BioDieselNow - Renewable biodiesel fuel

Daily News—07/03

Robert Gleeman — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:46:15 GMT

South Africa looks to promote biodiesel

GREEN REVOLUTION : The Greenhouse Project is transforming an urban park into a seedbed for sustainable living by integrating green building and design, efficient and renewable energy, recycling and organic farming.

SOUTH African motorists could in the near future drive vehicles that run on cooking oil and peculiarly “smell of fried chips”.

This will be made possible by the use of biofuel, particularly biodiesel, say enthusiasts.

Biofuel is a form of fuel derived from “recently living” organisms, replacing fossil fuels such as those derived from coal.

It is usually produced using crops such as mielies, sugar beet and sunflower seeds, though the recycling of used cooking oil is the favoured option.

I enjoy reading articles like this one which view biodiesel as a totally new concept, as though we never heard of it. That’s OK. Everyone has to start somewhere, and just think how much biodiesel S.Africa can grow.

Northwest biodiesel troubles based on misinformation, according to John Plaza

John Plaza, CEO of Imperium Renewables

The president of Seattle-based refiner Imperium Renewables John Plaza despairs at what he calls rampant “misinformation.”

John Plaza: “There can be issues on both sides whether it's good, whether it's bad. But the facts prove that biofuel significantly reduces greenhouse gases. The facts prove that it is a tremendous economic engine for the state, the region, and the nation.”

Imperium owns the biggest biodiesel refinery in the region.

Small article reminds us once again that the NW area of the U.S. is not part of the rainforest, and here, biodiesel can work without starving anyone or destroying the wonders of nature. Just the opposite.

General Biodiesel buys Seattle Imperium plant

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

On June 24, General Biodiesel Seattle, LLC, announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Seattle biodiesel facility from Imperium Renewables. Imperial Renewables is a Seattle-based commercial biodiesel refinery operating a 100mm gallon per year facility in Grays Harbor.

General Biodiesel is converting the facility to produce biodiesel from waste oils such as recycled cooking oil and animal fat.

CEO and founder Yale Wong is primarily focused on making biodiesel oil from waste oils instead of the traditional virgin materials, such as soy or canola oil. Wong advocates using recyclable goods, such as animal fat, instead of using soy or canola, which can be domestically consumed in other ways

That is one great thing about biodiesel—you can switch to many different sources for the basic veggie oil, including, as in this case, a switch to waste oils and fats, something we already need to get rid of.

Florida has a new oil baroness and she is banking on Jatropha

Teri Gevinson, the new oil baroness of Delray Beach, FL

Teri Gevinson thinks money grows on trees.
That's why she's planted 9,500 jatropha trees in Delay Beach, on land where pepper and tomato farmers had long since packed up their hoes and gone home in disgust. The jatropha is the next big thing in agrofuel (switchgrass is so last year), another save-the-planet strategy to help us wean ourselves from fossil fuels. The tree, whose leaves look like a cross between pot and poison ivy, produces an oil-rich seed, and that oil has been used as gas for planes, trains, and automobiles -- some trains in India run just fine on the stuff, even when loaded down with extra passengers and live chickens.

This is the human interest angle of the same story we covered earlier, biodiesel is all about believing in a dream of independence and freedom from the OTHER oil barons.

New biodiesel pipeline is the first of its kind in U.S.

Plantation Pipe Line Company

The first commercial shipment of biodiesel coursed through pipelines operated by the Plantation Pipe Line Company, a joint venture of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and Exxon Mobil. Plantation’s system of pipelines is shown above.

A commercial shipment of biodiesel has moved through a pipeline in the United States for the first time, according to Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, a pipeline company.

A 5 percent biodiesel blend moved from Mississippi to Georgia, and also from Mississippi to Virginia, via the Plantation Pipe Line Company, which is owned jointly by Kinder Morgan with a 51 percent stake, and Exxon Mobil with 49 percent. Last December, Kinder Morgan announced that the nation’s first ethanol pipeline had begun service.

Interesting story about the first biodiesel pipe line, and the various problems posed by such a concept. Now we’re talking, let’s ship biodiesel via pipe line all over the country. It is a valuable product and growing more valuable by the day.

Daily News—07/02

Robert Gleeman — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:31:00 GMT

Biodiesel researchers nominated for 2009 World Technology Award

Two Arizona State University researchers working on biodiesel projects have been nominated for the 2009 World Technology Award, which recognizes individuals and corporations from 20 technology-related sectors.

They’ll be headed to New York for the World Technology Awards gala ceremony on July 16, 2009 at the conclusion of the two-day World Technology Summit:

Scientists Qiang Hu and Milton Sommerfeld in the College of Technology and Innovation at ASU’s Polytechnic campus, have been selected as nominees for the award for their work with algal feedstocks and biodiesel fuel. In November 2008, TIME magazine selected the researchers’ work as one of the top 10 best innovations for 2008.

You can find more information at www.wtn.net.

Who are the stars of biodiesel science? Here are two of them, nominated for this prestigious award. Don’t forget that we are in the infancy of biodiesel science and engineering, and we don’t exactly know where all this will go, just that it will be part of the future of fuel.

Biodiesel Board launches new web site to fight RFS-2

Joe Jobe photo from: http://www.biodiesel.org/aboutnbb/whoarewe/staff%20photos/Joe%20Jobe%20300.jpg

In a move to fight a proposed change that would basically shut out soy-based biodiesel… the bulk of the nation’s biodiesel production… from the Renewable Fuels Standard, the National Biodiesel Board has launched a Web site to give people the tools to make comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal.

The RFS2 Action Center gives those who want to stop the change examples of comments, where and how to send the comments, and this letter from NBB CEO Joe Jobe himself:

Please do read the letter from Mr. Jobe, as he speaks for the entire biodiesel industry in the U.S.A., the main idea being that we are not part of wrecking the rain forests—we have plenty of land here.

Georgia: Dalton Utilities biodiesel facility will be the first of its kind in the U.S.

A UGA scientist operates a photobioreactor. Dalton Utilities is partnering with the university on a pilot project to produce biodiesel from wastewater on DU's land application system along the Conasauga River.
Contributed photo / Dalton Daily Citizen

Dalton Utilities hasn’t struck oil, but the company may have about the next best thing. This fall the utility plans to start a pilot project to produce biodiesel from wastewater on its land application system along the Conasauga River.

“We are working on the design now,” said Mark Marlowe, Dalton Utilities’ vice president of water and wastewater engineering. “We hope to start construction in the fall or winter of this year, and complete construction in fall or winter. The startup will take several months. But it should be fully operational by the spring of 2010.”

Get this, biodiesel from waste water via algae. If this works, and we will know soon, this could change the way we look at waste water and biodiesel, a production method no one can argue with.

Making biodiesel from coffee beans—don’t laugh, it works

Actually, the concept of making biodiesel from coffee is not new. For several years, Brazilians have been extracting oil from defective and surplus coffee beans to produce biodiesel. At the University of Nevada, the researchers are focusing on spent coffee grounds, collected from the local Starbucks. The Starbucks outlets in Reno participate in the company’s Grounds for Your Garden program, where customers are encouraged to recycle waste coffee grounds for their gardens, Strull says. The students recycled the grounds into their research project instead.

Who knew? There is enough oil in coffee beans to extract for biodiesel production. There seem to be so many different sources for biodiesel, I don’t see how it can fail to grow and grow.

Daily News—07/01

Robert Gleeman — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:44:47 GMT

Delray Beach, FL biodiesel plant planned at $20 million cost

Photo of jatropha field: http://www.mydreamfuel.com/

DELRAY BEACH - Ag-Oil, a Delray Beach-based biofuel start-up, plans to build a $20 million pilot-scale biodiesel production facility in the Agricultural Reserve west of Delray Beach with the potential to produce 15 million gallons a year.

Teri Gevinson, CEO of Ag-Oil, said the company has planted 20 acres of jatropha, a fast-growing plant with seeds that contain oil, to make biodiesel. The biorefinery will use a patented technology to convert jatropha seeds, algae and related by-products into fuel.

Good biodiesel plant idea because it uses land which other farmers have given up on, and it looks for feedstock oil in algae and other plant sources. I wish AgOil well in this new startup company.

State of Mass. builds biodiesel into the law of the land

Green energy is set to take another big leap in Massachusetts as the state begins requiring blends of "bio fuels" into home heating oil and diesel fuel sold in the state. And that's giving new life to an old industrial site here that's being turned into part of New England's cleaner-energy future.

If you're a New Englander who heats your home with oil, probably you've seen or gotten a pitch to try something called bio heat, typically regular oil with some crop- or plant-derived fuel mixed in. Buying a blended fuel like that will actually become the law for everyone next year in Massachusetts, with a steadily growing requirement for how much green biofuel has to get mixed into the fuel supply.

