The Daily Biofuels Summary for August 24

Top Story: A company in England is moving towards commercial production of a bacteria that ingests organic waste and excretes ethanol. The TM242 bacteria strain will compete with other mainstream cellulosic ethanol processes that use inedible parts of plants. The company is also researching a bacteria discovered in Monserrat in the 1990s that ingests vegetable oil and methanol and excretes biodiesel. Biofuels Digest has previously reported on room-temperature biodiesel production techniques based on fungi.

Producers: In South Carolina, a second company is negotiating with Chester County for a biodiesel facility, in this case a wood-waste ethanol plant….In Pennsylvania, a company filed its air-quality plan for a 60 million gallon per year (MGY) ethanol plant that will utilize a cellulosic ethanol process….In Texas, Gulf Ethanol Corporation has engaged Grubb & Ellis to find additional ethanol production sites in the southeast section of the state….In Arizona, a proposal has been made for a $170 million ethanol plant near Flagstaff….In Iowa, Cedar River Ethanol selected Ball Industrial Services as EPC contractor for a 100-million gallon per year ethanol plant.

International: In Australia, the Australian Labor Party, facing an upcoming election later this year, endorsed the joint venture between BP and biofuels company Manildra. The Labor Party had refused campaign contributions from Manildra for many years….In Thailand, Rayong Purifier has received $12 million loans for a 100,000 tonne biodiesel project which will utilize palm oil as a feedstock.

Policy: Pennsylvania is now considering biodiesel incentives after production in the state dropped to 5% of capacity. Competing producers in Iowa and Indiana receive incentives of up to $1.00 and $1.50 per gallon, respectively. 24 US states have biodiesel incentives in place.

Research: Soybean prices have reached their highest level since 1983 in figures released by the USDA. A 1200% increase in biodiesel production over the past three years is cited as a cause of the price increase. 12% of the US soybean crop is used for biodiesel in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, up from 8% in the previous year and 2% in 2005.

Demand-side: 21 E-85 stations are now open for business in Kansas, up from four stations in 2004. Currently, E85 in Topeka sells for 22 cents per gallon less than gasoline.

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