LaPorte turns to eco-friendly biodiesel fuel

LaPorte turns to eco-friendly biodiesel fuel
News Dispatch - Michigan City,IN,USA
By Jason Miller, The News-Dispatch. LaPORTE - Indiana may soon become one of the world's leading producers of bio-fuels, and LaPorte ...

British biodiesel producer claims breakthrough, Two-part seminar on biodiesel scheduled

British biodiesel producer claims breakthrough
NewKerala.com - Ernakulam,Kerala,India
By Prasun Sonwalkar, London: D1 Oils, a major British biodiesel producer with tree plantations in northeast India, has claimed a breakthrough in its bid to ...

By Prasun Sonwalkar, London: D1 Oils, a major British biodiesel
producer with tree plantations in northeast India, has claimed a breakthrough in
its bid to become a global producer of environmentally-friendly
biodiesel.

The company, based in Middlesborough, reported that it successfully made its first fuel from jatropha oil using its D1 20 refinery.

The company has been working for the past five years to create a
global network of jatropha plantations and refineries to make biodiesel - a
blend of conventional diesel and vegetable oil that is said to cut carbon
emissions by up to 80 percent.

As part of the plantations network, it has entered into a joint venture with Indian tea major Williamson Magor in northeast India. The joint venture will see around 25,000 hectares of jatropha
planted in the region during 2006.

Reports say that while its technology has made fuel using rapeseed, soy and palm oil, the 20 tonnes of biodiesel made at its testing site in Lancashire is the first batch to successfully use oil from the jatropha curcas tree, D1's proposed main feedstock.

Chairman Karl Watkin told The Journal, Newcastle: "This
is a huge step for the company. We have taken a tree, which we identified as a
feedstock five years ago, and used it to grow and convert into
biodiesel.

"Everyone said we had no chance, but we have done it.
It's a great result - the team have done a fantastic job."

Watkin said that independent tests on the biodiesel - the first to be made in Britain
with jatropha - confirmed it had met the European EN14214 standard for fuel.

He added: "The people testing it said it was the best biodiesel
sample they have ever tested in the UK."

Elliot Mannis, CEO of D1
Oils, told the newspaper that a recent study had found that "as a non-edible and
drought-resistant crop, jatropha is potentially an economically, socially and
environmentally sustainable contributor to the challenges of energy security in
India".

Speaking about the company's deal with Williamson Magor,
Mannis said: "India is going to be a key location for the production and
consumption of biodiesel from jatropha and comprises the largest component of
our current planting programme."

He said the deal with Williamson Magor is "in addition to the contract farming programme currently being undertaken through D1's joint venture in southeast India, D1 Mohan Bio Oils".

He added: "It takes us for the first time into the northeast, where there are significant areas of marginal and unused land available for planting jatropha.

"Williamson Magor's experience of large-scale planting
and its excellent relationships with farmers make it a strong
partner."

Two-part seminar on biodiesel scheduled
News-Review - Roseburg,OR,USA
ROSEBURG: Nick Lockard will present a two-part seminar on the theory and production of biodiesel Saturday at the Alternative Energy and Sustainable Living Fair ...

Stenberg: Nebraska has key role in GOP control

Stenberg: Nebraska has key role in GOP control
Beatrice Daily Sun - Beatrice,NE,USA
... Refuge and more exploration in the Gulf and by loosening the licensing process for new petroleum refineries and developing more ethanol and biodiesel production ...

City mulls slick fix for grease glut,

City mulls slick fix for grease glut
Anchorage Daily News - Anchorage,AK,USA
... Biodiesel, which can be made from processed vegetable oil and used in diesel vehicles, is among popular alternative fuels. Biodiesel ...
See all stories on this topic

LaPorte city fleet turns to biodiesel LAPORTE: Lt. governor, mayor ...

LaPorte city fleet turns to biodiesel LAPORTE: Lt. governor, mayor ...
nwitimes.com - Munster,IN,USA
... city's diesel fleet including fire trucks, street wastewater, and water department vehicles will be running on an alternative soy-based biodiesel fuel, known ...
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British company eyeing India for biodiesel production,

British company eyeing India for biodiesel production
DailyIndia.com - Niskayuna,NY,USA
London, March 25 (IANS) D1 Oils, a major British biodiesel producer, says India is going to be a key location for the company in the production and consumption ...
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Dahl touts biodiesel fuels,

Dahl touts biodiesel fuels
Morris Daily Herald - Morris,IL,USA
SPRINGFIELD — State Sen-ator Gary Dahl (R-Granville) joined other lawmakers, soybean and trucking industry representatives, and biodiesel advocates on ...
See all stories on this topic

Editorial: Fuel of the future
New Straits Times - Persekutuan,Malaysia
WHEN all the diesel to be sold at the pump contains five per cent palm oil — as they must from next year when the Biodiesel Bill is passed — the country ...
See all stories on this topic

LaPorte announces plans to use biodiesel fuel, Investment deadline extended for biodiesel plant, Ag Issues Take Center Stage in Springfield

LaPorte announces plans to use biodiesel fuel
WNDU-TV - South Bend,IN,USA
LaPorte, IN - Friday brought a pledge from the city of LaPorte: to run it's fleet of vehicles on biodiesel fuel whenever possible. ...

Agrale sells first biodiesel-powered tractor in Brazil
ANBA - Sao Paulo,Brazil
São Paulo - Vehicle maker Agrale has sold its first biodiesel powered vehicle in Brazil, the Agrale 4.100.4 Biodiesel, in its 4.000 line. ...

Investment deadline extended for biodiesel plant
Joplin Independent - Joplin,MO,USA
... invested almost $32 million for a 100% producer-owned coop to build a combination 21 million bushel soybean extraction and 30 million gallon biodiesel plant. ...

