The US Environmental Protection Agency recently issued an emergency fuel waiver to allow E15 gasoline—gasoline blended with 15% ethanol—to be sold during the summer driving season. Current estimates indicate that on average, E15 is about 25 cents a gallon cheaper than E10. Currently, in roughly two-thirds of the country, E15... Read more →

Butadiene, an essential component of synthetic rubber, is currently produced by the petrochemical industry from fossil reserves. Butadiene can also be produced from ethanol by one of two primary methods: Lebedev, which converts ethanol over one catalyst in one reactor, and Ostromisslensky, which converts a mixture of ethanol and acetaldehyde... Read more →

Gevo has entered into a joint development agreement with LG Chem to develop bio-propylene for renewable chemicals using Gevo’s Ethanol-to-Olefins (ETO) technology. The ETO process uses Gevo’s proprietary mixed metal oxide catalysts to produce tailored mixes of polymer-grade propylene, high-purity isobutylene and hydrogen from fuel-grade ethanol. The basic process involves... Read more →

Japan has published a new biofuels policy that will allow the United States to capture up to 100% of Japan’s on-road ethanol market, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. According to the new biofuels policy under the Sophisticated Methods of Energy Supply Structure Act, exports of... Read more →

A research team led by Profs. CHEN Wei and WEI Wei from the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (SARI) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed novel graphene/silicon carbide (SiC) catalysts for efficient CO2 photoelectroreduction to ethanol (C2H5OH). The results were published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. The composite catalyst,... Read more →

Nippon Paper Industries, Sumitomo and Green Earth Institute agreed to begin trilateral consideration of the first commercial production of cellulosic bioethanol from woody biomass in Japan and its development into bio-chemical products. Bioethanol is currently attracting attention as a renewable energy source and as feedstock for biofuels such as SAF... Read more →

United Airlines, Tallgrass, and Green Plains announced a new joint venture—Blue Blade Energy—to develop and then commercialize a novel Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) technology that uses ethanol as its feedstock. United, Tallgrass, and Green Plains will invest up to a combined $50 million in the joint venture. United has entered... Read more →

Brazil-based Braskem, the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas, as well as a global market leader and pioneer producer of biopolymers on an industrial scale, announced a project to evaluate an investment in producing carbon-negative bio-based polypropylene (PP) in the US. The project would utilize Braskem’s proven, proprietary technology to... Read more →

LanzaTech announced that its DRAGON facility project (earlier post) has received a £25-million (~US$31-million) grant from the UK Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund Competition. LanzaTech’s Project DRAGON, which stands for Decarbonizing and Reimagining Aviation for the Goal Of Netzero, will convert waste gases into synthetic kerosene for use in... Read more →

At an event held at its steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, ArcelorMittal inaugurated its flagship carbon capture and utilization (CCU) project. (Earlier post.) The €200-million Steelanol project is a first of its kind for the European steel industry. Utilizing carbon recycling technology developed by project partner LanzaTech, the CCU plant... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a multipart proposal for required volumes of biofuel under the Renewable FUel Standard (RFS) for the next one to three years and on a series of modifications to the program. The agency is seeking public input on the proposal to help shape the... Read more →

At its Dakar debut in January 2022, the Audi RS Q e-tron (earlier post) series hybrid set standards in efficiency and competitiveness of e-mobility in motorsport. In the next step, the three desert prototypes with electric drive and energy converter will run in the 2023 Dakar Rally with an innovative... Read more →

In a letter sent to US Senate and House leadership, a broad coalition of energy and agriculture organizations called on Congress quickly to adopt legislation that would resolve inconsistent fuel volatility regulations. Specifically, the groups expressed support for legislation that would result in equal regulatory treatment for all gasoline blends... Read more →

As part of the strategy to decarbonize its customers’ supply chains, A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) has entered a green methanol partnership with US-based project developer Carbon Sink LLC. This is Maersk’s 8th such agreement in the efforts to accelerate global production of green methanol. The parties have signed a... Read more →

In the summer of 2022 (June—August), the price of fuel ethanol was lower than the price of the petroleum component of gasoline, which led to record-high fuel ethanol levels (blend rates) in gasoline sold in the United States, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In addition, on 29... Read more →

Shell has agreed to buy a total of 3.25 billion liters (860k gallons US) of sugar-cane cellulosic ethanol under a long-term agreement with Brazil’s Raízen. The low-carbon fuel is expected to be produced by five plants that Raízen plans to build in Brazil, bringing its total portfolio of cellulosic ethanol... Read more →

