The update from B-20 to B-30 was originally slated for Jan., 2020 with the aim of raising the blend rate to B-50 at the earliest possible date.
Indonesia is the world's largest palm oil producer.
(Source: Pertamina, Jakarta Globe, 23 Dec., 2019)
Contact: Pertamina, Fajriyah Usman, VP Communications, 1-500-000, pcc@pertamina.com, www.pertamina.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Pertamina, Palm Oil, Palm Oil Biofuel, B-20, B-30,
"IFB also urges USDA to move quickly on an infrastructure package to accommodate higher blend levels."
The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) represents 75 pct of the state's farmers with membership of more than 386,291 and a voting membership of 79,159. Illinois is the nation's third-largest producer of ethanol with roughly 75 pct of it corn production being converted into ethanol.
(Source: Illinois Farm Bureau, 21 Dec., 2019) Contact: Illinois Farm Bureau , t Richard Guebert, Jr, Pres. www.ilfb.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News RFS, Biofuel, Ethanol Blend, USDA, US DOE, Renewable Volume Obligation ,
The new lubricant, which can be used in all industrial, automotive and DIY applications, will be launched in the Nordic countries, Germany, the US, Mexico and Brazil nest Spring.
((Source: Neste, Biofuel News, 23 Dec., 20919) Contact: AT-Tuote Oy, +358 9 2745500, info @attuote.fi, www.attoute.fi; Neste, +358 10 458 4128, www.neste.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Neste, Renewable Fuel,
The Euglens's Yokohama facility has a production capacity of 125 kiloliters per year (33,000 gpy) of jet biofuel and ASTM certified biodiesel, increasing to 250,000 kiloliters (66,000 gpy) by 2025.
Euglena has partnered with aviation group ANA Holdings with the aim of fueling ANA commercial international flights as well as to offer bio jet fuel to other air carriers departing Japanese airports. ANA will support euglena to develop the airport infrastructure to supply aircraft. (Source: Euglena, Nikkei, 3 Nov., 2018) Contact: Euglena, Mitsuru Izumo, CEO, www.euglena.jp/en
More Low-Carbon Energy News Euglena.Microalgae, Al;gae Biodiesel, Jet Biofuel,
As outlined, RVOs will account for a portion of the 4 billion gallons of demand for biofuels eliminated over the past three years due to the rampant misappropriation of small refinery "financial hardship" sexemptions (SREs). Rather than determine relief using an actual three-year average of exempted gallons, the agency has instead used much lower values recommended by the DOE The former would have increased the amount of biofuels in the transportation sector by approximately 1.35 billion gpy, while the latter will increase it by just 770 million gpy.
National Farmers Union (NFU), a strong proponent of biofuels and the RFS, reports it was disappointed with EPA's proposal when it was first released and urged the agency to account for all 4 billion gallons worth of demand in the final rule. In a statement, NFU Vice President of Public Policy and Communications Rob Larew restated the organization's mounting frustration with the administration's destructive approach to biofuels policy.
The NFU NFU represents more then 200,000 family farmers, fishers and ranchers across the country, with formally organized divisions in 33 states.
(Source: National Farmers Union, Aberdeen News, 20 Dec., 2019) Contact: National Farmers Union, Roger Johnson, Pres., (202) 554-1600, www.nfu.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News RFS, EPA, National Farmers Union,
The new contract provides a trading and hedging instrument for commercial firms in the transportation fuels space participating in California's LCFS program. It is complemented by an LCFS options contract, also listing on January 24.
The new LCFS futures and options contracts allow firms to hedge their forward production and meet compliance obligations utilizing physical delivery of credits via the LCFS Reporting Tool and Credit Bank & Transfer System (LRT-CBTS) at expiration of the futures contract.
California's LCFS program aims to increase the use of biofuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. By offering credits for cleaner fuels, the state is diversifying the fuel pool and reducing petroleum dependency through a market-based mechanism. (Source: Nodal Exchange, PR, Yahoo Finance, 19 Dec., 2019)
Contact: Nodal Exchange, Paul Cusenza, Chairman and CEO, Nicole Ricard, Public Relations, (703) 962-9816, ricard@nodalexchange.com , www.nodalexchange.com; IncubEx ,
(312) 464-9801 (Chicago) , www.theincubex.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Low Carbon Fuel, Alternative Fuel, Biofuel,
Under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) oil refiners are required to blend some 15 billion gpy of corn-based ethanol into their gasoline, but small facilities can be exempted if compliance would hurt them financially.
The October proposal was intended to placate corn growers and compensate the biofuel industry for the administration's expanded use of refinery exemptions, but which the industry has largely panned as insufficient, according to Reuters. The EPA's October plan would raise the biofuels volumes that some refineries must blend in 2020 based on DOE recommendations for volumes that should be exempted.
