Friday, March 17, 2006

[Biofuels] South Africa Mulls Creative Ways to Boost Fledgling Biofuels Industry The South African government is considering introducing biodiesel as a separate grade of fuel, the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) director for petroleum and gas industry Muzi Mkhize told the Cleaner Fuels Conference. South Africa currently has a policy that allows a 5% voluntary blending of biofuels into the fuel mix, but, while investors were suggesting that it should become mandatory to ensure the promotion of the biofuels industry, Mkhize said that supply constraints would hamper such a policy. However, he revealed that the government might assess it on a regional supply basis. ... Mkhize reported that the DME was also currently reviewing its Petroleum Products Amendment Act of 2003, which would influence the industry's specifications and standards. [Source: Engineering News (South Africa) via RenewableEnergyAccess.com, 3/16/06] 11:57:14 AM Google It!    [Biofuels] Missouri Town Raising a Stink over Biofuel Plant Residents of Carthage, Mo., were so offended by the nauseating smell coming from a biofuel plant that Missouri's governor closed it down. Now the plant is set to reopen with modifications, and the plant's operators say they're doing everything they can to eliminate the most noxious odors. [Source: NPR via RenewableEnergyAccess.com, 3/15/06] 11:54:59 AM Google It!    [Biomass] Banking on Biomass When is a tree more than a tree? When it's chopped and chipped into fuel, one Whitefish company has discovered. Since its beginning in 2001, Western Woodfuels has focused solely on fuels reduction. David Russell and a seasonal employee would thin forest stands on private property. Marketable logs were sent to the mill. Slash would be chipped and left on site or hauled off to create compost and topsoil. Finishing projects this way never sat well with Russell. Surely those limbs and small trees could be used for something other than compost. [Source: The Daily Inter Lake via RenewableEnergyAccess.com, 3/12/06] 11:52:01 AM Google It!    [Biofuels] Biofuels Plant to Benefit Indiana Farmers and Livestock Louis Dreyfus Agriculture Industries, LLC, will build a combined 50-million bushel per year soybean processing plant and biodiesel production facility near Claypool, Indiana in Kosciusko County. Said to be the largest biodiesel plant in Indiana, it will supply biodiesel from soybean oil while soybean meal will feed the state's livestock. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com, 3/15/06] 11:49:19 AM Google It!

© Copyright 2006 Laura L. Barnes. Last update: 4/6/2006; 2:30:52 PM.