Ethanol was welcomed with open arms at last week’s 69th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota where the Renewable Fuels Association partnered with the popular Buffalo Chip Campground and the Buffalo Chip Gazette to promote the use of ethanol blended fuels as a way to fight dependence on foreign oil. RFA’s Robert White – an avid motorcycle enthusiast – …
Former VeraSun Ethanol Plant Now Farmer-Owned
A group of nine farmer-owned ethanol plants in the upper Midwest got together to purchase the former VeraSun plant in Janesville, Minnesota to make it an even ten. Guardian Energy LLC, headquartered in Shakopee, Minnesota recently entered into an agreement to purchase the 100-million gallon plant acquired by AgStar Financial Services’ lending group through VeraSun Energy’s bankruptcy in March of …
Solar Generated Ethanol
Bioengineering firm Joule Biotechnologies of Massachusetts recently unveiled a new technology that uses sunlight to directly convert carbon dioxide into ethanol. The process, called Helioculture™, produces what the company is calling SolarFuel™ liquid energy. According to Joule, the conversion requires no agricultural land or fresh water, and leverages a highly scalable system capable of producing more than 20,000 gallons of …
Ethanol Group Proposes Biofuels Road Map
Growth Energy today introduced a renewable fuels road map desigened to “help America reduce our dependence on foreign oil, create new green collar jobs and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.” Growth Energy co-chairman, retired General Wesley Clark announced the five-point plan at the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas, NV. The five main points of the road map …
Gator Tree Could Be Key to Cellulosic Ethanol
A spiky tree with a reptilian bark may be able to take a bite out of the cost to produce cellulosic ethanol. The tree is often called a sweetgum, but it also goes by the name “alligator tree” because it does look like one. So, it’s appropriate that researchers with the University of Florida – home of the Gators – …
Ethanol Industry Concerns About EPA Peer Review
The Environmental Protection Agency’s peer review of the renewable fuel standards lifecycle analysis released today is being characterized by corn and ethanol industry groups as biased, bizarre and puzzling. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) says the EPA “stacked the deck against biofuels in its process to “peer review” the agency’s indirect land use change analysis (ILUC) conducted for the Renewable …
Phibro’s Process Optimization Seminar Successful
With today’s economic climate, everything an ethanol plant can do to increase efficiencies helps the bottom line. As a plant changes constantly due to inputs and environmental shifts, its important for employees to understand how process aids including Enzymes, Yeast, Antimicrobials, and Water Treatment function alone and in conjunction with other inputs. Another area of focus was to learn about …
California Biodiesel & Ethanol Co. Patents Algae Dredger
A maker of parts for biodiesel and ethanol operations says it has been awarded a “Notice of Allowance” by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a device that is supposed to make it easier to harvest algae to make biofuels. This press release from San Marcos, California-based Circle Biodiesel & Ethanol Corporation says the company received the notice …