Mass. is a pretty advanced state, and they are heating their homes with a biodiesel mix—by law. Why can’t all the states look at this program and use as much biodiesel as they possibly can? Here’s another story all about the new Mass. law: http://www.newburyportnews.com/puopinion/local_story_181233250.html

Jury orders Baldwin County, Ala. company to pay $10.4 million in biofuel fraud case

Baldwin County businessmen Jack and Allen Boykin show off their operation in Bay Minette. A jury ordered their company on Monday, June 29, 2009, to pay more than $10.4 million in a fraud case.

MOBILE, Ala -- A federal jury today ordered a Baldwin County company to pay more than $10.4 million to a New York-based paper company that invested $2.5 million in an effort to turn vegetable matter into biofuel.
Parsons & Whittemore Enterprises sued after concluding that Montrose chemist Jack Boykin had lied about his claims.

I hate to see lawsuits in the early stages of biofuel industries, because they drag down the entire mood the the industry, but it happens in software and hardware also. Interesting, although disappointing story.

New Mexico: Congressman Harry Teague visits UNM to discuss biofuels training programs

New Mexico’s Second Congressional District Congressman Harry Teague visited the UNM campus to announce legislation intended to set aside funds for training and fellowships in accredited biofuels engineering programs. Teague says his bill will allow for a one time grant to study appropriate standards for the accreditation of undergraduate and graduate biofuels engineering programs.

Photo: Congressman Harry Teague visits with Vice President for Research Julia Fulghum.

It will also provide funding for biofuels engineering programs and biofuels engineering training centers. In addition, the bill will provide fellowships to undergrads and graduate students studying biofuels engineering and provide access to scientific research facilities.

UNM’s School of Engineering is involved in a variety of biofuels related research efforts including the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center, a partnership with other universities, and the Partnership for International Research which allows students to study both at UNM and at universities in Europe.

Yes by all means teach biofuels in school, just like the future needs are building up, so should the knowledge of how to get by with mainly a diet of biofuel, biodiesel being the most efficient type.

Daily News—06/30

Robert Gleeman — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:46:56 GMT

Test Plant: Using algae to get rid if CO2 and produce ethanol

Algenol A Florida company is partnering with Dow Chemical to install commercial photobioreactors at a Dow site in Texas. The planned design for the installation is shown above.

Algenol grows algae in troughs filled with saltwater that becomes saturated with carbon dioxide. Above photo from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/business/energy-environment/29biofuel.html

The algae would be exposed to sunlight, in water mixed with carbon dioxide, and would give off ethanol and oxygen. Dow wants the ethanol as a feedstock for plastic, replacing natural gas. In that sense, the ethanol-producing algae would become another processing unit in a chemical factory.

But if the process works well, Algenol thinks it could be profitably married to a different kind of plant: a coal-burning power plant, with the oxygen going into the combustion chamber.

Read this article for the details, but this is a way of making coal a cleaner fuel by adding oxygen to the fire and getting rid of CO2 when you grow the algae. We’ll see how it works out.

New generation of biomass biofuels may not be seen until 2010

Biomass, the unused portions of logged trees such a branches and the tree tops, sit at the Old Town Fuel and Fiber mill to be burned to generate electricity in Old Town, Maine, June 2, 2009.

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Germany is among the first European countries building test plants to produce commercial volumes of second generation biofuels from a wide range of biomass materials ranging from wood chips and other forest products to straw, hay, vegetable waste and low grade crops.

The oldest lure in the world, something for nothing, does offer a lucrative fuel business from basically garbage. Will these methods also generate biodiesels? Perhaps so.

Photos of a truck that can run on coffee grounds

Credit: deborah sherman photography: http://www.deborahsherman.com/, (studiodeb on Flickr).

A commenter on Ben’s wood-powered truck post pointed us to a similar car hack. The truck above is also powered by a wood gas generator, except this one runs on coffee grounds. The Cafe Racer is a 1975 GMC pickup that essentially burns up used coffee to create a combustible gas. The gas is filtered on its way to the engine and, Viola, a caffeine-powered truck.

This is a truck that runs on just about anything, makes biodiesel seem like a super-refined luxury fuel, doesn’t it? Interesting site which may interest our many do-it-yourselfers.

Daily News—06/29

Robert Gleeman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:58:21 GMT

Colorado: Biodiesel described as "silver buckshot" instead of a silver bullet

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

BOULDER, Colo. — About a dozen people in a basement chemistry lab at the University of Colorado donned goggles and gloves on Sunday before turning used cooking oil into fuel.

The idea behind the free "Biodiesel 101 Workshop" was to show that anyone can make the alternative fuel -- though a chemistry background is a definite advantage.

"It seems complicated the first time you try it, but it's really not hard," said workshop teacher Josh Maynard, who's the research and development director at CU Biodiesel.

As with many people, this introduction to biodiesel covers the conversion of waste cooking oil into biodiesel, a conversion the wisdom of which no one can deny.

Salem, OR: Biodiesel-powered RV to stop at Lowe's

Photo from: http://cleanairgreentour.com/2009_Clean_Air_Green_Tour_May_22_024.JPG

A green biodiesel-powered recreational vehicle that aims to educate consumers about the benefits of protecting trees and being environmentally responsible is making a stop in Salem on July 13.

The RV, sponsored by Lowe's Home Improvement and Bayer Advanced garden products, will visit Lowe's at 1930 Turner Road SE from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The event is free.

People will receive multiple coupons, free samples of products like paper towels, and on-site answers to various home and garden questions.

For information, go to http://cleanairgreentour.com.

As you can see, some large companies are using this biodiesel-powered van to call attention to the need to think about greener fuels such as powers this huge RV.

From Lancaster, PA: Moving biodiesel from the Midwest to the East by rail

Strasburg Rail Road's diesel locomotive will be hauling biofuel. (Blaine T. Shahan/Sunday News)

"This is our test case," said Thomas, who added that a mandate to gradually increase biodiesel fuel blends in Pennsylvania will likely stimulate the market.
He said he anticipates future shipments over the Strasburg spur, particularly in the warmer months when the fuel does not have to be heated.
One tank car equals about four tractor-trailer loads, Thomas explained. "This keeps a few trucks off the road."
He added that the arrangement is convenient because the railroad is near the 904 Strasburg Pike headquarters of Rineer Transport Services, an Amerigreen fuel hauler.

Hauling biodiesel by rail, but not yet burning it in the engine, hopefully that will be coming soon. So how does biodiesel run in a railroad locomotive, anyone here know?

Jatropha is a buzzword of biodiesel, but some see problems

Alan Diaz / AP

Jatropha trees cost $6 to $7 each, can be grown 400 to an acre, and produce more than two gallons of oil apiece each season at maturity.

Still, it would take a farm about the size of Rhode Island to produce a billion gallons — and the U.S. economy uses more than 50 billion gallons of diesel annually.

My Dream Fuel said it is in negotiations to sell trees to growers in the Big Cypress National Preserve, and environmentalist efforts to reduce cargo ship emissions could open up Florida's maritime market through the Port of Miami. Wolfley even runs his truck on jatropha.

Very good article on Jatropha from a major source, a must read for the biodiesel set. Did you know that a single tree yields 2 gallons of oil every season? Wow, that is one oily plant.

Daily News—06/26

Robert Gleeman — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:24:08 GMT

New biodiesel and E85 station opens in Solano County, CA

The station was made possible with a $3.5 million California Air Resources Board grant, administered by the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.

Air Resources Board chairwoman Mary Nichols described E85 as a transitional fuel that will help get Californians used to the idea of trying alternative fuels as the state moves forward in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Here again, we see a CARB grant make biodiesel and E85 available to consumers who are willing to buy it, but in many areas, are not able to buy biofuels simply because the retail sales are not available.

Opinion piece: The case against biodiesel mandates in Washington State

THE city of Seattle and King County have abandoned their crop-based biofuels programs. So must Washington state.

The state must rescind its myriad laws requiring public and private use of biofuels. These laws force use of crop-based biofuels — the only biofuels available for mass consumption. Hoping and waiting for so-called "second generation" biofuels is denying the global devastation biofuels are wreaking now.

This opinion punishes the USA for what South American countries are doing to destroy the rain forests. Every biofuel crop takes water and land and work that could grow food, no way around that.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES: Coconut industry group sees potential of biodiesel

Illustration from: http://www.ciif.ph/products.htm

Eleven companies, including listed Chemrez Technologies, Inc., are registered as biodiesel producers, and can produce some 380 million liters of biodiesel per year, almost double the 150-million liter requirement for the 2% blend, data from the Energy department show.

Mr. Arranza will replace Danilo M. Coronacion as the president and chief executive of the CIIF Oil Mills Group.

The CIIF Oil Mills Group, which accounts for almost half of crude coconut oil exports, is the biggest and the most integrated group in the local coconut industry.

Philippines may not have many oil wells, but they sure can grow some coconuts, and their government is treating that valuable source of income just like a gold mine.

