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Biofuels

Primus, Tauber Oil sign US methanol offtake deal

Tauber Oil will offtake all methanol produced by the Primus Green Energy plant -- utilizing low-cost Marcellus gas feedstock -- to market, sell and distribute into the regional market.

Argentina’s ethanol producers prepare to boost output by up to 60%

In April, the government raised the amount of ethanol used by motorists by 2 percentage points to 12%. The move boosted the country's sugar industry, which has been battered by low prices.

REG expands Illinois biorefinery’s logistics system

REG Danville recently purchased the tank complex at the adjacent Bunge Milling facility for $1.5 million. The tanks are being connected to REG Danville’s existing infrastructure and will increase the biorefinery’s storage capacity for feedstock by at least 950,000 gal and biodiesel by up to 12 million gal.

Catalytic coprocessing of used cooking oil with straight-run gasoil in a hydrotreating pilot plant

A promising route to obtain bio-gasoil (bioGO) or hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is the catalytic coprocessing of vegetable oil with diesel oil in a conventional hydrotreating unit.

API poll: High ethanol mandates worry US voters

“Across the political spectrum, voters are concerned about the significant damage the RFS mandate and higher ethanol blends could cause to automobiles, motorcycles and almost every type of gasoline powered engine,” said Frank Macchiarola, downstream group director at the API.

UPS expands alternative fuels momentum with major CNG investment

The new program, to which UPS is adding $100 million in investment, will fund 12 CNG fueling stations and add 380 CNG heavy duty trucks to the package delivery company's fleet.

AltAir selects UOP’s renewable jet fuel technology at California biorefinery

AltAir revamped portions of a petroleum refinery in Paramount, California, where it is now producing renewable transportation fuels for commercial and military use.

EU urged to set 2030 biofuels target for security

Competition from cheap oil has added to the pressure on the advanced biofuel industry, which so far has only a non-binding 2020 EU target of 0.5% to guide investment.

Finland to offer financial aid package for biofuels

"Finland will stop using coal in energy production and halve the use of imported oil for domestic needs during the 2020s," the Ministry of Employment and the Economy said.

Genomatica, Eni’s Versalis make bio-butadiene via renewable feedstocks

The success of this innovative undertaking results from a newly-developed process for the on-purpose production of butadiene which uses various types of sugars as feedstock.