Trump in a pickle: support his beleaguered EPA Administrator over oil refinery bailouts, or rally his Midwestern farm-state base? In Washington, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa tweeted: “I’ve supported Pruitt but if he pushes changes to RFS that permanently cut ethanol by billions of gallons he will have broken Trump promise & he should step […]
The pace of invention and change is just too strong, we’ve realized, to highlight annual or even quarterly or monthly rankings and summaries of significant product and service advances. For now, we’re going to be tracking these on a weekly basis to keep pace with the changes. Here are the top innovations for the week […]
In Malaysia, Reuters reports that palm oil stocks fell to 2.17 million metric tons as of late April, down more than 6% since March and the lowest seen in seven months thanks to higher demand as petroleum prices rise. With palm oil prices reaching 21-month lows in early May at $603.09 per ton last week, […]
In France, Global Bioenergies announced the start of a 3-year project to demonstrate a new value chain combining its Isobutene process with technologies developed by Sekab and Neste Engineering Solutions, two of Europe’s leading technology developers. The aim is to convert currently poorly valorised softwood residues into second-generation renewable isobutene for subsequent conversion into gasoline […]
In Thailand, Reuters reports that the country will boost the volume of raw sugar it uses for ethanol production to 500,000 metric tons from the typical 200,000 tons diverted for feedstock. Thailand has produced a record 14 million tons of sugar this season but is trying to find ways to divert sugar from the world […]
In Brazil, Bunge announced the filing of a registration request with the Brazilian Securities Commission for a potential initial public offering of Bunge Açúcar & Bionergia, Bunge’s sugar milling business in Brazil. Bunge has prepared the business to operate as a stand-alone company and recently obtained debt financing for the business. The filing further progresses Bunge’s […]
In South Korea, Platts reports that April ethanol imports reached 30,510 metric tons, up more than 5% from March and nearly 39% higher than last year. Australia was the lead origin for undenatured ethanol, accounting for 37% of the total volume at just under 5,000 tons, followed by Cambodia and Pakistan. For denatured ethanol, 83% […]
In Washington, Reuters reports that the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to take advantage of the forthcoming public comment period on 2019 renewable volume obligations to also seek input on potential reform of the RIN market as it tries to boost transparency in the $9 billion market that has been accused of manipulation. The EPA […]
In Brazil, missing piece of the puzzle to achieving second-generation ethanol from sugarcane bagasse is saccharification – saccharification meaning the process by which complex sugars called polysaccharides are depolymerized and broken down into simple soluble sugars. This would be achieved through composing the proper enzyme cocktail and consequently assembling an industrial-scale microbial platform for the […]