As previously noted, "hardship waivers" were intended for refineries producing 75,000 bpd or less and suffered "disproportionate economic hardship" from the costs of RFS compliance. The waiver frees the refineries from an obligation to provide the EPA with biofuels credits proving compliance. (Source: Reuters, Various Media, 19 Dec., 2019)
For details see our Oct. 21 report as follows -- Proposed Volumes for 2020 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2021. The Trump administration EPA has issued the attached supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking seeking additional comment on the recently proposed rule to establish the cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel volumes for 2020 and the biomass-based diesel volume for 2021 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.
The notice does not change the proposed volumes for 2020 and 2021. Instead, it proposes and seeks comment on adjustments to the way that annual renewable fuel percentages are calculated. Annual renewable fuel percentage standards are used to calculate the number of gallons each obligated party is required to blend into their fuel or to otherwise obtain renewable identification numbers (RINs) to demonstrate compliance.
Specifically, the agency is seeking comment on projecting the volume of gasoline and diesel that will be exempt in 2020 due to small refinery exemptions based on a three-year average of the relief recommended by the BOE, including where DOE had recommended partial exemptions. The agency intends to grant partial exemptions in appropriate circumstances when adjudicating 2020 exemption petitions. The agency proposes to use this value to adjust the way it calculates renewable fuel percentages. The proposed adjustments would help ensure that the industry blends the final volumes of renewable fuel into the nation's fuel supply and that, in practice, the required volumes are not effectively reduced by future hardship exemptions for small refineries. Consistent with the statute, the supplemental notice seeks to balance the goal of the RFS of maximizing the use of renewables while following the law and sound process to provide relief to small refineries that demonstrate the need.
Download the Renewable Fuel Standard Program -- Proposed Volumes for 2020 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2021 HERE. Contact: EPA Renewable Fuel Standard, 800-385-6164, www.epa.gov/fuels-registration-reporting-and-compliance-help/forms/fuels-program-helpdesk
More Low-Carbon Energy News RFS, "Hardship" Waiver, Ethanol.Ethanol Blend, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Red Trail Energy,
A collaboration between the UK and Brazil has shown that waste sugar cane and wheat straw from agricultural processes can be made directly into valuable chemicals with an increase in value of 5000-fold.
The new breakthrough demonstrates that biofuels and high-value chemicals, such as chemicals used by the food industry and precursors for human therapeutic drugs, can be produced directly from waste biomass in a single 'one-pot' process. This added value offers the potential to make the economics of biofuel production from plant-based sources more viable. The new process has the potential to add value to the process of making biofuels from plants, particularly from sugarcane and wheat straw which are abundantly found in Brazil and the UK respectively.
The work is part of a UK-Brazil five-year program grant being funded by the Biotech & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and FAPESP in Brazil. The UK has awarded more than £2 million to the University of Manchester, The University of Warwick and UCL for the project. (Source: University of Manchester, PR, Dec., 2019)
Contact: Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Dr. Neil Dixon, www.mib.ac.uk; University of Manchester, www.manchester.ac.uk; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, www.bbsrc.ukri.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Biomass, Biofuel,
Sao Martinho SA is one of the country's largest sugar and ethanol producers. In June this year, the company announced plans to construct a 200 million litre -- 140,000 tpy of distillers dried grains (DDGs) corn ethanol plant at a cost of roughly $90 million in the municipality of Quirinopolis, an important grain producing region in Goias State.
Sao Martinho is the latest in a growing number of companies starting to produce ethanol from corn in Brazil, a country where the fuel has always been made from sugarcane.
(Source: Sao Martinho Website, FO Licht, 17 Dec., 2019)
Contact: Sao Martinho, +55 11 2105 4100, ri@saomartinho.com.br,
www.saomartinho.com.br
More Low-Carbon Energy News Sao Martinho, Ethanol, Corn Ethanol, Brazil Ethanol, Biofuel,
Palm oil palm is part of the company's sustainability plan to largely use use jet biofuels to reduce carbon emission, according to the company release. To that end, the company has reportedly
signed forward purchase agreements for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) totaling roughly $6 billion.
(Source: AirAsia Group, PR, New Strait Times, 19 Dec., 2019) Contact: AirAsia,Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Founder & CEO, www.airasia.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News AirAsia Group, Palm Oil, Biofuel, Aviation Biofuel ,
The team used corn stover-derived molecules as the starting point for a range of potential fuel candidates. From here, the researchers relied on predictive models to determine which molecules would be best to blend with and improve traditional diesel. With the goal of developing drop-in biofuels that work with existing infrastructure. The intention is to blend the 4-butoxyheptane molecule into diesel fuel at a mixture of 20 - 30 pct Initial results suggest the potential to improve ignition quality, reduce sooting and improve fuel economy of the base diesel at these blend levels.
NREL is working with Yale University, Argonne National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory as part of the US DOE Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines (Co-Optima) initiative which is funded by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Bioenergy Technologies.
