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Date Published:
17 February 2014

Volume 8, Issue 2


Fighting on multiple fronts

Feature
The European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePure) has filed a complaint with the European Commission office with a view to stopping the circumvention of EU antidumping duties on fuel ethanol. In a statement made earlier this year, following the European Union’s imposition of anti-dumping duties on imported US fuel ethanol 12 months previous, ePure says a new pattern of trade from the US to... [read more]

Biofuels overlooked by EC despite positive clean energy report

Feature
A lack of any transportfocused mandate from the European Commission (EC) as it delivered its vision on a long-term energy and climate policy has sparked a reaction from stakeholders in the renewable fuels industry.The EC report, titled A policy framework for climate and energy policy between 2020 to 2030, suggests moves to a mandatory 40% greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, 27% binding renewable... [read more]

The long road to the new US Farm Bill

Feature
The US Congress has completed work on a new Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (Farm Bill), funding a broad slate of programmes through to 2018. By tradition, the legislation and the programmes it funds are reviewed and reauthorized every five years. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 was the first to include support for renewable energy. Title IX of that... [read more]

Current price index

Feature
January and February are traditionally fairly weak months for EU ethanol, and 2014 continued this trend with January settling at €473/m3, and early indications February will not be far behind. However, as we move closer to summertime blended petrol, we see a respectable €15- €20/m3 contango, with an expectation that demand will pick up through Q2 and Q3. Interestingly EU product... [read more]

Grasped again by uncertainty

Feature
Biodiesel remains economically challenged when compared with ultralow sulphur diesel (ULSD) fuel, although current historically low supply for distillate fuels, amid raging demand for heating fuels in the US during an unusually cold winter, has offered opportunity to bump up sales in spot trading. Distillates include heating oil and ULSD, although the heating oil market, which is concentrated in... [read more]

The five step shuffle

Feature
The laudable goal of developing a strong bioeconomy is primarily focused on reducing dependence on fossil fuels and minimising greenhouse gases (GHGs). Typically driving the discussion is the belief that using transportation fuels made from biomass is the most important way to achieve these objectives. Yet governments have recognised the need for a broad perspective. The US established five... [read more]

Presenting a united front

Feature
The future looks exciting for one bioethanol project in Argentina as a new facility is set to begin operations this year. The Association of Argentinean Cooperatives (ACA), originally founded in 1922 and headquartered in Buenos Aires, aims to look after the interests of the country’s agricultural sector. It currently has 156 members across several states, which translates into some 55,000... [read more]

Customising yeast

Feature
The success of ethanol production by Brazilian distilleries depends on robust yeast strains with high fermentative performance, which are more adapted to stressful conditions of industrial fermentations. Brazilian distilleries used to work with large concentrations of yeast cells (8-15% v/v) in fermentation tanks of between 300 and 3,000m3 and fast fermentations (over six to 10 hours) for ethanol... [read more]

Heading South?

Feature
The world’s fourthlargest continent is a global hub for both ethanol and biodiesel production, as varied climates and terrains provide ideal conditions for farming a variety of feedstocks. However, much has happened across the industry over the past six months in the wake of international policy changes, biofuel mandate cuts and economic uncertainty and it is safe to say much of South... [read more]

Addicted to change

Feature
Colombia’s mandatory B10 biodiesel blend policy is satisfied solely with biodiesel produced from palm oil grown on national plantations. The fourth largest producer of palm oil in the world, and largest in the Americas, Colombia’s oil palm plantations yielded 503,000 tonnes of biodiesel in 2013. This is up from the 169,000 tonnes recorded in 2009, according to the National Federation... [read more]

Back to the drawing board?