Fuel ethanol, a biofuel most commonly mixed with finished motor gasoline, is second only to coal as the most-transported fuel by rail. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) Petroleum Supply Monthly, 95% of all US fuel ethanol deliveries between regions in the first half of 2022 were by... Read more →

Honeywell announced a new ethanol-to-jet fuel (ETJ) processing technology that allows producers to convert corn-based, cellulosic, or sugar-based ethanol into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Depending on the type of ethanol feedstock used, jet fuel produced from Honeywell’s ethanol-to-jet fuel process can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 80%... Read more →

ClearFlame Engine Technologies, a company developing net-zero engine technology (earlier post), has hit a number of key milestones through multiple partnerships with customers, manufacturers, and fuel providers. These achievements highlight the company’s ability to leverage existing infrastructure within the transportation sector, giving it a clear advantage to scale quickly and... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has released the results of a multiyear study evaluating exhaust emissions from the use of California Reformulated Gasoline (CaRFG) that contains 15 volume percent ethanol (E15). The study was performed by a team from the University of California at Riverside (UCR) Bourns College of... Read more →

A team from Washington State University (WSU) and Nissan has integrated a catalyst layer into into metal-supported solid oxide fuel cell (MS-SOFC), enabling successful operation with a direct ethanol feed. A paper on their work appears in the Journal of Power Sources. The team introduced a Rhodium-Ceria-Zirconia (Rh/CZ) internal reforming... Read more →

A team from Washington State University (WSU) and the Gas Technology Institute have used an ethanol and water mixture and a small amount of electricity in an electrochemical conversion system to produce pure compressed hydrogen. Such a system would enable hydrogen to be made on-site at fueling stations, with only... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took action on Friday pursuant to a consent decree agreement that requires EPA to finalize RFS volumes for 2021 and 2022 no later than 3 June 2022 (Friday). In the final volumes, EPA adjusted the final biofuel volumes for 2021 to reflect updated data... Read more →

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided $700 million to help lower costs and support biofuel producers who faced unexpected market losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are being made available through the Biofuel Producer Program, which was created as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and... Read more →

VERBIO recently officially launched the first cellulosic RNG plant in the US. The VERBIO Nevada (Iowa) Biorefinery began producing renewable natural gas (RNG) on an industrial scale in December 2021. The facility is on track to achieve full-scale production of 7 million ethanol gallons equivalent (EGE) of RNG annually by... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing an emergency fuel waiver to allow E15 gasoline to be sold during the summer driving season. (Earlier post.) The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires the use of low-volatility gasoline during the summer months in order to limit the formation of ozone pollution.... Read more →

ClearFlame Engine Technologies, a startup developing net-zero engine technology (earlier post), announced the publication of an independent study that finds ClearFlame’s technology could help fleet owners and other heavy-duty truck operators lower total costs while meeting sustainability goals sooner than currently available alternatives. The study was conducted by Gladstein, Neandross... Read more →

Researchers at the Clemson Nanomaterials Institute (CNI) and their collaborators from the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) in India discovered a novel way to combine curcumin—the substance in turmeric—and gold nanoparticles to create an electrode that requires 100 times less energy to convert ethanol or methanol into... Read more →

In another attempt to addressing rising gasoline prices (earlier post), President Biden announced that the EPA Administrator is planning to allow E15 gasoline—gasoline that uses a 15% ethanol blend—to be sold this summer. To make E15 available in the summer, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to issue a... Read more →

Essam El-Hannouny, a principal mechanical engineer at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, won a Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) Award from DOE to expand his research on how a renewable alcohol-based biofuel can serve as a dual fuel to help decarbonize locomotive engines. His research is also relevant... Read more →

A bipartisan group of senators led by Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced the Home Front Energy Independence Act. This legislation would make the sale of E15 year-round permanent; create a tax credit for higher biofuel blends; streamline E15 labeling; provide funding for E15 infrastructure; extend the... Read more →

Carbon transformation company Twelve and biotechnology company LanzaTech have transformed CO2 emissions into ethanol as a part of an ongoing research and development partnership. Ethanol is typically produced using biological processes or as a petrochemical, through ethylene hydration, using fossil fuels. It’s also often produced using corn and other crop... Read more →

LanzaJet, a sustainable aviation fuel technology provider and producer, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Marquis Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Marquis SAF) to construct a 120 million gallons per year (mgpy) integrated sustainable fuels plant in the US using low-carbon intensity (CI) feedstocks to produce sustainable aviation fuel... Read more →