Ag Issues Take Center Stage in Springfield
FarmWeek - Bloomington,IL,USA
... Robert Pritchard (R-Sycamore), left, and Senate Agriculture and Conservation Committee minority spokesman Gary Dahl (R-Peru) check out a biodiesel-powered semi ...
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Malaysia IJM Plantations in JV with CTI Biofuel to set up ...

Malaysia IJM Plantations in JV with CTI Biofuel to set up ...
Forbes - USA
... AFX) - IJM Plantations Bhd said it has signed a 60:40 joint venture agreement with CTI Biofuels Malaysia (CTIBM) to build, own and operate a biodiesel plant in ...
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Key players move from monorail to biodiesel

Key players move from monorail to biodiesel
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
Some of the key players in Seattle's doomed monorail project have re-emerged and teamed up on another project -- this time to build a biodiesel plant in Grant ...

Some of the key players in Seattle's doomed monorail project
have re-emerged and teamed up on another project -- this time to build a
biodiesel plant in Grant County.

Daniel Malarkey, the Seattle Monorail Project's former finance
director, is the president of a new company called Washington Biodiesel LLC,
which was among five companies granted state aid to build biodiesel plants in
Washington.

Joel Horn, the controversial former executive director of the
monorail project, is working as a consultant for the company.

And Kevin Raymond, the monorail agency's former lead lobbyist,
also lobbied for the biodiesel company this legislative session.

This week, company and state officials said the former monorail
officials' association with a project that turned into a debacle holds no
bearing for the company's plans to build a biodiesel plant in Warden near Walla
Walla.

"We're building a biodiesel plant," said Jeff Stephens, Washington
Biodiesel's vice president and co-founder.

The partnership is appropriate for the former monorail agency officials in some respects. Like the transportation project, which was supposed to get people out of their cars and into trains
soaring over the traffic, proponents of the biodiesel program say it's good for
the environment and helps lessen the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
Like the monorail, which has been used only in a handful of cities around
the world, biodiesel is a growing but relatively new technology.

Tim Stearns, a senior energy-policy specialist for the state's
Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, said the project is
part of an initiative, approved by state legislators this year, to gradually
step up a requirement for fuel suppliers in the state to increase the amount of
biodiesel they distribute. By no later than 2008, 2 percent of the diesel fuel
distributed in the state will have to be biodiesel.

Additionally, Stearns said the state and its farmers are in a
race with other states to be suppliers of biodiesel fuel. Though details of the
plant Washington Biodiesel plans to build have yet to be made final, Stephens
said it would provide about 25 jobs.

Stearns said lawmakers set aside $23 million this year for
alternative energy projects, including $10.5 million in loans for five projects
that were deemed the most ready to go. Washington Biodiesel's plant was one of
those, and the Port of Warden was given $2.5 million in loans for the
project.

Stearns said the money is being lent to local governments --
which in turn enter into agreements with the companies -- because of the
constitutional ban on the state giving gifts and loans to companies.

State Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, chairman of the House
capital budget committee and a proponent of the program, said he was aware of
Malarkey's involvement with the biodiesel project, but not with Horn's, when
lawmakers selected Washington Biodiesel's as one of the projects to get aid.

Dunshee, like Stearns, noted that the projects are on the
leading edge of technology and involved less-established companies.

Given that, Dunshee said lawmakers built in safeguards by
offering loans and not grants and by requiring that private investors match the
public aid and that the money go through local agencies.

Malarkey and Horn's new venture brought a yawn from Geof Logan,
who'd been a vocal critic of the monorail plan. "I don't care what they do, as
long as it's not in Seattle," Logan said.

Malarkey did not return calls left at his office and at his home
seeking comment. Stephens said Malarkey was on
vacation. Horn declined to comment.

P-I reporter Kery Murakami can be reached at 206-448-8131 or kerymurakami@seattlepi.com.

Building a Biodiesel Processor

Building a Biodiesel Processor
ASU The Appalachian Online - Boone,NC,USA
While participating in the EPA’s P3 Student Design for Sustainability Competition the Biodiesel Collaborative has constructed one of a few closed-system ...

with Paul FeatherBiodiesel Processor, Shadowline Dr., Boone, North
CarolinaWhile participating in the EPA’s P3 Student Design for Sustainability
Competition the Biodiesel Collaborative has constructed one of a few
closed-system, biodiesel processors in existence. Their closed-system
approach will allow their processor to function by adding everyday vegetable oil
and a little water and getting out biodiesel fuel that you can put in any diesel
engine! That’s it! Basically no other waste is created.This workshop is
for the serious biodiesel enthusiast and space is limited to 12, but everyone
interested is encouraged to inquire. For more information and RSVP
contact Jeremy Ferrel at 828-773-6124 or appstatebiofuels@gmail.com or
biodiesel.appstate.edu/.

Biodiesel: Canada's future?

Biodiesel: Canada's future?
Canadian National Newspaper - Toronto,Ontario,Canada
... "It's absolutely fantastic.". Lewis is referring to biodiesel, a new fuel derived from plant oils, animal fats, and recycled cooking oil. ...

Scott Lewis, an executive at Biox Corp in Hamilton, talks about one of the
perks of his job: "Dealing with a beneficial product is absolutely enticing," he
says. "It's absolutely fantastic."

Lewis is referring to biodiesel, a new fuel derived from plant oils, animal fats, and recycled cooking oil. It has garnered a great deal of attention for its environmental benefits and is being touted as an alternative to petroleum diesel.

