ANYTHING INTO ETHANOL
Mandelbaum, Robb, Discover, October 2008, p. 22-23
Biofuels could be a crucial weapon against both rising temperatures and dwindling global oil supplies.  But the best known bio-fuel, ethanol, has a reputation that's a bit tarnished.  Ethanol from corn does not produce enough fuel to really make a dent, aside from the fact that it is an energy intensive process in itself.  Several companies, including Coskata and Range Fuels, are pursuing a strategy that turns any carbon-rich matter into a gas, which is then converted to liquid fuel. This approach, they say, can use any organic material, so the potential sources for this fuel are virtually unlimited.
>Read more: http://discovermagazine.com/2008/oct/03-anything-into-ethanol

BETTER BUG TO MAKE CELLULOSIC ETHANOL
Prachi Patel-Predd, Technology Review, September 9, 2008
A new strain of genetically modified bacteria could reduce the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol, such as corn cobs and leaves, switchgrass, and paper pulp.  The microbes produce ethanol at higher temperatures than are possible using yeast. The higher temperature more than halves the quantity of the costly enzymes needed to split cellulose into the sugars that the microbes can ferment.  Yeast, which is currently used for fermentation, cannot produce at such high temperatures and can only ferment glucose.
>Read more: http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/21347/?nlid=1325

FUEL MAY EVENTUALLY GO GREEN -- WITH ALGAE
Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2008
A shallow pool in Holland is green with algae being harvested for animal feed, skin treatments, biodegradable plastics and, with increasing interest, biofuel.  Not too far away, a bioreactor of clear plastic tubes is producing algae in pressure-cooker fashion that its manufacturer hopes will one day power jet aircraft.  Due to the fact that algae is a fast-growing organism that also uses carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen, scientists and industrialists believe it has huge potential for energy.  Challenges: limited availability of nutrients and an unfavorable energy balance; and present technology uses more energy than it puts out. But with researchers all over the world racing to solve these issue, it should be no time at all before this form of energy comes to market.
>Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-algae5-2008oct05,0,7426386.story

MAKING THE MOST OF MANURE
Ann Perry, ARS News Service, October 1, 2008
Manure from livestock could someday be used as a value-added bioenergy fuel for on-farm heating and power, according to researchers.  Promising news for livestock producers, who need environmentally friendly ways to manage the manure.  The technique, called wet gasification, converts wet manure slurry into energy-rich gases and produces relatively clean water.
>Read more: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2008/081001.htm

NEW ROUTE TO HYDROCARBON BIOFUELS
Prachi Patel-Predd, Technology Review, September 22, 2008
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a simple, two-step chemical process to convert plant sugars into hydrocarbon fuels. The process employs chemical reactions instead of microbial fermentation, using catalysts at high temperatures to convert glucose into hydrocarbon biofuels.
>Read more: http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/21395/?nlid=1356

NYSERDA FOCUSES ON BIOMASS HEATING
Eric Reinhardt, Central New York Business Journal, October 3, 2008
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will help pay for nine projects aimed at evaluating and improving biomass-fired heating equipment. The projects, valued at more than $2.5 million, will compare energy and emissions performance for wood-burning equipment, including residential and commercial wood boilers, pellet stoves, wood stoves, and emerging grass-pellet technologies.  Included in the project is a demonstration of a fully automated, wood-gasification boiler technology. Three other studies in the initiative will compare conventional, commercial biomass systems and high-efficiency, European-style gasification biomass boilers to oil-fired systems.
>Read more: http://tinyurl.com/3w6edh
>Also: http://www.nyserda.org/Press_Releases/2008/PressRelease20083009.asp

POET SAY REMOVING COBS FOR FUEL HELPS CORN GROW
Timothy Gardner, Reuters, October 2, 2008
POET researchers (South Dakota) have found there are “indications that removing corn cobs may be beneficial for growing corn,” finding that decomposing cobs may remove soil nitrogen and release chemical compounds into the soil that reduce corn growth. Poet hopes to be making a bit of cellulosic ethanol from cobs this year at a plant in Scotland, South Dakota.
>Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4918KM20081002

PRODUCING NEW U.S. ENERGY CROPS BY THE BARREL
Don Comis, ARS News Service, October 10, 2008
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Peoria, Ill., have produced oils of camelina, canola, Cuphea, lesquerella, milkweed and pennycress by the barrelful in their commercial-scale pilot plant and may be able to provide alternative domestic sources of industrial products ranging from soap to biofuels for cars, trucks and—in the case of Cuphea—even jet fuel.  These crops all offer ways to sustainably grow fuel and industrial products without depleting either the food supply or soils.
>Read more: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2008/081010.htm

RESEARCHERS DESIGN MORE EFFICIENT FLUIDIZED BED FOR BIOMASS GASIFICATION
Biopact, September 15, 2008
One of the challenges that chemical engineers face is placing solid materials in contact with gases to generate certain reactions. One of the options is to use a fluidized bed, consisting of a vertical cylinder with a perforated plate inside where solid particles are introduced using pressurized air.  Fluidized beds have important environmental applications because they allow the gasification of biomass to produce energy in an efficient manner.
>Read more: http://biopact.com/2008/09/researchers-design-more-efficient.html

