Converting WVO into biodiesel, and converting old gas stations into biodiesel pumping stations

Asa Watten, CEO of Fossil Free Fuel LLC, stands in his shop in Braddock.
Justin Merriman | Tribune-Review

A business that collects used cooking oil and processes it into fuel for diesel-powered vehicles plans to convert a dilapidated gas station in Braddock into a biofuels filling station next year.

Fossil Free Fuel LLC in Braddock plans to convert the station in the 300 block of Braddock Avenue into a biofuels location, so motorists can fill their vehicles' tanks with a cleaner fuel, said CEO Asa Watten.

The station would be the first of its type in Allegheny County that offers a biofuel, a biodiesel and diesel, said Colin Huwyler, one of the founders of Fossil Free Fuel and CEO of Oakland-based Optimus Technologies LLC., which converts commercial diesel engines to burn biofuels.

The Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority approved a one-year lease with Fossil Free Fuel for the station property, said Robert Hurley, deputy director of the authority. The one-year lease could evolve into a longer lease, or the sale of the property, Hurley said.

The unmanned station is to have four pumps to dispense the fuel from a 5,000-gallon above-ground tank. About 3,000 gallons will hold pure plant oil, with the remainder capacity split for biodiesel fuel -- a blend of a biofuel and diesel -- and diesel, Watten said. It will cost about $125,000 to purchase the module from Clean Emission Fluids Inc. in Detroit and repave the lot, Watten said.

Clemson University purchases biodiesel production equipment to help in research

Photo from: http://www.ncat.org/news/news2008.php

A new piece of equipment for the Clemson University biosystems engineering program will help researchers conduct novel research on new biomass sources, such as algae and fungi, that may supply biofuels of the future.

“The new $125,000 mobile biofuels processing plant delivered from Piedmont Biofuels in North Carolina is a state-of-the-art pilot facility that will not only give us a valuable research tool for working with plants, microbes and waste oils, but also will be useful to demonstrate biofuels production for local producers, bioenergy industrial partners and to the public,” said biosystems engineer Terry Walker. “We had our initial successful run last week using waste algal and sunflower oils from Martek Biosciences in Kingstree and then used the biofuel to cycle back to a generator to achieve net-zero production.”

The plant is being developed to convert waste oils to high-grade biodiesel that can be used in many vehicles. The biodiesel is expected to cost less than regular diesel fuel, has a lower “carbon footprint” or environmental impact and can form the basis for a new industry in the state.

Walker said support for the purchase came from many sources, including Clemson Public Service Activities; the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences and others at Clemson; Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro, N.C.; and SunStor Inc. in Greer.

The new mobile facility will be showcased at the annual biomass meeting this fall at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center. The meeting is being sponsored by Clemson University, the South Carolina State Energy Office and the Biomass Council.

“South Carolina is fairly visible in the U.S. biofuels industry," Walker said. "There are several manufacturers, including Ecogy Biofuels in Estill and Carolina Biofuels in Taylors, as well as other smaller producers like Midlands Biofuels in Winnsboro.

"Smaller, innovative, local companies not only are making biodiesel but also are participating in outreach efforts, such as designing and building pilot facilities for universities and training folks at local community colleges for green jobs.”

It’s sort of hard to tell from the photo, but the entire biodiesel production facility comes in a trailer that can give demonstrations and seminars any place, any time. This system will have an impact on many students and business people.

Biomass Conference panel discusses biodiesel from low-cost waste products

Photo from: http://www.rechargenews.com/energy/biofuels/article206496.ece

Over the past couple of years the biodiesel industry has trended toward utilizing fewer virgin oils, largely due to economic factors such as dependence on more expensive refined materials and reliance on low-value waste oils such as used cooking oil. Interest in securing and processing even lower-valued materials, such as trap grease and sewer grease, is also on the rise. BBI International’s Southeast Biomass Conference & Trade Show,Nov. 2-4 in Atlanta, will feature a panel on this very topic, titled, “Biodiesel from Waste and Low-Value Feedstocks.”
Christina Borgese, president of PreProcess Inc., a company that focuses on scaling up alternative energy systems from bench- to commercial-scale, will present on converting problematic feedstock such as sewer sludge into process-ready feedstock for biodiesel production. Borgese, who comes from last year’s World Economic Forum winner BioFuelBox, said much discussion in the arena of low-value feedstock centers on conversion technology rather than feedstock pretreatment, economic separation and overall cost reduction associated with an undesirable feedstock. “We focus on a heated, intensified, layered approach,” she said of PreProcess’ separation technique. Borgese will cover the engineering and economics of grease separation, including what has been done in the past, what is on the table at present, and what the future may hold.

That is the single most attractive thing about biodiesel—it can be made from waste material such as WVO and animal fats, and biodiesel does not depend on food feedstocks.

Northeastern farms increasingly using their own fuel—biodiesel

Photo from: http://www.wbdfarmmachinery.ie/service.php

Some farmers in the Northeast are in the midst of an experiment in energy independence: They're growing crops that produce the fuel to run their tractors and equipment. As part of a collaboration with Northeast stations, Vermont Public Radio's Susan Keese reports.

John Williamson pulls his tractor up to a shed on his farm in North Bennington, Vermont. He reaches for a hose and starts filling his tank. "That's B-100 biodiesel. That was grown right here on our farm last year. That's from sunflowers," he says.
For the past six years, Williamson has run his farm machinery on 100 percent home-made biodiesel. He started with used cooking oil from restaurants, but then began growing his own oil-rich crops -- like sunflowers and canola seeds.
It's been a process of trial and error for Williamson and about 30 farmers in New England and New York, learning to grow new plants and finding the right equipment to harvest them. Williamson lost a lot of seeds at first.
"Like canola, for instance, is a very small seed, you know, and then the littlest tiniest crack in your combine that would hold your corn or oats, it would flow right out like water," he says.
Those seeds not only yield fuel, but replace the grain Northeast farmers usually import from the Midwest. "A lot of folks don't realize that these oil crops are grain -- once you squeeze the oil out you have that grain left over and that's livestock feed," Williamson says.

That is interesting, once you get the oil, the food is still available. If a farmer, I would have my own biodiesel running everything, what a keen sense of pride one would have.

Lack of government incentives slows Malaysia’s biodiesel industry to a stop

The biodiesel industry in Malaysia is at a standstill stage with almost zero production, said the Malaysian Biodiesel Association vice-president U.R. Unnithan.

He said many players were not able to maintain their operations given the high cost of production and the lack of the much needed incentive and subsidies from the Government.

Of the total installed production capacity of 2.6 million tonnes, production was stagnant with very few players in operation, Unnithan told StarBiz.

The situation was also reflected in the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)’s latest statistics which showed that biodiesel export in July was at an alarmingly low level – 137 tonnes or 95% drop from 2,518 tonnes a month earlier. It is also the lowest biodiesel export recorded so far this year.

As we see in this story, biodiesel needs help from the government to replace petroleum-based diesel in any percentage, and I hope the US learns a lesson about support. Without it, biodiesel goes down.

Columbia, SC works on getting biodiesel from grease that would otherwise go into the sewer

Columbia, South Carolina is the latest municipality that is getting waste grease out of its sewer system and into its vehicles in the form of biodiesel.

The Columbia Free Times says the city has set up a system to collect residents’ used cooking oil and use it in a trash truck:

When restaurants need to get rid of used cooking oil, they can usually donate or sell it to companies that convert it into fuel. Columbia’s backyard chefs, on the other hand, have had to throw away their oil — the Thanksgiving turkey-frying oil; the used oil from family fish frys; the gallons and gallons of oil it takes to perfect a fried chicken recipe or the world’s best raw fries.

Now, the City of Columbia wants residents to bring their used cooking oil to a new drop-off site at the city’s Public Works facility on Colonial Drive. Dubbed Southern Fried Fuels, the program is part of an arrangement with the local company Midlands Biofuels.

Brandon Spence, co-owner and CEO of Midlands Biofuels, says his company is paying for the oil collection itself; the city is only providing space for the collection tanks and then buying the biofuel.

“The containers are an investment,” Spence says.

The city will use a B20 blend of this waste grease biodiesel for the garbage truck and could use it in other equipment. Columbia’s fleet of other diesel vehicles is already running on B5.

In addition, the city says it spends $1.5 million a year dealing with grease, mostly from residents and not restaurants, in its sewer lines. Officials hope this will cut those costs down significantly.

Biodiesel is such a good application of recycling, I wonder why there is no grease collection included in residential waste removal in N.Cal, although we do have good pickup containers for other recycling use. 

Latest biodiesel road trip publicizes solar energy

Mark Tardif

The Carter-era solar panel in Maine, being readied for the trip back to the White House.

As I write this piece, we’re in the midst of a (biodiesel) road trip to Washington, D.C., towing behind us an unwieldy piece of history: a solar panel off the roof of the Carter White House. It’s decades old, though it still makes hot water just fine. In a sense, we’re traveling backward—which in another sense is what I think we’re going to have to do for a while in the U.S. climate movement.
The bad news everyone knows. The strongest attempt ever to pass climate legislation through the U.S. Congress came up short earlier this summer. The inside-the-Beltway green groups took what seemed to be the route of least resistance: a very tame piece of climate legislation larded with special prizes for special interests. They worked it as hard as it could have been worked—and in the end it didn’t even come close. The fossil fuel industry and their allies in D.C. barely had to break a sweat shooting it down.

Biodiesel is increasingly used as a symbol of freedom and independence from the ways of the past. You may enjoy reading about this project aimed at increasing climate awareness.

More about the use of biodiesel at the Farm Progress show, interview with Star Energy

The Farm Progress Show last week was a huge success, especially for the Farm Progress Show 2010 fuel sponsor Star Energy. They provided all the biodiesel, along with FS Companies of Iowa and Renewable Energy Group (REG). This is the company’s second year providing all the farm equipment along with generators and such things as gators with a B20 blend known as Dieselx Gold, all made from soy-biodiesel manufactured by Ames, Iowa based REG.

I spoke with Jason Stauffer, Energy Management Specialist/Area Sales Manager for Star Energy about why this sponsorship was so important to his company. He said that there is no better way to demonstrate the benefits of biodiesel than people seeing it in action.

One benefit of biodiesel is its ability to reduce emissions, which in diesel vehicles often present themselves in the form of an unpleasant odor emanating from black smoke. You only have to add a B2 blend to begin to see these issues disaster and when you fuel with B20, you get nothing but clean air as Stauffer noted that many people who stopped by their booth said they didn’t see or small a thing.

Although this particular sponsorship is focused on biodiesel, the company also provides E10, E85 and propane to farmers around Iowa. They have 23 retail locations where farmers can fill up their equipment or an operation can sign up to have the fuel delivered right to their farm.

“We made the choice years ago not to use regular unleaded,” said Stauffer who continued by saying its been a great move for them.

Just like selling renewable fuels to the agriculture market is a no-brainer for them, so is their fuel sponsorship for the Farm Progress Show in 2011.

You can learn more about Star Energy and its Farm Progress Show fuel sponsorship in my interview with Jason. Star Energy Official Fuel Sponsor of Farm Progress

Farmers like the idea of biodiesel because it puts them at the top of the energy food chain, they actually grow the fuel. Would you rather see your fuel money go to farmers or to oil barons?

REG Biodiesel powers transports at Farm Progress and Beer Tour

Chuck and Joanna have been giving you some great coverage of Farm Progress Show from Boone, Iowa here on Domestic Fuel and over at AgWired.com. It only seems fitting that the country’s premier farm show is being powered by Iowa-based biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group (REG). And in the same tradition of having a cold beer after a long day at Farm Progress (I understand that maybe one or two have been consumed during the time in Boone, Iowa), REG is playing a major role in a beer tour throughout the Midwest.

New Belgium Brewing of Ft. Collins, Colo. recently called on biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group of Ames, Iowa to provide sustainable, clean-burning B100 to power the Midwest portion of the brewing company’s renowned thirteen-city, national bicycle festival.

The Tour de Fat—named for the brewery’s signature Fat Tire beer—spreads the good word about the positive societal offerings of bicycle use as well as showcases the outstanding green practices of New Belgium.

“We try to minimize the environmental impact of our events at every turn and that’s why our transport trucks ran on pure biodiesel,” said New Belgium’s Matt Kowal. “Our philanthropic bike festival, Tour de Fat, celebrates bicycling as a viable form of alternative transport.”

Decker Truck Lines, LLC of Fort Dodge, Iowa served as the event hauler for the Midwest portion of the Tour de Fat’s and burned B100.

“New Belgium has made a commitment to using biodiesel made from sustainable sources like waste oils, fats and greases in order to help reduce our corporate carbon footprint by at least 25 percent. We are pleased that we can continue that commitment by burning Iowa-produced biodiesel produced from another industry’s waste stream,” stated tour impresario Matt Kowal, who works at the brewery year ‘round producing the festival and emceeing its 13 stops (this year) around the country.

Now that’s something you can truly raise a cold one to.

In this event, they used pure biodiesel, or B100, which is not usually done, and that pleases me to no end. I want to know what you can do with pure biodiesel, and any project doing that should post in our forum, www.biodieselnow.com because it is significant progress and a gathering of knowledge.

Interview with Rob Joslin, President, American Soybean Association

Commodity group leaders always make time to visit with the media at Farm Progress Show. One of them I spoke with yesterday was Rob Joslin, President, American Soybean Association. Rob is a soybean grower from Ohio. In the photo he’s on the left and speaking with Stu Ellis. I asked him about the issues that ASA is working on and the biodiesel tax extension is number one since with Congress allowing it to expire last year it has “virtually idled the vast majority of the domestic biodiesel industry” which he finds very disappointing.

You can listen to my interview with Rob here: Interview With Rob Joslin

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Farm Progress Photo Album

Australian mining company will use B20 biodiesel in operations

Photo from: http://www.sioux.com/mining.html

Emerging Australian iron ore miner IMX Resources Limited (IMX) has announced that its Cairn Hill mine will be the first mine in Australia to use B20 biodiesel from the mining operation right through to the loading of the ore into vessels at the port of Adelaide, Australia. The resulting greenhouse gas savings are almost 2,300 mt CO2 per year, the company said.

IMX will provide the B20 biodiesel for use on site in mining, drill and blast, crushing, off-road haulage and rail loading activities. In total, the Cairn Hill pit to port solution will use approximately 15.6 million liters per year for a saving of 2,294 mt CO2 per annum.

All the B20 biodiesel supplied to IMX and its supply partners will be provided by Logicoil. In addition, tankers transporting the biodiesel to the Cairn Hill mine will also run on B20 biodiesel and will consume 100,000 litres per year.

