AdvancedBiofuelNews EPA reduces 2013 cellulosic requirement
NASA continues renewable fuel tests
The U.S. EPA is RFS cellulosic requirements Gallons revising the celluStatutory 2013 RFS cellulosic 1 billion losic requirement of 2013 RFS cellulosic as established by 6 million the 2013 renewable rulemaking fuel standard (RFS) Revised 2013 RFS cellulosic requirement, 810,185 to reflect actual proposed in new rulemaking production. On RINs April 23, the agency 2013 D3 cellulosic biofuel 422,740 published prepubli2013 D7 cellulosic diesel 387,445 cation versions of a Total 2013 cellulosic 810,185 notice of proposed SOURCE: U.S. EPA rulemaking and a direct final rule to reduce the 2013 cellulosic RFS requirement to 810,185 ethanol-equivalent gallons. On a percentage basis, that equates to approximately 0.0005 percent of U.S. transportation fuel. The EPA’s action stemmed from petitions filed last year by the American Fuel and Petrochemicals Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute requesting reconsideration of the cellulosic requirements. Those petitions cited a reduced cellulosic fuel production forecast made by a cellulosic biofuel producer after the 2013 RFS rulemaking process was complete. The direct final rule will become effective 60 days after its official publication in the Federal Register unless the EPA receives relevant adverse comment within 30 days, in which case it will proceed with the parallel proposed rule.
NASA is continuing its biojet testing initiative. In April, NASA announced it has signed separate agreements with the German Aerospace Center and the National Research Council of Canada to conduct a series of joint test flights to study the atmospheric effects of emissions from jet engines burning alternative fuels. The Alternative Fuel Effects on Contrails and Cruise Emissions (ACCESS II) flights are set to begin May 7 and will be flown from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. NASA's DC-8 and HU-25C Guardian, DLR's Falcon 20-E5, and NRC's CT-133 research aircraft will conduct flight tests in which the DC-8 engines will burn a mix of different fuel blends, while the Falcon and CT-133 measure emissions and observe contrail formation. According to NASA, ACCESS II is the latest in a series of ground and flights tests that began in 2009. ACCESS I testing was conducted in 2013 and indicated that tested biofuel blends may substantially reduce emissions of black carbon, sulfates and organics.
GeoSynFuels purchases, retrofits idle Western Biomass demo facility Colorado-based GeoSynFuels LLC has acquired the cellulosic demonstration facility previously owned and operated by Blue Sugars Corp., the parent company of Western Biomass Energy LLC. Western Biomass filed for bankruptcy in 2012, followed by Blue Sugars in 2013. Todd Harvey, president and CEO of GSF said his company plans to leave the facility in place in Upton, Wyo., and retrofit it to use his company’s proprietary 5CS ethanol production technology. Unlike many cellulosic technologies that target both five-carbon and six-carbon sugars, GSF’s process targets only five-carbon sugars for ethanol production. As a result, more biomass material is left behind for other purposes, such as combustion. The process is designed to be a bolt-on addition to facilities that already aggregate, process and combust biomass, such as sugar mills, pulp mills and biomass energy facilities. GSF began testing its process at the pilot scale in 2011. The newly purchased demonstration facility is expected to be operational by mid to late summer.
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ENGINEERING A SOLUTION: Researchers place engineered E. coli into test tubes containing glucose to determine which enzyme combinations produce pinene most efficiently. PHOTO: GEORGIA TECH
Engineered bacteria produces biobased rocket fuel alternative Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Joint BioEnergy Institute have engineered a bacterium to synthesize pinene, a hydrocarbon with potential to replace highenergy fuels, such as JP-10 used in missiles and other aerospace applications. Pinene is produced in nature by trees. According to information released by Georgia Tech, researchers inserted enzymes from trees into the bacterium and were able to boost pinene production six-fold over earlier bioengineering efforts. To be commercially competitive, production must be boosted by an estimated 26-fold. Researchers said that is within the range of possibilities for bioengineering the E. coli. The amount of PT-10 that can be extracted from a barrel of oil is limited. That limited supply drives up the price of the fuel to approximately $25 per gallon. That high price point gives researchers working on a biobased JP-10 an advantage over scientists working to produce replacements for lower-priced gasoline and diesel.