Building the Cellulosic Ethanol Industry

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Building the Cellulosic Ethanol Industry:
September 27, 2006
"Minneapolis, Minnesota [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] A new report issued by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) urges the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to change its piecemeal approach to commercializing ethanol from cellulose by developing a comprehensive strategy, namely that farmer ownership should be the federal focus in building the cellulosic ethanol industry."

MIT Developing Floating Wind Turbines

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Floating Wind Turbines the Wave of the Future:
by Nancy Sauffer -- September 21, 2006
"Sclavounos estimates that building and installing his floating support system should cost a third as much as constructing the type of truss tower now planned for deep-water installations. Because of the strong offshore winds, the floating turbines should produce up to twice as much electricity per year (per installed megawatt) as wind turbines now in operation. And since the wind turbines are not permanently attached to the ocean floor, they are a movable asset."

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Virgin Group Pledges to Invest $400 M in Renewable Energy

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Virgin Group Pledges to Invest $400 M in Renewable Energy:
September 18, 2006
"Formed in June 2006, Cilion plans to build and operate ethanol plants that will be cheaper and greener than standard corn-to-ethanol plants, reducing the need for fossil fuels in ethanol production. "

New Technology Uses Cellulosic Biomass to Produce Ethanol

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | New Technology Uses Cellulosic Biomass to Produce Ethanol:
September 19, 2006
"The new technology uses RITE strain, a microorganism developed by RITE that converts sugar into alcohol, with Honda engineering to increase alcohol conversion efficiency, in comparison to current cellulosic bio-ethanol production processes."

Chevron to Fund Major Biofuel Research Projects at UC Davis

UC Davis News & Information :: Chevron to Fund Major Biofuel Research Projects at UC Davis:
September 19, 2006
"Chevron Corp. will fund up to $25 million in research at UC Davis in the next five years to develop affordable, renewable transportation fuels from farm and forest residues, urban wastes and crops grown specifically for energy."

New ethanol process offers cost, environmental benefits

This process produces high-value byproducts for human consumption and making environmentally friendly plastics. -- Jeff
New ethanol process offers cost, environmental benefits:
Newswire -- reliableplant.com
"A Purdue University team led by professor Li-fu Chen and research assistant Qin Xu, both from the Purdue food science department, discovered a new method to create ethanol from corn. The method also produces biodegradable byproducts that could be safely eaten."

St. Joseph facility developing cellulosic ethanol

ICM is partnering with Lifeline Foods of St. Joseph to develop an ethanol research facility at the St. Joseph Lifeline complex. -- Jeff G.
Ethanol Producer Magazine:
by Ron Kotrba -- September 18, 2006
"ICM CEO and President Dave Vander Griend tells EPM that one of the major R&D objectives on which the company will focus in the new center will be developing a �best methods� commercial approach to cellulosic ethanol either through a gas-to-liquid production or via effective pretreatment followed by fermentation�or perhaps an alternative method. More details are provided in the October 2006 issue of Ethanol Producer Magazine. "

NCGA Study: Farmer-owned Ethanol Refineries Contribute More to Local Economies

National Corn Growers Association - NCGA:
September 12, 2006
"The study, 'Economic Impacts on the Farm Community of Cooperative Ownership of Ethanol Production,' concludes that, 'Since a farmer-owned cooperative ethanol plant is literally a member of the community, the full contribution to the local economy is likely to be as much as 56 percent larger than the impact of an absentee-owned corporate plant.' John Urbanchuk of LECG, LLC, conducted the analysis."

Why Isn't Butanol More Prevalent?

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Why Isn't Butanol More Prevalent?:
by Scott Sklar -- September 12, 2006
"Butanol has a high energy content (110,000 Btu per gallon for butanol vs. 84,000 Btu per gallon for ethanol). Gasoline contains about 115,000 Btu's per gallon. Butanol is six times less 'evaporative' than ethanol and 13.5 times less evaporative than gasoline, making it safer to use as an oxygenate in Arizona, California and other states, thereby eliminating the need for very special blends during the summer and winter months."

