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.

“First there was a big debate between EBB’s Rafaello Garraffolo and CADER’s Alfredo Langesfeld.  It was short and sweet. Freddie asked EBB – you don’t have enough land for biodiesel, why not use ours from Argentina?  Rafaello ducked, dodged, deflected, and blamed splash n dash and overcapacity (same as Jobe on overcapacity). Amusing.

“The UNICA presentation was excellent, and they noted Brazil has a $28 Billion ethanol industry, with 465 mills and 70,000 sugar cane farms. UNICA said Sugar cane fields represent only 3% of Brazil’s arable land, and is grown 2,000 miles from the rainforest a misconception. In 2011, the country is expanding into biobutanol, biojet & renewable diesel fuels.

“GRFA’s Bliss Baker talked about his alliance with Rob Verhiout of Ebio (now Epure), RFA’s Dinneen, Canada Renewable Fuel Association, CADER, Australia, and working on getting Unica. I shared a panel with the President of Fedepalma, and the soy crowd didn’t know what to think of the palm and algae advocates, were a bit stunned but polite.”

SOURCE: BIOFUELS DIGEST

“Biofuels could break the tyranny of oil and lift millions from poverty along with providing a sustainable fuel source for aviation,” Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association said.

Bisignani told an industry conference on aviation and the environment that the oil industry had huge multibillion dollar earnings yet little is being done to prop up biofuels made from non-food crops.

Governments had invested “peanuts, and what have the oil companies done? Peanuts.” he said.

“It’s a wake up call for them, we need to get them on board.”

The civil aviation industry has laid out a range of emissions cutting targets for the coming years and decades aimed at tackle climate change, with about half of IATA’s ultimate target of a 50 percent cut in emissions by 2050 relying on biofuels.

Bisignani noted that the air transport industry was overcoming the technical challenge of flying airliners on biofuels.

But it faced a huge challenge in ensuring sufficient refining, supply and distribution for the world’s airports, with air engine makers, airlines and small developers left largely alone to spur biofuels.

“It is in the self interest of government to get much more involved and support the commercialisation of biofuels with incentives to facilitate the needed investments,” he added.

IATA’s chief renewed appeals for governments to join forces and set global standards for aviation to combat global warming at the International Civl Aviation Organisation later this month, rather than an uneven regional approach.

IATA is at loggerheads with regional and national emissions trading schemes, and additional taxes imposed by some governments.

Some biofuels have been criticised for drawing on vital food crops, land and water resources.

Aviation officials insisted at the conference here that their focus was on others sources such as algae and camelina (flax) for bio jet fuel.

IATA represents some 230 airlines.

SOURCE: AFP

The 100 Mgy Imperium Renewables  facility in Grays Harbor, Washington.

Back in 2008 the death watch began on Imperium Renewables.

Though its 100 Mgy multi-feedstock plant in Grays Harbor was, at the time, the largest and most modern biodiesel facility in the US, the company lost its CEO, withdrew a planned IPO, and was forced to cancel a potentially lucrative Hawaiian development project that would have supplied biodiesel to Hawaiian Electric (HECO).

By August 2008, Royal Caribbean had pulled out of an 18 million gallon annual contract and sold off its investment in the plant, and even the city of Seattle canceled a planned biodiesel contract, citing the rising cost of biodiesel fuel.

Company founder John Plaza, late of Seattle Biofuels, stepped back in as CEO as biodiesel plants began to shutter all across the country in the face of static fuel prices, rising feedstock prices (especially for soy), and ultimately the loss (or near-loss) of a precious $1.00 per gallons biodiesel tax credit that had helped subsidize the cost of biodiesel when it began to exceed the cost of diesel.

2008: How Low Could it Go?

As if the conditions for biodiesel weren’t bad enough across the country, the mood in Seattle was perhaps even more sour. Even downstream alternative fuels marketer Propel Biofuels re-established its corporate HQ in California as individual protesters began to surface outside of biodiesel stations, and local eco-publishers like Grist began to run increasingly negative articles about the bio side of the alternative energy movement.

The producers of the “Fields of Fuel” documentary, which won an Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and a standing ovation from the alt-film crowd for its vision of a crop-based solution to global energy woes, hastily re-named itself “FUEL” and took on a more algae-centric view.

The resurrection of a biodiesel giant

“I’m not dead yet,” proclaims a decidedly uncooperative corpse in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and as with Mark Twain, reports of Imperium’s impending demise were somewhat exaggerated.

Today, what was expected to become one of the first major casualties of the biodiesel crisis of 2008-10 has emerged as one of its leading survivors, and John Plaza, then as now, remains one of the biofuels industries most outspoken and astute observers.

“Relative to the industry this year, we have avoided layoffs, and we’re enjoying our niche market – serving the Canadian marketplace,” Plaza says. “There’s additional demand because of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard in BC. Our customers have come to recognize that we produce the lowest cost, highest carbon reduction fuel.”

