http://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/accueil/index.phpActualités dans le domaine des biocarburants (articles en anglais)© Plateforme Biocarburantsfrhttp://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/images/site/pb_logo_small.pnghttp://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/accueil/index.phpSat, 09 Jul 2011 08:45:45 +0100Subscribe with Mon Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with The Free DictionarySubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with Live.comSubscribe with Excite MIXSubscribe with WebwagSubscribe with Podcast ReadySubscribe with WikioSubscribe with Daily Rotationhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/plateforme-biocarburants_en/~3/jiOGStTySqE/index.phpSat, 09 Jul 2011 09:45:45 +0100In Peru, the nation's largest sugar producer is to start manufacturing ethanol. By the end of 2011, Gloria S.A. is to produce ethanol at two of its sugar mills; Casa Grande and Complejo Agroindustrial Cartavo.http://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/actualites/index.php?id=6941http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/plateforme-biocarburants_en/~3/scUQCxlaQ8Y/index.phpSat, 09 Jul 2011 09:45:06 +0100In its largest effort yet to raise awareness of biodiesel, the National Biodiesel Board is launching a multi-million dollar campaign to highlight to its economic, environmental and national security advantages. The national outreach includes a television advert, which features a school bus and the tag line: "Biodiesel: America's advanced biofuel". Also part of the awareness investment is radio advertising and a new website. "The public generally doesn't know that there is an advanced biofuel here now", says Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board. He continues: "This is not some pipedream. Biodiesel today is fuelling long-haul trucks from Florida to California, municipal buses in Texas, Ford pickups in Detroit and Volkswagens in New York."http://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/actualites/index.php?id=6940http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/plateforme-biocarburants_en/~3/eHSK6mFZfZc/index.phpSat, 09 Jul 2011 09:43:45 +0100In Finland, STX Finland has contracted Wärtsilä to supply three liquid biofuel powered main engines for Aura II, its new cargo ship that is expected to be the first in Europe to run on permanently on biofuels and should be delivered next spring. The biofuel to supply the ship will come from the Uusikaupunki refinery in southwest Finland that is owned by Meriaura Group which will own the ship. Though the engines will run on biofuels, should the need arise they can switch to marine diesel.http://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/actualites/index.php?id=6939http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/plateforme-biocarburants_en/~3/EoZSvkSv_BE/index.phpSat, 09 Jul 2011 09:43:01 +0100Biofuel consumption in Germany declined 18% in April because of scarce supplies and rising prices for rapeseed and oil made from the seed, Hamburg-based oilseeds analyst Oil World said. Blenders mixed less biodiesel with regular fuel as the price of rapeseed gained 33% in the past year, Oil World said today in a report. Ethanol mixed into fuel fell by 11% in the year through April as Germans shunned the product, according to the report. Biofuel production totaled 194'000 tons in April, down from 238'000 tons a year earlier, the researcher said. "Demand for certified rapeseed oil mainly of German origin for biodiesel production reportedly increased to record levels", Oil World said. "The declining usage of biodiesel is largely attributable to scarce supplies and high prices of rapeseed and rapeseed oil."http://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/actualites/index.php?id=6938http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/plateforme-biocarburants_en/~3/vMCpM3bnKvk/index.phpWed, 06 Jul 2011 09:51:54 +0100International change in land use has been a careful consideration in the cost and benefit analysis of biofuel production. Indirect Land Use Change (iLUC) is the term many experts use in discussion of this topic. The general idea of iLUC is that natural areas across the globe may be converted to cropland to replace crops that are being used to produce biofuels. While this topic seems relatively clear at first glance, it is complicated by factors such as the type of ecosystem that is being converted, such as forest and grassland. Therefore, assumptions are used in predicting the change in land use. Extensive computer models use different assumptions which result in a wide range of predictions. A recent article published in Biomass and Bioenergy (2011), authored by Bruce Dale and Kim Seungdo from Michigan State University, discusses iLUC using historical data and very limited assumptions.http://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/actualites/index.php?id=6935http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/plateforme-biocarburants_en/~3/ow6T5iIq7sk/index.phpWed, 06 Jul 2011 09:50:43 +0100Brazilian state-run energy firm Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras acquired a 50% stake in a local biodiesel company BSBIOS Industria e Comercio de Biodiesel Sul Brasil S.A. for 200 million Brazilian reals or $128.4 million. Petrobras executed the deal through its subsidiary Petrobras Biocombustível S.A. Located at Passo Fundo, the acquired company owns a biodiesel facility which is integrated with a vegetable oil extraction unit and has an annual production capacity of 42 million gallons of fuel. The unit is well connected by railroad terminals and a distribution base for smooth delivery and marketing of biodiesel.http://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/actualites/index.php?id=6934http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/plateforme-biocarburants_en/~3/5h_WYIHm_sY/index.phpMon, 04 Jul 2011 21:02:21 +0100In Brazil, a wholly owned subsidiary of energy giant Petrobras, Petrobras Biocombustível S.A. - Pbio, has purchased a 50% stake in a biodiesel plant for $128 million (€88 million). The plant is located in Rio Grande do Sul and owned by BSBIOS Indústria e Commércio de Biodiesel Sul Brasil. The biodiesel production plant is able to produce 42 million gallons a year of biodiesel from vegetable oil.http://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/actualites/index.php?id=6932http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/plateforme-biocarburants_en/~3/gN0r-o7QrHY/index.phpMon, 04 Jul 2011 14:09:57 +0100Hailed as the biggest ever investment in Sierra Leone's agriculture, a plan to grow thousands of hectares of sugarcane to produce ethanol has raised fears over food security and land rights. Swiss group Addax & Oryx announced on June 17 that it had signed a 258 million euro ($368 million) deal with seven European and African development banks to finance the bioenergy project near Makeni in the north of the country. The hot and rainy west African nation, recovering from a brutal civil war which ended in 2002, has the ideal climate to grow sugarcane, much like that of ethanol powerhouse Brazil which has led the way in using the crop for biofuel. Sierra Leone's agriculture ministry says the company has leased 57'000 hectares (141'000 acres) of land for a period of 50 years, an area roughly the size of the US city of Chicago.http://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/actualites/index.php?id=6931http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/plateforme-biocarburants_en/~3/StV4YRudbyc/index.phpMon, 04 Jul 2011 14:08:52 +0100Seaweed may prove a viable future biofuel - especially if harvested in summer. The use of kelp (Laminaria digitata) could provide an important alternative to terrestrial grown biofuels; however the suitability of its chemical composition varies on a seasonal basis. Harvesting the kelp in July when carbohydrate levels are at their highest would ensure optimal sugar release for biofuel production. "The storage carbohydrate and soluble sugars get converted into ethanol in the fermentation process, so we need as much as possible", explains Dr. Jessica Adams, a lead researcher at Aberystwyth University. "Metals can inhibit the yeast too so we also want these to be as low as possible."http://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/actualites/index.php?id=6930http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/plateforme-biocarburants_en/~3/8RE4AwWisUQ/index.phpMon, 04 Jul 2011 14:07:43 +0100Following its announcement in December last year that pure biodiesel made from waste plant and animal oil is exempt from consumption tax, the Chinese government has recently clarified the actual scope of animal and plant oils subject to such tax exemption. Experts say the tax incentives will not only largely support China's emerging biodiesel market, but will also effectively prevent waste oil from flowing back to dining tables. China's Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation co-issued the "Circular to Clarify the Application Scope of Consumption Tax Exemption for Pure Biodiesel Made from Waste Animal and Plant Oils" (Caishui [2011] No.46) on June 15.http://www.plateforme-biocarburants.ch/actualites/index.php?id=6929