BIODIESEL INCHES FORWARD
Terry Costlow
SAE Technology E-Newsletter, January 2008
A number of fuel providers and equipment manufacturers are already using blended products, which today add small amounts of biodiesel to petroleum products. Proponents contend that even products such as B2, which uses only 2% biofuels, could make a huge dent in oil imports.  Mike Weinert, Director of John Deere Power Systems said "If B2 was used in all diesel engines, we could displace one billion gallons of foreign oil each year."  Though interest is high, there are a number of issues that must be resolved before biodiesel fuels move to higher percentage blends and wider acceptance in the marketplace -- impurities such as methanol and glycerin.
> Details:  http://www.sae.org/ohmag/technewsletter/080108Tech/08.htm

EFFICIENT BIOFUEL MADE FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED E. COLI BACTERIA
ScienceDaily, January 7, 2008
Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a new method for producing next-generation biofuels by genetically modifying Escherichia coli bacteria to be an efficient biofuel synthesizer. The method could lead to mass production of these biofuels.
> Details:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080106202952.htm

'FUEL CUBES' HOLD PROMISE AS CLEANER COAL ALTERNATIVE
Dan Haugen
Twin Cities Daily Planet, December 29, 2007
A Minnesota start-up company says it’s invented and successfully tested a new biomass briquette that could become to coal what ethanol has been to gasoline.  The fuel cubes are made from a mix of plant materials that include wood, corn stalks and switch grass; and, the cubes can be substituted for coal in existing burners with little or no modifications.  The cubes come out similar in size and moisture content, and they produce a consistent amount of heat that’s comparable to what’s created by coal.
> Details:  http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2007/12/27/fuel-cubes-hold-promise-cleaner-coal-alternative.html#

FUEL FROM WASTE
Prachi Patel-Predd
Technology Review, January/February 2008
Transporting the fuel to battle zones and remote military bases is costly and time consuming, and the fuel is a prime target of terrorists. So the U.S. Department of Defense is looking for cheaper, more secure, and easier options. Two companies are working together on a portable system that converts coal, natural gas, and biomass into diesel and jet fuel. The military could use the system, consisting of a gasifier and a fuel reactor, to convert waste created at military bases--food scraps, paper, wood--into a fuel for military jets and vehicles.
> Details:  http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/19974/?nlid=767

NET ENERGY OF CELLULOSIC ETHANOL FROM SWITCHGRASS
Schmer, Vogel, Mitchell, and Perrin
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, January 7, 2008
Perennial herbaceous plants such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) are being evaluated as cellulosic bioenergy crops. Two major concerns have been the net energy efficiency and economic feasibility of switchgrass and similar crops.  Researchers managed switchgrass as a biomass energy crop in field trials of 3–9 ha (1 ha = 10,000 m2) on marginal cropland on 10 farms across a wide precipitation and temperature gradient in the midcontinental U.S. to determine net energy and economic costs based on known farm inputs and harvested yields.  This report summarizes the agricultural energy input costs, biomass yield, estimated ethanol output, greenhouse gas emissions, and net energy results.  Switchgrass produced 540% more renewable than nonrenewable energy consumed.
> Details:  http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0704767105v1

SUGARCANE ETHANOL PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL: AN EXPANSION MODEL SENSITIVE TO SOCIOECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Sparovek, et al.
Biofuels, Bioproducts, Biorefining, December 2007, p. 270
Because of increasing demand, Brazil is expected to increase it's sugarcane-based ethanol production.  However, there is a need to address concerns of the social and environmental impacts of such an expansion.  This article outlines an expansion model for sugarcane ethanol production that is sensitive to socioeconomic and environmental concerns.
> Details:  Contact the ITC Library to obtain this article.

SWITCHGRASS TO ETHANOL EXTREMELY ENERGY EFFICIENT
Peter Shinn
Brownfield Network, January 8, 2008
Research out this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows switchgrass delivers much more energy than it takes to grow and process into ethanol. Just how much more? A whopping 540%!  Dr. Ken Vogel, a scientist with USDA's Ag Research Service and one of the study's authors, predicts switchgrass will be a main crop for cellulosic ethanol production.  (See also "Net energy of cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass" in this issue.)
> Details:  http://www.brownfieldnetwork.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=5B18F5EE-CE54-4FE9-58EF91D1413E0A6B

FUELING ALTERNATIVES
S. Ashley
Scientific American, January 2008, p. 45
One of the downsides of the plant-derived ethanol is that it contains almost a third less energy than the same volume of gasoline. Engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a straightforward way to extract a synthetic fuel from sugar that surpasses ethanol in many ways.  DMF (2,5-dimethtylfuran) possesses an energy density equivalent to that of gasoline. It is also insoluble in water and stable in storage. News regarding PEM fuel cells is also discussed.
> Details:  http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=sciam-50-fueling-alternatives

TOOTHPICK MILL SOLD
VALERIE TUCKER
Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel, January 10, 2008
Strong Green Energy will be making wood pellets.  State Representatives plan to take company officials to meet with the Fuels For Schools team set up by the state's Utility and Energy Committee to look at alternatives for school heating systems.  Where else might there be supply and demand for this type of setup?
> Details:  http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4641967.html