With the threat of global warming, and governments trying to reach Kyoto targets, most of the attention has centred on biodiesel's lower greenhouse gas emissions. Biodiesel contains oxygen, which allows for a cleaner burn.

When a car accelerates, fuel is placed into the combustion chamber, where it
is starved of oxygen, which is required for things to burn. Petroleum diesel
contains no oxygen, so when it reaches the combustion chamber it stops burning.
The unburned fuel is then released into the air, visible as black smoke coming
from the exhaust.

Biodiesel is oxygenated, so when it reaches the combustion chamber it can
continue to burn. This decreases the amount of harmful gases emitted into the
surrounding air. It has been shown that using biodiesel, either by itself or
blended with petroleum diesel, significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

On top of this, biodiesel is free of the carcinogens associated with
petroleum diesel. It is also biodegradable and, because it can be produced
domestically, could reduce our dependence on foreign oil supplies.

Biodiesel, however, is not without its downsides. "Cost has been an
overwhelming problem from the beginning," says Lewis. "A product can be
completely environmentally beneficial, but if it doesn't cost the same, people
cannot afford to buy it."

High cost of production mainly contributes to biodiesel's high cost. It is
produced in a process called transesterfication, which requires chemicals and
energy, both of which are expensive. In the past these costs were often
exacerbated by limitations on the availability of feedstock: biodiesel could
only be made from pure seed oils such as grapeseeds. This increased production
costs while restricting the number and size of yields that could be made.

Ag Day: Biodiesel Truck Promotion

Ag Day: Biodiesel Truck Promotion
Illinois Farm Bureau - Bloomington,IL,USA
... Capitol in Springfield Thursday saw an unusual sight -- an 18-wheeler decked out with soybean graphics proclaiming "this truck runs on biodiesel from Illinois ...

Biodiesel plant to open in Durant

Biodiesel plant to open in Durant
KTEN - Denison,TX,USA
Country music singer Willie Nelson and Oscar Award winning actor Morgan Freeman are to attend the opening ceremonies of a new biodiesel production facility in ...

Guster Raises Biodiesel Consciousness, New fuel option in SA made locally

Guster Raises Biodiesel Consciousness
Environmental News Network (press release) - San Rafael,CA,USA
... Guster, used to call the band's tour bus the "Earth-eater." These days, the tour bus is more earth friendly, thanks to the band's use of renewable biodiesel. ...

New fuel option in SA made locally
Advertiser Adelaide - Adelaide,South Australia,Australia
AUSTRALIAN Renewable Fuels opened its $15 million South Australian biodiesel plant yesterday in tandem with signing a $250 million distribution deal. ...
See all stories on this topic

INTERVIEW:Biofuel Indus Boosts Palm Oil Equipment Sales

INTERVIEW:Biofuel Indus Boosts Palm Oil Equipment Sales
Yahoo! News - USA
KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Growing interest in biodiesel is proving to be a boon not only for the palm oil industry, but also for companies providing support ...
See all stories on this topic

KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Growing interest in biodiesel is proving to be a boon not only for the palm oil industry, but also for companies providing support services, such as equipment makers.
Oiltek Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian supplier of palm oil refining machinery and equipment, said the rapid expansion of the biodiesel sector currently taking hold all over the world has opened up vast and new business opportunities.

"The (palm oil) processing industry is quite mature already. The challenge is to have new processes and new technologies coming up. In terms of traditional use of palm oil for food purposes, it is already established and you won't see much of a dramatic increase. But in the area of technical use of the oil, that is something that can be dramatic," Oiltek's Managing Director Wong Seong said in a recent interview.

"And the very hot issue now is biodiesel," he added.

Rising crude oil prices have prompted many countries to step up their search for alternative energy sources to help reduce their dependence on petroleum-based products.

Edible oils such as palm oil have been identified as among the most suitable agricultural commodities to substitute mineral oils.

The emergence of this lucrative new market for palm oil has sparked enthusiasm in the industry to build biodiesel plants.

For equipment suppliers like Oiltek, the biodiesel boom has been a blessing as it comes at a time when demand for conventional edible oil processing equipment is reaching saturation.

The Malaysian palm oil refining sector expanded aggressively between the late 1970s to 1990s. Since then, the pace of expansion has abated as refining margins have been eroded by excess capacities and stiff competition.

With most of the basic refining processes such as fractionation, neutralization and hydrogenation already in place, new applications are needed to spur the next big wave of plant and equipment sales.
"Because all the basic refining processes are already there, we need to get into new and more sophisticated processes. The latest development is biodiesel and we are already in it," Wong said.
Founded in 1980, Oiltek is best known in industry circles for its tall and thin tube-like crystalizers used for oil fractionation, believed to be more efficient than the short and wide foreign crystalizers that were common in the early days of the refining industry.

Oiltek has now ventured into biodiesel and is part of a project led by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, or MPOB, to build three of the country's pioneer biodiesel plants.

The plants, which will each have a capacity to produce 60,000 tons a year, are expected to be ready by the year-end. Palm Biodiesel Possible In Winter Oiltek holds the license for the technology to produce low pour point biodiesel, or better known as "winter fuel", a palm oil-based biodiesel suitable for use in temperate climates.

Palm oil is naturally semisolid and, therefore, tends to turn cloudy and thick in cold temperatures.
There have been concerns in the market that this characteristic may effectively prevent palm biodiesel from making any significant inroads into the European Union, by far the world's biggest and fastest growing biofuels market.

Wong said such concerns were unwarranted as palm oil can satisfy stringent European standards.
"There are processes where you can take out certain fractions and manipulate the oil so that Europe's cold filter plugging point specifications can be met. MPOB has developed something that will work in winter conditions and it is successful," Wong said.

