VeraSun Opens 14th Ethanol Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

VeraSunVeraSun Energy has announced the start up of its 110 million gallon per year ethanol biorefinery located near Dyersville, Iowa. The Dyersville production facility marks the 14th VeraSun biorefinery in operation and the fifth in Iowa, increasing the company’s annual production capacity to more than 1.4 billion gallons.

“We are pleased to bring another large-scale, environmentally friendly ethanol production facility on-line in the state of Iowa,” VeraSun CEO Don Endres said. “The state continues to be a leader in renewable fuels production, helping our nation to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. We commend the Dyersville community, its leadership, and the local corn producers for making this day a reality.”

According to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, VeraSun Dyersville is the 32nd operating biorefinery in Iowa, increasing overall annual production capacity in the state to almost 2.5 billion gallons.

Ethanol, Facilities, News

Ethanol Tailgate Party

Cindy Zimmerman

Edgar the E-Man will be partying with Albert and Sebastian this weekend in Gainesville, Florida when the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council kicks off its sponsorship with the Fox Tailgate Tour at the Florida vs. Miami football game.

Visitors at the tailgate tour will have the chance to compete in the Ultimate Ethanol Challenge, where competitors face off to test their ethanol knowledge. The winner of each contest gets a free fuel card. Edgar E-Man will be passing out scratch off cards giving people a code to enter online for a chance to win free fuel for a year. Tailgaters can also register by texting a code or dropping their name in a registration box.

EPIC, Ethanol, News, Promotion

Process Could Improve Ethanol Efficiency

Cindy Zimmerman

A process used in breweries and wastewater treatment facilities could make corn ethanol more energy efficient.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are exploring the use of oxygen-less vats of microorganisms that naturally feed on organic waste produced from the ethanol fermentation process.

According to a university release, a WUSTL team has tested anaerobic digestion on waste from ethanol plants and found that the process could cut down an ethanol facility’s use of natural gas by 50 percent. They published the results in the recent issue of the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

A complete story on the research is available at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Technology Review.

Ethanol, News, Research

Ethanol and Politics

Cindy Zimmerman

RFA PodcastWith ethanol continuing to be such a political issue, it was especially important this election year for the ethanol industry to have a clear presence at both recent political conventions. In this Ethanol Report podcast, Matt Hartwig with the Renewable Fuels Association and Randy Doyle with Al-Corn Clean Fuels in Claremont, MN discuss how and why the ethanol industry was involved in the Democratic and Republican conventions and the AgNite event at the RNC.

You can subscribe to the “The Ethanol Report” podcast by following this link.

Or you can listen to it on-line here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/rfa/ethanol-report-18.mp3]

Audio, Ethanol, politics, RFA

Washington State Adds Another E85 Station

Wilcox & Flegel Oil Company, one of the largest fuel distributors in the Northwest, is committed to E85 and is offering the product in the city of Olympia, Washington. This is the sixth location the distributor is supplying.

The recently opened E85 pump located at the Shell station at 3505 Pacific Ave., is selling the product at more than 80 cents below regular unleaded gasoline. In the past week, the facility sold more than 270 gallons of the clean burning, alternative fuel.

Aaron Wilcox, special projects manager for Wilcox & Flegel said that the group is a longtime distributor of diesel and gasoline that started selling E85 fuel about a year ago. They began selling E85 because the Detroit automakers chose to build flexible fuel vehicles.

Wilcox & Flegel Oil Company plans on adding up to ten E85 sites across the state of Washington.

Car Makers, E85, Ethanol, Facilities, News

Regulators Approve $4.6 Billion Wind Energy Deal

John Davis

Regulators on New York’s state Public Service Commission have voted unanimously to approve the buyout of Energy East by Spain-based world energy company Iberdrola for $4.6 billion.

This article from Forbes says there are some caveats to New York’s approval:

For example, the commissioners required Iberdrola to put aside $275 million to offset future rate increases. That’s compares with the $646 million PSC staff analysts initially proposed as a condition of the sale.

The commission said Wednesday that Iberdrola must sell the fossil fuel generating plants but may keep the wind energy plants as long as it commits to spending up to $200 million on wind energy development in the state. The company has publicly said it will spend $2 billion on wind energy in New York, but it hasn’t made a firm commitment.

Under the terms the PSC laid out, Iberdrola would also be required to make any future investments in wind energy using money from a non-Energy East subsidiary.

The commissioners, who have had Iberdrola’s proposal before them for more than a year, characterized their decision as a compromise that protects Energy East’s customers while not imposing conditions so onerous they’d cause Iberdrola – which is based in Spain – to nix the buyout.

Iberdola has not commented whether it would accept or reject the offer.

