Cargill has launched a renewable energy subsidiary to build four big ethanol plants. According to Cargill, Emerald Renewable Energy plans to develop four 100 million gallon/year ethanol plants in the Midwest. No sites have been announced yet, but several are under consideration, including empty locations and sites near Cargill grain elevators Emerald Renewable Energy is a privately held, limited liability …
Improving DDG Quality
Improving the quality and digestibility of ethanol by-products for livestock feed is a major goal of Renessen, a joint venture between Cargill and Monsanto. At the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Doug Rushing of Monsanto described how Renessen’s recently launched ethanol processing system, combined with a new corn hybrid, creates dried distillers’ grains (DDGs) with …
Gator Research Bears Fuel
A University of Florida scientist is starting to see 20 years of research bear fuel. The Palm Beach Post reports Dr. Lonnie Ingram, director of the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuel at UF in Gainesville, has spent more than 20 years on scientific work that uses E. coli bacteria to convert plant waste into ethanol. But UF only …
Nipah Ethanol
A Malaysian company is building what it says is the world’s first plant to commercially produce ethanol from nipah palm trees. The Associated Press reports that Pioneer Bio Industries Corp. Sdn. Bhd. is building the plant in northern Perak state to extract ethanol from the sap of the nipah tree, scientifically known as Nypa fruiticans and found in abundance in …
Biofuels Big Topic at Farm Bureau Meeting
The demand for corn to make ethanol is expected to keep growing, which is creating challenges for livestock producers. Both farmers and ranchers are meeting this week in Salt Lake City for the 88th American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting and biofuels has already been the main topic of discussion. Calling ethanol a “bull on the loose,” USDA Chief Economist …
FUEL For Georgia
Georgia’s first ethanol plant broke ground this week in Mitchell County. First United Ethanol, LLC – or FUEL, as it is better known – has been in the works for almost two years, according to chairman Murray Campbell, who says they will import corn from the midwest to produce ethanol initially. “Even though our facility in the corn belt, we …
Chicken Fat For Fuel
Chickens could provide a cheaper feedstock for biodiesel than soybeans. A new biodiesel plant being constructed in Southeast Missouri plans to refine chicken fat from a nearby Tyson plant into the fuel, according to an Associated Press report. Today, only a fraction of U.S. biodiesel is made from chicken fat, but that seems likely to change. The rising cost of …
Ethanol Growth Forecast Disputed
Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute, held a press conference with reporters Thursday to warn that the government is underestimating the amount of corn that will be needed for fuel by next year. According to the Associated Press, Brown says nearly twice as much corn as the government has estimated will be needed from the 2008 harvest to …
Biofuels Legislation Introduced
First day of the new Congress and already biofuels legislation has been introduced. According to the American Coalition for Ethanol, U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) have introduced the Biofuels Security Act of 2007. Including many of the legislative priorities called for by the American Coalition for Ethanol, the bill places homegrown biofuels at the center of …