The passage of the Farm Bill will positively impact the biomass industry and help to spur on additional development of renewable energy, according to several leading biomass companies and organizations that praised the long-awaited bill.
President Obama signed the 2014 Farm Bill into law during a Feb. 7 ceremony at Michigan State University. During his speech, Obama also announced the launch of a new "Made in Rural America" export and investment initiative.
Leaf Energy Ltd. recently announced it has received a preliminary report from Andritz AG outlining the results of a pilot-scale trial of Leaf Energy's Glycell Process, a glycerol pretreatment process, at the Andritz pilot plant in Springfield, Ohio.
The Algae Biomass Organization announced the publication of "Industrial Algae Measurements, Version 6.0" (IAM 6.0), a significant update to the common standards established by the organization for measuring and comparing algae industry operations.
Eastern redcedar trees are extremely invasive, are an incredible fire danger, and large, open-grown trees can use upwards of 42 gallons of water a day during the summer. However, removed invasive trees could serve as a biofuel feestock.
On Feb. 4, the U.S. Senate approved the conference report for the 2014 Farm Bill by a vote of 67 to 32. The vote was the final legislative action needed before President Obama can sign the legislation into law.
Gasoline-like fuels can be made from cellulosic materials such as farm and forestry waste using a new process invented by chemists at the University of California, Davis. The feedstock for the new process is levulinic acid.
Dyadic International Inc. has announced that the expansion of its research laboratory in The Netherlands is complete. Increased space allows for the installation of a range of state-of-the-art research equipment, including a new fermentation lab.
Iowa State University's pyrolysis pilot plant has undergone upgrades supported by $75,000 from the Leading the Bioeconomy Initiative at Iowa State. The improvements will help researchers gain a better understanding of the art of fast pyrolysis.
The United Kingdom's Renewable Heating Incentive encourages use of energy crops for thermal applications, but economics need improvement before it's done on a notable scale.
Algae.Tec Ltd. recently announced the signing of agreements with Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings said the arrangement is the backing the company needs to fund and launch its Global Biofuels Division.
The U.S. Farm Bill is a five-year piece of legislation that typically takes six years to develop and reach consensus among U.S. senators, representatives, and the president. Orchestrating this feat is nothing short of a miracle.
The U.S. EPA has published renewable identification number (RIN) generation data for December and all of 2013, reporting that the biofuel industry generated nearly 16.62 billion RINs last year, including nearly 1 million cellulosic RINs.
Biomass Magazine Executive Editor Tim Portz discusses the impact farmers and ag innovators are making on energy crop development.
Job creation, higher wages and investments in the U.S. education system were a few of several focus points during President Obama's State of the Union address, which reiterated the administration's "all-of-the-above" energy strategy.
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved the conference report for the 2014 Farm Bill by a vote of 251 to 166. The farm bill conference committee approved the conference report for the bill on Jan. 27. A U.S. Senate vote is expected next week.
Airbus and key Malaysian partners have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to assess local solutions for sustainable biomass production in Malaysia for use in jet fuel production. The first assessment is expected to be complete this year.
The agriculture committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have announced a bipartisan agreement on a new five-year Farm Bill. The House is expected to vote on the measure on Jan. 29, with a Senate vote expected soon after.
The public comment period on the U.S. EPA's proposed rule to set 2014 volume requirements under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) closes on Jan. 28 at 11:59 p.m. Already, more than 15,500 comments have been filed on the proposal.
The U.S. EPA has announced it is granting petitions filed by the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers for reconsideration of the cellulosic biofuel volume requirement under the 2013 renewable fuel standard.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the petitions requesting a rehearing en banc regarding California's Low Carbon Fuels Standard. As such, a prior ruling that the LCFS does not violate interstate commerce laws stands.
While the baling of crop residues and forage crops is nothing new, the sheer volume that will be required to supply a commercial biorefinery makes developing a reliable, cost effective supply chain a challenge.
Maverick Biofuels, a leader in alternative fuels and chemicals production technology, has changed its name to Maverick Synfuels to reflect the company's growth strategy for producing synthetic fuels and chemicals from low-value feedstocks and waste.
Global Bioenergies has announced the signing of a collaboration agreement with the German car manufacturer Audi on the development of isobutene-derived isooctane, a high performance biofuel for gasoline engines.
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin developed "sweet crude" biofuel using genetically engineered yeast cells and household sugar. The yeast was genetically modified to enable up to 90 percent of the the cell mass to become lipids.
Ottawa-based Iogen Corp. announced it has developed and patented a new method to make drop-in cellulosic biofuels from biogas using existing refinery assets and production operations.
A bipartisan group of senators has issued a letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy expressing concern over the EPA's proposed rule to set 2014 renewable fuel standard (RFS) volume requirements and urging the EPA to modify the proposal.
A memorial fund has been established to honor the vision and memory of southwestern Ontario agricultural entrepreneur Dean Tiessen of New Energy Farms, who died tragically in Brazil late last year.
The U.S. EPA's proposed reductions to the 2014 renewable fuel standard (RFS) volume requirements will not only impact current biofuel producers, the move is also expected to chill investment in second generation cellulosic projects and technologies.
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