Other News

Swedish regional carrier BRA has operated a flight from Stockholm Bromma Airport to Umeå in northern Sweden with an ATR-72-600 using a fuel blend comprised 45% of used cooking oil. Turboprop manufacturer ATR said it was the first biofuel-powered flight of an ATR aircraft. “Sweden is currently debating a new tax on aviation,” BRA CEO Christian Clemens. “It will…
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Finnish pulp and paper maker UPM-Kymmene is planning its next step in wood-based renewable fuel products after a successful ramp-up at its initial biofuels plant, UPM’s Biofuels VP, Sari Mannonen, said. In a statement, UPM stated the plant in Lappeenranta is the first in the world of its kind, making biofuel for vehicles and ships from crude tall oil, a residue of wood pulp production that…
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Coal generation in Europe is being phased out and will continue to do so due to competition from cleaner energy sources, such as natural gas and renewables, as well as governments efforts to cut emissions, according to a new study by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The UK is leading the way when it comes to reducing coal dependency, helping to put coal's share of power generation in…
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Republican Party Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner has introduced two bills aimed at reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the national biofuels mandate. The bills call for the additional study and evaluation of the ethanol mandate . According to Sensenbrenner, this is to ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency’s “volume obligations are based in reality”. The…
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UK-based gas-to-liquids firm Velocys and US-based ENVIA Energy have produced their first Fischer-Tropsch product at ENVIA’s Oklahoma City plant. The plant deploys a number of Velocys' full-scale commercial Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactors. These Fischer-Tropsch products are fractionated on site to produce premium wax, diesel and naphtha. The fuels produced at the plant are expected to qualify…
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Sweden’s Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, has unveiled proposals to go carbon-neutral by 2045. Last week (2 February, 2017) Löfven set a statutory target to go carbon neutral will be trigged by 1 January, 2018. Under the proposed Climate Act, the government will be required by law to include a climate report in the country's annual budget and to produce a climate action…
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Will a possible US tax reform and border adjustability affect ethanol producers in the US? K·Coe Isom’s Brian Kuehl and Donna Funk, unpick this issue. As the 115th US Congress begins in Washington, DC, comprehensive tax reform is set to be one of the top priorities for congressional leadership and for the new Trump administration. There is a high likelihood that comprehensive tax…
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Jeremey Roswell, a UK-based pilot and environmentalist, has made history by flying a light aircraft more than 500 miles from Sydney to Melbourne, Australia, using fuel made from plastic waste. Conventional fuel was blended with 10% of fuel made from end-of-life plastic waste. UK-headquartered firm Plastic Energy manufactures the fuel. The main aim of the ‘On Wings of Waste’ (OWOW),…
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Finnish renewable diesel Neste has sold its terminal in Pietarsaari to the Swedish company Wibax. The terminal has not been used for Neste's own operations for many years because the tanks and other facilities are not suitable for storing oil products without investments. Neste has been offering terminal and operations services for chemicals to a third-party customer. The sales price will not be…
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China’s exports are steadily falling as a share of gross domestic product in a decline that could soon make the country less reliant than India on sales abroad, according to the Financial Times. The shift highlights the growth in the Chinese domestic economy, which could make Beijing better able to withstand trade tensions under US president Donald Trump, who has threatened to hit the…
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Oman has tremendous potential to be a leading exporter of energy based on renewable sources, an industry expert has said. David Rooney, director of sustainable energy research at the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast spoke at an event on renewable energy and biofuels organised by the Independent Learning Centre at SQU, according to…
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California-based synthetic biology specialist Synthetic Genomics and oil giant ExxonMobil announced that they have extended their agreement to conduct joint research into advanced algae biofuels after making significant progress in understanding algae genetics, growth characteristics and increasing oil production. ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics have been jointly researching and developing…
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Chemicals giant DuPont has reported strong fourth-quarter results. The company swung to a fourth-quarter profit though sales slipped as it attempts to solidify its merger with Dow Chemical. The company earned $265 million ( €246m), or 30 cents per share, compared with a loss last year. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 51 cents per share, which easily surpassed Wall…
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