The team that flew a Czech military jet on 100 percent biodiesel last October (see my post from Oct. 16, 2007) has plans to fly a Learjet around the world on the green fuel. Four months ago, Douglas Rodante with chief pilot Carol Sugars at the controls and the team from Green Flight International flew a 40-year old Czech Aero …
Waste to Fuels Conference
The Southern Waste Information eXchange and the Florida BioFuels Association are sponsoring the 1st Annual Waste-to-Fuels Conference & Trade Show in Orlando, Florida on April 6-8, 2008. The conference will provide a forum for informing the public and private sectors of the economic and environmental benefits of converting waste materials to alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol as well …
Minnesota Researchers Looking at New Oilseeds
Research into additional oilseeds to make into biodiesel is gaining more popularity, especially as the cost for soybean oil, currently the most commonly used feedstock, soars to record levels. Paul Aakre University of Minnesota-Crookston researcher is one of those looking at expanding the field of oilseeds, according to this article in the Dickinson, North Dakota Press: “We are hearing more …
Georgia Legislature Considers Biodiesel Mandate
The Georgia State Legislature is considering a measure that would mandate that all diesel sold in the state would have at least 2 percent biodiesel. This story in the Macon (GA) Telegraph says the bill’s sponsor expects opposition to his bill: Rep. Alan Freeman, R-Macon, said House Bill 1174 would help farmers and agribusinesses in Georgia’s small but growing biofuel …
Ohio Farm Family Opens Biodiesel Plant
I’m a sucker for the grassroots biodiesel projects out there, especially when they include a family of farmers. This story from the Springfield, Ohio News-Sun caught my eye as it is a story of the Purdy family opening its own biodiesel plant on the family farm: Jack Purdy, who has farmed in Woodstock for more than 30 years, now also …
Algae Association Opens New HQ
The National Algae Association has moved into a new headquarters at the group’s Texas location. In a press release e-mailed to Domestic Fuel, the group says the new headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas will serve all areas of the algae industry… touted as the next great feedstock for biofuels: Algae researchers and producers can come together to exchange ideas concerning …
The Makers of “Fields of Fuel”
The man behind the movie “Fields of Fuel” attended the National Biodiesel Conference this week in Orlando and held a private screening for the biodiesel-based film that won critical acclaim at the recent Sundance Film Festival. Josh Tickell, who has been a biodiesel backer for more than a decade, is tickled that his labor of love was chosen for the …
Growing a Seed for Biodiesel and Plastics
A Massachusetts biotechnology company has joined with a Missouri research firm to develop an oilseed that can produce both biodiesel and plastics. And this story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Metabolix Inc. and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center will get some money from the state of Missouri to work on the idea: “It’s exactly what the civic leadership …
Biodiesel Conference Wraps Up with Feedstock Forum
Probably the biggest issue facing biodiesel producers today is what to use as a feedstock. With soybean prices going through the roof, refiners are trying to find additional feedstocks. During the recent National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida, the last general morning session focused on the question of what to use for the green fuel. The forum, led …
Biofuels Put on Defensive Again
Biofuels were put on the defensive once again as the journal Science published new studies that claim biofuels are worse for global warming than fossil fuels. Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen issued a statement which said the studies took a simplistic view of land use. “Understanding the land use changes occurring around the globe is important to developing strategies …