Canada lays down the law for biodiesel and ethanol blending mandates

The rule will entail the use of approximately 2 billion liters of renewable fuel across the country annually.

Fuel producers and distributors in Canada will be required to mix renewable fuels into their products to meet a 5 percent quota that the government will lay down later this year.

Scheduled to be enforced by mid-December, the rule will entail the use of approximately 2 billion liters of renewable fuel across the country annually. The state will also fix a 2 percent renewable requirement for diesel fuel and heating oil by 2011.

Canada hopes to supplement independent rules its provinces are adopting to produce up to 4 million metric tons of renewable fuel in 2012, the rough equivalent of taking away a million vehicles.

Once again, while the US plays around with a tax break for biodiesel blenders, Canada pulls ahead with a strong, country-wide approach to biofuel. I just hope we don’t end up buying all our biodiesel from our neighbors to the North.

Middletown, Indiana: fresh acquisition of biodiesel plant on track for profitability

Photo from: http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=37037

Biofuel producer Imperial Petroleum has said its newly-acquired biodiesel plant in Middletown, Indiana, is now on the way to becoming “highly profitable”.

The company bought the e-biofuels LLC facility back in May with the intention of converting it to its own technology (see this BrighterEnergy.org story).

Ahead of that process, Imperial said today that it has negotiated a series of feedstock purchase agreements and biodiesel off-take sales contracts.

The facility produced 1.2 million gallons of fuel in July 2010, generating $3.5 million in revenues.

Imperial said this looks to have increased in August to 1.4 million gallons and $4 million revenue.

Jeffrey T. Wilson, President of Imperial, said: “Expanding the plant throughput to its current capacity was one of our early goals for e-biofuels and a great deal of credit goes to the management of e-biofuels for their efforts and achievements thus far. August sales to date are on pace to exceed the July results.”

Some biodiesel plants are doing just fine without the tax credit, and this is a story about one of them in Indiana, so we have not seen the end of the biodiesel industry by a long shot.

University of Michigan: Extracting biodiesel from wet algae

Photo from: http://www.planmygreen.com/ideas/harvesting-algae-for-biodiesel/

Researchers at the University of Michigan have published the feasibility of a two-step hydrolysis-solvolysis process to produce biodiesel directly from wet algal biomass, eliminating the need for costly biomass drying, organic solvent extraction and catalysts. The paper on the process was published in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels.
In the first step, wet algal biomass contained 80 percent moisture and was reacted with subcritical water to hydrolyze intracellular lipids, conglomerate cells into an easily filterable solid that retained the lipids and produced a sterile, nutrient-rich aqueous phase. In the second step, the wet, fatty acid-rich solids underwent supercritical transesterification with ethanol to produce fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs). The team used Chlorella vulgaris algae, which contained 53.3 percent lipid content.
According to Phillip Savage, lead researcher on the project, the team gathered the wet algae grown from the lab and centrifuged it to transform the algal biomass into a paste-like substance. “At large scale that probably wouldn’t be applicable for an economical process,” he noted. “We got something that was probably around 10 to 20 percent solids to the balance of water.”
The research yielded promising results, Savage added, but the project is anticipated to be refined and optimized in order for to demonstrate greater economic and environmental feasibility of the process on a larger scale.
“More remains to be understood regarding how whole cells, hydrothermally processed algal biomass and intracellular constituents influence supercritical transesterification and potentially contribute to nonester components in the final fuel product,” the paper reported. “Additional research and process optimization are likely to improve yields and reduce process inputs (e.g. ethanol), thereby minimizing the overall environmental impact of algal biodiesel production. To be economically viable, biodiesel yields must be above 95 percent and preferably higher than current norms achieved with alkali-catalyzed processes.”

Berkeley, CA: stomach bug E. coli produces biodiesel in the lab

Dawn Chiniquy, a graduate student, cares for the Arabidopsis thaliana, a model plant that can be fed to E.coli to produce biodiesel

A team of local biotech researchers may have found a way to avoid using essential food crops for fuel, by genetically modifying harmless strains of a bacteria most people associate with human food poisoning.

The result is an extremely expensive fuel — hardly competitive with fossil fuels at $25 per gallon — but it marks the beginning of a new look at green energy.

Scientists led by University of California, Berkeley professor Jay Keasling created an alternative for biodiesel production harnessing E. coli, the bacteria responsible for some foodborne illnesses.

A recent study found that E. coli could synthesize production of biodiesel from plant waste, saving the resources — corn, peanut oil, soybean oil or sugar beets — spent on today’s leading “green” fuel, bioethanol.

The results of the study, written by Keasling’s team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Joint BioEnergy Institute, were published in the journal Nature.

This is far from practical at this point in time, but look at all the new technology represented in this story, yet another way to make biodiesel without sacrificing food plants.

Fleet managers in North Carolina learn about biodiesel

Fleet managers in the Charlotte, N.C., region had the opportunity to learn about biodiesel at a four-hour workshop hosted by the Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition on Aug. 27. A similar event, scheduled for Sept. 17, will offer members of the general public a more broad-based overview of the use and production of biodiesel.
According to the CCFC’s Assistant Coordinator Emily Parker, approximately 30 people attended the Aug. 27 training session. “A lot of attendees were fleet managers,” she said, noting that the workshop was specifically designed for fleet managers and those who work in vehicle maintenance.
The session opened with a basic overview of biodiesel before moving into more specific information on the maintenance needs of engines fueled with biodiesel. A local biodiesel engine expert, Dave Navey, spoke to attendees about the mechanics of running biodiesel in diesel engines, Parker said. “The gist of Dave’s presentation was to dispel myths,” she continued, and to educate attendees that using biodiesel won’t ruin diesel engines. “His point was to say, you’re not [going to ruin your engines], you just need to take some precautions, and don’t blame the fuel if things go wrong,” Parker said.
The workshop also included a panel of four regional fleet managers who have experience using biodiesel. “They shared their experiences with the group,” Parker said, which was followed by a question and answer session. “People really piped up and chimed in,” Parker continued. “It was good, I think the people who were there really got a lot out of it. They were very plugged into what was being said.”

Environmentalists say EU biofuel creates an African land-grab

An intern of Biofuel Research at the firm's biodiesel plant in Singapore, June 2006.
Photo: Reuters

An international coalition of environmental groups says European demand for biofuels has driven local communities off their land in Africa and curbed the production of staple foods.  
In an effort to protect communal land in Africa,Friends of the Earth, an international network of environmental groups, is criticizing the European Union for driving land acquisition by foreign companies across sub-Saharan Africa.
Report: Africa land for sale
According to a report released by the group last week, entitled "Africa: Up for Grabs," more than five-million hectares of land across Africa, an area roughly the size of Denmark, has been sold to European companies in recent years to meet a growing demand for biofuels. 
Companies have been moving into African markets in recent years to produce palm oil, sugar cane and other crops that can be used as alternative sources of fuel in developed countries.
The group warns the increasing demand for biofuels has diverted land from food production, straining already limited food supplies and raising food prices in the region.  
While Friends of the Earth has described the acquisitions as "land-grabbing," the group told VOA that many of the purchases are legal.

Plant to convert municipal waste into ethanol breaks ground in Canada

Enerkem's waste-to-ethanol process uses a gasifier to make synthesis gas and a catalyst to make chemicals, such as ethanol.  (Credit: Enerkem)
Canadian company Enerkem broke ground on a facility Tuesday that plans to convert 100,000 tons of household trash a year into ethanol.

The $75 million plant in Edmonton, Alberta, is expected to be completed in late 2011. By 2013, the city will be able to divert 90 percent of its residential waste, Mayor Stephen Mandel said in a statement.

Enerkem hosted a groundbreaking for the waste-to-ethanol plant, which it said will be the first industrial-scale project of this kind. The facility will sort recycled and compostable material and convert the remaining into about 10 million gallons of ethanol a year. It has a 25-year agreement with Edmonton for the supply of municipal solid waste.

There are also companies experimenting with municipal waste in the making of biodiesel, and we are talking about “second generation” fuel, no food crops have been offset to get this fuel.

More grants for Propel biodiesel and ethanol in California

Propel Fuels, a west coast retailer of ethanol and biodiesel, has received $11 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission to build and operate 75 self-serve alternative fuel stations across the state over the next two years.

This article in the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal says the effort will reduce the amount of non-renewable oil used and greenhouse gases given off, while putting more people to work:

The statewide station project, or the Low Carbon Fuel Infrastructure Investment Initiative, has the potential to create more than 450 jobs, while displacing 39 million gallons of petroleum and 187,500 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, according to Propel.

About 7 million of funding for the project was awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s petroleum reduction program. Another $4 million was granted through the state of California’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology program. California has the largest fleet of alternative fuel fleet vehicles in the country.

There should never be a problem finding the fuel for your biodiesel or ethanol vehicle, and it looks like California is going to show the country how to get people to wait in line for biofuel.

Komatsu goes into the biodiesel business

Photo from: http://www.astrosurf.com/luxorion/terre-devel-durable3.htm

Komatsu Ltd., the world’s second- largest maker of mining trucks and excavators, plans to seek more customers for bio-diesel fuel from a joint venture pilot project in Indonesia that’s due to start output this year.

The Kalimantan plant will use bio-diesel made from jatropha shrubs to produce fuel for Komatsu’s dump trucks, Senior Executive Officer Masao Fuchigami said in an interview. Komatsu aims to market the carbon-reducing fuel in Southeast Asia and Africa as soon as production stabilizes, he said.

“We’ve got inquiries from companies interested” in bio- fuel-powered trucks, Fuchigami said yesterday at Komatsu’s headquarters in Tokyo. “We see big potential.”

Companies from Boeing Co. to Daimler AG are trying to develop alternative energy sources to cut carbon-dioxide emissions amid a global push to combat climate changes. Jatropha, which is inedible and grows faster than sugar or corn, can be cultivated in less-fertile soil and its fuel derivative is suited for use in warm climates. Low temperatures can cause bio- diesel to coagulate.

Columbia, SC will recycle used cooking oil into biodiesel through public works department

Kim Foster-Tobin

Columbia residents can now recycle cooking oil at the city’s Public Works facility off Harden Street.

The city will donate the cooking oil to a Winnsboro company, Midlands Biofuels, which will convert it to biodiesel. The company will then sell the biodiesel back to the city to use in one of its garbage trucks.

The program, which is dubbed Southern Fried Fuel Initiative, has two purposes:

• First, to cut down on the amount of grease dumped into the city’s sewer system. Grease last year caused 460 sewer spills, which dumped 2.1 million gallons of raw sewage into the community.

• Second, to reduce the vehicle emissions of harmful pollutants that contribute to bad ozone, the kind that is formed at ground level by a mixture of chemicals in warm weather.

It should be against the law to dump cooking oil into the sewer system, why not make biodiesel out of it instead like these people are doing? Every community needs a place to dump the WVO.

Scientists of tomorrow join together to support biodiesel

NATIONAL BIODIESEL BOARD NEXT GENERATION SCIENTISTS Narasimharao Kondamudi and York Smith, founding members of Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel, study at the University of Nevada, Reno. (PRNewsFoto/National Biodiesel Board) JEFFERSON CITY, MO UNITED STATES

The next generation of thought leaders is gearing up to lead America's energy efforts.  And biodiesel, our nation's only commercially available advanced biofuel, is front and center. 

Student scientists from Dartmouth College to Oregon State University are leading a new Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel initiative.  The group has formed to demonstrate and grow support for biodiesel among tomorrow's scientific leaders. 

Lucas Ellis of Dartmouth, pursuing his Master of Science in Biochemical Engineering, is one of four co-chairs of the effort.  "In college there is an eagerness to become an advocate or have a cause, and mine was the environment, science and educating others about sustainability," Ellis said.  "Biodiesel combined all of those and became my passion."  

Since then, his passion has led him to create biodiesel education projects in three states, including organizing laboratories to teach students about the chemistry of biodiesel.  At West Virginia University, he created a biodiesel organization that today hosts biodiesel events to help recruit kids into studying science.

Should ethanol subsidies be variable, tied to oil prices?

Ethanol subsidies could be more effective if tied to oil prices, the Purdue University study suggests

That is the recommendation from Purdue University agricultural economist Wally Tyner in a study funded by the National Science Foundation.

The study suggests that a variable subsidy rate could protect ethanol producers from low oil and ethanol prices, but that the government would save money when oil prices are high and financial support for ethanol is unnecessary.

Current government subsidies for ethanol – around 45 cents per gallon – are to expire at the end of the year, with legislation needed from Congress to extend or replace the incentives.

Professor Tyner’s study, published in the October issue of the journal Energy Policy, shows how a variable rate could be the most beneficial.

“We could see ethanol plants close if the subsidy isn’t renewed in some form,” Prof Tyner said.

Do you think this creative idea would work in the case of ethanol? How about biodiesel? At least it shows some creative thinking that would take us down the inevitable path of diminishing oil.

Shell making big biofuel deals in Brazil

Shell and Cosan SA Industrio and Comercio, the world's largest sugar producer, finalized a multi-billion dollar joint venture today for biofuels and sugar in Brazil, and in the process gave the world of biofuel startups a reason to get out of bed tomorrow.

Under the deal, Shell will contribute close to $2 billion dollars, 2,740 service stations, its ongoing activities in jet fuel, and its investments in Codexis (Shell owns 15 percent of that company) and Iogen Energy, another biofuel company. Cosan, for its part, will contribute 23 sugar mills and more than 1,700 service stations. The memorandum of understanding was first signed in Feburary. In all, the new venture has an estimated value of $12 billion.

Ohio: American Electric Power interested in producing electric power from biodiesel

Photo from: http://www.aep.com/contact/

COLUMBUS, Ohio – American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) is seeking quotes for the supply of biodiesel to one or more of its generating stations in Ohio.

AEP is seeking quotes for the truck delivery of biodiesel blended with red-dyed No. 2 fuel oil to its Picway, Muskingum River and Conesville plants in Ohio. AEP is evaluating the use of biofuels as a renewable fuel source for start up and flame stabilization as part of its compliance with alternative energy requirements in Ohio.

Quotes must be received by AEP no later than 5 p.m., Sept. 23. Proposals can be submitted by e-mail to biomassrfp@aep.com, by fax to (614) 583-1617 (Attn. Ashley Weaver), or by mail to Ashley Weaver, Manager, Alternative Fuels, Fuel, Emissions and Logistics, American Electric Power Service Corp., 155 W. Nationwide Blvd., Suite 500, Columbus, Ohio 43215. Complete details about the bid proposals are available at www.aepohio.com/b2b/rfp/fuelrfps.aspx or by calling Weaver at (614) 583-6918.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.

