The EPA’s designation of Canadian crops as a renewable biomass will allow U.S. biofuel makers to collect tax credits for using them, said Canola Council of Canada president JoAnne Buth.

“I suspect we will see more canola moving into the U.S. now,” Buth said in an interview.

ICE Canada canola futures closed up 1.9 percent exceeding gains in other related markets. Canada becomes the first country outside the United States to receive approval under the EPA’s land use test on an aggregate basis, said Ben Evans, spokesman for the U.S.-based National Biodiesel Board.

That means Canada has provided assurances that overall it is not bringing more net farm land into production, so farmers don’t have to individually prove the same thing to qualify under the U.S. biodiesel mandate.

The U.S. Congress has set a goal of blending 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel into transportation fuel by 2022 and that target is large enough that there’s little risk of Canadian crops displacing U.S. feedstocks like soybeans from the biodiesel mix, Evans said.

 “I don’t think you’ll see a huge flood, but a gradual increase” of canola entering the U.S. biodiesel industry, Evans said in an interview. “It’s a positive development.”

In 2010, soybean oil made up half of the feedstock used in production of U.S. biodiesel, followed by animal fats, Evans said.

The U.S. Canola Association also supports the decision, said Dale Thorenson, the association’s assistant director.

Last year, the EPA placed canola oil on an equal footing with soyoil, ruling that it emits low enough greenhouse gas levels to qualify for the U.S. mandate to increase renewable fuel production.

 That decision allowed biodiesel makers to get credits for using U.S. canola, but Canadian crops did not qualify.

Canada is the world’s top exporter of canola, a rapeseed variant that is used mostly for vegetable oil and livestock feed. Top Canadian canola crushers include Cargill Inc, Viterra Inc, Bunge Ltd, Richardson International Limited, Louis Dreyfus and Archer Daniels Midland.

Canada is normally a net importer of corn.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel; Editing by David Gregorio and Sofina Mirza-Reid)

During the CNEX – Talking Points forum held at the Philippine Information Agency, PCA public relations officer Thelma Tolentino said government is considering to increase the current minimum two percent blend of coco-diesel due to its many benefits.

Although Tolentino did not mention a definite date of implementation, the Department of Energy earlier issued a policy that aims to increase to five percent the current mixture, to around 10 percent by 2015.

She said the potential of coco-biodiesel goes beyond its financial rewards to the millions of coconut farmers in the country.

We must also take into consideration its benefits to the economy and the environment, she said.

A recent study showed that coconut farmers stand to earn more than P2 billion per year in the sale of coconut oil, a primary ingredient of the coco-biodiesel.

Likewise, coco-biodiesel enhances the combustion performance of diesel engines for better effeciency and less pollution produced.

It said that the inherent oxygen content of coco-biodiesel promotes better combustion in the engine which translates to an increase in mileage by as much as 10 percent.PIA.

Brazil, the world’s No. 2 soyoil exporter, may sell only 1.50 million tonnes of soyoil overseas in the 2011 calendar year, down from 1.56 million tonnes in 2010, Oil World forecasts.

This is despite an estimated rise in Brazil’s 2011 soyoil production to 7.13 million tonnes from 6.93 million tonnes in 2010 as the country is on course for a record soybean crop, Oil World said.

Brazil’s 2011 biodiesel output is also expected to rise to 2.40 million tonnes from 2.11 million tonnes in 2010 and only 1.41 million tonnes in 2009, Oil World forecast. Soyoil is heavily used as a biodiesel feedstock in Brazil.

The picture is similar in Argentina, the No. 1 global soyoil exporter, where 2011 biodiesel output is also forecast by Oil World to rise to 2.3 million tonnes from 1.81 million tonnes last year.

But Argentina’s 2011 soyoil exports are still forecast to rise to 5.20 million tonnes from 4.94 million tonnes last year, it added.(Reporting by Michael Hogan; Editing by Anthony Barker).REUTERS.

By Bryan Sims | April 05, 2011/ ADM plans to acquire Prairie Pride’s soy crush and biodiesel facilities in Deerfield, Mo.

Photo: Prairie Pride Inc.

Decatur, Ill.-based agribusiness firm Archer Daniels Midland Co. has agreed to acquire a soybean crushing facility and 30 MMgy biodiesel production plant from Prairie Pride Inc. in Deerfield, Mo. ADM will also form a partnership with PPI for the biodiesel portion of the business.

PPI responded to ADM’s acquisition of its soy crushing and biodiesel production assets, stating,

“Earlier this year, in conjunction with a division of General Electric, we worked to find partners and potential purchasers of the crush and biodiesel facilities. After a bidding process conducted by GE, ADM has agreed to purchase the debt held by GE and will become our primary creditor. Not only has ADM offered to infuse more capital into the crush and biodiesel facilities, they also have requested that Prairie Pride participate alongside ADM in the future of the biodiesel facility.”

