Last week, I told you about how Continental Airlines will be the first commercial airliner to use algae-biodiesel to fuel a flight shortly after the New Year. Now, according to this story from the CBS television affiliates in Montana, a Japanese airline will test one of their commercial jets with biodiesel made from camelina in Montana: Scott Johnson, manager of …
Obama’s Ag and Interior Choices are Pro-Ethanol
According to media reports, President-elect Obama will announce former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack as his choice for secretary of agriculture at a press conference scheduled for Wednesday. Obama also plans to announce his nomination of Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar as interior secretary at the same news conference. Vilsack served two terms as governor of Iowa from from 1998 until 2006 …
Obama Picks Please Biodiesel Board
President-elect Barack Obama continues to fill his incoming administration with picks that seem to please the biodiesel world. The National Biodiesel Board has sent out congratulations to Dr. Steven Chu, who has been tapped to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Energy; Carol Browner, who was named to the new position of White House Coordinator of Energy and Climate Policy(commonly …
Alt Energy Bills Await MI Gov’s Signature
Bills addressing biodiesel and biomass are on Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s desk, waiting for her signature to help make the state a national leader in alternative fuel production. This story from The Bay City (MI) Times has details about some of the bills: • Dedicating five new Alternative Energy Renaissance Zones for facilities that use cellulosic materials for fuel production, …
NH Getting Biodiesel Refinery with Another on the Way
New Hampshire is getting a couple of biodiesel refineries… one in Nashua and one in Keene… that will make the green fuel from used grease. This story from WCAX-TV says Batchelder Biodiesel Refineries in Nahua is hosting a grand opening of its first refinery on Wednesday, while Keene’s refinery will open its refinery early next year: The facility will convert …
Biodiesel, Ethanol Part of Alberta RFS
Some of our friends north of the border seem to be taking a cue from us, as Alberta has enacted a renewable fuel standard of 5% ethanol and 2% biodiesel by 2010 as part of Premier Ed Stelmach’s Provincial Energy Strategy: This new standard of five-per-cent ethanol in gasoline and two-per-cent renewable content in diesel by 2010 will help Alberta …
Squeezing a Little Biodiesel Out of Your Cup of Joe
A new study has found a new use for used coffee grounds: biodiesel. This story from ScienceDaily says researchers at the University of Nevada-Reno are reporting that waste coffee grounds can be made into biodiesel… making for a cheap, abundant, and environmentally friendly feedstock for the green fuel: In the new study, Mano Misra, Susanta Mohapatra, and Narasimharao Kondamudi note …
Biodiesel Byproduct to Help Grow Feed Supplement
With margins for biodiesel production getting tighter and tighter, it’s more important than ever to get every dollar you can out of refining the green fuel. That’s why some researchers are looking for a new use for one of the byproducts of biodiesel. This story from cattlenetwork.com says the Ohio State University Department of Animal Science has received a $38,733 …
First Algae-Biodiesel Commercial Flight Scheduled for January
As you might remember from my post back last March 18th, Continental Airlines promised to test a biofuel in one of its commercial jets in 2009. Now, according to this story in Biodiesel Magazine, the company has set a date: On Jan. 7, Continental Airlines will conduct the first algae- and jatropha-based biofuel-powered demonstration flight of a U.S. commercial airliner …
Soybean Genome to Further Biodiesel
Researchers have released a draft of the soybean genome, and the information is expected to have a big impact on biodiesel development. This press release from the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) says this is expected to help the research community come up with new breeding strategies to get the most out of one biodiesel’s most …