Today in Biofuels: Malaysian palm oil panic buying; ADM, Bayer and Daimler to explore jatropha; tropical forests reverse retreat

Top Story:

In Malaysia, the central government has released emergency stocks of palm oil and ordered producers to step up output by 30 percent after a wave of panic buying prompted by shortages and price increases. The world’s largest producer of palm oil has introduced rationing after experiencing a spike in demand associated with Chinese New Year. The price of palm oil, a key biofuel feedstock, rose to $1098 per tonne.

Producer News:

In Iowa, the 30 Mgy Quad County Corn Processors plant in Ida County will test an ultrasonic technology that creates an undisclosed, but material, increase in ethanol yields when applied to corn slurry during the production process.

In Arizona, Diversified Energy has licensed the Centia process for producing gasoline from biomass, and says it is less than 4 years from commercializing the technology. The Centia process, initially developed by researchers at North Carolina State, produces jet fuel as well as diesel and gasoline, and Diversified Fuels initially planned to pursue the aviation sector but recently turned to the larger gasoline market.

In Ohio, POET will open its 65 Mgy corn ethanol plant in Leipsic today. The $105 million project is Ohio’s first ethanol plant and is located in the Iron Highway Industrial Park which is served by multiple rail freight companies.

In Arizona, PetroSun BioFuels Refining has signed a joint venture to develop and operate a 30 Mgy algae biodiesel facility in Coolidge. Construction is projected to commence in the third quarter of this year.

In Missouri, the 30 Mgy Prairie Pride biodiesel plant in Nevada has commenced operations. The $90 million facility, situated on a 210 acre location in Vernon County, is projected to create 45 jobs.

International News:

In Germany, Daimler, Archer Daniels Midland, and Bayer CropScience have announced a project to develop production and quality standards for Jatropha-based biodiesel. Bayer CropScience intends to develop herbicides, insecticides and fungicides for Jatropha cultivators, while ADM’s interest results from its biodiesel production operations. Daimler is exploring the potential of jatropha biodiesel as an automotive fuel.

In England, Pursuit Dynamics completed a trial of its PDX bioethanol system and reported a 14 percent increase in production yields. The company trials identified a reduction in fermentation and liquefaction cycle times.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a UN economist said that the widespread abandonment of land following years of civil war provides untouched land highly suitable to biodiesel feedstock cultivation. The economist noted that more than 778,000 square kilometers are available and suitable for oil palm cultivation without reducing existing food production lands. However, it was noted that the $3.33 per ton of carbon offset proposed for forest conservation, that it may be more profitable under upcoming carbon trading regulations to conserve the existing forest lands.

Research News:

A Leeds University professor and expert of deforestation issues said that recent data indicates that, on a global basis, some types of tropical forest have increased since 1990, rather than decreased. He said that losses in areas such as the Amazon have been more than offset in tropical forest gains in countries such as the Gambia and Vietnam.

Policy and Policymakers:

The International Transport Forum has launched an online biofuels debate on the topic of “Subsidizing First-Generation Biofuels is Inefficient”.  The debate will be conducted online until the spring, when results will be used a a background for discussion at the International Transport Forum meeting in Leipzig in May. The introductory statement in the debate was contributed by Dan Sperling, Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy, and Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis.

Consumer and Fleet News:

In Massachusetts, the Wachusett Mountain ski resort has converted its snow cats and backup generators to biodiesel. The resort is generating the biodiesel through a cooking oil recycling program.

Financial News:

The Biofuels Digest Indexâ„¢ (BDI), a basket of public biofuels stocks, rose 0.25 percent yesterday to 129.78 as diversified agribusiness gains offset a continued downward trend among ethanol stocks. The Andersons (ANDE) gained 2.91 percent to close at $46.99, while Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) rose 0.38 percent to $45.19 on news of a project with Daimler and Bayer to explore the potential of jatropha. Among mid cap ethanol stocks. US BioEnergy (USBE) , down 2.89 percent to $10.09, led the decliners. Among small caps, Green Energy Resources (GRGR.PK) fell 12.50 percent to $0.14. Overall, decliners led advancers more than 5 to 4.

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