Performance-Advantaged Ether Diesel Bioblendstock Production by a Priori Design, the initiative's research paper was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Source: NREL,PR, Dec., 2019) Contact: NREL,
Derek Vardon, Senior Research Engineer, (303) 384-7763, Derek.Vardon@nrel.gov, www.nrel.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
The sustainable aviation fuel to be sold to Delta is expected to be produced upon completion of an expansion to Gevo's existing advanced biofuel production facility in Luverne, Minn. and is expected to be available for use by Delta between 2022-2023.
(Source: GEVO, Yahoo Finance, 17 Dec., 2019)Contact: GEVO, Patrick Gruber, CEO, 303-858-8358, pgruber@gevo.com, www.gevo.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News GEVO, Delta, Aviation Biofuel, Jet Biofuel,
C-Green's OxyPower HTC process uses an innovative application of hydrothermal carbonisation, which converts complex organic compounds into sterile odourless biofuel. The pilot plant processes 16,000 tpy of bio-waste into fuels which is used in the mill and for heat in the town of Heinola, which has around 20,000 inhabitants.
Stora Enso develops and produces solutions based on wood and biomass for a range of industries and applications worldwide, leading in the bioeconomy and supporting our customers in meeting demand for renewable eco-friendly products, according to the company website. (Source: Stora Enso, Biofuels 13 Dec., 2019) Contact: C-Green Technologies, Erik Oden, CEO , +46 8 93 50 40, www.c-green.se; Stora Enso, Jari Suominen, +43-664-6183907, jari.suominen@stroaenso.com, www.storaenso.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Stora Enso, C-Green, Biofuel,
This year, SUNY Cobleskill received $1.6 million in grant funding from the two government agencies to build and demonstrate a fully automated, portable rotary gasifier system that will produce 60 kilowatts of ppd from roughly 2 tpd of feedstock at a military base in the US.
Caribou Biofuels will work with SUNY Cobleskill, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Scaled Power and the Joint Bioenergy Institute to to develop the mobile biomass processing system. (Source: SUNY, Caribou Biofuels, Biofuels, 13 Dec., 2019) Contact: SUNY Cobleskill, Prof.David Waage, 518-255-5312, waagedj@cobleskill.edu, www.cobleskill.edu
More Low-Carbon Energy News Caribou Biofuels ,
Chrysalix Technologies BioFlex process uses waste wood and agricultural by-products as well as sustainably grown biomass to produce bioplastics, biofuels, biomaterials and greener chemicals.
The process separates the different naturally occurring chemical components of wood, which are lignin, cellulose, and hemicelluloses. Once isolated individually, these components can then be used for a variety of applications such as as bio-chemicals, precursors for plastics or as new materials themselves
, according to the company website.
(Source: Chrysalix Technologies, Imperial College London, PR, 12 Dec., 2019) Contact: Imperial College London, www.imperial.ac.uk; Chrysalix Technologies, Twitter: @ChrysalixTech, info@chrysalixtechnologies.com, www.chrysalixtechnologies.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Imperial College London, , Biorefining,
The company is also noted it is considering increasing its biofuels output by 50 pct as it eyes what will be a new market in the shipping sector.
SK Chemicals can produce 500,000 kilolitres per year of biodiesel and biofuel oil, primarily from palm fatty acid distillate. (Source: SK Chemicals, Nasdaq, Reuters, 12 Dec., 2019) Contact: SK Chemicals, 02-2008-2008, 02-2008-2009 - fax., www.skchemicals.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News SK Chemicals, Biodiesel, Maritime Biofuel, Marine Biofuel ,
1. The development of biobased products will vary widely by region on a worldwide basis, and national policy will continue to be a driver of emerging industries,
2. Conversion of waste streams to value added products is a trend that will continue,
3. The US will continue to be a leader in the use of biofuels, on a percentage basis,
4. The relatively recent communication of the environmental impact of spent plastic has caused a public awareness that now pushes the development of sustainable replacements,
5. The use and value of lignin will emerge this decade.
For additional detail, please request full text from ehorn@biorenewabledc.org at the Biorenewable Deployment Consortium.
Since 2006 , BDC has become a highly respected 501(c)(3) organization and has worked to bring together like-minded companies to share ideas and partner to deploy bio-processes that can be economic in the long run without government subsidy, by investigating new processes, being a resource, brokering partnerships, and holding two forums a year for its members, where leading edge information from various bio-companies is shared and tours are made of bio-facilities. BDC recognizes the need for low cost feedstock, cost effective measures such as integration of processes, high value products, and good management to achieve the economics needed for success. (Source: Biorenewable Deployment Consortium, PR, 9 Dec., 2019) Contact: Biorenewable Deployment Consortium , Eric Horn, Exec. Dir., ehorn@biorenewabledc.org, www.biorenewabledc.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Biorenewable Deployment Consortium ,
Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. is a Swiss-Italian international shipping line operating in all major ports of the world. It is the world's second-largest shipping line in terms of container vessel capacity.
