One of the people I met with here at the Cellulosic Ethanol Summit is Tim Lust, CEO of the National Sorghum Producers. Tim provided me with a historical perspective on how sorghum has been involved in ethanol production. For example, he says that the first ethanol plant to use sorghum in the production of ethanol was in New Mexico 20 …
Agriculture’s Role in Cellulosic Ethanol Production
The Cellulosic Ethanol Summit is underway in Washington, DC. It’s an interesting mix of people who want to learn more about how we’re going to build this new segment of the fuel ethanol industry. On hand at lunch time was our Acting Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Conner. He addressed the group on the subject of what agriculture’s role is in …
E85 to Fuel 2008 Season of the American Le Mans Series
It’s not quite official, but the Vice President of Media Communications for the American Le Mans Series says the ALMS will be making an announcement within a week about it’s future with ethanol. Bob Dickinson says ALMS will move to an E85 blend of ethanol fuel for the series’ 2008 season. He says the series’ switch to an E10 blend …
Shell Sets the Standard for Ethanol Fuel
Sam’s Mart on 5640 New Northside Drive, NW in Atlanta, GA is among the network of Shell stations within the metropolitan area that uses an E10 blend of fuel in all of it’s fuel grades offered at the pump. Bob Walden is the Manager of Special Projects for Sam’s Mart. He says Shell is a leading player the ethanol industry …
ALMS Ferrari Sparks Youthful Curiosity
I’m not the only one who thought American Le Mans Series Driver Peter Dumbreck’s #31 Ferrari F430 GT was a sweet ride. Sam Sweeney and his mom Allison played hooky from school so they could have a chance to check out the Petersen Motorsports/White Lighting Racing Ferrari. I dropped in on Peter and Sam’s conversation about racing and spoke to …
ALMS Driver Peter Dumbreck Fired Up on Ethanol
It’s not very often that you get a foreign take on one of America’s emerging alternative fuels, so I was particularly interested in speaking with American Le Mans Series Driver Peter Dumbreck about ethanol. Peter is the driver of Petersen Motorpsorts/White Lighting Racing’s #31 Ferrari F430 GT. Both he and his ALMS car made an exciting appearance today at the …
ALMS Driver Tom Milner Drives Ethanol Promotion
Ethanol is simply “a great fuel” for American Le Mans Series driver Tom Milner. Tom drives the #18 Bell Micro Porsche for Rahal Letterman Racing. The ALMS driver pumped gas and greeted consumers with a wide and welcoming grin as he gave them a first-hand account of using an E10 blend of ethanol fuel in a high-speed, endurance setting. Today’s …
Shell Pumps Up Ethanol Frenzy Before Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans
Consumers enjoyed discounted fuel and free fountain drinks and coffee at the Sam’s Mart in Atlanta, GA this afternoon. The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council sponsored an ethanol pump promotion where consumers could fuel up with E10 fuel for 50 cents less than the going rate. The promotion officially kicked off the 2007 Petit Le Mans race weekend for EPIC. …
Former EU Ag Commissioner on Biofuels
Back in 2003, the European Union instituted some major reforms in its agricultural sector, which are now known as the “Fischler Reforms” after the Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries at the time, Franz Fischler. Among the policies instituted at the time was a very small incentive for farmers to produce crops on set aside land that could be …
Bio Gasoline Research in Japan
Researchers at Japan’s National Agricultural Research Center are working on developing Bio-Gasoline from plant oils and animal fats. According to researcher Ken Taniwaki, bio-gasoline has the same properties as petroleum gasoline and can be run in automobile engines without modifications. “This is not bio-ethanol. This actually contains the same components as gasoline,” he says. Taniwaki says bio-gasoline can be made …