BioDiesel International (BDI) opens 28th plant located in Norwegian port of Fredrikstad

BDI stock chart from: http://www.corporateinformation.com/Company-Snapshot.aspx?cusip=C04031F00

The customer Uniol AS obtained the Austrian company’s multi-feedstock biodiesel technology with an overall investment volume of EUR 35 million, financed by Raiffeisen Leasing Nordic AB, Stockholm. This process, with which BDI is a global market leader, is used to produce biodiesel very cost-effectively in the plant from various raw materials ranging from fresh vegetable oils to residuals such as used cooking oils and animal fats.

There you go, a huge biodiesel plant built in Norway, a country that does have some oil, and this plant can make biodiesel from a variety of feedstocks, including waste fryer oil. Smart, Norway.

Daily News—06/25

Robert Gleeman — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:17:00 GMT

Keeping the biodiesel movement strong in the SF Bay Area

Doing her part: Foster City resident Janet Migliore has worked for more than three decades in her family’s San Mateo auto-repair shop. In early 2006, she started offering biodiesel-conversion services to owners of older-model diesel vehicles. (Mike Koozmin/Special to the Examiner)

“I’m in the car industry — I’m here, so what can I do to impact my carbon footprint?” Migliore said. “This is what I can do. I can fix cars up and have them run on biodiesel. So that’s what I do.”

In early 2006, Migliore began offering biodiesel conversion services to owners of older-model diesel vehicles. For around $350, she installs fuel hoses that are resilient to the
weeping effects seen when biodiesel flows through traditional rubber tubes.

This is another family-based small business person making a biodiesel difference in her world. Please enjoy the story and photo album included in it. This story is local to me.

Imperium sells small Seattle, WA biodiesel plant to start-up General Biodiesel

Photo from: http://www.imperiumrenewables.com/news.php

General Biodiesel, a startup biofuel company in Seattle, announced Wednesday that it bought the former Seattle Biodiesel facility for an undisclosed amount.

The facility is capable of producing 5 million gallons of biodiesel a year.

The refinery served as a pilot plant for Imperium Renewables for two years before the company opened a larger refinery in Grays Harbor, Wash., which is capable of producing 100 million gallons annually.

Nice, this is a sale of a small biodiesel plant, but it comes with a ready-made contract for the product, making an instant success of the start-up General Biodiesel. More opportunity is spread around to small companies.

The Southwestern Biofuels Association (SWBA) says OK to EPA interim biodiesel policies

Photo from www.swbiofuels.org

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - (Business Wire) The Southwestern Biofuels Association (SWBA) (www.swbiofuels.org) today joined Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) in urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consider an interim rulemaking to help the U.S. biodiesel industry remain viable in the marketplace until EPA issues final Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rules in 2010.

How are we supposed to progress biodiesel as a new science and fuel resource if we are bothered by EPA calculations which take into account biofuel growing practices in South America?

USDA Rural Development loans Soymor Biodiesel $25M to keep Minn. plant open

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

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA Rural Development has approved a $25 million loan to enable a Minnesota biodiesel facility to diversify its operations and significantly expand the production of advanced biofuels.
"The investment announced today helps fulfill the Obama Administration's goal of increasing production of biofuels while securing jobs in the alternative fuels industry," Vilsack said. "This is great news for a community that recently saw this company cease production of its operations due to tough economic conditions."

Now we’re talking, biodiesel is deserving of government investment of this sort, don’t you think? Let us invest some government money in biodiesel science and industry, it gives back to the country.

Daily News—06/24

Robert Gleeman — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:15:48 GMT

Farmers see the huge potential of biodiesel

TOM WILBER / Staff Photo

Giff Foster pours biodiesel into his tractor, "Big John," at his Chenango County farm. Foster is part of a group of Southern Tier farmers trying to make the fuel commercially to help the economy and foster energy independence.

According to a report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal, biodiesel provides 93 percent more energy per gallon than required for its production, while ethanol generates only 25 percent. Biodiesel, when compared with gasoline, reduces greenhouse emissions by 41 percent, while ethanol yields only a 12 percent reduction.

Great photo and story about the use of waste cooking oil to produce “low conflict” fuel for use on the farm and many other diesel applications, if not all.

FL BioFuels LLC contracts with Lee County, FL to produce biodiesel for county vehicles

Roy L. Benton III of FL BioFuels LLC pictured above, from: http://www.news-press.com/article/20090524/GREEN/905240382/1133

Co-owner Roy Benton III said because of the site’s existing building, the start-up process will be sped up. If there are no permitting hold-ups, Benton estimates the plant could produce its first gallon of biofuel by October, two months earlier than expected.

“By the state accepting us here, it shows not only local government but state government is participating in green initiatives,” Benton said.

Biodiesel is created by removing glycerin from vegetable oil. It is refined and blended in tanks, and, when burned by trucks, creates reduced emissions, compared to tradition fuels.

Lee County agreed in April to give the company $500,000 from a government grant for the plant.

Do I detect a trend of biodiesel producer not only being small companies, but also, family companies? The news seems to point toward such trends in the industry, if I am not mistaken.

Montana’s Gov. Schweitzer learns about camelina-based biodiesel

Scott Johnson, Sustainable Oils Company President & General Manager, said, "One of the values of camelina (is that) it was brought into North America specifically for biofuels. So, we need to develop that and continue that perception on the oil."

Johnson estimates Montana will produce 275 gallons of camelina-based biodiesel this year, which will go toward further development of aviation fuel.

Have you heard of camelina? This article points out that it does not displace food crops and it is aimed directly at the aviation fuel market. We shall hear more about this venture.

Largest iron ore mine, Vale in Brazil, will produce own biodiesel from palm oil

Photo of Vale mine from: http://www.geosoft.com/resources/casestudies/casestudy-vale.asp

SAO PAULO, June 23 (Reuters) - Vale, (VALE.N)(VALE5.SA) the world's largest iron ore producer, said on Tuesday it would begin to produce biodiesel from palm oil from 2014 to fuel its Carajas mine and railway operations in Brazil's north.

Rail and mining, perfect for biodiesel, will be produced by Vale. Never thought about it, but just think how many and how huge the diesel engines are on large mining equipment. Big consumers of diesel.

Daily News—06/23

Robert Gleeman — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:38:41 GMT

From Biodiesel Magazine: Biodiesel student essays win scholarships

Emily Johnson of Minnetonka, Minn., a recent graduate of Hopkins High School, has been awarded first place in the 2009 Minnesota Clean Air Choice Scholarship, presented by the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association and the American Lung Association in Minnesota. Johnson received $1,000 for her winning essay, “The Benefits of the Use of Biodiesel.”

All four winning essays can be viewed at www.CleanAirChoice.org.

These students are writing for biodiesel because it will give us cleaner air to breath, not because it might be 50 cents cheaper per gallon. When you grow the plants, you get rid of CO2.

Rome, GA wins grant to start biodiesel production plant

Photo from: http://www.biodiesellogic.com/Web%20Page/BDL-275-PPS%20Photo%20Gallery.htm

Rome-Floyd County Environmental Director Eric Lindberg is spearheading the program, which would require an estimated $30,000 for the processor and another $12,800 for other equipment and supplies.
Plans are to give one-gallon containers to interested residents to fill with used oil, and establish drop-off racks at four locations where full containers can be traded for empty ones.
The oil would be converted to fuel with a Biodiesel Logic processor, which is designed to be used with minimum training.

Here’s smart city not willing to throw away perfectly good oil, when so many city vehicles can burn biodiesel. If a city does not do this, they are wasting energy, don’t you agree?

From Biofuels International: China adopting B5 standard by next year

The Chinese state is expected to encourage a transition towards biodiesel in larger cities according to a senior academic.
Min Enze, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering has forecast that vehicles in large cities, such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, will be B5 biodiesel compatible by next year.
Next year is expected to see the acceptance of a national standard of B5 biodiesel.

I hope the USA will not fall behind China in the conversion to biodiesel. As we could see from the Olympics, the air in big cities of China is pretty bad, and they know it. B5 by next year? We’ll see.

American company researches jatropha for cooler weather

Jatropha is one of the promising non-food feedstocks for biodiesel. However, the tropical plant is not well-suited for the cooler climes of some parts of the U.S. But Biomass Magazine reports that an American company is working on a variety of jatropha that could grow in colder areas:

Don’t ever forget the power of genetic manipulation and hybrids, we could be growing biodiesel in some very unlikely places, this is just the start of a new and wonderful biodiesel industry.

Daily News—06/22

Robert Gleeman — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:04:00 GMT

Workshop on how to convert diesel engine to run on cooking oil

Photo from http://vcbiodiesel.org/

At least that is what Lynne Okun of Ventura is hoping. Lynne is organizing a daylong workshop, Learn to Convert from Dino-Diesel to Veggie Oil, to give participants hands-on experience on how to convert a diesel car engine to cooking oil.

You can collect and filter your own waste vegetable oil obtained from local restaurants or online sellers at low or no cost. The Good Grease Web site, at http://www.goodgrease.com, provides a waste veggie oil marketplace, conversion advice and help forums.

