News

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has annulled the European Union’s (EU) countrywide 9.5% anti-dumping duty on all ethanol imported from the United States. The duty had been in place since February 2013. US-based Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy announced that they welcomed the decision, which was made on 9 June. The ECJ ruled that the five-year anti-dumping duty of…
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Scientists have identified new steps in the way plants produce cellulose, which may help avoid having to choose between growing crops for food or fuel. Cellulose is the component of plant cell walls that provide strength and forms insoluble fibre in the human diet. According to a report on the phys.org website, the findings could lead to improved production of cellulose and guide plant breeding…
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Biofuels heavyweights attended a public meeting to discuss the US’ Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposals to revise the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in Kansas, US. EPA’s recent proposal calls on refiners to blend 14.8 billion gallons of conventional biofuels in 2017, slightly below the 15-billion-gallon level envisioned by the US Congress when it expanded the RFS in…
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Government and industry investment in new equipment will dramatically increase access to higher-ethanol blends but not fast enough to raise mandates to use the fuel next year, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Grants supporting the installation of pumps and tanks able to dispense a 15% ethanol-petrol blend (E15) will help drop a significant barrier to spreading a fuel…
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Diesel car owners could face a tax hike in order to tackle the rising problem of air pollution, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has indicated. McLoughlin said that it had been a mistake for former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to cut taxes on diesel. In an interview with the Evening Standard, McLoughlin said: "We have got to look at that. It is something the chancellor will need to look at…
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The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has issued a report on methanol and ethanol, saying they are good potential alternatives for reducing both the emissions and carbon footprint of ship operations.  As they are sulphur-free, use of methanol and ethanol fuels would ensure compliance with the European Commission Sulphur Directive.  The report stated that methanol and ethanol both…
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Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it intends to build a new energies portfolio that would include biofuels, hydrogen, solar and wind assets. The company recently unveiled a new medium-term strategy that envisages asset sales and other cost-cutting measures following its takeover of UK peer BG Group earlier this year. Shell’s goal is to achieve stronger returns and…
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Repreve Renewables, a US-based bio-feedstocks firm, has opened a new processing centre in Greensboro, North Carolina. The company’s primary crop is giant miscanthus, a drought tolerant perennial that needs low inputs yet provides high yields.  Research has shown the crop also improves soil and water quality. Giant miscanthus can be used as a feedstock for a variety of…
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Alaska Airlines has used Gevo’s biofuels products to fly its planes. Alaska Airlines Flight 388 from Seattle to San Francisco departed on 7 June with its engines using a mixture of traditional jet fuel and a 20% blend of biofuel made from fermented corn. In a push to establish sustainable fuel sources, the airline has been flying demonstration flights with a variety of biofuels engineered…
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A new clean technology to turn sunlight into liquid fuel could drastically shrink the need for large plantations to grow crops for biofuels, while combating climate change, according to Harvard University researchers. That could help protect food supplies and local people’s land rights, they suggested. Dubbed “bionic leaf 2.0”, the technology uses solar panels to split water…
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UK-based Axion Polymers has added two new Axfuel High CV Polychip alternative fuels to its existing range of environmental solid recovered fuel (SRF) products. According to the firm, its new product provides a consistent and sustainable energy solution with low-carbon impact. Suitable for use in the cement industry and energy-from-waste sectors, Axfuel High CV Polychip Grades A and B are…
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Rail is the primary mode of transport used to transport US biofuels, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Although pipelines, tankers, and barges are widely used to transport liquid fuels to, from, and within the US, several types of liquid fuels, including crude oil, ethanol, and biodiesel, are transported by rail in large volumes. EIA recently expanded its…
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Researchers at South Korea-based Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have created a waterless toilet system that can convert human waste into biofuels. The system is part of a wider creative studio and research lab called the ‘Science Walden Pavillion’, which is now open to the public. It is nestled in the centre of the UNIST campus. The Science Walden building,…
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The use of nitrogen fertiliser on switchgrass crops can produce a sharp increase in emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas up to 300 times more harmful than carbon dioxide and a significant driver of global climate change, according to a new, three-year study from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Centre and Michigan State University (MSU). Switchgrass is one of several crops…
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