Category: Biofuels

The US Environmental Protection Agency lowered the amount of cellulosic ethanol required in 2013 to the amount actually produced, relieving refiners and importers of the need to buy credits to cover shortfalls against the earlier mandate. The adjusted volume is 810,185 ethanol-equivalent gal. The earlier requirement, published on Aug. 15, 2013, was 6 million gal. EPA made the change in response to petitions for reconsideration from the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. AFPM welcomed the move. “I expect EPA to use the same rational thinking to revise its proposed 2014 ethanol and biodiesel requirements, which are already long overdue,” said AFPM Pres. Charles T. Drevna. He said EPA has proposed a mandate of 17 million gal of cellulosic ethanol for 2014 and noted production of the material in the first quarter totaled less than 75,000 gal. Because commercialization of cellulosic ethanol has been slow to […]

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The estimated production margin for a typical US Midwest dry-mill ethanol plant for the week ended Friday fell 20.06 cents, or 15.6%, to a six-week low of $1.0854/gal, a review of US Department of Agriculture and Platts data showed. As weekly stocks data and added imports had a starkly bearish effect on ethanol prices, the margin retreated for a fourth straight week from an eight-year high hit in the last week of March. The estimated ethanol price used in calculating the margin was the weekly average of the Platts Chicago Argo ethanol assessment, which tumbled 19.4 cents, or 8.13%, to a seven-week low of $2.3870/gal. Article continues below… Platts Biofuelscan is a daily report, covering the latest worldwide biofuel news and prices. It provides a daily summary of market events and developments, along with closing market price assessments from the Americas, Europe, and Asia. […]

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Biofuels made from the leftovers of harvested corn plants are worse than gasoline for global warming in the short term, a study shows, challenging the Obama administration’s conclusions that they are a much cleaner oil alternative and will help combat climate change. A $500,000 study paid for by the federal government and released Sunday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change concludes that biofuels made with corn residue release 7 percent more greenhouse gases in the early years compared with conventional gasoline. While biofuels are better in the long run, the study says, they won’t meet a standard set in a 2007 energy law to qualify as renewable fuel. The conclusions deal a blow to what are known as cellulosic biofuels, which have received more than a billion dollars in federal support but have struggled to meet volume targets mandated by law. About half the initial market in cellulosics […]

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There is an old joke in the energy business that advanced biofuels are the fuel of the future, and always will be. A Spanish company, Abengoa Bioenergy , has bet $500 million on robbing that joke of its punch line. In the middle of a cornfield here it is building a 38-acre Erector set of electrical cable and pipe that will soon begin producing cellulosic ethanol, which it calls a low-polluting alternative to petroleum products. This is just as the George W. Bush administration and Congress intended seven years ago with legislation promoting energy independence. But even as Abengoa and other companies prepare to produce significant amounts of cellulosic ethanol, using corn stalks and wheat straw as opposed […]

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In 2012, the combined global production of ethanol and biodiesel fell for the first time since 2000, down 0.4% from the figure in 2011, according to the Worldwatch Institute’s latest Vital Signs Online report. Global ethanol production declined slightly for the second year in a row, to 83.1 billion liters (22 billion gallons US), while biodiesel output rose fractionally, from 22.4 billion liters in 2011 to 22.5 billion liters (5.9 billion gallons US) in 2012. Biodiesel now accounts for more than 20% of global biofuel production, according to the report. Biofuels for transport—essentially ethanol and biodiesel—account for about 0.8% of global energy use, 8% of global primary energy derived from biomass, 3.4% of global road transport fuels, and 2.5% of all transport fuels. […]

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Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration based on Oil Price Information Service (ethanol prices) and Thomson Reuters (RBOB prices). Note: RBOB is reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending gasoline, a motor gasoline blending component intended for blending oxygenates to produce finished reformulated gasoline. Ethanol spot prices have increased steadily since early February. By late March, New York Harbor (NYH) spot ethanol prices exceeded prices for RBOB (the petroleum component of gasoline) by more than $1 per gallon. Ethanol spot prices in Chicago and Gulf Coast markets also rose above NYH RBOB prices. The premium of New York Harbor over Chicago spot ethanol prices, which averaged 25 cents per gallon in January (close to the typical transportation costs of moving ethanol from production centers in the Midwest to terminals on the East Coast in recent years) widened to $1 per gallon in early March. Logistical constraints in and around ethanol production centers […]

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An ethanol plant in Stockton, Calif. Analysts say a backup of railcars has kept ethanol from making it to coastal refineries that mix it into gasoline. U.S. ethanol and railroad industry groups clashed Thursday over transportation constraints that have triggered soaring prices for the biofuel in recent weeks. Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen said in a letter to the Association of American Railroads that the "sheer chaos" of the rail system has pushed up prices for ethanol—a corn-based biofuel that is blended into gasoline—and caused consumers to pay more at the pump. The higher costs, he argued, have damaged the image of the ethanol industry. Ethanol prices have jumped in recent weeks as supplies have declined amid transportation snarls. A bitterly cold winter and rising crude-oil shipments have slowed rail traffic in the Midwest. Most ethanol is made from corn grown in that region. The backup of railcars […]

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February production of corn-based ethanol in the US lowered by 125.01 million gallons, or 10.76%, to an 11-month low of 1.04 billion gallons, US Environmental Protection Agency data showed Friday. The drop in ethanol production was unsurprising to sources as delayed rail return times to plants forced reduced run rates and a significant drop in production. "If you think those numbers are nuts, wait until March comes out," one trader said. "We’ll be lucky if we hit 900 [million gallons]." US ethanol prices have soared in recent weeks as supply concerns continue to send a resounding bullish sentiment throughout the market. Delayed return times on railcar deliveries, caused primarily by severe freezing weather and a higher demand for railcar space, was the root of the price surge throughout February, sources said. The Platts Chicago Argo ethanol assessment hit $3.24/gal Friday, up $1.1850/gal from a […]

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US railroads are rerouting ethanol shipments to avoid bottlenecks in Chicago, particularly for delivery to the East Coast, where supplies are running low, rail company officials said Thursday. David Garin, BNSF’s vice president of industrial products, said Chicago — already congested as the US’ busiest freight rail hub — has been severely impacted by winter weather, leading to delays on routes using interchanges there for all commodities. Though BNSF does not serve East Coast markets, Garin was speaking at a meeting of the US Surface Transportation Board’s Rail Energy Transportation Advisory Committee as a representative of the rail industry. "Chicago is a big challenge for us," Garin said. "We’ve looked at longer routing. It may not seem to make sense to [ship ethanol on rail] through Arkansas to the East Coast, but right now where we’re trying to avoid interchanges in Chicago." Ethanol inventories […]

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