Kansas-based ICM Inc. announces a new process that promises to enhance yields and oil recovery for ethanol plant, while expecting to also produce the higher value Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) for the fuel that comes from those plants. In an interview with Joanna in advance of next week’s Fuel Ethanol Workshop in St. Louis, Mo., Kurt Dieker, ICM’s Director of …
EPA Proposes RFS Amendments
The Environmental Protection Agency has announced proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) amendments and clarifications, which include new pathway determinations for advanced biofuels such as isobutanol and ethanol from crop residues. The EPA proposal also includes “various changes to the E15 misfueling mitigation regulations (E15 MMR) which are minor technical corrections and amendments to sections dealing with labeling, E15 surveys, product …
Foreign Fuels Reduction Act – Good for Biofuels?
A fancy title does not good biofuels policy make. Mixed emotions are emanating from the introduction of the “Foreign Fuels Reduction Act,” introduced by U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn). The legislation would allow only domestically-sourced fuels to be used to meet the requirements of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “It is time for America to create …
Visalia Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Surpasses 1,000 Hours
The demonstration cellulosic ethanol plant owned by Edeniq and located in Visalia, California has exceeded 1,000 hours of continuous operation. The corn-to-cellulosic migration plant uses the company’s proprietary technology to process more than one metric ton of feedstock per day into cellulosic ethanol. According to the company, this achievement exceeded the plant’s initial target. The project, funded in part by …
New Yeast Strain Could Cut Cellulosic Ethanol Costs
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have developed a new strain of yeast that could cut the costs of cellulosic ethanol production. This Agricultural Research Service (ARS) news release says the work is being done at the agency’s National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill. ARS molecular biologist Zonglin Lewis Liu and his colleagues determined that this …
Neil Young Fills ‘er Up with Cellulosic Ethanol
Earlier this month, Hall of Fame recording artist Neil Young stopped by Sioux Falls, South Dakota to fill up his LincVolt with POET-DSM cellulosic ethanol. LincVolt is a hybrid-electric 1959 Lincoln Continental with onboard charging powered by cellulosic ethanol. He’s on a cross-country tour to highlight renewable energy. During his visit, Young said you don’t see much about what is …
Dyadic Talks Enzyme Production for Biofuels at ABLC
A big issue for biofuels producers, especially those in the cellulosic branch, is trying to come up with enzymes that can crack the multitude of biomass structures to unlock the sugars within, and thus, unlock the fuel trapped within. “The enzymes have always been one of the Achilles’ heels of the cellulosic side,” Mark Emalfarb, CEO of Dyadic International, a …
GlobalData: BioEthanol Car Fuel of Future
According to a new report by @GlobalDataEnergy, #bioethanol is the car fuel of the future. The report, “#Cellulosic Ethanol – Global Production, Major Trends, Regulations, and Key Country Analysis to 2020,” finds that #ethanol is the most widely acclaimed alternative or additive for gasoline used for running vehicles. In addition, the U.S. ranked number one in biofuel production using natural …
RFS Shown to Work Because It Makes Big Oil Nervous
How can we tell the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) is working? By how nervous it’s making the big oil companies. That was the message attendees at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference near Washington, D.C. heard. “We are disrupting an existing marketplace,” says Brooke Coleman, Executive Director of the Advanced Ethanol Council. “We are not social media. We are not creating …
Industry Supports Reconsidering Cellulosic Target
A coalition of biofuel producer organizations the reconsideration of the 2011 cellulosic obligation under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In January 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider the 2012 Renewable Fuel Standard obligation for cellulosic biofuels. EPA has implemented the Court’s order and is now voluntarily reconsidering the …