Bioenergy 2007
International Bioenergy Conference & Exhibition
Sep 03-06, 2007
Jyväskylä, Finland
Details: http://seminaarit.ohoi.fi/default.asp?seminarID=6 or www.finbioenergy.fi

INTERNATIONAL DISTILLERS GRAINS CONFERENCE: EDUCATING & EMPOWERING END USERS
October 21-23, 2007
Schaumberg, Illinois
The extraordinary growth of the U.S. ethanol industry is bringing with it the production of massive quantities of distiller grains.  About 11 million tons of distiller grains is represented in the collective production capacities of ethanol plants either on line or under construction today. Approximately 2 million tons of DDGS are already being exported annually, but that number needs to double or triple in order for this growing industry to thrive. It is vital to educate and empower end users and enhance customer outreach activities worldwide.
>Read more: https://www.distillersgrainsconference.com/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=1

THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL BIOENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION
June 3-5, 2008 (Yes, 2008!)
Prince George, BC
Details: http://www.bioenergyconference.org/index.php

BIOFUEL CROPS DOUBLE AS GREENHOUSE-GAS REDUCERS
Jan Suszkiw
ARS News Service, June 8, 2007
Corn and soybeans may be the current "go-to" crops for producing ethanol and biodiesel, respectively. But two other crops—switchgrass and hybrid poplar—could steal the show in the future when it comes to curbing greenhouse gases. A recent study conducted by a scientist at the ARS revealed that bioenergy crops offset their greenhouse-gas contributions in three key ways: by removing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in crop roots and soil as organic carbon; by producing coproducts like protein for animal feed, which saves on energy to make feed by other means; and by displacement, whereby replacing a fossil fuel with a biobased one "recycles" rather than adds more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
>Read more: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2007/070608.htm
>Other links: http://www.esajournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1890%2F05-2018

BIOFUELS: BEYOND CORN
Emily Singer
Technology Review, June 21, 2007
Most ethanol in the United States is derived from corn kernels; hence, it consumes a valuable food and agricultural product. In addition, growing corn is itself an energy-intensive process. In an attempt to find cheaper and more efficient routes to biofuels, researchers are turning to genomics. Scientists at the Department of Energy (DOE) have just selected the button mushroom as one of their latest picks for DNA sequencing, hoping to co-opt fungi's plant-degrading power to produce ethanol more cheaply. Efforts are also planned to sequence the genomes of the eucalyptus tree and foxtail millet, a grass closely related to switchgrass.
>Read more: http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18958/

BUILDING BETTER BIOFUELS
Neil Savage
Technology Review, June 6, 2007
Some biotech startup companies are positioning themselves to take advantage of an anticipated booming market for biofuels.  One such company, LS9, of San Carlos, CA, is using the relatively new field of synthetic biology to engineer bacteria that can make hydrocarbons for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Hydrocarbon fuels are better suited than ethanol to existing delivery infrastructure and engines, and their manufacture would require less energy.
>Read more: http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/18827/

CUTTING GREENHOUSE GASES: BIOFUELS THAT DON'T INVOLVE FOOD CROPS OR MICROBIAL FERMENTATION
Science Daily, July 2, 2007
California researchers plan to make biofuels in a novel way that doesn't involve food crops or microbial fermentation. A new research effort involving three University of California campuses and West Biofuels LLC, will develop a prototype research reactor that will use steam, sand and catalysts to efficiently convert forest, urban, and agricultural "cellulosic" wastes that would otherwise go to landfills into alcohol that can be used as a gasoline additive.
>Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070628073027.htm

A DIFFERENT KIND OF POWER PLANT
Sam Hopkins
Energy and Capital, June 14, 2007
Alga Technologies (Algatech), based here at Ketura, in the southern Israeli desert, mass produces algae for cosmetics, nutritional supplements, and now for energy conversion and production. Algatech's feedstock spends most of its growth cycle in petri dishes, before moving along to a massive system of pumps and tubes sitting in the desert sun.  This region, the Arava Valley of the Negev Desert, has the highest solar radiation levels anywhere in the world -- between ten and 14 hours a day of direct sunlight hit these plastic tubes and sleeves.
>Read more: http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/algae-fuel-biofuel/450

ECO-EFFICIENT DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING WITH HEAT PUMPS
Energy & Enviro Finland, June 15, 2007
Helsinki Energy's large heat pump plant produces district heat and cooling in a single process. The plant utilizes both the heat from purified wastewater and directly the heat of sea water.
>Read more: http://www.energy-enviro.fi/index.php?PAGE=806&NODE_ID=806&LANG=1

FROM LEFTOVERS TO ENERGY
Emily Singer
Technology Review, June 18, 2007
A University of California-Davis bioengineer has developed microbes that convert food scraps into energy--mostly methane and hydrogen--that can be burned to generate electricity or compressed into liquid to power specialized vehicles.
>Read more: http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/18937/

NEW TECHNOLOGY COULD LEAD TO MORE ENERGY-EFFICIENT ETHANOL PRODUCTION
Marcia Wood
ARS News Service, June 26, 2007
Chemical engineers at the ARS Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif., think it may be possible to cut energy costs by using a series of specially designed permeable plastic sheets, or membranes, to produce ethanol from fermented broths of corn, or straw and other kinds of biomass feedstocks.  The technology will help to address the serious concern regarding the energy efficiency of bioethanol production.
>Read more: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2007/070626.htm

