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Date Published:
23 December 2010

Volume 4, Issue 10


Breaking down the wall

Feature
On 13 October 2010 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally began a regulatory process that could pave the way towards the commercialisation of a 15% blend of ethanol (E15) in standard pump grade petrol. Since 1979, a blend of up to 10% ethanol (E10) has been available for all conventional cars and light trucks and non-road vehicles; with this announcement the EPA has formally waived... [read more]

Higher quality without the added cost

Feature
On 1 January 2012 the current prestandard DIN 51605 concerning fuels from rapeseed oils will be changed into a binding DIN standard, containing much lower limit values of phosphor, calcium and magnesium. For example, the phosphor content will be reduced from 12 to 3 mg/kg following the decision by the DIN committee. This is a major challenge for vegetable oil producers, which must now produce a... [read more]

The bigger the better?

Feature
The Netherlands is frequently referred to as the gateway to Europe and is a key trading area for the petrochemical industry. The Port of Rotterdam has an annual throughput of around 400 million tonnes and offers many options to those that choose to store liquid fuel there. It provides easy access to the UK, Swedish, German and Dutch markets. The port has been storing biofuels since the beginning... [read more]

The road to recovery

Feature
From highs of over $140 (€106) per barrel in mid-2008, crude oil crashed to below $40 per barrel in early 2009. Subsequently the price has shown a remarkable recovery and could now rise to $90 or higher by the end of 2010. Even more foreboding is the International Energy Agency’s 2010 prediction of oil prices reaching $200 a barrel by 2035 as growth in China and elsewhere in the developing world... [read more]

Three is the magic number

Feature
For some time China has been home to the third-largest oil refi ner in the world, Sinopec, and in September 2010 it became the world’s third-largest ethanol producer behind Brazil and the US. Getting there however was, and still continues to be, a journey through red tape. Biofuels in China have not had an easy ride. Unlike the US in 2007 the Chinese government took steps to ban the use of... [read more]

Government support grows in China

Feature
While new government initiatives to expand biofuel use in China are still at an early stage of implementation it appears that Beijing is giving greater support to develop biodiesel production, which has lagged behind bioethanol until now due to a shortage of feedstocks. The government has given a go ahead to large state run energy companies to develop the biodiesel market as part of offi cial... [read more]

India’s mandate: assessing its impact

Feature
The government approved the National Policy on Biofuels on 24 December 2009, which proposes a target of 20% blending of biodiesel and bioethanol by 2017. The government’s current target of 5% blending of ethanol in petrol has been successful in years of surplus sugar production, but not in years when sugar production declines. Biodiesel production, however, remains very small due to inadequate... [read more]

Competitiveness compromised

Feature
The United Nations announced on 11 December that the Convention on Climate Change 16th Conference in Cancun had succeeded in negotiating new benefi ts for a global deforestation prevention programme. Industrialised, mostly European countries are pledging billions to assist the developing world in ending destructive practices to increase their agricultural and economic power. A particular target... [read more]

The energy cornerstone

Feature
The US is the world’s largest corn-ethanol producer. In 2010 ethanol processors will use 4.4 billion bushels of corn compared to last year’s total of 3.7 billion. And for the fi rst time co-products from ethanol production like Dried Distillers Grains (DDGs) have offset over 1 billion bushels of corn use by livestock. Last year, after new corn demand for ethanol production was met, there was... [read more]

Ethanol evangelist

Feature
Despite its size and prominence within the renewable fuels sector – and a recent coast-to-coast brand-building television advertising campaign – Poet is hardly a household name in North America. But while consumers may not know the company, most will have driven its product: Poet’s ethanol is purchased by oil majors such as ExxonMobil, BP and Chevron, which blend it into standard pump grades.... [read more]

Efficient mixing

Feature
Producing ethanol is a complex and multistage process and one of the decisions an operator faces is whether to use a top-entry or sideentry agitator system. When a clearly pronounced homogenisation is required in the upper section of a mixing vessel top-entry mixing is the recommended option. For other situations, however, an important factor to consider is that investment costs for side-entry... [read more]

Eleven algae trends to watch in 2011

Feature
1 Emerging markets growth US and EU-based algae producers and licensors of technology are increasingly looking to the emerging markets in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East for faster economic growth, increasing market demand, and more supportive government and regulatory climates for accelerated commercial growth. This follows a key trend by Shell and BP investing $12 billion (€9... [read more]

Advances in filtration technologies

Feature
Throughout the debate on whether E15 blends should be permitted, signifi cant research efforts have been made into the impact of the biofuel on vehicle engines. With such scrutiny it is more important than ever that the biofuels used are clean and up to standard. Pre-fi ltration and fi ltration of the feedstock is necessary for biodiesel production, and is commonly carried out using strainers,... [read more]

Membrane technology

Feature
Membrane fi ltration technology shows promise to improve second generation cellulosic ethanol processes. Producers seek to optimise fuel recovery and secondary products from the feedstock. In addition, these operators want to obtain a better value fuel than fi rst generation bioethanol processes, which focused exclusively on fuel production and simply disposed of everything else as waste or... [read more]

Half the trouble

Feature
Vinasse, a residual substance left after sugarcane alcohol distillation, represents a major environmental problem for the ethanol industry. It can be used as a fertiliser, something Brazil has done since the 1970s, but some soils do not respond positively to its acid content, and it can threaten aquatic life if it enters river basins, due to its high biological oxygen demand. Now, for the fi rst... [read more]

Yeasts yield results

Feature
In ethanol economics it is no secret that the feedstock results in roughly 80% of the plant’s costs. Most emphasis is placed on the sugar or the starchy biomass, yet down the cost scale few pay attention to the importance of yeast in improving ethanol fermentation. Yeast cost is by far less than 1%. ‘If alcohol is around $2/gallon (€1.49/gallon), yeast costs are less than $0.003, and enzyme cost... [read more]