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Date Published:
30 June 2014

Volume 8, Issue 4


Policy certainty coming to the EU

Feature
On the 13 June, the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) reached a decision on measures relating to the indirect land use change (ILUC) in the EU biofuels policy, which includes a 7% cap on biofuels made from food crops in transport fuel. The agreement comes after months of debate, following last December’s meeting, when energy ministers from the 28 EU member states failed to... [read more]

Application of anti-dumping duties widened

Feature
The European Commission (EC) has reached a decision to apply anti-dumping duties on all US ethanol which enters the European Union (EU) through Norway. The ruling comes as a result of US exporters shipping considerable volumes of fuel ethanol to Norway, where it was blended with petrol and then exported to the EU. As the blended product is a mix of 52% petrol and 48% bioethanol, it has no use in... [read more]

US states urge review of California's LCFS

Feature
In April this year, 21 US states filed a brief requesting the Supreme Court to review a lower court decision to challenge the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which sets out that carbon intensity in transportation fuels must be reduced, compared to petrol fuels. The move came approximately one month after ethanol producer representatives Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) filed a... [read more]

National Climate Assessment contradicts 2014 RFS proposal

Feature
In response to comments from the White House National Climate Assessment, released on 6 May, the world’s largest trade association representing biotechnology companies, academic institutions and state biotechnology centres says the decreasing use of biofuels will automatically increase the use of more carbon intensive petrol sources. The National Climate assessment is designed to offer a... [read more]

Current price index

Feature
The European ethanol market initially looked as though it might reach the end of May fairly unchanged. However, following a round of producer investment and purchasing, prices increased. Margins have been exceptionally weak for ethanol producers in recent weeks, driven by increasing wheat and corn feedstock prices following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Ethanol prices failed to move at the... [read more]

Policy uncertainty again slows US biodiesel trade

Feature
The US biodiesel industry continues to notch successes, which includes the country’s largest producer, Renewable Energy Group (REG), announcing in late April that it reached 1 billion gallons in sales. In late May, the White House issued an energy report that said biofuels has helped the US reduce net oil imports. Add to this list bioheat, a 5% mix of biodiesel in heating oil that achieved... [read more]

Overcoming adversity

Feature
The verdict on biofuels is in and the catchphrase seems to be ‘overpromised and under delivered’. First generation biofuels made out of sugar, starch and edible oils still occupy a major share of the total market. Regardless of this, the biofuel industry has come a long way. The market for biofuels is expected to reach $99 billion (€73 billion) by 2014. The demand for biofuels is... [read more]

Second never felt so good

Feature
Despite the production of first generation biofuels occupying a considerable proportion of the biofuels market, producers are now taking a progressive approach towards second generation production in light of recent technological developments and industry demand. Arianna Giovannini, R&D special project manager at Biochemtex, tells Biofuels International: ‘In the last 10 years we figured... [read more]

A fighting chance

Feature
On 13 June, the European Union Energy Council met to finalise its decision to incorporate indirect land use change (ILUC) into EU biofuel policies and to limit the production of first generation biofuels from 10% to 7%. The ministers have agreed to limit the use of conventional biofuels made from food crops to 7% and also encourage the focus to shift towards second generation biofuels. This 7%... [read more]

The triumph of KISS

Feature
The ‘keep it simple, stupid’, or KISS, principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated. Simplicity, therefore, should be a key goal and unnecessary complexity should be avoided. During the opening ceremony of what was the world’s first ‘flex fuel’ ethanol plant in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil (one which can... [read more]

Ready for the spotlight

Feature
Fossil-fuel dependence presents several problems, two of which appear inescapable: fossil fuels are a finite resource that are increasingly expensive to extract and process, and their carbon-rich nature is poisoning our environment and driving global climate change – actually harming the health of the very people who use these energy sources to better their lives. Governments worldwide are... [read more]

A new light in Australian ethanol production

Feature
Ethanol is currently commercially produced in Australia from wheat starch, red sorghum grain and sugarcane molasses. There are three main ethanol producers with a combined annual production capacity of approximately 440 million litres. Unfortunately, current annual ethanol production is only approximately 320 million litres. Australia currently consumes approximately 19 billion litres of petrol... [read more]

Remaining enzyme-free

Feature
Biomass is increasingly cited as a potential alternative to nonrenewable, petroleumbased resources, particularly as worldwide environmental, economic and political threats tied to our reliance on fossil fuels intensify and worsen. The technical challenges of developing economically viable and sustainable biofuels, however, are ongoing. Fortunately, where there are broadbased challenges, there are... [read more]

Next generation enzymes

Feature
The global population, which will surpass eight billion by 2030, is expected to consume over 30% more energy than today1. With oil reserves declining and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuels increasing, the global community is looking for alternative energy sources such as biofuels, wind and solar. First generation biofuels, derived from food sources like corn, starch, sugar, animal... [read more]

