The National Conference of State Legislators kicked off in Atlanta, Georgia yesterday and today the group has invited Geoff Cooper with the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) along with Patrick Kelly of the American Petroleum Institute (API) to debate the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). According to Cooper, the invitation was extended because state legislators want to learn more about the program …
Big Oil Files Waiver to Cap Ethanol
Big Oil has been defeated time and time again in court related to the growth of the biofuels industry, but they have not been deterred. This week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) filed a partial waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), requesting that total ethanol requirements be dropped to 9.7 percent. …
Patriot Renewable Fuels: A 5 Year Retrospective
Patriot Renewable Fuels based in Annawan, Illinois came online on August 31, 2008, during the first financial crisis of the industry and the beginning of the financial crisis in America. But this didn’t keep the biorefinery from success, and later this month the plant is celebrating its fifth anniversary. I spoke to Gene Griffith today to get a retrospective on …
Why You Should Not Miss the ACE Conference
The 26th American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Conference is less than two weeks away. The event is being held in Des Moines, Iowa August 26-28th and the conference will be offering great sessions covering issues that are important to the ethanol industry. I asked Shannon Gustafson, Director of Strategic Projects for a brief overview of some of the key issues …
IRFA Unveils E85 Wholesale Price Listing Service
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) has launched an E85 Wholesale Price Listing Service. The IRFA lists E85 prices from wholesale distributors with the intent of increasing transparency in the marketplace, allowing retailers to review supply options in one location. “The goal of our E85 wholesale price listing program is to assist retailers in providing their consumers with the lowest-cost …
Invasive Species Could Become Biofuel
USDA researchers are looking at being able to turn some invasive trees into biofuel. This story from the Agricultural Research Service says they are looking at harvesting native juniper and pinyon trees that have extended out of their natural ranges for biomass. The plan not only produces renewable energy, but it also restores rangeland for livestock and protects critical sagebrush …
Greenbelt’s Distillation Module Exceeds Benchmarks
Greenbelt Resources Corporation has announced successful performance testing results from its automated distillation module. The module, available separately or as part of a complete sustainable energy production system, efficiently generated hydrous ethanol, distilled water and fertilizer from beer stock of 4 percent ethanol at a rate of 70,000 gpy (gallons per year) – or 10 gallons per hour. The test …
Patriot Renewable Fuels Celebrates 5th Anniversary
Patriot Renewable Fuels is celebrating its 5 year anniversary. The ethanol biorefinery will be hosting an open house Thursday, August 22 and Friday, August 23, 2013 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm CST. Patriot is a 120 million gallon per year ethanol producer who has demonstrated several major contributions to the local community, Illinois and country. According to Patriot’s Gene …
The Pursuit of Greener Methanol
A Lehigh University Research team is working to create a new method of producing renewable fuel. Supported by a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation, using only carbon dioxide, sunlight and water, the team is attempting to perfect a low-cost, environmentally friendly process that could enable the production of methanol—which can be used as fuel for cars, heating …
Microvi Awarded USDA Grant for Butanol
Microvi Biotechnologies has been awarded a grant to develop its technology to improve yield and performance of biobutanol processes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). According to Microvi, their technology overcomes the toxic and inhibitory effects on butanol producing microorganisms, a major bottleneck in scaling existing biobutanol processes. Its butanol technology is based on the their MicroNiche Engineering, a …