(Source: Mediterranean Shipping Company , Seatrade, 9 Dec., 2019) Contact: Mediterranean Shipping Company, Bud Darr, exec. VP, Policy & Government Affairs , +41227038888, info@msc.com, www.msc.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Mediterranean Shipping Company, Biofuel, Marine Biofuel, Biofuel Blends,
An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released last year found that many scenarios capable of reducing the threat of climate change relied heavily on bioenergy, predicting that energy from biomass could make up 26 pct of primary energy in 2050 -- up from 10 pct in 2020 -- and predicting that solar and wind combined would likely only account for 22 pct. Those scenarios often relied on significant use of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), which involves growing trees across a large area of land to produce wood pellets burned for energy, then capturing and sequestering the carbon emissions. In its analysis, though, the IPCC found significant challenges associated with a high reliance on bioenergy, noting in particular that the vast areas of land required to produce biomass for energy would compete with food production and other human needs.
The Global Change Biology assessment examine a flurry of recent reports that suggest even more problems with large-scale bioenergy projects reliant on large tracts of land, and also show that more cost-effective alternatives will be available in the coming decades. Pulling from these recent studies, the authors establish three reasons why large-scale bioenergy must and can peak and decline in the next 30 years:
The assessment comes at a time when the bioenergy industry is ramping up worldwide, with the EU in the lead. Bioenergy currently accounts for 10 pct of the world's energy, and 50 pct of our renewable energy. In the EU, bioenergy accounts for two-thirds of all renewable energy (nearly half from wood). Two-thirds of the EU's "20 pct Renewable Energy by 2020" target depends on bioenergy. And the bloc is also about to greenlight the conversion of five large coal plants to bioenergy plants that burn imported wood pellets from overseas forests.
Land-intensive electrical power projects in particular are picking up steam as governments and industry leaders seek to transform disused coal factories into new profit centers. Between 2006 and 2015, the production of wood pellets for biomass energy use quadrupled to 26 million tons. Worldwide, demand for globally traded wood pellets destined for use in phased-out coal plants or new dedicated bioenergy plants is expected to rise 250 pct by 2027.
The study lays out a bioenergy trajectory that policymakers can use to encourage sustainable bioenergy while also opening the door for new technologies to replace land-intensive bioenergy in the very near future. These recommendations include improved accounting of the actual carbon emissions associated with the use of biomass, favoring biomass from waste, residues or land management practices that enhance carbon storage, and providing incentives for energy storage, direct air capture technologies, and low-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels. Above all, the authors argue that bioenergy projects should be avoided if they involve natural forests, such as converting natural forests to bioenergy plantations, or use land best suited for food crops. And the authors caution that claims that bioenergy projects are a zero-carbon form of energy should be met with skepticism.
The Packard Foundation through 2020, will have awarded nearly $1 billion in grants to reduce carbon emissions, one of the its greatest program commitments in its 55-year history.
(Source: David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Dec., 2019) Contact: David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Walt Reid, Director Conservation and Science Program, Report Author, 650-948-7658, www.packard.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Bioenergy, CO2, CCS, Biofuels, Carbon Emissions,
Kvasir Technologies is focused on transforming biomass lignin and using it in fuel production. As part of the joint project, a full-scale test of Kvasir's fuel will be conducted on one of NORDEN's vessels to better understand the characteristics of biofuel and prove its suitability as a future maritime fuel,
In September 2018, NORDEN was the first to conduct a test voyage on a large ocean-going vessel powered by CO2 neutral biofuel. (Source: Norden, Bunkerspot, 6 Dec., 2019) Contact:
Kvasir Technologies, +45 22 11 07 75, www.kvasirtechnologies.com
NORDEN, Henrik Rojel, Fuel Efficiency and Decarbonisation Manager, +45 33 15 04 51, www.ds-norden.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Biofuel, Marine Biofuel, Maritime Biofuel,
Multi-sensor, drone data-collection tech enables breeders to scale research operations and empowers them with precise, repeatable analytic solutions for high throughput phenotyping in the field.
GRYFN is using the technology licensed through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization.
(Source: GRYFN, Drone Life, Dec., 2019) Contact: Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization,
www.prf.org; GRYFN, Matt Bechdol, (260) 553-9993, info@gryfn.io, www.gryfn.io
More Low-Carbon Energy News Sorghum Biofuel,
To that end, the company plans to double the production of high-quality biofuels derived from vegetable oils (HVO) to 600,000 tpy in 2030, half of which will be derived from waste transformation before 2025. Repsol will also integrate renewable energy into refining operations, which will incorporate production of green hydrogen as well as the use of renewable energy to fuel industrial processes.
Repsol was the first company in the industry to support the Kyoto Protocol, and it is now intensifying its decarbonization ambitions with the aim of being a net- zero emissions company by 2050.
