A researcher from The Ohio State University has found a way to make a polyurethane foam from a by-product of biodiesel. Yebo Li, a biosystems engineer with the university’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster, has found a way to turn glycerin into a renewable, cheaper foam: “Polyurethane foam made with our bio-polyol is renewable, biodegradable and …
Bacteria Turns Biodiesel By-product Into Butanol
Researchers at the University of Alabama in Huntsville have found a strain of bacteria that could turn glycerol, a by-product of biodiesel production, into another alternative fuel … butanol. This story from the school’s news website says the research is being done by a graduate student with funding from the National Science Foundation: Disposing of glycerol has been a problem …
Ethanol Industry Responds to Corn Harvest Report
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its final report on the total 2010 corn crop and supply and well as its updated estimates of corn use. The total 2010 corn production was 12.45 billion bushels, the third largest crop in U.S. history. There were some unanticipated changes in the report as well. First, the corn yield was lower …
Agrisys Building Big Algae-to-Biofuels Facility
A Florida company is building the world’s first large-scale, vertically integrated algae-to-biofuels facility. This article from Florida Trend, which goes in depth on that state’s algae-biofuels industry, says Orlando businessman Nick VandenBrekel’s Agrisys will be growing algae to turn into jet fuel and biodiesel, as well as omega-3 “fish oil.” Scaled up, VandenBrekel envisions a host of 1,000-to-20,000-acre farms across …
Ohioan Wants Ditches for Biodiesel Crops
Reflecting a trend that started in Utah and has been copied in several other states, an Ohio man wants to see the ditches and medians along the interstates used to grow oilseeds, such as safflower, dwarf sunflower and canola, to make into biodiesel. This article from the Columbus (OH) Dispatch says Mark Schaff, a member of Etna Township’s economic-development committee, …
Home of Little Green Men Soon Home of Green Fuels
Algae-to-biofuel maker OriginOil, Inc. has been tapped to help build a new Advanced Algae Center devoted to algae commercialization … growing little green microbes where little green men were once rumored to have landed. This company press release says Sustainable Resources, Inc. (SRI) has agreed to contract with OriginOil to plan and deploy the new center on the site of …
San Fran Grease-to-Biodiesel Plant Gets Green Light
After being stalled for the past couple of years, it looks like a San Francisco facility that will turn used cooking oil into biodiesel will finally become a reality. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the city’s Port Commission has finally given the green light to the Darling International, Inc. 10-million-gallon-per-year plant on San Francisco’s waterfront: Darling has been operating at …
2011 Renewable Fuels Standards Set
The EPA has finalized the 2011 percentage standards for the four categories of fuel under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2). As such, each producer and importer of gasoline and diesel determines the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must ensure is used during the year in its transportation fuel. The required use of biofuels will increase each year until …
Military, Biobased Products Seen as Top Trends for 2011
Military interests and biobased product value streams are seen as the biggest drivers for the biofuel industry in the coming year … that’s according to a new poll from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and Biofuels Digest. The poll looked at “11 Hot Trends for 2011” and was launched during the recent Advanced Biofuels Markets 2010 conference in San Francisco: …
Gore Ethanol Comments Generate Industry Response
A Reuters report out of Athens today on former Vice President Al Gore’s comments about corn ethanol has generated responses from the U.S. ethanol industry. According to the article, Gore said, “It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for (U.S.) first generation ethanol,” while speaking at a green energy business conference in Athens. He blamed his …