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Date Published:
05 March 2010

Volume 4, Issue 2


Smiles all around

Feature
The final rule for the renewable fuel standard (RFS2) was eventually issued by the EPA on 3 February this year. While the required total volume of renewable fuels produced in 2010 remains the same at 12.95 billion gallons, changes within the requirements for different types of fuels are fairly extreme. Most notably the requirements for cellulosic biofuel production in 2010 has dropped to 6.5... [read more]

Q&A

Feature
QWhich country has the most agricultural potential for biomass to energy projects? A The boom of biodiesel and biogas has made Germany the leading producer and user of agro-biomass for energetic purposes in Europe. However, the large eastern European countries, most notably Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, have the best potential and the highest proportion of available agricultural land per capita... [read more]

Uncertain future for Czech Republic

Feature
Preol, a leading producer in the Czech Republic, has just completed constructing a state-of-theart fully integrated biodiesel plant in the industrial region of Lovosice. Although the company was founded in 2003, it only started its biodiesel plant in 2006. By locating the facility in Lovosice Preol can benefit from existing utility networks and engineering services as well as other local... [read more]

Wastewater wonder

Feature
A t just fi ve years old Scandinavian Biogas comes into an established market with new technology and an expanding business model. The company optimises the production of biogas at wastewater treatment plants, ethanol and biodiesel plants, landfi lls and from other large streams of organic waste, and has plans to own and operate the production sites. In collaboration with the Municipality of... [read more]

Europe awaits the verdict

Feature
According to Article 17 § 9 of Directive 2009/28/EC the European Commission needs to submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on sustainability for biomass used in heating, cooling or electricity production. The initial deadline of this report was 31 December 2009 but due to internal discussions the report is still pending. The Commission report might conclude that no binding... [read more]

Sustainable approach to biomass sourcing

Feature
The Renewable Energy Directive, approved on 17 December 2008 defi nes that 20% of the EU fi nal energy consumption must be derived from renewable sources. The Directive also sets a mandatory 10% minimum target for fi nal energy consumption in transportation to be derived from renewable sources, not from liquid biofuels alone. Additionally, the Directive requires that biofuels reduce greenhouse... [read more]

Biodiesel comeback needs tax break

Feature
After much delay, the US EPA finalised rules on 3 February that implement key provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, with the regulations certifying soya-based biodiesel as a qualifying renewable fuel. The rules also mandate demand for biodiesel this year, two huge wins for the beleaguered US industry. EPA’s final rules for the second Renewable Fuels Standard found in... [read more]

The one that wens the world off coal

Feature
The industrial revolution of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries propelled the use of coal as a fuel source, enveloping cities in a blackened cloak. This and petroleum-based fuels were substrates of convenience, but now the economy is no longer the primary consideration. With trees covering 29.6% of the earth’s total land area wood is now being used in commercial biomass-to-energy... [read more]

European biofuel paper trade gains in popularity

Feature
More than two million tonnes of European biodiesel have been cleared via CME ClearPort less than 10 months after the contracts were first listed. Over 360,000m3 of European ethanol were also cleared within the same period, according to the CME group, the world’s largest futures and options exchange. ‘Biofuels and their associated derivatives are very exciting markets to be in,’ says Nick Hobson,... [read more]

Produce, re-use, recycle

Feature
Corn stover, bagasse and straw are all produced in huge quantities wherever corn, sugarcane and grain are grown for ethanol production. Growing oil seeds also produces a remarkable amount of stalks, leaves and husks, and once the oil seed is pressed there is presscake too. When beer is distilled to produce ethanol there are distillers grains and solubles that can be dehydrated down to a syrup.... [read more]

What's happening in CEE?

Feature
Belarus A new enlarged biodiesel production factory will start production in Grodno in mid-2010. This factory will be operated by company Azot and production capacity will be 60,000 tonnes of FAME a year. Bulgaria Zarneni Hrani, located in Provadia, is working on its new preparation, pre-pressing and solvent extraction plant, which will mainly process sunflower and rapeseed. Czech Republic In... [read more]

Too good to be true

Feature
I n a process known as catalysis, a relatively small amount of foreign material, or catalyst, participates in the chemical reaction but is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst can make a reaction go faster and in a more selective manner. Because of its ability to speed up some reactions and not others, a catalyst enables a chemical process to work more efficiently and often with less... [read more]

Switching to switchgras

Feature
With new figures indicating that a quarter of the US entire grain crop was turned into ethanol last year, the controversial subject of food versus fuel is still underlying in biofuel breakthroughs. The Earth Policy Institute reported that the total consumption of grain used for vehicle fuel has tripled since 2004, with at least 200 ethanol distilleries now situated in the US. Between them, these... [read more]

Sodium methylate: still the catalyst of choice

Feature
The majority of global biodiesel producers use a transesterification process to convert various vegetable oils and fats to biodiesel. The process involves the use of a catalyst along with methanol to convert oils to biodiesel. The catalyst can either be a homogenous liquid catalyst, a type which is widely used, or a heterogeneous catalyst, which include solids, powders, resins and enzyme coated... [read more]