Other News

Corn oil was the fastest growing feedstock for biodiesel production in 2013. According to Joe Riley, FEC Solutions, approximately 85% of today's dry grind ethanol plants are extracting corn oil to create a new co-product and additional revenue streams. Corn oil extraction in the ethanol-making process remains ever-popular. 'This can be done at a relatively low capital cost and, depending on the…
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Researchers believe catalysts could improve the biofuels production process. The deoxygenation of biomass such as corn stover or forestry waste could create a significant development in the production of biofuels. Oils produced by high-temperature treatment of these waste materials contain a large amount of oxygenated compounds that lead to undesirable properties such as high viscosity and…
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The European Commission has selected Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant as a demonstrator multi-KETs pilot line. Known for the development, scale-up and custom manufacturing of biobased processes and products, the Belgium-based pilot plant has recently been chosen as one of the four European demonstrator multi-KETs pilot lines. Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is best recognised for its work in industrial…
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Construction of an $800 million (€580 million) crude oil tank farm proposed by Petroplex over six years ago finally looks to be going ahead in Louisiana, US, thanks to the St. James Parish Council. The project, which includes a terminal on the Mississippi River, has received a waiver from St. James Parish's newly adopted land use plan that will allow it to proceed on more than 1,700 acres of…
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CHS, an ethanol marketer, has signed an agreement to acquire Sinav's Illinois River Energy ethanol plant at Rochelle, Illinois. The plant, which has a capacity of 133 million gallons per year, began operations in 2006. Sinav first acquired the plant in January 2012 when it bought GTL Resources. After making a number of improvements, it put the facility up for sale in January last year. The…
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Agro EcoEnergy has invested $550 million (€400 million) in sugarcane farming for an ethanol project. The subsidiary of Swedish based EcoEnergy Africa AB has set up a special purpose project company, Bagamoyo EcoEnergy, to develop a modern sugarcane plantation and factory that produces sugar, ethanol and power for the Tanzanian market. The project is estimated to provide 10 million litres of…
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The Energy Department is set to invest up to $10 million (€7.2 million) in funding to advance the production of advanced biofuels. Advanced biofuels are substitutes for petroleum-based feedstocks and bio-products made from renewable, non-food-based biomass, such as agricultural residues and woody biomass. This supports the Department's efforts to make drop-in biofuels more accessible and…
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Proposals to boost the mandatory amount of palm oil in biodiesel is thought to be hampering the government's efforts to increase the consumption of non-subsidised fuel in Indonesia. Recent figures presented by the Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas) show that the consumption of non-subsidised fuel reached a total of 26 million kilolitres in 2013, below the 29 million kl recorded…
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has cut its 2013 target for the use of cellulosic biofuel to less than a million gallons. The agency lowered the mandate to 810,185 gallons in a new rule, after the industry failed to meet goals for the fuel's production last year. The figure is significantly below the 6 million gallons required in the proposal it finalised last summer and is a small…
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The Navy plans to create two new acquisition vehicles this year to ensure it has a consistent supply of advanced biofuels. As an indication of their development, the service says the biofuels will not be any more expensive than the petroleum-based diesel and jet fuels that it has been buying for decades. By using the Defence Production Act, the Navy are able to send money to companies that supply…
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Avianca Brasil and Byogy Renewables have unveiled an initiative to develop the world's first biofuel that does not require blending with a traditional fuel. The duo suggests that Byogy's proprietary ATJ process harvests biofuel that is in some ways 'better than jet fuel produced from oil'. The advanced biofuel producer's platform converts any source of ethanol, butanol, mixed alcohols, or related…
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Lufthansa is testing a new type of biofuel for use in aircraft to increase its efforts to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions. The aircraft carrier is teaming up with Gevo to research the blending of Gevo's ATJ with conventional kerosene for aircraft use. The alcohol-to-jet fuel producer uses fermented plant waste from a range of sources to produce isobutanol, a form of alcohol which can then be…
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The South African government shows support for Mabele Fuels' biofuel programme with a potential investment. Mabele Fuels, a clean energy company, has been awaiting subsidy approval from the government to build South Africa's largest biofuels refinery. Ben Martins, the South African minister of energy, reports that the final biofuels position paper will be published in May 2014. A 2% blend of…
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