The evolution of enzymatic biodiesel

Feature
US-based Viesel’s first batch of ASTM D6751 specified biodiesel rolled out of its facility in July 2013. At that point it was producing at a rate of one or two trucks a week, a reflection of both the newness of production-scale enzymatic biodiesel and the uncertainty of how to make this process commercially viable. Since then it has increased production from 2-3 gallons per minute (gpm) to... [read more]

More ethanol, less grain

Feature
Starch-based ethanol production is a business that requires patience, courage and a stubborn solutions-oriented mentality. Creating a profitable business is often a challenge. Rumours of changes in the political environment can affect investment and demand. A new crop may drop yields for unknown reasons. Training staff to monitor and fine-tune a complex biological process is both important and... [read more]

Bitter disappointment for biodiesel

Feature
After the imposed anti-dumping measures against Argentina and Indonesia at the end of 2013, the expectations of European biodiesel producers were set high. All anticipated that the ceasing of soya- and palmbased biodiesel imports, which reached 2 million tonnes in 2012, would cause a sharp price rise this year. European producers rejoiced at the idea of a market valued at 10 million tonnes and... [read more]

Benefitting from by-products

Feature
Biodiesel production has been promoted by a number of governments around the world and major programmes for its manufacture have been announced. Irrespective of the politics or the implications of the replacement of feed crops for fuel crops, from each unit of vegetable oil that is converted to biodiesel, approximately 10% by weight will be recovered as by-product glycerine. The future... [read more]

The glycerine glut

Feature
At approximately 2,000 years old, glycerine is one of the oldest chemical compounds used by mankind. The glycerine industry has been around for hundreds of years and over that time the supply and demand dynamics have generally changed with population. However, with the advent of biodiesel commercialisation, glycerine production has doubled. It is only in the last decade or so, however, that this... [read more]

Critical considerations

Feature
To be sustainable in a challenging and volatile marketplace, vegetable oil facilities should be prepared to process a number of locally produced materials and create a diverse product set. Vegetable oil production plants that want to stay in this industry long term will need to utilise a diverse set of biomass and energy inputs that can supply vegetable oil-based products to numerous markets... [read more]

A quicker way

Feature
At the heart of the biodiesel industry is a simple transesterification chemical reaction, which allows for the conversion of oils to a usable liquid fuel with similar combustion properties to regular petroleum diesel. This reaction converts a carboxylic acid ester into a different carboxylic acid ester. Transesterification is widely used to make many products and, in this case, it allows for the... [read more]

Ready, set, go enzymes

Feature
With the lapse of the US biodiesel tax credit this year and the ambiguity around the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) current Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) proposal, many biodiesel producers have been re-evaluating their production processes. With worldwide production of biodiesel expected to increase by a further 8% from last year, according to Oil World, many biodiesel producers... [read more]

Looking to the future

Feature
Biodiesel is traditionally produced via esterification of fatty acids and transesterification of triglycerides with an alcohol such as methanol and sodium methylate. The transesterification of triglycerides comprises three sequential reversible reactions whereby triglycerides react to form diglycerides, monoglycerides and glycerol. The same is also true for non-traditional methods of conversion.... [read more]

Solving algae's problems

Feature
Biodiesel fuel is based on long-chain monoalkyl (methyl, ethyl, or propyl) esters derived from plant oil or animal fat. These fatty acid esters are usually formed by reacting alcohol with the lipids extracted from the oil or fat. The world’s petroleum oil reserves are finite, but global consumption continues to increase even as prices have risen sharply. Accordingly, renewable sources of... [read more]

A one stop shop

Feature
Turning a vegetable oil biofuel plant into one that is feedstock flexible is essential for many biodiesel producers today in order to remain profitable. As the modification of a single unit in an existing plant will influence other units, a high level of expertise and understanding of the chemistry of biodiesel production is required, together with a comprehensive approach for the implementation.... [read more]

Sustainability assurance systems: A strategic review

Feature
The biofuels sector, although having already come through a period of uncertainty, faces continuing turmoil. While biofuel targets exist courtesy of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) in Europe, future bioenergy targets at EU-level look doubtful as the nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) shift their gaze from biofuels for transportation to biomass for power. Along the way, EU regulation... [read more]

A perfect storm

Feature
The biofuels sector is in turmoil. This politics-laden topic has been losing public and regulator interest for a while and, technology and environmental issues aside, biofuels depends on attention. Appearing tedious, while at the same time plagued with uncertain regulations and governmental support, is not a positive development. With national coffers in Europe emptied by the recession, subsidies... [read more]

The importance of biodiesel stabilisation

Feature
About 23 million tonnes of biodiesel are used worldwide and further growth is expected, especially in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America. New and higher mandates for biofuels in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea will fuel this development. With increasing volumes of biodiesel and a broader range of suitable feedstocks, including used... [read more]