As far as prospects in the US, Plaza is sanguine. “There’s been a lengthy delay in any impact from the launch of RFS2. We’re seen more RIN trading than demand for fuel from obligated parties, so far. They are buying RINs from a huge backlog available.”

Nevertheless, Imperium is looking up these days, rather than being hunkered down. “We’re pretty bullish for demand for Imperium’s, We’re not producing on a continuous basis, but we have been producing on monthly campaign basis within 24 hours of receiving oil. At many points we are at or near 100 percent capacity, and for the first quarter we were overall at near half our capacity.”

The tax credit – never say die

“The tax credit still has some legs,” Plaza contends. There’s a discourse this week around the extenders package, and we’ll have one more chance after Labor Day. I’m 55 percent optimistic, 45 pessimistic.”

“But we have to see changes. What the industry needs is a two-fold support, a mnadted floor, and incentives with tax policy to get the outcomes we’re trying for. That’s where a Low Carbon Fuel Standard comes in, with a focus on a reduction in carbon emissions, that would reward the best behavior.”

The ethanol tax situation

“The frustrating part of the debate,” Plaza contends, “is that we’ve been subsidizing corn since I’ve been alive. Ethanol came about because of excess corn. The goals were right – rural development, price stabilization, but the policy drivers were wrong, and gave us this monoculture producing excess cheap food which was primarily used for cheap feed.”

Corn support going away? “Absolutely not, I don;t see them dismantling the whole system. And frankly, if ethanol policy [inadvertently] creates a few rich farmers in the Midwest, so what? I’d much rather have rich farmer than a rich Chavez.”

Sustainability

“The Low Carbon Fuel Standard is the biggest issue,”Plaza comments, “and we need sustainabiliuty criteria, and we need to understand what we are truly measuring against. Wd have to have a frame of reference that looks at the marginal production of fossil fuels, which we obtain from Canadian tar sands, and we need a fair standard based on fair data. The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels is developing some baseline assumptions, and will measure the inputs and have it audited. Their approach is to have an average for all of biodiesel, and then if you want to get an individual score for a facility, you can pursue that.”

“The California Air Resources Board (CARB) got it all wrong. It’s a complete and utter disaster, with utopian requirements to meet standards that will just kill off first generation fuels in California and you never get to the second generation.”

[Editor's note. No new commercial-scale or demonstration-scale advanced biofuels project has been announced in California since the completion of the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard.]

“RSB needs to be taken seriously, by the Europeans, the obligated parties, and needs needs to be valid organization. It does feel at times like middle school kids finding out how to get along, but when the European Biodiesel Board and eBIO pulled out of RSB, it was a petty and foolish move by some petty and foolish guys.”

Biodiesel consolidation

Biodiesel has been undergoing some consolidation in recent months, primarily with REG on the move, acquiring new capacity. Imperium has stayed away.

“There are very few facilities we like – with the large scale, high quality, and logistics similar to what we have. For us, consolidation is not best strategy for our shareholders. Our focus has always been on innovation and market opportunity, based on most efficient and highest value. We try to be differentiated enough to be biodiesel 1.5, with, for example, our emphasis on a multi-feedstock approach.”

Imperium’s own expansion plans

In the Digest, we have been extensively covering in recent months the opportunities for expansion based on existing first-generation capacity in the ethanol side of the market, with a special reports on biobutanol as well as covering cellulosic biofuels bolt-on capacity such as POET is building in Emmetsburg, IA with Project LIBERTY.

What’s opportunities are there for similar expansion, using the existing capacity of biodiesel facilities, their feedstocks acquisition logistics, rail lines, storage facilities, and industry knowledge?

“We like drop-in replacement fuels,” says Plaza, “that use our existing feedstock and agricultural waste. We see real opportunities with hydrocarbon replacement in the distillate markets, and we are focused on what we see as tremenodus opportunities with aviation and military markets. It’s so much about feedstock, and we feel that we have the existing ag wastes, and forest resources, and we have the knowledge in how to efficiently invest in technology.

“We’ve been doing more working than talking, but what we’re working on is a next generation, integrated biorefinery that makes 12 products, inclusive of jet fuel and high value chemicals. [At Grays Harbor], we’ve got the state of art biofuel facility, plenty of land around it. We’re focus on building right at home for now. We like that market.”

SOURCE: BIOFUELS DIGEST

In this year the FOB prices of the biodiesel registered an increase of almost 39%. In April of 2008 argentinean exportations of biodiesel were declared for 85.943 tons to an average pondered value of 1227,4 u$s/ton, with a minimum of 1044 u$s/ton and a maximum of 1335 u$s/ton. The 93,6% was destinated to USA and 6,4% to Holland.

Â

In March of 2008 argentinean exportations of biodiesel had been declared before the SIM/AFIP for 122.454 tons to a average pondered value of 1176,4 u$s/ton, with a minimum of 814 u$s/ton and a maximum of 1400 u$s/ton. The data corresponds to the tariff position 3824.90.29.100P.

