Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says USDA has met President Obama’s 30-day directive to expedite and increase the production of biofuels. “Further developing the biofuels industry helps create jobs and stimulates rural economies, an important part of getting our economy back on track,” Vilsack announced. “President Obama and I are committed to advancing clean and renewable energy as it creates jobs …
Ethanol Industry Looking Forward to RFS Hearing
The ethanol industry is looking forward to a public hearing and workshops this week in Washington, DC to address the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rulemaking for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2). Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen will be testifying at the public hearing on Tuesday. “While we generally applaud EPA’s efforts to get the rule out, we …
Cellulosic Technology Investment
Two venture capitol companies have invested in an Israeli company with technology for converting cellulosic materials into fermentable sugars. Burrill & Company and Khosla Ventures announced their investment in HCL CleanTech, which has “developed a proprietary technology to make an old, industrially proven German process converting lignocellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars economically very attractive.” “Accessing cheap sugar locked in biomass …
Bright IDEA Could Help Ethanol and Hog Producers
A bright IDEA from Novus International could help both hog producers and the ethanol industry. IDEA stands for “Immobilized Digestive Enzyme Assay” which Dr. Brad Lawrence with Novus says helps measure the digestibility of lysine and other amino acids in dried distillers grains (DDGS), the livestock feed by-product of ethanol production. “Distillers is one of the few ingredients that we …
Another New Ethanol Plant in Iowa
A new ethanol plant in Merrill, Iowa celebrated its grand opening last week. The Plymouth Energy plant has been operating at full capacity since last month and will produce 55 million gallons of ethanol a year using 18 million bushels of locally-grown corn. The plant is located north of Sioux City in the northwest corner of Iowa and the company …
Mini Ethanol Brewer Gets Governor’s Blessing
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled the final production model of the world’s first home ethanol system last week at the California State Capitol. The E‐Fuel MicroFueler™, which we first reported on here at Domestic Fuel in May 2008, looks like a washing machine and creates ethanol fuel from organic waste or leftover alcoholic beverages. “Ethanol holds a promise of reducing …
More Time to Trade Ethanol Contracts
Early risers will now have a little more time to electronically trade futures contracts for ethanol on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Electronic trading hours for CBOT grains, oilseeds and ethanol contracts will be expanded in the morning by one hour and fifteen minutes, until 7:15 a.m., starting July 1. The new electronic trading hours will run from 6:00 …
Study Examines Ethanol Policy Options
A new study done by the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) looked at the impact of eleven different policy scenarios for ethanol on the market, food and ethanol prices, and overall farm income. Among the options considered was increasing the allowable blend of ethanol in gasoline to 15 percent, which the study found would result …
Ethanol Bob in Brazil
Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen is in Brazil for the Ethanol Summit 2009 in Sao Paulo and is providing an up-to-the-minute account of his visit via Twitter. Among Dinneen’s comments so far since he arrived in Brazil early this morning: “Just passed a fuel station. Alcohol (ethanol) was 1.09, gasoline was 2.29. Units are litres and Rials, …
Toledo to Test Cellulosic Ethanol
The city of Toledo, Ohio is testing cellulosic ethanol in city vehicles this summer. In partnership with Virginia-based SuGanit Systems, the city will test the company’s formula for ethanol from biomass feedstock on three city fleet vehicles. The tests will measure emissions, miles per gallon and cost differentials, among other factors, according to city officials. The Toledo Free Press reports …