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Key figures from the biofuels industry give their thoughts and insights on the coming year. Read what experts from Praj Industries, UPM, EWABA, ePure, the National Biodiesel Board and more think the challenges and opportunities will be for biodiesel, bioethanol and waste based biofuels in 2018.

Fossil based resources currently make up the majority of the feedstocks used to produce fuels, chemicals and materials, representing a series of environmental and economic challenges. These include issues related to global warming, price volatility and on the longer term, security of supply.  The forest regions of the EU-27 have access to a large supply of biomass resources( 25 billion mᵌ... growing stock) that are not in competition with food supply. In combining woody biomass supply, expertise in wood processing and chemicals production, it is expected that lignocellulosic feedstock will soon become a key strategic resource for chemical intermediates. Building towards this goal is the priority of Bioforever. [read more]

Long gone are the days of napkins and plastic straws being caught in the feedstock pretreat strainers, but what has been learned from those type of experiences carries on through present day. Lake Erie Biofuels producer Hero BX just marked a decade of producing America’s advanced biodiesel at its production facility on the shores of Lake Erie. Turning waste into energy was what first... attracted Erie businessman, Founder & CEO Samuel P. ‘Pat’ Black, III, to the industry. Nature has its own way of recycling everything. Modeling the Hero BX production after that has not only succeeded, but gives back more energy than it takes. Recycling everything but napkins and plastic straws, that is. [read more]

Typically, biotech processes are difficult to scale up and it is a challenge to convert lab scale knowledge into industrial scale practice. Piloting plays a key role in closing the critical gap between scientific feasibility and industrial application. Increasing complexity and aggressive market timelines make the relevance of piloting more important for today’s biotech processes. Piloting... is needed in order to develop a technically and commercially viable business case in order to convince investors or produce test samples of the product. The most successful approach to scaling up is scaling down. This basically means that the process should be designed with the end-goal in mind. The bioprocess value chain flows from biomass to product, however, the recommended design direction is the complete inverse of this. [read more]

Ethanol production today is not the same as it was thirty, twenty or even five years ago. While the basics of brewing are the same as they have been for thousands of years – pretreatment, saccharification, fermentation, and separation– specific technologies and improvements have developed to increase production value. Just like any other industry, ethanol producers have had their eyes... on growth, efficiency and driving more value from the same process. In my 20 years in the industry, it’s always been about doing more with less – getting more out of that same kernel of corn. [read more]

Biofuels progressin South America shows many favourable signs. There is certainly no lack of opportunity or ambition for biofuels developers in South America, with Brazil in particular driving towards a 2030 vision where 80% of the country’s energy mix is made up of renewable supplies, double today’s figure. The region’s challenge, as in many other parts of the world is to... create and sustain a policy and investment environment so current plans for renewables enhancement can be delivered effectively and efficiently over the next 12 years. [read more]

At a time when ethanol production globally is expected to double in volume over the next dozen years, Brazil’s significant experiences in sugarcane ethanol production are relevant for other developing countries. Brazil’s sugarcane based ethanol fuel programme has allowed the country to become the world’s second largest producer of ethanol, the world’s largest exporter, and... a major consumer of ethanol domestically. In 2003, Brazil began producing flexible-fuel vehicles that can operate with any mixture of hydrous ethanol and gasohol (blend of anhydrous ethanol and gasoline). In 2015, these flex-fuel vehicles made up 68% of Brazil’s fleet of light commercial vehicles, and are predicted to make up over 85% by 2020. This, combined with a government requirement for 27% ethanol-blend fuel (E27), creates a substantial domestic ethanol market. [read more]

Sugarcane is one of the major feedstocks used in the production of ethanol, accounting for 80% of the sugar produced worldwide. According to the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2016, around 22% of the total production of sugarcane will be used for ethanol production by 2025. This alcohol-based biofuel enjoys great popularity in the biofuels industry due to its low carbon footprint, reducing... greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 71% by default compared to fossil fuel. Furthermore, it is a very efficient crop, producing around 600-800 gallons of fuel per acre, which is about twice as efficient as corn. Despite the many positive aspects of sugarcane biofuel, sustainability challenges such as the need to protect high biodiversity and high-carbon stock areas as well as to implement good agricultural and social practices cannot be neglected. [read more]

Volatility in the US biodiesel market intensified in December following the November 30 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) final rule on mandated demand for renewable fuels in 2018. The agency did not increase the required volumes of biomass-based diesel, which is regulated through the Renewable Fuel Standard, disappointing the industry. EPA set the annual Renewable Volume Obligation for... biomass-based diesel at 2.1 billion gallons for both 2018 and 2019, up from 2.0 billion gallons in 2017 and 1.9 billion gallons in 2016. The National Biodiesel Board, the US trade group for biodiesel, had pushed for a 2.5 billion gallon RVO for 2019, down from an initial request of 2.75 billion gallons. The trade group and other interested parties said flat-lining the mandate would stunt growth for the industry.  [read more]