The University of Washington, already running its diesel vehicles on 5 percent biodiesel, is moving its mix up to a 20 percent blend… with plans to use an even higher percentage in the future. This story in the university’s newspaper, The Daily, is wrapping up a trial period started in 2006 with just the 5 percent blend: “The UW Motor …
Biodiesel Energy Balance Improves
A new analysis was unveiled today at the National Biodiesel Conference in Orlando that shows the energy balance of biodiesel is a positive ratio of 3.5-to-1, up from the 3.2 to 1 ratio determined by the Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and USDA in 1998. According to a release from the National Biodiesel Board, the new research …
Food Versus Fuel Session at Biodiesel Conference
One of the most popular sessions at this week’s National Biodiesel Conference in Orlando was “What’s the Rule on Food Vs. Fuel?” which featured a panel of experts including Chris Schroeder with Centrec Consulting, Jim Duffield with USDA and John Urbanchuk of LECG, LLC. All speakers made the point that biofuels may be getting the blame for higher prices, but …
Iowans Choose Ethanol
According to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), Iowans chose E10 nearly 74 percent of the time in 2007. This is up from 69 percent in 2006 and just below the all-time record of 75 percent set in 2005. “Iowa’s ethanol sales were strong in 2007 as E10 was often 10 to 13 cents per gallon cheaper than gasoline without …
Biodiesel Conference Trade Show
A record number of exhibitors are showing their wares to attendees at the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo. Keep in mind this is only the fifth annual conference for this industry and about 4,000 people are at the event with almost 400 exhibitors. Many of the booths are showcasing new technology for the industry – while others, like New …
BioExtend Celebrates First Anniversary
Eastman Chemical Company showcased new test data of Eastman BioExtend 30 at the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Orlando on Monday. Eastman is also be celebrating the one year anniversary of the BioExtend launch, which debuted at 2007’s National Biodiesel Conference. BioExtend, a high-performance antioxidant for biodiesel fuels, increases shelf life and enhances product protection. The oxidative stability …
World’s First Oil Producers At It Again
One of the companies at the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo is Solazyme, a company that is making biodiesel out of algae. In fact, the folks from Solazyme brought a sweet ride to the conference… a Mercedes Benz C320 that runs on the green fuel made from the green algae. I caught up with Jonathon Wolfson from Solazyme and …
Riding on Biodiesel with Michael Peterson
Country music star Michael Peterson was one of the featured speakers at this morning’s “Ride-and-drive” event at the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida. Cindy grabbed Michael for a quick interview right after he returned from a test drive of a 2008 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel pick up truck running on B20. As he stepped out of …
Interview with NBB Chairman Ed Hegland
Domestic Fuel is here at the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida, bringing you the latest updates from this gathering of biodiesel industry experts. Just after we flew into the sun and warmth of a beautiful Central Florida day, Cindy was off to track down Ed Hegland, chairman of the National Biodiedsel Board. She caught up with …
Domestic Fuel at the NBB Conference
The 2008 National Biodiesel Board Conference and Exp is underway in sunny Orlando, Florida, where thousands of biodiesel producers, marketers, and industry folks gathered for the four-day event. Domestic Fuel is there as well, covering the events of the conference. We’ve already heard presentations on sustainable biodiesel efforts, the state of the industry, and even a Super Bowl party featuring …