that contain 36%, twice as much as soyabeans. Officials from the company stated that they are interested in building a plant in Mapleton, Illinois, that would be able to produce 60 million gallons of…
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Sweden-based Chemrec’s development plant in Piteå, Sweden, has now reached 10,000 accumulated operating hours producing syngas from biomass to produce second generation green motor fuels. Chemrec's plant is the only gasification plant world-wide producing high-quality synthesis gas based on 100% renewable feedstock. The development plant, DP-1, has a capacity of 20 tonnes of solids a…
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The global potential for the biofuels market will reach up to $247 billion (€178 billion) in sales by 2020, indicates a study released by market researcher Pike Research. The forecast predicts the industry to ride the wave of current setbacks it faces to triple its predicted worth of $76 billion by 2010 in just ten years. Pike highlights that the biofuels industry’s growth is currently…
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The Philippine government is eyeing to secure a P20-billion (€298 million) investment agreement with Brazil for the possible construction of five bioethanol plants. Proposals regarding the construction of five plants in the Philippines have been submitted to the Brazilian federation of sugarcane and ethanol manufacturers, Unica, as the Asian country looks to forge joint-venture agreements with…
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Petroleum refiner Sunoco has acquired the former Northeast Biofuels ethanol production facility in Volney, NY, for $8.5 million (€6.1 million). Philadelphia-based Sunoco began proceedings for the purchase of the 100 MMgy plant after Northeast Biofuels put it up for sale at a bankruptcy auction. The ethanol plant is the largest production facility in the Northeast and Sunoco are expecting, at…
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Japan-based Pacific Bio-Fields Holdings has begun planting coconut trees on the Philippines island of Luzon to produce biodiesel – a world first. ‘We believe this is the first coconut-integrated biodiesel project in the world where a plantation is included,’ May Tiu, VP of Bioenergy at Pacific Bio-Fields, exclusively tells Biofuels International magazine. ‘We have a letter of intent to…
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Aerospace company Boeing has backed biofuels to be blended with jet fuel within five years following recent tests. Results from the aircraft maker’s latest test flights using alternative fuel were described as being ‘better than expected’ by Boeing managing director of environmental strategy Billy Glover. The testing consisted of a series of laboratory, ground and flight tests conducted…
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After a week of skirmishes the German government has passed proposals to cut the target amount of biofuels to be blended into fossil fuels this year. Parliament’s lower house gave final approval to the government proposals to cut the 2009 blending target to 5.25% biofuel content in fossil fuel in 2009 from the 6.25% originally intended. The decision follows the federal upper house’s attempt…
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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it will make federal incentive payments available for harvesting and delivering wood waste for energy via the first phase of the new Biomass Crop Assistance Programme (BCAP). The first phase of BCAP will provide matching payments to promote multiple roles across the sector including producers and land owners for the collection, harvest,…
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The Chinese state is expected to encourage a transition towards biodiesel in larger cities according to a senior academic. Min Enze, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering has forecast that vehicles in large cities, such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, will be B5 biodiesel compatible by next year. Next year is expected to see the acceptance of a national…
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US city Seattle is set to review its policy on using food crop-based biodiesel, such as soyabean, for its vehicles amid concerns of it being more evironmentally harmful than standard diesel. Seattle's Fleets and Facilities Department director, Brenda Bauer, announced that the city has temporarily stopped purchasing soya-based biodiesel fuel and is testing biodiesel made from waste grease…
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