Al Decker, treasurer of PPI’s board of directors, told Biodiesel Magazine that the biodiesel plant ceased production in February last year and has sat idle prior to ADM’s stepping in with the acquisition. Decker said the company had spent over a year working for a solution to resume operations, but the company became financially distressed, citing the lapsed tax credit as the primary culprit behind the decision to halt production. The Deerfield biodiesel plant broke ground for construction in 2006 and began producing biodiesel in 2007.

“We were down to a minimum staff, basically for maintenance and security reasons at the plant,” Decker said, adding that ADM will likely evaluate whether to retain PPI personnel or expand staff with ADM employees, or a combination of both at the site. “We’re tickled to death to have the [plant] up and running again.”

For ADM, the acquisition of PPI’s soy crush and biodiesel production assets was attractive because it further highlights the company’s growth strategy in the U.S. and internationally.

“ADM’s growth strategy involves expanding the volume and diversity of crops that we source and process; expanding the reach of our origination, transportation and processing assets and expanding our value-added product portfolio,” ADM said in an email correspondence. “The Prairie Pride facility will increase our North American crush capacity and it fits well within ADM’s integrated business model.”

As for PPI, the company is confident that ADM will achieve PPI’s goals its investors originally set out to meet when they invested in the project five years ago.

“Prairie Pride has faced many challenges over the past several years,” PPI’s website states. “The board of directors believes, after considering all material facts and circumstances, that a long-term relationship with ADM gives our members the greatest potential to receive returns on their investment without the necessity of infusing more capital into Prairie Pride. We are hopeful that this will be a successful and profitable business relationship, and that the crush and biodiesel facilities will purchase local soybeans and provide local jobs in the future.”

SOURCE: BIODIESEL MAGAZINE

Algae Fuels is a group of companies such as Copec, E-CL, Rentapack, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and Bioscan and is financially supported by both the Corporations for the Promotion of Production (Corfo) and InnovaChile.

InnovaChile has invested CLP 3.245million, which is equivalent to USD 6.7 million for the project, out of the total requirement of CLP 6.836 million . The pilot plant will grow algae for five years and an assessment would be carried out to determine if the project is both cost-effective and productive. The need was to produce algae with high lipid levels, which could be converted into biodiesel.

According to Arturo Natho, Algae Fuels’ President, the two important aspects of the project were the industrial scale development of microalgal cultures; and also the efficient and cost-effective way of obtaining the biodiesel and its by-products. The company’s perception is that the optimal climatic conditions for the growth of microalgae are available and hence the project was bound to be successful. The project does not require huge tracts of agricultural land as the algae can grow in small areas and that too rapidly. Its production would be a source of uninterrupted and limitless energy.

The first phase comprises of exploring, isolating, purifying and selecting microalgae strains. First the algae would be gathered from the Sea, and then it would be studied in Santiago, to distinguish the most suitable and appropriate strains and then grown in domestic climatic conditions. After which the plants are shifted to the field laboratory in Mejillones where photosynthesis is accelerated due to the CO2 present in the chimney of the power generating plant. The last stage would be subjecting the species to various chemical processes and then centrifuging it to get algal biomass. Finally it is dried in a special kiln and processed chemically. Then the biofuel can be utilized.

SOURCE: AZOCLEANTECH

The biodiesel from the plant can be either blended with the conventional diesel or used directly. The company claims that the biodiesel is compatible with the all the diesel engines currently in use. Neste Oil is building a similar plant in Rotterdam, The Netherlands which should be ready by Q2 2011.

The plant uses either vegetable oil or a mixture of oils and residual animal fats from the food industry. The basic principle used in producing biodiesel is esterification (or transesterification). In commercial production of biodiesel, fatty acids (found in plant-derived oils, animals fats and greases) are made to react with an alcohol (usually methanol) with potassium hydroxide (or other hydroxide) as catalyst.

It is clear that a greater concentration of fatty acids in any raw material would increase the output of biodiesel. Plant-derived oils like rapeseed oil are rich in fatty acids and can be directly used for producing biodiesel through transesterification. The animal fats, however, have lower fatty acid content and thus they are first treated with alcohol to generate an ester and then the resulting ester is treated with another ester in a replacement reaction to get biodiesel.

The process is thus very simple and generates useful by-products such are glycerol which has wide applications in several industries like soap manufacturing.

It is important, though, that raw materials produced should be sustainable. Unchecked exploitation of plants and plant products, which may be used as food in some part of the world, for biofuel production could not only lead to environmental disasters but social and economic problems as well. Biodiesel production from algae has also been proposed and research work on the same is underway in many parts of the world. However, the ability to provide a net reduction in carbon emissions is in doubt.

