Biomass Week - October 4, 2013

Petitions request rehearing of recent LCFS case in California Petitions have been filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th circuit, requesting a rehearing en banc with regard to a recent ruling that determined that California's low carbon fuel standard program does not violate interstate commerce laws. READ MORE SHARE
N.C. approves agreement for pellet export facility The North Carolina Council of State has approved a deal that expands the Ports' profile in the highly competitive wood pellet industry. The North Carolina State Ports Authority Board of Directors approved the same agreement last week. READ MORE SHARE
	ASTM publishes D7862 standard for butanol Butanol has a new ASTM International standard, intended for blends with gasoline at 1 to 12.5 percent volumes to be used as an automotive spark-ignition engine fuel. The new specification, ASTM D7862, covers three butanol isomers. READ MORE SHARE
BlueFire Renewables adds pellet production to Miss. facility BlueFire Renewables Inc. has integrated a synergistic wood pellet production plant to its facility in Fulton, Miss. The reconfigured design will be a 9 million gallon per year ethanol plant integrated with a 400,000 ton per year wood pellet plant. READ MORE SHARE
GCRE acquires Bayou Wood Pellets, plans expansion Gulf Coast Renewable Energy has announced the acquisition of West Monroe, La.-based Bayou Wood Pellets LLC. The company is also making investments to expand the facility's production capacity, and plans to develop three additional pellet plants. READ MORE SHARE
Green Investment Bank invests in Wales biomass plant With completion of a new, long-term feedstock contract with Stobart Biomass and an investment by the U.K. Green Investment Bank, Western Bioenergy Ltd. in Port Talbot, Wales, is set to undergo a refurbishment. READ MORE SHARE
ACR accepting comments on biochar methodology for carbon credits The American Carbon Registry has opened a public comment period on a new methodology to measure carbon reductions associated with biochar produced via the pyrolysis process using waste feedstocks, such as forestry and agricultural residues. READ MORE SHARE
Algae Biomass Summit opens with focus on meeting customer demand The 2013 Algae Biomass Summit opened Oct. 1 in Orlando, Fla. Hosted by the Algae Biomass Organization, industry leaders revealed new production capabilities and forecasts for commercial quantities of algae fuels and products. READ MORE SHARE
UCLA develops metabolic pathway to convert sugars into biofuels University of California, Los Angeles chemical engineering researchers have created a new synthetic metabolic pathway for breaking down glucose that could lead to a 50 percent increase in the production of biofuels. READ MORE SHARE
KAIST announces novel technology to produce biobased gasoline A research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) reported, for the first time, the development of a novel strategy for microbial gasoline production through metabolic engineering of E. coli. READ MORE SHARE
Metabolix launches new biobased performance additive for PVC Metabolix Inc. has announced the launch of I6003rp, a new biobased polymeric performance additive for recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC). I6003rp demonstrates the value of excellent miscibility in PVC when used in combination with recycle PVC. READ MORE SHARE
U.K. biogas developer reports improved financial results A U.K. company active in the biogas sector has released its financial results for the first half of 2013. The TEG Group PLC reported significantly increased revenue and profit, when compared to the same period of last year. READ MORE SHARE
Biomass-to-activated carbon research receives $45,000 grant Mitacs awarded $45,000 to the Cape Breton University and BW BioEnergy Inc. for a research project that aims to utilize torrefaction technology to produce activated carbon from local woody biomass to remove water contaminants through adsorption. READ MORE SHARE
Biomass CHP project receives MEA Game Changers Grant Cambridge EnTech, a division of Cambridge International, is pleased to learn that the Maryland Hawk Corporation Technologies Greenhouse is a recipient of the Maryland Energy Administration's Game Changers grant program. READ MORE SHARE
Cool Planet, Acritaz Greentech to develop Malaysian projects Cool Planet Energy Systems and Acritaz Greentech have signed an agreement to explore the building of multiple commercial facilities in Malaysia. The plan is to begin construction on the first plant in 2014. READ MORE SHARE
Butamax, Highwater Ethanol break ground on biobutanol retrofit Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC, a biobutanol technology company, and Highwater Ethanol LLC, a producer of first-generation ethanol, have begun to retrofit Highwater's ethanol plant in Lamberton, Minn., for the production of biobutanol. READ MORE SHARE
Long-term fuel contract announced for Ireland biomass project Stobart Biomass Products Ltd. announced 15-year contract to supply 115,000 metric tons annually of recycled wood to the Evermore Renewable Energy Plant soon to begin construction in Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland. READ MORE SHARE
Proterro meets key milestones, commissions pilot plant Proterro Inc. recently announced it has met key new development milestones. "We scaled up our novel photobioreactor design and conducted independent functionality tests that confirmed the unit's robustness," said Proterro CEO Kef Kasdin. READ MORE SHARE
White paper discusses waste-to-energy on the West Coast Renewable Waste Intelligence has published a white paper that focuses on waste-to-energy projects in the California, Washington, Oregon an Hawaii. It provides an overview of waste-utilizing technologies and highlights specific projects. READ MORE SHARE
BioNitrogen granted biomass-to-urea technology patent Florida-based BioNitrogen Corp. was granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its technology that converts biomass feedstocks into urea fertilizer. The company plans to roll out the technology in domestic and international markets. READ MORE SHARE