Other News

A revised version of the ASTM D7566-11, Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons, was approved on 1 July 2011. The new specification means that up to 50% renewable fuels can now be blended with traditional fossil jet fuel. These renewable fuel components are derived from vegetable oil-containing feedstocks, including algae, camelina and jatropha, or tallow. The…
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Maple Energy, an integrated energy company, is expected to complete construction and begin commercial operations at its ongoing ethanol project in Q4 2011. The $254 million (€175 million) greenfield ethanol project, located in Peru, consists of a 7,800 hectare sugarcane plantation and an ethanol plant, which will be able to produce 35 million gallons a year of ethanol from 5,000 tonnes a day…
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In Illinois, US, Coskata, a developer of biofuels technology, has completed the first close of its Series D round of financing. Key investors which have participated in previous rounds include The Blackstone Group, Khosla Ventures, Total Energy Ventures International (part of oil and gas giant Total), ATV, Globespan Capital Partners, General Motors, Arancia, and Sumitomo. 'We are very pleased…
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In Australia, major oil companies are ceasing to offer E10 at their petrol stations in Queensland and Victoria. The move is said to come following severe flooding in Queensland, which affected supplies for around six months. Additionally, Shell Australia said it faced issues with E10 prior to the floods, as demand was low compared to that for 'premium products and diesel'. However an ethanol…
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Extreme Biodiesel, a wholly owned subsidiary of BookMerge Technology, will acquire unwanted virgin oils from a New York, US-based warehousing company. Extreme will purchase the oil leftover from the warehouse company's facilities in the south of California. To date Extreme has collected 4,000 gallons at a price much lower than the virgin oil market. This oil, combined with waste oil collected…
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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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VTT Vasiliko, the company which aims to build a private oil storage terminal in Cyprus with an investment of €220 million, said it would take a positive view if the state wished to use its facilities. According to the company, this would save up to €50 million in investment for the Republic of Cyprus, a saving which could be passed onto the Cyprus tax payer. It also said the VTT…
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OriginOil, an algae technology developer, has joined forces with Australian company Future Energy Solutions (FES), and its subsidiary Alternate Energy Systems (AES), to carry out feasibility studies on the potential for biorefining centres around the world. The biorefineries would serve US and NATO military requirements for alternative fuels, including biofuels. OriginOil has also recently teamed…
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In Nicaragua, fresh produce exporter Xagro and its multi-faceted business partner Jam are to begin testing the commercial production of cassava chips to be used for the production of ethanol in China. Testing will include assessing a number of different cassava varieties for high starch content, which is needed in the ethanol process, in addition to the production of several thousand tonnes of…
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80% of the EU's transport fuel needs could be met with biofuels by the year 2050, according to an independent study published by the Öko-Institut. Commissioned on behalf of The Greens/European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament, the study titled The Vision Scenario for the European Union concludes that the use of biofuels in the EU transport sector will increase to 10% in 2020,…
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International marketing company Maas Companies, based in the US in Rochester, Minnesota, is to auction the Riksch Biofuels plant of Iowa. Located on 13.76 acres of land, the 9 million gallon-a-year the biodiesel plant will go up for auction on 12 April 2011 at 11am, 3187 320th Street, Crawfordsville. The plant has been out of action since 2009 when it closed due to the economic crisis, coupled…
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Since July 2007, most diesel sold in the Oregon, US-based city of Portland has been blended with 5% biodiesel (B5), and now the rest of the state is catching on. Oregon has now become the second US state to enforce the B5 mandate, after Minnesota, which first implemented a B2 biodiesel requirement, before this was ramped up to B5. Now Minnesota is reported to be further increasing the blend to…
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Following a dip in 2009, throughput in Zeeland ports seems to have picked up again. Q1 2011 saw throughput increase by more than 7% compared to the same period in 2010. In particular, general cargo throughput has increased by 23% and dry bulk by 8%. In addition to its Q1 2011 results, Zeeland Seaports has also released its final results for 2010. Throughput for last year reached 33 million…
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The US Pacific Northwest could be the ideal location in which to create a viable aviation industry, according to a study conducted by Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest (SAFN) released on 25 May 2011. The area comprises a variety of feedstocks, sufficient infrastructure and governmental interest which can form a successful industry, but early support in the form of federal mandates is…
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