PART I: THE PRICE OF BIOFUELS
David Rotman
Technology Review, January/February 2008
The author asks, "Making ethanol from corn is expensive. Better biofuels are years away from the gas tank. But do we really have any alternative?"  More than a hundred biofuel factories, clustered largely in the corn-growing states of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, South Dakota, and Nebraska, will produce 6.4 billion gallons of ethanol this year, and another 74 facilities are under construction. Just 18 months ago, they were cash cows, churning out high-priced ethanol from low-priced corn, raising hopes of "energy independence" among politicians, and capturing the attention--and money--of venture capitalists from both the East and West Coasts. Now ethanol producers are struggling, and many are losing money.  You might say the ethanol bubble has burst.
> Details:  http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/19924/?nlid=758

PART II: THE PRICE OF BIOFUELS
David Rotman
Technology Review, January/February 2008
Do we really have any alternative to biofuels?  Since the oil crisis of the 1970s, when the price of a barrel of petroleum peaked, chemical and biological engineers have chased after ways to turn the nation's vast reserves of "cellulosic" material such as wood, agricultural residues, and perennial grasses into ethanol and other biofuels. Beyond providing a vast supply of cheap feedstock, cellulosic biomass could greatly increase the energy and environmental benefits of biofuels. It takes far less energy to grow cellulosic materials than to grow corn, and portions of the biomass can be used to help power the production process.
> Details:  http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/19925/?nlid=761

PART III: THE PRICE OF BIOFUELS
David Rotman
Technology Review, January/February 2008
While chemical engineers, microbiologists, agronomists, and others struggle to find ways of making cellulosic ethanol commercially competitive, a few synthetic biologists and metabolic engineers are focusing on an entirely different strategy -- creating new microorganisms designed to make biofuels other than ethanol.
> Details:  http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/19926/?nlid=764

HOATHLY HILL RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT
The Hoathly Hill (UK) Community consists of a group of 27 households in 22 acres of residential, horticultural and agricultural land. There are around 65 people of all ages – from just days old to 97 years – in a variety of households. Together they are trying to develop a carbon neutral home life.  This web site blogs the activities as this community shares their activities of building their new community biomass heating system.
> Details:  http://home.btconnect.com/hoathlyhill/hhr/2006_10_01_archive.html

ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND IMPROVED LOGISTICS IN AIRBUS' FUTURE
Stuart Birch
SAE Technology E-Newsletter, January 2008
The need to develop alternative fuels for all transport systems is becoming increasingly important.   Airbus is taking part in the French CALIN (Carburant alternatifs et systèmes d'injection innovants) research project, working within CALIN, together with major research institutions, among them ONERA, IFP, CNRS, and industry partner Safran. Airbus stated that as part of the company's commitment to reduce the impact of aviation on the environment it is now focusing its Research & Technology effort on developing green aviation technologies aimed at contributing to further improving aircraft fuel efficiency, reducing CO2 and NOx emissions, and cutting noise. Finding suitable alternative fuels to kerosene is one area of research Airbus is focusing on as well as biofuel blends.
> Details: http://www.sae.org/aeromag/technewsletter/080108Tech/15.htm

ENERGY QUEST SIGNS LETTER OF INTENT WITH WILLOW INDUSTRIES
CNNMoney.com, December 18, 2007
Energy Quest, Inc. expects to enter into a joint venture with Willow for the construction of a 6 mega watt electrical power generation and gasification plant in the Edmonton, Alberta area.
> Details: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0341221.htm

NEW BRUNSWICK AIMS FOR INCREASED WOOD FUEL OUTPUT
Alternative Energy Retailer, January 4, 2008
Biomass, particularly the development of wood pellet fuel, is being championed as the driving force in New Brunswick's economic viability for 2008.  Although biomass accounts for 16% of the province's energy needs, local governments and organizations are studying biomass usage overseas to determine the potential for global demand of locally-produced wood pellet fuel.
> Details: http://www.aer-online.com/mail/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.1162

ROSE ENERGY WILL PROVIDE UP TO A THIRD OF NORTHERN IRELAND'S SUSTAINABLE ENERGY OBLIGATIONS
Backed by a consortium of three major players in the agri-food industry, Rose Energy has submitted a project proposal to the government to build an energy plant which will convert agricultural biomass into electricity.   The power plant will use renewable fuels - poultry bedding and meat and bone meal - to provide enough energy to power 25,000 homes.
> Details: http://roseenergy.webbelief.com/about/index.html

IS ETHANOL FOR EVERYBODY?
Roger Cohen , New York Times, January 10, 2008
Another ethanol debate, but one with perhaps more societal impact, can be found in the sugar cane fields. Behind the global buzz over Brazil’s cane-based ethanol production — the 21st century’s environment-friendly biofuel par excellence — lurk enduring social problems.  Brazil has led the way in demonstrating the potential of ethanol and has the land to expand the industry; but at the expense of back-breaking labor and low wages, work that has not yet been relieved by machinery and automation.  (See related article "Sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil: an expansion model sensitive to socioeconomic and environmental concerns" highlighted in this issue.)
> Details: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/opinion/10cohen.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

