Biofuel Blog War

A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have figured out how to get the the sugar molecules trapped inside inedible plant biomass, a key step in the creation of cellulosic biofuels.
This press release from the school says the process, featured in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, [...]

Breathing easier is what the American Lung Association is all about, and that’s why the group’s North Dakota chapter has teamed up with the North Dakota Soybean Council, North Dakota Office of Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency, Red River Valley Clean Cities Coalition, and the North Dakota Department of Commerce to offer a free workshop [...]

Our friends at the Mid-South Chapter of the National Algae Association are holding another seminar. This time the talk will be “Algae: Mining Wastewater for Nutrients, Fuel, and Fertilizer” at the Holiday Inn Research Center in Huntsville, Alabama on March 26, 2010.
I caught up with the chapter’s president, Tamra Fakhoorian, to talk about this [...]

There’s only one week left to get the early registration discount for the Ethanol 2010: Emerging Issues Forum. The event will be held at the Magnolia Hotel on April 8 and 9 in Omaha, Nebraska.
The fifth annual forum features a number of experts on topics including marketing, transportation, RINS and lifecycle emissions of the [...]

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that Fiscal Year 2009 funding is once again available again for three USDA Farm Bill programs to promote increased production of biomass and bioenergy.
Applications for the Biorefinery Assistance Program, which uses loan guarantees to develop, construct, and retrofit commercial-scale biorefineries, must be received by June 1, 2010. [...]

The CEO of one of the world’s biggest petroleum companies says his company will soon produce more natural gas than oil and is investing more than ever in biofuels.
And this article from the Wall Street Journal says that Peter Voser of Royal Dutch Shell says he expects in the next 40 years, 40 percent of [...]

They’re back up and running at Imperium Renewables’ Grays Harbor, Washington biodiesel plant.
This company press release says Imperium re-opened the facility after a glycerin tank rupture idled operations last December:
“We are thrilled to be producing again,” said John Plaza, founder and CEO of Imperium Renewables. “We have replaced the damaged equipment and re-designed the glycerin [...]

As expected, the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax incentive has cleared the U.S. Senate on the back of the current jobs bill.
The 62-36 vote now moves the measure into a reconciliation phase with the House’s version of the bill.
I caught up with Michael Frohlich, the director of federal communications for the National Biodiesel Board’s office in [...]

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 [...]

It looks like the $1-a-gallon federal biodiesel tax incentive could be close to renewal, as the jobs bill to which it was attached has cleared a key vote in the U.S. Senate.
The vote came Tuesday as eight Republicans sided with 58 Democrats to end debate on the $150 billion measure.
The cloture vote clears [...]