US lifts biofuel mandate in blow to oil companies
The White House handed a victory to the corn ethanol industry and dismayed oil companies by requiring US cars and trucks to burn more biofuels next year. The rule finalised Continue Reading
EPA Completes Rule Requiring More Ethanol Blended Into 2017 Gasoline Supply
Federal regulators finalized a rule Wednesday that raises the amount of ethanol refineries must blend into the nation’s gasoline supply, providing a boost to ethanol companies and drawing criticism from Continue Reading
Detailed snapshots of photosynthesis at room temperature using SLAC’s X-ray laser show water-splitting reaction
One of its molecular mysteries of photosynthesis involves how the photosystem II protein complex harvests energy from sunlight and uses it to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Now, an Continue Reading
NREL and partners build pilot plant to co-process biomass streams with petroleum
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), together with leading petroleum refining technologies supplier W.R. Grace, and leading pilot plant designer Zeton Inc., built a unique pilot-scale facility that can produce Continue Reading
New report suggests bioenergy crops are not a risk to food production
In a new report, researchers have challenged the belief that growing crops for bioenergy will cut food production, a concern they say is stalling new schemes. The report also identifies Continue Reading
Researchers Just Solved One of the Biggest Problems for World Hunger
Planet Earth is doomed with a fast growing global population and a limited amount of farmland to produce food for everyone. That means that we’re going to need to figure Continue Reading
Biofuel Breakthrough: Production Jumps 64%
This week I wrote an update on the progress toward cellulosic ethanol commercialization, and given my previous coverage on the topic (especially Why I Don’t Ride a Unicorn to Work Continue Reading
A New Source of Liquid Energy?
In the poorest parts of the world, energy is scarce. That is why some scientists are excited about the prospect of generating electricity from urine. Human waste, after all, is Continue Reading
U.S. refiner biofuels costs top $1 billion, nearing 2013 record
U.S. oil refiners paid more than $1 billion to comply with rules to produce more ethanol-infused gasoline last year, the most in two years, according to filings that will likely Continue Reading
Ethanol pioneer ADM’s struggle reflects deepening industry woes
When Archer Daniels Midland opened two of the country’s largest ethanol plants in Nebraska and Iowa six years ago, the biofuels market was on the cusp of a boom with Continue Reading