Giant miscanthus will soon be grown for biomass energy in Missouri and three other states. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) today announced the establishment of two Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas in Missouri that will produce the dedicated energy crop miscanthus to be used for heat, power, liquid biofuels, and bio-based products. “We are …
Perdue AgriBusiness Assures Producers Barley Contracts Intact
Last month Osage Bio Energy announced that is would be selling its plant without going into production. Had the plant gone online, it would have been the country’s largest biorefinery using barley as its main feedstock. In light of this announcement, Perdue AgriBusiness is assuring its customers that it will honor all contracts for the 2011 barley crop. Perdue AgriBusiness …
ZeaChem Secures Biorefinery Feedstock Contract
It is a wood to biofuels kinda day today. ZeaChem has announced they have signed an agreement with GreenWood Tree Farm Fund (GTFF), managed by GreenWood Resources (GWR), to supply hybrid poplar woody biomass for its first commercial cellulosic biorefinery. The woody biomass is in close proximity to the proposed plant and when the plant goes into production, ZeaChem will …
New Study Assesses Wood For Biofuels
Wood waste has been one of the feedstocks most studied for viability as a biofuel. Today a new study evaluates the promise of wood waste biofuels by reviewing 12 technologies and 36 projects that convert wood to fuels including ethanol, butanol, diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel. This particular area of research has garnered strong public and private investment and drop-in …
Company Studies Tobacco for Biofuels
A start-up company, Tyton BioSciences, is looking for a new outlet for tobacco – biodiesel and ethanol. The company is developing genetically modified tobacco that will, according to their website, “produce both ethanol and biodiesel at yields that far surpass the traditional crops of corn and soy.” The company’s tobacco will also be easier to grow than those grown for …
Ethanol Potential in Giant Sweet Potatoes
At the International Biomass Conference and Expo last week, Dr. Janice Ryan-Bohac attracted a lot of attention carrying around a sweet potato the size of a newborn baby. Ryan-Bohac is president of CAREnergy, Carolina Advanced Renewable Energy, located in South Carolina and dedicated to the development of dedicated energy crops for the southeast, such as the eTuber™ sweet potato and …
Biofuels Center of North Carolina Awards $1.6M in Grants
In an effort to accelerate the commercialization of renewable fuels, the Biofuels Center of North Carolina has awarded $1.6 million to 15 different projects located within the state. The monies for the awards came from the 2011 Statewide Biofuels Development Grants Program. The center received 58 pre-proposals from 23 organizations with funding requests totaling more than $5.2 million. “The juncture …
BioJet & Abundant Biofuels Merge
It’s official. BioJet International, a developer of bio jet fuels, and Abundant Biofuels Corporation, an integrated feedstock development company, have merged. With this merger in place, Abundant is now a wholly owned subsidiary of BioJet but its affiliates will continue to operate under the Abundant name and brand. Abundant is best known for its Philippine Jatropha Project and today has …
ICM Deploys Its Biomass Gasification System
ICM has announced that it is beginning commercial deployment of its biomass gasification system after the successful completion of infrastructure development, research, testing, and an independent engineering review. The company began operating its commercial scale demonstration gasifer back in 2009. The technology has the capacity to covert 150 tons of biomass per day to a syngas that can then be …
Cornoil – A Growing Feedstock for REG
The synergies between the biodiesel, ethanol and advanced biofuels industries are growing. One of the things that’s been happening over the past few years is the ethanol industry creating a new feedstock for the biodiesel industry – inedible corn oil. Inedible corn oil was one of the feedstocks that REG highlighted during USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and EPA Administrator …