Detroit Public Television (DPTV) is debuting a new ethanol documentary this Sunday, October 9, 2016 at 9:00 pm ET called, “The Ethanol Effect“. The film, produced by DPTV, takes a look at the controversy surrounding the challenges of the best use for America’s corn production: food or biofuel. The worldwide premier of the documentary is on PBS’ World Channel. (Click …
Chemoil Settles RIN Dispute
The largest mis-use of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINS) since the inception of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has been settled this week. The U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice have ordered Chemoil Corporation to retire 65 million fuel credits to resolve violations. When factoring in the current market value of the credits, combined with an additional 7.7 million …
Supercomputer Paving Way for Biomass to Biofuel
Supercomputing is being used to discover ways to make turning biomass into biofuel. The University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) project is led by Jeremy Smith, UT Governor’s Chair for Molecular Biophysics based in the Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology. He also is director of the UT-ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics. One of the …
Canada Adopts Carbon Pricing Strategy
Canada has announced a carbon pricing strategy on emissions that takes effect in 2018 with a $10 per ton rate. The fees rise to $10 per ton per year until they are capped out at $50 per ton by 2022. As part of the legislation, provinces and territorial governments can select from two carbon pricing systems: carbon tax or cap …
EPA Proposes #Biofuels Market Growth Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday released a proposed update to Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) regulations “to better align our standards with the current state of the renewable fuels market and to promote the use of ethanol and non-ethanol biofuels.” According to the agency, the proposed changes are the result of “recent developments in the marketplace resulting in increased production …
Minnesota #Biodiesel Mandate Stands Firm
Minnesota has been and continues to be a leader in the support of biofuels and was the first state to pass a biodiesel mandate requiring B20 (20 percent biodiesel, 80 percent diesel), to be used in 2018. Last year a motley group of oil, gas, trucking, auto manufactures and dealers and trade groups, sued four key Minnesota state legislators directly …
DC Water Taps Into #Biodiesel
DC Water has been tapping into the benefits of biodiesel. All of its 230 diesel fleet vehicles are powered by a B20 blend of biodiesel. According to the company, between October 1, 2015-August 31, 2016 – the use of biodiesel displaced nearly 15,000 gallons of petroleum diesel providing an estimated 15 percent reduction in CO2, a 12 percent reduction in …
Neste Takes Leadership Role in EU Biojet Initiative
In 2011 the European Commission, along with other organizations, launched the European Advanced Biofuels Flightpath initiative to help the EU meet Paris Climate Agreement targets. It has been announced that Henrik Erämetsä, Head of Aviation Regulation at Neste has been appointed Co-Chair and will serve alongside Ruben Alblas from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Biofuel companies taking part in the initiative …
New York Increases Use of #Biodiesel
New York City has passed legislation to increase the use of biodiesel, in the form of Bioheat, and decrease the use of heating oil. The bill, which passed today by a 47-3 vote, increases the amount of biodiesel in heating oil from the current 2 percent level to five percent by October 1, 2017 then to 10 percent in 2025, …
Chevron, ISU Partner on Advanced Biofuel Project
Iowa State BioCentury Research Farm has entered into a joint project with Chervon, U.S.A. University engineers to develop a pilot plant to develop and demonstrate solvent liquefaction, an advanced biorenewables technology. The technology converts biomass into a bio-oil that can then be processed into biofuels or biochemicals and biochar, a fertilizer that has the ability to enrich soil. Iowa State …