Other News

Yeast development company Microbiogen has signed a collaboration and license agreement with US-based renewable products company Amyris. The agreement will see the Australian business focus on improving base yeast strains for the production of renewable fuels and other value added propositions. ‘This agreement between us is an excellent example of the sort of international and…
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Aircraft manufacturer Airbus will work with China’s state-run oil and gas company Sinopec to develop a new type of biofuel. The project is named “1# biojet fuel” and will be produced at a new Sinopec refinery based in Hangzhou, which has a capacity to produce aviation fuel from biomass on a large scale. ‘Biojet fuel is becoming increasingly important in aviation and the…
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Thailand-based oil refiner Bangchak Petroleum’s president Anusorn Sangnimnuan says it is set to invest heavily into two biodiesel projects. Sangimnuan revealed that Bangchak will invest THB1.2 billion (€30.2 million) and double its capacity of pure biodiesel, or methyl ester, to 600,000 litres per day at its Ayutthaya plant. That move is set to cost THB800 million and the remaining…
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A fire broke out at a biodiesel production in Südlohn-Oeding, Germany on 23 September. It started in a side production line of the Petrotec-owned facility’s biodiesel production process. Petrotec claims the main biodiesel production line was not damaged and suffered no halt of production. Petrotec also reports that, as a result of the disturbance, biodiesel production throughput may be…
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An agricultural project in Abu Dhabi, with the view of producing sustainable jet fuel, is getting closer to fruition. A demonstration farm required by scientists at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) is closer to finding a home. In collaboration with both the Abu Dhabi Urban Council and the Western Region Municipality, MIST is evaluating several options to acquire a necessary…
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A partnership that will use the by-products from whisky making in Scotland to make butanol for transportation has been signed. The Tullibardine distillery in Perthshire has signed a MoU with Celtic Renewables, an off-shoot of Napier University, to allow bacteria to feed on its draff and pot ale by-products which are high in sugar content. ‘This partnership is an important step in the…
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Verenium, an industrial biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialisation of enzymes, has agreed a two-year, $10 million (€7.7 million) revolving credit facility with Comerica Bank. The credit facility will allow Verenium to borrow up to $8.4 million against eligible foreign and domestic receivables and will cover an existing $1.6 million letter of credit commitment to…
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Scientists from the University of Liverpool are taking part in an international research project to apply the properties of drought-adapted desert plants to biofuel crops. The  £8.6million ($13.9 million) project, funded by the US Department of Energy, aims to explore the photosynthetic mechanisms of drought-tolerant desert plants like agave and introduce these into poplar trees,…
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Italian energy company Eni will invest €100 million ($128.7 million) into converting a conventional refinery located in Venice to biofuels. The process will start with an initial conversion of existing facilities which will be launched in the second quarter of 2013 and be completed by December. ‘It will make the Venice site a model of technological excellence and will represent a solid…
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A multi-million pound project to explore biofuel potential in plants growing in harsh environments has been announced. Newcastle University is taking part in the five-year, £8.8 million ($14.2 million) project, funded by the US Department of Energy, to look into the genetic mechanisms of nocturnal photosynthesis, a process displayed by some desert plants. By taking in carbon dioxide at…
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A new recovery boiler installed at the Iggesund Paperboard mill in Sweden means the facility can now be energy self-sufficient. The new boiler allows Iggesund to increase its production and also enables the facility to operate on 100% biofuel and be CHP self-sufficient. It took two years and SEK 2.3 billion (€240 million) to construct and was officially opened by Lars Sundblad, Iggesund MD…
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Biotechnology company Dyadic has concluded its DISCO bioethanol project in cooperation with SEKAB E-Technology. The goal of DISCO was to identify and develop more productive and cost-effective enzymes for the production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic raw materials. Dyadic’s biofuels enzyme, AlternaFuel CMAX, was successfully verified by SEKAB at an ethanol demonstration plant based in…
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An agreement has been signed between India-based seaweed-to-biofuel company Sea6 Energy and biotechnology researchers Novozymes. Sea6 has raised $655,000 (€507,450) to further develop green algae biofuel after converting red seaweed into ethanol in its laboratory using traditional yeast processes. ‘The advantages to red seaweed over others are that it is a good bet for a commercial…
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