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April 2010

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Measured Expectations

By Kris Bevill

The U.S. EPA will begin requiring participants of its mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting program to use prescribed methods on April 1. How do these methods differ from the best practices that have been used until now and what changes should producers look out for in the future?

Gumming up the Works

By Holly Jessen

This year's delayed harvest presents farmers and ethanol producers with several challenges—from dealing with high moisture corn to testing moldy corn for mycotoxins.

Despite strong opposition, in January, California approved implementation of a low carbon fuel standard. The California Air Resources Board is now preparing biofuel producers for compliance and anticipates many challenges in ensuring fairness and accuracy.

A home-grown, corn-fueled race car tops 255 mph on Rockett Brand E85.

Sunrise Ridge Algae Inc.?s fifth-generation algae production technology project is located at the Hornsby Bend Wastewater Sludge Treatment Facility in Austin, Texas. PHOTO: U.S. DOE

Biofuels or Bust

By Lisa Gibson

Algae show enormous potential as a biofuel feedstock, prompting numerous companies to further develop production and conversion systems. But some researchers remain skeptical as large-scale commercialization of reliable processes seems a distant goal.

There are pros and cons associated with the economic commercial production of algae using closed bioreactors and open ponds. Is one method superior, or is there room for both?

Forest residues such as wood chips and sawdust are utilized by the fiberboard industry.

BCAP Rule Revision

By Anna Austin

The USDA released the proposed rule for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program in February and is now under pressure to make essential changes. Until the final rules are determined, program payments and applications have been frozen.

Three different jobs bills made hundreds of headlines in February, as Democrats and Republicans debated which policy measures actually create jobs. All the biodiesel industry could do, seemingly, was watch.

Schroeder Biofuels recently introduced larger ColdClear units, including the BCC1200 to process 60 gallons per minute, and the BCC1500, a 75 gpm unit, both of which are built on the same foundation as the original ColdClear units. PHOTO: SCHROEDER BI

Crystal Clear Fuel

By Nicholas Zeman

As producers look to meet increasingly stringent quality specifications, purification, distillation and filtration services are becoming more and more important. Combined with the cost-reducing benefits provided by many products and "polishing" designs, purification practices can ultimately lead to superior fuels and profit margins.

Contributions

Expanding Ethanol Dehydration

By Felipe Tavares, Jansley Pascoal and Bruno Maia

A number of alternative methods are available for debottlenecking cooling water systems and the molecular sieves that are used for ethanol dehydration.

Patents and trade secrets may protect and profit owners, but do they not guarantee a monopoly.

Wright, an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University, stands in front of 45-month-old eucalyptus trees being grown near Loxley, Ala., with a productivity of about 13 bone dry short tons per acre per year. PHOTO: RONALDS GONZALEZ

The Business of Growing Eucalyptus for Biomass

By Ronalds Gonzalez, Jeff Wright and Daniel Saloni

Supplying biomass is a growing business, and rapid-growth eucalyptus in the Southern U.S. could be a source of low-cost delivered biomass.

Algae may not be ready for commercialization yet, but the federal government and several large companies are investing in its potential as a drop-in fuel and for its use in the chemicals, feed, nutraceuticals and food industries.

People in the renewable energy and clean technology fields regularly need to speak with others outside their company for solutions to ongoing research and development problems. For innovators working on a new invention who realize the need to safeguard company confidential information and intellectual property rights in their inventions, however, the question is: Whom can you safely talk to, when and under what conditions?

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