Lots of the next generation of biodiesel producers today are biodiesel students. But making biodiesel can require handling of some hazardous material, so that’s why the National Biodiesel Board is offering the webinar, Biodiesel in the Class Lab: Ensuring Safety, on Sept. 25th from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Central time: NBB is teaming up with the Methanol Institute to present …
Waste-to-Biodiesel Jet Fuel Project Gets Loan Guarantee
A company that plans to turn municipal waste into renewable jet fuel has received a government loan guarantee for the project. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the $105 Million loan guarantee provided through the Biorefinery Assistance Program for Fulcrum Sierra Biofuels, LLC to build a biorefinery to produce jet fuel from municipal solid waste. “This represents a huge …
Pennsylvania Biodiesel Plant to Re-Open
After being shuttered for the past three years, a biodiesel plant in Pennsylvania is looking at new life. This article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says Pennsylvania Biodiesel in Monaca, which had operated from 2007 through 2011, is poised to re-open, despite the uncertainty in the biodiesel market right now. It’s not clear why Pennsylvania Biodiesel shut its doors in 2011. …
Schools Getting Smarter with Biodiesel
Students all across the country are back in classrooms this week, and biodiesel is providing a clean and smart way for them to get there. This article from the Durham (NC) News & Observer says school districts in Durham, Johnston and Pitt counties will run on biodiesel made from used cooking oil. The three school systems are among the first …
Methes Energies Unveils New Catalyst for Biodiesel
Biodiesel processor manufacturer Methes Energies has unveiled a new catalyst for biodiesel production. This company news release says the Methes PP-MEC catalyst will provide a new pre-treatment process for high free fatty acid (FFA) biodiesel feedstocks, including non-food grade corn oil, and Dorf Ketal Speciality Catalysts LLC (“Dorf Ketal”) will make the new catalyst for Methes. The PP-MEC catalyst is …
AMRC Looks at Ethanol Plant Profitability Projections
Don Hofstrand, retired agriculture extension economist with the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AMRC) located at Iowa State University, has recently published projections for ethanol plant profitability over the next several years. When the ethanol boom really took off, Hofstrand noted that most farmers purchased shares in ethanol plants as a way to hedge against low corn prices. So AMRC began …
FAPRI: Corn Prices Down, Ethanol Future Depends on EPA
Corn prices are down, and the future of ethanol seems to hinge upon what the government does on the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). A new report from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri shows that there have been sharp declines in the price for grains and oilseeds used to make ethanol and biodiesel. …
OriginOil to Take Demo System on the Road
As extreme drought continues to grip most of California, the maker of a system that cleans up water to gather algae (for later applications, such as biodiesel) and take out contaminants from industries such as oil and gas, will be taking a demonstration of its technologies on the road. OriginOil says it will show off an industrial system already cleaning …
DF Cast: Ethanol Innovators Talk New Tech at ACE Conf.
Any manufacturer is looking to get more out of their operations, and it’s certainly no different for biofuel makers. In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we hear from four innovators who talked about their operations and how they are on the cutting edge of biofuel producing technologies during the recent at the American Coalition for Ethanol conference. Among …
Fuels America Celebrates Labor Day
Labor Day in America is this weekend and Fuels America is celebrating by highlighting a recent report on American workers in the U.S. biofuels industry. According to the organization, the renewable fuels industry has tremendously grown since the passage of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). Today, the sector supports more than 850,000 jobs and generates $46.2 billion in wages. Combined, the …