Alignment of Interests

By Bryan Sims

The goal behind the United States-Brazil renewable energy accord is to establish renewable fuels as an internationally traded commodity with the intent to expand biofuels use in the Western Hemisphere. Will this alignment of interests harmonize global commerce within the biofuels sector, or will it pose as a catalyst for political positioning?

The Dark Alternative

By Ron Kotrba

Some experts fear that the proliferation of coal-to-liquid fuels threatens to debase whatever carbon benefits renewable ethanol carries. Others think it might squeeze out the corn players altogether.

A Noteworthy Yeast

By Susanne Retka Schill

Microbiologist Thomas Jeffries has spent a quarter of a century poking and prodding a yeast called Pichia stipitis to enhance its cellulose fermenting prowess. The yeast made science headlines when its genome sequence revealed the secrets of its ethanol-producing process.

Super-Scale Visualization

By Nicholas Zeman

Ethanol production is now important enough to conscript the services of the world's fastest supercomputers. These machines at the San Diego Supercomputer Center and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are allowing the interaction between cellulases and cellulose to be seen with the power of a trillion minds.

Bullish on Biofuels

By Jerry W. Kram

Ethanol and biofuels in general have come under criticism from many sides lately, but when industry leaders gathered in Florida for the fourth annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, the focus was on how the industry could transform the world.

Financing Solutions

By Craig A. Johnson

Blazing trails in a fast-moving industry is a daunting task for even the most robust ethanol producers. First National Investment Banking helps producers position their companies to take advantage of changes in the ethanol industry, which some believe could be headed for a wave of consolidations.

Cellulosic Wave Set In Motion

By Lindsey Irwin

To help meet the objectives outlined in President George W. Bush's "Twenty in Ten" initiative the U.S. DOE awarded grants to six companies to commercially develop their cellulosic ethanol technologies. EPM outlines each of the selected companies and their plans for the second-generation ethanol future.

Getting Schooled

By Lindsey Irwin

Responding to the high demand for qualified ethanol plant operators, the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville offers a consolidated training program that provides participants with an overview of the entire ethanol production process in five days. The program has received excellent reviews and increased interest.

A Poetic Journey

By Anduin Kirkbride McElroy

The story of Poet, an ethanol industry powerhouse formerly known as Broin Companies, is much like the story of the ethanol industry. It began on a family farm and grew into a diversified corporation. Now, with a new name and ownership reorganization, it begins a new chapter in biorefining.

By Lindsey Irwin, Craig A. Johnson, Jerry W. Kram, Susanne Retka Schill, Michael Shirek, Bryan Sims, Jan Tellmann and Dave Nilles

Treading Lightly on the Great Lakes

By Nicholas Zeman

On the heavily traveled Great Lakes, biodiesel innovations by the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory are helping the big ships and their operators to be better environmental stewards.

Certified: Sustainable

By Anduin Kirkbride McElroy

Sure, biodiesel is made from renewable feedstocks, but is it sustainable? That question has led many to take a closer look at harnessing the benefits of biodiesel without creating unintended adverse effects, and it's spurred the formation of a group called the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance. Standards and certification of sustainability may soon be on the way.

The Biofuels Celebration Station

By Ron Kotrba

Gas stations aren't typically venues for Earth Day activities. That didn't stop SeQuential Biofuels from holding an Earth Day celebration at its Eugene, Ore.-based sustainable retail gas station-the uniqueness of which is hopefully fleeting.