In addition, the company has pledged to work so that all the associations and initiatives in which it participates are in alignment with the targets derived from the Paris Agreement. (Source: Repsol, PR, RE Mag., 3 Dec., 2019) Contact: Repsol SA,
Josu Jon Imaz, CEO, (+34) 91 7538100 / 91 7538000, sacportal@repsol.com, www.repsol.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Repsol, Biofuel, Net-Zero Emissions,
Under the trial, sustainable Bio-Fuel Oil was used in a blend with conventional fossil-based marine fuels to power a vessel on a major oceangoing route. Both applications of the Bio-Fuel Oil showed a positive result and the technical compatibility of sustainable marine biofuels.
The Bio-Fuel Oil trialed was supplied by Dutch sustainable marine biofuels specialist GoodfuelGoodFuels.
(Source: GoodFuels, Green Car Congress, 5 Dec., 2019)
Contact: GoodFuels, Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO, +31 (0) 85 8000 238, info@goodfuels.com, www.goodfuels.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Goodfuels, Marine Biofuel, pyrolysis oil, BTG,
Eni S.p.A. is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome with operations in 79 countries, and is currently world's 11th largest industrial company with a market capitalization of €68 billion euros, as of August 14, 2013, according to Wikipedia. (Source: Eni, Biofuels Int'l, Dec., 2019) Contact: SNDP,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entreprise_Tunisienne_d%27Activites_Petroliere; Eni, www.eni.com/en_IT/home.page
More Low-Carbon Energy News Eni, Biofuel, Castor, Palm Oil,
The Norco plant uses the UOP Ecofining Process to produce renewable diesel. The process hydrogenates triglycerides and free fatty acid feedstocks which are then isomerized to create a high-quality hydrocarbon fuel (RD). In addition to RD, the process produces a liquid petroleum gas vapor stream (LPG vapor); a liquid petroleum liquid stream (naphtha LPG); and a purge gas stream. All of the co-product streams go to the adjacent Valero oil refinery to be separated into fuel gas, propane, and naphtha through a distillation process. For the purposes of the CI certification, displacement credit was given to the fuel gas used as fuel gas for hydrogen production at the Valero refinery.
Producing 275 million gpy of Honeywell Green Diesel™, Diamond Green Diesel is the largest commercial advanced biofuel facility in the US.
(Source: Diamond Green Diesel,Green Car Congress, 5 Dec., 2019) Contact: Diamond Green Diesel, sales@diamondgreendiesel.com, www.diamondgreendiesel.com; Valero Renewable Fuels, Joe Gorder, Pres., (800) 324-8464, www.valero.com; Darling Ingedients, Melissa A. Gaither, VP IR , (972) 281-4478, mgaither@darlingii.com, www.darlingii.com; Honeywell UOP, Bryan Glover, VP Petrochemicals & Refining Technologies, www,uop.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Diamond Green Diesel,
"The current EPA proposal would base the number of reallocated gallons on Department of Energy (DOE) recommendations, not actual gallons waived. Basing the three-year average of waived gallons on DOE recommendations is an illogical approach that hurts our nation's farmers. Using the DOE recommendations results in 770 million gallons of reallocated biofuels. However, this is far short of the 1.36 billion three-year average when based on actual gallons lost -- a difference of 590 million gallons. Failure to reallocate real gallons lost would reduce corn demand in 2020 by 210 million bushels.
"The current EPA proposal on gallon reallocation will hurt both farmers and equipment manufacturers. A modified proposal to properly reallocate gallons keeps the Administration's promise to our industries, and it also supports an environmentally friendly solution that strengthens our energy independence. Additionally, increased ethanol sales will benefit farmers, equipment manufacturers, and the greater U.S. economy. We encourage the EPA to base reallocated gallons on the real numbers, instead of a short-sighted, bureaucratic recommendation.
"With commodity prices already low and the link between farm income and equipment sales well established, AEM strongly encourages the EPA to address our concerns." (Source: AEM, PR, 5 dec., 2019) (Source: AEM, Dennis Slater, Pres.,
Nick Tindall, (414) 272-0943 ntindall@aem.org, www.aem.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Renewable Fuel Standard, "Hardship" Waiver,
To that end, the company plans to double the production of high-quality biofuels derived from vegetable oils (HVO) to 600,000 tpy in 2030, half of which will be derived from waste transformation before 2025. Repsol will also integrate renewable energy into refining operations, which will incorporate production of green hydrogen as well as the use of renewable energy to fuel industrial processes.
(Source: Repsol, PR, RE Mag., 3 Dec., 2019) Contact: Repsol SA, Josu Jon Imaz, CEO, (+34) 91 7538100 / 91 7538000, sacportal@repsol.com, www.repsol.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Repsol, Biofuel, Net-Zero Emissions,
The joint venture has 11 biofuels sites in five Brazilian states and more than 1.5 billion lpy of ethanol production capacity.