The growing popularity of alternative fuels has boosted business opportunities for equipment suppliers not only in the area biodiesel alone, Wong said.

The production of biodiesel yields glycerin as a byproduct at a ratio of about 10-to-1.

"That simply means the more biodiesel you produce, the more glycerin you are going to get out of that process," Wong said.

Increasing supply of glycerin, often used to make soaps, would make it imperative for the industry to find more uses for the byproduct to prevent a glut.

"A whole new industry will be born out of that," Wong said. Refiners Seen Expanding Overseas
Wong said there's also attractive room for palm oil processing equipment sales overseas, beyond Malaysia and Indonesia, the world's biggest producers of palm oil.

The success both countries have had in growing and exporting palm oil has stirred interest in countries with similar climates to also get involved.

Oiltek has sold its products and services to customers in countries such as China, Pakistan, Bangladesh in Asia as well as Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Congo and Nigeria in Africa.

"We have also gone to Honduras and have been quite successful there. We see that there are more possibilities and more development in the Central America region. They realize palm oil is important and are increasing their oil palm plantations," Wong said.

He said he sees a growing trend among Malaysian palm oil refiners to set up plants overseas.
"(Refiners) will want to go to other countries like China and put up plants there, to be nearer to the market," he said.

Likewise, if the development of a Malaysian palm biodiesel industry is successful, the feat would also likely be emulated in other countries, he added. .

IJM Plantations in JV to build RM74m biodiesel plant

IJM Plantations in JV to build RM74m biodiesel plant
The Edge Daily - Malaysia
IJM Plantations Bhd yesterday entered into a shareholders’ agreement with US-based CTI Biofuels Malaysia, LLC (CTIBM) to build a biodiesel plant in Sandakan ...

County acts on global warming, New local company targets Plymouth County for biodiesel plant

County acts on global warming
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
... meeting. Using 50 percent renewable energy -- such as plant-derived biodiesel -- for vehicles by 2020 and by 2012 for non-transit uses. ...
See all stories on this topic

Saving water, using more renewable energy and protecting undeveloped land
were strategies announced Wednesday by King County Executive Ron Sims to respond to global warming.

Sims signed four executive orders specifying goals and timelines for the
strategies. He said they reflected the county's overarching objective of
minimizing global warming gas production in county policies and day-to-day
operations.

"There is no question that we are going to experience warming that is going
to have a substantial impact on us," Sims said.

The orders come two days before Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is set to publicly
announce his recommendations for reducing local contributions to climate change
in order to comply with the international Kyoto Protocol.

For more than a year, Nickels has been urging U.S. mayors to join him in
supporting the Kyoto agreement, and he created a Green Ribbon Commission that
helped craft the recommendations. The county had planned previously to issue the orders now, Sims said. The coincidence with the city announcement was accidental.

"I respect the leadership of Mayor Nickels," he said. "This has nothing to do
with anything he's doing."

City officials would not comment specifically on the county's timing.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, "we need strong action at all levels,"
said Steve Nicholas, director of the city's Office of Sustainability and Environment.

"Every resident, every household, every business, every government needs to
be involved. So if the new actions (by the county) are going to reduce global
warming pollution, we're all for it. We welcome it."

Sims said that by embracing his strategies, the county can serve as a
"national lab," testing ideas for reducing planet-warming pollution -- such as
carbon dioxide and methane gases -- and preparing for the effects of a warmer
world. The gases are created primarily when oil, gas and coal are burned.

Sims said he hopes the region could be a model for other municipalities, that
King County could show others "these are the tools you can use, these are the
goals you can achieve."

The county could not say Wednesday what the costs would be to implement the
orders.

County officials predicted that nearly 200,000 tons of greenhouse gas
emissions would be cut annually as a result of using more renewable energy. U.S.
emissions for 2004 totaled about 7.8 billion tons.

In October, the county spearheaded a climate meeting attended by more than
500 scientists, government officials, environmentalists and others. The event
explored what a warmer Northwest might look like and how to plan for changes
that could include less snow in the mountains, droughts and a shift in the kinds
of plants and animals found here.

The county strategies released Wednesday expand on ideas highlighted at that
meeting.

They include:

• Using 50 percent renewable energy -- such as plant-derived biodiesel -- for
  vehicles by 2020 and by 2012 for non-transit uses.
• Reclaiming all of the wastewater produced at the county's sewage treatment
  plants for reuse, potentially returning some of the water back to pools trapped
  underground that are used for drinking water.
• Capturing all of the greenhouse gases produced by rotting garbage at King
  County's Cedar Hills Regional Landfill and turning that gas into energy.
• Protecting 100,000 acres of undeveloped land in the county, which can reduce
  the amount of warming gases when plants consume carbon dioxide in
  photosynthesis, and promoting land-use policies that reduce sprawl and create
  communities where amenities are in walking distance.
  Critics often scoff at local efforts to reduce emissions, noting that they won't do much to address the issue globally.

But even groups often skeptical of environmental programs said they didn't
object to Sims' plans. Don Brunell, president of the Association of Washington Business, had not seen the orders, but said, "We all need to look at the reduction of greenhouse gases and other pollutants as well."
P-I reporter Lisa Stiffler can be reached at 206-448-8042 or lisastiffler@seattlepi.com. See the P-I's environment blog at www.datelineearth.com

New local company targets Plymouth County for biodiesel plant
Sioux City Journal - Sioux City,IA,USA
AKRON, Iowa -- Northwest Iowa Renewable Energy LLC announced Tuesday that it plans to build a biodiesel manufacturing facility in Plymouth County. ...

.

