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The results below show our latest news.
The results below show our latest news.
Jul 22, 2009
The Aussies go bananas for fuel
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Jul 23, 2009
Uganda may be producing bioethanol from non-food crops within a year, say scientists.
A research programme led by the National Crop Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) is using a wide range of cellulosic feedstocks such as elephant grass, cassava and wood.
The production of ethanol from cellulose is more difficult than from food crops, since it requires the complex... [Read More]
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Jul 23, 2009
Mid-America Agri Products, the owner of a 44 million gallon per year bioethanol plant, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing unfavourable conditions in the bioethanol market.
The plant had been operating at full capacity for less than a year.
The plant closed in January, originally planning to reopen, but it has now laid its workers.
City officials are hoping... [Read More]
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Jul 24, 2009
A parliamentary motion has been tabled urging the British Government to review its proposal to remove the tax incentive on biofuels.
At present, biodiesel is taxed at £0.20 (€0.23) per litre less than fossil diesel. The government proposes to remove this incentive in 2010, instead fining oil companies whose fuel contains less than 5% biodiesel, generating revenue... [Read More]
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Jul 24, 2009
Two New Zealand-based research companies have joined forces in an effort to improve the economics of algal biofuel production.
Many industries, including dairy, meat and paper, produce nutrient-rich wastewater that must be cleaned before it can legally be discharged into the watercourse. As part of this cleaning process, ‘settling ponds’ are used to remove organic... [Read More]
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Jul 24, 2009
Biodiesel could be economically produced from processed chicken innards, say scientists in Nevada.
‘Chicken feather meal’ is a gruesome by-product of the poultry industry, consisting of chicken feathers, blood, and innards processed at high temperatures with steam. 11 billion pounds of this is produced every year in the US alone.
Because of its high protein and... [Read More]
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Jul 27, 2009
Colorado-based cellulosic ethanol specialist ZeaChem is on track to achieve yields of over 2,000 gallons per acre per year at a demonstration plant under construction in Boardman, Oregon, US.
This yield is comparable with algae, but with fewer technical challenges to surmount. By contrast, the highest attained yields of ethanol from corn are about 450 gallons per acre... [Read More]
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Jul 27, 2009
The US Department of Energy (DoE) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) are together planning to award $6.3 million (€4.4 million) in research grants towards the development of second-generation feedstocks for conversion to bioethanol.
The joint programme will award seven grants, initially for a maximum of three years. Energy secretary Steven Chu recently highlighted... [Read More]
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Jul 27, 2009
The world market for biofuels is set to rise from $100 billion (€70 billion) to over $280 billion by 2022, according to a report by the Pike Institute.
The report predicts that the increasing number of countries introducing biofuel consumption mandates and the higher production capacity from improved second-generation feedstocks will drive a worldwide annual growth... [Read More]
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Jul 27, 2009
Italian biodiesel producers currently producing from food crops are working together to substitute seaweed for first-generation feedstocks.
The eight companies involved in the €10 million scheme currently produce diesel from crops like corn and rapeseed. They hope to be able to produce fuel from seaweed commercially within five years.
‘The initiative aims to substitute... [Read More]
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Jul 28, 2009
Pakistan’s 27 million acres of saline land provide an ideal medium to cultivate algae for biofuel production, according to Ehsan Ali of Mie University of Japan.
Various organisations are already aiming to produce biofuel from jatropha and castor oil cultivated in Pakistan, but the use of algae as a feedstock would have numerous benefits for the country, Ali said in... [Read More]
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Jul 28, 2009
US-based Aston Renewable Resources has signed a deal with French nuclear power expert Areva to contribute €100 million to the development of biomass plants across India.
Astonfield will contribute about €60 million to the project, which is rumoured to include 10 planned biomass facilities with a capacity of about 10MW each. Construction of the first facility in West... [Read More]
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Jul 28, 2009
The global biofuels market is set to grow by an average of 12.3% a year between 2007 and 2017, according to a report by industry research specialists RNCOS.
Global ethanol and biodiesel production will grow at 6.04% and 5% a year respectively between 2008 and 2019.
In the near future, the increase in biofuel production will largely be driven by ethanol from Brazil... [Read More]
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Jul 29, 2009
Irish green energy specialist Greenfield Project Management plans to produce bioethanol from sugar beets grown in Chernobyl soil too radioactive for food crops.
Despite official warnings, many local people continue to grow food in the soil around the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. The radiation concentrates into roots and stalks which, after harvesting, are ploughed... [Read More]
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Jul 29, 2009
All seven bioethanol plants US oil refiner Valero purchased on the bankruptcy of VeraSun are now running at capacity and making a profit.
Valero bought the plants in March after VeraSun Energy was bankrupted by contracts locking the producer into paying above market price for corn. Four of the plants remained operating throughout the bankruptcy. Two were restarted by... [Read More]