(Source: BP Bunge Bioenergia, PR, Energy Global, Dec., 2019) Contact: Bunge, www.bunge.com; BP, www.bp.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News BP Bunge Bioenergia, Ethanol, Biofuel, BP, Bunge,
The DecarbonICE concept captures ship exhaust CO2 and other GHGs in a cryogenic process and turns it into dry ice. Proven offshore technology is then applied during normal ship operations to transport the dry ice into the seafloor sediments for permanent sequestration as liquid CO2 and CO2 hydrate.
In combination with future carbon neutral fuels like biofuels and electro fuels, the DecarbonICE technology can create carbon negative shipping and thus contribute to atmospheric carbon reduction at a significantly lower cost than shore-based CCS. capture.
The shipping industry is looking for carbon free solutions to achieve the IMO 2050 target of a 50 pct CO2 emissions reduction compared to the 2008 level.
(Source: Maritime Development Center, Port News, 1 Dec., 2019) Contact: Maritime Development Center, +45 33 33 74 88, www.mdc.center
More Low-Carbon Energy News CCS, Carbon Capture & Storage, CO2, Maritime Emissions, IMO,
SAA made history in 2016 as the first airline in Africa to operate commercial flights powered by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced from Sunchem's tobacco plant, Project Solaris.
The new follow-up project, Project Reya Fofa, aims to support a feasible scale-up of feedstock production and infrastructure, and a fully localized value chain for a refinery producing hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) may be achieved in the coming years to produce bio-jet fuel and green diesel.
(Source: South African Airways, Biofuels, 29 Nov., 2019) Contact:
South African Airways, www.flysaa.com; O.R. Tambo International Airport, +27 11 921 6262, www.airports.co.za;
Sunchem, www.sunchem.nl
More Low-Carbon Energy News Aviation Biofuel, SAF, Biodiesel,
More Low-Carbon Energy News Aviation Biofuel, SAF, Biodiesel,
ORNL worked with technology licensee Vertimass and researchers at 10 other institutions on a technoeconomic and a life cycle sustainability analysis of the process -- single-step catalytic conversion of ethanol into hydrocarbon blendstocks that can be added to jet, diesel, or gasoline fuels to lower their greenhouse gas emissions. This new technology is called Consolidated Dehydration and Oligomerization (CADO).CADO.
The analysis, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that this single-step process for converting wet ethanol vapor could produce blend-stocks at $2/gigajoule (GJ) today and $1.44/GJ in the future as the process is refined, including operating and annualized capital costs. Thus, the blend-stock would be competitive with conventional jet fuel produced from oil at historically high prices of about $100/barrel. At $60/barrel oil, the use of existing renewable fuel incentives result in price parity, the analysis found.
The conversion makes use of a type of catalyst called a zeolite, which directly produces longer hydrocarbon chains from the original alcohol, in this case ethanol, replacing a traditional multi-step process with one that uses less energy and is highly efficient. The conversion operation could be integrated into new biofuels plants or installed as bolt-on technology to existing ethanol plants with minimal new capital investment, the researchers noted.
The project was supported by the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at ORNL, which in turn is supported by the DOE Office of Science. Scale-up R&D were supported in part by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and by Vertimass. (Source: ORNL, PR, NewsWise, Nov., 2019) Contact: US DOE Office of Science, www.energy.gov/science; DOE Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI) at ORNL , Brian Davison, Chief Science Officer,
Vertimass LLC, John Hannon, CEO, www.vertimass.com; DOE EERE Bioenergy Technologies Office, www.energy.gov › eere › bioenergy
More Low-Carbon Energy News ORNL, Biofuel, Ethanol, Vertimass,
To that end, the Vancouver Airport Authority has partnered with the Green Aviation Research and Development Network, the Waterfall Group and Netherlands-based SkyNRG -- a consortium of companies that source and market aviation biofuels -- to launch BioPortYVR, a new project to develop a source and pipeline for biofuels for YVR and other regional airports.
(Source: Vancouver Airport Authority (YVR), Burnaby Now, Nov.28, 2019) Contact: Vancouver Airport Authority, Marion Town, Env. Affairs, 604-207-7077,
604-207-7070 - fax., customercallcentre@yvr.ca, www.yvr.ca; SkyNRG, Maarten van Dijk, Director, Merel Laroy, +31 6 3083 3505, merel@skynrg.com, www.skynrg.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Aviation Biofuel, SkyNRG,
The study , which was reported in the scientific journal Cell identified crucial genes for the process of carbon fixation, through which plants take carbon from CO2 to turn it into biomass. The research team added and rewired the needed genes to the bacteria. They also inserted a gene that allowed the bacteria to get energy from a readily available substance called formate, which can be produced directly from electricity and air.
The bacteria were gradually weaned off the sugar they were used to consuming and developed a taste for CO2. The researchers believe that the bacteria's new diet could ultimately be healthy for the planet.
biotech companies use corn syrup for cell cultures to produce commodity chemicals. Such cells could be induced to live on a diet of CO2 and electricity and spare the large amounts of corn syrup they live on today.