For more information, visit the Ventura County Biodiesel Cooperative site at http://vcbiodiesel.org, the Los Angeles co-op at http://www.biodiesel-Coop.org or the Southern California Biodiesel Users Group at http://www.socalbug.org.

Interesting article on both conversion to vegetable oil and the use of standard biodiesel fuel, several great informational links are given in the story.

Opinion Piece: Washington state must not delay biodiesel goals

AS the founder and CEO of Imperium Renewables, which runs one of the nation's largest biodiesel production facilities, I was disturbed by aspects of a recent Washington General Administration document on the status of biodiesel adoption in the state.

The state will miss by a year it's goal of having biofuels comprise at least 20 percent of its fuel use in state vehicles and ferries — the deadline was June 1. Further, the report recommends the state postpone use of biofuels for another year.

It is nice to read a totally pro-biodiesel view, even if it is from a key player/writer in the industry. Washington state now has a chance to go towards biodiesel, and I have not heard a good reason why they should not.

EPA and CARB policy clashes hurt biofuels development

Photo from: http://www.soya.be/biodiesel-production.php

Iowa State University Biofuels Economist Dr. Robert Wisner warns that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board are moving too fast in relying on unproven indirect land use emissions impacts for biofuels policy. Wisner believes more research is needed on possible conversion of pastures and forests to crops in other countries to accurately measure indirect land use impacts.

Here’s an expert who says we are judging land use too harshly, forgetting about the larger yields as a field matures. Also, we are going to run out of petroleum some day—when?

Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. fights proposed biofuels regs. by EPA

Illustration from: http://www.transpoonline.com.br/index2.php?xid=exibirnoticia.php&idnotic=209

Proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations tieing U.S. biofuel production to world crop production is being criticized by U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb.
According to Johanns, the proposed regulation is “neither scientific nor substantiated.”
In a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Johanns requested that the public comment period regarding implementation of the renewable fuels standard (RFS) be extended by 120 days.
He said EPA is currently taking public comments on regulations outlining how to implement changes to the RFS that were enacted in 2007.

Another great article which stresses the folly of linking our biofuels use with world crop statistics. We need to do what is right for this country, then we can better help the world.

Daily News—06/19

Robert Gleeman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:53:25 GMT

City of Seattle, WA will cut back on soy-based biodiesel

Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robseattle/1273451/

But until alternative sources like algae are improved and mass produced, biodiesel will share petroleum's uncertain future. Seattle is currently evaluating tests of a biodiesel product produced locally from waste grease and expects to start using it soon.

Just about every Seattle city department with diesel engine vehicles used biodiesel blends, including the fire department which put it in its largest trucks with no loss of performance.

Here’s a situation where it is determined that biodiesel is less ecologically friendly than petroleum-based diesel, which I do not believe in the first place. They did well on biodiesel, it seems.

Biodiesel Board now may be found on Facebook

On the heels of its successful launch on YouTube earlier this year, the nation’s premier biodiesel advocacy group has expanded its Web presence with the launch of the National Biodiesel Board’s Facebook page.

This press release from the NBB explains how the board will use this newest medium as another outlet for biodiesel information and discussion:

Biodiesel is here to stay, as evidenced by this entry into the mainstream of the youth, Facebook. Has anyone seen their page yet?

Coconut-based biodiesel seen as answer to third-world global warming

Photo from: http://www.globalenvision.org/library/1/1607/

Since the Philippines is among the first countries in Asia that has enacted a biofuels law, using coconut as the major raw material in making biodiesel fuel will be among the top topics being lined up for discussion during the 1st Mindanao Coconut Summit in Mati, Davao Oriental, on June 25 and 26.

Organized by the Mindanao Business Council and the Davao Region Coconut Industry Cluster, the summit will gather at least 300 participants all over Mindanao including coconut farmers, buyers, processors, financing institutions and allied services supporting the industry.

Oil growing on trees almost sounds too good to be true, but grow it does, and the Philippines is taking full advantage of their huge coconut growing capacity. Like an oil well in the trees.

Philippines allowed first foreign company to plant biodiesel coconut trees

Photo from: http://www.vestaldesign.com/blog/2005/09/coconut-oil-as-biodiesel/

TOKYO (Reuters) - Pacific Bio-Fields Holdings Plc said it has received approval to use 400,000 hectares of land to plant coconut trees in the Philippines to make alternative auto fuel, which it aims to sell to Japanese users in five years.

The company, which plans to list on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) later this year, said on Thursday the agreement allows it exclusively to cultivate unused public land on the northern main island of Luzon for free for up to 50 years.

Another story about coconut-derived biodiesel production in the Philippines, this may be the future source of much fuel for a thirsty world.

Daily News—06/18

Robert Gleeman — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:32:23 GMT

Canada: biodiesel in early stage, availability limits use in construction

Photo from: http://www.truckblog.com/story.asp?storyid=264

These are relatively early days for biofuels. “It’s been slower to catch on in Canada than in other parts of the world,” says Tanya McDonald, a research scientist specializes in bioenergy and environmental microbiology at the Olds College School of Innovation north of Calgary.

Government incentives such as the Alberta Bioenergy Producer Credit Program and the Ontario Ethanol Growth Fund offer financial assistance, and standards are already in place at the federal level and in several provinces, including Ontario and British Columbia.

Knowing how smart the people are in Canada, I’m sure they will soon catch up and pass us by in the use of biodiesel on the construction jobsite.

Biofuel-oil blend does well in Continental test flight

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Continental Airlines said a blend of biologically derived fuel and jet fuel performed slightly better than jet fuel alone during a test flight by the world's fifth-largest airline.

The biofuel blend consisted of oil derived from algae and jatropha plants. The algae oil was provided by Sapphire Energy and the jatropha oil was provided by Terasol Energy.

Cost of fuel is a major concern for all airlines, so it is a needed evolution towards biodiesel that may someday be all that holds planes in sky.

Transonic says they will consider biodiesel in future testing

Transonic Combustion's 100 mpg Demo Car photos from: http://www.tscombustion.com/technology.html

Transonic Combustion Inc., Camarillo, Calif., has received a lot of attention this past month after it completed its third round of capital fund raising with the help of high profile clean-tech investor, Khosla Ventures. “We feel pretty excited to have completed our third round of funding in the current economic environment,” said Eric Sharp of Transonic. “We’re doing some pretty remarkable things here.”

I had not seen a photo of their super car, it is really sleek. Companies involved in biofuel are not afraid to break the mold and break the records. They will no doubt go far.

United Soybean Board join with seven U.S. Department of Energy affiliated Clean Cities chapters to promote soy biodiesel

Photo from: http://naturea2z.com/crude-palm-oil.htm

As part of a competitive application process, these seven chapters were selected by checkoff farmer-leaders to participate in 2009. Participating Clean Cities chapters include: Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition (Birmingham), Central Texas Clean Cities (Austin), Clean Fuels Ohio (Columbus), Kansas City Regional Clean Cities, Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities, St. Louis Regional Clean Cities, and Virginia Clean Cities (Virginia Beach) and East Tennessee Clean Fuel Coalition (Knoxville).

Biodiesel is all about farmers, and it looks like we have some recognition of that in this article. And don’t tell me I can’t run my car on soy beans as long as there is one hungry person. I don’t buy that.

Daily News—06/17

Robert Gleeman — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:38:11 GMT

MPG Biofuels wants to build biodiesel plant in PA

Image from: http://turcon.blogia.com/2005/noviembre.php

While MPG Biofuels plans to eventually sell its fuel in Pennsylvania, the company has signed a three-year contract to sell 100 percent of its biodiesel to Tenaska, an Omaha, Neb.-based energy company, Janise McNeal said.

Manufactured from vegetable oil or animal fat, biodiesel can be blended with standard diesel to reduce carbon emissions and, in some cases, break down deposits of residue in the fuel lines left by conventional diesel, she said.

"We would love to put York County on the map when it comes to biodiesel production," Janise McNeal said.

The biodiesel products of this proposed plant is already spoken for in a 3-year contract with Tenaska energy company. Must be nice to have a 3-year contract before the production plant has even been built.

Press Release: Baystate Biofuels Breaks Ground on North Andover Terminal

Photo from: http://www.pathtofreedom.com/form/donate.htm

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baystate Biofuels LLC (www.baystatebiofuels.com) today broke ground on a facility to distribute biodiesel and blended diesel anywhere in New England. The terminal at Osgood Landing in North Andover will be the first full-scale commercial facility in Massachusetts dedicated to biodiesel distribution.

Utilizing a vacant brownfield with existing storage tanks, Baystate Biofuels plans to upgrade the site and open the facility by early August. The company, which first announced its plans last month, anticipates creating 15 new jobs this year.

“Baystate Biofuels will be able to provide biodiesel and blended product anywhere in New England. We will meet the region's growing demand for biodiesel, which both reduces greenhouse gas emissions and reduces reliance on foreign oil,” said Jesse Reich, CEO of Baystate Biofuels LLC.

