In Indonesia, the Jakarta Post reports that a new study undertaken by 11 stakeholders including government ministries and two railway engine manufacturers refutes prior thinking that B20 damages train engines. The new study showed that following six months of trials B20 was “more than just okay” for fuel quality and engine performance, according to the […]
In Italy, Eni and the Governorate of the Vatican City State have signed an agreement for the circular economy. S.E.R. Mons. Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, Secretary General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State and Giuseppe Ricci, Chief Refining & Marketing Officer of Eni, signed a collaboration agreement for the use of high-quality biodiesel with […]
In Illinois, Bloomberg reports that increased ethanol demand from China amidst the ongoing trade war with the US could go a long way to helping to relieve some of the troubles the US corn belt is facing as a result of ongoing loss of demand for American crops and products, such as ethanol. The CEO […]
In the UK, Platts reports that Ensus could potentially restart ethanol production during Q2 2019 if margins recover enough to justify the move. With both Ensus and Vivergo shut down, ethanol prices have jumped up to 22-month highs, but even so, margins are only inching towards viability for many. With tariff treatment on ethanol post-Brexit […]
In India, the Economic Times reports that the food ministry is consulting with the Prime Minister’s Office in an attempt to get ethanol prices raised further in an effort to improve liquidity for cane mills that will in turn allow them to pay mounting debts to cane farmers. Grain-based ethanol would also benefit from higher […]
In Ireland, the biofuel blending mandate will increase to 10% as of January 1, 2019 from the current 8%, a full year ahead of the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive mandating 10% renewable energy in transport. The environment minister announced that the blending mandate will jump to 11% on January 1, 2020. The increased biofuel […]
In the UK, the University of Exeter has been awarded GBP1 million to create a new center to tackle the use of plastic and plastic waste. The Exeter Multidisciplinary Plastics Research Hub (ExeMPLaR) is one of eight prestigious new research projects across the UK to have been announced by the Science Minister, Chris Skidmore. The […]
In Washington, Reuters reports that refiners applied for a whopping 22 hardship waivers in 2018 as of mid-December, although the figure is below the record-breaking 29 application received by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2017. Just 15 applications were received by the EPA in November. The agency is currently reviewing its application approval process in […]
Waste Accumulation Problems and Opportunities By Zoltan Kish, Ph.D., Member of Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc. Special to The Digest An incredible amount of waste is produced in Canada and around the world. We are killing our planet by dumping 2.12 billion tons of garbage every year and polluting the oceans, land, and air [1]. Consequently, […]
The Center for Food Integrity is helping today’s food system earn consumer trust by facilitating better-informed public discussion about food and agriculture. J.J. Jones from The Center for Food Integrity gave this illuminating presentation on consumer trust, transparency and the building blocks of technical messages at ABLC Global 2018 in San Francisco – and it’s […]