Los Angeles Drivers Put Cars on a Veggie Diet for Cleaner Air

Los Angeles Drivers Put Cars on a Veggie Diet for Cleaner Air
Bloomberg - USA
... those trying to drive cleaner. She fills her 1983 Chevrolet El Camino with vegetable-based biodiesel fuel. At traffic stops around ...

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- The environmentally hip of Los Angeles are moving
beyond Toyota Motor Corp.'s gas-electric Prius to cars that may use no fossil
fuels at all.

Actress Daryl Hannah, star of the 1984 movie ``Splash,'' is among those
trying to drive cleaner. She fills her 1983 Chevrolet El Camino with
vegetable-based biodiesel fuel. At traffic stops around the city, the smell of
french fries emanates from 1980s Mercedes-Benz cars altered to run on vegetable
oil.

The celebrities and local entrepreneurs embracing vegetable- based fuels may
be pointing automakers including Toyota and Volkswagen AG toward the future.
Their switch may be copied by other motorists in Los Angeles, which tends to be
on the leading edge of trends that go statewide. The shift also could help clean
up the skies of Los Angeles, the smoggiest U.S. city last year.

``With movie stars endorsing this, demand may go up,'' Phil Gott, director of
automotive consulting at Global Insight Inc., an economic forecasting company in
Lexington, Massachusetts, said in an interview. ``It may cause vehicle
manufacturers to offer a broader range of cars.''

Biodiesel can range from fuels based on 100 percent vegetable or animal fats,
thinned with alcohol, to fuels containing as much as 90 percent petroleum
products, under California's classification. Hannah's El Camino uses B100, which
usually is derived from soybeans and other crops and can be used in diesel
engines without modification.

Burning Oil

Actress Mandy Moore, 21, had her car adapted to run on pure vegetable oil or
the filtered leftovers from restaurant deep fryers, said Brian Friedman, owner
of LoveCraftBioFuels in Los Angeles, the only company in the area that
specializes in converting diesel engines to run on vegetable oil, which is
thicker.

``It's crazy right now,'' Friedman said. ``I can't take half the business
that comes in. Every month, business at least doubles, sometimes even
quadruples.''

Friedman, 40, said he already has converted 200 cars this year. He did only
100 cars in the first three years he offered the service. He charges $700 to
modify a Mercedes, the most popular choice, and about $1,500 for other autos.
The alterations include a heating device and a filter for particles.

``People are taking us seriously now,'' said Friedman, who formerly owned a
tattoo parlor. ``People are realizing that every headline you hear is about the
oil industry, the economy, pollution and fuel prices.''

Biodiesel Buses

Musicians also are on board. Country singers Willie Nelson, 72, and Bonnie
Raitt, 56, tour the country in biodiesel-powered buses, according to their Web
sites. Nelson even markets his own fuel, called BioWillie, through Willie Nelson
Biodiesel Co.

Supporters of vegetable-based fuels cite a range of benefits: cleaner air,
less need for crude oil and helping family farmers who might grow crops for
fuel.

``This topic of biodiesel is just a means to start opening people's minds,''
Hannah, 45, said in an interview. ``You don't have to be a tree-hugger to want
to get off of our dependence on foreign oil.''
It wouldn't be the first time
that Los Angeles influenced driver behavior across the country.

omedian Sandra Bernhard, 50, actor George Clooney, 44, and other stars helped
popularize the Prius in Southern California before sales jumped nationally. Last
year, Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota sold 12,630 of the $22,000 cars in the
greater Los Angeles area, more than 12 percent of total U.S. sales, spokesman
Sam Bhutto said.

Air Quality

The city has a long history of air-quality problems. It opened an
air-pollution bureau in 1945, two years before the state's Air Pollution Control
Act. Last year, the air in Los Angeles exceeded federal ozone standards on 84
days from May to September, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The city's smog helped prompt the federal government in 1973 to allow
California to set its own emissions standards, which are the strictest in the
nation. Amendments to the federal Clean Air Act in 1990 were based on
California's law, and the state still requires cleaner gasoline and diesel fuel
than other U.S. states.

California's new-car market is so big -- 13 percent of U.S. sales in 2005 --
that automakers often build their vehicles to conform to the state's rules.
Engineers from Toyota, Japan's biggest carmaker, and Tokyo-based Honda Motor
Co., No. 3, have said that California's push to require all-electric cars
spurred development of hybrids in the 1990s.

Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, sells diesel models in the U.S. that
are warranted for use with fuel having as much as 5 percent vegetable content.
The company is working with Decatur, Illinois-based Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.
on testing fuels with higher vegetable content, said Marijke Smith, Volkswagen's
public affairs manager in Washington.

While users' intentions may be good, some critics say biodiesel isn't
necessarily helping the environment.

Out-of-Date Equipment

No new diesel-powered cars are sold in California because they can't meet
emission standards, California Air Resources Board spokeswoman Gennet Paauwe
said. The cars using biodiesel are older models, meaning they don't have the
latest emissions technology and aren't subject to state testing.

Retail sales of biodiesel fuels are regulated in California and limited to
B20, which has 20 percent vegetable oil. It costs about 5 cents to 10 cents a
gallon more than regular diesel fuel, according to Willie Nelson Biodiesel.
Diesel averaged $2.80 a gallon in Southern California as of March 15, the
California Energy Commission said. The pump price of regular-grade gasoline was
$2.63 in mid-March, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.

B100 is made by individuals or cooperatives rather than sold through stores.
The content of homemade fuels can vary and isn't regulated. Drivers can buy
filtering kits to recycle restaurant deep-fryer oil. Some make their own
biodiesel using vegetable oil, lye and alcohol.

``Right now it's a little scary, because anybody can brew biodiesel in their
garage,'' Paauwe said. ``You don't know what it's made of.''

