Singapore-based Ennovor Biofuels announced a trio of new managers as part of the company’s effort to become the world’s second largest second generation global biodiesel producer by 2015. This news release posted on the Sacramento Bee’s website says a new chairman, managing director and plant manager were put in place for Ennovor. Chairman John Markham will take responsibility for guiding …
Alt Fuel Finder? Yep, There’s an App for That
Finding the right place to fill up on alternative fuels might be as close as your iPhone. The Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed a new, free mobile application for DOE’s Clean Cities program that helps users find a place to top off their tanks, whether it’s electricity, natural gas, biodiesel, e85 Ethanol, propane or hydrogen. The …
REG Boast Big 3rd Quarter for Biodiesel
Biodiesel producing giant Renewable Energy Group (REG) is boasting a big third quarter for its biodiesel operation. The Iowa-based company reports 77.6 million gallons of biodiesel sold in the third quarter 2013, an increase of 26 percent compared to the third quarter of 2012. In addition, revenues are up more than 40 percent compared to the same time a year …
LanzaTech’s Gas-to-Biofuel Earns RSB Certification
LanzaTech’s venture in China to turn steel mill waste gases into biofuel has earned an important sustainability certification. The company’s partnership with Shougang Jingtang Iron and Steel United Company and the Tang Ming Group is now Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) certified as sustainable for biofuels and biomaterials production. When commercially producing biofuels next year, the LanzaTech technology-enabled facility becomes …
DuPont: Lowering RVO Targets Would Be a Mistake
A company with experience successfully commercializing a variety of new technologies says it would be a mistake if government targets for renewable fuels are lowered. During yesterday’s Fuels America conference call on the prospect the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could drop renewable volume obligations (RVOs) next year from the statutory level of 14.4 billion gallons to between 12.36 and 13.18 …
Beetle-Infested Trees to be Turned into Biofuel
Trees lost to beetle infestations might not be a total loss; they could be turned into biofuels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded nearly $10 million in grants to a consortium of academic, industry and government organizations led by Colorado State University (CSU) to see if insect-killed trees in the Rocky Mountains could be a sustainable feedstock for bioenergy. …
UNICA Asks Gov’t to Educate Country About Ethanol
Brazil’s sugar cane growers are asking for some help from that country’s government to educate the public about ethanol. Elizabeth Farina, the President of the Union of the Industry of Cane Sugar Association (UNICA), said the industry needs to overcome prejudices caused by inadequate public policies and interference in the fuel market that hurts ethanol’s competitiveness. To that end, the …
ButyFix- First Carbon-Negative Biobutanol
Researchers in Asia have developed the first carbon-negative biobutanol production technology using cellulose biomass feedstock. ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute) in Taiwan introduced ButyFi, the first biochemical technology for a biobutanol transportation-fuel production with a negative carbon footprint using cellulosic biomass instead of corn. The total energy content in the lignin-rich biomass has the surplus to cover the energy for …
SeQuential Adds Seattle Locales for Biodiesel Stock
SeQuential Pacific Biodiesel is adding more Seattle, Washington locations to its customer base. This story from Pacific Business News says the joint venture between Oregon’s SeQuential Biofuels and Maui-based Pacific Biodiesel is adding the Woodland Park Zoo and Husky Stadium as providers of used cooking oil for the biodiesel producer. The longest-running commercial biodiesel producer in the Pacific Northwest, the …
Dutch Researchers ID Fittest of Fattest for Biodiesel
Researchers in The Netherlands are finding the fattest, or best oil-producing, algae in hopes of developing the fittest strain for biodiesel production. This story from TU Delft says the school’s scientists have published their findings in the scientific journal Energy & Environmental Science. ‘The ultimate goal of our research is to make oil-producing algae as fat as possible, then press …