Butamax Advanced Biofuels, a 50/50 joint venture between BP and DuPont, today announced the acquisition of Nesika Energy in Scandia, Kansas as the next step in the commercialization of bio-isobutanol. “The Nesika facility will serve to demonstrate our technology at scale as well as validate process and biocatalyst improvements,” said Stuart Thomas, Butamax CEO. “Our plan is to broadly license …
US Coachways Donates $15K to Biodiesel Foundation
US Coachways has been supporting sustainability and cleaner air by monthly contributions to biodiesel research and education which as of this month have totaled $15,000 provided to the National Biodiesel Foundation. “Thanks to donations from companies such as US Coachways, the Foundation has been able to administer and support valuable education and research projects,” said Foundation president Jeff Lynn. “Over …
Ag Secretary Closer to Confirmation
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Thursday moved the Trump Administration one step closer to a full cabinet by voting to favorably report nominee Sonny Perdue to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, which means he will now be considered by the full Senate for confirmation. Committee chairman Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) is pleased Perdue’s nomination is …
Ethanol Helping Crappie Masters Grow
Grenada Lake, Mississippi was host last weekend for the Mississippi State Championship, one stop on the 2017 Crappie Masters All American Tournament Trail. The Renewable Fuels Association is a title sponsor of the tournament, along with Bass Pro Shops, and it has the support of Missouri Corn Growers and American Ethanol as well. Brian Sowers is co-host of Crappie Masters …
RFA, TRANSCAER Hosting Second Ethanol Safety Webinar
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and TRANSCAER® are jointly hosting this year’s second ethanol safety webinar for ethanol emergency response teams on Tuesday, April 11. The “Train the Trainer” webinars are funded through a Federal Railroad Administration/ TRANSCAER® grant and are designed to provide entire communities with the knowledge to respond to any potential ethanol-related emergency. The program is based …
Quad County Corn Processors to Evaluate XyloFerm®
Quad County Corn Processors of Galva, Iowa will soon be helping to evaluate the XyloFerm® yeast strain in the Cellerate™ process on an industrial scale. XyloFerm® is a Gen 2 yeast platform from Taurus Energy AB of Sweden distributed in United States by Lallemand Biofuels & Distilled Spirits. Now that XyloFerm has obtained GRAS status for distillers grains produced using …
ACE Takes RVP Message to Hill
The American Coalition for Ethanol 9th annual DC fly-in last week brought the “Power by People” message to Capitol Hill, focused on allowing the sale of 15 percent ethanol blends all year long in every part of the country. Over 70 participants in the fly-in had more than 120 meetings on the Hill encouraging co-sponsorship of bipartisan legislation recently introduced …
Busy Ag Week on the Hill
National Ag Week was a busy one for agriculture on Capitol Hill. National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) First Vice President Kevin Skunes of North Dakota spent last week visiting Congressional offices on behalf of both the corn growers and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE). “Ethanol is our number one priority,” said Skunes. “We need to have this outlet for …
RFA Hits FSMA Training Program Milestone
As of this month, 200 ethanol plant employees have been trained under the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Preventive Controls for Animal Food program. The latest course was held in St. Louis earlier this month. The training program is based on a curriculum developed by the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA) and is facilitated by …
Biodiesel Industry Files Antidumping Petition
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) this week filed an antidumping and countervailing duty petition against Argentine and Indonesian companies that are allegedly violating trade laws with dumped and subsidized biodiesel in the U.S. market. The petition was filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission on behalf of the National Biodiesel Board Fair Trade Coalition, …