All Knowledge & Insights By Date

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, “EERE Success Story –Archer Daniels Midland Partners with PNNL to Become a Leading Producer of Biobased Propylene Glycol” Reuters, “Chemical Industry in Bid to Harness Germany's Green Power Overload” Nasdaq, “U.S. Refiner PES Says Bankruptcy Plan Hinges on Biofuel Costs” University of Wisconsin, “Bio-Renewable Process Could Help ‘Green’ Plastic” Stanford, “Stanford-Led Team...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. According to Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi, Brazil is considering lifting the 20 percent tariff on ethanol imports from the U.S..  Demand for ethanol in Brazil has increased due to record-high gasoline prices.  As indicated in the BRAG blog post Grain, Ethanol Industry Send Letter To U.S. Trade Representative On Brazil Ethanol Tariff, U.S. ethanol producers would welcome the removal of the tariff and renewed access to Brazil, which is...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On January 10, 2018, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the next phase of its international collaboration to study the impact of biofuels on jet engine performance, emissions, and contrail formation.  In February, NASA’s DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory will sample and analyze gases and particles present in the wake of the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) Advanced Technology Research Aircraft (ATRA) A320 aircraft as...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On January 2, 2018, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) issued a Global Agriculture Information Network (GAIN) report on Japan’s fuel ethanol policy.  According to the report, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) is seeking public comments on changes to its fuel ethanol policy.  The changes would establish a U.S. corn-based ethanol greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions value of 43.15; allow U.S. corn-based ethanol to be...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On December 28, 2017, New York City Council Member Costa Constantinides announced that the New York City Council unanimously passed a bill on the use of alternative fuels and alternative fuel technologies in the city ferry fleet (INT. 54).  The legislation would require a two-year study on the feasibility of using alternative fuel, including biodiesel, and fuel technologies, including hybrid electric or fuel-cell electric, in city ferries.  The study...

Environment and Climate Change Canada, “Minister McKenna Releases Framework To Make Canada’s Fuels Cleaner” Goodshipping Program, “DHL And The Goodshipping Program Reduce Ocean Freight’s Carbon Footprint” Co. Design, “The Creators Of This Algae Plastic Want To Start A Maker Revolution” Advanced Science News, “UV Responsive Bio-based Polymer from Broccoli Seed Oil” Popular Science, “Greek Yogurt Creates A Ton Of Wheyst—But...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On December 21, 2017, Neste, a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), announced the launch of its online hub focused on sustainable aviation solutions.  Decarbonizingaviation.com is an online platform designed to raise awareness and facilitate dialog in reducing the aviation industry's carbon footprint.  The results of a recent survey by Neste demonstrate that 50 percent of travelers consider it important that...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On December 14, 2017, General Automation Lab Technologies (GALT) announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) a three year $3.5 million grant to improve the growth and efficiency of biofuel-producing algae.  LLNL and GALT will collaborate on the project, which also aims to reduce wasted byproducts of photosynthesis by targeting microbiomes that can more efficiently recycle it back to carbon dioxide...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On December 27, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to approve new fuel pathways under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.  Specifically, EPA is proposing to amend RFS regulations to define the term “distillers sorghum oil” and to add approved pathways from the production of biodiesel and heating oil from distillers sorghum oil via a transesterification process, and renewable diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, naphtha,...

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “NREL Develops Novel Method to Produce Renewable Acrylonitrile” National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “NREL Research Finds a Sweet Spot for Engineering Better Cellulose-Degrading Enzymes” Reuters, “Exclusive:  Senator Cruz Wants to Cap Renewable Fuel Credits at 10 Cents” University of Bristol, “Bacteria Breakthrough Marks New Era in Cellular Design and Biofuel Production”...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On December 12, 2017, Neste, a member of BRAG, announced that its additional production capacity for renewable diesel, renewable aviation fuel, and raw materials for various biochemical uses will be located in Singapore.  Following the decision, Neste will develop the technical design for the new product line, with the goal of securing a final investment decision by the end of 2018 and starting production by 2022.  The project will expand the...

Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, “Barrasso Calls on EPA to Study the Renewable Fuel Standard’s Impact on the Environment” Reuters, “Trump Plans to Meet Oil Industry Reps on U.S. Biofuel Policy: Sources” Genome Canada, “Genomics Researchers Partner with Industry to Further Innovation in Health, Agriculture and Environment Sectors” Chemical & Engineering News, “Tapping Sewage as a Source of Useful Materials"...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On December 8, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice in the Federal Register regarding its plans to submit an information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on recordkeeping and reporting for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.  The notices states that the ICR aims to streamline and update estimates related to the RFS program and consolidate all RFS estimates into one, consistent, and...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On November 29, 2017, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (Ministry) issued proposed amendments to the Ethanol in Gasoline regulation (O. Reg. 535/05) and the Greener Diesel — Renewable Fuel Content Requirements for Petroleum Diesel Fuel (O. Reg. 97/14) under the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.E.19.  Among the proposed changes is an increase from a 5 percent ethanol blending mandate to 10 percent starting in 2020; a...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On November 29, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that a collaboration between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) resulted in the successful modification of a microorganism to produce a versatile fermentation intermediate that can be upgraded into valuable biobased fuels and chemicals.  NREL’s cellulosic ethanol fermentation organism (Zymomonas mobilis), is capable of exclusively...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On November 30, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final 2018 volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel.  A pre-publication of the final rule is available now.  The final rule sets the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel for motor vehicle gasoline and...

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, “Major Countries Agree To Develop Sustainable Biofuels Targets And Scale Up Low Carbon Bioeconomy” European Commission, “Technology Key To Ensuring Sustainable Bioenergy And Biofuel Production” Science, “The Promise Of Plastics From Plants” Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, “To Find New Biofuel Enzymes, It Can Take A Microbial Village” Kansas State University, “Kansas State...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) announced a collaboration with bio-bean, a clean technology company, that will power London’s buses using a biofuel made partly from waste coffee grounds.  Bio-bean collects waste coffee grounds from high street chains and factories, dries and processes the grounds, and then extracts the coffee oil, which Argent Energy, bio-bean’s fuel partner, processes into a blended B20 biofuel.  The biofuel contains a 20 percent...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On November 22, 2017, Neste, a member of BRAG, announced exclusive partnerships with four California fuel distributors that will provide public and private fleets access to a consistent and high-quality supply of Neste MY Renewable Diesel.  Through the partnerships with IPC (USA), Inc., Ramos Oil Company, Van De Pol Petroleum, and Western States Oil, Neste renewable diesel will be available to customers in Southern California, Northeast California, the...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On November 30, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice in the Federal Register announcing its decision to deny several petitions requesting that EPA initiate a rulemaking to change the point of obligation for compliance under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.  Under the RFS program, refiners and importers of gasoline and diesel fuel are identified as “obligated parties” responsible for compliance with the RFS...