The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) announced today that Joel Velasco, the organization’s Washington, DC-based Chief Representative for North America, is leaving the position he has held since 2007, to join Amyris, Inc., as Senior Vice-President, External Relations. “Joel has provided UNICA with wise counsel, effective strategy and solid results. We wish him well at Amyris and will continue cooperating …
Update on China DDGS Dumping Probe
Three years ago there were virtually no dried distillers grains (DDGS) going to China. Last year there were more than 1.5 million metric tons of DDGS exported to the country and some estimate that the number could be as high as 3 million metric tons at the close of this year. So, although the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) felt that …
Ethanol Report on the Year Ahead
Now that 2010 is just a memory and Congressional leaders are returning to Washington this week to open the first session of the 112th Congress, what does the future hold for ethanol? In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen gets out his crystal ball and talks about the year ahead for the …
Protec Fuel Opens Three E85 Sites in Atlanta
Protec Fuel along with Indore Oil Company announce the opening of three new E85 sites in the Atlanta, Georgia vicinity. The three facilities will assist in fueling the nearly 25,000 flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) in the area. Indore Oil partnered with Protec Fuel to offer E85 through the group’s turnkey E85 infrastructure program. “Over the past three years we at …
Gene Opens Up More Potential Biomass for Biofuels
Researchers in Oklahoma have discovered the gene responsible for how dense of material a plant grows, and that discovery could open the door to more biomass for biofuels grown in the same amount of land. This press release from the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation says making denser plants allows farmers to increase the amount of biomass without increasing their agricultural …
Ethanol Report on 2010
As the champagne corks pop this New Year’s Eve, the ethanol industry will be celebrating more than they were a year ago. In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen talks about the year that 2010 was for the ethanol industry. “In many ways, 2010 was a record setting year,” Dinneen says. It …
China DDGS Dumping Probe Surprises US
The announcement this week out of Beijing that China’s Ministry of Commerce has launched an anti-dumping probe into the ethanol co-product distillers dried grains (DDGS) from the US came as a surprise to the U.S. Grains Council (USGC). “The U.S. Grains Council has a 25 year history of market development and capacity building programs in China and values the U.S./China …
New Yeast Strain Could Help Cellulosic Ethanol Production
A collaborative effort has produced a yeast strain that speeds up the process of making ethanol from cellulosic materials. Researchers at the University of Illinois, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of California at Berkeley, Seoul National University and the oil company BP worked together to develop the newly engineered yeast strain that can simultaneously consume two types of sugar …
Research to Study Impact of Ethanol on Older Vehicles
Kettering University in Flint, Michigan is one of several that have been tapped by the Department of Energy (DOE) to study the impact of higher ethanol blends on older vehicles. The use of up to 15 percent ethanol in gasoline for 2007 model year vehicles or newer has been approved by the federal government, while the use of E15 in …
Biodiesel, Ethanol Contribute to Gasoline Demand Drop
A new report from the U.S. Department of Energy says that gasoline demand will drop in this country by another 20 percent by the year 2030. And this article from the Examiner.com says part of that drop is due to alternative-fueled vehicles, including those running on biodiesel and ethanol: “A combination of demographic change and policy change means the heady …