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Date Published:
23 December 2015

Volume 10, Issue 1


Renewable frustration standard

Feature
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on 30 November released the final volume requirements for bioethanol under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for the years 2014, 2015, and 2016. In addition, the final volume requirements for biodiesel were announced for 2014-2017. The EPA has increased the required levels from its... [read more]

From Paris with love

Feature
After two weeks of intense negotiations, the world seems to have come together. World leaders gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (COP21) reached a conclusion that has at least preliminarily been dubbed as historic. For the first time in the history of UN... [read more]

Current price index

Feature
The European ethanol market evaded the ongoing meltdown in the wider commodities markets into the fourth quarter of 2015 as tight supply fundamentals contrasted with abundant availability in commodities from crude to agriculturals T2 FOB Rotterdam fuel grade prices have held well above €600/m3 since the end of October as the... [read more]

Chain reaction

Feature
The prospect for greater biodiesel demand in the US continues to look healthy. The industry is lent support from mandated demand in New York City's large heating oil market and greater usage eyed by regulators in California in meeting the state's ambitious climate goals, not to mention a federal demand mandate that expands each year... [read more]

2016 Global Outlook

Feature
Market leaders from around the world reflect on 2015 and make their predictions for the year ahead.

Made in Brazil: Down but not out

Feature
Brazil is committed to achieving a massive growth in biofuels production over the next 15 years, a message which industry and government leaders delivered strongly before, during and after the COP21 summit in Paris, at the end of 2015. According to the Brazilian government's climate plan, as formally submitted to the United Nations three... [read more]

The role of cleaner fuels after COP21

Feature
The common objective to fight climate change brought together 196 nations to the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) in early December 2015. In an exceptional exercise of international concerted action, leaders from all parts of the globe agreed to join efforts to fight climate change. Transport is one of the key topics of this newly... [read more]

Remembering our roots

Feature
Converting sugar-rich biomass such as sugarcane, sugar beet, and sweet sorghum to ethanol has been done for many years, but it has also been common knowledge that one of the major costs of producing ethanol from biomass is the large capital investment required for a mill and the cost of transporting the biomass to the biorefinery. Not only do... [read more]

2015: A strong year for biofuels M&A

Feature
The North American biofuels industry witnessed a lot of M&A activity last year as consolidation continued in the ethanol and biodiesel subsectors. Ocean Park Advisors, a Los Angeles-based corporate finance advisory, tracked 10 M&A transactions worth an estimated $750 million to $850 million (€683-€774 million) in... [read more]

Key considerations in plant acquisitions

Feature
Each segment of a new industry, like biofuels, starts with experimentation by many participants and then matures with consolidation, reducing the number of participants much of the time. The history of the ethanol industry in the US has followed this path. While focusing on the US ethanol industry, the experiences described... [read more]

Amplifying fermentation efficiency

Feature
Ethanol producers are faced with diverse and dynamic challenges, from shifting regulations to operational adjustments. Regulatory uncertainty in the US around the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) saw a less than-ideal resolution from the biofuels industry perspective when the US Environmental Protection Agency announced... [read more]

Piecing together the puzzle of solvent production

Feature
Acetone-butanolethanol (ABE) fermentation is a metabolic process of clostridia, the microorganisms that utilise carbohydrates such as glucose to produce solvents. It is considered one of the most prominent strategies for industrial biofuel production, providing a promising and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.  Over the... [read more]

Biofuel meets cloud solutions

Feature
A greater variety of products in a tank farm inevitably results in more complex processes for handling incoming and outgoing goods and inventory accounting. If storage involves not just conventional fuels but also biofuels such as ethanol, palm oil, or rapeseed oil, process software must meet even more demanding... [read more]

Waste not, want not

Feature
We all want cleaner, greener biodiesel. Not just out of choice, but out of necessity. European legislation is geared towards increasing transport fuel derived from renewables, so the race is on to discover smarter fuels that drive tomorrow's vehicles. By 2020, the EU wants 10% of the transport fuel of every EU country to come from... [read more]

The new era of renewables

Feature
A new generation of bio-based products are attempting to replace identical products manufactured from petroleum, but with renewable carbon and at a competitive cost. The petroleum-based products are cheap and effective, but their production generates large amounts of pollution. In this new era, there could be no blend wall. There... [read more]