Researchers at the University of Illinois have come up with a way to turn swine manure into a biocrude oil, as well as growing algae biomass, capturing carbon, purifying wastewater and recycling nutrients. This news release from the school says Yuanhui Zhang and Lance Schideman, both professors in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, have combined their years of …
Biofuels Conference Told to be Biomass Agnostic
If you’ve never been to Italy, you might be inclined to believe the whole country is very much the same. But you’d be wrong. From the simmering sea shores of the southern coasts to the towering Alpine peaks of the north, where people are more likely to speak German than Italian, the whole country is a rich tapestry of diverse …
Biofuels Can’t Get Overcome with Negativity Overhang
There’s some real negativity hanging over the biofuels industry these days. And while any industry has risks, it seems that the setbacks loom larger over the renewable energy sector compared to what their competitors in the conventional energy sector face. In his talk before the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference, “De-Risking a Risky World,” Fred Cannon, the CEO of cellulosic fuel …
NREL: Biodiesel Quality Shows Dramatic Improvement
New information from the U.S. Department of Energy shows biodiesel quality is better than ever. This news release from DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that 95% of the samples from 2011-12 met ASTM International fuel quality specifications… a dramatic improvement from just a few years ago: “The survey showed a major improvement over results from previous years,” NREL …
RFS Shown to Work Because It Makes Big Oil Nervous
How can we tell the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) is working? By how nervous it’s making the big oil companies. That was the message attendees at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference near Washington, D.C. heard. “We are disrupting an existing marketplace,” says Brooke Coleman, Executive Director of the Advanced Ethanol Council. “We are not social media. We are not creating …
Vilsack, LaHood Extend Aviation Biofuels Commitment
Two members of Pres. Obama’s cabinet today have signed their names to an agreement that will extend the administration’s commitment to the production of biofuels for use in airplanes. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood have extended by five years the “Farm to Fly” program, an initiative to partner the USDA and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) …
Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conf. Underway in DC
Hello from the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference, just a few miles south of the Nation’s capital at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center! A lot has been going on already this morning, but before it all got started, I caught up with Jim Lane, the editor for Biofuels Digest, who is putting on this event. He told me that …
“Farm to Fly” Agreement to be Signed at ABLC
As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center near Washington, D.C. on Monday. And I just got this breaking news item in my email box from our friend, Jim Lane from Biofuels Digest: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will announce that the U.S. Department …
EU Looks to Tax Argentine, Indonesian Biodiesel
The European Union is targeting foreign biodiesel … again. Reuters reports this time the EU is looking to hit imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia with a duty to keep the green fuel out: Those countries represent 90 percent of EU biodiesel imports and face retroactive duties from Thursday if an investigation finds the countries have benefited from illegal …
See You at Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference!
We’ll see you next week at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference (ABLC) in Washington, DC! Our friends from Biofuels Digest are promising this will be a great forum running April 15-17 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center with real dialogue on the real issues facing the biofuels industry. Just look at some of the folks who will be …