When Cows Fly: Tallow-to-Biodiesel to Fuel Aviation

John Davis

A company operating in the U.K. has just completed its biggest shipment of tallow-to-biodiesel, and the green fuel is set to power aviation. This article from Bdaily Business News says Leo Group has shipped 10,700 tonnes of tallow recycled into about 3 million gallons of biodiesel in four ocean tankers. The overseas shipments come as the company marks another environmental …

Biodiesel, International

Biofuel Organizations Call for Tax Credits Extensions

John Davis

Leaders from several biofuel trade organizations are calling for the extension of some federal advanced biofuel tax credits. The Advanced Ethanol Council, Advanced Biofuels Association, Algae Biomass Organization, Biotechnology Industry Organization, Growth Energy, National Biodiesel Board, and Renewable Fuels Association have sent a letter to the Senate calling for the restoration of the Second Generation Biofuel Producer Tax Credit, the …

AEC, BIO, Biodiesel, biofuels, EPA, Government, Growth Energy, Legislation, NBB, RFA, RFS

Biodiesel By-Product Could Produce More Feedstock

John Davis

A by-product of biodiesel production could help grow more feedstock for the green fuel’s production. This article from Biofuels Digest says Purthanol Resources Ltd has produced lipids with yeast or fungi cultivated in fermentors and fed using glycerin, and those lipids could end up being another feedstock for biodiesel production. Oleaginous yeast and fungi were isolated and tested to produce …

Biodiesel

Surplus Biodiesel Equipment to be Auctioned Online

John Davis

Surplus biodiesel equipment used to produce ASTM-6751-10 quality product from soybean oil and animal fats will be auctioned online. Maas Companies says the equipment comes from a cooperative in Minnesota and used a water wash system and meets Environmental Protection Agency requirements for the Renewable Fuels Standard. The 3.2 million gallon per year biodiesel equipment package is surplus to the …

Biodiesel

Virginia Biodiesel Plant Gets Permit Extended

John Davis

A Virginia biodiesel plant that says it needs a little more time to line up the finances to complete its construction has gotten help from a local city council. This story in the Virginian-Pilot says the Tidewater Biodiesel LLC plant in Deep Creek got a six-month extension on the original permission. The council initially granted permission for the project in …

Biodiesel

Expiring Biodiesel Tax Credit Pushed Up Profit

John Davis

The race to take advantage of the expiring federal biodiesel tax credit helped push up profits for the green fuel. Last week, we told you about the University of Illinois analysis on the profitability of ethanol. Well, the analysts from the school are back, and this time they’ve looked into the factors over the past few years that have helped …

Biodiesel

Research Looks Into Water-Free Biodiesel Brewing

John Davis

Efforts to make biodiesel production even more sustainable might get a boost from research into a water-free method of making the green fuel. This story from Biofuels Journal says researchers at the University of Porto in Portugal are looking at a way to eliminate the water normally used water to remove impurities to meet stringent quality standards. Instead of water, …

Biodiesel, International, Research

Biodiesel Bites Back… with a Gator CHOMP!

John Davis

We’ve told you before about how researchers found a way to turn alligator fat into biodiesel. But this article in Biodiesel Magazine says new findings show a method using a supercritical methanol to make the scaly-sourced biodiesel even more efficiently. Researchers reported on a novel method this week at the 247th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, to produce …

Biodiesel, Research

German Biodiesel Sales Have Big Drop

John Davis

Sales of German biodiesel dropped dramatically last year. Germany’s Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen (UFOP), an association that advocates for oil and protein crops in that country, says 300,000 fewer tonnes of biodiesel were produced in 2013, down from the previous five-year average of 2.5 million tonnes to just 2.2 million tonnes. UFOP has determined that the actual …

Biodiesel, International

Celebrating Biodiesel Day Advocating for Green Fuel

John Davis

While yesterday was National Biodiesel Day, our friends at the National Biodiesel Board were not just cutting birthday cake. They were advocating on Capitol Hill for the green fuel. March 18th marks the 156th birthday of Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the engine that bears his name and a man who wanted it to run on peanut oil, not petroleum. …

Biodiesel, NBB