Mridul Chadha

Student, Environmental Engineer, Writer

SOURCE: CLEAN TECHNICA

The new plant will be built in Joacaba, Santa Catarina, next to existing ADM soybean-crushing and -refining facilities, ADM said in a statement.

ADM spokesman Roman Blahoski said the company wouldn’t disclose how much the new plant will cost to build.

Construction of the new plant will start in March next year and should be completed by mid-2012.

“With strong support from the government, biodiesel is poised to play an increasing role in meeting Brazil’s growing demand for renewable fuels,” said Patricia Woertz, chairman, chief executive and president of ADM.

-By Matthew Cowley, Dow Jones Newswires

SOURCE: NASDAQ

I-Newswire) United States, October 19, 2010 – Illinois biodiesel producer BN National Trail announced this morning that it has secured a purchase agreement of all biodiesel process equipment ( http://bluenorthernenergy.com/distributors.php ) from Kreido Biofuels. The shipment of the equipment is now underway from Houston, TX and is expected to arrive in Newton, IL by October

According to the company, the project is a shovel-ready site. It is located in an enterprise zone in Newton, IL near the second largest transportation corridor in the U.S. It’s designed to maximize the use of innovation in the biofuels industry as well as a better understanding of how to profitably manage a biodiesel production facility.

The scalable 30 MGPY facility’s key differentiator is the multi-feedstock capability of the technology, proven in large-scale production in Europe today. This enables BN National Trail to establish purchasing contracts with local feedstock ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_material ) providers who will be able to supply crude soybean, corn oil, or other low-saturated oil at an opportunistically low price throughout the lifecycle of the plant.

“Enhancements from the plant in Newton will come from the advanced feedstock technology program in Budapest where a pilot plant is being expanded to include algae as a feedstock. QSB, a BNE licensed technology will be integrated with the new process equipment,” confirmed CTO Robert Brooks. No timeframe has been provided for when the plant would begin production.

“This purchase agreement is a significant step forward for BN National Trail. Not only will it provide revenue, but it will also accelerate plans by approximately 2 years.” said CEO Tony Quinones.

SOURCE: I-NEWSWIRE

ARES Corporation of Burlingame, California — an engineering, risk management, software/IT and project management comapny in the United States — owned the 15 million gallons per year facility in Clovis, New Mexico.

“In support of RFS2, REG continues to expand its national footprint of production facilities and related logistics to better serve our growing customer base of regional and national businesses. We consider this position in the Southwest to be a long-term, strategic move for our company,” said Daniel J. Oh, President and Chief Operating Officer of Renewable Energy Group.

“ARES’ strategic investment provides REG access to ARES’ world class engineering, risk management and government contracting expertise.”

“REG has proven its leadership in the biodiesel industry and is exceptionally well placed to lead the industry recovery,” said Richard (Dick) Stuart, ARES Corp. Chief Executive Officer.

Stuart added: “ARES is proud of its efforts to contribute to America’s quest for energy independence and a cleaner environment. In our new economy we believe the best and most likely place for our investment to succeed is with REG; therefore we are contributing assets and investing anew to help move REG and its efforts forward.”

“Renewable Energy Group has shown strong biodiesel industry leadership when it comes to creating green collar jobs at its industry leading biodiesel production facilities,” said Clovis Industrial Development Corporation Executive Director, Chase Gentry.

“We look forward to REG’s involvement in this ongoing green economy project as the City of Clovis, State of New Mexico and the Southwest region look to reduce our dependence on imported oil and improve our air quality.”

SOURCE: The Bioenergy Site News Desk

The project is being developed by Bioscan in the region of Antofagasta, with co-financing InnovaChile. (Photo: CORFO)

A new project, which is financially supported by the Chilean government, will promote the diversification of energy through the production of biofuels from microalgae.

The main objective of the initiative is to develop algae production which captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and also creates competitively priced biodiesel fuels.

The project is being developed by Bioscan in the region of Antofagasta, with co-financing from InnovaChile which is part of the Corporation for the Promotion of Production (CORFO), which facilitated CLP 323 million (USD 647,000).

After selecting effective strains of microalgae to produce lipids and optimised growth conditions in the laboratory, the technologically innovative project is now entering its second and final stage.

Agnes Cadavid, Project Director, explains that the goal is to create a technological solution to develop a quality product in sufficient quantity so that there is interest in the liquid biofuels industry.

The application uses biotechnology to produce fuel from algae grown in photobioreactors, pools, and then transform these fuels into biodiesel, an alternative fuel to pertrol.

The initiative will have a trial period, which is stipulated to be in 24 months time.

 Source: FIS