To contact the reporter on this story:
Nadja Brandt in Los Angeles at nbrandt@bloomberg.net.

Biodiesel plant opens, Biodiesel a must from next year

Biodiesel plant opens
ABC Online - Australia
The was opened this morning and will be capable of producing of 45 million litres of diesel each year. Initially this plant will ...

Biodiesel a must from next year
New Straits Times - Persekutuan,Malaysia
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said a Biodiesel Bill would be tabled in Parliament in June that would require even ...

BUSINESS: US Air Force Locks In to Renewable Energy

U.S. Air Force Locks In to Renewable Energy
(Copied from above site link)
March 22, 2006

Atlanta, Georgia [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Sterling Planet, a portfolio company of GreenShift, is supplying the U.S. Air Force, the nation's largest purchaser of renewable energy, with 530 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of this clean energy source, representing enough electricity to power 51,000 average U.S. homes for a full year.

The U.S. Air Force was honored in October 2005 as a recipient of a 2005 Green Power Leadership Award for its commitment to renewable energy. The Air Force is also the largest purchaser of renewable power in the federal government, accounting for 41 percent of all green power purchases by the federal government.

The annual awards were presented during the National Green Power Marketing Conference, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of nergy and the Center for Resource Solutions to recognize organizations whose actions help advance the development of the nation's green power market.

Jim Snook, Air Force renewable energy program manager, said the Air Force strategy is to lock in long-term contracts at fixed prices to ensure reasonably priced rates in the future.

Fill 'er up with gasohol, biodiesel, E85 ...

Fill 'er up with gasohol, biodiesel, E85 ...
Christian Science Monitor - Boston,MA,USA
... Consider: Biodiesel made from soy or other forms of biomass; cellulosic ethanol, derived from corn husks and other organic waste rather than corn; E85 ethanol ...

Keystone Celebrates "Early Earth Day"
Skiing Magazine - USA
Key players such as the Keystone Science School, High Country Conservation Center, The University of Colorado's Biodiesel Team and the United States Forest ...

DaimlerChrysler Partners with Ohio Soybean Growers, Biodiesel ...
PR Newswire (press release) - New York,NY,USA
... mark * Nation's first mid-size diesel SUV combines power, performance, fuel economy * Every Jeep(R) Liberty CRD diesel fueled with biodiesel to encourage use ...

Canadian Trucking Alliance says biodiesel fuel may not be the ...
Saskatoonhomepage.ca - Saskatoon,Saskatchewan,Canada
The Canadian Trucking Alliance says the federal government should look more closely at alternatives before imposing biodiesel fuel on the trucking industry. ...

Vilsack Calls India Trip Successful, Taft highlights soy-based biodiesel, DaimlerChrysler Partners with Ohio Soybean Growers, Biodiesel ...

Vilsack Calls India Trip Successful
KCCI.com - Des Moines,IA,USA
... Iowa. He'll meet Wednesday with the Farm Bureau and the Iowa Corner Growers Association to discuss E85, a soy-based biodiesel fuel. ...

Taft highlights soy-based biodiesel
Ohio Farm Bureau (press release) - Columbus,OH,USA
... Cincinnati. The day included a tour of a biodiesel processing plant, which produced the most biodiesel in the United States in 2005. ...

DaimlerChrysler Partners with Ohio Soybean Growers, Biodiesel ...
Yahoo! News (press release) - USA
... Governor Bob Taft, the state's soybean growers and the refiner, Peter Cremer North America, to promote the use of clean, renewable, Ohio-made biodiesel fuel. ...
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Hydrogen Made from Biodiesel Using Steam Reformer

UK BUDGET govt raises fuel tax
Forbes - USA
... parliament. Duty rates for road and non-road fuel, including biodiesel, bioethanol and natural gas, will rise by 1.25 pence per litre. ...

Hydrogen Made from Biodiesel Using Steam Reformer
RenewableEnergyAccess.com - Peterborough,NH,USA
Long Beach, California [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] InnovaTek and Seattle BioFuels announce the first successful production of hydrogen from 100% biodiesel in a ...

BUSINESS: Veridium Enters into License Agreement with General Ultrasonics ...

Veridium Enters into License Agreement with General Ultrasonics ...
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco,CA,USA
... Kevin Kreisler, GreenShift's chairman and chief executive officer, said that "I believe that the efficiency gains of the General Ultrasonics technologies also ...

ALTERNATIVE POWER: NextEnergy incubator jump-starts research

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Detroit Free Press - United States
... Biodiesel Industries, Santa Barbara, Calif. -- operates a series of biodiesel production facilities around the globe. Titan Energy Development, Savage, Minn. ...
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CTA wants biodiesel questions answered before any government ...

CTA wants biodiesel questions answered before any government ...
Today's Trucking News - USA
REGINA -- Biodiesel may do more harm than good in new, low-polluting truck engines and the Canadian Trucking Alliance wants to make sure any governments ...
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Two Renewable Fuels Plants Planned For Plymouth County

Two Renewable Fuels Plants Planned For Plymouth County
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A company, called Northwest Iowa Renewable Energy, plans to build a biodiesel plant somewhere between the two towns. It would be a $50 million project. ...
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Biodiesel the way to go, Company plans biodiesel plant near Akron

Biodiesel the way to go
New Straits Times - Persekutuan,Malaysia
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi launched a made-in-Malaysia biodiesel yesterday that was expected to change the pattern of future fuel usage by Malaysians. ...
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Biodiesel Questions Must Be Answered Before Governments Make it ...
Canadian Trucking Alliance (press release) - Ottawa,ON,Canada
(Regina: March 21, 2006)– The impact of biodiesel on post-2002 truck engines, the fuel’s widespread availability and its benefits versus the gains already ...

