Author Archive: Jim Lane

rss feed

US ethanol production rises to 15.05B gallons, a five week high: EIA

US ethanol production rises to 15.05B gallons, a five week high: EIA

October 22, 2016 |

In Washington, according to EIA data as analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production averaged 998,000 barrels per day (b/d)—or 41.92 million gallons daily. That is up 36,000 b/d from the week before and a five-week high. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at 982,000 b/d for an annualized rate of 15.05 billion […]

Read More

RFA: Data Show the So-Called “Blend Wall” is Crumbling

RFA: Data Show the So-Called “Blend Wall” is Crumbling

October 22, 2016 |

In Washington, the Energy Information Administration reports that gasoline supplied to the U.S. market last week contained an average of 10.4 percent ethanol, the second time in the last four weeks that the ethanol blend rate topped 10.0 percent, a level the oil industry has suggested could not be breached. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President […]

Read More

Honeywell UOP scientist hauls in Houdry Award for applied catalysis 

Honeywell UOP scientist hauls in Houdry Award for applied catalysis 

October 22, 2016 |

In Illinois, the North American Catalysis Society has awarded its 2017 Eugene J. to Dr. Jeffery Bricker, Sr. Director of Research at Honeywell UOP. Dr. Bricker’s achievements include the discovery of key reaction mechanisms in thiol oxidation chemistry in refinery fuels, which led to the commercialization of an oxidation catalyst that functions in the absence […]

Read More

Iteris brings predictive analytics and data science to sunflower, sorghum  

Iteris brings predictive analytics and data science to sunflower, sorghum  

October 22, 2016 |

In California, Iteris has added growth models for sunflower and sorghum crops into its digital agriculture platform, ClearAg. According to the USDA, sunflower seeds are one of the five largest oilseed crops with about 40 million metric tons produced in the world annually. Most sunflower seeds are crushed for oil while far fewer are roasted […]

Read More

Advanced biofuels costs to drop to $0.60/l by 2045: new IRENA report

Advanced biofuels costs to drop to $0.60/l by 2045: new IRENA report

October 22, 2016 |

In the EU, IRENA released its latest report, Innovation Outlook: Advanced Liquid Biofuels, the second in the Innovation Outlook series which includes a renewable mini-grid report and an upcoming offshore wind power report, reveals a future global outlook for advanced liquid biofuel technology. It provides a detailed overview of the promising technological developments for commercialised advanced biofuel […]

Read More

Homeland Energy Solutions passes 1B gallon ethanol mark 

Homeland Energy Solutions passes 1B gallon ethanol mark 

October 22, 2016 |

  In Iowa, Homeland Energy Solutions ethanol production facility near Lawler, Iowa, produced its one billionth gallon of ethanol. One billion gallons of ethanol equals 34,722 loads of rail tanker cars.  In reaching the one billionth milestone, Homeland Energy Solutions has purchased more than 340 million bushels of corn, which equals approximately $1.7 billion dollars.  […]

Read More

Torrefied Biomass: Available, Efficient, CO2 Neutral and Economic – likely the best solid biomass on the market

Torrefied Biomass: Available, Efficient, CO2 Neutral and Economic – likely the best solid biomass on the market

October 20, 2016 |

By Michael Wild, International Biomass Torrefaction Council, and Lee Enterprises Consulting Special to The Digest Torrefaction is a thermal pre-treatment technology used to upgrade lignocellulosic biomass to a higher quality and more attractive biofuel. In the torrefaction process, biomass is heated to 250-350°C in a low oxygen atmosphere, so that all moisture is removed and the […]

Read More

New bioprocessing tech moves us from “Food vs Fuels” to “Food, then fuel”

New bioprocessing tech moves us from “Food vs Fuels” to “Food, then fuel”

October 20, 2016 |

The MyFitnessPal Dietician and lifestyle blogger Elle writes: When it comes down to it, cornstarch doesn’t add any sort of nutritional value to foods other than calories – which most of us get more than enough of anyway. I consider healthy foods to be those that give me good stuff like fiber, protein, vitamins and […]

Read More

The $20 million NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE: The 27 Semi-Finalists

The $20 million NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE: The 27 Semi-Finalists

October 19, 2016 |

In California, 27 teams representing six countries advancing in the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, a global competition to develop breakthrough technologies that convert the most carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas and power plant facilities into products with the highest net value. The semi-finalist teams propose converting CO2 into products as varied as enhanced concrete, biofuels, toothpaste, […]

Read More

What To Do With Algae

What To Do With Algae

October 19, 2016 |

By Dr. Terry Mazanec, Lee Enterprises Consulting Special to The Digest Some years ago I visited a platinum mine in South Africa. About a mile underground at the end of the maze of tunnels at the ‘minefront’ they excavate about a 1 meter high layer of material to get the 2 cm thick vein that […]

Read More