Brazil’s state-run energy company buys 50% stake in biodiesel plant

Image from: http://blog-br.com/vidaemcristo/68675/Biodiesel.html

SAO PAULO(MarketWatch) -- Brazilian state run energy company Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, said late Friday that it acquired a 50% stake in the local biodiesel company Bioleo Industrial e Comercial, for 15.5 million Brazilian reals ($8.8 million).

"Bioleo is an oil extraction plant located in Bahia state, with capacity to process 130,000 tons of grains of several types of oilseeds. The unit has installed capacity to store 30,000 tons of grain and tankage for 10 million liters of oil," said Petrobras.

"The control of the company will be shared among Petrobras and the other partners, who remain with a 50% stake in Bioleo. The agreement also provides for investments of BRL6 million for operational and HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment) improvements to be disbursed equally by the partners," it added.

New York’s Tri-State Biodiesel benefits from microloan

Photo from: http://www.tristatebiodiesel.com/home.htm

Like many small businesses caught in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Tri-State Biodiesel was struggling to find capital last year, in the middle of a credit crunch.

The Bronx company, which converts used cooking oil from restaurants around New York City into fuel that it then sells, was in dire need of an equipment upgrade.

“Banks weren't lending at all," said Brent Baker, founder and chief executive.

Baker said he went to three major commercial banks that had financed the company in the past. "Once the crisis hit, applications were suddenly more complicated and lengthy, and they all came back giving us all these euphemisms for 'no.'"

In the end, Baker got a $50,000, three-year loan at a reasonable rate from Boc Capital, a lender that received $750,000 in federal stimulus funds last year to help small businesses such as Tri-State Biodiesel.

"The loan increased our profitability and put us in a position where we could expand," Baker said, adding that his company hired 10 workers. "It shows how a relatively small amount of credit can be such a huge advantage, and we really did create jobs."

Just in case you were wondering how a biodiesel company can get by without the tax credit, this indicates that some biodiesel producers may be borrowing money to stay afloat. I hope our government can help by reinstating that tax credit, it is long overdue.

Argentina: OilFox S.A. turns out biodiesel from algae, first in country to do so

Photo from: http://foroenergias.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html

SAN NICOLAS, Argentina (Reuters) - An Argentine company opened on Friday the country's first factory to make biodiesel from algae, hoping to use pond scum as a replacement for soy in making biodiesel as part of a push for renewable energy. Argentina is the world's top exporter of soyoil, but using the edible oil to make fuel is controversial because it cuts into food supplies.

Oil extracted from algae is also seen as an attractive alternative to soyoil and other vegetable oils because it does not use land that could be used for food crops and can absorb carbon dioxide from power plants or factories. The oil-extraction process also produces a protein-rich paste, which is edible.

''We're not competing with the food supply but generating food, at a low cost and helping the environment because algae grow fast and trap carbon dioxide,'' said Jorge Kaloustian, president of Oilfox S.A., the company that owns the plant northeast of Buenos Aires.

Running for CA Governor, Jerry Brown speaks at San Diego biodiesel plant

Above: Dem. gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown outlines his plan to create a half-million green jobs in California by 2020, at New Leaf Biofuel in Barrio Logan on August 26, 2010.

SAN DIEGO — California’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown was in San Diego Thursday for a campaign stop at New Leaf Biofuel in Barrio Logan. The company converts used cooking oil into biodiesel. Brown said small, renewable energy businesses are the wave of the future.

“This is small business, but it is reflective of the seeds of change that California must invest in,” said Brown. “Yes, we need to support our large, existing businesses, but we need the climate for innovation and creativity.”

Brown urged the defeat of Proposition 23, the California November ballot measure that would suspend the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32, until unemployment rates improve. Brown said rejecting the measure could create a half-million clean-tech jobs.

Rep. candidate Meg Whitman said she hasn’t made a final decision on the measure, but said her plan for a one-year moratorium on the law would be better for the state.

Comprehensive report on biodiesel production throughout the world

The EU continues its reign as the world’s largest biodiesel producer, but nearly two-thirds of the region’s installed production capacity is currently idle. According to the European Biodiesel Board, the EU produced approximately 9 million metric tons of biodiesel in 2009, while installed capacity measured nearly 22 million tons. Even with this high percentage of unutilized capacity, the EU produced about 65 percent of the world’s biodiesel last year.
Overall, the EU produced 16.6 percent more biodiesel in 2009 than 2008, although not all areas of the region contributed to this increase. While Austria, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland and Spain increased production in 2009, production in Germany, Greece and the UK decreased. Currently, the top three biodiesel producing nations in Europe are Germany, France and Spain. As of July, 245 biodiesel plants exist in the EU, a slight decrease compared to 2008 statistics.

If you really want to know what’s happening with biodiesel around the world, you couldn’t do much better than this great report, I hope you will all take a moment to read it.

National Biodiesel Board fires up support in the media for biodiesel

Educational ads help spread the message that biodiesel is America's first and only commercially available advanced biofuel.

The National Biodiesel Board captured the advanced biofuels message in advocacy ads that ran in Washington-based publications, The Hill, Politico and Roll Call.

Biodiesel is an advanced biofuel. It is next generation fuel. It is the fuel of the future, here now. But as National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe points out, others threaten to define biodiesel.
“The key is securing biodiesel’s image as next generation and claiming our identity as an advanced biofuel,” Jobe said. “As champions of the biodiesel industry, all of us need to repeat this message everywhere we go 40 times per day.”
From a national view, NBB is working with industry leaders to provide tools and materials to help them enact this message in their own communications and strengthen biodiesel's position as an advanced biofuel.

So much work needs to be done, most Americans have only a vague notion of the biodiesel concept, we should see something about biodiesel—the people’s fuel—every time we turn on a tv set.

Butter sculpture at New Your State Fair destined to be turned into biodiesel

The butter sculpture's eventual fate 8-26-10

Geddes (WSYR-TV) - The giant butter sculpture is a perennial feature of the State Fair. After the 12 exciting days, however, it can't be spread on toast and eaten. Instead, the 800 pounds of butter are turned into biodiesel, biodegradable plastics or other natural products.
This year's butter sculpture is called Dairyville 2020 and portrays a small, detailed farm complete with numerous other buildings, vehicles, and people. It is fun, but it's also a look at the food, energy and jobs a farm of the future can provide.
The butter sculpture is located in the Dairy Products Building, right next to the NewsChannel 9 broadcast center.

This is becoming a tradition at this state fair, just what we need to help make biodiesel a part of our culture. I for one will never again think of fried food in the same way, hey, you cooked that in biodiesel.

Biodiesel Industries Inc. has been selected by the California Energy Commission to receive an $886,815 grant

Image from: http://www.biodieselindustries.com/

California-based Biodiesel Industries Inc. has been selected by the California Energy Commission to receive an $886,815 grant to support a multi-year project that will demonstrate biodiesel production using algae in an integrated energy system monitored by the Automated Real-time, Remote, Integared Energy System (ARIES) platform. The grant was awarded under the state’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. Construction on the project is currently expected to being in late September, and will take an estimated 29 months to complete.
The project will be sited at the Port Hueneme, Calif.-based Naval Base Ventura County, where Biodiesel Industries has already established a 3 MMgy demonstration-scale biodiesel facility that features the ARIES platform. According to Russell Teall, Biodiesel Industries president and founder, the funding awarded by the California Energy Commission will be used to install additional equipment and infrastructure at the site, including greenhouses, ponds, containment vessels and testing equipment.

You can see here that any advanced biodiesel production system is going to be of interest to the Navy, and would be in line for financial aid. This appears to be a very advanced plan for biodiesel production.

The Canada-Nigeria biodiesel connection

Photo from: http://www.aurabiocorp.com/

Aura is pleased to announce that on July 16, 2010, the company has completed its due diligence assessment of the Agricultural Biodiesel project in Cross River State, Nigeria, and has officially entered into a formal partnership agreement with Tolao Energy of Nigeria ("Tolao").

Under the terms of the agreement, Aura can earn a 10% working interest in a proposed Agricultural Biodiesel project in Cross River State, Nigeria. The project will ultimately involve the use of 3000 hectares of arable land suitable for the purpose of jatropha feedstock cultivation and bio-fuel production. The project also includes the development of a biodiesel plant with an initial annual production capacity of 37.5 million liters, with the intent of increasing annual production to over 70 million liters within the first 12 months of production.

As part of the agreement, Tolao has received its 2 million common shares of the company as the first payment.

SynDiesel sets mileage record with biodiesel using a VW

A Volkswagen Beetle burning a 5 percent blend of biodiesel and SynDiesel, often referred to as synthetic or GTL diesel, looks to set a mileage record at Hot Rod Magazine’s Drag Week in September.

The company says the SynDiesel Project X Volkswagen Beetle is the favorite to capture the mileage record for the five day event that has competitors race at five different drag strips and have to drive, unassisted to all events during the week:

Last year, Mike Wood’s “DuraMax GT,” a 1994 Mustang GT was the winner of the Diesel Class competition, burning an average of 38.5 miles per gallon, including race time. “My miles per gallon were 3.5 mpg better than last year using a number two diesel. The SynDiesel provided a lot less smoke, more power and cleaner launches. I attribute my win, in part, to the SynDiesel fuel.”

SynDiesel is a renewable and green fuel that was created as an alternative to fossil crude oil diesel. Syndiesel can be used in diesel engines without modification, including automobiles, trucks, buses and industrial diesel turbines. Syndiesel carries the highest cetane number of any diesel fuel on the market, making it a clean alternative than regular diesel.

Greg Hogue, owner, Motor Sports Supply, and driver of the “Project X” Beetle in Drag Week 2010, said, “This is the second year that SynDiesel has fueled the Project X Beetle at Drag Week. We have rebuilt our engine to accommodate the higher cetane and power that the fuel has to offer. We learned a lot from Mike Woods’ Nitrous Express Duramax Mustang that busted the 200 MPH barrier using SynDiesel racing fuel and we are ready to set a record with what could be the world’s fastest VW Beetle.”

The biodiesel blended with Syndiesel is made from soybean and canola oil.

I must admit I am confused by the terminology here—is this vehicle running B100? Perhaps we can get someone to comment on this story in the www.biodieselnow.com forum?

Biodiesel jet-car shows the high-performance nature of biodiesel

Featuring the General Biodiesel logo, the Jetcar can operate the afterburner independently of the engine, which driver and owner Bill Braack does to get the crowd engaged. PHOTO: Bernardo Malfitano, AirShowFan.com

Imagine sitting behind the wheel of a 10,000-horsepower Jetcar racing toward 400 miles per hour in just seconds. It’s what Bill Braack and his partner Scott Hammack have been doing for years. “It’s definitely an extreme way to make a living,” Braack, owner and driver of the Smoke-N-Thunder Jetcar, told Biodiesel Magazine. This amazing car doesn’t race other cars though—it makes a name for itself competing against planes in air shows around the country as the original ground entertainment at these popular patriotic events.
Marketed under the name, “Smoke-N-Thunder Jet Shows,” Hammack created this exhilarating lifestyle in 1979. Hammack was racing powerful dragsters in the National Hot Rod Association circuit before the Vietnam War, but was drafted by the Army and left the sport of racing behind while he served his country. Braack says Hammack was in the Hawk missile unit, which meant hovering around and protecting Air Force bases, and he spent a lot of time watching powerful F4 jets in action. “When he came back to the states after the war, the normal vehicles Scott was racing before the war were no longer competitive,” Braack says. In 1979, Hammack designed and built the Jetcar.

Oakland, CA gets new Propel biodiesel, free 5 gal. sample

Photo from: http://www.greencar.com/articles/propel-biofuels-making-ethanol-biodiesel-refueling-easier.php

OAKLAND -- The first day of a free alternative fuel giveaway started Tuesday with a trickle of motorists lured in by curiosity and the promise of a bargain: Five free gallons of biodiesel or an ethanol-based blend called Flex Fuel.

"It's an incentive for drivers to stop," said Emily Shellabarger, a spokeswoman for Propel, the Sacramento-based fuel company that opened a self-serve fueling dock at a Chevron station at 350 Grand Avenue.

The opening came amid the BP oil-drilling disaster and on the second Spare the Air day in the Bay Area.

"People are excited to have another choice," Shellabarger said.

Oakland is a city with lots of industry and a port, and there is no shortage of diesel engines. I would like to see us do better than B5, but the article points out we are stuck at that mixture.

Jatropha genome decoded, the aim is more biodiesel per acre

A company that breeds better seeds for biofuels has teamed up with a biotech company to sequence the jatropha genome … a plant touted as the possible future of biofuels feedstocks.

Officials at SG Biofuels have announced that they and Life Technologies Corporation have completed sequencing the Jatropha curcas genome to 100x coverage, using the SOLiD™ 4.0 System by Life Technologies:

The sequence significantly accelerates the identification of key traits for the oilseed-producing crop and advances its development as a high yielding, low-cost source for next generation biofuel.

Working in strategic alliance with Life Technologies, SG Biofuels will use the sequence to generate a high quality Jatropha reference genome. The genome will be compared to sequences generated from SG Biofuels’ germplasm library of more than 6,000 unique Jatropha genotypes – the largest and most diverse collection of Jatropha germplasm in the world – to identify molecular markers and trait genes to accelerate development of elite cultivars with vastly superior yields and profitability. This work will also advance the introduction of transgenic plants with further improved traits.

I believe we will see much greater yields of biodiesel from farmers, just as we have seem better food crops that produce more and resist disease, and knowing about the genes is the first step.

Indonesia establishes new government department in charge of biodiesel

Energy Minister Darwin Saleh has established a directorate general in charge of renewable energy. It is to be headed Luluk Sumiarso, the former director general for electricity, and oil and gas.

Jakarta. Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy has set up a directorate general in charge of boosting and regulating the use of renewable energy in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
The directorate general’s task is to “formulate policies and the technical standardization on new energy, renewable energy and energy conservation,” Energy Minister Darwin Saleh said in Jakarta on Tuesday. The office will be headed by Luluk Sumiarso, the former director general for electricity, and oil and gas, he said.
Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, which can be used to make biofuel. The nation, which is a net oil importer, seeks to boost the use of new energy and renewable energy to support a faster expanding economy. The government forecasts the economy to grow 6 percent this year from 4.5 percent in 2009.
Indonesia left the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year after crude oil output slumped 49 percent from a peak in 1977.

