In a study released by Genencor during the BIO World Congress in Toronto, when U.S. consumers were asked to name a product they considered green, 39 percent of them named ethanol first and 31 percent of Canadian respondents also named ethanol as a green product. This is just one of results discovered in the Genencor Household Sustainability Index that researched …
EQM Resumes Production at Texas Biodiesel Plant
After closing a $500,000 round of funding, EQM Technologies & Energy has put its biodiesel plant in Cleburne, TX back into production. The funds were part of a larger $3 million private placement of 10 percent subordinated convertible notes. “The start up of our Cleburne, Texas plant has gone smoothly and as planned, and the capital raised from our private …
Extreme Biodiesel to Produce Biodiesel for Grocery Stores
Extreme Biodiesel, a subsidiary of BookMerge Technology, has been chosen to collect used vegetable oil and produce biodiesel for two supermarkets. On an ongoing basis, Extreme Biodiesel will collect and deliver the supermarkets’ waste vegetable oil to its Corona facility for a delivery collection charge. Extreme will also be paid a toll to process the oil into biodiesel and a …
University of Florida Receives USDA/DOE Grant
The University of Florida has received a four-year $5.4 million federal grant to develop methods of producing energy, such as ethanol, from sweet sorghum. The grant is part of a $47 million package funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) designed to support projects that hopefully help the U.S. reduce its dependence on …
FAO Studies Pros & Cons of Bioenergy
FAO has released a new report that contains methodology designed to aid policymakers assess the pros and cons of investing in the bioenergy industry. The “Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) Analytical Framework” was written to help governments evaluate the potential of bioenergy as well as assess its possible food security impacts. The framework was developed over a three-year time frame …
50% of India’s Fuel Needs Could Be Met By Biofuels
One million jobs could be created in India over the next decade through the transformation of agricultural waste into biofuel. Should this occur, biofuels could meet 59 percent of the demand for liquid transportation fuels by 2020. This according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance study, “Next-generation Ethanol: What’s in it for India,” commissioned by Novozymes. Already, the Indian government …
Book Review – Energy Myths & Realities
This week I decided to bone up on some energy 101 so I read “Energy Myths & Realities” by Vaclav Smil, an energy scientist. He discusses eight myths and attempts to set the record straight by disseminating the true facts around the issues. He believes several of the myths have been mired in the past while others are perpetuated by …
Don’t Mess with the RFS
The U.S. biofuels industry sent a message to Congress today asking them not to mess with the RFS. Specifically, the industry encouraged lawmakers “to stand firm in the face of calls to waive or repeal the groundbreaking biofuels provisions included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), including the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).” Several biofuel organizations came …
Algae Waste Water, Ag Runoff Projects Underway in Europe
OriginOil, Inc. and its French partner Ennesys have confirmed they are working with various institutions to develop two separate large-scale algae projects. Global 500 Multinational Bouygues Construction has engaged Ennesys to study the integration of waste water algae production in two building projects in the Greater Paris region both at the scale of a million square feet (80,000 m2 and …
KiOR Breaks Ground, Signs FedEx
KiOR has had a busy week. They recently announced a ground fuel supply agreement with FedEx. Under the agreement, KiOR will supply renewable diesel blendstocks for purchase by affiliates of FedEx Corporate Services. This is the company’s first end-user agreement. The oil will be produced at the company’s first commercial production facility in Columbus, Mississippi that is scheduled to go …