Looks like New England is moving forward on biodiesel, as this new plant is slated to sell to the whole area. Makes sense that such a versatile fuel would sell well in such a densely populated region.

How can we produce, use, and transport biofuels responsibly?

Among the outstanding discoveries has been the bush, or small tree, Jatropha curcas. Native to Central America, jatropha is able to survive prolonged droughts; fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere, it grows vigorously in poor soils. Though toxic to livestock, jatropha has long been valued in Africa and South Asia for the superior lamp-oil that can be pressed from its large seeds. More recently, village mechanics have found that the oil also performs well as fuel for diesel engines.

You may not like the title of the source, but you must admit this is a huge and detailed account of the biofuels market, including a special section on biodiesel. Very good reading and reference.

Jatropha falls into doubt as a biodiesel feed stock in Africa

Jatropha seeds. The jatropha plant, which grows in extreme weather conditions, consumes more water per capita before its seeds produce biodiesel.

Jatropha, the oily plant billed as the answer to Africa’s energy problems, needs more water than other biofuel crops, a new study reveals.

The findings by Dutch researchers raise questions about the long-term viability of several projects currently in the start-up phase in Kenya.

Proponents of jatropha claim that the plant is well-suited to the dry, arid conditions in Africa.

The debate goes on regarding jatropha, mainly because it requires lots of water. Well, some parts of the world have plenty of water, so I think it will be here to stay.

Daily News—06/16

Robert Gleeman — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:38:25 GMT

More than 100 scientists have signed the "Scientists for Biodiesel" declaration

"Our industry is at a critical juncture as we await details on implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard, and the future of the biodiesel tax incentive remains uncertain," said National Biodiesel Board (NBB) CEO Joe Jobe. "This show of support from the scientific community will hopefully help people see through the misinformation that defenders of the status quo have spread."

The "Scientists for Biodiesel" declaration was announced in early February by Dr. Rob Myers, a director of the Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute, and Roger Beachy, president of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. The declaration highlights biodiesel's sustainability and its benefits to reduce dependence on petroleum, help address climate change and boost domestic economies. It also calls for more investment into the scientific needs associated with this bioenergy source.

Important article about the world of science and their huge support of biodiesel. So many trains, trucks, buses and cars can – and should—be running biodiesel in this bio-rich country of ours.

European Algae Biomass Association (EABA) looks at a bright future market

Photo from: http://www.karlonia.com/2008/06/27/algae-biofuels-may-power-cars-soon/

"What emerged at least from this first day is that there can be a reasonable possibility that this happens," Garofalo told Reuters in a telephone interview from Florence, Italy, where the EABA was officially launched on Wednesday.

Some association members had said industrial production would not take place in the short or medium term but has a "very good potential" in the longer term, he said.

I can understand why Europe is so interested in biodiesel, as they don’t have oil shooting out of the ground like we have—or used to have—in the USA. Algae-based fuel will be elegant in a few years.

Biofuels market to reach $247B by 2020, says Pike Research

Photo from: http://www.physorg.com/news161352399.html

The combined global biodiesel and ethanol markets will reach $247 billion in sales by 2020, up from $76 billion in 2010, Pike Research of Boulder said Monday.

That's despite recent challenges to the biofuels market -- including a limited supply of cheap feedstocks, ethical issues surrounding the use of food for fuel, energy price volatility, the recession and overcapacity of production -- the market research and consulting company said.

One thing about being a pioneer is that often you don’t see yourself as a pioneer, just someone who is doing the smartest possible thing to do. You are all pioneers, this is an early industry.

This London bus will soon be running on biofuel

A new scheme announced this week by the Mayor of London could soon mean that the meal you eat in a London restaurant one night, will help fuel your ride on a London bus another night.

Under the Foodwaste to Fuel plan, some of the three million tonnes of organic waste produced in London each year will be converted into bio-fuel to help power the city's buses and taxis, rather than being burnt in incinerators or buried in landfills.

£31million has been earmarked for the scheme, which will help bring together developers, food producers, energy companies and other key parties to create the infrastructure needed to transform the capital's leftover food into biofuel. Mayor Boris Johnson is also aiming to develop five new new ‘bio-fuel' plants in London by 2012.

A bus or a train, let’s get the public transportation to run on biodiesel and it will also become more available and acceptable to the general motoring public.

Daily News—06/15

Robert Gleeman — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:37:23 GMT

Money problems put several Maui green-energy projects on hold

Bob and Kelly King
Founders
Pacific Biodiesel, Inc. Photo from: http://www.biodiesel.com/index.php/company/about_pacific_biodiesel_inc

Pacific Biodiesel was planning a 5-million-gallon per year refinery on the Big Island, and even though owners Bob and Kelly King were bringing in their own money for half of it, the relatively small amount of additional money needed is not yet there.

Kelly King said: "Our Big Island Biodiesel plant has taken longer than expected to get fully funded. We are currently seeking the final 10 to 15 percent of funding before we can announce a groundbreaking."

This article will update you on the new bio-energy projects on what they call “the big island”, now being delayed by the economy, a suggestion is made about helping private green investors with federal funds.

Also from Maui: Lull in tourism is a hit to electricity sales

Maui Electric electrician Aris Aceres services a breaker during recent maintenance work at Kahului Power Plant. The electric company has been using the lull in demand for electricity to do maintenance to have a more reliable system when demand rises again.

MECO is also striving to turn green by weaning its Maalaea generators off petroleum diesel fuel. It already uses some biodiesel at startup, in order to meet clean air emission standards; but it wants to experiment with running a major unit on biodiesel for a long period, four to six months. It has requested bids to supply a million gallons of biodiesel for this purpose and expects to have a contract early next year.

Diesel prices have been volatile, and at the moment, biodiesel is not competitive. Reinhardt said that if world oil prices were to rise to $80 or $90 a barrel, biodiesel could be competitive. Oil passed $70 last week.

MECO is still hoping to be able to buy biodiesel refined on Maui (at Waena) and supplied with raw oil from locally grown plants or, possibly, locally grown algae.

"The overall plan is to provide fuel derived from local crops with local farmers," Reinhardt said. "We cannot predict how prices will move, but we are working to be ready on the technical side."

Here is a major electric company ready, willing, and able to test biodiesel in their generators, but as of today, petroleum diesel is cheaper, but that is the short-sighted view. Electricity from biodiesel is coming.

Biodiesel discussed on Satellite Radio

Truckers and others heard about biodiesel on the XM-Sirius Radio Dave Nemo Show this week featuring National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe and singer/songwriter Michael Peterson for the live show on Friday in Nashville.

Jobe is at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville this week for the New Holland/Michael Peterson Celebrity Tractor Race and he gives New Holland a lot of credit for promoting biodiesel. “New Holland is actually the most supportive OEM of biodiesel in the world,” said Jobe.

Remember New Holland next time you buy a tractor. They support biodiesel, so let’s try to support them if we can. Good work, New Holland, please keep up the good work!

Ever heard of “pennycress”? It may be a wonder biodiesel feed stock.

Biofuels Manufacturers of Illinois, known as BMI, is harvesting pennycress.

Pennycress is being hailed as an alternative fuel source.

The plant is technically a weed that is planted in the winter and harvested in spring.

Some experts say this weed can make twice as much oil for biodiesel as soybeans.

Yet another plant from which to make biodiesel, the most versatile biofuel in the world, biodiesel, an equal opportunity employer of oil-producing plants and algae from all around the globe.

Thailand: Biodiesel adds 5.4% to RPC sales

RPC’s biodiesel plant is set to hit full capacity when B5 fuel becomes mandatory in 2011.

But he is concerned by Thailand's slow development in palm fruit cultivation. Thailand has a yield of only 2.65 tonnes per rai. Malaysia and Indonesia, the two largest palm oil exporters, have yields of 4-6 tonnes per rai.

"We will be a loser in the Asian region for palm oil since our production cost is highest among global exporters. The government should have started to allocate a budget for research and development to lift yields and breed new high-yield species a long time ago," he said.

Mandating B5 in 2011, Thailand can’t seem to grow enough palm oil for their future needs. Why can’t the USA become a huge exporter of biodiesel, or at least, the raw plant oil used in its production?

Daily News—06/12

Robert Gleeman — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:08:00 GMT

Beginner's Guide to Aviation Biofuels, a free .pdf download

The Beginner's Guide to Aviation Biofuels has been published to explain some of the benefits for aviation moving to a new, cleaner, source of fuel. "In a poll within the industry, almost half of those surveyed were unsure of the difference between first and second-generation biofuel supplies. Sixty percent don't realise that sustainable aviation biofuels are going to be available in the next few years. This is why an information resource such as The Beginner's Guide to Aviation Biofuels is invaluable."

Check it out, this is a fine presentation of how we must all look at biofuels for aircraft, a detailed account of how, in a few years, this will be the only way to fly.

Algae biofuel industry asks Capitol Hill for continued federal support

Algae-based biofuel has captured widespread interest for its ability to deliver significantly higher yields than plant-based technologies, recycle CO2 directly from industrial sources and not compete with agricultural land or water supply.