ClearFlame Engine Technologies, a a startup developing net-zero engine technology (earlier post), successfully completed an on-road demonstration of its proprietary technology that enables a heavy-duty truck diesel engine to operate on low-carbon and carbon-negative fuels, including 100% renewable plant-based fuels. The demonstration of ClearFlame’s engine technology was implemented by taking... Read more →

LanzaJet, a sustainable fuels technology company and renewable fuels producer, has secured financing for its Freedom Pines Fuels plant in Soperton, Georgia (earlier post), through the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund. The Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund has made a $50-million investment to support the construction of LanzaJet’s (and the world’s) first... Read more →

UGI Corporation has entered into a 15-year agreement with California-based technology developer Vertimass to utilize their catalytic technology to produce renewable fuels from renewable ethanol in the US and Europe. Vertimass is developing a unique Consolidated Alcohol Deoxygenation and Oligomerization (CADO) technology to allow ethanol producers to: Produce sustainable aviation... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a package of actions setting biofuel volumes for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for years 2020, 2021, and 2022, and introducing regulatory changes intended to enhance the program’s objectives. For 2022, EPA is proposing the highest total volumes yet; the proposed volumes... Read more →

Researchers in the US and China have developed a catalyst that solves three key problems long associated with direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs): low efficiency, the cost of catalytic materials and the toxicity of chemical reactions inside the cells. The team from the University of Central Florida, Oregon State University,... Read more →

The electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 using renewable energy could establish a climate-neutral, artificial carbon cycle. Excess energy produced by photovoltaics and wind energy could be stored through the electrocatalytic production of fuels from CO2. These could then be burned as needed. Conversion into liquid fuels would be advantageous because they... Read more →

The decarbonization of EU road transportation will increasingly impact the demand for fossil and biofuel, especially after 2030. The long-term outlook for biofuels, beyond 2045, does not look promising, as the expected decline in demand is likely to encourage biofuel companies to look for alternative uses for their products, according... Read more →

Novozymes is introducing Innova Quantum, a new addition to its Innova yeast platform. The robust new yeast enables ethanol plants with longer fermentation times of more than 60 hours to realize higher ethanol yields and processing efficiencies than ever before. Most importantly, plants can achieve this industry-leading yield without trade-offs... Read more →

ADM and Gevo signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other low carbon-footprint hydrocarbon fuels. The MoU contemplates the production of both ethanol and isobutanol that would then be transformed into renewable low carbon-footprint hydrocarbons, including SAF, using Gevo’s processing technology... Read more →

Gevo and Axens North America have entered into an agreement that establishes a strategic alliance aimed at accelerating the commercialization of sustainable ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) projects in the United States. As part of the alliance, Axens brings technologies with more than 60 related patents; engineering packages; proprietary catalysts; and certain proprietary... Read more →

Gevo has received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a process that encompasses upgrading ethanol and bio-based alcohols into drop-in, bio-based diesel and jet-fuel products. The USPTO has awarded Gevo US Patent No. 11,078,433 titled “Conversion of Mixtures of C2-C8 Olefins to Jet Fuel... Read more →

An international collaboration of scientists has taken a significant step toward the realization of a nearly “green” zero-net-carbon technology that can efficiently convert CO2 and hydrogen into ethanol. The study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, lays out a roadmap for successfully navigating this challenging reaction and... Read more →

TotalEnergies is developing a 100% renewable fuel for motorsport competition, to be introduced from next season at the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), including the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2022, and at the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). This 100% renewable fuel to be offered by TotalEnergies will be... Read more →

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $26 million to build infrastructure to expand the availability of higher-blend renewable biofuels by 822 million gallons annually in 23 states. USDA is making the awards under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program. The funding will help increase the use of biofuels... Read more →

A patented process for converting alcohol sourced from renewable or industrial waste gases into jet or diesel fuel is being scaled up at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with the help of partners at Oregon State University and the carbon-recycling experts at LanzaTech. A single-step chemical... Read more →

A team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has investigated the long-term adaptability and economic feasibility of non-flex-fuel vehicles—vehicles designed to use fuel blends containing 85% ethanol (E85) or less—to consume a 30% ethanol (E30) fuel blend. Their results indicated that although modest changes can be observed in the behavior of... Read more →

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed a new catalyst for converting ethanol into C3+ olefins—the chemical building blocks for renewable jet fuel and diesel—that pushes selectivity to a record-high 88%, a more than 10% gain over their previously developed catalyst. (Earlier post.) A paper on the new work is... Read more →