Feature
The biofuels market closely resembles the fossil fuel market, since both follow this path: feedstock, processing, distribution. In the case of the oil industry, the feedstock part is quite an open and shut case; it is oil which comes from the ground. However, in the case of biofuels, there is a plethora of options which makes matters more complicated. The likes of corn, wheat, algae, sugarcane,... [read more]

Forest of biofuels

Feature
Forests have provided us with raw material for many different industries, including energy, for centuries, as well as their other ecosystem services like oxygen production and water purification. During their growth, forests provide a significant carbon sink and, as a land use form, they offer high carbon storage. Producing wood raw material for renewable fuels creates value for local... [read more]

On the same page?

Feature
T he intention of any traceability concept is to clearly identify those elements within a supply chain which are the root cause of a problem detected at a time when a batch of material has already been transferred throughout its chain. In complex supply chains, such as in mass commodities, this is normally achieved by a step-by-step approach, meaning that within a supply chain the relevant... [read more]

Grab your passport

Feature
Ennovor Group, one of Europe’s largest sustainable biodiesel producers, announced last October a partnership with Helveta Elements (HE), a biofuel traceability platform, to help collect, store and report on sustainability data associated to its consignments to meet the requirements of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). Ennovor will create an online ‘digital chain of custody’... [read more]

Shining a light on microalgae

Feature
Microalgae are currently promoted as a promising source of biofuels and added-value products which can help improve the sustainability of biofuel processes. However, production costs are still limiting the development of commercialscale production systems. Maximisation of productivity, combined with the minimisation of photobioreactor costs and energy requirements, is necessary to achieve a... [read more]

Putting the work in

Feature
The SP Technical Research Institute, located in Sweden, has recently experienced a growth in interest for algal biomass from both national and international companies. Though SP has researched algae as a source for high value products, the research is on energy efficient algal cultivation and refining for industrial bulk chemical production of algae biomass. In this concept, the high value... [read more]

All aboard

Feature
The Port of Ghent believes it reaffirmed its position as a primary handler of seaborne cargo traffic last year, while also becoming the biggest dry bulk port in Belgium and increasing its handling of biofuels too. Dry bulk, when compared to all the different types of cargo coming into the port, represents a 63% share at 16.4 million tonnes. It saw, in 2013, an increase in mainly crude minerals,... [read more]

A new way of doing things

Feature
Most people in oleochemical production still work with a limited number of vegetable oil species, but there is now another way to multiple raw material sources, namely through modified structures of triglycerides (TGs). The scarcity of precious vegetable oils calls for their efficient use. As the ‘foodvs- fuel’ debate will seemingly continue for a long time, the efficient use of TGs... [read more]

Cellulosic feedstock: First movers in the field

Feature
Forecasts suggest the number of automobiles throughout the world will double in the next 15 years, then again 20 years after that. While further developments in terms of electric cars and more efficient engines will surely play a role, fuel consumption can only be expected to increase in the future. Ethanol has risen to prominence in the fuel sector and its market share is expected to grow as... [read more]

Recycling grease in Greece

Feature
Working with technology provider BDI Bioenergy, the biodiesel installation has been retrofitted in order to increase feedstock flexibility and product quality. Originally designed to handle mainly vegetable oil (maximum 40% used cooking oil (UCO)), the plant can produce over 33,000 tonnes of biodiesel, surpassing EN14214 out of 100% waste materials like UCO. he two core units offered to Elin were... [read more]

London: bussing towards sustainability

Feature
London currently accounts for 9% of the UK’s total CO2 emissions, a figure registered at 39.9 million tonnes in 2011. Despite a fall in recent years, continuing cuts are necessary: the City of London’s Climate Change Action Plan aims to cut emissions by 60% against 1990 levels by 2025. Transport, responsible for 7.8 million tonnes of CO2, is a key target. London Mayor Boris... [read more]

Mobilising cleaner diesel

Feature
Israel-based enzyme and technology provider TransBiodiesel has been moving forward with new technology for the production of biodiesel using any vegetable oil grade feedstock (FFA 0-100%), and it seems to be making itself at home throughout the world. The company has been researching ways to bring this project to commercial-scale since 2007 and its immobilised enzyme is methanol-resistant and... [read more]