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Date Published:
09 November 2015

Volume 9, Issue 6


A nation confused

Feature
The US biofuels scene keeps boiling. Uncertainty over the future direction of the industry has hampered growth, caused political turmoil, and sparked protest against government policy from both pro- and antibiofuels camps. And at the heart of it all is the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set proposed limits on biofuels production under the RFS earlier... [read more]

The clock is ticking

Feature
Time is running out for many biofuel tanker owners. A recent report by Rivertrace Engineering, a UK-based environmental consultancy concentrated on oil and water, says that many tankers may be declared unfit for fuel transportation starting next year, when the International Marine Organization’s (IMO) new regulations take effect. The situation could lead into a deficient in biofuel supplies... [read more]

Thriving in the face of adversity

Feature
On 30 October DuPont officially opened the world’s largest cellulosic ethanol facility in Nevada in the US state of Iowa. Jan Koninckx, who has worked at DuPont for over 20 years and has been the global business director for biorefineries at the company since 2007, spoke to Biofuels International a few weeks before the plant’s official opening. ‘When I joined DuPont’s... [read more]

Current price index

Feature
The European ethanol market extended its period of sustained high prices into October as shortages of physical material were still outstripping historically lower demand in the fourth quarter. October’s gains were more modest than those in September, which saw values shoot to highs in the €570s/m³, but were still enough to keep the market in steep backwardation. The T2 price... [read more]

The damage is done

Feature
US B100 soya methyl ester biodiesel spot prices at key trading hubs got a boost in early October from a rallying oil futures market on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with the ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel contract climbing $0.26 or 18.2% from a late August six-year low into early October. Spot biodiesel in the US is indexed against the ULSD futures contract, which has now moved into its... [read more]

In the biodiesel corner...

Feature
Biodiesel leaders in North America are waiting for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release its final Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule with mixed feelings on how much real progress the sector is making. There are certainly plenty of despondent voices from within the industry, many of whom see the battle to gain fair national recognition for the qualities of biodiesel as a continuing... [read more]

Iowa thrives and drives on biofuels

Feature
In little more than a decade, the US biodiesel industry has grown from a meager 25 million gallons of production to an industry that turned out more than 1.7 billion gallons in 2014 and is projected to double its production by 2022. Iowa has been at the forefront of the industry’s growth. The state is home to 13 biodiesel production plants – more than any other state. These facilities... [read more]

A great success

Feature
Our 8th Biofuels International Conference went down a storm on 22-24 September 2015 when, for the first time, we took it to Portugal – the home of our key sponsor and co-host IncBio. Over the course of the three-day event IncBio showed visitors around its new biodiesel plant, which is currently under construction, and treated them to some fabulous networking opportunities. These included a... [read more]

A balancing act

Feature
Commercial aviation is in a rapid growth phase. With aircraft order books spilling over, the number of jets flying is set to increase dramatically over the next decade. As airlines grow, more planes mean more fuel and, despite the dramatic improvements in fuel efficiency from airframe and engine makers, the reality is that we will be burning more fuel in the future than we do today. There are a... [read more]

Taking it to the next level

Feature
In the last decades, governments and industry have had a strong focus on the development of a bio-based economy. This trend has emerged for three reasons: the need for carbon emissions reductions, energy security/resource resilience, and economic development/ industry innovation. There is a need for aviation to be a part of this bio-based economy. However, the nature of the industry, with its... [read more]

Elimination of antibiotics in fuel ethanol production

Feature
In ethanol production, yeast (Saccaromyces cerevisiae) is used to convert sugar into ethanol. Other microorganisms can compete with the yeast for the sugars. These microorganisms include, but are not limited to, lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria. When acid bacteria grow, they compete for the supply of sugar resulting in less sugar for ethanol production. Acid forming bacteria can also create... [read more]

An unlikely pair

Feature
Transesterification is the most common process to convert vegetable oil (edible/ inedible), animal fat, algae oil, or waste cooking oil to biodiesel. It can be classified based on the associated phase in the reaction, such as heterogeneous or homogeneous, or it can be categorised as alkaline, acidic, and enzymatic. Although various methods have been developed for biodiesel production, each one... [read more]

Pipe versus batch

Feature
The production of biodiesel from vegetable oil or animal fat by adding an alcohol and a base catalyst has been successfully implemented in a wide variety of process systems. Some involve very powerful devices like ultrasound and cavitation systems, while others involve slower and more traditional systems, such as batch stirred vessels or continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs). But the question... [read more]

A Cool solution

Feature
Producing biomassbased drop-in fuels such as petrol, diesel and jet can be done so effectively via pyrolysis followed by a chemical catalyst. There are other ways of converting biomass into liquid. Enzymatic hydrolysis, in addition to using expensive enzymes, is a complex process and presents feedstock handling challenges. Gasification has its own issues regarding syngas cleanup and the capital... [read more]