A NEW TREND: FOREST INDUSTRY INCREASES BIOMASS-BASED COGENERATION
Energy & Enviro Finland, June 15, 2007
Increased utilization of biomass in combined heat and power production at the mills - a trend that started in the Nordic countries and continued throughout Europe - is now picking up pace in North America and also globally. The trend involves procurement of external biomass and in some cases also wastes for additional energy production.
>Read more: http://www.energy-enviro.fi/index.php?PAGE=811&NODE_ID=811&LANG=1

RUNNING CARS ON HYDROGEN MADE FROM STARCH
Kevin Bullis
Technology Review, May 25, 2007
Researchers have developed a way to convert starch, available from numerous sources including corn and potatoes, into hydrogen gas at low temperatures and pressures.  This enzymatic method produces three times more hydrogen than an older enzymatic method does, suggesting that it might be practical to use such enzymes to produce hydrogen for fuel-cell vehicles.
>Read more: http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18784/

SANDIA RESEARCHERS SCREEN EXTREMOPHILE'S ENZYMES FOR LIGNOCELLULOSIC ETHANOL
Biopact, June 13, 2007
Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories are looking at the biology of organisms, known as extremophiles, living in earth’s extreme environments to help solve the problem of breaking down lignocellulosic biomass efficiently to convert it into biofuels - the key to a new transportation economy based on abundant renewable, green fuels.
>Read more: http://biopact.com/2007/06/sandia-researchers-screen-extremophiles.html

... At Home

GOVERNMENT'S NEW BIOFUELS PLAN A DOUBLE WIN: GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND FARMERS
Canada News Centre, July 5, 2007
Under ecoENERGY for Biofuels, the Canadian government will provide up to $1.5 billion in the form of incentives over nine years to producers of renewable alternatives to gasoline and diesel fuel.
>More details: http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/overview.cfm?attr=16

SELKIRK FUEL TESTING CENTRE EXPANDED WITH $614,000 IN FUNDING
Manitoba Government News Release, July 5, 2007
Manitoba’s only fuel testing centre will be expanded to provide state-of-the-art services to the province’s biodiesel industry. The Canada-Manitoba Economic Partnership Agreement is providing $351,500 while Natural Resources Canada is contributing $262,500 to Manitoba Hydro’s Selkirk laboratory to provide a critical service required by the biodiesel industry.
>Read more: http://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?archive=&item=1914
>Read more: http://www.hydro.mb.ca/your_business/mhl/biodiesel.shtml

... Elsewhere

BAY AREA PARTNERSHIP TO HOST DOE BIOSCIENCE CENTER
Research News - Berkeley Lab, June 26, 2007
A partnership of three national laboratories and three research universities in the San Francisco Bay Area has been chosen to host one of three bioenergy research centers, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through its Biological and Environmental Research Genomics:GTL research program in the Office of Science. This new center will be known as the DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) and is expected to receive $125 million in DOE funding over five years.  Research at the DOE JBEI will focus on biofuels.
>Read more: http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/JBEI-announcement.html

STATE TO GET BIODIESEL FACILITY
Paul W. Sullivan
Montgomery Advertiser, June 25, 2007
The world's first biodiesel production facility to extract oil from algae will be built in Alabama and running within 10 months.
>Read more: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070625/BUSINESS/706250317/1003

U.S. STATE APPROVES RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD
Refocus, June 13, 2007
The governor of Oregon has signed into law a renewable energy standard that requires large utilities to generate 25% of the state's electricity from renewables by 2025. Twenty-one states and the federal District of Columbia require utilities to draw a portion of their energy from renewable sources.
>Read more: http://www.re-focus.net/articles/general/news/070613_res.html

USDA, DOE ANNOUNCE $18 MILLION SOLICITATION FOR BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Refocus, June 11, 2007
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced a combined total of up to $18 million will be available for research and development of biomass-based products, biofuels, bioenergy and related processes.  USDA and DOE are issuing these grant solicitations for several types of projects aimed at increasing the availability of alternative and renewable fuels, which will help further President Bush’s bold energy initiatives, including Twenty in Ten.  The Twenty in Ten Initiative promotes greater energy security through increased efficiency and diversification of energy sources.  USDA will provide up to $14 million and DOE will provide up to $4 million (FY’07).
>Read more: http://www.energy.gov/news/5122.htm

SWITCHGRASS
Steve Barnhart, et al.
Ohio State University, Department of Agronomy,
This Agronomic Biorenewable Fact Sheet describes the growing conditions, life cycle, and other important information about this crop and its energy potential.
>Read more: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/AG200.pdf

BIOFUELLED
Economist, 6/23/2007
This article reports that rising costs of grain is due to the increased demand for materials to produce biofuel.  According to the United States Department of Agriculture, rising prices for crops--dubbed "agflation"--has begun to drive up the cost of breakfast: O.J., eggs, milk, breakfast cereals.  Underpinning these rises is a sharp increase in the prices of grains such as corn (maize) and wheat, both of which recently hit ten-year highs.  The demand has exceeded the supply and the accused culprit is the growing use of grains to make biofuels, such as ethanol.
>Read more: http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9378875

WATER SUPPLY 'COULD CAP EUROPEAN BIOFUELS'
Engineering & Technology, July 2007
Researchers in Australia warn that water shortages could prove to be the biggest obstacle to bio-fuels in Europe.  Researchers are analyzing the significant potential side-effects of current and pending European legislation for renewable energy.
>Read more: http://www.iee.org/oncomms/magazine.cfm?issueID=189&articleID=2FB27D28-A159-3B14-EFABF6C64AF511B4