In Washington, the Renewable Fuels Association and others responded to a study by the University of Tennessee that called for reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “Petroleum industry-funded studies like this University of Tennessee report fail to take into account the positive role that biofuels like ethanol play in the fight against climate change,” said […]
In Brazil, researchers led by the School of Economics and Business (FEARP) at the University of São Paulo have developed a method for mapping and quantification of productive chains and discuss the results of this method in the sugar cane chain in Brazil based on CHAINPlan that focuses on strategic planning and management of agribusiness […]
In India, 70 villages in Karnataka have implemented the “Hassan Biofuel Model” of growing non-edible oil trees for biofuel production. The oil is pressed either by a state-owned press or by the farmers themselves and then used to power irrigation pumps, for use in their tractors, or sold for soap making and other products. The […]
In New York state, the SUNY 2020 initiative will invest $12.9 million in grant funds to build a new alterative fuels building at Morrisville State College that will house its renewable energy, diesel technology and agricultural engineering programs as well as its Renewable Energy Training Center. Biofuels, digesters and gasification will be key parts of […]
In Washington state, a researcher at Washington State University has received a three-year $450,000 federal grant to develop computer models for using iron to more efficiently refine bio-oils and make better biofuels. Jean-Sabin McEwen, assistant professor in the Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, will collaborate on the U.S. Department of Energy Office of […]
In California, the Defense Logistics Agency awarded Sierra Energy a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant $100,000 grant to further explore the production of hydrogen fuel from waste. Sierra Energy’s patented FastOx gasifier converts waste into an energy-dense gas with high hydrogen content. The system’s operational efficiency will be able to produce hydrogen at a […]
In Iowa, researchers at the University of Iowa found that co-firing oat hulls from nearby Quaker Oats with coal in the university’s boilers reduces CO2 emissions by 40%. Particulate matter, hazardous substances and heavy metals emissions were also significantly reduced. At a 50/50 blend, particulate emissions reduced by 90%. The study analyzed straight coal, 50/50 […]
In California, nitrogen and phosphate nutrients are among the biggest costs in cultivating algae for biofuels. Sandia molecular biologists Todd Lane and Ryan Davis have shown they can recycle about two-thirds of those critical nutrients, and aim to raise the recycling rate to close to 100 percent. Recycling nitrogen and phosphate has benefits that go […]
In Australia, the desert plant, best known for producing tequila in Mexico, shows promise as a source of biofuel and other biochemical products, according to University of Adelaide research. The researchers at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls showed the agave plant could produce up to 15,000 liters per hectare a […]
In Arizona, Arizona State University is seeking permission from the Yuma County Board of Supervisors to expand its biofuels research onto other land outside its agricultural center in the city. The county’s planning commission approved the rezoning of rural land to allow biofuel production processing facilities in a 5-1 vote. The city’s planner argues that […]
