BioEnergy News - Last 20 News Articles with full text

Energy beet project gets funds, aims for advanced biofuel status

2012-02-09T12:28:22+01:00 GMT

A project aiming for energy beet-to-ethanol production in North Dakota hit some significant milestones recently.

Mansfield, Noble merge ethanol marketing divisions

2012-02-09T12:25:43+01:00 GMT

The Mansfield Oil Co. and global agricultural and energy products supplier Noble Group have combined their ethanol plant marketing divisions to create a new joint venture known as Noble Mansfield Renewable Energy.

USDA Announces Funding for Two Renewable Energy Programs

2012-02-09T12:23:37+01:00 GMT

WASHINGTON - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the availability of funds for Fiscal Year 2012 for two key programs to encourage the use of renewable biomass and production of advanced biofuels.

About $25 million will be made available through each program.

Algae Producer Aquaviridis and OriginOil Announce Joint Commercial Agreement

2012-02-09T12:21:38+01:00 GMT

Mexicali Valley, Mexico and Los Angeles, CA - Algae producer Aquaviridis and OriginOil, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough technology to extract oil from algae and an emerging leader in the global algae oil services industry,

announced that Aquaviridis has signed a commercial agreement with OriginOil to help develop the multi-phase algae production rollout at its Mexicali, Mexico site, a potential model for algae sites throughout the North American Free Trade Agreement region, with a focus on desert areas of the American Southwest and Mexico.

John Lindt: Biofuel maker to double employees

2012-02-09T12:13:49+01:00 GMT

Edeniq is expanding in the Visalia Industrial Park expecting to turn on its new pilot cellulosic ethanol plant in March, with plans to double employment this year, said Scott Janssen, the company's Chief Financial Officer.

Some 60 employees work at their new Shirk Ave facility now.

Edeniq received a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to retrofit a pilot processing plant that can make fuel from various biomass feedstocks including wood, switchgrass and corn stover - the corn stalk.

Inaugural Sustainable Maritime Fuels Forum draws US, Australian biofuels leadership

2012-02-08T11:57:46+01:00 GMT

In Australia, the inaugural Sustainable Maritime Fuels Forum was held this week as part of the Pacific 2012 International Maritime Exposition in Sydney.

The presentations are available on the website, here.

The Forum was timely because shipping faces increasing pressure to reduce energy and emissions intensities. It aimed to discuss the innovative approaches being taken by international and national policy makers and by the commercial and military maritime sectors, their logistics and supply chains to respond to these challenges and opportunities.

CelluForce debuts world’s first NanoCrystalline Cellulose demo plant

2012-02-08T11:53:48+01:00 GMT

In Canada, CelluForce officially inaugurated the world’s first NanoCrystalline Cellulose demonstration plant at the Domtar pulp and paper mill site in Windsor, Quebec.

Jean Moreau, President and CEO of CelluForce, was accompanied by the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Joe Oliver.

CelluForce is ramping up its production of NCC with a target of reaching a 1,000 kg per day production rate in 2012.

© Biofuels Digest 2012.

OriginOil Demonstrates Low-Energy Algae Appliance to National Algae Association

2012-02-08T11:52:01+01:00 GMT

Los Angeles, CA - OriginOil, Inc., a leading developer of next-generation technologies to produce transportation fuels, chemicals and foods, announced today it demonstrated its low-energy Algae Appliance to industry executives from a workshop hosted by the National Algae Association (NAA) at the University of Southern California.

USDA Allots 50M$ forAdvanced Biofuels

2012-02-08T11:44:29+01:00 GMT

the United States Department of Agriculture rolled out two new funding programs which it hopes will both increase the production of advanced biofuels and also promote the use of renewable energy to create the biofuel.

Dubbed the "Repowering Assistance Program," the fund will provide up to $25 million to biorefineries for the implementation of systems that employ biomass to produce heat or power. Biorefineries that have been in operation since 2008 or earlier can receive up to 50% of the cost to replace or retro-fit fossil fuel systems.

Unlocking Seaweed’s Next-Gen Crude: Sugar

2012-02-08T11:41:53+01:00 GMT

Seaweed often brings to mind thoughts of surf and sushi, not fuel. But that could change if a biotechnology start-up called Bio Architecture Lab succeeds in building a new kind of energy company from designer bacteria and a low-cost process for harvesting seaweed.

The key is a genetically modified strain of Escherichia coli bacterium, which can break down the sugars in brown seaweed, or macro-algae, to produce ethanol, according to new research published in the peer-reviewed journal Science.

