Other News

The President of Sudan, Omar al-Beshir, has opened a new 200 million-litre ethanol from sugarcane plant in the White Nile State. State-owned company Kenana, which already makes sugar and molasses, will run the ethanol plant where production levels are forecast to reach 200 million litres in two years. The factory, which lies about 250 kilometres south of Khartoum, was built by Brazilian group…
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The International Renewable Energy Alliance (REN Alliance) has taken a further step to strengthen its stance regarding the worldwide renewable energy sector by welcoming the World Bioenergy Association amongst its ranks. The agreement ensures that all the leading international renewable energy organisations are now part of the REN Alliance. The Alliance already represents agencies concerning the…
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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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Dong Energy’s bioethanol producing subsidiary Inbicon has signed a deal with Statoil that will see it deliver the first 5 million litres of its second-generation bioethanol from its plant near Asnaes Power Station in Kalundborg, Denmark. The plant, which is presently under construction, aims to demonstrate that second-generation bioethanol can be produced on an industrial scale using…
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The UK government has announced that five new biogas projects will receive funding through its £10 million (€11.5 million) Anaerobic Digestion Demonstration Programme. There will be five projects that look set to benefit from the funds including plants in Dorset, East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Manchester and in Shropshire. The funding comes as a result of the Department for Environment, Food…
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Swedish company Chemrec has entered into an agreement with The Stella Group to support the company’s efforts to raise awareness of Chemrec’s integrated biorefineries at pulp and paper mills. Chemrec’s technology converts black liquor, a mill byproduct, into renewable biofuels, biomaterials or power. The company has plans to design, build and operate integrated biorefineries throughout the…
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The Colombian government has issued a decree that beginning in 2012 all new vehicles must bear E-85 flex-fuel technology. The decision will see biofuel production in the South American country continue to rise as it is already expecting record levels of production from both ethanol and biodiesel with five new facilities coming online within the year. Colombia, the second-largest producer of…
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According to new research from the Netherlands’ University of Twente, 14,000 litres of water are needed to create 1 litre of biodiesel from rapeseed or soyabeans. Researchers at the university analysed 13 crops to determine the optimal production regions for each based on water consumption and climate date. The water footprint for rapeseed in western Europe is significantly smaller than in…
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California-based Solazyme has raised $57 million (€40 million) in its run up to commercialise algae-based biodiesel. Solazyme has now raised a total of more than $76 million with new investors including VantagePoint Partners. The producer grows algae in open ponds or inside photobioreactors. Solazyme grows algae in the dark and feeds them biomass and industrial by-products, including…
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The EU has launched a biogas project as a solution to the mounting agricultural waste on farms in the continent. The Agrobiogas project with €2.9 million in funding has set its sights on developing anaerobic digestion technology, which offers an effective way to treat agricultural waste while being a realistic option for farmers. The project will encourage the use of biogas via anaerobic…
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