Company plans biodiesel plant near Akron
Sioux City Journal - Sioux City,IA,USA
AKRON, Iowa -- Northwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC, announced Tuesday that it plans to build a biodiesel manufacturing facility in Plymouth County, if all the ...

BIODIESEL: Opportunities & Investment Summit Set for St. Louis ...
RenewableEnergyAccess.com - Peterborough,NH,USA
The Strategic Research Institute is proud to announce the Biodiesel: Opportunities and Investments Summit, to be held April 27 & 28, 2006, at Sheraton Clayton ...

Bio-Solutions Continues Their Quest With Biodiesel, ADM CEO says biofuels to shift agriculture markets

ADM CEO says biofuels to shift agriculture markets
MarketWatch - USA
... for renewable fuels, due to environmental concerns and supply issues with traditional energy supplies, Andreas said global ethanol and biodiesel production was ...

D1 produces first Jatropha biodiesel
ShareCast - London,UK
LONDON (SHARECAST) - D1 Oils slipped up today despite the biodiesel producer announcing it has processed the first 20 tonnes of biodiesel from jatropha oil ...

Bio-Solutions Continues Their Quest With Biodiesel
Market Wire (press release) - USA
... in conjunction with Bio-Solutions Franchise Corporation and its subsidiary, BioExtraction Services, produced their first batch of biodiesel from extracted oils ...

2 percent biodiesel requirement fails in Senate, RKA Petroleum First to Offer Cheaper, Cleaner Biodiesel Technology

D1 produces first Jatropha biodiesel
MoneyWeek (Subscription) - London,UK
D1 Oils slipped up today despite the biodiesel producer announcing it has processed the first 20 tonnes of biodiesel from jatropha oil using its proprietary D1 ...

2 percent biodiesel requirement fails in Senate
The Spokesman Review - Spokane,WA,USA
BOISE – Legislation to require all diesel fuel sold in Idaho to be at least 2 percent biodiesel failed in the Senate Monday in a lopsided 11-23 vote. ...

RKA Petroleum First to Offer Cheaper, Cleaner Biodiesel Technology
Yahoo! News (press release) - USA
is the first terminal facility in Michigan -- and one of only a handful in the country -- to offer pre-blended biodiesel. A Michigan ...

CNN.com - Behind the Scenes: Powering the planet - Mar 17, 2006

Behind the Scenes: Powering the planet

By Frank Sesno
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- This was, to be honest, simply a different kind of journalism. I've never done anything quite like it. It was time travel, globe-trekking and fact-checking all rolled into one. It was about oil and our addiction to it, how we keep it flowing and what happens if the supply is interrupted. At every turn, I discovered something new and saw the complexity and the global nature of it all.

My time travel revolved around a series of events we set in 2009 -- a hurricane followed by a terrorist attack that disrupts the flow of millions of barrels of oil, plunging the world into chaos. We devised the scenario after talking with experts who have gamed out this type of thing. As a journalistic experience, it was as instructive as it was chilling. Envisioning the future -- stepping into it -- made the hypothetical real.

As for the present, we just traveled the world.

It started with a helicopter ride -- 90 minutes over the choppy waters of the Gulf of Mexico, out to some of the deepest waters in the region. As I watched the sun rise in the distance and the dark water pass below, I realized how desperate we are. We are totally dependent on oil, and there's practically no place we won't go to get it.

In the distance, I glimpsed a speck. As we got close, its outline took shape. It was a drill ship called the Deepwater Millennium -- our first stop on a global tour that would impress upon me the dimensions of technology, determination and exploration now required in the high-stakes, high-profit quest for oil.

On this day, the ship was drilling in two miles of water and into the seabed below. It can go down a total of 30,000 feet -- nearly six miles. Using remarkable technology, the crew can home in on the precise spot where geologists think there may be oil or natural gas. The drill ship and the crew cost the exploration company, Anadarko, $300,000 a day.

But here's the number that became my real frame of reference: The world uses 84 million barrels of oil every day. Every day. And demand is expected to grow by 40 percent in the next 20 years as America's appetite grows and China and India modernize.

As I traveled, I kept asking myself, "Where will it come from?"

The answer: Everywhere.

It will have to come from the giant oil fields in the Middle East as well as remote locations producing what's called "unconventional oil."

So from the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast, my next stop was the frigid extremes of northwest Canada and Alberta's vast oil sands. This, too, is hostile territory. But now the region produces one million barrels of synthetic crude every day. The oil sands cover nearly 58,000 square miles. Geologists think the oil could last for 100 years and they've barely scratched the surface. But what a scratch it is.

The oil sands are extracted in huge open pit mines -- vast holes in the ground. In the mine I visited, there are miles of roads, hundreds of pieces of equipment and more places where they dig and dump than I could see. I kept picking up chunks of earth. It smells like asphalt. I stood down in the pit as the giant shovels clawed the earth. I climbed up into the cab of the largest truck in the world -- three stories high, able to haul 400 tons of oil sands at a time. Behind the wheel was a petite young mother of two. She works 12 hours a day. It's the best job in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Again, I was struck by the vastness of it all, by the constant motion, constant work. It was like an ant colony on steroids -- indicative of an overwhelming instinct to toil and an insatiable demand driving it.

Are there alternatives? Yes, and I saw one of them in the most surprising place I visited: Brazil, where sugar cane covers millions of acres. "A green ocean" was how my Brazilian host described it. About half of it becomes sugar. The other half becomes ethanol for cars and trucks. "Alcool" was sold at every gas station I saw. It is cheaper than gasoline and when you fill the tank, it smells like molasses.