David Jones, COO of LiveFuels, stresses that the algae biofuel industry “will create jobs that cannot be outsourced.”

“By supporting this industry, we can ensure new high-quality, well-paid jobs - not only in science and technology, but operations as well,” Jones said in a statement.

Is it not biodiesel oil that is generated by this algae? Or can ethanol also be made? From what I have read, algae can produce many times the amount of other crops.

Tom Vilsack, USDA chief, says USDA met biofuels directive

Photo of Tom Vilsack from: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/us/politics/17appoint.html

Responding to President Obama's directive to expedite and increase the production of biofuels, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that USDA met its 30-day deadline to help produce more energy from homegrown, renewable sources.

"Further developing the biofuels industry helps create jobs and stimulates rural economies, an important part of getting our economy back on track," said Vilsack. "President Obama and I are committed to advancing clean and renewable energy as it creates jobs domestically and boosts tax revenues at all levels of government."

The future looks very bright for biofuels, since we have the full support of the president and the government. I like a field that is the coming thing, and technology is the key. Right on, Vilsack and Obama.

Biofuels production in Columbia: What are the hidden costs?

Afro-Colombians have protested against the planting of palm trees

Colombia's government proudly claims that it is the biggest producer of biodiesel and ethanol in Latin America after Brazil, but human rights groups do not share that enthusiasm.

Critics warn that the cultivation of palm trees to produce biodiesel is a threat to Colombia's indigenous groups and other minorities, including Afro-Colombians.

This article outlines Columbia’s plans of producing oil palms, and shows how biofuel, just like petroleum, has racial and political aspects to its production and sales.

Canada: First retail sales of straw-based ethanol

Shell and Iogen Energy Corporation said they are producing 40,000 litres of ethanol per month from straw at a demonstration plant

“Ethanol-blended gasoline is already widely proven. There are trillions of miles of vehicle experience with it,” said Iogen CEO Brian Foody. “What we are doing is not changing the basic chemistry or performance of the gasoline at all. We are delivering ethanol that is made in a new way that is better for the environment and has the potential to deliver very large volumes."

For all our fans of ethanol, this is a milestone, the first ethanol sold retail that is made from straw, definitely not a food product. If you don’t have a diesel vehicle, this stuff will make your car go, go, go.

Daily News—06/11

Robert Gleeman — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:42:30 GMT

Lynx biodiesel station begins construction in Orlando

Photo of Lynx bus from: http://www.clickorlando.com/news/16417341/detail.html#

Construction has started on the public bus agency Lynx’s biodiesel blending station, a $2.5 million project that is expected to be completed by mid-August.

Located at the Lynx operations center near John Young Parkway and Princeton Street, the station will be the first in the nation built and operated by a transit agency. The station will allow the agency to convert its entire fleet to carbon neutral biodiesel fuel.

The station is being paid for through a grant from the governor’s energy office. Don Wood Inc. of Orlando is building the station.

Here is a first, the first biodiesel plant totally built and operated by a transit agency—perhaps this will start a welcome trend in transit authorities who should be running more and more biodiesel fuel.

In-depth look at biofuels market in Europe

What sets biofuels apart from other fuel commodities is that the equipment and procedures for testing biofuel products are still being perfected. There have been persistent difficulties obtaining reliable measurements of the Cold Filter Plugging Point (CFPP) of biodiesel – the critical temperature at which a fuel will cause a fuel filter to plug due to components crystallizing or gelling.

There is so much information in this detailed article, you will see how sold Europe is on biodiesel, they need it and will buy it from the U.S., if we had it to sell at a good price. A good read.

From Biodiesel Magazine: What a Carbon Cap Could Mean for Biodiesel

Multifeedstock biodiesel plants, such as the 30 MMgy Central Iowa Energy LLC facility shown above, will fare better in GHG reduction requirements when waste materials are incorporated into the feedstock stream./PHOTO: REG INC.

The U.S. is playing catch-up to the rest of the world in terms of controlling carbon emissions. With the infant science of indirect land use change looming over all renewable fuels production, what will a carbon cap-and-trade system mean for the biodiesel industry?

This important article discusses the environmental impact of biodiesel vs. petroleum, and why biodiesel is certainly here to stay and ready to be counted in the fight against global warming and pollution.

Biodiesel giant Neste tests well in Mercedes trucks

Young oil palms waiting to be planted.

(Credit: Neste/Ismo Henttonen)

The biofuel, which includes hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) made from palm oil, is something Neste has been known to be working on in order to meet its goal of "100 percent sustainably produced" oil by 2015.

The result after one year was a 15 percent decrease in nitrogen oxides, and, when taking into account the entire food chain from plant cultivation to car engine use, the CO2 emissions caused by the vehicles were reduced by over 60 percent, according to project statistics provide by Neste.

As I understand it, this testing will go on, with further reporting to come in 2011. We will continue to hear about Neste, as they seem to be a major leader in Europe’s biodiesel movement.

Daily News—06/10

Robert Gleeman — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:38:11 GMT

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today asked EPA to maintain flexibility

“The EPA’s own analysis makes clear that the infancy of the science makes the determination of international impacts highly uncertain at best. Furthermore, EPA’s proposed approach to classifying biofuels into a limited number of rigid, pre-determined categories limits the industry’s ability to innovate, since practice and process improvements are not recognized or rewarded.

“BIO asks that EPA regulations be flexible and include room to be adjusted over time as the science improves, and that the agency limit the use of its methodology to the narrow task of determining which alternative fuel paths meet the statutory standards for cellulosic and advanced biofuels.”

A must read article which makes the point that a brand new science such as biodiesel does not need to be bothered by red tape, the players are using their own money, let them experiment, eh?

Greenhunter: stock rise for large biodiesel refiner

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — Renewable energy company Greenhunter Energy declined to comment Tuesday on what the New York Stock Exchange called "unusual activity" after its stock jumped 61.7 percent in a single day.

Greenhunter shares rose 71 cents to close at $1.86. After hours, the stock advanced another 15 cents.

One of the nation’s largest biodiesel producers, this company shows how to make green money with green energy, biodiesel in particular.

EOP, leading German biodiesel producer, sees their break-even-point

Photo from: http://www.eopbiodieselag.de/en/produkte.php?mid=2,0

Rape is currently the most important renewable raw material used to manufacture biodiesel. That is why EOP Biodiesel AG is currently focused on the production of biodiesel from rape oil. The existing facility in Pritzwalk covers the entire production process. The rape that comes in is therefore fully exploited. At the end of the production chain biodiesel is the main product and rape expeller and technical glycerine are by-products. Once we have added a multi-feedstock plant we will also be able to process alternative raw materials.

Here is a very successful refiner of biodiesel from rapeseed oil, and they are finding profits with the rising cost of oil. Wasn’t Germany always a leader in the concept of synthetic fuel?

From Purdue University: Biodiesel Blend Performs as Well as Ultra-Low Sulfur Fuel

Photo from: http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/news.php?id=156&center=1

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., June 9 (AScribe Newswire) -- Those worried about a performance drop-off going from standard diesel fuel to the more environmentally friendly B20 biodiesel blend can ease their minds. A new Purdue University study shows that there is almost no statistical performance difference in semitrailer trucks using B20, a 20-percent blend of biodiesel, and No. 2 ultra-low sulfur diesel, the current standard.

As the universities study biodiesel, we will learn just how well it performs next to the standard oil products, and it appears to stack up just fine in this recent study by Purdue.

Daily News—06/09

Robert Gleeman — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:41:15 GMT

Retail biodiesel comes to South Jersey

Staff photo by Jennifer Dailey

New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Doug Fisher speaks at Monday's grand opening at Exxon in Pennsville of the first-ever retail biodiesel fuel pump in the South Jersey area. The fuel is provided by Ross Enterprises.

The company has tested the fuel on its own fleet of trucks. The product has resulted in roughly a half mile of better fuel economy. While this may not seem like a lot, some trucks only get six miles per gallon, making it a significant impact, officials said. The fuel is strictly made from soy-based products.

I find it exciting that each new biodiesel retail pump is a triumph by pioneers, and they know it. Notice that in this case, the biodiesel tested out with better mileage than straight petro diesel.

Jatropha gathers mixed reviews as a biodiesel source

Photo of a jatropha plantation from: http://www.jatrophacurcasplantations.com/?gclid=CP_kz8Dx_JoCFRk_awodADSpeA

Clarity on What Jatropha Can Deliver at the recent Africa Biofuels Conference in Midrand South Africa, Vincent Volckaert the Regional Manager for Africa of D1 Oils Plant Science presented a paper titled "Jatropha curcas: beyond the myth of the miracle crop."

Besides making it clear that Jatropha is not a miracle plant and like any other it needs water and fertilizer to produce biomass, he noted it was particularly sensitive to pests and disease when not grown as an intercrop. Volckaert stated that D1 Oil expected to release new seed in 2010 or 2011, that would have a yield of 2 tons of oil per hectare on well managed estates at maturity.