Wisconsin: Sun Power Biodiesel awarded $1M to expand biodiesel infrastructure

Photo from: http://www.wisconsinstamping.com/GrayMenuBar/RaschigRings/SpecificationsApplications/tabid/78/Default.aspx

A biodiesel producer in northern Wisconsin plans to expand its operations and create 31 new jobs, thanks to a $1.1 million grant from the state and federal government. Wisconsin Commerce Secretary Aaron Olver presented the funds to Sun Power Biodiesel in Cumberland on Tuesday. The announcement was part of Governor Jim Doyle's 'Up North' tour.
The assistance includes $800,000 in federal stimulus funds provided to the company through the State Energy Program. Another $349,825 was added to the amount through a Community Development Block Grant, being channeled through the City of Cumberland.
"We're grateful for the confidence shown in us by the State of Wisconsin," said Sun Power Biodiesel Co-owner Ron Ruppel. "We're excited to continue to grow our business and add to the employment in Barron County."
Sun Power Biodiesel is a small canola-based, cold flow biodiesel producer. The company, which was founded in 2005, operates one plant and has the ability to produce up to 3 million gallons annually. The firm will use State Energy Program money to purchase equipment and working capital. To support the project, the city will make infrastructure investments, such as water mains, sanitary sewer, storm sewer and street construction.
Two years ago, Sun Power Biodiesel was awarded a $25,000 Agriculture Development and Diversity grant from the state to help promote the planting of canola and sunflower crops in a 10-county area in northern Wisconsin. That project helped increase oil seed crop production by 10,000 acres.

Poland buys 20,000 metric tons of biodiesel per month, raises mandate from B5 to B7

Photo from: http://www.greenbusinesstimes.com/2008/11/03/exhibition-photos-from-iswawmras-world-congress-2008/

In Poland, oil company Grupa Lotus has contracted with a handful of biodiesel suppliers for delivery of 20,000 metric tons per month for September and October. Its next tender will be in mid-September for November and December delivery. Meanwhile PKN Orlen plans to finalize a tender for delivery from October onwards within the next two weeks. Though no volumes were reported, the company bought 400,000 tons of biodiesel between January and September.

The Polish government has recently boosted biofuels blending to 7% from 5% but its not yet clear when the new rules will come into effect.

More on the story.

Review of home video on making your own biodiesel for heating and transportation

Seattle’s Lyle Rudensey, pictured here, was kind enough to send a copy of his two-DVD set, “BioLyle’s Biodiesel Workshop,” for review. It is well worth the time. For anybody interested in knowing about biodiesel, whether as a hobby or part of a cooperative effort, watching this video set is a great way to get started. But be prepared to spend a fair stretch of time with it, as the running length tallies up to 224 minutes.

A viewer’s time will be well spent, however. Lyle Rudensey takes viewers into his classroom for an in-depth lesson concerning everything from the chemistry to the tools required for biodiesel manufacture. Then it is into his garage for a ‘seeing-is-believing’ demonstration that covers all of the steps involved, from collection and filtering, to titration, processing, storing, and cleaning. His blog is also worth a visit.

On the Utah Biodiesel Supply website, Graydon Blair writes that Rudensey “has taught literally hundreds of people how to make their own Biodiesel through his hands-on Biodiesel workshops in the Seattle, WA area. His relaxed teaching style combined with his incredible knowledge of the Biodiesel production process makes for an incredible experience that students come away from raving about. Not only does he make the whole process incredibly easy to learn, but you’ll come away knowing so much more about why Biodiesel works, why anyone can make it, and how you can get started on a budget!”

Rudensey has been making all of his own fuel for his car and home heating stove since 2003. His experience and expertise show quite well. His passion for this work has a contagious effect. Even people who don’t own a diesel vehicle sometimes claim they are ready to get one after watching his videos, just so they can top off the tank with something other than petroleum and then mosey down the road without stinking up the neighborhood.

For those interested in this set of DVDs, they can be purchased at Rudensey’s website or Utah Biodiesel Supply. The price is $39.95, plus shipping. Other comprehensive video information about biodiesel can be found at the Utah Biodiesel Supply website.

This looks like a great video, anyone who is serious about making their own fuel should watch it and feel free to post about it in biodieselnow.com forum. We would love to hear from you.

Arcata, CA works with biodiesel manufacturer to relocate plant after biodiesel spill

Photo from: http://www.footprintrecycling.com/archives/date/2008/07

The city of Arcata is helping biodiesel producer Footprint Recycling to relocate its facility to Giuntoli Lane after a spill in January.

Footprint has been unable to make or sell biodiesel at its West End Road facility in Arcata after about 1,000 gallons of fuel overflowed from an above-ground tank due to an automatic timer failure on Jan. 14, according to the city and business owner Andrew Cooper. When city staff visited the facility following the spill, they noticed building and fire code violations at the site and issued a cease-and-desist order and a notice of nuisance.

The business has still been collecting grease from its restaurant customers, but has been unable to make biodiesel fuel for sale, Cooper said.

The West End Road site remains unsuitable for biodiesel production, and Footprint is working with the city to relocate the facility, said Arcata Environmental Services Director Mark Andre. The city is currently working to determine if the plan will require a full environmental impact report under the California Environmental Quality Act.

”The goal, I believe, is to build it to suit the site,” and Footprint has been focusing on moving the facility, Andre said.

The proposed new site for the biodiesel facility is on Giuntoli Lane in Arcata, near the McIntosh Farm Country Store, Andre said.

The West End Road facility was inspected and cleared by the city and the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board in 2009,

Next time you’re in Hawaii, rent a biodiesel car from Bio Beetles

Hawaii's Bio Beetles offer more than 35 mpg. (Jim Motavalli photo)

Hawaii is green, or so its boosters tell you incessantly. Of course, you have to ignore the thick smoke from the sugarcane-field-burning operations and the runoff chemicals used to control roadside plants, mountains of tourism-generated waste, plus a huge complement of invasive species.

An encouraging sign is the 30-megawatt wind farm visible from most parts of Maui, providing 10% of the island's electricity. Unfortunately, most of the rest is from diesel oil. But during a recent stay, I saw some evidence that the islands are starting to really go green, especially when it comes to transportation.

There's not much public transit in Hawaii (a light rail system is still stuck in the planning stage) but there is the Bio Beetle company, which rents a fleet of 20 biodiesel VWs and other cars in Maui. Also on Hawaii's second biggest island, the rapidly growing Maui EVs converts trucks and cars to batteries -- and has a backlog of orders.

The hybrid taxicabs in San Francisco are all the rage, and most people have never had a ride in an electric or hybrid car. Try it sometime, it is always a real thrill to feel the power of electrics.

Iowa: Would you like a tour of the Yoderville Biodiesel Collective?

Logo from: http://www.ybdc.org/

The Yoderville Biodiesel Collective is hosting a Practical Farmers of Iowa field day at 1 p.m. Saturday at 4630 Orville Yoder Turnpike in Kalona.

The public is invited to tour the facility and watch the equipment in action. Members of the collective will answer questions about production, economics, politics and the prospects for biodiesel from waste oil and oilseeds.

Attendees may bring in a sample of oil or grease to titrate for biodiesel potential. This workshop is for biodiesel beginners and those with advanced questions.

The Yoderville Biodiesel Collective is a group effort to share information and resources and to capture economies of scale in the production of biodiesel.

Iowa: Brad Zaun admits to making a mistake on ethanol and biodiesel policy

Brad Zaun speaking at the Iowa State Fair.

Congressman Leonard Boswell is accusing his Republican opponent of being a flip-flopper, while Brad Zaun – the Republican who’s challenging Boswell this November — says he did a “poor job” of answering a question about his views on farm subsidies. 

Democrats point to this Zaun statement, made during a debate this spring. ”I just went up to Grundy Center here not too long ago and a farmer said to me, ‘What are you going to do for me and the biofuels industry?’” Zaun said during the debate. “And I said, ‘Nothing.’”

The questioner at the Tea Party debate didn’t mention the tax breaks for biofuels. The questioner had asked Zaun and several of his opponents in the primary whether they would cut farm subsidies and Zaun replied that he’s a “market-oriented” person willing to make “tough decisions” as an elected official.

If you can stomach it, here is a snapshot of politics in a state that generally supports biodiesel and ethanol. Iowa farmers are blessed with an unusually good soil and rainfall, man, can they grow some corn and soybeans.

Vermont: closure of biodiesel plant blamed on loss of tax credits

Photo from: http://www.heatingoil.com/blog/mass-heating-oil-dealers-starting-to-supply-biofuel-blends-1008/

MONTPELIER – A Swanton plant once promoted as the largest biodiesel production facility in New England is shuttered and unlikely to reopen, at least in the short-term, according to state and company officials.
The state’s economic development authority is now in the process of trying to recover more than a half-million dollars it provided to the facility in low-interest loans, according to officials. State tax credits were also awarded to the company that built the plant, Biocardel, a subsidiary of a Canadian company, although the credits were never used.
The expiration of a federal tax credit for the production of biofuels at the end of 2009 has hammered the industry nationally and the Biocardel facility in Vermont is one casualty. The company does not have plans to reopen the facility.

How could this biodiesel plant go from the biggest in New England to shut down in such a short time? Remember that our government subsidizes petroleum oil in many ways, biodiesel just needs a tax credit, it does not need a war.

Will PetroAlgae be able to raise $200M for biodiesel venture?

Photo from: http://brevardbiodiesel.com/?blog=2&page=1&disp=posts&paged=2

With only a patented technique to accelerate the growth of algae for its eventual use as protein and biodiesel, Melbourne-based PetroAlgae's plans to raise up to $200 million in an initial public offering have been greeted with skepticism by some analysts.

They say the algae and biodiesel markets are not mature enough to allow PetroAlgae to become profitable, even with the money it could generate from the stock sale. The company has spent nearly $60 million between 2007 and 2009 without collecting on a sale.

If it proceeds with its IPO -- that's when a company makes its first attempt to raise money by selling its stock on an exchange -- PetroAlgae will use that money for continuing operations and to repay its principal stockholder, the hedge fund Laurus Capital Management LLC.

Cargill invests in soy-based biodiesel from Argentina and 9 other biofuel ventures

A Cargill plant (Archive) from: http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/4452

Global agriculture and food gorilla Cargill made $2.6 billion in profit in 2010: The over-a-century-old company, which is one of the largest private companies in the U.S, doesn’t necessarily need biofuels for its bottom line. However, Cargill is one of the larger producers of ethanol and biodiesel in the U.S. and has corn ethanol production plants in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri, as well as biofuel assets in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, among other places.

But Cargill has a longer-term strategy to move from the low-margin business of trading and processing commodities to the higher margin businesses of conducting research and development and creating new chemical and bio-based intellectual property. Cargill had revenues of $107.9 billion in 2010 to get that $2.6 billion profit. Next-gen biofuels is just one area that Cargill is looking to develop new IP, and it’s been partnering with promising startups to help deliver innovative biofuel technology.

This article covers the 10 biggest biofuel bets made by Cargill, and in looking for a representative photo for this piece, I noticed some photos of protest signs in Spanish criticizing Cargill for taking advantage of the hungry and destroying the rain forests. Quite a controversial company. 

Alcohol-based biofuels benefit from improved yeast

Washington, Aug 20 : A University of Illinois metabolic engineer has identified a strain of yeast with increased alcohol tolerance that could lead to more efficient and economical production of biofuels.

Biofuels are produced through microbial fermentation of biomass crops, which yield the alcohol-based fuels ethanol and iso-butanol if yeast is used as the microbe to convert sugars from biomass into biofuels.

“However, at a certain concentration, the biofuels that are being created become toxic to the yeast used in making them. Our goal was to find a gene or genes that reduce this toxic effect,” said Yong-Su Jin.

Jin identified four genes (MSN2, DOG1, HAL1, and INO1) that improve tolerance to ethanol and iso-butanol when they are overexpressed.

Overexpression of any of the four genes remarkably increased ethanol tolerance, but the strain in which INO1 was overexpressed showed an increase more than 70 percent for ethanol volume and more than 340 percent for ethanol tolerance.

Further study of these genes should increase alcohol tolerance even further, and that will translate into cost savings and greater efficiency during biofuel production, Jin added. (ANI)

Here’s a dual-fuel pickup with two gas tanks

Ryan Garza| The Flint Journal--Jeremy Gnida Fuel Cell Lab Technician for mechanical engineering department at Kettering University, student Nolan McCann, and Brenda Lemke, a lecturer in Kettering's fuel cells and renewable energy mechanical engineering department, and Jeremy Gnida Fuel Cell Lab Technician for mechanical engineering department, stand next to a Chevrolet Silverado with two fuel tanks modified to run on both gas and compressed natural gas.

FLINT, Michigan — The white Chevy Silverado in Kettering University’s parking lot could be a symbol of a future Flint — one where cars, trucks and buses run on biofuel produced in the city.

It looks like any other pickup, except for the giant black tank that would allow it to be powered by gasoline and biofuel.

What’s believed to be the first-of-its-kind vehicle converted to run on biomethane in the city will be unveiled Friday at the downtown’s signature car event, Back to the Bricks.

“It’s new technology in Flint,” said Brenda Lemke, a lecturer on fuel cells and renewable energy in Kettering’s mechanical engineering department. “It’s showing that we’re ready to convert the city vehicles and buses for this technology, that we have the knowledge and experiences necessary.”

Search for low-sulfur heating oil leads Northeastern states to biodiesel

Ultra-low sulfur diesel will be the required heating oil by 2012 in several Northeastern states. (image: dep.state.pa.us)

The Energy Information Administration’s This Week in Petroleum newsletter, released on Wednesday, provides a nice summary of the transition to cleaner heating oil in Northeastern states.

In addition to the current status of low-sulfur and biodiesel content mandates in the 12 states that make up the Northeast, plus New York City and Washington, D.C. (table reproduced below), the newsletter provides heating oil consumption statistics and touches on challenges the industry faces in transitioning to a cleaner fuel. According to a 2008 report, New York is the biggest heating oil consumer, accounting for 23 percent of the US total, followed by Massachusetts, Pennsylvania (both 13 percent) and Connecticut (11 percent). The report states that the US consumes 4,648,017 gallons of heating oil per year.

The newsletter acknowledges that the goals of the states are to reduce air pollution and cut down heating system maintenance and repair costs, but notes some supply obstacles and possible price increases that could result from pending mandates. Low-sulfur mandates may at first result in reduced fuel imports, the report states, because production of low-sulfur distillates is limited in other parts of the world. As a result, bouts of cold weather could bring price spikes, as imported heating oil is often used to meet sharp increases in demand. The report also notes that required changes to refinery infrastructure and the higher cost of storing and shipping low-sulfur fuel could result higher wholesale and retail heating oil prices.

