Biofuel Blog War

Growing biomass in space? That’s right. Right now an experiment is underway on the space station to see if microgravity can affect the growth of Jatropha curcas, a tropical flowering plant.

According to Popular Science ,
“This first-ever experiment to test a possible biofuel in microgravity aims to improve cell structure, growth and development in [...]

The National Research Council (NRC) is currently conducting an ongoing study on the impacts of expanded biofuel production. NRC, which is part of the National Academy of Sciences, hosted a workshop last week to receive feedback from people on both sides of the debate. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) represented the ethanol industry and Geoff [...]

The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) has come out today calling a recent OPEC report “self serving.” The report, co-written by the former Secretary General of the OPEC oil cartel, criticized biofuels while according to GRFA, ignoring the overwhelming evidence on the devastating impact of crude oil on the environment and on our economies. The [...]

“I’m not troubled by getting it right as long as we get it right. And I think we’re headed in the right direction. I’m anticipating we’ll see some increase in the blend rate,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack during a press conference at Commodity Classic when asked about EPA’s delaying the decision to increase [...]

The advanced biofuels industry is putting a bug in Congress’ ear, calling for lawmakers to allow for an investment tax credit that will help advanced biofuels makers get money to get their projects up to commercial scale and become eligible for another operating credit.
Biomass Magazine explains that the industry would be eligible for a federal [...]

The former head of the U.S. Export-Import Bank and Chief Investment Officer of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is bringing his copious financial knowledge to algae-biofuels producer Sapphire Energy.
This company press release says James Lambright will also head Sapphire’s international expansion efforts:
A respected leader in the private and public financial sectors, [...]

Biobased products cover a wide range of materials.  One new such product is biobased insulation made from mushrooms named Greensulate.
The blog Greenline says that Greensulate,
“…is a bio-base alternative to rigid insulation made from paper, rice hulls, and mushroom fibers.   The product is still undergoing testing but the outlook for this new product is very good.  [...]

If you did a survey among the biofuels industry and asked if the funding programs for biofuels research and development were working, most would say no. Actually, many outside of the industry would say no. As the country continues forward on the federal goals set out in the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) things will need [...]

Some others have started to notice something I told you about back in January. It seems that while he campaigned on the word “biodiesel,” President Barack Obama is now talking “biofuels” … a more ambiguous term that is leaving some biodiesel producers scratching their heads wondering whether the president backs them.
This piece from Biodiesel [...]

Waste Management Inc. has inked yet another deal to produce biofuels from waste. Today, they announced an investment in Montreal-based Enerkem Inc., as part of their new financing round. A portion of the CDN $53.8 million raised will be used by Enerkem to support the construction of its second waste-to-biofuels plant in conjunction with the [...]