In Brazil, FPT Industrial a global powertrain brand of CNH Industrial N.V, has invested in a production plan and tests dedicated to exploring macaúba biodiesel, with a view to developing a potential new source of sustainable fuel. The research was conducted at the Technical Center in Betim, Southeast of Brazil, with the main focus on its application as a fuel […]
By Ron Cascone and Steven Slome, Nexant Special to The Digest Filling the tank on the road to the future The term “fatty acid methyl ester” or FAME has been synonymous with biodiesel for the better part of the last two decades that have seen its widespread promotion and use. This has been due to […]
By Dennis Zeedyk, Lee Enterprises Consulting Special to The Digest Introduction If a business has increased production, shouldn’t production costs increase? Over the course of the last four years Glycerin Traders has been fortunate to have a growing business. There is a notable increase in production and sales, but utility costs seem to be staying […]
Benefuel Inc. Q: What was the reason for founding your organization – what was the open niche you saw that could be addressed with a new product or service? What was the problem, or gap, or opportunity? Benefuel recognized that biodiesel production from virgin oil seeds was neither profitable nor sustainable long term. However, to […]
Last week, news circulated that Attis Industries signed a $20 million asset purchase agreement with Sunoco LP to acquire and operate its corn ethanol plant and grain malting operation in Volney, NY. The transaction is expected to close later in the quarter. It’s an old Miller brewing plant that was retrofitted some years ago as […]
In Minnesota, Crown announced a new processor upgrade for biodiesel manufacturers: advanced catalyst reduction and economization (ACRE). ACRE allows biodiesel processing plants to run at the lowest operating cost and highest efficiency by adding a third transesterification reaction step while also delivering an energy-efficient design for reduced cooling load and steam use. The ACRE processing […]
In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published their notice of proposed rulemaking for sorghum oil pathways which allows an opportunity to comment on the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with biofuels that are produced from grain sorghum oil extracted at dry mill ethanol plants. The notice says that the “EPA’s evaluation of […]
In Russia, scientists from Skoltech and the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Joint Institute for High Temperatures proposed a new way to convert food waste into biofuel via hydrothermal liquefaction – a thermal depolymerization process used to turn wet biomass into oil. Other researchers use carbohydrates fermentation or fat transesterification for biofuel production but since only […]
A few weeks ago on the Digest’s tiny home island of Key Biscayne, we saw something along our one main boulevard not seen in quite some time: a lemonade stand operated by a trio of young kids. They weren’t selling much. Some time between this first enterprise and their next, these kids’ll learn about getting […]
Four simple questions and such a variety of response as you might expect from the unusual collection of engineers, biologists, marketeers, customers, financiers, policy leaders, advanced R&D specialists, mathematicians, advocates and watchful critics that make up the advanced bioeconomy. Where were you on July 27, 2007? Where are you now? What inspires you? What do […]