Living in California makes a person forget about one of the biggest potential biodiesel markets—heating oil. As a kid growing up in Minnesota, our lives depended on that converted-from-coal oil-burning furnace.

Range Fuels in Georgia, one of the first plants to make cellulosic methanol for biodiesel

Photo from: http://www.rangefuels.com/our-first-commercial-plant.html

Range Fuels, one of the more successful biofuel startups backed by Khosla Ventures, announced today that it has opened up its first commercial plant to make cellulosic methanol out of non-food feedstocks. Located in Georgia, the facility is expected to pump out 20 million gallons of ethanol and biodiesel every year.

The company’s plan is to use wood waste generated by timber plants located around the Soperton, Ga. site (pictured above). It will convert that waste into synthetic gas using heat and pressure, which is fed into a proprietary catalytic process to produce alcohol-based compounds. The end product can be used for vehicles and jets with existing gas tanks.

This has been Range’s goal for a while. It initially said that the plant would be up and running in 2008, then 2009. Now, finally, it has come to fruition two years after the fact — mostly due to the limping economy and the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to cut back support for cellulosic fuels.

METRO Terminals building large biodiesel production facility, hopes to help supply B2 for heating NYC

Photo from: http://apolloalliance.org/blog/?cat=3

NEW YORK, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- METRO Terminals, which is currently building one of the country's largest biodiesel processing facilities adjacent to its biofuels and petroleum terminal in Brooklyn, expressed great excitement after Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed Intro 194-A into law on August 16^th.  The law requires that all grades of heating oil sold in the City of New York contain at least 2% biodiesel starting in October 2012.

At the bill signing, Mayor Bloomberg said: "Introductory Number 194-A will significantly reduce pollution, promote the use of alternative fuels, create new 'green' jobs and vastly improve air quality throughout the City."

On July 26, 2010, Mayor Bloomberg visited METRO Terminals where he announced an agreement with City Council leadership on this landmark legislation.  He was joined by City Councilman James F. Gennaro, the bill's sponsor, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and representatives from the American Lung Association and the Environmental Defense Fund.

"We applaud Mayor Bloomberg, as well as Councilman Gennaro and Speaker Quinn, for taking this bold step toward improving air quality in New York City, reducing our country's dependence on fossil fuels, lowering our carbon footprint and supporting a local green economy," said Gene V. Pullo, President of METRO Terminals.  "METRO is looking forward to playing its part in locally processing biodiesel and helping New York become a greener place to live and work."

North Dakota proposes bill to increase biodiesel production in the state

Photo from: http://cleantechnica.com/tag/renewable/

BISMARCK – A proposed bill would provide financial incentives to increase biodiesel production in North Dakota.

The legislative Energy Development and Transmission Committee reviewed a bill draft of the incentives Wednesday.

The first incentive relates to new biodiesel plants – in operation after July 2011 – with a production capacity of more than 1 million gallons. A potential plant could receive up to $1.5 million in production incentives in a fiscal year.

The amount would be determined by multiplying the number of gallons of biodiesel sold by 5 cents.

The second incentive relates to biodiesel plants operating in the state before July 2011 and with a production capacity of more than 1 million gallons.

The plant could receive incentive payments if production is increased by the lesser of 10 million gallons or 50 percent of its production capacity during a 12-month period.

The incentives are similar to what was done with the ethanol industry, said Shane Goettle, the state’s commerce commissioner and chairman of the EmPower North Dakota Commission.

Sen. Joe Miller, R-Park River, asked how many gallons of biodiesel are now produced in North Dakota. Goettle said 85 million gallons are possible at full capacity.

Scotland may soon use the production byproducts of whisky to make butanol

  (Source: Dreamworks)

Scotland produces over 150M liters of Scotch whisky a year. Currently the production byproducts are thrown out, but soon they could be used to produce hundreds of thousands of barrels of butanol biofuel.  (Source: Jaggederest)

Pour yourself a nice cool glass of whiskey biofuel, it's been a long day

The Scottish may have struck on a brilliant idea of how to apply their favorite alcoholic drink -- whiskey -- to improving the auto industry.
Scotch Whiskey, Scotland's drink of choice, is renowned worldwide for its smooth taste and full flavor.  Scotland produces approximately 150M liters of the spirit yearly.  That production earns Scotland over $6.24B USD annually.
That production leads to a lot of byproducts -- which largely are discarded.  Researchers at the Edinburgh Napier University have cooked up a method to end that waste, instead turning two of the main byproducts -- "pot ale", the liquid from the copper stills, and "draff", the spent grains – into biofuels.
The team used samples from Glenkinchie Distillery to test their process.  The new process produces butanol instead of the much-maligned ethanol biofuel.  Butanol is generally considered a more useful biofuel as, unlike ethanol, it can be free blended into gasoline at any ratio without special engine considerations.  It delivers 30 percent more power by volume than ethanol, as well.  And it's the starting point to producing many useful chemicals, such as the industrial solvent acetone.

This article will make you wonder why butanol isn’t used more than ethanol as a biofuel, perhaps it will be in the future. I keep noticing the localization of biofuel, everyone may have a different feedstock, but the elimination of shipping keeps it a local affair.

New York City signs B2 biodiesel mandate for heating oil

Photo from: http://www.heatingoil.com/category/blog/biofuels/

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made it official, signing a bill that will require all diesel heating oil in the city contain at least 2 percent biodiesel:

“The final bill before me today is Introductory Number 194-A … [which] will significantly reduce pollution, promote the use of alternative fuels, create new ‘green’ jobs and vastly improve air quality throughout the City.

“Promoting the use of cleaner burning heating fuels is one of fourteen air quality initiatives from PlaNYC 2030 and I am pleased to say that the legislation before me today will do just that. Introductory Number 194-A requires that by 2012, the sulfur content of Number 4 heating oils be limited to no more than 1,500 parts per million and all heating oils used in New York City contain at least two percent biodiesel.”

The move won the praise of the National Biodiesel Board and local biodiesel makers and marketers, Sprague Energy and METRO Terminals:

“New York City is already the nation’s largest municipal user of biodiesel. We applaud the Mayor and City Council for building on that legacy by adopting a universal biodiesel requirement that will further improve air quality in the city,” said Shelby Neal, NBB’s director of state governmental affairs. “I would especially like to thank Councilman Gennaro, who has been a tireless advocate for this and other important environmental issues. His vision for a cleaner burning, green, and sustainable heating fuel is being realized.”

Did you know New York City is the largest municipal user of biodiesel? I’m glad to learn that, I hope the city continues to work on cleaning the air and becoming free of foreign oil dependence.

Georgia: a cheaper and cleaner method of producing biodiesel is unveiled

Photo from: http://www.jcbdirt.com/2009/12/ga-southern-university-students-will-use-dieselmax-engine-in-biodiesel-research/

A newly efficient method of producing biodiesel fuel, developed by Monroe-based Down to Earth Energy in a partnership with the University of Georgia, could eventually revolutionize the biodiesel industry, according to the project’s researchers.

The under-development production method is more environmentally friendly than current ones, reusing the catalysts necessary for production rather than consuming them and producing waste, according to Dr. Dan Geller, a professor in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The collaboration on the project, which is coordinated by the University of Georgia Research Foundation, involves both Geller, whose research focuses on biodiesel fuel, and Dr. James Kastner, whose specialty is biochemical catalysts and serves as the university’s principal investigator for the project.

This is the university’s first collaboration with Down to Earth Energy. The National Biodiesel Board lists the two-year-old biodiesel producer as one of the eight-member biodiesel plants in Georgia. Since it sells directly to consumers as well as distributors, it is also one of 17 biodiesel fueling sites listed by the board. It brings in used cooking oil from Athens and Atlanta and produces about a million gallons of fuel annually, according to Tyson Johnson, the Down to Earth’s chief financial officer.

Columbia, MO company will seek to make biodiesel out of municipal waste

Photo from: http://x-journals.com/2010/biodiesel-from-sewage-sludge-within-pennies-a-gallon-of-being-competitive/

COLUMBIA — The fat, oil and grease from homes, restaurants and other sources have long been the bane of sewage treatment plants. The sticky waste can interfere with the treatment process, create blockages in the system and damage equipment.

Now, a Columbia engineering firm is using a state grant to figure out if unwanted oils and grease at large sewage plants can be recovered and converted into biofuel, which is generally blended into petroleum diesel and used to power vehicles and heavy machinery.

H2O’C Engineering received a $50,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on Aug. 12 to study whether these waste products can be viable sources of biodiesel.

Their study will initially focus on waste in plants located in Kansas City and St. Louis because they present the most favorable economies of scale.However, owner of H2O’C Tom O’Connor said the model will eventually be used in smaller cities and towns. “Since we are using public funds, we hope in the future that the study can be useful for people throughout the state,” O’Connor said.

Safflower and biodiesel attracts Army’s attention in Utah

(Scott Sommerdorf l The Salt Lake Tribune) A biofuel crop on Salt Lake City's west side gets national attention from the U.S. Army on Monday. Standing among biodiesel-producing safflower plants are, from left, Alan Weber, a feedstock specialist for the National Biodiesel Board; Keith Eastin, vice president for the Louis Berger Group; Jeffrey Ward, deputy engineer for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command; and Dallas Hanks, of the Utah State University Extension. The Army is considering planting similar crops at military installations.

The prickly leafed crop is hardly inviting — it is like a weed sprouting atop 20 acres of parched government land near Salt Lake City International Airport.

And yet, the safflower planted as part of Salt Lake County’s urban-farming initiative holds a potential fuel source that has attracted the attention of the U.S. Army.

Jeffrey Ward, deputy engineer for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, inspected the safflower crop Monday with a National Biodiesel Board representative and a consultant from the environmental engineering and restoration firm Louis Berger Group to determine whether to seed a similar program on military lands.

“We are very interested in getting biodiesel and using our lands to support our own energy needs,” Ward said. “We want to use what you have learned to potentially go onto Army installations and see what might be possible.”

This is an important story about 20 little acres of land that caught the attention of the Army. Yes it would be good if the Army did not depend on foreign oil. Go Army, show us all how biodiesel is done.

Biodiesel from algae catching the investment spotlight

Image from: http://www.70centsagallon.com/

Recent multi-million dollar investments in algae-biofuel companies ($200 million IPO for PetroAlgae and $52 million to help commercialize Solazyme) is fueling some speculation of its own on how soon algae-based biofuels, in particular, biodiesel, might be available for consumers and when it would be commercially competitive.

This article from Biofuel Digest breaks down the “bears” and “bulls” views of these investments, as well as the Digest’s take on these developments:

A significant number of voices in the community continue to caution that algal biofuels are 10 years away, or likely to arrive at commercial scale only in the waning years of the existing Renewable Fuel Standard. However, we see increasing numbers of signs of commercial traction in the higher priced co-products area, such as nutraceuticals.

With the global market for algae nutraceuticals at 5000 tonnes per year and not showing immense growth signs, algal producers will need to establish new markets rather than simply aim to use technology to flood existing markets with low-cost product. The nature of that transitional set of end products?

Food-grade oil may be one path.

The other: well, let’s spell it out in three words. United States military.

The article goes on to point out the U.S. Navy or Air Force are working actively to have as much as half of their fuel come from renewable energy as early as 2016. The authors also did their history, making parallels to the British Navy’s conversion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from coal to oil … and how that move helped put the Brits on top of the world’s navies at the time. It also led to the rise of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, now known as BP.

The military has always been a powerful force in the development of technology, and it appears that biodiesel from algae is too good to pass up. As I understand it, algal oil is quite versatile. 

Enterprise, Alabama opens new biodiesel production facility thanks to grant

Photo from: here

Employees at the Enterprise, Ala., Public Works Facility can add a new duty to their job descriptions: biodiesel production. After 15 years of development, the city officially announced its new biodiesel facility is up and running, with major supporter Gov. Bob Riley in attendance.
Businesses such as the Greenside Grill, McDonald’s, and the local high school will all provide waste cooking oil to the plant, helping the community-scale biodiesel refinery scaled at 70,000 gallons a year secure local feedstock. The plant will only run at 30 percent now, however, producing about 21,000 gallons of biodiesel per annum.
The plant has already received a $300,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, and anticipates partnering with surrounding communities for feedstock access and fuel supply agreements.

The state helped this biodiesel facility come into being, and perhaps that’s a good lesson here, biodiesel can add jobs, clean the air, and recycle waste vegetable oil all for their own state. Biodiesel is a local fuel.

Illinois: REG plant turns out first batch of biodiesel

Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group (REG) has held a grand re-opening of its Seneca, Illinois biodiesel plant after taking over the 60 million-gallon-a-year biodiesel and glycerin facility from Nova Biosource Fuels.

REG celebrated the occasion with a ribbon cutting ceremony and by selling the first load of REG-9000 biodiesel from the refinery to Meier Oil of Ashkum Illinois last Thursday.

The REG Seneca facility has three side-by-side 20 mgy biodiesel process units, a technical grade glycerin refining facility, raw material and finished product storage as well as rail car and truck unloading and loading with the potential for barge transportation that had been idled for more than a year. This re-opening put 38 plant workers back on the job.

REG now wholly-owns five biodiesel production businesses and markets biodiesel in 49 states.

West Michigan: Corn growers look to renewal of ethanol subsidies for future profitability

Joel Hawksley photos | The Grand Rapids PressA view of the Carbon Green BioEnergy ethanol plant in Eaton County's Woodbury, near Lake Odessa.

A scoop works in a corn product storage barn at the Carbon Green facility.

WOODBURY — As an electronic sign by the road flashed messages last week about “America’s Clean Fuel” and “America’s Peace Fuel,” trucks lined the driveway into the Carbon Green BioEnergy ethanol plant on M-66 near the Barry-Eaton-Ionia county borders.

There were haulers from Vermontville and Clarksville, Portland and Woodland, Stanton and Sunfield, all delivering the source of the patriotic fuel touted for environmental and national security benefits: corn.

And the $60 million plant where a work force of 40 churns out 50 million gallons of ethanol annually is good for business in this rural area halfway between Grand Rapids and Lansing.

“We’re businessmen,” said Brian Haskin, whose Haskin Farms in Ionia County sends the plant 400,000 bushels per year from a distribution hub two miles down the road.

“We (farmers) are going to plant what makes us money. If they make it profitable, we’ll find a way to produce it.

“(Corn-based ethanol) is a boost to the local economy.”

Algae-based biodiesel firm PetroAlgae goes public

PetroAlgae's open-air ponds are used for growing algae.  (Credit: PetroAlgae)

PetroAlgae, which makes systems for growing and harvesting algae for food and fuel, on Wednesday filed documents to raise $200 million through an initial public offering.

The Melbourne, Fla.-based company is already listed on the OTC Bulletin Board and lists no revenue in its S-1 prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Using algae as a feedstock for fuel holds great promise because it can be grown in many different climates and can be used for animal feed as well as fuel. But so far no company has been able to produce it at large scale or cost-effectively. Much of the cost is associated with processing algae by removing the water and extracting oil.

Rather than make fuel or food products, such as animal feed or protein supplements, PetroAlgae's strategy is to license its equipment to other companies. The company has developed modular open-air ponds to grow algae. Conditions in these bioreactors are monitored for light and algae density and are managed by the company's software, according to the prospectus.

The company lists a number of risks in its S-1. Among them are that it has not yet scaled up its technology and it may not be able to secure paying customers. Proceeds from the public offering of common stock will go to repay debt.

Netherlands research moves forward in making biodiesel from algae

Two scientists claim that algae cultivation for fuel production could become viable in 10-15 years. (Photo: Wageningen UR)

Two researchers say producing sustainable and economically viable biodiesel from micro-algae on a large scale will be feasible within 10-15 years. Technological innovations in this timeframe are expected to enlarge the scale of production threefold and cut production costs by 90 per cent.

Professor René Wijffels and Dr Maria Barbosa from Wageningen UR (University & Research Centre) published their article in Friday’s Science, where they thoroughly explain how to reach the biodiesel goal.

They wrote that Europe should be able to become sustainably independent of fossil fuels and even generate sustainably sourced food by producing microscopically small algae in bulk in large-scale installations. The cultivation of algae could be done by extracting fertilisers (nitrogen and phosphates) from manure surpluses and wastewater, and CO2 would come from industrial remains.

Sunlight feeds algae, sustainably breeding biodiesel and almost limitless protein and oxygen. And because seawater can be used, fresh water use would be minimal.

Wijffels and Barbosa describe how based on calculations on energy consumption in transport in Europe, nearly 0.4 billion m3 biodiesel would be required to substitute all transport fuels. Micro-algae cultivation takes 9.25 million ha of land assuming a yield of 40,000 l of biodiesel per ha.

Algae beat agricultural crops like oilseed rape at converting sunlight and fertilisers into usable oily compounds, as full sunshine is not needed. It is thus possible to produce 20-80,000 l of oil per ha versus 1 ha of oilseed rape or oil palm generates only 1500 or 6000 l, respectively.

(Graph:Wageningen UR)

I have always felt the Netherlands have a handle on recycling and social change, and I look forward to seeing this region prosper in the area of biodiesel from algae.

From the UK: HRH Prince of Wales starts promotion of sustainable living

START: HRH Prince of Wales begins a sustainability revolution Photo: CAMERA PRESS

The five day tour in the Royal Train, run on biofuel, will take in projects around the country where ordinary people are making a difference by installing solar panels, planting trees and growing vegetables.

It is part of the Prince’s new project Start, a partnership between non-Governmental Organisations and business, to promote a more sustainable way of living.

The tour will begin in Glasgow to launch Pedal for Scotland, a charity event that encourages thousands of people to take up cycling rather than drive everywhere.

His Royal Highness will then visit Wales where he will launch a guide for historic home owners to help them insulate draughty castles and install wind turbines on hill farms.

In Nottingham, Prince Charles will have a cup of tea with a pensioner who has installed solar panels on her roof and visit community gardens in an area of transformed wasteland.

In Manchester His Royal Highness will watch a sustainable fashion show and in nearby Todmorden he will visit a project where local ‘guerrilla gardeners’ have planted vegetables on public land.

For the Bristol leg of the tour, where the Prince will meet a community choir and visit a scheme advising vulnerable people how to save energy, he will be joined by the Duchess of Cornwall.

The couple will conclude the week by launching a festival at Clarence House, a Garden Party to Make a Difference, where pop stars, celebrity chefs and comedians will give their advice on how to do your bit for the environment.

The Prince said he aimed to show that even ordinary people can do something to stop climate change. “Start is about putting a positive face on what I can only call a Sustainability Revolution. People are much more likely to act if the message of sustainability is framed in positive terms,” he said.

Hopefully, somewhere in this royal lesson, the word will get out on biodiesel, although the UK already has a B5 biodiesel blend mandate, if I am not mistaken.

Note: Don’t miss the following article from guest writer Jennifer Gorten regarding algae-based fuel: http://www.biodieselnow.com/b/site/archive/2010/08/12/algae-is-more-than-just-pond-scum-it-could-be-quot-fuel-of-the-future-quot.aspx

Renewable Energy Group acquires and re-opens Seneca, IL biodiesel plant

A 60-million-gallon biodiesel plant was back in business on Thursday in Seneca, Ill., after being shuttered in March 2009. The facility was acquired by Renewable Energy Group in April. (David Pierini, Chicago Tribune / August 12, 2010)

A Seneca, Ill., biodiesel facility that was shuttered in March 2009 after its owner filed for bankruptcy reopened Thursday under new ownership.

The 60-million-gallon-a-year plant had operated less than a year under Nova Biosource Fuels, and all but six of approximately 40 workers were laid off. Renewable Energy Group Inc. acquired the facility in April.

This is the second acquisition in Illinois this year by Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group, which also acquired a biodiesel facility in Danville in February.

The purchases are unusual in light of the fact that the biodiesel industry saw its dollar-per-gallon tax credit from Uncle Sam expire at the end of last year. The National Biodiesel Board has claimed that the subsidy's expiration leaves the industry "on the verge of collapse" and has led to massive layoffs.

Biodiesel fuel in Illinois is produced from inedible corn oils, soybean oils, animal fats and restaurant grease. Much of the raw materials are purchased from Illinois farmers, Renewable Energy Group said.

Daniel Oh, president of Renewable Energy Group, said Illinois is unique in that it has a deep and wide consumer base for biodiesel that makes it possible for the facility to stay profitable. Since 2003, trucking companies and other buyers have switched to biodiesel fuel mixes because of state tax incentives that don't exist in other states.

Canada: Ottawa blues festival uses Rothsay biodiesel to save the air

Photo from: http://www.rothsaybiodiesel.ca/reliability.html

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Aug 12, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) today applauded Rothsay Biodiesel, a division of Maple Leaf Foods Inc, for its celebrated success in cutting CO2 emissions at the recent Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest.

By relying on Rothsay Biodiesel, the 12-day event was able to reduce its lifecycle CO2 emissions by approximately 26,000 kg.

"Rothsay provides tangible evidence of the positive, working impact that renewable fuels have in and around communities right across the country day-in and day-out," said CRFA President Gordon Quaiattini. "Their success in shrinking the carbon footprint of this signature Ottawa event is an example of the way our industry is providing practical environmental benefits that work."

The blues and music festival was powered by seven generators running 24 hours a day on a B90 blend of Rothsay Biodiesel. A total of 8,020 L of biodiesel was used. Rothsay Biodiesel and the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest have partnered since 2006 to power the popular music festival on high blends of the fuel.

Rothsay biodiesel is a unique renewable fuel made by converting animal fats and recycled cooking oils into an environmentally sustainable alternative fuel that reduces harmful greenhouse gases (GHG), and can be used in all diesel engines today without modification.

The idea that biodiesel rocks is catching on, we have heard of many rock concerts powered by biodiesel generators, don’t you think the concert-goers appreciate the cleaner air? I bet they do.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley to attend grand opening of biodiesel facility for public works

(Press-Register/John David Mercer) Alabama Gov. Bob Riley

MOBILE, Ala. -- Alabama Gov. Bob Riley will be in Enterprise tomorrow to celebrate the opening of a biodiesel facility.

Riley will join local officials at the grand opening of a biodiesel facility at the Enterprise Public Works Facility that uses cooking oil collected from area restaurants to produce fuel for city vehicles and equipment.

The project was funded in part with a $200,000 grant Governor Riley awarded to help Enterprise reduce fuel costs and develop renewable sources of energy.

Here’s a public works dept. in Alabama making their own biodiesel and using it out in the field to save money and air pollution. Why couldn’t other public works organizations do the same thing? By the way, it is a smart politician who supports biodiesel, the fuel of the people.

Farmers look at camelina as a promising biodiesel feedstock—here’s why

Farmers in several regions of the U.S. are discovering a new potential cash crop – camelina. Camelina is beginning to find favor with both the biofuels industry as a strong potential feedstock for biodiesel, as well as with farmers who are discovering they will be able to grow the crop profitably.

One such farmer is Steve Camp, whose farm is located in Lacrosse, Washington. He is working with researchers from Washington State University (WSU) to test the viability of camelina for biodiesel. This program is one element of a recent initiative known as the “Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest” project, a large scale effort to create biodiesel for use in aviation applications. Camp was featured in an article focusing on WSU’s research.

Camp began growing the crop in 2007 after visiting an oilseed rep who was encouraging farmers to test the crop. Last year, he crushed the camelina commercially and used it to run his tractor and pick-up. This past winter, he also pressed some of the camelina using a press from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the result is waiting in storage to be converted to fuel.

Camp’s initial outlook is sunny on crop. “I feel good about the possibilities for camelina,” he said. “I am excited about this endeavor. I really see potential. I’ve got enough experience now to know that it does work.”

As part of Camp’s contribution to the research, he is testing when to plant and harvest the crop. Last year he planted it as a winter crop and got a better yield than his usual winter wheat. In response to his success, he has expanded his camelina acres from 50 to 200. On average, in 90 days, he yields between 1,100 to 1,200 pounds per acre as compare to an average yield of 900 pounds per acre of mustard or canola. He also uses less outputs then what he needs to use on a traditional crop, and he notes camelina’s sustainability benefits.

According to Camp, every 100 pounds of seed produces about 40 pounds or between 5 and 6 gallons of oil and about 63 gallons of biodiesel per acre. Although the economic benefits are still under review, many organizations and programs are paying farmers a guaranteed price for their camelina.

Regardless, Camp notes that growing camelina provides value beyond monetary profit.

“We need to look at more than just the bottom line,” he said. “It has to pay, yes, but even if you broke even, you’d be able to guarantee yourself your own fuel every year. You’d be your own supplier.”

I don’t see how a farmer is not interested in biodiesel, with all the diesel-powered farm equipment, aren’t farmers reportedly an independent group of people? Every local area has a unique biodiesel feedstock best for that particular region, and in some areas, it’s camelina.

During the past 20 years, America has undergone a drastic shift in consciousness regarding our perception of the environment.  In years past, aggressive capitalistic ventures and the corporations viewed the environment as something to be used and abused in order to increase the bottom line of profitability.  In the past 20 years, however, the environmental movement has fought to enlighten America, and the rest of the world, to the utter importance of protecting the environment.  Environmentalism has slowly seeped into mainstream pop culture to the point that today “being green” is in vogue.  We can purchase green cars, green foods, and green houses.  As many consumer products are now being produced with an environmental conscience, one of the biggest areas of concern going forward is fuel.
Fuel is at the very heart of human existence.  We use energy to heat and cool our homes, drive our cars, light our abodes.  The development of alternative energy has literally exploded in the past 20 years.  Currently, we seem to be in a race against time.  Physicists, engineers, and entrepreneurs the world over are searching day and night for the future of alternative energy.  The very development and research of alternative energy is a billion dollar industry, and the finding and establishing of a permanent alternative energy source is seen by many experts as one of the most important issues of the next century.  One of the alternative energy resources currently under research and development is algae oil.

Algae oil is often thought of as mere pond scum.  Not necessarily something with a ton of inherent value.  However, scientists discovered decades ago that algae actually has large amounts of oil in it, and it could possibly act as a major source of oil.  From the 1970’s to the 1990’s, the United States government spent millions of dollars researching the possibilities of algae oil, but those efforts were finally stopped as it became evident that the costs of producing large amounts of oil from algae simply was not commercially feasible.  However, new technological developments in the 21st century have caused a resumption of interest in algae.

Pros of Algae Oil

Scientists have proven that 50% of algae’s weight is actually pure oil, and experts have estimated they can produce about 100,000 gallons of algae oil per year per acre.  In comparison, one can produce about 30 gallons from corn and 50 gallons from soybeans per year per acre.  That statistic is staggering!  These numbers are what get alternative energy scientists and enthusiasts excited about the possibilities of algae as an actual source of energy.  The upside is huge.
Due to the incredibly high yield potential of algae oil production, it is quickly being placed at the top of the list versus other plant-based alternatives.  Cutting edge operations are beginning to grow the algae vertically in warehouses, and this is changing the possibilities.  Oil that is produced from corn, for example, is limited to the amount of earth that a corn field can take up.  The possibility with algae oil production is much greater if it can be grown vertically.  This means a much larger amount of oil could be produced in a much smaller area, and this is an essential element in developing an alternative source of fuel.

Cons of Algae Oil

There are two primary concerns surrounding algae oil production.  The first is that it requires a huge amount of CO2.  Current ideas include building plants in close proximity to coal plants and other nuclear power plants and somehow sequester the CO2 at these plants and pipe it in to the algae oil plants.  The problem is that technology is very expensive.  Low-cost alternatives are currently being researched and developed.
The second primary concern is that algae oil production is not yet seen as commercially viable.  The cost of producing oil in this manner is still very high, and the reduction in cost is largely dependent on further technological advances.  Thus, although algae oil is seen as a strong alternative fuel source, it may be several years before things come together to the point that the first “algae-fueled” car hits the road.  The rise and fall of oil prices is reflected every day in fx trading, as traders around the world trade currencies such as the U.S. Dollar and Canadian Dollar that are heavily influenced by the rise and fall of oil prices.

EU looking at a B20 biodiesel mandate by the year 2020

Adler and Allan recently hosted a ground-breaking biofuels discussion forum at the Fire Service College in Gloucestershire to highlight the issues arising from the potential introduction of bio-components to all elements of the fuel supply chain.

The forum covered both national and European legislative changes and the recent and projected amendments to fuel specifications whilst exploring the impact that these changes have on fuel management and housekeeping requirements.
As a result of environmental directives from the EU which will see the percentage of bio components in diesel increase to over 20% by 2020, the key focus was on how to manage the transition from conventional hydrocarbon based fuels to next generation biofuels with minimal business disruption.
Over three consecutive days from June 22-24 Mark Calvert, Managing Director of Adler and Allan chaired each day's forum. Robin Lloyd, Biofuels Technical Manager for Mabanaft UK who jointly hosted the event, covered changes in legislation, regulation and fuel specification that are currently taking place within the industry.