Community Renewable Energy Is Just Around the Corner

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Community Renewable Energy Is Just Around the Corner:
by Ted Bernhard -- September 11, 2006
"For decades, the conventional wisdom about developing energy projects in the U.S. has been that 'big' always meant cheaper, and therefore better, projects. This produced what has become our modern centralized electric power system fueled primarily by coal, natural gas and nuclear power. "

Fast-Growing Poplars Could Be Ethanol Source

Purdue University researchers are attempting to change the lignin composition produced by Poplar trees to facilitate easier ethanol production. -- Jeffrey
RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Fast-Growing Poplars Could Be Ethanol Source:
September 7, 2006
"Approximately 10 tons of poplar could be grown per acre annually, representing 700 gallons of ethanol. Changing the lignin composition could increase the annual yield to 1,000 gallons of ethanol per acre, according to experts. Planted on 110 million acres of unused farmland, this could replace 80 percent of the transportation fossil fuel consumed in the United States each year."

Direct Injection Ethanol Breakthrough Increases Efficiency Using Ethanol-Water Mix

Ecosense Solutions is producing this direct injection system for Irrigation pumps, but they say it could be used on E85 Automobiles in the future. With the use of a water-ethanol mix, fuel efficiency is increased considerably. The ethanol would be less expensive to make because less of the water would need to be removed from the "beer." Refineries would need to be retrofitted to produce this hydrated ethanol because they are designed to remove virtually all of the water. -- Jeffrey
Midwest Producer: Top Stories:
by Terry Anderson -- September 7, 2006
"LaVaute said production on the Ethanol Pumper Retrofit Kit, with patent pending, will begin soon. The return on a farmer's investment would be speedy, Gehrke said.
'The system pays for itself in the first week of use,' he said.
And it's not just a device for the thousands of irrigation motors across the countryside.
'With our ethanol system, we can also implement its use in E85 autos, reducing emissions 90 percent while increasing mpg up to 60 percent,' Gehrke said. 'The auto's own computer won't know we're even on board.'"

GS AgriFuels to Build Integrated Multi-Feedstock, Multi-Fuels Production Facility in Memphis, Tennessee

GS AgriFuels Corporation - Press Room - GS AgriFuels to Build Integrated Multi-Feedstock, Multi-Fuels Production Facility in Memphis, Tennessee:
September 6, 2006
"GS AgriFuels intends to use standard fuel production technologies and a number of proprietary technologies, including innovative pre-treatment, process intensification, gasification, catalytic, and carbon capture technologies, synergistically at small-scales to enable the refining of many forms of biomass into clean fuels, including biodiesel and ethanol."

Ethanol: Good for car fuel, mouthwash?

Ethanol: Good for car fuel, mouthwash? - Oil & Energy - MSNBC.com:
August 27, 2006
"AMES, Iowa - Now that ethanol has become common in gas tanks, two Iowa State University professors are working to get it into martini glasses."

Gov. Bush Puts Clout Behind Use of Ethanol

Investor Vinod Khosla puts an interesting twist on this idea. He recommneds eliminating the ethanol import tariff, but only for ethanol to be sold as E85. This would lower the price of e85 so much that the many flex-fuel vehicle owners would finally take notice and the result would be a thriving E85 market that could be exploited by future U.S. producers of inexpensive cellulosic ethanol. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Gov. Bush Puts Clout Behind Use of Biofuel | theledger.com:
by David Adams, ST. Petersburg Times -- The Ledger Online -- August 26, 2006
"In April, Bush wrote to his brother advocating lifting the 54 cents-per-gallon tariff on Brazilian ethanol. 'In light of the challenge we face in meeting the growing demand for fuel, I believe we should reconsider the U.S. policy that taxes ethanol imports from Brazil -- while allowing other tax-free oil energy imports from Venezuela,' he wrote."he

Professor optomistic about future of bio-based fuels

DesMoinesRegister.com:
by Jerry Perkins -- August 29, 2006
"Ames, Ia. � The future is now for farm crops and other potential substitutes for petroleum products, Dartmouth College engineering professor Lee Lynd said Monday at the Biobased Industry Outlook Conference at Iowa State University."

British Petroleum Investing $500 Million in a Bioenergy Institute

DesMoinesRegister.com:
by Anne Fitzgerald -- August 29, 2006
"Ames, Ia. � Iowa State University is being considered as a possible site for a $500 million bioenergy institute to be established by BP, one of the world's largest oil companies, company and ISU officials said Monday."

Panda announces third manure powered ethanol refinery

Panda Ethanol to Build 100 Million Gallon Ethanol Plant in Sherman County, TX:
Biofuels Journal -- August 29, 2006
"Once complete, it will be one of the most fuel efficient ethanol refineries in the nation and equal in size to Panda's Hereford facility which is the largest biomass-fueled ethanol plant in the United States.
The Sherman facility is the fourth 100 million gallon ethanol project announced by Panda, and the third to be powered by cattle manure."

