Biofuels made from high-yield, short rotation woody crops or from forest residuals and thinnings that are currently left unused have substantial potential to reduce CO2 emissions as well as to contribute to energy independence.
The Japan-based New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization is launching a demonstration project in Thailand to produce ethanol from cassava residue obtained after starch extraction.
Advanced production techniques, informed growing practices and improved seed varieties helped corn growers achieve high yields in the National Corn Growers Association 2012 National Corn Yield Contest, in some cases doubling the national average.
With new funding in hand, Proterro Inc. is poised to take its sucrose-producing process to the pilot stage, using full scale-bioreactors. The company expects the process can produce fermentation-ready sugar at a cost of less than 5 cents per pound.
Patriot Bioenergy Corp. joined the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association and sees value in industrial hemp for biomass blending with bituminous coal for power generation as well as a possible cellulosic feedstock for biofuels.
Delta BioRenewables LLC has announced that its collaboration partner Commonwealth Agri-Energy LLC has successfully produced ethanol from sweet sorghum sugars at its corn ethanol facility in Hopkinsville, Ky. using Ceres Inc.'s sweet sorghum hybrid.
A Colorado State University team has received a $2 million grant from the U.S. DOE to produce a biological control system for bioenergy crops. The work will develop technology that allows rapid and precise improvement of bioenergy crops.
Chromatin Inc. announced a successful grain sorghum trial for both a California ethanol producer and new sorghum grower. L and R Mussi Farms of Stockton, Calif., produced 40 acres of sorghum that was harvested and delivered to Pacific Ethanol.
The Renewable Fuels Association has sent a letter to the U.S. EPA concerning the obsolete lifecycle analyses of corn and sugarcane ethanol for the renewable fuel standard. The RFA wants EPA to update the analyses to reflect new science.
The overall quality of the 2012 U.S. corn crop is high and improves upon last year's very good marks across a range of test factors, according to the U.S. Grains Council's Corn Harvest Quality Report 2012/13. This is the second year for the report.
New Zealand-based LanzaTech recently announced that its waste gas-to-ethanol technology is ready to enter the commercialization phase in China. The company currently operates a 100,000 gallon per year demonstration facility at a Baosteel steel mill.
More than $6.1 million in funding has been awarded to four biofuel-related energy technology projects, including research and development in engineered bioenergy crops and a flexible molecular sieve for biofuel production.
Syngenta in North America announces it has signed a commercial agreement with Bonanza BioEnergy to use grain featuring Enogen trait technology in 2013. The technology that allows corn to express a robust form of alpha amylase enzyme.
Ceres Inc. is proving the viability of using of sweet sorghum as an ethanol feedstock, extending ethanol production during the months sugarcane isn't actively harvested. The company is now working with more than 20 ethanol and sugar mills.
On Nov. 16 the USDA announced more than $15.7 million in payments to 189 companies under USDA Rural Development's Advanced Biofuel Payment Program, which provides payments to support the production and expansion of advanced biofuels.
A new white paper published by Ethanol Across America, a grassroots educational campaign of the Clean Fuels Foundation, calls for a stronger emphasis on advanced ethanol from alternative sugar and starch feedstocks under the renewable fuel standard.
Ethanol Industry executives approach 2013 with optimism and concern.
Agro2 S.A., located in Veraguas, Panama, is proud to be the first company in Panama to be certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification confirming the compliance of Agro2's cassava production and processing method.
The Philippine Department of Energy has granted Xavier University PHP3.3 million ($80,000) to research the possibility of producing cassava ethanol. The project aims to evaluate the potential of several cassava varieties in Northern Mindanao.
The U.S. Grains Council on Oct. 23 said it was pleased about the official approval of the Syngenta corn variety MIR 162 Agrisure Vipterra in the European Union, opening the way for exports of DDGS.
A recent Global Agricultural Information Network report filed with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service provides an update on sugar production in Brazil, showing an expected 5 percent increase in yields compared to prior estimates.
BSR has released a new report that assesses the sustainability impacts of commercial transportation fuels, as well as the market outlook for a range of fuels, including biofuels. The organization is seeking comments on its analysis.
Syngenta Corp. in North America announced it has signed a commercial agreement with Plymouth Energy of Merrill, Iowa to use grain featuring Enogen trait technology. Plymouth will begin using Enogen grain for the first time in the fall of 2013.
The USDA announced a $10 million grant has been awarded under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative to research shrub willow, switchgrass and miscanthus grown on marginal and abandoned lands, such as reclaimed mine sites, in the Northeast.
The Union of Concerned Scientists has published a report that shows that biomass feedstock has the potential to dramatically increase our nation's renewable energy supply. The report is titled "The Promise of Biomass."
Viaspace Inc. has announced that its proprietary, high-yield, dedicated energy crop Giant King Grass has been released from quarantine by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for distribution in the U.S.
U.K.-based TMO Renewables Ltd. recently announced it signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Usina Santa Maria Cerquilho, an associate of sugar and ethanol company Copasucar, in Brazil with regard to a feedstock agreement for a cellulosic ethanol plant.
Higher corn yields in Minnesota and North Dakota didn't make up for lower yields than what was previously forecast for Illinois, causing USDA to adjust its projected national average corn yield down 0.8 bushels to 122.0 bushels per acre.
A Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute report concludes that a reduction in the renewable fuel standard wouldn't greatly reduce corn prices in the 2012/'13 crop year. However, the effects of the waiver could be larger in the next crop year.
Researchers develop promising business model
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