Archive for the ‘Biofuel News’ Category
The Biofuels Digest website highlights a report which analyzes the prospects and opportunities of the biofuels market in Southeast (SE) Asia. The “Southeast Asian Bioethanol Market” report mentions that the “production push” for the next-generation biofuels is expected to generate revenues of about US$1.6 billion in the region. The drivers for this…
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A report by a think-tank organization (Policy Exchange) says that widespread use of “sustainable jet biofuels” would result in greenhouse-gas-emission reductions worth about 37.4 million British pounds between 2020 and 2050 in the United Kingdom (UK). A bio-jet fuel can be interpreted as “sustainable” if it is produced from non-food feedstocks, doe…
The production of liquid fuels from biomass basically involves a two step process of (1) biomass gasification, which is the thermal treatment of the biomass to convert it into “synthesis gas” (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen), followed by (2) catalytic chemical conversion of the synthesis gas, into a liquid hydrocarbon mixture (”synthetic…
Grasses have often been reported as one of the “next-generation” biofuel feedstocks (for cellulose ethanol production), because they possess many characteristics of an ideal biofuel crop (i.e., low agricultural inputs, good carbon balance (carbon neutral to carbon negative), good energy balance, non-food based, etc). In the United States, switchgra…
The seed oils from the camelina plant (related information below) have been identified as a potential “second generation” biodiesel feedstock because of its non-food nature and requires low agricultural inputs for cultivation. The United States Navy is reported to include camelina in its certification testing program for alternative fuels. The Defe…
The Biofuels International website reports that Brazil (a major producer of cane-ethanol) is expecting a record sugarcane harvest of 629 million tons this year, up 10% from its 2008 figures. If its current productivity index of 81 tonnes per hectare is maintained, 45% of the harvest will be used for sugar production, while the remaining 55% will be…
The Biofuel Review website reports that the European Union (EU) is investing about 5.9M Euros to fund a research project for the development of liquid fuels from agricultural and forestry waste. The NEMO (”Novel high performance enzymes and micro-organisms for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to bioethanol”) project will be a collaborative Eur…
Hypocrea jecorina (Trichoderma reesei) is a filamentous fungi, known to produce high amounts of the enzyme cellulase. Cellulase is an enzyme used for the breakdown of cellulose molecules in lignocellulosic biomass into simple sugars for biofuel ethanol fermentation. Although Trichoderma has long been identified as a high cellulase producer, not muc…
- Israel and Syria both express interest in new nuclear reactors March 9, 2010
- Environment groups sue EUover biofuel documents - Summary March 9, 2010
- German cabinet approves cuts in solar power tariffs March 3, 2010
- Billion-dollar Chinese hydropower projects get go-ahead in Cambodia March 3, 2010
- European leaders discuss energy cooperation at Hungarian summit February 24, 2010
- German politicians settle cuts in solar-power tariffs February 23, 2010
- Saudi Arabia announces discovery of new natural gas field February 23, 2010
- Brunei's first methanol plant to open by April February 23, 2010
- British firm starts oil drilling in Falkland Islands waters February 22, 2010
- Iran to start building two new enrichment sites from March February 22, 2010