In the Netherlands, researchers from Wageningen University, in a study published in Energy Policy, concluded that the current cost of producing algal-based biodiesel has dropped to 52.3 Euros per gigajoule of energy (7.17 Euros per gallon of biodiesel), compared with 36 Euros per gigajoule for rapeseed and only 15.8 Euros for oil. Environmental economist Justus […]
In Washington, C. Boyden Gray, one of the architects of the historic 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments that established the nation’s reformulated gasoline program, called for increased regulation of air toxics by the Environmental Protection Agency and in so doing, increasing the market for ethanol. Writing in an Ethanol Across America White Paper, Mr. Gray […]
In Sweden, Scania has been granted to $8.8 million to develop an engine for heavy vehicles that will combine the high energy efficiency of diesel (compression ignition) technology with the more efficient exhaust after-treatment system of Otto (spark ignition) technology. The funds are granted under Sweden’s Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation Initiative and the project will bring […]
In Washington, Friends of the Earth released a report “Synthetic Solutions to the Climate Crisis: The Dangers of Synthetic Biology for Biofuels Production,” concluding that synthetic biology projects including the creation of algae with synthetic DNA to produce fuels or synthetic yeast to break down biomass could have potentially devastating results if these organisms were […]
In California, USDA Agricultural Research Service Western Regional Research Center chemist Dominic Wong and partners at Cargill have isolated, sequenced and cloned twelve genes that they believe can be inserted into e.coli bacteria that will produce FAE enzymes. These enzymes are known for their ability to break down plant cell walls, which would make it […]
In Indiana, the US Department of Energy awarded Purdue University a $1.59 million grant to conduct a sustainability assessment of energy crops for biofuels. The award is part of a $16.5 million renewable fuel initiative by the DOE to provide high-quality biomass while increasing economic viability for producers and improving the environment. Researchers at Purdue […]
In Italy, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) published a new report on Indirect Land-Use Change (ILUC), which has become a hot debate topic surrounding the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive, that establishes a 10% target for renewable energy in transport fuels by 2020, and its Sustainability Criteria. The report was published the same day […]
In Texas, global biofuels demand is projected to grow by an 133% between 2010 and 2020 – primarily by government policies and market mandates, according to Hart’s annual Global Biofuels Outlook, 2010-2020: Projecting Market Demand by Country, Region and Globally. The study captures the biofuels supply and demand picture in 35 countries, in four key […]
In Sweden, researchers looked at Swedish biofuels and analyzed what impact they have on the environment, both in relation to one another and to fossil fuel alternatives. The results show that that biofuels produce between 65 and 140 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuel, even when direct and indirect land use changes are […]
In Iowa, speakers at the TCS 2010 meeting in Ames highlighted significant advances this year on progress and pure research in thermal and catalytic sciences for bio-based products. The DOE’s Valerie Reed, acting Biomass Program Manager, said that the Administrations goals were to reduce the cost of cellulosic ethanol to $1.76 per gallon by 2012, […]