Interesting article about the pros and cons of jatropha as a biodiesel source plant. One of the interesting things about biodiesel is that it can come from so many different plants.

Is Jatropha a water hog, and does it really matter?

Thirsty crop: Jatropha curcas is an oil-rich plant championed for its ability to grow in arid regions where food crops can’t.
Credit: Immersia, GNU Free Documentation License

Researchers from the University of Twente, in the Netherlands, report in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that jatropha requires five times as much water per unit of energy as sugarcane and corn, and nearly ten times as much as sugar beet--the most water-efficient biofuel crop, according to the same study.

Another article slightly critical of Jatropha as a fuel plant, but at the same time, it points out that Jatropha also grows WILD in some parts of the world—it is a bloody weed!

Portable biodiesel processors finding a solid market

The BioPro 150 from: http://www.springboardbiodiesel.com/biopro150/main

The BioPro 150 offers the same quality, ease of use, and safety that the BioPro 190 and the BioPro 380 are known for, but in a smaller, more economical package, producing 40 gallons of biodiesel every 48 hours. As with the BioPro 190 and the BioPro 380, the BioPro 150 is constructed of 304 stainless steel; all components are industrial-grade quality.

While industrial size plants have gotten built without opening—signaling the struggles of the commercial biodiesel industry—there’s a company known as Springboard Biodiesel in Chico, Calif., that’s flourishing. Its business model, based on the sales of portable biodiesel processing units capable of producing only 36,000 gallons per year, is experiencing accelerated growth. “There is market out there for serving the small-scale biodiesel producers that aren’t going to sell the fuel, but process it for their own uses,” said Matt Roberts of Springboard.

The above photo looks like a solid chunk of metal equipment, so many other biodiesel production systems look less substantial in their design.

Chemrez Technologies Inc. declares cash dividend

Lao said this year’s payout reflects the full-year impact of ChemrezTech’s entry into the wholesale biodiesel market owing to the implementation of the Biofuels Act in May 2007.

ChemrezTech reported a 37.2-percent jump in net income for the first quarter of 2009 to P131.7 million from the P96 million registered in the same period last year on account of higher oleochemical and biodiesel sales, as well as improved margins.

Here is truly a company wanting to export their biodiesel all over the world, and the U.S. could end up in the same position we are now, buying oil abroad, if we do not develop our OWN biodiesel.

Daily News—06/08

Robert Gleeman — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:18:30 GMT

Biodiesel “is a national security issue, and it does create local jobs,” Signer said.

Mike Signer (right), who is seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, jokes with supporters Saturday before a tour of Red Birch Energy's Biodiesel facility in Bassett Forks. From left are Gracie Millner and Lori Harris, both of Martinsville, and Perry Briggs of Henry County.

Red Birch is “the first closed-loop delivery system of biofuels in Virginia,” Price said. The canola is grown by farmers within the region, processed into a fuel at Red Birch Energy and sold in a 20 percent biodiesel blend at the same site at Red Birch Country Market.

This interesting article illustrates the local aspects of the biodiesel business and shows how biodiesel has always been a source of local jobs, and green ones at that.

Northwest suffers financial problems in biofuels projects

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian) Jay Holthus is the plant manager at Pacific Ethanol's Boardman plant, still operating despite a recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

The boom began in August 2007, when Imperium Renewables opened a 100 million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant near Grays Harbor, Wash. A month later, Pacific Ethanol opened a 40 million-gallon corn ethanol plant in Boardman. In June 2008, Cascade Grain opened a 113 million-gallon corn ethanol plant in Clatskanie.

Why the lack of financial stability in biofuels projects? Perhaps this is the one true industry deserving of governmental financial help. I see it as a security issue. Can we not be fuel-independent?

Biodiesel comes to Corpus Christi, TX, and that is oil country

Jatropha Curcas comes to Corpus Christi

A local part time farmer has been growing Jatropha Curcas for 2 years. Now making the seedlings available to the residents, gardeners and farms of Corpus Christi so they can produce their own biodiesel, and go green along with the rest of the U.S. based initiatives.

Growing your own fuel is more difficult than some people think, and as a city boy, that’s a little farther than I want to go. I would mix my own fuel if I had the space, however.

City of Berkeley, CA stops municipal use of biodiesel

"Four years ago we looked at this and thought it was a really good idea to do biofuels when there were no crop-based biofuels, but the situation has changed beneath us," said Robert Clear a member of the city's Community Environmental Advisory Commission which recommended the city change its policy on biofuels.

In 2003, the city started using 100 percent biodiesel in its more than 100 cars and trucks that run on diesel fuel. But that biodiesel was derived from recycled frying grease. Over the years, the supply changed to a crop-based biofuel.

Here is a city that dumped biodiesel because it was “crop-based”, taking up the farmers’ time and land. The city liked biodiesel when it came from used cooking oil, however, they stopped at soy-based fuel.

Ben Wen invents new way to produce algae-based biodiesel

Catalyst expert Ben Wen of United Environment & Energy (UEE) holds a sample of algae biodiesel that was produced using a new solid catalyst method that he and his colleagues recently developed. Credit: Ben Wen, United Environment & Energy, LLC

Because some algae species are oil rich, the amount of oil we can collect from them is hundreds of times greater than the amount of oil that can be collected from an equal amount of a traditional, plant-based, biodiesel feedstock like soybeans.

This scientist believes the best source of biodiesel is algae, from what I understand, the original source of oil in the ground. At least most food is not grown like algae, eliminating the food conflict.

Instrument company invests heavily in biodiesel and ethanol testing systems

The Company has expanded its biodiesel and bioethanol portfolio to include nine analyzers and systems, crossing six technologies: ICP-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (LC), infrared (IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and liquid scintillation counters (LSC).

Slowly but surely, industry is going to see biofuels as a normal and needed step in the evolution of fuel, particularly with diesel engines, all dual fuel by definition.

Daily News—06/05

Robert Gleeman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:32:28 GMT

Nexsun Corp. plans biodiesel plant in Hiawatha, Kansas

See Nexsun’s website at http://nexsun.com/home.php

Rochelle Heussmann, project manager for Nexsun, said if demand for the product is greater, that figure could increase to 5 million. Nexsun is approaching area businesses, such as trucking firms, that could use biodiesel.

Considering the fact that every diesel engine can burn biodiesel fuel, I think we will see a steady stream of new production facilities. The Midwest USA is a farmer’s dream for selling biofuel.

Whole Energy’s biodiesel project in Pacifica, CA delayed due to funding and permits

See WholeEnergy™ website at: http://www.whole-energy.com/

The downturn in the economy is making it difficult for Whole Energy Fuels to move as quickly as expected on the new proposed biodiesel facility at the Calera Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Pacifica City Manager Stephen Rhodes said the proposed project, which would convert used vegetable oil to fuel, is on hold pending funding issues.

"Whole Energy has had problems lining up investors in the project due to the decrease in gas prices and the downturn in the economy," he said.

Obviously, there is a need and desire to expand many biodiesel production operations, but it seems there are so many places, including oil prices, to hit a “snag”.

Solarix Sustainer Biodiesel Conversion System

European biodiesel company Solarix has created what may be a sustainable powerhouse for rural areas: the Sustainer, a "power box" in a 20-foot container frame that converts oil-bearing crops and seeds into edible oil and biodiesel.

Seems like a great system for rural areas, this is a real product, no price available yet. This a an example of a truly sustainable system that keeps on producing biodiesel fuel and other products. Super.

From Biofuels International: EU considers extending import duties on US biodiesel

The European Commission has submitted a proposal to extend the temporary tariffs imposed on imports of US biodiesel for up to five years.
The anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs passed in March were established in order to protect European biodiesel producers by counteracting the payments the US gives its own producers.
European biofuel producers stressed that US subsidies triggered an influx of under-priced American imports therefore hijacking their own market.

I hope other biofuels publications will accept our hand in friendship, as they all have a piece of the puzzle. Let us be the source of all good things biodiesel.

Also from Biofuels International: BP/DuPont’s biobutanol tests exceed a million miles

Following extensive testing, motorists could be filling up on biobutanol in three to five years

Like ethanol, biobutanol can be produced from feedstocks such as corn, wheat and sugarcane, but has the advantages of greater energy density, more miles per gallon and can be transported in existing pipelines.

This is a new fuel to me, but the fact that it works in a normal gas car means we will be hearing more about it in the years to come.

Biodiesel for U.S. fighter jets could come from algae in the future

Utah State University's Energy Laboratory's Center for Biofuels. From their website: http://energylab.usu.edu/htm/about/overview

For the Air Force to ease away from its 700 million-gallon-a-year reliance on foreign oil, it needs a substitute that performs as well as kerosene-based jet fuel, known as JP-8. The new fuel would have to withstand extreme weather conditions, be usable without major modifications to jets and under a new federal law, emit less carbon dioxide.

This is certainly a critical application for biodiesel—to use a jet fuel in fighter and transportation planes all over the world. As it is, oil prices threaten to drive all air travel down the tubes.

