Biodiesel Scenario in India as of October 2013

1. State’s first bio-diesel pump to come up at Pimpri-Chinchwad
   
   First bio-diesel pump in the state will come up at Pimpri-Chinchwad by December. The pump will be operated by Pune-based company My Eco Energy.
   
   Santosh Verma, Director of the company, said that bio-diesel would be generated by the company by treating waste material, including vegetable oils and animal fat. Verma, who also runs a similar business in the United Kingdom, while addressing the media in the city, said that the bio-diesel plant would be set up at an investment of Rs 250 crore.
   
   "India spends Rs 92,000 crore on diesel subsidy every year, which is a great loss to the exchequer. With the country being a signatory of the green fuel treaty, by next few years around 20 per cent of the diesel usage will be replaced by bio-diesel," he said.
   
   States like West Bengal and Karnataka already have such set ups, but this would be the first time that such a pump would be used for domestic consumption. "We are trying to tie up with public transport bodies for its use. Later on, we will target other vehilces," he said.
   
   Link: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/my-eco-energy-entering-biodiesel-market/article5264493.ece
   
   
2. My Eco Energy entering bio-diesel market
   PUNE, OCT 23:
   
   Pune-based My Eco Energy is entering the bio-diesel market and the company plans to manufacture the fuel in three locations across the country, and also retail it.
   
   The company is currently in talks to acquire three existing bio-diesel manufacturing units in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra and expects to close the first deal in the next 45 days, Santosh Verma, one of My Eco Energy’s three promoters, said.
   
   Feedstock for the bio-diesel, which will retail at around Rs 60 per litre, will be waste left after the process to make edible and non-edible oils.
   
   “We plan to invest Rs 550 crore for the acquisition, upgrading the facilities and setting up of infrastructure,” he said, adding that the funds will be raised through a mix of debt and equity. By 2015, the company plans to increase the capacity to 10 lakh litres of bio-diesel per day through their own and contract manufacturing.
   
   To begin with, the fuel is to be retailed in Maharashtra through 20 distribution centres and 250 filling stations that will be established by March 2015. The first of the filling stations will be up by the end of this year in Pune.
   
   The fuel can be used in cars, buses and commercial vehicles, industrial vehicles, tractors, power generators and also boats that use regular diesel, Verma said.
   
   The promoters already have Go Fuels, a UK-based company that makes and retails 50,000 litres per day of bio-diesel, and has a turnover of Rs 50 crore.
   
   Link: http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/my-eco-energy-to-extend-bio-diesel-footprint-across-maha-113102301144_1.html
   
   Pune based My Eco Energy, a bio diesel manufacturing company is setting up a fuel producing unit and network of fuel stations across Maharashtra.
   
   The company is investing Rs 250 crore for this venture. The company will be engaged in the manufacturing, distribution, marketing and retailing of waste to bio-diesel, a non-petroleum based fuel.
   
   The fuel is made from various feed stocks including waste vegetable oils and non-edible oils like used cooking oil and acid oils (a waste from edible oil manufacturing process) and tallow.
   
   Commenting on this, Santosh Verma, director, My Eco Energy said, "My Eco Energy will revolutionize the Indian Fuel Industry with its pioneering waste to-bio diesel technology. Looking at the current scenario of the dependency on non-renewable fuel systems, there is a growing demand for a non-petroleum based fuel. It is this demand that bio-diesel by My Eco Energy addresses. It is an environmentally safe, low polluting fuel suitable for most diesel engines."
   
   He added, "Derived by the best quality methods, it can be used either alone or as a fuel blended with conventional petro-diesel in unmodified diesel-engine vehicles. Bio-diesel can be efficiently utilized by public road transport companies like all the state road corporations or private bus transport companies; and can be employed across various machinery equipment like electricity generators, industrial boilers & furnaces. It can also be used for vehicular mediums like cars, buses, trains and tractors." The company has identified three locations for the manufacturing unit in Maharashtra.
   
   Also, MEE will expand its footprints in other states like Andhra Pradesh and Punjab in due course of time. For technology support, it has tied up with Austria based company Energia. My Eco Energy will use the expertise of London based Go Fuels which has been acquired by MEE promoters last year for Rs 50 crore.
   
   MEE's the first fuel pump will be operational by end of December 2013 in Pune and Pimpri And by end of 2014, all 250 pumps will be operational.
   
   Link: http://www.cleanindiajournal.com/my-eco-energy-to-produce-bio-diesel/

NEW DELHI : In one of the biggest initiatives for bio-fuel production in the country, Indian Railways is poised to set up four bio-diesel plants costing about Rs 120 crore.

While two bio-diesel esterification plants are going to be commissioned at Raipur and Chennai during the next two years, the other two units will be set up subsequently, a senior railway ministry official said.