New Zealand could revive biodiesel as a heating fuel

Photo from: http://www.nelms.org.uk/?p=8

The Renewable Heat Incentive (proposed April 2011) will be a major focus at EBEC 2010. Under the proposed RHI a new market for Biodiesel will be created as it will can be blended with heating oil to provide a real growth opportunity for the Biodiesel sector estimated at 900 million litres. This will stimulate significant production volumes again in the UK and sustainable growth for the industry as many investors have left this market over the last two years.
Biodiesel could become a leading market in the UK for home heating fuel.
Delegates and visitors to EBEC 2010, 6th& 7th October, at Stoneleigh Park Warwickshire, can attend a dedicated workshop given by Clean Energy Consultancy and learn just how big the opportunities are for Biodiesel within the home heating oil sector. The workshop will highlight the financial and carbon benefits of liquid biofuel heating compared with heating oil, LPG and heat pumps. Case studies will be shown to highlight this monumental chapter that will cause a phenomenal and integral change to the Biodiesel sector. The workshop will also look at the blending requirements, sustainability criteria, taxation, incentives and other issues ahead of implementation.
Heating oil (kerosene) is the main fuel used in the domestic oil heating market and has similar properties to liquid biofuels such as biodiesel. Importantly, this means the heating appliances that are currently installed in houses up and down the country will be compatible with the alternative biofuel, potentially eliminating prohibitive capital costs to convert existing central heating boilers to biofuels.

This is regarding the use of biodiesel for heating oil in the UK, a part of the world very dedicated to the use of biodiesel, I believe the UK has a B5 mandate, proving the blend works fine in cold weather.

EU investigates: does the US ship biodiesel “under the radar” to avoid taxes?

Photo from: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/politics/stories/biodiesel-lobby-eu-understates-emissions-from-oil

BRUSSELS—The European Commission said Thursday it would investigate whether U.S. biodiesel is being shipped through third countries to avoid tariffs placed on direct shipments from the U.S. to the European Union last year.

The commission, the EU's executive arm, also said it would examine whether U.S. producers are shipping their product in blends that contain less than 20% pure biodiesel to avoid the tariffs, which only apply to blends containing more than 20% biodiesel.

The investigation was requested by the European Biodiesel Board, the EU industry's main lobby group, in its long-running effort to fight a subsidy that the U.S. government gives to its producers. The EU industry says the subsidy—a $1-a-gallon tax credit for blending petroleum-based diesel with biodiesel—has caused the U.S. industry to flood the European market with exports, depressing prices and threatening the viability of European producers.

The commission investigation will focus on shipments of biodiesel from the U.S. that appear to be moving through Canada or Singapore and then on to the EU, according to an announcement in the EU's Official Journal.

Since the duties came into force last year, U.S. shipments to the EU have plummeted, while U.S. biodiesel exports to Canada and Singapore have soared, as have Canadian and Singaporean exports to the EU. "There is insufficient due cause or justification other than the imposition of the duty for such a change," the announcement says.

By-product of biodiesel production could be used to clean up Gulf oil spill

Photo from: http://biodieselprocessor.org/Biodiesel_Grants.htm

Effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will last for years to come but biodiesel producers are beginning an effort to encourage use of methyl esters, the chemical yielded in production of biodiesel that can be turned into a bio-based solvent considered a shoreline washing agent, to clean up the oiled shorelines. Randall Von Wedel - Principal Biochemist of CytoCulture International - a company that started the method of using methyl esters in the 1990s - says the chemical dispersants used in the Gulf have been criticized because they just dissolve the oil back into the water. Von Wedel says a bio-based solvent actually removes the oil from impacted vegetation and shoreline and floats it into the water for easy recovery.
National Biodiesel Board Technical Director Steve Howell says the product is also green because it can be recycled. Howell says biodiesel is America’s first commercially available, advanced biofuel and one of its main benefits is displacing crude oil - which it can also clean up.
To remove the oil with methyl esters - the solvent would be sprayed from shallow draft boats onto the oil-covered vegetation or small beaches normally unreachable by land. Once it’s applied - a mist of seawater rinses the dissolved oil mixture off plants and shores for recovery. Von Wedel recently traveled to the Gulf and submitted documentation on his product - CytoSol Biosolvent - which he says has been submitted in a proposal by a BP contractor and the U.S. Coast Guard to enhance a mechanical beach cleaning technology. Howell says it’s just another example of what biodiesel producers can contribute to society.

I wonder what is done with this by-product chemical right now? Can someone let us know? I am always amazed at how practical it is to make biodiesel, even the by-products are valuable.

Wood chips to jet fuel, Gevo is converting plant waste to butanol

Inside Gevo Plant

Gevo, a startup research company in Colorado, has demonstrated the making of jet fuel from plant wastes. The company devised to manufacture yeast that facilitates conversion of cellulose found in plant stalks and wood chips to butanol, a basic element of gasoline, and helps in transforming butanol into jet fuel.

It employed a separate fermentation pathway into yeast to make it work with the stalks and wood chips for the production of butanol. Although it is easier to convert sugar available in sugar cane and starch of corn into butanol, Gevo chose to employ stalks and wood chips due to the abundant availability of raw material.

Butanol contains more energy than biofuels such as ethanol and burns more efficiently to offer more mileage per gallon. Unlike biofuel, butanol does not suffer quantity ratio limitations for blending with gasoline. The molecular arrangement of the product allows it to easily fuse with other petroleum fuels and butanol does not absorb water like ethanol and can be easily transported through pipelines.

To increase the product process competence, the company has introduced an exclusive separation technology and produced another product known as isobutanol. To produce isobutanol in larger quantities the company has introduced expertise to extract the fuel through zymosis suspensions before they become toxic to the generated organisms. But this know-how of Gevo is yet to be proved for commercial usage. It has to be seen whether the product can bring down the production cost of isobutanol with that of ethanol or gasoline.

Butanol is yet another liquid biofuel, and at some point, the science involved will cross over into the manufacture of biodiesel. This is a process that starts with plant waste materials, not food plants.

Hawaii’s oldest sugar plantation working to fuel US Navy jets and ships

Photo from: http://teamstersonline.com/forums/community-lounge/15907-navy-ship-carries-memory-9-11-new-york.html

HONOLULU (AP) — The US federal government has turned to a 130-year-old Hawaii sugar grower for help in powering the Navy and weaning the nation off a heavy reliance on fossil fuels.

It will spend at least $10 million over the next five years to fund research and development at Maui cane fields for crops capable of fueling Navy fighter jets and ships. The project also may provide farmers in other warm climates with a model for harvesting their biofuel crops.

Hawaii has become a key federal laboratory for biofuels because of its dependence on imported oil as well as its great weather for growing crops. Factor in the heavy military presence at places such as Pearl Harbor, and the islands become an ideal site for the government to test biofuel ideas on a commercial scale

Iowa Central Community College first BQ-9000 accredited biodiesel testing lab

Testing a batch of biodiesel blends

The biofuel lab of the college was started by Don Heck, who is currently the director started it, as an instruction lab in the year 2006 and was functioning from the greenhouse of the college. It received patronage from the local biofuel companies who wanted it to have all the state-of-the-art lab features. He added that the features of the biofuel program and the equipments deployed at the lab attracted the attention of Steve Howell of National Biodiesel Board. To meet the rigid standards of accreditation the lab employed technicians who are qualified to work in the lab. He concluded saying that it took four years and an investment of $2 million to achieve the biofuels: BQ-9000 accreditation.

As mentioned by Heck, each biofuel product tested in the lab undergoes 10 to 15 types of tests such as metal content, cold flow properties, distillation properties and biodiesel pollutants that are precipitated during the production process. A generated test report is given on completion of tests irrespective of the fuel qualifying in the tests. Heck considers the BQ-9000 accreditation as a perfect launching pad for the lab to work and move towards achieving ISO accreditation.

The fact that this is the first lab in the US to earn this level of accreditation serves to demonstrate the newness of biodiesel in this country. The science of making and testing biodiesel should be one of the hottest learning goals in the nation, this is the future of diesel.

Still making biodiesel at home? You’re not the only one

Ollie Kroner’s car doesn’t look all that different. True, a mid-1980s Mercedes sedan in decent shape will turn a few heads but it’s not the kind of vehicle meant to draw attention. There is the emblem, though: a few letters added as a prefix to the engine designation on the trunk, turning “turbodiesel” into “bioturbodiesel.”

It spurs some curiosity, but doubtless goes unnoticed by most.

The smell is a little more unique. The car fires up like any diesel, with the “chug-chug” rumble reminiscent of a semi-truck. But there’s no belch of black smoke and no leaden, oily fumes. In their place is an acrid smell, not unpleasant, but certainly not the typical diesel aroma.

Kroner’s car runs on biodiesel, a fuel made from leftover cooking oil. It’s a throwback to diesel’s roots — Rudolph Diesel touted his invention as an engine that could run on vegetable oil — and is an increasingly popular alternative to petroleum diesel, with all of its political and environmental baggage.

Alternative fuels like biodiesel are becoming Big Business. The EPA has mandated the domestic use of 800 million gallons of biodiesel in the U.S. market in 2011.

The biodiesel production capability of domestic producers has grown from a half-million gallons in 1999 to more than 700 million gallons, and the National Biodiesel Board estimated that American facilities have the capacity to produce more than 2 billion gallons of the stuff, if they were working full-out.

But that, unfortunately, is a big “if.”

Here is yet another fellow who should join Biodiesel Now’s forum and sign in please, looks as though he has a good time with biodiesel and would recommend it to anyone.

Solazyme raises $52M in venture capital to develop algae-based fuel

Algae that can be tapped to make fuel for your tank. (Credit: Solazyme)

Even as investor interest in biofuels has cooled substantially from a few years ago, Solazyme has emerged as one of the few contenders for bringing algae-based fuel to market.

The company on Monday announced that it has raised $52 million in a series D round, which brings investment bank Morgan Stanley into its list of investors. In addition to venture-capital companies, the venture arms of Chevron and Japanese food ingredient manufacturer San-Ei Gen also participated.

Solazyme stands out from the dozens of companies seeking to make fuels and food products from algae in its technical approach and, to some degree, its progress as a business.

Many companies are testing methods for growing algae in outdoor ponds or plastic bags, which is then harvested, dewatered, and turned into a diesel fuel equivalent or other chemical products. Solazyme breeds strains of algae and then produces the desired chemicals through fermentation. Rather than grow algae by feeding it sunlight and carbon dioxide, the company taps into algae's ability to convert sugars into oils.

Last month, it delivered 1,500 gallons of jet fuel made from algae to the U.S. Navy for testing and certification. Solazyme is also making chemicals for food ingredients and health products where its oil can be used as a substitute.

In early tests, the company has used sugar cane as a source of sugar but expects it can use other feedstocks in the future, company executives have said.

Even with the funding and contracts with the U.S. military, Solazyme still faces the challenge of commercializing its technology by bringing down the cost of its oils, particularly for fuels.

From what I understand, the oil they get from algae is very similar to crude oil, and it can be made into biodiesel or bio-gasoline just like crude oil. I look for good things from this company.

More on rancid butter for biodiesel, recycling at its finest

Butter is not the fuel of the future, but it is possible to churn perfectly good diesel fuel out of it.

“It was something we wanted to show could be done,” said Michael J. Haas, a research biochemist at the United States Department of Agriculture.

“It’s quirky,” he acknowledged of the dairy-to-diesel research, which was published in June in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

The impetus was an 800-pound sculpture of Benjamin Franklin and the Liberty Bell. Each year the Pennsylvania Farm Show, held in Harrisburg, commissions a masterpiece made out of butter. In 2007, the organizers solicited suggestions for what to do with the work after the farm show ended.

Dr. Haas submitted the idea of making biodiesel fuel out of it, and that is what was done. “It had never been reported in the scientific literature,” he said.

This article gives us the science behind converting rancid—not edible—butter into biodiesel. I see this as another type of recycling, just like WVO made into biodiesel, waste butter is feedstock too.

John Kerry for biodiesel, more on reinstating the tax credit

The renewal of the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit seems to have been left in the doldrums as the U.S. Senate went to August recess without agreement on the number of amendments to the Small Business Bill, which contained a renewal of the incentive.

But Biodiesel Magazine reports that a whole new bill, “The Clean Energy Technology Leadership Act of 2010,” introduced by Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, could provide a new path for restoration of the biodiesel tax incentive:

Kerry’s bill will extend the excise tax credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel retroactively for 2010 and through 2012, according to a statement by Kerry’s office on the content of the bill. “While we continue to fight to bring comprehensive energy legislation to the floor of the United States Senate, it’s essential that we take action to start moving in the right direction,” said Kerry. “Providing incentives for clean energy production will drive our economy forward and take us one step closer to reducing our carbon emissions and ending our dependence on foreign oil.”

Also included in the bill are provisions to include algae-based fuels in the cellulosic biofuel tax credit, provide $3.5 billion more in clean renewable energy bonds, and a number of other energy efficiency-based incentives.

I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but we have heard this story before. Lets see if Senate leadership will allow this to go through.

I can’t imagine how business people are able to work around this lapse in the tax credit, and seeing how the industry has slumped in the US, it appears many companies were NOT able to work around this problem.

Mozambique will receive a $19M investment in making biodiesel from jatropha

A worker shows the seeds of Jatropha

MAPUTO — Mozambique's state fuel company has partnered with the private sector to invest 19 million dollars (14 million euros) in biofuel production, state media reported on Monday.

National supplier Petromoc, Portuguese fuel company Galp and biodiesel producer Ecomoz will produce biodiesel in the northern Manica province from jatropha curcas plantations, Noticias newspaper reported.

A minimum of 10,000 hectares will be cultivated at first, with possible expansion to 50,000 hectares later, the paper reported.

Jatropha is drought-resistant, grows quickly and its non-edible seeds are crushed for oil.

Recent fuel price hikes and the declining value of the Mozambican currency have forced the government to look for fuel alternatives, which also include natural gas.

The southern African country was paralysed in 2008 by fuel price riots that saw police open fire on protesters, killing three.

Fuel suppliers went on strike in 2009 when the government announced it would not pay subsidies anymore. Fuel subsidies have been reduced gradually over the past few months.

Biodiesel tax credit supported by Missouri congressman(R)

Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt, fresh off a primary win to be the Republican candidate for Senator, stopped at the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) in Jefferson City, Missouri on Friday to voice his support for reinstating the biodiesel tax credit which expired at the end of 2009.

“I’m very concerned that we continue to see good, job-producing tax credits in the energy industry generally held hostage to cap and trade,” Blunt said during a press conference at NBB headquarters. “We need more American energy of all kinds. We need to develop more, find more, use less – conservation is an important part of this – and invest in the future.” He said continuation of the $1 per gallon biodiesel blenders tax credit, which was only in effect for five years, is essential for to keep growing the industry. “So we need to not just have an extension of these credits, but an extension for as long as we can possibly argue that these credits would be needed to create more American energy,” he said. Blunt is running against Democrat Robin Carnahan for the seat being vacated by the retiring Senator Kit Bond (R-MO).

