The 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit this week was another great one, according to Iowa Renewable Fuels Association president Brad Albin, who is VP of manufacturing for Renewable Energy Group (REG). There were over 500 people at the conference on Tuesday in Des Moines and Albin says that’s a far cry from when he first started in the biodiesel …
Biodiesel Board CEO Says RFS is Top Priority
The CEO of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) told attendees at the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Des Moines on Tuesday that the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) is the number one priority for the industry in 2012. “We have an immediate challenge before us,” NBB CEO Joe Jobe said of the postponed decision regarding 2013 volumes for biomass-based …
“Fuel the Future” Video Winners
For the second year in a row, Iowa high school students have been rewarded for their creative videos promoting renewable fuels. At the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Des Moines on Tuesday, Ames High School senior Sam Ennis was declared the first place winner of the 2nd Annual “Fuel the Future” video contest for Iowa high school students. …
How to Turn Oil into Salt
The idea of turning oil into salt may sound like something that should be done in a science lab but Dr. Gal Luft says it’s something that Congress can do with a simple piece of legislation. Luft, who is executive director of the Institute for Analysis of Global Security, explained his analogy between oil and salt at the 6th Annual …
Retired Army General Calls Biofuels “Ammunition”
Like oil in World War II, U.S. Army Ret. General Paul J. Kern believes that biofuels are the “ammunition” for America today. Gen. Kern ended his address to the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Des Moines on Tuesday on that note, displaying a WWII military poster declaring “Stick to your job – oil is ammunition.” “It’s your job …
Iowa Renewable Fuels – Revived and Ready
The 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit kicked off in Des Moines on Tuesday on a very positive note, considering that 2011 was a record year in the state for both ethanol and biodiesel. In his annual address to the summit, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw noted that the state’s 41 ethanol plants produced 3.7 billion gallons …
POET Partners With DSM for Cellulosic Ethanol
Ethanol giant POET is partnering with a Netherlands-based life sciences company with the intention of making advanced biofuels a reality by next year. POET has announced a joint venture with Royal DSM to commercially demonstrate and license cellulosic bio-ethanol based on their proprietary and complementary technologies. POET–DSM Advanced Biofuels, LLC, is scheduled to start production in the second half of …
Texas Corn Grower Comments on Food vs. Fuel
A Texas corn grower says the “feed versus fuel” debate is based in fallacy. Texas Corn Producers Board member Wesley Spurlock of Stratford has been speaking to groups across the Midwest explaining how U.S. corn farmers continue to grow a crop abundant enough to meet all growing demands and he has gained attention from industry publications looking to find the …
H2O Innovation at Process Optimization Seminar
There are many aspects to optimizing ethanol plant processes, including water treatment, and that is why Quebec-based H2O Innovation has chosen to be part of the latest in the Process Optimization Seminar management series, coming up February 8-10 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Greg Madden says they call themselves a membrane systems integrator. “We engineer and build equipment for water treatment …
Vilsack Comments on RFS and Biodiesel Tax Credit
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack supports the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2), but thinks strategies to build demand are more important to biofuels than tax credits. Vilsack made multiple appearances in Hawaii this week, including at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) annual meeting where he addressed the membership and met with the media and had the opportunity to comment on biofuels …