Other News

The sickness bacteria E. coli could soon be used to power vehicles as the US Department of Energy (DoE) is supporting a research project into this area in the form of $6 million (€4.9 million). Jason Kelly, the founder of bioengineering start-up firm Ginkgo BioWorks, said: ‘This is our biggest grant to date. It’s going to help us expand, and it’s part of our strategy of moving into…
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In the US a joint ethanol distribution terminal project between Louisiana-based fuel storage provider Red River Terminals and Tennessee ethanol producer Eco-Energy has entered operations. The project will serve the bulk ethanol needs of the Shreveport area as ethanol blending increases over the next several months. The facility is located close to the area’s petrol terminals to provide…
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Waste collection company Bahamas Waste has begun constructing its $750,000 (€563,000) biofuels facility that could see the production of biodiesel from as early as June this year. Over 50 rubbish trucks will switch from using fossil fuels and run on biodiesel once the production facility comes online. With the manufacturers license and permits in order, Bahamas Waste is now concentrating on…
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New World Energy (NWE) is dedicated to the research, development, and operation of alternative renewable energy projects and has teamed up with Germany-based Bosch and Siemens Home and Appliance Group (BSH) on a pilot project in Indonesia to produce environmentally friendly stoves. Instead of running on Indonesia’s first choice cooking fuel, kerosene, the Protos stove will run on jatropha oil…
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India’s consumption of ethanol is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5% between 2010 and 2013, a report says. The research report ‘Emerging Biofuel Market India’, claims that the increased blend of ethanol in vehicle fuel combined with the high demand from the industrial sector has resulted in a period of fast growth and developments for the region. The…
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In a recent report the European Environment Agency (EEA) has reiterated the importance of furthering biofuels in order to slash greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Europe and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. According to the report titled ‘Towards a resource-efficient transport system,’ although the majority of existing biofuels will meet the sustainability requirements, those imported…
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Brazilian oil giant Petrobras is to purchase a 45.7% share in ethanol producer Acucar Guarani, previously controlled by France-based sugar, starch and ethanol producer Tereos. Petrobras Biocombustivel will acquire the stake for $920 million (€706.3 million), valuing the Guarani company at $2.01 billion. Petrobras will make the payment in three stages in the hope that this will increase the…
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The European Biodiesel Board (EBB) and the European Bioethanol Fuel Associations (eBIO) have withdrawn from the Roundtable of Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) following claims that the RSB works with ‘obscure consultants’ and ‘ambiguous organisations.’ In response to EBB's letter of resignation, RSB's executive secretary Alwin Kopse urges EBB to ‘identify such organisations for the…
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LL Biofuels Namibia is set to produce its own biodiesel after signing an agreement that will see the cultivation of jatropha on 300,000 hectares of land located in the north-eastern Caprivi Region, Namibia. The 20-year deal between LL Biofuels and the Caprivi Regional Council and Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) allows the company to undertake various crop experiments on Katima Farm aimed…
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Bulgaria's only oil-producing facility is now going greener. The Russian-owned refinery Lukoil Neftochim Burgas has begun production of a 2% bio-competent biodiesel. According to a proposed law, which came into force on 1 May, all of Bulgaria’s diesel must be blended with 2% biofuels. The law was scheduled to be enforced back in 2007, however since then a very small number of biofuels…
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Located in Sao Paulo, Brazil, oil company Petrobras’ Paulinia refinery will commence its production of ethanol on 7 May. The refinery temporarily closed for maintenance and expansion, which saw the plant’s 18,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity increase to 390,000 bpd. Brazil’s ethanol supply dried up this year following issues with the sugar cane harvest, which resulted in the nation…
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In Brazil, energy firm Petrobras is set to construct and operate a biodiesel production facility in the state of Para, due to be online by July 2013. The plant, expected to cost around BRL330 million (€140 million), will have the capacity to produce 120 million litres of biodiesel from palm oil, all of which will be consumed by the north of the country. BRL240 million of the total cost will…
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Brazilian oil company Petrobras will collaborate with Galp Energia that will see the construction of a biodiesel plant in Portugal. Producing 250,000 tonnes of biodiesel each year, the refinery will process a 300,000-tonne-a-year supply of palm oil from the Brazilian state of Para. The partnership will focus mainly on selling its biofuel to the Iberian market but other markets across Europe…
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