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US military to seek bulk purchases of advanced drop-in biofuels

se more alternative fuels. Under USDA’s and Navy’s “Farm-to-Fleet” venture, biofuel blends for the first time will now be part of the Department of Defense’s domestic solicitations for jet engine and marine diesel fuels. The Navy said it would seek to purchase JP-5 and F-76 advanced drop-in biofuels blended from 10-50% with conventional fuels. “A secure, domestically produced energy source is very important to our national security,” Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a statement. “The Farm-to-Fleet initiative we are announcing today is important to advancing a commercial market for advanced biofuel, which will give us an alternative fuel source and help lessen our dependence on foreign oil.” […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Study shows bamboo ethanol in China technically and economically feasible, cost-competitive with gasoline

Study shows bamboo ethanol in China technically and economically feasible, cost-competitive with gasoline Bamboo, the composition of which is highly similar to energy grasses used for biofuel production such as switchgrass, is an interesting potential feedstock for advanced bioethanol production in China due to its natural abundance, rapid growth, perennial nature and low management requirements. Now, researchers at Imperial College London have shown that bioethanol production from bamboo in China is both technically and economically feasible, as well as cost-competitive with gasoline. An open access paper on their study is published in Biotechnology for Biofuels . Bamboo2 Bamboo3 China bioethanol pump price for five enzyme loading scenarios in ( a ) 2011 with a 16¢ per liter […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US ethanol production at 2013 high as crush spread widens

US ethanol production climbed 2.5% in the week ending November 22 to 927,000 b/d, matching the highest level so far this year, as makers of the biofuel boost output on cheaper corn costs, data from the Energy Information Administration show. Production was lifted by a widening spread between the cost of corn, the chief feedstock in the manufacturing of ethanol in the US, and the final selling price of the biofuel in Chicago, home to the country’s most active spot market for the gasoline oxygenate. The so-called crush spread, an indication of how profitable it is to turn a bushel of corn into ethanol, rose to $1.4/gal on November 22 from $0.63/gal on the previous week, according to Platts data. The crush spread fell to $0.91/gal on November 27, but remained above the average recorded so far in November of $0.62/gal. The crush […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Raízen breaks ground on Iogen cellulosic ethanol facility in Brazil

Raízen breaks ground on Iogen cellulosic ethanol facility in Brazil Iogen Corporation announced that Brazilian ethanol giant Raízen Energia Participações S/A has started construction of a commercial biomass-to-ethanol facility using Iogen Energy’s advanced cellulosic biofuel technology. (Iogen Energy is a joint venture between Raízen and Iogen Corporation. Earlier post .) The $100-million plant, to be located adjacent to Raízen’s Costa Pinto sugar cane mill in Piracicaba, São Paulo, will produce 40 million liters (10.6 million gallons US) of cellulosic ethanol a year from sugarcane bagasse and straw. Plant start-up is anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2014. Iogen will provide cellulosic ethanol related process technology, process designs and start-up and operational […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Analysis: High-ethanol gas – Not coming to a pump near you

A month ago, Steve Walk was on the brink of deals to sell two big oil refiners some of his company’s specialized oil pumps, which serve up fuel that is 85 percent ethanol, a biofuel made mostly from corn. Walk’s company, Protec Fuel, sells and installs the equipment needed to dispense so-called E85. The deals would have nearly doubled Protec’s business, he said. The number of stations across the United States dispensing E85, which is a rarity despite the growing use of biofuels, would have jumped by 10 percent. But those deals are on hold after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal earlier this month to slash the minimum volume of ethanol to be used in the country’s gasoline supply next year. The surprise move by the Obama administration marks a retreat from the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act meant to push increased sales of […]

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Biomass-based diesel production passes 2013 mandate in October: EPA

Houston (Platts)–18Nov2013/532 pm EST/2232 GMT US biomass-based diesel production production in October passed the federal mandate for full-year 2013, Environmental Protection Agency data showed Monday. Production through October was at 1.39 billion gallons, besting the Renewable Fuels Standard’s 1.28 billion-gallon target for the year. The remaining production throughout 2013 can be partially applied to this year’s ethanol mandate or advanced biofuel mandate, and to 2014’s mandates. Monthly biodiesel production was lower in October for just the third time in a record-breaking 2013, down 3.34 million gallons to 163.78 million gallons. US biomass-based diesel production has been spurred through the year by the return of the $1/gal biodiesel blending tax credit and a 10 cents/gal credit for agricultural biodiesel producers. –Jordan Godwin, [email protected] –Edited by Richard Rubin, [email protected]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ethanol Futures Rise After Output Gain Fails to Replenish Stocks

Ethanol gained for a sixth straight session after a government report showed that rising U.S. output wasn’t enough to boost supplies. Ethanol increased 0.5 percent as inventories declined 12,000 barrels to 15.2 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 8, the Energy Information Administration said today. Production jumped 2.8 percent to 927,000 barrels a day, the highest level since Feb. 10, 2012, Ethanol’s discount to gasoline widened 4.67 cents to 90.57 cents after stockpiles of the motor fuel dropped, sending gasoline prices to a four-week high. “Demand is outpacing output, leaving little room to replenish stockpiles,” Renato Dias, a Campinas, Brazil-based analyst for Intl FCStone Inc., said in a telephone interview. Denatured ethanol for December settlement extended its longest winning streak since May, advancing 0.9 cent to close at $1.778 a gallon on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices have dropped 19 percent this year. Ethanol output will rise […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple