National Biodiesel BoardThe North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit has long been known as the event of the year for the latest vehicle technologies and innovations, setting the pace and direction for the world’s economic future. What more fitting venue, then, to also highlight the fuel that will be used increasingly now and in the future to power these vehicles in a cleaner, greener, more sustainable manner: biodiesel—America’s first advanced biofuel.

The National Biodiesel Board, along with key industry partners from Ford Motor Co. and General Motors, are presenting a Biodiesel Symposium entitled “Biodiesel: Powerful Fuel, Promising Future” at the Detroit auto show on Wed., Jan. 12 from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. in Cobo Center’s Michigan Hall as part of the NAIAS “Smarter Living In Michigan” Exposition.

“We are extremely pleased to have this opportunity to feature biodiesel as America’s first advanced biofuel to the global automotive industry,” said NBB CEO Joe Jobe “The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) established realistic goals of supplementing the nation’s fuel supply with advanced biofuels which reduce lifecycle carbon by more than 50 percent. Biodiesel is the first advanced biofuel to reach commercial scale production in North America, and it reduces direct lifecycle carbon by more than 80 percent. Biodiesel is thus very well-positioned to help the nation meet its immediate and long-term advanced biofuel goals.”

Biodiesel is a low cost, domestically produced, renewable advanced biofuel that provides the RFS2 required reductions of greenhouse gases while also reducing oil imports, enhancing energy security, and creating U.S. jobs. The U.S. EPA has issued RFS2 volume requirements for the use of at least 800 million gallons of biomass-based diesel fuel in 2011, for which biodiesel qualifies as an advanced biofuel. That requirement then ramps up to more than 1 billion gallons for 2012 and could reach as high as a 5 billion gallon market for biodiesel by 2022, as it also qualifies under the non-cellulosic advanced biofuel category.

As part of the biodiesel symposium, GM and Ford are presenting information on their new 2011 diesel vehicles, which are all fully approved for use with B20 biodiesel blends. General Motors extends B20 approval to its full diesel line-up, which includes the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pick-ups, as well as the Chevy Express and GMC Savana cargo vans. Ford supports the use of B20 on its full line of 2011 Ford Super Duty diesel trucks.

Jim Michon, truck fleet marketing manager for Ford Motor Co., said, “Many of our fleet customers are very conscious of the environment, and had been asking us for a truck approved for use with B20 biodiesel. In the process of developing our all-new Ford-designed, Ford-built 2011 Super Duty truck, we thoroughly tested B20 in our new engine under the harshest of conditions. B20 proved itself to provide the same fuel economy, power and performance our customers expect of our high performance diesels—there are no trade-offs for using B20”.

According to the Diesel Technology Forum, today’s clean diesel technology provides 20 to 40 percent better fuel economy than its gasoline counterpart, and emits 10 to 20 percent less carbon dioxide. Coleman Jones, biofuels implementation manager for GM, said, “With B20, our customers can enjoy all the benefits of today’s quiet, clean diesel engines and help to meet the country’s goals to reduce carbon emissions at the same time. It’s a win-win situation.” Both Ford and GM plan to continue supporting B20 use in their future diesel models as well, along with many other vehicle and equipment manufacturers.

Over the last 20 years the biodiesel industry has made the necessary investment in research, testing, and standards development to produce a high quality fuel meeting the stringent specifications of the American Society for Testing and Materials, now known as ASTM International.

“The last 20 years of research and development—and the intense commitment to development of ASTM standards, high fuel quality, and the biodiesel industry’s BQ-9000 fuel quality program—are what led us to this designation as America’s first advanced biofuel,” said Steve Howell, technical director for the NBB. “We look forward to powering the clean diesel vehicles of today, and tomorrow, with clean, green, sustainable biodiesel, and we are already engaging in the next frontier of research that will continue to optimize the fuel for use for decades to come.”

Based in Jefferson City, Mo., the National Biodiesel Board is the national trade association of the biodiesel industry and is the coordinating body for biodiesel research and development in the U.S. Its membership is comprised of biodiesel producers, state, national, and international feedstock and feedstock processor organizations, fuel marketers and distributors, and technology providers.

SOURCE: BIODIESEL MAGAZINE

The fight to stop the climatic change. The measurement will cost three Euros per week to each citizen; it forsees to reduce the discharges of greenhouse effect gasses in a 20% towards 2020.

Photo:EFE

BRUSSELS (AFP). – The European Commission today revealed an ambitious plan of fight against the climatic change to reduce in a 20% its discharges of greenhouse effect gasses in 2020. The curiosity is that it will cost three Euros per week to each European and the industry will have to pay to have the right to contaminate.

As it was expected, the plan developed in Brussels demands an important effort of the industries of the Old Continent and will be object of hard negotiations with the national governments of the 27 members of the European Union (the EU), worried about the competitiveness of their economies.

In a presentation before the Europarliament, the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, said that it is the “most complete package of measures of the world” to fight against the overheating of the planet, with a cost of “three Euros per week per person” from now until 2020.

Decided to become world-wide leader in the fight against the global heating, in March of 2007 the EU committed itself to reduce in a 20% the carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) in 2020 regarding the 1990 levels.

EU also had decided to lift to 20% the percentage of renewable energies (Aeolian, solar, biomass, geothermal) in the total consumption of the block in 2020, against the current 8.5%, and to increase to 10% the use of biofuels in transport sector for the same year.
Now, it´s time to divide that effort at national level between the 27 members, and the proposal of the European Commission demands to Sweden that half of its power consumption comes from renewable sources in 2020, whereas Spain must reach a percentage of 20%, France 23%, Germany 18%, Italy 17% and the United Kingdom 15%.

The national governments questioned the calculation and the form of distribution, whereas the industrialists raised the ghost of the power plant transfers with the objective, partly successful, to attenuate the proposals of Brussels in this first stage.

 Since the plan must be approved by the Europarliament and all the Member States, a second negotiations phase is expected that would have to end in an agreement towards the end of 2008, according to the commission.

The set of Brussels proposals focuses in a considerable effort of the heavy industry, responsible for half of the greenhouse effect gas discharges of the EU, that from 2013 on will have to pay to contaminate.

“The electricity sector, responsible of most of the emissions of the European Union, will have to pay in a complete way from the beginning of the new regime in 2013 ?, the plan indicates.

“Other industrial sectors, like aviation will have to do the same, in a gradual way”, adds Brussels, that until now granted free emissions quotas of CO2.

As far as the other half of the polluting emissions of the EU, they come from transports, agriculture and residues, that will have to be reduced in a 10% for 2020.

Meanwhile, Durao Barroso indicated that the cost of the measures would have to be compensated by the gas and petroleum imports of savings in the EU, of 50,000 million annual Euros.

Regarding the sale of contaminate permissions, these would have to generate other 50,000 million Euros, amount that would go to the coffers of the members of the EU and would serve to finance the necessary technical innovations for the reduction of emissions.

Brussels expects much from the climatic change negotiations initiated in Bali in December of 2007 and bets on an international agreement in 2009 to limit the impact, under the threat to impose taxes to the imports of the countries that do not respect their environmental norms.

Source: La Nación