Researchers at Japan’s National Agricultural Research Center are working on developing Bio-Gasoline from plant oils and animal fats. According to researcher Ken Taniwaki, bio-gasoline has the same properties as petroleum gasoline and can be run in automobile engines without modifications. “This is not bio-ethanol. This actually contains the same components as gasoline,” he says. Taniwaki says bio-gasoline can be made …
Ethanol at the EC
Leaders of the biofuels industry in both Europe and the United States are calling on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to disavow a paper issued last week critical of world ethanol production. Europe is well behind the United States in biofuels production and use, but the European Commission is moving ahead with its plans to have biofuels …
IRL Finishes Fill Up, Feel Good Season
The 2007 Indy Car Series will go down in the racing history books as the first year a major motorsport embraced a renewable and environmentally-responsible fuel source, setting the standard for the “Greening of Racing”. This edition features comments from interviews done at the last Indy Car Series race event for this season, the PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland …
Coast to Coast Biofuels Workshops
No matter which coast you call home, BBI has a Biofuels Workshop for you this fall. The Western Region workshop will be held October 9-11 in Portland, Oregon. The conference includes an opening keynote address from Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and a conclusion on “Policies and Technologies for a Sustainable Biofuels Industry” by Alex Farrell, Assistant Professor, Energy and Resources …
Sleeping Biofuels Giant
The National Alfalfa and Forage Alliance recently conducted its first Renewable Fuels Summit, “Bioenergy Systems: Alfalfa the Sleeping Giant,” in Washington D.C. The August 8 event, which had more than 80 registered attendees, included presentations on cellulosic ethanol, alfalfa as a green biomass alternative, the role of corn-alfalfa rotation in bioenergy systems, and more. Speakers also focused on United States …
Ethanol Demand Hits Record in June
According to the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol demand moved higher in June, to a new all-time record of 443,000 barrels per day (b/d). For the first six months of the year, ethanol demand is averaging 420,000 b/d. Ethanol production also edged higher in June, though continuing to trail the ethanol demand. U.S. ethanol producers added 418,000 b/d of ethanol supply …
Senator Tours POET Plant
The Associated Press has a feature on South Dakota ethanol producer POET this week, focusing on the company’s ethanol research that “should allow it to squeeze 27 percent more fuel from each acre of the crop.” Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who toured the company’s headquarters and research lab last week, said there is only so much ethanol that can be …
Biofuels Forum in Vegas
The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute’s “Biofuels Drive Economic Solutions Forum” in Las Vegas this month will feature an automotive journalist and an energy expert as keynote speakers. According to an AFVi news release, Michael Caudill, automotive journalist for KTLA in Los Angeles, and expert on the vehicle marketplace kicks off the morning with his insightful automotive forecast. Nationally recognized energy …
Virginia Ethanol Plant Fights Opposition
The developers of a proposed 216 million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant in Chesapeake have mounted a major campaign to educate the community about ethanol. The Virginian-Pilot reports that developer International Bio Energy Virginia LLC has hired a public relations professional and is taking out full-page ads in local newspapers to try and address community concerns about the plant. “I understand it’s an …
Ethanol with SC Accent
SC Now has an article on ethanol research being done at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC. Dr. Gregory Pryor, assistant professor of biology at Francis Marion University, and one of his students, Kirsten “Kitty” Hiortdhal, have begun researching new ways to create ethanol with crops grown locally in the Pee Dee. According to Wikipedia, the Pee Dee region of …