New Zealand, Marlborough businesses agree to use biodiesel

Image from: http://www.biodiesel-nz.co.nz/growing-canola/

Fourteen Marlborough companies have joined forces to buy 2.5 million litres of biodiesel.

Marlborough Biodiesel User Group's co-ordinator, Kevin Parker of Blenheim, said that by October, the wine, aquaculture and transport industry operators who had signed up should be filling vehicles with biodiesel. Modern harvesters, tractors, fishing vehicles and haulage trucks and other vehicles should run on the fuel with no conversion required.

The 2.5 million litres would meet the bulk of members' diesel requirements, Mr Parker said.

All group members had their own fuelling stations, which was a requirement at this stage, and most had their own storage tanks, he said. A complication was that some of these tanks were owned by existing fuel suppliers.

The group invited eight biodiesel producers to tender to supply and the successful company should be selected within five weeks, he said.

This first tender was for a 20 per cent B20 biodiesel blend that, when the project was launched, was the only product eligible for an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority producers' subsidy of 42.5 cents a litre. In July, the Government extended the grant to pure B100 diesel.

"I expect we'll have B100 up and running within six months," Mr Parker said.

Modern engines could use this pure biodiesel but many older engines had not been tested with the product, he said.

Growing and making biodiesel by the side of the road

This portable system processes biodiesel fuels. Researchers at N.C. State University are working to grow canola and sunflower crops along the wasted edges of highways and other marginal areas. The crops will be converted to biodiesel fuel. PHOTOS BY SHAWN ROCCO - srocco@newsobserver.com

• 

  Matt Veal, assistant professor at N.C. State, has focused on sowing sunflowers and canola plants to produce biofuel.

  As alternative energy continues to gain momentum, renewable sources such as nuclear, solar and wind power are the usual options for replacing fossil fuels.

  In North Carolina, however, another solution is sprouting on the side of the road.

  In conjunction with a national program known as "FreeWays to Fuel" ( freewaystofuel.org), researchers at N.C. State University are working to grow canola and sunflower crops along the wasted edges of highways and other marginal areas.

  The national program, which began in Utah and has spread across the United States, originally used municipal zones to plant crops for biofuels. Utah's first harvests are now being used to power Department of Transportation vehicles in Salt Lake County.

This is a great idea that should catch on all over the country, if you are going to have weeds growing by the side of the road, they might as well be good plants you can use for biodiesel.

Darling International wants to turn food waste into biodiesel

Rendered: Darling International on Amador Street in the Backlands area of The City currently turns food waste into tallow that’s used to make soap and cosmetics. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner)

Waste cooking oil and chunks of farmed animals that are currently used to manufacture cosmetics and animal food might instead be converted locally into biodiesel.

A fleet of trucks delivers some of the food industry’s grossest byproducts six days a week to a rendering facility that operates, sometimes 24 hours a day, in the Backlands area.

The Backlands is a 23-acre industrial park operated by the Port of San Francisco along The City’s southeastern shoreline, where cargo ships, trains and trucks frequently arrive and depart.

Drivers working for the Darling International-owned rendering facility collect roughly 2.5 million pounds of fat, bone and other animal parts every week from butchers, grocers and slaughterers.

In addition, approximately 160,000 gallons of used cooking oil and grease are collected weekly from restaurants and other food preparers, city documents show.

We saw an article months ago regarding Darling, I don’t see why they can’t use these wastes for biodiesel feedstock, they see to have the land, but environmental groups are getting in their way. It always amazes me that something like biodiesel which helps keep the air cleaner is opposed by some environmentalists.

Iowa school lab earns biodiesel testing accreditations

Photo from: http://www.nextenergy.org/successes/case000003.aspx

FORT DODGE, Iowa, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Don Heck has heard a lot of talk about making Iowa the "renewable energy capital of the world," and he thinks he's found a way to help. 

The laboratory he directs at Iowa Central Community College, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, has become the first to earn accreditation as a BQ-9000 laboratory.  It means his lab has become the national leader in testing biodiesel and biodiesel blends to ensure they meet fuel quality standards. 

"Testing fuel may not sound glamorous, but it is fundamental to the future of the biodiesel and the renewable fuels industry in terms of reliability and consumer confidence," Heck said. 

The nonprofit Iowa Central Fuel Testing Laboratory offers cost-effective, rapid testing for biodiesel producers nationwide.  It also tests other fuels like ethanol and petroleum.  Organizers hope that its new biodiesel accreditation will help it earn the business of more customers, including the Iowa Department of Agriculture's Weights and Measures Bureau.  The bureau is charged with ensuring all types of fuel are high quality before they reach consumers' tanks.   

BQ-9000 is a voluntary quality assurance program overseen by the independent National Biodiesel Accreditation Commission.  It is already viewed as the industry's gold standard for biodiesel producers and marketers.  The laboratory designation is new.

"Having the first BQ-9000 laboratory located in Iowa will drive business to our state, and further enhances Iowa's position as a national biodiesel leader," said Randy Olson, executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board, which helped make the lab a reality.     

Wisconsin’s BEST BioDiesel Cashton, LLC plant closes due to loss of biodiesel tax credit

CASHTON - The BEST BioDiesel Cashton, LLC plant closed Monday, one of many U.S. facilities that have shut down since a $1-per-gallon federal tax credit for biodiesel production expired at the end of 2009.

The plant had eight employees when it closed, Cashton Village President Bob Amundson said Thursday. He was one of the eight. The plant began production in December 2007, but Amundson said it hadn't made any biodiesel since the end of March.

"That definitely was the main issue," Amundson said of the loss of the federal tax credit.

BEST BioDiesel Cashton, a subsidiary of Madison-based BEST Energies Inc., filed for Chapter 128 receivership in late April in Monroe County Circuit Court. It had 20 full-time employees at the time, according to a court document.

A Monroe County judge approved Milwaukee attorney Michael Polsky as receiver.

"We're hoping that it gets sold and back on line," Amundson said of the plant. Some prospective purchasers have toured the Cashton facility, he said.

The plant used corn oil to make biodiesel, which was sold to be blended with petroleum diesel fuel. Such blends can be used in most diesel engines.

Renewing the federal biodiesel tax credit "would make marketing and selling (the Cashton facility) a lot easier," U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, said Thursday. The credit was part of a package of tax credit extensions the House of Representatives approved earlier this year. But the Senate hasn't been able to agree on a way to extend the tax credits.

"We've got a renewable fuel that we can grow in our own backyard and create jobs," Kind said of biodiesel.

The biodiesel industry is operating at only 15 percent of its potential capacity, according to the National Biodiesel Board, an association of commercial biodiesel producers. The end of the tax credit "definitely has been one of the most significant challenges in the last nine months," said Jessica Robinson, the board's director of communications.

The board's members operated 173 plants in June 2009 but that's now down to 132, Robinson said. And that includes some plants not producing fuel, she said.

Sorry to hear the bad news, hopefully new owners will buy this biodiesel plant and keep it going. I notice it is designed to use corn oil, but I bet it could also use soy bean oil as well.

China Integrated Energy to increase production of biodiesel

Photo from: http://www.chinaintegratedenergy.com/business-units/biodiesel-production-sales

China Integrated Energy plans to expand its current biodiesel production capacity from 100,000 tonnes to 200,000 tonnes.
The company will bring a new 50,000-tonne biodiesel production facility in Tongchuan City online by the end of Q3 and completing an acquisition for 50,000 tonnes of biodiesel production capacity, which is anticipated to close before September end.
The company anticipates spending approximately $31.5 million (€23.75 million) in capital expenditures to accomplish this goal. China Integrated Energy has secured adequate raw materials to accommodate this new capacity, including new feedstocks, and will continue to work towards securing more long-term sources of raw materials.
The company has experienced sales volume of biodiesel for Q2 2010 totalling 22,500 tonnes, an increase of 29.3% compared to the same period of 2009 and a sequential increase of 22.5% from Q1 2010.
The average selling price of biodiesel increased approximately 21.3% from the same period in 2009, which was in line with the price of diesel.
‘The company's biodiesel sales increased 56.8% for the second quarter of 2010, compared to the second quarter of 2009, driven by growth in both volume and pricing,’ states Gao Xincheng, CEO of China Integrated Energy.
During the second quarter of 2010 production and production and sale of biodiesel was approximately 30.1%, and operation of retail gas stations was approximately 12.9%, versus 11.5%, 29.4%, and 10.4%, respectively, compared to the same period of 2009.

UN extols the virtues of jatropha as a rural biodiesel crop

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has recently released a new report that champions jatropha as a promising biodiesel crop especially for global rural farmers. The report, “Jatropha: A Smallholder Bioenergy Crop, the Potential for Pro-Poor Development,” set out to examine the potential for jatropha as a sustainable biodiesel crop and has been in development since 2008.

The authors write, “As developing countries face increasing local demand for energy in rural areas, they also must deal with both economic and environmental pressure on agricultural lands in general. The possibility of growing energy crops such as Jatropha curcas L. has the potential to enable some smallholder farmers, producers and processors to cope with these pressures.”

The report says jatropha is a promising crop in part because it can grow on marginal lands, in drought conditions and animals do not graze on the crop. It also holds the promise of high oil output. The report also notes some of the feedstock’s drawbacks which include the fact that no consistently high yielding varieties have been developed and because the plant is toxic to both humans and animals, it can not be used for livestock feed, a major added value to most biofuel feedstock production.

Jatropha  originated in Central America and is making headway in Africa and parts of Asia for biodiesel development. Experts predict that by 2015, Indonesia will be the largest jatropha producer in Asia, Ghana & Madagascar in Africa and Brazil in Latin America.

While the report ultimately favors the crop, it does caution that depending on how programs are developed, there could be significant environmental damage that would outweigh the positive environmental attributes of biodiesel.

The report does not study the possible future of jatropha in the U.S., although at this time there are a few studies underway. In addition, it is not recognized as a biodiesel feedstock under current Renewable Fuels Legislation (RFS2).

Italian investor growing jatropha for biodiesel ignites Kenyan protest

Energy company Nuove Iniziative Industriali Srl owner Luciano Orlandi walks through the jatropha plantation he is developing in the Malindi District of Kenya's Coast Province. Source: Nuove Iniziative Industriali Srl via Bloomberg

Kenyan conservation groups are opposing the biofuels project of an Italian businessman, saying the proposal to produce energy from jatropha may cause environmental damage.

Kenya’s National Environmental Management Authority has scaled back a plan by Luciano Orlandi, the owner of renewable energy company Nuove Iniziative Industriali Srl, to develop a 50,000 hectare plantation of jatropha, a non-edible plant that would be used to produce 150,000 tons of biodiesel for clients led by Swedish retailer IKEA. The Kenyan agency said July 9 the project “may not enhance sustainable development.”

Orlandi is investing in vegetable oils as the European Union seeks to raise the overall share of energy from renewable sources to an average 20 percent by 2020 from 10.3 percent in 2008. Biofuels may help the bloc reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, which are blamed for global warming. Orlandi’s firm has almost 1 million hectares of land to cultivate jatropha across four African countries to produce as much as 2 million tons of biodiesel.

Washington policy-makers tour Iowa biodiesel and ethanol plants

photo from: http://www.automedia.com/Biodiesel_Benefits/dsm20080201bd/3

JOHNSTON, Iowa - Policymakers and regulators from Washington plan to gather later this month in Iowa to get a hands-on look at biofuels. This will be the second year in a row a group of Iowa-based renewable fuel and economic development organizations have held this formal meeting with the people who make decisions about their industry.
Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, says the 2nd-annual Biofuels: Science and Sustainability Tour is intended to give decision-makers from the nation's capitol an inside look at the technology.
"We want to let them see firsthand an ethanol plant, a biodiesel plant, a farm, as well as research going on at Iowa State University."

These tours are a great idea, to show politicians what biofuel looks like, what it smells like, and to see all the people employed making biodiesel and ethanol.

Minnesota’s Farmfest becomes a political biofuels slugfest

Minnesota gubernatorial candidates, from left, Mark Dayton, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Tom Horner, Tom Emmber, Matt Entenza, and Rob Hahn attended Farmfest at Gilfillan Estates near Redwood Falls, Minn. on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010, for a political forum. (AP Photo/Independent of Marshall, Deb Gau)

REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. — The sharp differences on ethanol and biofuels between Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer and the three Democrats vying to challenge him in the fall became clear Wednesday during a farm-focused debate.

At the annual Farmfest agricultural fair in Redwood Falls, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher challenged Emmer for voting against legislation requiring a higher mix of corn-based ethanol in Minnesota gasoline and a similar requirement for biodiesel fuel. Ethanol is popular in Minnesota, one of the top five ethanol-producing states.

Emmer responded that he voted for the mandates, but then corrected himself to say he voted against the biodiesel requirement. Legislative records show he also voted both for and against the ethanol mandate in 2005.

Emmer told the audience of more than 800 that he opposes mandates in general but supports creating new markets for ethanol and biofuels.

"It's investment and jobs," Emmer told the audience. "People have made significant investment in these opportunities and the next governor needs to support that and make sure that they can continue to survive and thrive and create jobs in this state, all right? So I want to clear that up."

Fremont, CA to get first biodiesel and ethanol filling station

Photo from: http://www.propelfuels.com/content/

FREMONT -- In a city with no shortage of places to fill up with regular unleaded, one gas station is now offering something different.

Starting today, the Chevron at the corner of Paseo Padre Parkway and Stevenson Boulevard is leasing four pumps to a company that provides cleaner burning alternative fuels.

Propel Fuels is opening its first Fremont pumps with a biodiesel blend for vehicles with diesel engines and E85 -- a predominately corn ethanol blend formulated for cars with flex-fuel engines.

City officials are unaware of any other Fremont gas stations selling alternative fuels.

"It's kind of cool that it will be available," said Ken Pianin, the city's solid waste administrator.

Propel is selling the biodiesel for $3.19 per gallon, which is about the same as the current cost of regular diesel fuel. The biodiesel will consist mostly of standard diesel fuel, with 5 percent derived from renewable resources such as soybeans and mustard seed.

The E85 fuel will cost $2.49, although it offers less fuel efficiency than regular gasoline. American carmakers have included incorporated flex-fuel into several of the recent models, including the Ford Fusion, the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Chevy Malibu.

The nearest gas stations offering the flex-fuel are in Hayward and San Jose.