According to the study, bacteria could be further adapted to use renewable electricity, rather than taking their energy from a substance such as formate, and then store energy for later use. Such bio-fuel would be carbon-neutral, a crucial green development in the battle against climate change.
(Source: Weizmann Institute of Science,The Jewish Press, 1 Dec., 2019)
Contact: Weizmann Institute of Science, Professor Ron Milo, +972-8-934-9106 www.weizmann.ac.il
More Low-Carbon Energy News CO2, Biofuel,
Financial details of the agreements were not disclosed but the project is expected to come in at roughly $88 million.
(Source: Acciona SA, Successful Farming, Reuters, 25 Nov., 2019)
Contact: Acciona SA, +34 91 663 28 50 / Fax - +34 91 663 28 51, www.acciona.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Acciona , Alternative Fuels,
The Indonesian initiative was reportedly well received since Mexico is investigating the development of oil palm cultivation, the development of oil palm biofuel and a possible B-20 or B-30 program. Mexico is also eager to explore cooperation in developing biodiesel-based products such as castor oil and jatropha that can be grown on marginal land. (Source: Various Media, Antara News, 26 Nov., 2019)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Palm Oil, Palm Oil Biofuel, B-20, B-30,
Greenfield's Varennes biorefinery, which is the first ethanol plant to be built in Quebec, has been in operation since 2007. The facility produces the lowest carbon intensity ethanol in Canada, as well as corn oil and distillers' grain (DDCs).
Greenfield owns and operates four ethanol distilleries, three specialty chemical manufacturing and packaging plants, and three next-generation biofuel and renewable energy R&D centres across North America
(Source: Greenfield, Agri, 25 Nov., 2019) Contact: Greenfield Global, Howard Field, President and CEO, (613) 698-0116, howard.field@greenfield.com, www.greenfield.com; HY2GEN Canada, 514-906-8736, www.hy2gen.ca
More Low-Carbon Energy News Greenfield Global , HY2GEN Canada, Ethanol, Green Hydrogen,
According to the release, TRC-Q currently has projects for analytical organic geochemistry and acid stimulation of wells to improve production, as well as flagship projects related to sustainable development, marine biodiversity biofuels and solar energy
Microalgae is a promising pathway to sustainable Biofuels and TRC-Q is working with QU and universities and research organisations in the Netherlands, France and China to explore biofuels, as an option for limiting transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, according to the release.
(Source: Total Research Centre-Qatar, Gulf Times, 25 Nov., 2019) Contact: Total, www.total.com/en; Total Research Centre-Qatar, Yousef al-Jaber, Dir., www.afaq.total.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Algae news, Microalgae.Biofuel news,
The company, a 50/50 joint venture between Royal DSM and POET, LLC., will now focus on R&D aimed at improving mechanical reliability, creating additional technological efficiencies and licensing technologies in countries that support the use of low carbon fuels from crop residue and other biomass, according to the company.
(Source: Poet-DSM, Biofuels 20 Nov., 2019) Contact: POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels, Steve Hartig, General Manager, (630) 780-8171, steve.hartig@dsm.com, www.poetdsm.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Project Liberty, POET, Poet-DSM, Cellulosic Biofuel, Advanced Biofuel,
Some European countries are reportedly planning to require airlines to gradually increase share of renewable and low-emission fuels blend rate and Brussels is reportedly likely to follow the trend.
(Source: IATA, AIN, 21 Nov., 2019) Contact: IATA, Carsten Spohr, Chairman, Michael Gill, Director Aviation Environment, Alexandre de Juniac, CEO, +41 22 770 2967, (514) 874-0202 - Montreal Office, www.iata.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News International Air transport Association, Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Aviation Biofuel,
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved E15 for all vehicle models year 2001 and newer. (Source: New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, Biofuels Int'l. 21 Nov., 2019) Contact:
New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, 800-554-4501, www.ny.gov › agencies › department-agriculture-and-markets
More Low-Carbon Energy News E15, Biofuel Blend,
Azelio's systems will feature solar PV, wind, as well as its power storage unit, which will ensure supply of base-load energy. The projects include a 13kWe energy storage that is slated for completion in 2021, followed by other projects including 15MWe in 2022, 35MWe in 2023 and 70MWe in 2024.
Privately held Biodico builds, owns and operates sustainable biofuel and renewable energy facilities; conducts R&D with the U.S. Navy; and collaborates with strategic joint venture partners to patent and commercialize proprietary technologies for the sustainable multi-feedstock modular production of next-generation biofuels.
(Source: Azelio, Power Tech, 19 Nov., 2019) Contact: Biodico, Russell Teall, CEO, (805) 683-8103, info@biodico.com, www.biodico.com; Azelio, Jonas Eklind, CEO, +46-709-40-35-80, jonas.eklind@azelio.com, www.azelio.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Azelio, Biodico, Energy Storage,
The new office is intended to support the company's waste and residue raw material sourcing operations in Australia and New Zealand.
