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Date Published:
21 January 2013

Volume 7, Issue 1


US ethanol debate continues in Europe

Feature
Despite avoiding the instigation of a tariff on its ethanol imports into Europe, the US still awaits an overall decision on an ‘anti-dumping’ investigation   The European Commission (EC) confirmed in December a decision not to apply countervailing duties in an antidumping case involving ethanol imports from the US for the time being. The proposal, set to introduce an almost 10%... [read more]

Reaping the rewards of the denied US tax bill

Feature
Biofuel production is set to benefit as US steers itself away from the ‘fiscal cliff’   The much talked about bill has now been passed by the US House of Representatives to stop a set automatic tax increase, which consequently benefits the internal biofuels and cellulosic ethanol industries. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was passed by a vote of 257-167 and the bill,... [read more]

No Udall-ying on military biofuels future

Feature
The US military will be able to use sustainably sourced fuel thanks to positive vote taken by the Senate   The US senate has voted to repeal certain language being included in section 313 of the annual Defence appropriations bill which concerns the future use of alternative fuels in the US military. The final vote, taken in late November, was 62- 37 in favour of prohibiting a proposed clause... [read more]

New additives combat SCC

Feature
According to the API research report API TR 939-D, stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of steel in contact with fuel ethanol has been observed in user terminals, specifically storage tanks and loading/unloading rack piping prior to blending. SCC is the formation of deep penetrating cracks in a normally sound material caused by interactions of tensile stress, corrosive environment and susceptible... [read more]

Insulating for the future

Feature
With the ability to slash CO2 emissions by nearly 50Mt a year, efficient storage tank insulations are proving popular with tank operators who have their eye on the prize   How can tank operators reduce energy costs and cut CO2 emissions? Storage tank insulations are becoming more important than ever. Global CO2 emissions have risen dramatically over the past few years and are set to increase... [read more]

Sustainable storage

Feature
Vopak, Decal and Tepsa are leading the way in certifying their terminal operations to help customers prove sustainability criteria   Spanish terminals Decal and Tepsa obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) certification for their terminals almost a year ago. Now, Vopak has been awarded a multisite ISCC certification for a number of its storage terminals. The... [read more]

All change for 2013

Feature
The unexpected return of the biodiesel tax subsidy has had reverberating market implications   Late last year biodiesel production was expected to be sluggish in early 2013. Now, there are some saying production will pick up much quicker because of the new law retroactively reinstating the $1 (€0.75) blender’s biodiesel tax credit. ‘We all but completely walked away from... [read more]

Double counting - nothing but a headache?

Feature
Within the EU Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/ EC (RED) the use of waste and residues is supported as a favourable alternative to traditional commodities-based feedstocks. In order to foster the use of such feedstocks, the RED allows mineral oil companies to blend only half of the biofuel into fossil fuel in order to reach their blending obligations if the respective biofuel was produced from... [read more]

The 5% equation

Feature
James Barrett takes a look at how Europe is reacting to the reduced first generation ethanol proposal brought to the table by the European Commission late last year   As we all enter a new year, a time for renewed hope and optimism as fresh plans begin to roll out, the European biofuels industry will still have half an eye on future horizons. As all member states of the EU head towards the... [read more]

Taking an optimistic view

Feature
AlcoBioFuels’ Benoit Verbruggen talks to James Barrett about his views on the facility’s future and current renewable energy proposals   There have been some interesting developments at the Belgium-based bioethanol plant AlcoBioFuel (ABF) over the past couple of years but the proposed amendments to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) have not been well received. ABF was founded... [read more]

Overcoming those important funding hurdles

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What are the steps needed to secure funding? What is the role of government incentives and programmes in arranging financing? Our experts explain...   In 1974, US President Richard Nixon announced that by 1980 the US would be dependent on no other country for energy. Every subsequent US president has repeated this pledge in some form. Growth in unconventional production of oil and gas has... [read more]

Making biofuels a less risky business

Feature
Loren Padelford, general manager of Active Risk discusses how managing risk at an enterprise level and creating a risk management culture will enable organisations to take smarter risks, drive efficiency and improve operations   Successful business is all about taking risks. This is especially so in a sector pioneering the future. If biofuels are to be a viable alternative to fossil fuels... [read more]

In or out of the public eye?

Feature
Advanced biofuels firms that have remained privately held and raised venture capital funds in the third quarter, are quietly building momentum. Meanwhile, their colleagues who chose the IPO route are hitting a wall   Last year has demonstrated what can happen to a company that goes public while still in development. Amyris, Solazyme, Codexis and Kior were among some biomass-tobiofuels... [read more]

A generation of change

Feature
The timing couldn’t have been better for last year’s Biofuels International Conference in Antwerp, which took place in November, just after the European Commission released its much talked about proposed changes to its biofuel policy   Øyvind Vessia, policy officer for Renewables and CCS policy for DG Energy at the European Commission opened the fifth annual event, leading... [read more]

Keeping it renewable

Feature
BioMCN’s Eelco Dekker gives his views on how 2013 may pan out for the biomethanol sector   BioMCN, the Netherlandsbased biomethenol producer, believes 2013 will be an interesting year for the advancement of its core business. It has been enjoying increased business from clients and has been part of new renewable energy projects which have advanced during the latter stages of 2012.... [read more]