Other News

The US Supreme Court has declined to take up a challenge to the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeal's September 2013 ruling on California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). That ruling found that the LCFS programme is constitutional, overturning a previous ruling stating that it violates interstate commerce laws. In March, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy sent a petition to…
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The country's first commercial biofuels-powered flight, operated by British Midland International (BMI) between Karlstad and Frankfurt and by Nextjet between Karlstad and Stockholm, has left Sweden.  Opened on the 26 June, Karlstad Airport has become the first airport in Europe to install a fixed storage tank facility for aviation biofuel. 'We hope that this Karlstad biofuel programme will…
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Biodiesel production in Brazil and Argentina will rise 'sharply' this year, increasing the demand for soyabean oil as a raw material, Oil World reported. Brazilian biodiesel output will increase to 3.1 million metric tonnes this year from 2.56 million tonnes in 2013, with soyabean oil used as the main feedstock. From July, Brazil's government has mandated biodiesel to account for 6% of diesel…
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The Indian government has increased the prices of jet fuel and non-subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by Rs 16.5 (€0.2) a cylinder. This rise comes after an increase in global oil prices due to the ongoing troubles in Iraq, and directly follows the surge in petrol prices by Rs 1.69 a litre and diesel prices by 50 paise a litre. Oil marketing companies are currently experiencing a daily…
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US ethanol outputs have hit a record high as plants prepare for the increasing seasonal demand and positive margins. With weak corn prices and increasing crude oil values to reinforce this demand, last week saw plants produce on average 972,000 barrels a day, 28,000 barrels a day more than the previous week – the highest ever figure since records began. The weak markets in corn and strong…
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a new rule aimed at maintaining liquidity in the market for renewable identification numbers (RINs), established under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). A second rule has also been issued, naming additional fuels that can qualify for cellulosic or advanced biofuel RINs, which includes compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas. The…
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The Northeast biodiesel plant has received a $540,000 (€397,000) grant from the state Department of Energy Resources. Construction of the $3.5 million plant began ten years ago and is now nearing completion. With a further $350,000 of investment, Lynn Benander, president of Co-op Power Energy Cooperative, expects construction of the cooking-grease-to-diesel-fuel factory to be reached…
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Israeli scientists have successfully created a water and air-based jet fuel in the laboratory and are now looking to commercialise its method into a consumer product. Despite its cost, scientists are capable of technically producing hydrocarbons from water and air and at present, Israelis are focusing on finding innovative production techniques. The method concentrates on extracting carbon…
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Neste Oil and Renewable Algae Energy (RAE), a US-based algae biomass producer, have signed a commercial algae oil off-take agreement. Traffic fuels refiner and marketer, Neste Oil, is researching algae oil as one of the alternative feedstocks for producing NEXBTL renewable diesel. Implementation of the agreement will require RAE to increase its algae oil production capacity and to comply with the…
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Biofuel is expected to be sold in all localities in Vietnam in 2015. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), large petrol dealers, including the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) and PVOil, will sell 5% bioethanol (E5) fuel in seven areas starting this year. These areas include capital Hanoi, southern Ho Chi Minh City, northern Hai Phong city, central Da Nang city and…
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A research project, initiated at Qatar university (QU), is looking at the use of biofuels sourced from indigenous natural resources. QU vice-president for research Dr Hassan al-Derham hopes that the project, led by Qatar Biofuel project manager Hareb al-Jabri, contributes toward attaining the Qatar National Vision 2030. The project aims to produce clean and environmentally-friendly alternative…
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An Taisce, The National Trust for Ireland, has raised serious fears over the European Union's 'unsustainable' biofuels policy. The National Trust says that under the current EU policy, 70 million hectares of land will be needed to grow a sufficient amount of materials to reach the targets set. Ireland is also reliant on imported used cooking oil (UCO) as a source of biofuel, which currently makes…
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As research into alternative energy has grown, Japan is now looking to replace crude oil. Makoto Watanabe, a phycologist and professor at the University of Tsukuba's Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, believes algae is the best alternative to algae. Watanabe works with two species of microalgae, the photosynthetic Botryococcus braunii, and Aurantiochytrium, which feeds on organic…
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