BIOENERGY AND ENERGY ALTERNATIVES NATIONAL PROGRAM
USDA Agricultural Research Service Bioenergy and Energy Alternatives National Program web site: To create jobs and economic activity in America, reduce the Nation's dependence on foreign oil, and improve the environment by developing alternate energy sources and increasing the use of agricultural crops as feedstocks for biofuels. Research components include Ethanol, Biodiesel, Energy Alternatives for Rural Practices, Energy Crops.
> Web Site: http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/programs/programs.htm?np_code=307

BIOWASTE-TO-ENERGY CENTER AT SUNY COBLESKILL
This web site outlines the waste energy process at the Cobleskill Bio-Waste Energy Center.  An interactive poster of the process explains the various terms and technologies used, including a comparison of four gasification techniques.
> Details: http://personal.cobleskill.edu/amodeopa/bioenergycenter/poster07.htm

CLIMATE & ENERGY PROJECT
The Climate and Energy Project (CEP), a project of the Land Institute (Salina, KS), supports lively, informed conversations about our energy future.  Their goal is to help halt the Midwest’s contributions to global warming and climate change. They support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by increasing energy efficiency and developing renewable energies in a sustainable manner.  The site includes a library of electronic publications, FAQs, Tips for Farms & Business, and much more.
> Web Site: http://www.climateandenergy.org/Explore/Biomass/Index.htm

EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY BIOMASS PROGRAM
U.S. DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Biomass Program web site provides great technical information on the basics of biomass, the industry today, various biomass feedstocks, various technology platforms, R&D, biorefineries, etc.
> Web Site: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/biomass_feedstocks.html

FORESTRY COMMISSION, FOREST RESEARCH (UK)
The Woodfuel Information Pack brings together key basic information about many aspects of using wood for fuel. These include background on benefits, renewable energy targets and policy, conversion, end users and systems.
> Web Site: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/INFD-66SHAG 

OUTDOOR WOOD-FIRED HYDRONIC HEATERS
On the EPA web site there is a list of cleaner burning outdoor wood-fired hydronic heaters that meet the EPA voluntary program Phase 1 emissions level because they emit no more than 0.60 pounds (lbs) of particulate matter (particle pollution) per million BTUs of heat input (i.e., wood burned).
> Details: http://www.epa.gov/woodheaters/models.htm 

RENEWABLE ENERGY ASSOCIATION (UK)
The Renewable Energy Association was established in 2001 to represent British renewable energy producers and promote the use of sustainable energy in the UK.
> Web Site: http://www.r-p-a.org.uk/home.fcm 

YIELD MODELS FOR ENERGY COPPICE OF POPLAR AND WILLOW
This web site contains useful information about short rotation coppice for growers, researchers and the bio-energy industry based on a Forest Research (UK) project.  This project is the largest field trial in the UK and in Europe of poplar and willow species grown as crops for the provision of biofuels. It has the main aim of developing models that will forecast growth and yield performance.  Included in the web site is information for growers and researchers, including funding.
> Web Site: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/srcsite/HCOU-5JENMU

Harvesting Clean Energy 2008 Conference
January 27-29, 2008
Portland, Oregon
> Details: http://www.harvestcleanenergy.org/conference/

2nd Annual Midwst Ag Energy Network Summit:
Next Generation Ag Energy: Policies To Advance Regional Growth
February 5-6, 2008
Madison, WI
> Details: http://www.midwestagenergy.net/index.html
Early registration extended to January 18th!

Hearth, Patio, & Barbecue Expo 2008
Exposition: February 28 – March 1, 2008
Education component held February 27 – March 1
Atlanta, Georgia
> Details: http://www.hpbexpo.com/index.html

Washington International Renewable Energy Conference 2008
March 4-6, 2008
Washington, DC
> Details: http://www.wirec2008.gov/

Ecological Dimensions of Biofuels
March 10, 2008
Ronald Regan Building & International Trade Center
Washington, DC
> Details: http://esa.org/biofuels/

Canadian Renewable Energy Workshop 2008
March 16-March 18, 2008
IPSCO Place
Regina, Saskatchewan
> Details: http://www.crew2008.com/ema/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=Home

2008 International Wood Composites Symposium
March 31-April 2, 2008
Seattle WA
> Details: http://www.woodsymposium.wsu.edu/

Growing The Margins: Energy, Bioproducts And Byproducts For Farm And Food Sectors
April 2-5, 2008
London, Ontario
> Details: http://www.gtmconf.ca/welcome.htm

International Biomass '08 Conference & Trade Show:
Power, Fuels, And Chemicals
April 15-17, 2008
Minneapolis, MN
> Details: http://www.biomassconference.com/speaker.aspx

World Bioenergy Conference & Exhibition 2008
May 27-29, 2008
JÖNKÖPING, SWEDEN
> Details: http://www.elmia.se/worldbioenergy/

The Third International Bioenergy Conference & Exhibition
June 3-5, 2008
Prince George, BC
> Details: http://www.bioenergyconference.org/index.php