On April 12, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., introduced the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, legislation that aims to legalize and clearly define hemp as an agricultural commodity and remove it from the list of controlled substances.
Engineers from the National University of Singapore recently discovered that a naturally occurring bacterium, Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum TG57, is capable of directly converting cellulose to biobutanol.
In the U.K., the new Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation came into force on April 15, requiring fuel companies to nearly triple the amount of renewable fuel they supply by 2032. The new regulations also introduce incentives for waste-based fuels.
In response to a January letter sent by Sens. Grassley, Thune, Blunt, Fischer and Ernst, EPA has again confirmed that oil refiners aren't negatively impacted by compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard.
On April 12, President Donald Trump pledged his support for allowing year-round sales of E15. Representatives of the ethanol industry are speaking out in support of his announcement.
On April 12, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K Michael Conaway, R-Texas, released a draft of the 2018 Farm Bill. The legislation reauthorizes many bioenergy-related programs, but provides them with only discretionary funding.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue briefly addressed the U.S. EPA's misuse of Renewable Fuel Standard hardship waivers during an April 11 hearing held by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Agriculture.
Alliance BioEnergy Plus Inc. announced April 5 that it has signed a sublicense agreement with Phoenix Biomaterials Thomaston LLC for the use of its licensed and patented CTS process in a plant Phoenix intends to build in Thomaston, Georgia.
On April 9, five republican senators from the Midwest sent a letter to President Trump asking him to direct the U.S. EPA to stop misusing waivers that are exempting large oil refining companies from meeting their legal obligations under the RFS.
The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture has announced a grant for $1 million to support research led by a University of Illinois scientist. The research will address the need for better-adapted and higher-yielding biomass cultivars.
On April 4, Clean Energy Fuels Corp. introduced ZERO NOW, a fueling solution that combines the world's cleanest engine technology with the cleanest fuel at a price of $1 per gallon for one year.
On April 4, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the U.S. EPA's proposed settlement with Philadelphia Energy Solutions that allows the bankrupt refiner to waive a significant portion of its RVOs under the RFS.
A comprehensive look at how plants build cellulose, the primary building block of the walls of most plant cells that is used in a wide variety of manmade materials, could have important implications for its use in biofuels.
Supporters of the biofuels industry are speaking out in response to reports that the U.S. EPA has awarded small refinery waivers under the Renewable Fuel Standard to large refiners.
A coalition led by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the California Air Resources board has announced plans to sue the U.S. EPA over its failure to enforce existing landfill methane regulations.
The U.S. EPA is seeking public comment on any aspect of the use of isobutanol in gasoline in response to a fuel registration application filed by Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC. The public comment period ends April 30.
Gevo Inc. announced April 2 that an ASTM International subcommittee has voted in favor of revising specification D7566 to include ethanol in addition to isobutanol and to increase the approved blend levels from 30 percent to 50 percent.
Anellotech has announced a key operating milestone, achieving two weeks of continuous operation of its seven-story tall TCat-8 pilot plant, producing aromatics, primarily benzene, toluene, and xylenes, from loblolly pine feedstock.
By studying and comparing the workhorse cellulose-degrading enzymes of two fungi, researchers from NREL have pinpointed regions on these enzymes that can be targeted via genetic engineering to help break down cellulose faster.
Albany and Saratoga County leaders announced an inter-municipal partnership on March 28 that allows for the establishment of a regional biosolid waste facility. The facility will recycle biosolids, sewer sludge and food waste into methane gas.
Gevo Inc. released 2017 financial results on March 28, providing an overview of its financial status, production and sales, and market development activities. The company's Minnesota biorefinery is expected to focus on ethanol production in 2018.
Researchers at Princeton University are using light to control genetically modified yeast and increase its output of commercially valuable chemicals. The results offer scientists a powerful new tool to probe and understand the inner working of cells.
Researchers at Tufts University have created a genetically modified yeast that can more efficiently consume a novel nutrient, xylose, enabling the yeast to grow faster and to higher cell densities.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy Joint BioEnergy Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered a new enzyme that will enable microbial production of a renewable alternative to petroleum-based toluene.
The USDA has released a new report that measures economic growth, job creation and household income from biofuel and bioenergy production, along with future growth in renewable chemicals and biobased products.
California can reduce carbon emissions by more than 70 million metric tons by 2030, akin to taking 15 million gasoline-powered cars off the road in one year, by adopting a higher target for its Low Carbon Fuel Standard, according to a new report.
Funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant, a team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is creating a better way to convert waste food into biofuels using a process that features catalysts and hydrothermal liquefaction.
On March 22, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill that is designed to increase the development and use of renewable natural gas (RNG) within the state. The Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas is among the groups that supported the legislation.
Agrisoma Biosciences Inc., an agricultural technology company that sells Carinata seeds used to produce biojet fuel for the aviation industry, announced March 12 it has completed a CAD $12 million investment round.
The U.S. EPA has released renewable identification number (RIN) generation data for February, reporting 1.4 billion RINs were generated during the month, including approximately 20.36 million cellulosic RINs.
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