An Idaho inventor/entrepeneur has come up with an engine that runs on aquanol… a mix of 65% ethanol and 35% water. In addition, a diesel engine modified by Mark Cherry, with Automotive Resources, Inc. of Sandpoint, Idaho can run on a 50-50 mix of diesel and water. Cherry says it is a precision-timed catalytic glow plug, which he calls a …
Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit
Top state officials will keynote the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Summit on Wednesday in Des Moines. The event will feature the latest news in Iowa’s biodiesel and ethanol industries with a keynote address by Iowa Governor Chet Culver and a special address by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey. Iowa is the leader in renewable fuels production with 26 ethanol …
Sunshine State Energy Grants
The state of Florida has announced grants for a number of renewable energy projects using various types of biomass. Here are just a few of the projects being funded for 2007: Citrus Energy LLC, “Fuel Ethanol Production from Citrus Waste Biomass” ($2.5 million): Based in Clewiston, the company will construct a four-million-gallon-per-year ethanol bio-refinery to use citrus waste to produce …
Ethanol Drives Farmland Prices
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s latest AgLetter reports that ethanol is helping to fuel a surge in agricultural land prices. According to the report, the 2006 annual increase in farmland values was 9 percent for the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which includes Iowa and parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. The area with the biggest rise was northwest …
UF Ethanol Expert Meets With President
A University of Florida microbiology professor was among a small group of alternative energy experts who met with President Bush Friday at the White House. Dr. Lonnie Ingram, director of the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels, has been studying ethanol for more than 20 years and has developed a biotechnology “bug” that converts biomass and other farm wastes …
Commodity Classic Time
The 2007 Commodity Classic is upon us. For the first time this year, the annual commodity event brings together the “Big Three” – corn, soybeans AND wheat. The first two have been meeting in a combined event for years, now wheat has decided to join the club. The meeting will have a pirate theme this year, being held overlooking beautiful …
President Bush Promotes Ethanol Enzyme Technology
President Bush paid a visit Thursday to Novozymes North America Inc., a company which is researching enzymes to be used to produce cellulosic ethanol. The president toured the company’s Franklinton, North Carolina laboratories and talked with researchers about the technology needed to make wood chips and other biomass into fuel on a commerically viable basis. At one point, Bush held …
Johanns to Keynote Biofuels Investment Seminar
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns will be the keynote speaker at a symposium next month on biofuels investments. “Biomass and Biorefinery Deals 2007” will bring leading government officials, developers, equity and venture financiers, and technology providers together to discuss how to best accelerate the implementation of emerging biomass and biorefinery technology and optimize the revenue flows for projects. The symposium will …
FCStone to Serve as Market Maker for CBOT Ethanol Futures
The Chicago Board of Trade has announced that FCStone has become an electronic market maker for the CBOT’s Ethanol futures contract. According to a CBOT release, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Robert D. Ray said, “FCStone brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the CBOT’s Ethanol complex, which we believe has become the benchmark for domestic ethanol prices. …
Developing More Crops For Ethanol
The head of energy crop company Ceres told the National Academy of Sciences this week that biotechnology-based innovations across the biofuels production chain will bring the cost of a new generation of cellulosic biofuels down significantly, while vastly increasing supply. According to a company release, Ceres president and CEO Richard Hamilton said, “Biofuels produced from dedicated energy crops will be …