Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group (REG) will hold a grand re-opening of its Seneca, Illinois biodiesel plant. The biodiesel maker and marketer became the operator of the 60 million-gallon-a-year biodiesel and glycerin facility, taking over from Nova Biosource Fuels. REG will have Congresswoman Deborah Halvorson on hand to make remarks on the start-up of the plant and to “[c]elebrate the start …
Biodiesel Product Can Clean Up Oil on Beaches
Biodiesel producers could be utilized to help clean up oil the coastline after the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the National Biodiesel Board, methyl esters – a chemical yielded in biodiesel production – can be formulated into a biobased solvent that is federally listed as a shoreline washing agent for oil spill clean-up. An effort is underway …
Green Fuel Biodiesel Finds Green Party Opposition
A political party that claims to back environmentally friendly causes has inexplicably come out against biodiesel, even though the feedstock for the green fuel would actually remove waste from a landfill. The SF Weekly blog says San Francisco’s Green Party has come out against a proposal to make biodfiesel in the city: The Examiner reported this morning that a facility …
Kerry Proposes New Biodiesel Tax Break Renewal Route
The renewal of the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit seems to have been left in the doldrums as the U.S. Senate went to August recess without agreement on the number of amendments to the Small Business Bill, which contained a renewal of the incentive. But Biodiesel Magazine reports that a whole new bill, “The Clean Energy Technology Leadership Act of 2010,” …
Missouri Congressman Supports Biodiesel Tax Credit
Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt, fresh off a primary win to be the Republican candidate for Senator, stopped at the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) in Jefferson City, Missouri on Friday to voice his support for reinstating the biodiesel tax credit which expired at the end of 2009. “I’m very concerned that we continue to see good, job-producing tax credits in the …
Iowa Central Fuel Testing Lab Wins BQ-9000 Accreditation
There is a lot of talk today about creating “green jobs” and how best to train those people to enter the green sector. One of the early adopters of green education was Iowa Central Community College (ICCC). This week, the college announced that they have become the first laboratory to earn accreditation as a BQ-9000 laboratory. This accolade means that …
New York Officially Passes Bioheat Legislation
In a follow-up to a story written last week, New York has officially passed air quality legislation that includes a provision to ensure that only Bioheat, a blend of heating oil and biodiesel, is used with the city. The unanimous vote, 45-0, ensures that starting October 2012, all home heating and oil will contain at least 2 percent biodiesel. The …
FAO: Japtropha Promising Rural Crop for Biodiesel
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has recently released a new report that champions jatropha as a promising biodiesel crop especially for global rural farmers. The report, “Jatropha: A Smallholder Bioenergy Crop, the Potential for Pro-Poor Development,” set out to examine the potential for jatropha as a sustainable biodiesel crop and has been in development since …
Butter Could be Biodiesel Feedstock
USDA researchers are studying the use of butter as a feedstock for biodiesel. According to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists with USDA's Ag Research Service looked into the concept of making butter that would otherwise go to waste into biodiesel. Michael Haas and colleagues cite rising global demand for biodiesel, and the desire …