"America is the largest biofuels producer in the world -- accounting for 48 percent of global output. To remain the global industry leader, the Energy Department is investing in projects that address critical barriers to continued growth. This includes a key focus on improving feedstock logistics -- the processes we use to collect grasses, plants and other organic material prior to converting them into clean, renewable fuel."
"Vertimass LLC, a California-based start-up company, licensed a technology created by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This revolutionary technology—set to move to commercial scale in the next 4–6 years—is a biofuel-to-hydrocarbon blend for use in transportation fuels. This biomass-derived fuel can be blended into gasoline, jet fuels, and diesel; lowers greenhouse gas emissions; and supports the White House’s plan to decrease U.S. dependency on foreign oils."
"Scientists and engineers at the Energy Department and its national laboratories are finding new, more efficient ways to convert biomass into biofuels that can take the place of conventional fuels like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Environmental Science Division, graduate students and researchers use transplanted trees in a number of studies, including those involving biomass conversion to biofuels. In this photo, graduate student Alina Campbell is removing damaged leaves from Eastern Cottonwood trees, which helps stimulate the trees' growth."
"Energy crops are plants that can be used to make biofuels. The ideal crop can be grown quickly and densely with as little input as possible from farmers on land that’s otherwise unusable by agrarians. Once harvested, these energy crops can be converted into biofuel through various processes.
Research into energy crops and advanced biofuels, like one particular project funded by ARPA-E, contributes to U.S. energy independence, creates jobs, and directly applies to increasing food crops production.
In late 2009, ARPA-E awarded Ceres, an energy crop company, $5 million to field test high-yield, low-input traits in grasses such as switchgrass, sorghum and miscanthus. Since then, Ceres has produced testgrass yields with up to 50 percent more biomass than other grasses—a promising indicator of success."
"A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday threw out an oil industry challenge to the Obama administration's 2013 biofuel mandate, ruling that the government has "wide latitude" to decide whether to modify renewable fuel use targets, and by how much."
"The U.S. DOE has announced its intent to offer up to $4 billion in Section 1703 loan guarantees to support a wide variety of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, including those for drop-in biofuels and waste-to-energy. A 30-day comment period on the scope of the final solicitation is now open. "
"Last weekend, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz waved the iconic green flag -- kicking off the NASCAR race at the Richmond International Raceway.
While at the track, Secretary Moniz learned firsthand how NASCAR is working to reduce the sport’s environmental impact and educating its fans to do the same -- from using advanced biofuels and testing fuel cell generators to creating an extensive recycling program and incorporating renewable energy into the races. To continue to drive its environmental efforts forward, NASCAR and the Energy Department signed a Memorandum of Understanding last September, outlining ways to support the deployment of transformative clean energy technologies that lower greenhouse gas emissions."
"Farmers in Nebraska and the Dakotas brought the U.S. closer to becoming a biofuel economy, planting huge tracts of land for the first time with switchgrass—a native North American perennial grass (Panicum virgatum) that often grows on the borders of cropland naturally—and proving that it can deliver more than five times more energy than it takes to grow it."
"Research into sources for biological fuels -- biofuels -- has included everything from chicken fat to wood chips. But processing most of them yields a low net energy ratio -- the amount of energy each unit puts out isn't much more than the energy put into its production. Cost has also been a problem: Techniques for extracting fuels from plant and animal resources are currently expensive, which would be reflected at the fuel pump. But the more researchers crunch the numbers on switchgrass, the more it looks like a good candidate for an alternative fuel source."
"When you first learn of having a Corn Allergy, it doesn't seem like it will be that difficult to manage. You know to avoid corn, corn syrup, and popcorn. It seems pretty simple actually.
As it turns out, there are a few hundred ingredients that fall under the classification is, or can be, derived from corn. This information is not to scare you, but to help you be an informed consumer, and hopefully help you avoid those pesky corn based ingredients."