The real eye-opener: The car I drove, a made-in-Brazil Chevrolet, was a 'flex fuel' vehicle that can run on either gasoline or ethanol. Three quarters of the cars sold in Brazil are now flex fuel vehicles.

And an astounding 40 percent of the transportation fuel used in Brazil is ethanol. Brazilians say within the next year, they won't need to import a drop of oil. Independence. One official who was in on the ethanol program in its earliest days 30 years ago smiled impishly and told me, "We won."

In the U.S., ethanol represents only 3 percent of the fuel we burn.

I also saw prototype hydrogen vehicles, plug-in hybrids and other things. But at the end of it all, I realize we'll need oil for a long time.

There's a lot of it out there. But the supply chain is stretched thin and demand is growing rapidly. Environmental concerns deepen. We are vulnerable. We know we have to come up with another way to power the planet.

How long we have is the big question. It's time to get serious.

Clean energy bill gets a push, PM Launches "Envo Diesel" Biofuel

Clean energy bill gets a push
Newsday - Long Island,NY,USA
Surrounded by a fleet of vehicles that use hybrid and biodiesel energy, local leaders in the Town of Babylon on Monday pushed for a congressional bill they ...

PM Launches "Envo Diesel" Biofuel
Bernama - Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia
... The idea of the palm biodiesel project was born in 1982 and the working paper on it was submitted to the Cabinet in March 1983. ...

South Africa’s answer to global warming?

South Africa’s answer to global warming?
Business in Africa (subscription) - South Africa
... The panel concluded that of the two biofuels available - biodiesel (for all diesel engines) and bioethanol (for petrol vehicles) – biodiesel is the most ...

Biodiesel fuel testing equipment

Biodiesel fuel testing equipment
Laboratory Talk - UK
Biodiesel can be produced from a variety of vegetable oils or animal fats which produce similar volatility characteristics and combustion emissions with ...

Ag Day Rally Highlights State's Biofuel Plans

Ag Day Rally Highlights State's Biofuel Plans
WISH - Indianapolis,IN,USA
... In the last year, six new ethanol plants and three new biodiesel plants have announced construction, creating 375 new jobs for Hoosier workers. ...

Biodiesel a Solution to Kampala's Pollution,

Biodiesel a Solution to Kampala's Pollution
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
Biodiesel is a fuel made from vegetable oil that runs in any unmodified diesel engine. ... Biodiesel existed even over 100 years ago. ...

Burgerville oil to run vehicles
Portland Business Journal - Portland,OR,USA
The Holland Inc. plans to recycle the cooking oil from its Burgerville restaurants into biodiesel, a cleaner-burning blend of diesel fuel. ...
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Grains Mtg: Govt Policy Key For Canadian Biodiesel Growth
CattleNetwork.com - Stanley,KS,USA
WINNIPEG (Dow Jones)--Government policy will play a key role when it comes to developing a biodiesel industry in Canada , the president of the Canadian ...

Burgerville turns used cooking oil into fuel, Demand must increase to justify biofuel plant, company official ...

Burgerville turns used cooking oil into fuel
OregonLive.com - Portland,OR,USA
... ever. Since mid-January, the used cooking oil from the "fast casual" restaurateur has been converted into biodiesel fuel. "It's ...

Demand must increase to justify biofuel plant, company official ...
The Grand Rapids Press - Grand Rapids,MI,USA
ZEELAND -- A state study shows a biodiesel plant in Zeeland is feasible, but an official at the company that is considering building it says consumption would ...

Veridium Receives Order to Convert Animal Fat into Biodiesel ...

Veridium Receives Order to Convert Animal Fat into Biodiesel ...
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco,CA,USA
... facility to extract more than 14 million pounds per year of animal fat from the facility's waste streams for conversion into a biodiesel feedstock using ...

Driving for the Green
SDSUniverse - San Diego,CA,USA
... students and faculty from San Diego State University's mechanical engineering department today unveiled a high-performance, low-emission biodiesel engine that ...

Biopetrol to Build Biodiesel Plant in The Netherlands
RenewableEnergyAccess.com - Peterborough,NH,USA
This third plant is slated to produce 400,000 tons of biodiesel and 60,000 tons of pharma-glycerine per year, helping Biopetrol grow its annual capacity to ...

JMU Will Host Biodiesel Conference April 3

JMU Will Host Biodiesel Conference April 3
Harrisonburg Daily News Record - Harrisonburg,VA,USA
James Madison University will host the 2006 Virginia Biodiesel Conference on April 3 at the university’s Festival Conference and Student Center. ...

Forum: Biodiesel push very misguided

Forum: Biodiesel push very misguided
Athens Banner-Herald (subscription) - Athens,GA,USA
... Brian Kemp, R-Athens, Tommie Williams, R-Lyons and others, would require state and local government vehicles to use 2 percent biodiesel fuel by 2008. ...

FOREIGN: Rolling out palm oil-fuelled trucks, Kulim, US firm plan biodiesel plant in Batam, Biodiesel tripadone process

Rolling out palm oil-fuelled trucks
Business Times - Malaysia - Malaysia
... Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is scheduled to officiate at the launch where the six trucks will showcase their palm oil-based biodiesel capabilities ...

Kulim, US firm plan biodiesel plant in Batam
Business Times - Malaysia - Malaysia
KULIM (Malaysia) Bhd plans to build a biodiesel plant on the Indonesian island of Batam together with an American partner, mainly for export. ...

Biodiesel tripadone process
Ferret - Australia
PACT recently completed a 70t per day Biodiesel plant. Using ... production. PACT's technology converts used cooking oils into biodiesel. ...