$300 Mil in Stimulus Bucks Stimulates Alternative Fuels

John Davis

Nearly $300 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act… aka the “Stimulus Bill”… funds are being handed out by the U.S. Department of Energy to replace or change more than 9,000 vehicles so they will burn alternative fuels and/or make them more fuel efficient, as well as establish nearly 550 alternative refueling stations across the U.S.. Energy Secretary Steven Chu …

Biodiesel, Electric Vehicles, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Natural Gas

Ethanol Co-Product Could Make Fertilizer

Cindy Zimmerman

The leftovers from an ethanol co-product could be used as a fertilizer, according to research being done at South Dakota State University. When the ethanol by-product known as dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) is heated at high temperatures under limited oxygen to make synthesis gas, or syngas, the remains are a fine, dust-like ash. SDSU Soil Testing Laboratory manager …

Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Research

More Green Collar Jobs for Iowa

Cindy Zimmerman

Iowa Governor Chet Culver is taking action to create more green jobs in Iowa. Culver signed an executive order last week which creates the Iowa Green Jobs Task Force. “In recent years, thanks to our efforts in biofuels and wind energy, we have created thousands of green-collar jobs for Iowans,” said Governor Culver. “However, if we are to expand these …

Energy, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, Wind

Green Fuels from Grass and Leaves

Cindy Zimmerman

A newly proposed collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and the City of Naperville, Illinois would convert “landscape waste”—essentially, grass and leaf trimmings—into one of several different environmentally friendly fuels, including ethanol, bioelectricity and hydrogen. This new partnership, known as the “Green Fuels Depot,” provides “a golden opportunity for Argonne to be associated with one of …

Cellulosic, Energy, Ethanol News, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Research

DF Cast: ACE Explores Indirect Land Use Issue

John Davis

The recent American Coalition for Ethanol’s 22nd Ethanol Conference & Trade Show in Milwaukee saw an exploration of an issue that remains a hot issue in the biofuels biz: Indirect Land Use. The concept that the growth of some biofuels feedstocks in the United States, especially corn and soybeans, could cause the cutting down of the rain forests in other …

Audio, Domestic Fuel Cast, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Indirect Land Use

Mascoma Team Moves Toward Cellulosic Ethanol Commercialization

Cindy Zimmerman

As the company moves closer to the commercial development phase for cellulosic ethanol, Mascoma Corporation is making some management “reconfigurations.” Bruce Jamerson will transition from his role as Mascoma’s CEO to the position of Chairman of Mascoma and of Frontier Renewable Resources, Mascoma’s Michigan-based operating subsidiary. The company is in the process of recruiting a new CEO with experience in …

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News