United Wisconsin Grain Producers (UWGP) is inviting the public out to educational events about the ethanol industry this month to tell consumers the truth about ethanol fuel blends. The ethanol plant is sponsoring a series of informational sessions at Madison and West Bend car dealerships. Both events will feature ethanol experts as well as a live radio broadcast from Ag …
New Report Supports E15
A new analysis by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) finds no “meaningful differences between E15 and E10 in any performance category.” The NREL analysis reviewed 43 studies on the effects of E15 on engine durability, emissions, and other factors, including a controversial study by the Coordinating Research Council’s (CRC). Regarding that study in particular, NREL found “…the conclusion that …
Pacific Ethanol Extracting Corn Oil for Biodiesel
In an effort to add value to its ethanol operation, a western green fuel refinery is now extracting non-food grade corn oil that could be turned into biodiesel. This article from the Sacramento (CA) Business Journal says the Stockton, Calif. operation for Pacific Ethanol Inc. adds the corn oil extraction to the list of other products the plant produces, including …
World’s Largest Advanced Biofuels Plant Opens
Today marked the official opening of what is believed to be the world’s largest operational, commercial scale advanced biofuels facility. Situated in the fields outside the city of Crescentino, Italy, Beta Renewables, part of the Mossi Ghisolfi Group, along with Novozymes celebrated the first plant to be designed and built to produce bioethanol from agricultural residues and energy crops as …
DC Update Ethanol Report
The nation’s capitol is “so quiet you can hear a pin drop” but the American Petroleum Institute (API) is still working to beat the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), and the government shutdown means E15 retailers are unable to get approval. “EPA right now is not answering the phones so they are not responding to marketers that are looking to offer …
NEC Announces Student Scholarships
Each year the ethanol industry looks forward to the National Ethanol Conference (NEC) and the 19th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida February 17-19, 2014 is already shaping up to be a good one. A great event for budding biofuel students, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Renewable Fuels Foundation (RFF) are offering six scholarships for students to attend the event. …
Call for Brazil to Reinstate Fuel Tax Policy
The Brazilian Industry Sugarcane Association (UNICA) is calling for the return of the ICMS tax policy that creates incentives to use ethanol over gasoline. When the tax policy is in place, funds generated from the fuel tax are used to subsidize public transportation. UNICA notes that the policy is a way to generate positive economic, social, environmental and public health …
Busting Big Oil’s Bogus Claim with Real Ethanol Test
Members of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) made a 1,000-mile trip from Des Moines to Washington, D.C. to use a real world situation to bust a bogus claim by Big Oil. In an effort to scare consumers away from ethanol in general and E15 in particular, the oil companies put together a report that showed vehicles using ethanol had …
Cellulosic’s First Community Advisory Panel to Meet
The Nation’s first Community Advisory Panel (CAP) on cellulosic biofuels will meet early next week in Iowa. Officials from DuPont’s cellulosic ethanol facility in Nevada, Iowa will talk with more than 30 Central Iowa residents including business leaders, farmers, conservationists and educators Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Nevada’s SCORE Pavilion from 6:30-8:30 pm. Designed to provide an ongoing dialogue between DuPont …
Butamax Starts Biobutanol Retrofit on Ethanol Plant
Delaware-based Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC has begun work with Highwater Ethanol LLC, to retrofit Highwater’s ethanol plant in Lamberton, Minnesota for the production of biobutanol. This Butamax news release says its cutting edge technology package will include the installation of novel corn oil separation technology, an important part of the full retrofit to biobutanol production. Butamax CEO Paul Beckwith said …