There’s been some recent talk about turning algae into biodiesel… enough to catch the attention of the magazine Popular Science. This article highlights an operation in Colorado with some great pictures, graphics, and even video of the process: Algae seems a strange contender for the mantle of World’s Next Great Fuel, but the green goop has several qualities in its …
Closing the “Splash and Dash” Loophole
Lawmakers on the U.S. Senate’s Finance Committee will take up a bill that’s supposed to close a loophole that has allowed importers to get millions of dollars in biodiesel subsidies designed to help U.S producers but for biodiesel that doesn’t end up helping American drivers. This article from TheHill.com has more: Known as “splash and dash,” the loophole allows 100 …
Mitigating Biofuels Effects on Food
AACC International (formerly known as the American Association of Cereal Chemists) is inviting senior food industry executives to a three-day symposium and workshop to discuss the impact the biofuels industry is having on the food market. The AACC web site has more information on the seminar, titled “Biofuels and Food, Mitigating the Impact of Biofuels Demand on Food Ingredients” scheduled …
Ethanol Plants Could Make Biodiesel
Ethanol refiners are looking at ways of getting more products out of the raw ingredients they are using, and one of those new products could be biodiesel. Normally, corn is used to make ethanol and soybeans are used in biodiesel. But this article on the Truth About Trade & Technology web site says many ethanol plants are looking at changing …
Freedom Fuels Making Freedom Fuel
Aptly named Freedom Fuels, LLC has opened a new biodiesel plant near Mason City, Iowa (see picture from the Freedom Fuels web site on the right). This story on Grainnet.com says Freedom Fuels will produce about 30 million gallons of biodiesel a year: “From the very first batch, the biodiesel exceeded specifications for quality,” said Brian Stork of Core Ventures …
Tractor Race Competition Video
The CEO of the National Biodiesel Board is Joe Jobe. He was fired up to compete in the Michael Peterson/New Holland Celebrity Tractor Race on Sunday. He’s pictured here on top of the tractor with Michael Peterson and all the FFA students who helped out at the event. Unfortunately Joe didn’t win but he had a good competitive time. You …
Contentious Energy Bill Stalls in U.S. Senate
The U.S. Senate has hit an impasse over a proposed energy bill that makes larger allowances for alternative energy, in particular, wind power, than previous energy bills. This AP story from Forbes.com says Democrats had hopes for an early vote on the measure, but Republicans were against many of the measures in the omnibus bill: The impasse over renewable fuels …
Palm Oil Biodiesel Considered for Hawaii
Blue Earth Biofuels, which is building a 40-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel refinery with capabilities to go to 120 million gallons, has gotten the green light from the Hawaiian legislature to move forward with the project. But, this article in BizJournals.com, says the company that will buy the biodiesel for electric production, Hawaiian Electric Co., will host a series of meetings with the …
Riders on Udall Bus Tour Give Thoughts
The other day, I told you about about how the Morris K. Udall Foundation was making its annual cross-country trip promoting environmental and Native American issues and how this year it is doing under biodiesel power (see my post from June 12th). The Philadelphia Enquirer caught up with the group at one of its first stops after leaving Washington, DC: …
Greening Waste Management
While garbage trucks clean up our trash, too many times the trucks themselves have been polluting the environment through their emissions. According to this Reuters story, a growing number of cities, including New York and San Francisco, are switching their garbage trucks to the greener fuel fleets to cut soot and greenhouse gases… without any extra costs: “The greening of …