Wind

Study Shows Biodiesel Out-Performs Petroleum Diesel

John Davis

A 13-week study of vehicles fueling with B99 biodiesel had no mechanical issues, ran more smoothly and significantly reduced CO2 emissions and other air toxins compared to petroleum diesel.

This press release posted on MarketWatch.com says that Seattle-based Propel Fuels, a leading retailer of low-carbon renewable fuels and The Essential Baking Company, announced the results of a study where B99 replaced petroleum fuel in the baking company’s delivery fleet:

“This study reflects what many in the industry have known for years — biodiesel performs as well as, if not better than regular petroleum oil,” says Rob Elam, founder of Propel. “As more and more fleet owners look for ways to reduce their emissions, they can feel confident that our biodiesel is a quality fuel.”

During the 13-week trial, six Essential Baking vehicles fueled with strictly B99 blend biodiesel from Propel’s Clean Fuel Points, travelling approximately 37,000 miles on 2,500 gallons of B99, with one vehicle logging over 14,000 miles. Vehicles selected varied in model, types of routes, and mileage driven. No vehicle failures and no operational issues were experienced. Cold weather proved not to be a problem for the vehicles, even with 32 days when the daily low temperature was below 35 degrees Fahrenheit. The majority of drivers reported that the vehicles ran more smoothly and more quietly on B99 than on petro-diesel.

The press release goes on to say that Propel was able to find out some specific facts during the trial:

The results indicated that the delivery vehicles:
— reduced their output of CO2 by more than 43,000 pounds,
— displaced 1,553 gallons of petroleum oil,
— reduced harmful particulate matter (PM) produced by 78 percent,
— reduced air toxins by 60 to 90 percent,
— eliminated 100 percent of sulfur compounds from vehicle exhaust.

Biodiesel

Twin Cities to Host Biodiesel, Ethanol Workshop & Trade Show

John Davis

While the focus in Minneapolis-St. Paul this week has been the Republican National Convention, another important meeting is set for the Twin Cities later this month.

Facing a Renewable Fuels Standard that will go from using 600 million gallons of renewable fuels next year, growing to 21 billion gallons by 2022, the Advanced Biofuels Workshop & Trade Show will work on real solutions during its meeting September 28-30th at the Minneapolis Convention Center:

Building a technological bridge from first- to second-generation biofuels is America’s 21st Century “moon shot,” an undertaking as massive and consequential as the Apollo space program…

The Advanced Biofuels Workshop & Trade Show is designed specifically to help entrepreneurs, biomass producers, researchers, and technology, equipment and service providers prepare for this green fuels revolution. The conference will focus on technology updates, feedstock science and management, market challenges, research and development activities, and government policies and programs in support of advanced biofuels. It is both a timely primer and an invaluable networking opportunity for anyone seeking new prospects in this fast-growing sector of renewable energy.

There’s still time to register for this important meeting. Go to the Advanced Biofuels Workshop & Trade Show web site at www.advancedbiofuelsworkshop.com.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Bobcat Could Boast Ethanol Boost

Cindy Zimmerman

Auto blogs are buzzing about ethanol boosting technology.

Pickup Trucks.com reports this week that Ford is developing a new line of turbocharged ethanol direct-injection gasoline engines under the code name Bobcat.

Bobcat engines will feature ethanol boost technology, developed by Ethanol Boosting Systems, LLC of Cambridge, Mass., that promises 5 to 10 percent greater fuel economy than EcoBoost engines.

Ethanol boosting starts with a small turbocharged engine with separate gasoline and ethanol fuel injectors for each cylinder. The gasoline system mixes fuel and air in the motor’s intake manifold using port injection. The second system injects small amounts of ethanol directly into the combustion chamber to control premature detonation, or knock, that results from the high temperature and pressure of a turbocharged engine. The ethanol prevents knock by cooling the air/fuel mixture until the engine is ready for combustion.

The Bobcat engines could become viable alternatives to diesel engines in full-size pickups.

Car Makers, Ethanol, News

Gulf Ethanol Offers Feedstock Powder Samples

Cindy Zimmerman

Cellulosic feedstock powder may sound like a form of fairy dust – a powder that enhances the productivity and viability of cellulosic ethanol production. But producer Gulf Ethanol is prepared to prove it to anyone who asks.

GulfThe company announced today that they are offering free samples of the microscopic cellulosic feedstock powder produced by its processing unit as a way to address those who are skeptical of their claims.

“Skeptics and short sellers have been implying that our technology is not real or that it doesn’t produce the fine cellulosic powder as we have announced,” said Gulf Ethanol president Bill Carmichael. “Now, we are going to eliminate the doubts of any honest investor by giving them an actual sample of the powder we have produced.”

Individuals may request a sample by writing to the company at Gulf Ethanol Corp., Sample Request, 1240 Blalock Road, Suite 200, Houston, TX 77055.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News