Environmentally-conscious bikers may be interested in easy riding with Ecorider, “the only production diesel motorcycles offered for sale to the public in this country.” According to an email we got from Dusty Beckstrand, western US rep for Ecorider, they have been contacted lately by biodiesel companies interested in the bikes, “which use a German, Hatz diesel engine that gets 125 …
Small Company with Big Plans
A California company is planning to become a major ethanol producer with some new backing. A release this week from Altra, Inc. announced that it has attracted some heavy-hitter investors – private equity firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Omninet Private Equity, LLC and Sage Capital Partners, L.P. along with two leading private equity funds focused on high growth companies …
A-peeling Fuel Research
Now here’s an a-peeling idea for a cellulosic fuel source. Researchers at the Agricultural Research Service Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory in Winter Haven have been looking at the possibility of using citrus peels to make ethanol. According to this ARS story, citrus waste materials are rich in pectin, cellulose and hemicellusic polysaccharides, which can be hydrolyzed into sugars and …
Plug In to Hybrids
Found this good story on the Bioconversion Blog. Flex-fuel vehicles can run on gasoline or ethanol or any blend in between. But the liquid fuel MPG is not very good. Hybrid cars can extend the MPG of an automobile by substituting electricity generated within the car in place of liquid fuel – but you need to run the car on …
Ethanol Bill News
Ethanol bills were in the news in a couple of states today. In Arizona, the Senate passed a bill which classifies E85 as a motor fuel and permits it to be used in Maricopa County. Maricopa County’s poor air quality has led to restrictions on the motor fuels that can be sold. But the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality endorsed …
MO House Moves Ethanol Bill
After a few amendments passed and a few defeated, the Missouri House of Representatives came to a consensus on an ethanol mandate bill for the state. The measure would require most gasoline sold in Missouri after the end of next year to contain a 10 percent ethanol blend – and here is the fine print – as long as the …
Gator Ethanol Research
This story is appropriate this week in honor of the Florida Gators basketball championship – especially since my husband and I are both UF alumni. Research at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is on the cutting edge of converting biomass to ethanol. IFAS sent out this release last May, prior to the existence of Domestic …
Clean Cities Congress
Alternative fuels and advanced transportation technologies will be featured at the Clean Cities Congress and Expo 2006, which will be held May 7-10, in Phoenix, Arizona. The theme of this year’s Congress is “Fueling Economic Solutions” with a focus on cost-savings for alternative fuel fleets. “With oil prices nearing $70 a barrel, fleets are taking a financial hit,” said Will …
Another CHS and US BioEnergy Deal
CHS Inc., one of the nation’s leading energy and grain-based foods companies, and US BioEnergy Corporation, an ethanol production and management company, announced today they have entered into a joint ownership of an ethanol and biodiesel marketing company, according to a news release. CHS, which formed when Cenex and Harvest States Cooperatives merged in 1998, acquired 28 percent ownership in …
More Terminals Offer Pre-Blended Biodiesel
Petroleum terminals in Texas, New York and Michigan have announced the availability of pre-blended biodiesel within the last month, according to a release from the National Biodiesel Board. Distribution Drive, a wholly owned subsidiary of Earth Biofuels, Inc. and Motiva Enterprises, an oil company headquartered in Houston, Tex., announced Monday that the Motiva Enterprises terminal in Dallas will now offer …