Confronting Today's Oil Crisis in the U.S.

The author of this article published one of the first books on the production of ethanol fuel. -- Jeff G.
RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Confronting Today's Oil Crisis in the U.S.:
by Paul Notari -- August 28, 2006
"With little doubt today the United States is being confronted with a crisis of major proportions. As world oil demand keeps growing and oil supplies are curtailed or threatened by political turmoil in the Mideast, world oil prices could well continue to escalate upwards at an alarming rate."

Wisconsin paper mill reborn as biorefinery

Oshkosh Northwestern - Paper mill reborn as biorefinery:
Associated Press -- August 5, 2006
"But, with the mill soon to reopen with all the jobs being restored and new plans to establish an experimental biorefinery to make ethanol from wood products, the mood was far different Friday, Mayor Tom Ratzlaff said. "

SW Kansas Electric/Biofuel Complex will Recycle all Byproducts

The Hutchinson News, Hutchinson, Kan., | Regional News:
by Tim Vandenack -- August 24, 2006
"As envisioned in a complex flow chart outlining the plans, waste from one facility would be used to help power another. For instance, flue gas, or combustion exhaust, from the coal-fired generators would be fed into the algae reactor, which would produce the algae oil that would power the biodiesel plant.
Manure, animal fat, paunch and wastewater from area feedlots, packing plants and dairies also would figure heavy in the mix. Fat, more properly known as tallow, would help run the biodiesel plant, while wastewater and manure would be fed into the anaerobic digester, which would generate the methane that would help run the ethanol plant."

Electric Utility to Develop Integrated Bioenergy Center in Western Kansas

This kind of project drastically improves the renewable energy balance of ethanol. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Sunflower to Develop Integrated Bioenergy Center:
August 22, 2006
"When completed, the center will involve several subsystems which may include: livestock facilities, an anaerobic digester, an algae reactor, an ethanol and a biodiesel plant which are integrated to utilize corresponding waste steams."

British company to make butanol fuel

New British biofuel plan beets ethanol | Science & nature | The Australian:
by Ben Webster, London -- August 24, 2006
"British Sugar, which is building Britain's first butanol plant in Norfolk, eastern England, plans to produce 70 million litres of the fuel a year. Butanol is expected to be introduced in all 1250 BP petrol stations by 2010."

BlueFire Ethanol Identifies Southern California Landfill as Initial Location in the U.S. for Commercialization of Cellulose Ethanol Technology

PRESS RELEASE BlueFire Ethanol Identifies Southern California Landfill as Initial Location in the U.S. for Commercialization of Cellulose Ethanol Technology:
Market Wire -- August 22, 2006
"BlueFire's Southern California Biorefinery will process 700 tons of green waste and other cellulosic waste material per day into 24 million gallons of fuel grade ethanol per year with projected revenues of about $55 million and operating income of approximately $25 million per year. "

KC Company Intends to Acquire Cellulosic Ethanol Developer Flex Fuels USA

Alternative Energy Sources Intends to Acquire Cellulosic Ethanol Developer Flex Fuels USA: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance:
August 11, 2006
"Alternative Energy and Flex Fuels USA estimate four to five months of design and engineering, with an anticipated construction beginning in the second quarter of 2007. Once processes are finalized, he said the company anticipates building the first cellulosic ethanol facility in the Eastern United States."

XETHANOL converting fiberboard plant to produce cellulosic ethanol

XETHANOL CORP.: "The company, presently known as Carolina Fiberboard, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of BlueRidge and change its name to Spring Hope BioFuels, LLC. It is believed that this plant may well become the first commercial-scale cellulose ethanol plant to come on line in the US... It is anticipated that, after retrofitting the plant to produce ethanol, production will reach 5 million gallons per year in approximately 6 months and then progress rapidly to capacity. The primary feedstock of local hardwood chips and wood waste has already been established. "

Pilot Cellulosic Refinery to be Located with PA Corn Refinery

BioEnergy International to Build Pennsylvania's First Ethanol Plant in Clearfield County:
Clearfield, PA -- Grainnet.com -- August 18, 2006
"The plant will employ conventional corn-based technology and will be among the largest east of the Mississippi River, and one of the nation�s top 10, based on output.
The smaller pilot-cellulose plant will use BioEnergy�s ground-breaking technology to produce fuels using locally available organic wastes, such as wood and agricultural residue."