Most of the declarations done in March were registered before the day 13th of that month, since from that day on started an increment of the aliquot of the export right applied to the biodiesel. Until then, the external sale of the biofuel was burdened by a retention of 5,0% and enjoyed a refund of 2,5% (that is to say had a net right of 2,5%). Starting from March 13th -according to what resolution 126/08 of the Ministry of Economy established- it went to have a nominal retention of 20,0% (17,5 % net).Â

Meanwhile, the value half pondered in December of 2007Â was of 883,4 u$s/ton. This implies that in the first four months of the year the average value of exportation of the biodiesel grew 38,9%.Â

In Argentina operate two big elaborating companies of biodiesel that, at the moment, are the ones that carry out most of the shipments. It is Renova, located in San Lorenzo (Santa Fe) and property of Glencore and Vicentín. The other one is Ecofuel, located in Puerto San Martin, Santa Fe, and controlled by Aceitera General Deheza and Bunge.Â

Source: Infocampo

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“Our global strategic plan contemplates to continue impelling the diversification of the business of the holding, and, in this sense, starting from the investment in Carlos Casado we will impel our entrance in innovative areas such as the agrobusiness, the tourism and the nature conservation, the biopharmacy and the energy through the development of energetic cultivations”, Jacinto Rey declared.

After the setting in value of the main asset of 310.000 hectares in the Paraguayan Chaco, Jacinto Rey enlarged on its investments in biofuels, especially in the development of an experimental cultivation of the Jatropha Curcas bush.

It is a seed with high oily content, that presents a magnificent aptitude for the obtaining of biodiesel, it reproduces at great scale, it generates labor opportunity for not qualified manpower and it doesn’t outline the current so controversial dilemma of energy versus foods, since its characteristics impede it to be used for other means rather than energy.

This line starts from a closed agreement with the companies Patagonia Bioenergía and Celulosa Argentina.

Antecedents

The Sanjosé Group began its activity in Spain in 1975 with the construction as business unit, and it is present in another 10 countries: United States, France, Germany, Portugal, Morocco, the Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic and Panama where it gives employment to 5.000 people in direct way and it generates a global billing of 1.600 million Eurus.

While in the Argentina, their business have a strong protagonism in the world of the construction, the urban and real state development and civil works.

Through their companies, at the moment they are carrying out enterprises among wich stand out the Centro Comercial Panamerican Mall in alliance with IRSA; the restoration of the main room of the Teatro Colon; the urban development La Tablada; the administration of commercial centers; the works of the Instituto Universitario Naval, the Liceo and the petty officers residence; and important civil works in Mendoza’s county.

Source: Infobae Profesional

The project plans to include to 6.000 producers. New machinery will be added to elaborate oil. The total of the production will be overturned to biofuels. The british-swiss company Global Agricultural Resources will contribute with funds.

Within the framework of the agreement signed with the cooperative Picada Libertad de Leandro N. Alem last year, the company of Swiss- British capitals Gar (Global Agricultural Resources), will invest three million dollars approximately to promote the production of castor oil in Misiones. The funds include the delivery of seeds to the producers, installation of machineries and the purchase of the whole elaborated product, in a ten year term.

In next months, the company, in combination with Picada Libertad, will give the seeds and it will provide the technical attendance to the colonists that are devoted to the activity.Â

“What we want to emphasize is that it is a serious project and that we are not here for a year or two, but rather in the begining there is an agreement for ten years, renewable for other ten years”, pointed out the director of GAR for Latin America, Dany Kait.Â
 The project includes in its first stage the sowing of some 18.000 hectares, but the objective is to arrive to the 36.000 at ends of 2.010. In total it is hoped to arrive to about 6.000 farmers.Â

Good alternativeÂ

The president of the board of directors of Picada Libertad, Rubén Wolemberg, indicated that the possibility to cultivate the castor bean represents a good opportunity for the producers and he also remarked that the company Gar committed to buy the whole production.Â

“It will be a good alternative for the colonists. This cultivation is very valued by its capacity for the biofuel elaboration, and our climate accompanies the good development of the plant. Even so, the fact that we begin to work with the castor bean doesn´t mean that we will abandon the tung processing”, he commented.Â

On the other hand, he explained that the entrance of the new production will allow to the cooperative to reduce its maintenance costs.Â

“From 1950 we produce tung oil, but because of the fall of the values many plantations got lost. Because it lowered the production a lot, we had a high cost in the factory for the time in that there was no production. The benefit that we will have with the castor bean is that we will be able to carry out investments inside the cooperative and to lower the idle capacity so in this way we will reduce the elaboration costs”, commented the president of Picada Libertad.Â

“The tung campaign lasts three months, that implies that there are nine months during wich the factory is stopped, what means high maintenance costs and for that reason we want to increase the work to divide the costs of the company”, detailed Wolemberg.Â

Source: Misiones On Line