Current BioNews

Woody Biomass for P&P Energy Production Continues Rising
Consumption of woody biomass for energy at pulp and paper manufacturers worldwide rose to 75 million tons in 2009.

USDA 2009 Funding for Biofuel, Bioenergy Production Still Available
Biorefineries interested in obtaining funding must apply by June 15, 2010.

Paper Industry Consortium to Develop Pulp Mill Biorefinery
Stora Enso (Finland), Metso (Finland), and Domtar (Canada) have agreed to jointly develop a pulp production process with enhanced sustainability and cost efficiency, as well as lower investment costs.

Waste-to-Energy Plant in Oregon to Use Plasma Enhanced Melter Technology
New facility at Waste Management''s Columbia Ridge Landfill will convert municipal solid waste into clean fuels and renewable energy using the PEM technology.

TAPPI Forms Multi-Industry Advisory Board to Develop Comprehensive Program for BioPro Expo™
Advisory Board combines expertise from government with broad range of industries and associations to create conference sessions on near-term deployment of bioenergy technologies

TAPPI Announces BioPro Expo™ Event for August 2010
TAPPI connects diverse industry groups with similar interests: Making the most of renewable energy resources

FPAC Study Shows Promising Bio-Future for Canada's Forest Products Industry
The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), Ottawa, Ont., Canada, this week released a study showing how the forest products industry can build on its world-class forest management practices to emerge from the current recession as an engine of growth in the bio-economy.

ArborGen, Range Fuels Evaluate Cellulosic Biomass for Thermochemical Process
ArborGen LLC, Summerville, S.C., USA, and Range Fuels Inc., Broomfield, Colo., USA, are working together on a project to evaluate the usefulness of woody biomass as a source of cellulose for biofuels.

Longview Fibre to Install Biomass-Fired FBB Plant at Washington Mill
Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging, Longview, Wash., USA, reported this week that it plans to build a $100 million power plant to convert waste wood into renewable energy.

Microbes Produce Fuels Directly from Biomass
The U.S. Department of Energy's Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), in Emeryville, Calif., USA, reports that it has developed a microbe that can produce an advanced biofuel directly from biomass.

Raven Biofuels, Kamloops Indian Band Update JV Biorefinery Plans
Raven Biofuels International Corp., Paramus, N.J., USA, has updated shareholders on its joint venture with the Kamloops Indian Band (KIB) .

UOP to build pyrolysis oil biofuel demo plant in Hawaii.
UOP LLC, Des Plaines, Ill., USA, a Honeywell company, has announced that it has been selected for a $25 million award from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to build a demonstration unit in Hawaii to convert cellulosic biomass into green transportation fuels

Biofuel Crop Diversity Adds Value, MSU Researchers Say
Diverse biofuel plantings such as native prairie attract more beneficial insects than do single crops such as corn.

Evogene Conducting Castor Bean Feedstock Field Trials in Texas, Brazil.
Evogene Ltd., Rehovot, Israel, has announced establishment of field trials in Texas, USA, and northeastern Brazil for the evaluation of its proprietary castor bean lines

Impact of Biomass Crop Assistance Program Still Unclear
The Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), a new U.S. federal program intended to increase the use of renewable energy by covering some of the costs related to the collection of woody biomass and agricultural residues, has been in effect for a few months and has created much interest, as well as confusion, within the forest industry.

Boralex Receives BCAP Subsidies in U.S.
Boralex Inc., Montreal, Qué., Canada, reported this week that its wood-residue thermal power stations in the U.S. now all qualify for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program.

Malaysia Shifts Jatropha Biofuel Efforts to High Gear
Bio Oil Nasional (Bionas), Malaysia, reports that it has started to embark on the development of jatropha biofuel in the country following a successful test conducted by German company Elsbert.

RWE to Build 750,000 Metric TPY Biomass Pellet Plant in Waycross, Ga.
RWE Innogy, the renewable energies company of the RWE Group, Germany, reports that it will build a factory to produce biomass pellets in Waycross, Ga., USA.

Russian Wood Pellet Plant to be World's Largest
Vyborgskaya Cellulose reported that it is building the world's largest wood pellet plant at its facility in Russia near the border with Finland.

Weyerhaeuser, Mitsubishi Explore Joint Bio-Pellet Plants Venture
Weyerhaeuser, Federal Way, Wash., USA, announced in February that it has signed a Strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mitsubishi Corp. of Japan to explore the possibilities of collaborating in the biomass-to-energy business.

DOE Selects Five Bioenergy Projects for $20.5 million AR&R Support.
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu recently announced the selection of five projects to receive more than $20.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support deployment of community-based renewable energy projects, such as biomass, wind, and solar installations

ClearFuels/Rentech Integrated Biorefinery Awarded $23 Million DOE Grant
ClearFuels Technology Inc., Aiea, Hi., USA, and Rentech Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., USA, jointly announced that their project to construct a biomass gasifier at Rentech's Energy Technology Center (RETC) in Denver has been awarded a conditional $22.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

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