Ethanol Week - February 6, 2017

US ethanol producers experience another record-breaking week The U.S. ethanol industry set another new record for production the week ending Jan. 27, with production averaging 1.061 million barrels per day. The industry set new records three out of four weeks in January. READ MORE SHARE
Valero reports improved operating income for ethanol segment Valero Energy Corp. has released financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016, reporting the company’s ethanol segment achieved $126 million in operating income for the quarter, compared to a loss of $13 million for the same period of 2015. READ MORE SHARE
	UNICA reports ethanol sales, production for first half of January UNICA, the Brazilian sugarcane industry association, has announced plants in the south-central region of the country processed 1.18 million tons of sugarcane during the first half of January, producing 67.81 million liters of ethanol. READ MORE SHARE
BETO publishes new strategic plan In January, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office released a new strategic plan that serves as a blueprint on how it will tackle the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in building a sustainable bioeconomy in the U.S. READ MORE SHARE
Sensenbrenner introduces bills that aim to reform the RFS On Jan. 31, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., introduced two bills that aim to alter the renewable fuel standard (RFS). One focuses on mid-level ethanol blends, while the other focuses on cellulosic biofuels. READ MORE SHARE
RFA, Transcaer to host 4 ethanol safety webinars The Renewable Fuels Association and Transcaer are hosting four free ethanol safety webinars this year for ethanol emergency response teams. The first webinar will be held on Feb. 7, followed by webinars on April 11, June 14 and Aug. 2. READ MORE SHARE
Nebraska Ethanol Board elects executive committee During the Nebraska Ethanol Board meeting Jan. 24, board members elected new executive committee officers for 2017. Members of the Nebraska Ethanol Board are appointed by the governor to serve four year terms. READ MORE SHARE
Clean Cooking Madagascar issues RFP for ethanol micro distillery Clean Cooking Madagascar, and NGO based in Antananarivo, Madagascar, is seeking proposals for an ethanol micro distillery for its national Ethanol Stove Program in Madagascar. CMM plans to create a market for 100,000 ethanol cookstoves. READ MORE SHARE
2 Purdue University students awarded NEC scholarships The Renewable Fuels Association and the Renewable Fuels Foundation have announced Daehwan Kim and David Orrego as winners of student scholarships that will send them to RFA’s 22nd annual National Ethanol Conference. READ MORE SHARE
UAI calls on EPA to withdraw erroneous vehicle emissions model Stakeholders, including the states of Kansas and Nebraska, joined the Urban Air Initiative and the Energy Future Coalition as they petitioned the U.S. EPA to correct the agency’s flawed models that limit the use of higher blends of ethanol. READ MORE SHARE
Taurus Energy: Favorable opinion over XyloFerm, distillers grains The expert panel convened by Taurus Energy has concluded that the genetic modifications made to create the XyloFerm strains do not alter the safety assessment or risk profile of distillers grains produced using non-modified, wild type yeast. READ MORE SHARE
Syngenta announces $340,000 donation to Prime the Pump fund Syngenta recently announced a donation of $340,000 to the Prime the Pump Fund to help make higher ethanol blends more widely available and help grow demand for American ethanol. READ MORE SHARE
EPA approves Little Sioux Corn Processors for cellulosic ethanol Edeniq Inc. and Archer Daniels Midland Co. recently announced that the U.S. EPA has approved Little Sioux Corn Processors’ registration of its 150 million gallon per year Marcus, Iowa, ethanol plant for cellulosic ethanol production. READ MORE SHARE
Decoded microbial metabolism explains biofuel yield To unravel how intricate waste biomass converts to biofuels, a Cornell professor studied Clostridium acetobutylicum to decipher its metabolism. Understanding the bacterium’s sugar-processing complexities may lead to improved biofuel yields. READ MORE SHARE