A researcher from The Ohio State University has found a way to make a polyurethane foam from a by-product of biodiesel. Yebo Li, a biosystems engineer with the university’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster, has found a way to turn glycerin into a renewable, cheaper foam: “Polyurethane foam made with our bio-polyol is renewable, biodegradable and …
Biodiesel, Ethanol Maker Signs ex-Oil Exec to Board
A company that is producing ethanol and biodiesel from non-food cellulosic wastes has welcomed a former oil industry executive to its board of directors. BlueFire Renewables, Inc. announced that Joe Sparano, a former President and, subsequently, Executive Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), as well as former president of Tesoro Petroleum’s West …
Kyocera Installs 2 Solar Systems at Phoenix Schools
Kyocera Solar has completed the installation of solar electric systems in two Phoenix, Arizona schools: Copper Ridge in Scottsdale and Cholla Elementary in Casa Grande. The solar arrays were installed in partnership with SolarCity and featured Kyocera solar modules. Combined, the two solar systems will produce 764 kilowatts (kW) of electricity. The Copper Ridge School’s solar system is comprised of …
Propel Fuels Hosts USDA’s Judith Canales
Propel Fuels hosted Judith Canales, Administrator for Rural Business and Cooperative Programs for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), yesterday at one of the fuel retailer’s stations in Oakland, California yesterday to promote the positive and economic and environmental impacts biofuels has on the US. Propel is the leading retailer in the US installing biofuel infrastructure for both ethanol and …
Novus Int’l Installs EV Charging Stations
Agri-business company Novus International has installed three electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at its St. Charles, Missouri headquarters. The ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations were developed by Coulomb Technologies. Novus installed the charging stations as part of its efforts to become a Platinum LEED Certified building, a green environmental building designation. It is the fourth building in Missouri and one of …
GMO Crops Not Well Understood By Public
It sure looks like we have a long way to go to help educate the general public on GMO’s! In answer to the question, “How much do you think the public understands about GMO crops?” an overwhelming 70 % say Majority know nothing. Wow. Only 22% or our readers say Some think they know. Only 4 % say People totally …
Florida Companies Ink $18 Mil Grease for Biodiesel Deal
Two Florida companies have signed a deal potentially worth $18 million to provide yellow grease for biodiesel production. Freedom Environmental Services and Clean Fuel of Lakeland, FL, a Florida biodiesel producer, inked the three-year deal: President and CEO Michael Borish stated, “We are excited to build on our relationship with Mr. Maher’s Clean Fuel companies by supplying recycled yellow grease …
Monsanto & Sapphire to Colloborate on Algae
Agribusiness company Monsanto and algae company Sapphire Energy have announced a partnership to “discover” genes that could be applied to agriculture particularly in the areas of yield and stress. As Sapphire works to bring algal fuels to commercial scale, the company is searching for traits that make a particular strain of algae better suited for fuel or other biochemicals. In …
Corn Ethanol Walks the Line Song
Here’s another video clip from the ethanol producer group known as “Green Floyd” that played at the recent National Ethanol Conference. The Green Floyd band is made up of Frontline Bioenergy CEO Bill Lee, Neil and Tom Koehler with Pacific Ethanol and Paul Kamp with Inbicon. This song is a parody of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” with lyrics …
Researchers Develop Isobutanol From Cellulose
Using consolidated bioprocessing, researchers at the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center have discovered how to develop isobutanol directly from cellulose. The research was led by James Liao of the University of California at Los Angeles, and the results were published in the paper titled “Metabolic Engineering of Clostridium Cellulolyticum for Isobutanol Production from Cellulose,”online in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. …