Various wastes and residues account for approximately 80 pct the company's renewable raw materials globally, according to the release.
(Source: Neste, Biofuels Int'l., 19 Nov., 2019)Contact: Neste, +358 10 458 4128, +61 3 9922 1400 - Melbourne office, www.neste.us
More Low-Carbon Energy News Neste,
The partnership supports the investigation into sustainable solutions to support the increasing global requirements for biofuels, lubricants, and raw materials, whilst capturing carbon dioxide.
According to TOTAL, algae are sustainable sources of biomass which can be used for a multitude of applications including biofuels production and CO2 sequestration using non-arable lands.
(Source: Qatar University, TOTAL, MENAFN, 19 Nov., 2019) Contact: TOTAL Research Center Qatar University, Yousef Al Jaber, Director, +974 4403 3333, www.qu.edu.qa; TOTAL, Marie-Noelle Semeria, Snr. VP, Group CTO, https://fr.linkedin.com › marie-noëlle-semeria-859b8897, www.total.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Algae, Algae Biofuel, TOTAL, CCUS ,
The study notes researchers have found a way of removing lignin and making useful products from it, as well as getting access to plant carbohydrates for production of biofuels. Even with lignin removed, however, the Purdue team had to find ways to break the tightly connected plant cells apart so that chemical catalysts or yeasts used in the biofuel refining process could do their jobs.
With all the lignin removed through a nickel-carbon catalysis, the research team treated poplar wood particles with trifluoroacetic acid to loosen the tightly packed crystalline cellulose and its aggregation into large bundles in plant cell walls.
The trifluoroacetic acid causes the cellulose to swell, making it easier to access the glucose molecules present in the cell walls for fermentation to ethanol -- or using other chemical catalysts discovered by the C3Bio team, the cellulose and other carbohydrates can be converted to platform chemicals, such as hydroxymethylfurfural and levulinic acid, which are substrates or precursors for liquid hydrocarbon fuels. (Source: Purdue Center for Plant Biology, Plant Biotechnology Journal, AgriNews, 9 Nov., 2019)Contact: Purdue Center for Plant Biology, C3Bio,
Prof. Maureen McCann,
765-496-1779, mmccann@purdue.edu, www.purdue.edu
More Low-Carbon Energy News Lignin, Woody Biomass, Purdue University,
For every gallon of SAF produced, GEVO also produces approximately 10 pounds of protein that goes into the food supply chain and can sequester up to 2 pounds of CO2 as carbon into the soil, making it one of the only renewable jet fuel producers to produce both food and fuel while sequestering CO2. GEVO will also be more transparent with its sustainability practices by utilizing blockchain technology to track its sustainable agriculture efforts, according to the GEVO release. (Source: GEVO, Biofuels Prod., 15 Nov., 2019)Contact: GEVO, Patrick Gruber, CEO, 303-858-8358, pgruber@gevo.com, www.gevo.com; Scandinavian Airline System, www.sasgroup.net
More Low-Carbon Energy News GEVO, Aviation Biofuel, Jet Biofuel, Sustainable Aviation Fuel,
The technology for producing oil via pyrolysis from plant-based waste was developed 30 years ago at the University of Twente.
The new demonstration facility has a planned 1,000 tpy production capacity. Depending on the demo tests, production can be scaled-up to support the industry in meeting International Maritime Organisation (IMO) targets of a 50 pct reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2050 -- roughly 85 pct reduction per vessel.
GoodFuels intends to market the pilot volumes produced to further strengthen the commercial business case.
The ports of Rotterdam and Eemshaven are the locations being considered for the first commercial processing plant.
(Source: Goodfuels, Hellenic, 14 Nov., 2019) Contact:
GoodFuels, Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO, +31 (0) 85 8000 238, info@goodfuels.com, www.goodfuels.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Goodfuels, Marine Biofuel, pyrolysis oil, BTG,
Wageningen University Food and Biobased Research (WFBR) provides fundamental, strategic and applied research to enable rapid application of academic knowledge to the market. The Business Unit Biobased Products has a strong focus on primary streams of biomass and bio-residues to produce sustainable industrial raw materials, green chemicals and bio-energy. This is based on extensive experience and expertise in biomass conversion while addressing: biomass composition, availability and costs; physical, chemical and enzymatic pretreatment of biomass; microbial biochemistry, physiology and genomics, bioprocess technology and optimization of fermentation processes.
DLO-FBR will contribute to advanced pretreatment and fractionation to obtain sugars -- for biochemical conversion to fuels -- and the extraction, isolation and characterization of proteins as a feed source and biochemical conversions of sugar-rich fractions to fuels, according to the Wageningen University website.
(Source: Wageningen University, DutchNews.nl, 14 Nov., 2019) Contact: Wageningen University, Jaap van Hal, Researcher, +31 (0) 317 480100, www.wur.nl
More Low-Carbon Energy News Algae, Seaweed, Biofuel,