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Date Published:
21 April 2010

Volume 4, Issue 4


The biofuels debate becomes even more heated

Feature
When researching this issue and looking at the future of the aviation sector we came to the conclusion that today’s population is addicted to flying. The only way, therefore, to cut aviation emissions is to blend in biofuels into jet fuel. But this week’s events have shown otherwise. Volcanic ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull volcano has grounded flights across Europe for nearly a week at the... [read more]

Muddying the waters

Feature
Once again a victim, the US biodiesel industry’s dependence on tax subsidies and demand mandates continues to inflict hardship for domestic producers as the second quarter gets underway. There is certainly a viable future for the industry once already passed legislation kicks in that requires refiners and importers to buy biodiesel to meet the Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO). The industry also... [read more]

Much ado about nothing

Feature
Directive 28/2009 requires the European Commission to submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council by the end of 2010 to review whether (increased) biofuel demand in Europe will have an impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through indirect land use changes. The question of indirect land use change (ILUC) and its effect is heavily disputed among a number of stakeholders. ILUC is... [read more]

Explaining the biodiesel paradox

Feature
Since the 2008 golden age of biodiesel, the atmosphere has been tense for the majority of biodiesel players around the world. New legislative constraints, high feedstock prices, fierce competition, lack of liquidity on spot markets and an unfavourable perception from the public have contributed to exclude many players from the market. With the noticeable exception of Argentineans, producers... [read more]

The Americas’ role in world biofuels markets

Feature
In recent years, the two American continents have reinforced their place in the world biodiesel market, playing a very important role in supplying Europe with the necessary green diesel to fulfil national targets and obligations. This year, however, the two regions have been more concerned about internal consumption due to the implementation of biodiesel mandates. Uncertainty clouds North America... [read more]

Following the decentralised ethanol model

Feature
When biofuel producers are assessed for their sustainability issues such as whether the feedstock has been diverted from food use and indirect land use change are always key talking points. But when the ethanol comes entirely from locally sourced waste streams these issues are bypassed. Finland-based St1 Biofuels, a subsidiary of St1, was founded in 2006 and has a unique concept which produces... [read more]

Sensible solutions

Feature
In such an unpredictable market poor plant design could well lead to bottlenecks and overspending on feedstocks, which could in turn be the downfall of producers. Retrofitting plants with the latest technology is one way of bringing a producer back to profitable production. Planning a retrofit Texas-based technology company Enhanced Biofuels offers a retrofit solution that can be cost-effectively... [read more]

Plant update: western Europe

Feature
Increasing the consumption of sustainable energy is a necessity in the fi ght against global warming and strengthening the security of energy supply. Among the renewable energy sources biomass plays an important part. It covers two thirds of all sustainable power and is the fastest growing in the sector. The European Biomass Association, AEBIOM, estimates that the gross inland consumption of... [read more]

Biofuels: a sea change

Feature
Energy, water and food resources are interconnected and in increasing demand worldwide. Scientists at the University of Texas note nearly 1 billion people worldwide are near starvation, nearly 1 billion do not have adequate freshwater, and more than 2 billion people do not have proper sanitation. Systems models and dynamics demonstrate key interdependencies between energy, water and food. For... [read more]

In the RED?

Feature
Europe may have led the biodiesel market in 2009 with a production share of 49.8%, followed by the US with its share of 32.8%, but since 2001 its production levels have been declining. And 2010 looks set to follow this trend. Overcapacity is the biggest problem – biodiesel capacity in Europe is around 20 million tonnes versus only 10-11.5 million tonnes in actual demand. The ethanol sector... [read more]

Optimising DDGs production

Feature
Biofuel production has made a significant impact on the animal feed market, particularly in the US, where emphasis on bioethanol production has seen a rapid rise of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGs) from the dry mill ethanol process. In 2004, 59 dry mills produced 2.6 million gallons of ethanol. Today there are about 190 dry mill plants, producing around 40 million tonnes of DDGs,... [read more]

Practice makes perfect

Feature
Biomass to energy producer Range Fuels is set to begin production of cellulosic biofuels from its Soperton Plant in Georgia, US, in the next few months. Mechanical construction of phase 1 of the Soperton Plant was completed in Q1 this year, and commissioning of key process areas and utilities is being completed to prepare for production of cellulosic methanol scheduled for late Q2, followed by... [read more]

Giant just in name or also in potential?

Feature
When Phillip Jennings talks about biomass, he thinks large. As the president of US-based commercial grower SunBelt Biofuels he believes he’s got the crop that can rise to the top of the biomass feedstock pile: Freedom Giant Miscanthus. Freedom Giant Miscanthus is a product of Mississippi State University research, led by agronomist Brian Baldwin. Over a decade of research on biomass feedstocks,... [read more]

Towards greener aviation

Feature
Aviation consumes 2% of all fossil fuels burnt. This represents 12% of the fuel consumption of the entire transport sector, which may be small compared to the 80% used by road transport, but is still significant. Aviation is an international market so greenhouse emissions are difficult to regulate. Individual countries are unwilling to impose conditions on their domestic airlines that might... [read more]

Playing it safe

Feature
Methanol is the typical alcohol of choice for reacting with fats and oils to produce biodiesel and glycerine, although ethanol and isopropanol are acceptable too. Since 2006 to the end of 2009 there have been approximately 20 explosions and/or fires in biodiesel plants in the US alone with the majority resulting from the mishandling of methanol. There have been two fatalities in the US associated... [read more]

Removing the excess

Feature
Methanol extraction and recovery during the manufacturing of biodiesel is a crucial step in the successful and profitable operation of a biodiesel plant. The most important reason is to meet ASTM D6751 or EN14214 specifications. To meet these requirements, the flash point must be above 93?C, and the methanol content must be below 0.2v%. The second reason for recovering methanol is cost... [read more]