OK, I couldn’t resist that headline… or this story. It seems that North Carolina State University engineers have developed technology that can turn almost any oil… from hog lard to vegetable oil… into jet fuel.
According to an NC State news release, the technology is called Centia… a derivative of the Latin “crudus potentia,” or “green power”:
Dr. William Roberts, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of the Applied Energy Research Laboratory at NC State, says that besides being “100 percent green,” the new technology has some key advantages.
“We can take virtually any lipid-based feedstock, or raw material with a fat source – including what is perceived as low-quality feedstock like cooking grease – and turn it into virtually any fuel,” Roberts says. “Using low-quality feedstock is typically 30 percent less costly than using corn or canola oils to make fuel.”
And it burns cleaner… good for the environment. Plus, NC State is using the glycerol produced from the biodiesel production to power the process. Since it has to work at high altitudes at temperatures as low as -70 degrees, the fuel works at extremely low temperatures.
Guess it’s appropriate that flying pig technology is being developed by a Wolf Pack!
The CEO of Wisconsin’s 
The US Department of Agriculture has awarded $6.2 million in grants to more than two dozen small businesses and community groups to develop innovative uses for woody biomass, including renewable energy and new products, from national forests.
Ethanol-enriched fuel was a clear winner at the 55th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring, the first time the renewable fuel was used in an endurance race format. The LMP2 class was won by Andretti Green Racing featuring the Acura ARX, while Corvette Racing took a first in the GT1 class. For the first time ever, both cars used a 10 percent ethanol-enriched blend.
A newly created renewable energy center at IUPUI has been named after Indiana Senator Richard Lugar.
A new study by the 
Feed prices have indeed increased significantly. As feed costs generally account for more than half of operating costs for industrial operations, higher prices can have an important impact on the bottom line for these companies. So too can low prices. Any discussion of today’s high prices should take into account the extent to which these same firms have benefited from many years of feed that was priced well below what it cost to produce. In the nine years that followed the passage of the 1996 Farm Bill, 1997-2005, corn was priced 23% below average production costs, while soybean prices were 15% below farmers’ costs. As a result, feed prices were an estimated 21% below production costs for poultry and 26% below costs for the hog industry. We estimate cumulative savings to the broiler chicken industry from below-cost feed in those years to be $11.25 billion, while industrial hog operations saved an estimated $8.5 billion. The leading firms gained a great deal during those years from U.S. agricultural policies that helped lower the prices for many agricultural commodities.
Not only can 
An aerial promotion campaign for ethanol in the Sunshine State took off this past weekend over the racetrack at Sebring, the theme parks in Orlando and the beaches of Fort Meyers.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Bronson agrees. “As we develop cellulosic technology in Florida, I think that’s what we are going to be the most well-known for,” said Bronson. “We working with the University of Florida to find out which crops will be most beneficial to produce ethanol.”
DaimlerChrysler was the sponsor of a recent summit that looked to gain widespread acceptance of 20% biodiesel by the makers of engines and vehicles. The auto giant also asked the group to come up with a viable fuel standard for the B20 finished blend. 
The Dow Chemical Company has announced what it characterizes as a “significant milestone in its pursuit of sustainable chemistries.”