The World Bank received a failing grade this week for its lack of support to developing countries trying to implement biofuels project. The “F” comes from the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) representing over 65 percent of the world’s biofuels production from...

China is starting to get into the bio-algae market in a big way; with Chinese innovation group ENN making large investments in algae bioreactors to help sequestrate carbon from China’s coal fired power plants. The 24,000 employee, 4 US$billion company, is heavily involved in the energy business and developing technology to pass carbon dioxide through algae to help reduce China...

UK - Innovative idea to use algae could reduce CO2 emissions, provide a source of biofuel and crop soil conditioner Arup and the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) are moving ahead with their efforts to develop pioneering engineering systems to scale up a novel idea that could revolutionise carbon capture. The organisations have developed a s...

U.K.-based Waste Recycling Group is seeking permission to construct a lagoon water treatment system at the company-operated Allerton Park Landfill, to clean polluted water for irrigation of future willow plantations dedicated to biomass power applications. WRG has submitted a planning application to the ...

A new UF study raises concerns about ethanol's water demand in Florida. Four crops under consideration are very thirsty. From agricultural and energy company boardrooms to university laboratories, excitement is building over the potential for large-scale biofuel production in Florida. But a new study by forestry researchers at the University o...

The Global Agricultural Information Network’s (GAIN’s) annual report states that South Africa’s biofuels strategy recognises sugar cane as one of the best feedstocks for renewable energy; however, investment in the development of a bioethanol plant for this process is not picking up pace. The GAIN is the US Department of Agri...

SOUTH African motorists could in the near future drive vehicles that run on cooking oil and peculiarly “smell of fried chips”. This will be made possible by the use of biofuel, particularly biodiesel, say enthusiasts. Biofuel is a form of fuel derived from “recently living” organisms, replacing fossil fue...

Company leaders brief Montana Governor and state officials about progress in developing sustainable camelina industry in North America. Sustainable Oils, INc. continues to build markets and momentum for the commercial camelina business in Montana, the Paci...

NIGERIA - Jatropha Curcas is a plant that has the capability to plan, not only life, but the whole economy. It gives a lot of people employment as a major source of energy production that can drive the nation. From a very simple process, biodiesel can be extracted from Jatropha seed. The seed can be found all over Nigeria, as it has existed in...

CENTRAL CITY -- The sale of Central City's and Ord's ethanol plants is expected to be closed by today, and both plants are scheduled to be operating by the end of the month. Todd Becker, president and chief executive officer of the Omaha-based Green Plains Renewable Energy, said Wednesday morning that he plans to finalize his company's $123.5 ...

Dartmouth College students will drive home a message of sustainability today with the Big Green Bus, a renewable fuel-powered vehicle on display from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Civic Center Plaza in Downtown Memphis. "It's half work, half play," said 20-year-old Ben Gifford, a rising senior at Dartmouth. "We're talking to as many ...

HAMBURG -- Germany's first biofuels plant producing using new generations of biomass raw materials is likely to start initial commercial production in 2010, an industry executive said on Wednesday. The plant is being built in Freiberg in south Germany by Choren Industries to produce about 15,000 tonnes of biomass-to-liquid (BTL) fuels largely ...

BONITA SPRINGS — Imagine filling your car with fuel made in Florida from algae costing $1 per gallon. That was the vision a Bonita Springs-based biofuels company had for Florida until the state and other organizations stood in the way, said Algenol Biofuels chief executive officer, Paul Woods.

The great controversy over the use of agricultural crops as a source of energy is well known – fundamentally due to its possible competition with crops for food. The use of sources of an organic nature for the production of biofuels, different from the traditional use for crops, could be the solution to the social debate that has arisen...

WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday released a notice providing for a 60-day extension of the public comment period for the proposed RFS-2 rule that initially published in the Federal Register on May 26, 2009. Specifically, the public comment period has been extended from J...

Dalton Utilities hasn’t struck oil, but the company may have about the next best thing. This fall the utility plans to start a pilot project to produce biodiesel from wastewater on its land application system along the Conasauga River.

