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California is known for its innovative technology, progressive politics and sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean. It is also the top agricultural producing state in the US, and a visit to its Central Valley provides evidence of sprawling farmland that stretches from the sea to the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

US senators, representatives and state governors largely from the Midwest took the White House by storm in mid-October in response to a late September notice from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking data and comments for justification in reducing the volume requirement for biomass-based diesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

UK sustainable energy company claims to be the first ever to have successfully converted actuall andfill gas (biogas) into drop-in renewable diesel fuelwith no fossil fuel additives. Its technology also bolts onto the anaerobic digestion process. Here, Liz Gyekye catches up with RenovareFuels’ chief technology officer Devin Walker to find out more.

Since the beginning of its expansion period about 30 years ago, the global biofuels industry has been pursuing cellulosic solutions. While there are now a handful of large biomass-based cellulosic ethanol production facilities in operation around the world, many more companies have tried – and failed – to create an economic cellulosic ethanol process. Most failures have more to do... with capital than technology – without are turn on capital, even the most elegant technologies will eventually fail. [read more]

The future of bioethanol, advanced biofuel developments and an uncertain policy landscape were some of the hot topics discussed at this year’s Biofuels International and Bioenergy Insight conference.The conference took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 4-5th October.

Avinash Alagumalai, a researcher and assistant professor from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, India, was part of a study attempting to develop an innovative strategy to refine biodiesel. This exploration concentrates on a novel method for purifying biodiese lwithout utilising water in the biodiesel purification process.

UPM’s Biofore Concept Car has attracted plenty of interest and during the autumn and winter it can be spotted at major events in Europe and Asia. What is the concept all about? The concept car is like the whole innovative forest industry packed onto four wheels. It is a resource-effective car demonstrating a totally new type of thinking, driving sustainable change and replacing oil-based... materials with advanced, renewable biomaterials. [read more]

Most dry-grind ethanol plants built in recent years are well designed and fairly robust, but operating knowledge and equipment updates still offer many opportunities foryield, energy, and operational improvements. Fluid Quip Process Technologies (FQPT) offers plant optimisation studies and improvements for dry-grind ethanol plants. Leveraging years of corn wet milling and ethanol experience, FQPT... finds there are always opportunities for improvements, even at leading facilities. [read more]

REDcert was founded in 2010 by leading associations and organisations of the German agricultural and biofuel sectors. By creating the scheme, the economic groups affected assumed joint responsibility for actively promoting certified sustainability of biofuels and liquid biomass.