Other News

Biofuel enzyme producer Novozymes and its Chinese partner COFCO have entered into a partnership with Chinese oil and energy company Sinopec to develop ethanol from agricultural waste. The three companies will cover ethanol production and distribution with the aim of developing a commercial-scale process for producing second-generation ethanol from corn stover. Novozymes expects it will be the…
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Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMEP) expects to move fuels blended with 5% biodiesel across southern regions in the US via the Plantation Pipe Line this year. KMEP recently conducted a test in which it moved 20,000 barrels of the blended fuel via a Mississippi-to-South Carolina segment of the line. KMEP will ship the fuel blends along portions of the line that carry petrol and diesel fuel,…
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) could approve the use of genetically-engineered (GE) corn as a feedstock for manufacturing ethanol. The new ethanol corn would also be the first GE industrial crop to be planted on millions of acres a year if authorised. The Agriculture Department recently ended the public comment period for its proposal to permit widespread cultivation of a food crop…
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Texas-based oil company Valero Energy is expected to purchase several ethanol plants from VeraSun Energy. The $280 million (€216 million) bid from Valero Energy would buy a group of VeraSun properties, including its Aurora plant, if no other bidders arise before a March auction. VeraSun also plans to sell the rest of its plants this year, primarily to big oil companies seeking to integrate…
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Finland-based paper company UPM Kymmene and renewable fuel supplier Lassila & Tikanoja are testing the use of producing ethanol from the pulp-based waste created by the paper industry. During the pilot tests ethanol and energy are produced from commercial and industrial waste, such as paper, cardboard and wood. By developing waste processing units, energy company St1’s biofuel division…
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Nebraska, US-based ethanol producer Green Plains Renewable Energy has acquired a majority interest in Houston-based biofuel terminal operator Blendstar. Green Plains acquired 51% of Blendstar from Bioverda U.S. Holdings for $9 million (€7 million). Blendstar currently operates terminal facilities in Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Nashville, Knoxville, Louisville and Birmingham. Additionally,…
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California-headquartered Sirona Fuels has acquired producer Blue Sky Biofuels. Blue Sky Biofuels’ Oakland, California-based biodiesel refinery is permitted for 15 million gallons a year and is currently producing ASTM-spec biodiesel from recycled cooking oil. Sirona has implemented plans for the rapid expansion of its used cooking oil collection business, and by the end of 2009 expects to…
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Sierra Leone has launched a $200 million (€154 million) renewable energy project, which includes the production of ethanol. The project’s sugarcane plantation will take 20,000 hectares of land and the ethanol plant will produce more than 1.2 million litres of ethanol a year. In addition, a 30MW power plant will also be in operation. The project’s funding has been approved and construction…
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The Netherlands-based biodiesel producer Solarix, the University of Amsterdam (UvA), and technology company Yellow Diesel have received a €1 million subsidy for developing new biofuels from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, as part of the EOS KTO programme (short term energy research). The funding forms part of a €1.5 million R&D project for synthesising and commercialising a new…
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The first industrial biodiesel production plant in Latvia opened on 22 January. The plant constructed by BDI – BioDiesel International is located in the port area of Ventspils with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tonnes. The plant will use vegetable raw materials coming from the Baltic states, the Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It is also capable of processing used cooking oils…
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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to assist the ailing ethanol industry by improving efficiency. The USDA will research, develop and promote best practices to improve efficiency at corn-based ethanol plants, which have suffered volatile corn prices and low demand for a fuel more expensive than petrol, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says. VeraSun Energy, the second-largest US…
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The sale of petrol with 7% ethanol content is anticipated for March in Costa Rica following a pilot plan conducted in the north-western area Guanacaste. Biofuels in the country will use a number of feedstocks. Ethanol is made from sugarcane and cassava, while biodiesel is extracted from oil-producing plants such as castor bean and jatropha. Roberto Dobles, minister of the environment and…
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US ethanol producer Poet may bid on plants owned by VeraSun Energy during an auction to be held in March, CEO Jeff Broin says. Earlier in January VeraSun obtained approval from a judge to auction seven of the eight ethanol plants it had bought from U.S. BioEnergy in 2008 for approximately $700 million (€527 million). Poet first expressed an interest in making investments in ethanol production…
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