Daily News—06/04

Robert Gleeman — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:36:44 GMT

Neste Oil Starting To Build Largest Biodiesel Plant In Europe

SUGAR LAND--June 4, 2009--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Neste Oil Corporation (HEL:NES1V) (Espoo, Finland) has started construction of the largest biodiesel plant in Europe at the Port of Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The company announced last week that the first foundation stone was laid to mark the construction of the estimated $1 billion-plus plant. When completed in late 2010, the plant will have the capacity of producing 800,000 metric tons of biodiesel from palm oil, rapeseed oil and animal fat waste streams.

Is biodiesel going to be one of those things they “get” in Europe better than we do here in the USA? I don’t think so, and we will continue to report on large biodiesel plants.

Sanimax to temporarily close DeForest, WI biodiesel plant

The 12,300-square-foot DeForest plant, which opened in March 2007, was expected to produce 20 million gallons of biodiesel fuel a year using cooking oil and animal fat.

In Wisconsin, Sanimax also has facilities in Evansville, Green Bay and Abbotsford. Hansen attributed the temporary closure to economic conditions.

Other biodiesel plants have closed or consolidated due to lower demand, higher prices for raw materials and tighter credit, according to the Biofuels Digest.

Subject to many variables, a biodiesel “well” can dry up just like an oil well in the ground. Let us remember that right now, we are pioneers in a brand new field of work.

Gushan temporarily suspends biodiesel production at Fujian Gushan due to tax disputes

(RTTNews) - Gushan Environmental Energy Ltd. (GU: News ) announced the temporarily suspension of production at Fujian Gushan Bio-diesel Energy Co. Ltd due to a dispute with a local tax authority concerning consumption tax issues.

Even in China, there is trouble marketing biodiesel against petrol-based diesel, in this case, a tax dispute so severe, the plant will be shut down for some undisclosed amount of time. Shameful.

New jersey biodiesel firm starts production in Conn

New Haven (AP) - A New Jersey biodiesel company says it is opening a distribution operation in New Haven this month.

Innovation Fuels of Newark, N.J., produces and distributes the fuel that's created with vegetable oil.

A company executive says it will base its Connecticut operation at the New Haven Terminal which is strategically located for distribution in New England.

Innovation Fuels will ship biodiesel by barge, so you can see, big business is getting the message that biodiesel is here to stay, particularly if oil prices soar as they eventually must.

Daily News—06/03

Robert Gleeman — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:38:02 GMT

Oregon students invent new biodiesel reactor

Aaron Findley thinks he might have found a new way for “quickie marts” to save time and money.

Findley, a student at Oregon Institute of Technology in Southeast Portland, has devised a way to filter and clean used vegetable oil for use in cars and trucks that run on diesel. The project, called the automated biodiesel reactor, is a joint venture with Findley’s classmates Jordan Hudson and Sean Laraway.

When you stop and think about it, every diesel engine is dual-fuel, I hope students will be encouraged by this story, we need new scientists to make new fuels.

Brazil sugar cane-based ethanol to receive government funding

A worker cuts sugar cane for raw sugar and ethanol fuel production on the property of the Sao Martinho mill in Pradopolis, 300 kms (186 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo July 6, 2007.

REUTERS/Rickey Rogers

Aside from promoting public understanding and use of the biofuel, the campaign will help retrain manual cane cutters, who will be phased out as mechanized harvesting takes hold in the main center-south cane region.

I believe we should give our mental support to all biofuel, and in some areas of the world, ethanol has a strong lead. But it all supports the green energy concept.

Making air travel greener with biofuels

Yet the biofuels used for the Virgin flight, derived from coconut and babassu oils, have negligible carbon savings, because the production of the plants themselves results in negative environmental effects. Meanwhile, their use, displacing food crops, increases food prices and hinders efforts to feed the third world. So while Virgin’s mission was a technical success, it wasn’t a long-term solution.

We are going to see more experiments using biodiesel in aircraft, as they are getting nailed every time oil prices go up. Some day, biofuels may be the only way to fly.

Mapping the jatropha genome for greater biodiesel production

By understanding these environments SGI and ACGT will be able to develop diagnostic tests for plant diseases and agents for disease control, leading to healthier and more productive crops. These genomic solutions also allow for more efficient land usage with improved stewardship of the plantation environment.

ACGT and SGI have focused on Jatropha for several reasons: it is a tropical tree that is one of the highest yielding oilseed plants in the world; it can be grown on marginal, non-food producing lands; has a very short generation time; can be productive for 30 to 40 years; and its seed oil and biomass are ideal for biofuel production.

As we better understand the genetics of plants, we will learn how to tweak the oil production, perhaps coming up with hybrid plants just dripping with veggie oil.

VA Tech students convert waste vegetable oil into biodiesel fuel

The group limited its project to 200 gallons of biodiesel because of space limitations at the warehouse, but could produce more if needed. For now, the team can make up to 50 gallons at a time, so the potential for fueling a small fleet is possible. Already there are some takers.

A group of Virginia Tech students have produced more than 200 gallons of biodiesel as part of a senior design project for the department of mechanical engineering. The Virginia Tech Bio-Fuels group is putting the fuel to direct use, running two pickup trucks on the liquid in a bid to not only stave off the use of foreign-bought oil but also to be environmentally friendly.

One of the most exciting aspects of biodiesel is the capability of using waste cooking oil to run a vehicle, actually using the oil twice. What a great project for students to work on and think about.

Biodiesel Testing - Proper Sampling

ebztz — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:22:00 GMT

Proper sampling is as important as testing itself. This is a simple, important - but sometimes overlooked - point. I have seen poor sample lead to errant conclusions, both pass and fail. Here are a few real life examples (names excluded):

An associate who was very proud of their top-access processor, consistently pulled biodiesel samples from the top access hatch after draining glycerin. His results were stellar, always passing 27/3 conversion tests with no dropout. He was very happy. I discussed his sampling method with him, instructing him to thoroughly mix his fuel prior to pulling a sample. He was disappointed to find his consistent passes were not all passes.

A former student was frustrated with conversion problems processing in his appleseed. When asked how he sampled, he stated that he pulled samples from the bottom of his tank, after draining glycerin. Again, he was instructed to mixed his raw bio before pulling a sample. He discovered that he likely had been making quality fuel all along, but had been pulling samples with a greater concentration of glycerides.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Homogenize (thoroughly mix) raw biodiesel before sampling and testing (all parts of the sample will be tested equally). Biodiesel, given time to settle, will form "layers" (in a gradient). The bottom layers tend to contain more glycerides, and the upper layer, more esters. Similar sampling techniques should be used when performing other tests (on feedstock, for water, soap, etc).

Daily News—06/02

Robert Gleeman — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:48:24 GMT

$17.5 million biodiesel plant in Moberly, MO

Members of the Producers Choice Soy Energy Board, its employees, local, county and state officials cut the ribbon to celebrate the open house of the new $17.5 million biodiesel plant in Moberly. Many of the 300 investors turned out for a tour of the facility.

Photos by Janet Morales
Ed Miller, Producers Choice board member, explains the workings of the reactor where the soybean oil is converted into biodiesel fuel.

Investors are interested in this biodiesel plant in MO, it appears to use soy oil as the main feed stock, looks like a nice plant for making a nice product.

Bismarck, ND Renewable Energy Summit

We’ve heard a lot of talk about how North Dakota has a lot of renewable energy potential. One of those sources is biodiesel in the form of ethanol. While North Dakota has the ability to produce it from corn, the industry is hurting because of the difficulty in marketing the product.

This article lumps all biofuels together, in fact, calling ethanol a form of biodiesel, but it is true that “King Corn” can be a source of both oil and ethanol, assuming you don’t need to eat it.

This is a FACT: Biodiesel could become the diesel fuel of the future

In just two weeks, one Midwestern city (Kokomo, Indiana) produced enough of the fuel to start using it in its municipal fleet of diesel trucks.

A small area for processing the fuel was found in a corner of its sanitation plant. Sanitation technicians used a block of their time for its production.

Equipment for making biodiesel fuels from used cooking oil can be found at http://www.biodiesel-kits-online.com and other on-line resource sites.

Very simple and basic article on biodiesel with the above link to kits online and the photo you see here of a home fuel system. Cool system.

Minnesota on target to meet future biodiesel goals

Earlier this week, we told you how Washington state was going to fall short on its goal using 20 percent biofuels in all state vehicles. But there’s better news from the Midwest.

According to the Redwood Falls (MN) Gazette, Minnesota is on target of meeting its own lofty goal of having all diesel sold in the state to be a 20 percent blend by the year 2015. At the beginning of this month, the state jumped from a 2 percent to a 5 percent biodiesel blend. And the biodiesel industry in the state seems to be ready for the next two steps: a 10 percent blend in 2012 and 20 percent in 2015:

I may have a sharper interest in Minnesota because it is my home state, but I like their approach to good ideas—get in there and start doing it now.