Members of the biofuels industry are ready to meet the challenge of producing replacements for petrochemical fuels that will be cost-competitive and renewable, and will meet the increasingly stringent demands of the green revolution. This was the consensus at CHI’s recent “Advanced Biofuels Development Summit.”

US – In the recent fervor to quantify the impact of biofuels on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, the other public health benefits of ethanol have often been overlooked. In ongoing research at the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), researchers are finding that “a biofuel eliminating even 10-per cent of current gasoline ...

PNNL's 1-step method converts cellulose into chemical feedstock for fuels and plastic Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory believe they've identified a simpler way to generate biofuels – a one-step process to convert cellulose found in plant material and other biomass into a chemical that can se...

Verenium Corporation (Nasdaq: VRNM), a pioneer in the development of next-generation cellulosic ethanol and high-performance specialty enzymes, and international energy company BP today announced that their jointly-owned, commercial cellulosic ethanol project, located in Highland...

After a fierce battle over agricultural incentives in a landmark climate bill, Congress plans to ask the National Academy of Sciences to study how biofuel production in the Midwest can shift food production abroad, stimulating a wave of deforestation. Tomorrow's expected vote in the House of Representati...

K.C. Das is an associate professor of engineering with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the director of the Biorefining and Carbon Cycling Program and manager of CAES biofuel research. The following is an abridged version of a Q&A on the status of bioenergy research in Georgia and its future. It originally app...

A comprehensive new analysis of water use in biofuel crop production finds that jatropha, an oil-rich plant championed for its ability to grow in arid regions where food crops cannot, is the biggest water hog of them all. Researchers from the University of Twente, in the Netherlands, report in a recent issue of the Proceedings of th...

Sudan is joining forces with Brazil and Egypt to develop biofuels. Sudanese president Omar al-Beshir unveiled the country's first biofuel plant earlier this month (10 June). The plant — located about 250 kilometres from the capital city Khartoum — was built in cooperation with the Brazilian company Dedini. It aims to...

Biofuels – made from algae and non-food plants – are emerging as a potentially viable alternative to conventional jet fuels. Although big challenges remain, the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions could be major. Earlier this year, a Continental jet accelerated down the runway at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. ...

Researchers at two centers in St. Louis are gearing up to launch five-year research programs on algae, backed by U.S. DOE grants. The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center received $15 million and Washington University $20 million from the DOE’s fund for Energy Frontier Research Centers. A total of 46 centers were funded from a pool of some 260 applicat...

At the end of last week, the European Algae Biomass Association was officially presented in Florence, Italy. The launch of this new association is a further step towards integrating industry and the scientific community in order to market algae biomass commercially. The European Commission showed its support for the European Algae Biomass Asso...

Leaders of the algae biofuel industry are headed to Capitol Hill today to raise awareness among congressional legislators and push for continued federal support to help the technology reach maturity. Legislators are working a range of policy issues such as a Renewable Fuel Standard, tax code and Recovery Act funding that will have an enormous ...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Feedstock supply and logistics, among the chief challenges to commercializing the production of biofuels from new feedstocks, will be a key focus of a new division at POET, the company announced today. POET CEO Jeff Broin announced at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo in Denver, C...

It only took Agstar Financial Services a bit more than a month to find a buyer for the Michigan ethanol plant it bought from bankrupt ethanol producer VeraSun last spring. According to a statement, Chicago-based newcomer Green BioEnergy has agreed to buy the Woodbury, Mich. ethanol plant from Agstar for an undisclosed sum. The plant has capac...

A German technology firm has linked up with a British food waste collection firm in a partnership they claim will "revolutionise" the UK anaerobic digestion sector. Saria Bio-Industries and

America was caught off guard in the 1950s when the Soviet Union suddenly launched its first Sputnik satellite. It looks like history may repeat itself, but this time the arena is more down to earth. In August, the leaders of Japan, China and Korea will hold a trilateral summit to discuss how they can pool their resources and expertise to deve...