SG Biofuels lands $17M in funding to expand jatropha operations

2012-01-27T11:50:49+01:00 GMT

San Diego-based SG Biofuels Inc., a bioenergy crop company using breeding and biotechnology to develop hybrid seeds of jatropha, has secured $17 million in a Series B round of financing led by Thomas, McNerney & Partners with participation from Finistere Ventures and existing investors Flint Hills Resources LLC and Life Technologies Corp.

Fiberight cellulosic ethanol project lands $25M USDA loan guarantee

2012-01-27T11:47:45+01:00 GMT

In Washington, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA has approved a conditional commitment for a $25 million guaranteed loan for the proposed Fiberight biorefinery, based in Blairstown, Iowa.

American Ethanol Gears Up for 2012 NASCAR Season

2012-01-27T11:45:28+01:00 GMT

American Ethanol is gearing up for the 2012 NASCAR season with a renewed commitment to the sport that spotlights racing on 15% ethanol fuel.

During the NASCAR Preview fan event in Charlotte, N.C. this weekend, American Ethanol announced that it will continue relationships with Richard Childress Racing and RAB Racing for the 2012 season. This is the second year for the racing partnership between NASCAR, Growth Energy and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).

POET abandons $4B ethanol pipeline project

2012-01-27T11:42:48+01:00 GMT

In South Dakota, POET has decided to postpone plans for a $4 billion pipeline between the Midwest and the East Coast.

The company will be unable to get a federal loan guarantee for the project which began in 2009 as a joint venture between POET and Magellan. After studies indicated financing would require a federal loan guarantee, Magellan put their interest on hold; with the new development, POET has decided to focus their efforts on other projects.

Germany advised not to import food for biofuel

2012-01-27T11:40:03+01:00 GMT

HAMBURG - Germany should not increase imports of food to produce biofuels, because this could threaten the supply of food in developing countries, a report from a German government advisory body said on Friday.

"Even higher imports of agricultural commodities for bioenergy production should not be allowed to lead to an increase in world hunger," said Reinhard Huettl, chairman of the Bio Economic Council. "Securing food supplies must have priority over expansion of bioenergy."

Algae.Tec raises $5M in new equity, aims for China

2012-01-27T11:37:43+01:00 GMT

In Australia, Algae.Tec announced that a A$5M Placement through Patersons Securities Limited has been successfully completed.

The company announced last week that it had signed a binding MOU for a 50/50 equity joint venture with Shandong Kerui Group Holding, for the construction, in Dongying (Shandong province) of an 8.7 million gallons (33 million liter) algae biofuels facility.

The proposed project would also generate 33,000 tones of biomass per year.

© Biofuels Digest 2012.

US a cereal offender on ethanol, says UN

2012-01-26T12:56:39+01:00 GMT

The US policy to produce ethanol biofuel from corn is raising prices for the grain across the world, said Jose Graziano da Silva, the new director-general of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation.

''FAO has been raising its voice against using food to produce bioenergy,'' he told a meeting of 64 agriculture ministers in Berlin on Saturday. That is ''especially'' the case for corn in the US and oilseeds in Europe, he said.

American Ethanol NASCAR Partner Plans

2012-01-26T12:52:34+01:00 GMT

The black No. 3 Chevrolet that carried Dale Earnhardt Jr. to four NASCAR Nationwide series championships will boast a new American Ethanol paint scheme in several races during the 2012 season.

Vermont Company's Biomass System Outperforms Expectations

2012-01-26T12:50:14+01:00 GMT

In one of the coldest states in the U.S., a biomass heating system saves money and time for its operators while providing extraordinarily reliable heat and hot water all winter long.

At National Life Group in Vermont, those people include Ansel Quintin, HVAC team leader. In December 2010 when the Fortune 1000 company installed a new, twin-boiler woodchip system to provide primary heat for its 500,000 square-foot headquarters - one of Vermont’s largest office buildings - the daily operation and problem-solving was turned over to Quintin and his team.

Findings on Biochar, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Ethylene

2012-01-26T12:46:41+01:00 GMT

Adding a charred biomass material called biochar to glacial soils can help reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

Studies by scientists with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are providing valuable information about how biochar-the charred biomass created from wood, plant material, and manure-interacts with soil and crops. As part of this effort, ARS scientists in St. Paul, Minn., are studying biochar activity in soils formed from glacial deposits.