Other News

Dedicated to converting greenhouse gases into biofuels Tomorrow Biofuels is to construct a pilot plant in Cranston, Rhode Island, US, to do just that. Tomorrow’s first plant will capture gases emitted from an adjacent power plant and utilise them to enhance the growing time of algae. Oil will then be extracted from the algae and converted into biodiesel before being transported back to the…
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The rubbish collectors of the city of Anchorage, Alaska, have begun running their rubbish trucks on biodiesel sourced from waste cooking oil which is picked up during their rounds. Alaska Waste’s plant, which cost $3 million (€2.4 million) to construct, was unveiled on 17 June this year and has already begun producing the biofuel for use in its trucks. Alaska Waste now collects the used…
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Formed towards the end of 2005 and opened in 2006 biodiesel production facility Memphis Biofuels, based in Memphis, Tennessee, US, has been shut down. The facility was opened with the intention of initially producing 36 million gallons of biodiesel each year before ramping up production to 100 million gallons a year. However the company soon defaulted on an $8.3 million (6.8 million) loan…
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In Berkeley County, South Carolina, US, coal brokerage firm Converse and Co. is currently developing a $4 million (€3.3 million) biofuels plant that, once completed later on this year, will use waste oil collected from eateries for the production of solid biofuel. Now North Carolina-based waste-to-energy firm EcoPlus has signed a multi-year contract with Converse to purchase its biofuel,…
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A project proposed by Kenya Jatropha Energy has received resistance from environmental groups as the implementation of more jatropha plantations for use as fuel threatens the existence of rare birds. The jatropha plantation requires the destruction of the Dakatcha woodland forest in Malindi town, Kenya, an area used by native birds for breeding. 50,000 hectares of Trust Land will be set aside…
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In Lakeland, Florida, US, fuel supplier Fleetwing Corporation now sells E85 ethanol from its first public ethanol pump. Comprising of a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol, the fuel is available to owners of flex-fuel vehicles only. Fleetwing also distributes E85 to Lakeland city in bulk amounts for use in its fleet vehicles. However, since the ethanol pump was installed around one month ago,…
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With a vision to become a key player within the biofuels industry Brazil-based oil firm Petrobras is to invest $240 million (€195.7 million) in the Sao Martinho Group. The investment is part of a $2.4 billion expansion plan by Petrobras. Investing the funds through a joint venture called PBio Petrobras will acquire a 49% stake in two of Sao Martinho’s ethanol-producing facilities; the Boa…
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On Thursday 10 June 2010 the EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger outlined strict biofuels plans, which have been described as the ‘most stringent in the world.’ Announcing the measures in Brussels Oettinger said: ‘In the years to come biofuels are the main alternative to petrol and diesel used in transport which produces more than 20% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the European…
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Following the EU’s introduction of US anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on US biodiesel in March last year, Australia could be next to follow suit after a local biodiesel producer issued a complaint about US biodiesel dumping in Australia. Australian firm Biodiesel Producers said that US biodiesel was being dumped onto the Australian market and the Australian Customs and Border Protection…
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High production of maize ethanol in the US, meaning less price-competitive ethanol, has forced Brazil to cut its exports to the world’s largest producer. The US has no intention to lower the barriers for the entrance of the Brazilian product in that country, the head of Brazil's Development, Industry and Trade Ministry, Miguel Jorge, says. ‘We do not have a market in other countries…
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In a bid to boost local biofuels producers Germany wants to increase the level of ethanol that can be blended with conventional petrol. The move would benefit domestic producers such as bioethanol manufacturer CropEnergies AG. Clemens Neuman, head of the ministry’s section dedicated to sustainable agriculture and forestry, explained that the ethanol blend, which currently stands at 5%, would…
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UK-based bioethanol producer Ineos Bio has received a £7.3 million (€8.77 million) grant from One North East and the Department for Energy and Climate Change towards the £52 million construction cost of its advanced bioethanol from waste plant. The plant, to be located at the Ineos Seal Sands site in the Tees Valley, is designed to produce 24,000 tonnes per year (30 million litres) of…
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The Brazilian Innovation Agency, FINEP (Research and Projects Financing), and Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES) have entered into a new partnership to promote bioethanol development, establishing a programme which will provide up to $540 million (€438.9 million) in financing to the country’s biofuels sector. With operations scheduled to begin on 30 July the project aims to promote…
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