PROVINCE UNVEILS NEW RESEARCH FUNDING TO CUT EMISSIONS, BOOST GREEN FARM ECONOMY
Manitoba Government News Release, October 1, 2008
Manitoba is investing more than $1 million to fund new research aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions generated by Manitoba’s agricultural sector.   The new research would be aimed at practical tools to reduce emissions from the agriculture sector, noting that effective ecologically-minded farm practices often reduce energy inputs, saving producers money.
>Read more: http://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?archive=2008-10-01&item=4537

NEW U OF G CENTRE WILL 'REVOLUTIONIZE AGRICULTURE'
News Release, October 3, 2008
University of Guelph recently opened the Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre, where researchers will revolutionize the use of agricultural products, turning soy, wheat, corn and other crops into everything from car parts and furniture to fuel. The Centre will produce greener bioproducts to substitute non-renewable materials in many manufacturing sectors, consumer goods and services. This includes turning crops into renewable biofuels to run vehicles and into resins, polymers and tough fibres for the production of biobased materials, which will reduce dependency on petroleum materials.
>Read more: http://www.uoguelph.ca/news/2008/10/new_u_of_g_cent.html

PRISON BIOMASS PLANT UP AND RUNNING AFTER DIFFICULT START
Dave Fran, Nevada Appeal, October 5, 2008
An $8.3 million wood-fired energy plant, that opened in 2007 and made little power during the half year after it opened is now up and running due to better supplies, staff and mechanics. The plant burns over 30 tons of biomass a day.  Before the plant opened it was estimated that it would not only take over the $2-million-a-year utility bill of the two prisons, but also produce excess energy that could be sold to NV Energy to raise $9 million over 20 years.
>Read more: http://tinyurl.com/3lrglt

UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE LAUNCHES NEW ENERGY INSTITUTE
University of Delaware, September 22, 2008
The purpose of the new institute is to create and integrate new solutions to challenges in energy sufficiency and sustainability.
>Read more: http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2009/sep/energy092208.html

USDA & DOE RELEASE NATIONAL BIOFUELS ACTION PLAN
U.S. Department of Energy News, October 7, 2008
USDA and DOE recently released the National Biofuels Action Plan (NBAP), an interagency plan detailing the collaborative efforts of Federal agencies to accelerate the development of a sustainable biofuels industry.  The plan is in response to President George Bush's goal of cutting U.S. gasoline consumption by 20 percent in the next 10 years. The NBAP outlines interagency actions and accelerated federally supported research efforts in seven areas including: Sustainability, Feedstock Production, Feedstock Logistics, Conversion Science and Technology, Distribution Infrastructure, Blending, Environment, Health and Safety.
>Read more: http://www.energy.gov/news/6633.htm

WORLD NEEDS TO RETHINK BIOFUELS - U.N. FOOD AGENCY
R. Pomeroy and S. Kovalyova, Reuters, October 7, 2008
The Western world needs to rethink its rush to biofuels, which has done more harm pushing up food prices than it has good by reducing greenhouse gases, a United Nations report said recently.  The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said policies encouraging biofuel production and use in Europe and the United States was likely to maintain pressure on food prices but have little impact on weaning car users away from oil.
>Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L6501921.htm

BIOPRODUCTS DISCOVERY & DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
University of Guelph
>Web site: http://www.bioproductsatguelph.ca/newsevt/cbdd.html

ENERGY INSTITUTE
University of Delaware
> Web site: http://www.energy.udel.edu/

RENEWABLE ENERGY MAP OF CANADA
ENERmap Inc., August 2008
The first of its kind, the Renewable Energy Map of Canada provides a visual framework of the expanding renewable energy industry.  The map includes: wind speed measurements, renewable power plants, transmission lines, substations and more.  To see some samples and/or to purchase the map:
>Web site: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/c5e4fa/renewable_energy_map_of

October 19-21, 2008
4TH WORLD BIOFUELS SYMPOSIUM -- CHINA
Beijing, China
>Details: http://www.worldbiofuelssymposium.com/ema/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=Registration

November 14-16, 2008
BIOFIBE 08: FROM FIELDS AND FORESTS TO MARKETS
Winnipeg, Manitoba
>Details: http://www.biofibe.com/index.html

November 17-19, 2008
BIO-EUROPE 2008
Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany
>Details: http://www.ebdgroup.com/bioeurope/

December 1-3, 2008
GROWING BEYOND OIL : 5TH ANNUAL 2008 CANADIAN RENEWABLE FUELS SUMMIT
Gatineau-Ottawa, Québec, Canada
>Details: http://www.crfs2008.com/

January 19-21, 2009
WORLD FUTURE ENERGY SUMMIT 2009
Abu Dhabi
>Details: http://www.worldfutureenergysummit.com/

February 4, 2009
2009 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo
San Francisco, USA
>Details: http://www.biodieselconference.org/2009/