Each plant, estimated to cost around Rs 30 crore, will produce 30 tons bio-diesel per day, which means more than 9,000 tons a year, the official said.

Produced from waste oil, fatty acid and non-edible vegetable oil, bio-diesel will be blended with the HSD oil for running locomotives.

KOLKATA : The Biotechnology Board in West Bengal has taken an initiative to produce bio-diesel from seeds of jatropha plants. The board has decided to set up a park dedicated to jatropha plantation at Salt Lake.

The park will come up in Salt Lake. This site has been selected because land in this area will be freely available from the state department of planning and development. The park, besides growing jatropha trees, will also house a pilot processing plant for extraction of crude jatropha oil and later for its conversion into bio-diesel.

The board has roped in the West Bengal Technical University (WBTU) and the mechanical engineering department of Jadavpur University as technology partners. The latter has been asked to develop expeller machinery for the processing plant. WBTU has agreed to provide an initial fund of Rs 2.36 lakh.

"The fund will be utilised for jatropha cultivation, which is likely to start from October. Officials said the board is expecting further financial assistance from the departments of planning & development and science & technology," said Prabir K Bose, a faculty member of the mechanical engineering department of Jadavpur University, and chief consultant of the project.

The park will serve as a model of a cultivable bio-park. Unemployed youth will be trained for processing bio-diesel through the pilot plant. Since it takes three-four years to get seeds from jatropha saplings, it has been decided that vegetable oil will be produced during the gestation period by purchasing seeds from outside, said Mr Bose.

At present, experiments are on at various levels to produce bio-diesel from jatropha seeds for lighting stoves, lamps, running pump sets for irrigation and locomotives.

Jatropha cultivation and production of biodiesel are already underway on the railway land at Kharagpur in the state. The project has been taken up by the South Eastern Railway. The division has planted about four lakh jatropha trees in over 200 hectares.

West Bengal pollution board has asked all telecom towers to use at least 30% biodiesel in their generators.
Kolkata: Producers of biodiesel, banned from selling the fuel as a transport fuel, are looking to enter long-term supply arrangements with telecom tower operators, who use diesel gensets for power backup purposes.
India has more than 20 biodiesel producers with a combined capacity of 1 million tonnes a year, said Sandeep Chaturvedi, president of the Biodiesel Association of India.

They have invested a total of about Rs1,200 crore on building capacity and brought 700,000 ha under cultivation of jatropha, a key feedstock for biofuels.

But production for the year ended 31 March was only about 80,000 tonnes, sold almost entirely to commercial establishments that use gensets.

The fall followed a petroleum ministry directive in March 2009 asking state governments to ensure that biodiesel is not sold as transport fuel directly to consumers. Many firms suspended or scaled down production due to the ban.
Biodiesel is considered a clean alternative to fuels such as petrol and diesel as it biodegrades fast, results in lower emissions and is made of renewable resources such as vegetable oil, animal fat or jatropha.

Producers received a boost earlier this year when the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, or WBPCB, directed all telecom towers in the state to use at least 30% biodiesel in their generators from March.

But the directive has been put on hold for four months as producers cannot guarantee regular supplies, said Biswajit Mukherjee, spokesperson for WBPCB.

“Also, some gensets may need some modification to use biodiesel,” Mukherjee said.

Emami Biotech Ltd, a subsidiary of consumer goods company Emami Ltd, has started trial supplies to one telecom operator in West Bengal and is in talks with two more, said Swapan Kumar Mondal, a director at the firm. “In 15 days, we expect to start supplying to more telecom tower companies.”

There are at least 26,000 telecom towers in the state, each consuming about 20 litres of diesel a day, said Mondal.
Emami Biotech is also looking to supply biodiesel to towers in neighbouring Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.
The firm produces 500 tonnes of biodiesel a month, while it has capacity to produce up to 300 tonnes a day.
Emami uses the same production facility to refine vegetable oil to recover fixed costs, said Aditya V. Agarwal, a director at Emami Biotech.

Besides being environment-friendly, biodiesel could be a cheaper alternative for telecom tower operators as well.
“Even after considering cost of delivery, biodiesel could cost 50-75 paise (per litre) less than petrodiesel,” Mondal said. “And biodiesel should generate almost the same amount of energy as petrodiesel does.”

Quippo-Wireless Tata Tele Info Services Ltd, or Quippo-WTTIL, one of the biggest telecom tower operators, said it welcomed WBPCB’s directive on using biodiesel compulsorily, but wanted producers to guarantee regular supply.
“The use of biofuel...will have a positive impact on the environment and benefit companies with reduced energy charges,” a spokesperson for Quippo said in an email.

Chaturvedi said distributing biodiesel to the towers may not be easy.

“Because retail sale of biodiesel is prohibited, district authorities in many states have seized trucks carrying biodiesel even though the fuel was intended for sale to genset users only,” he said.

3. Biofuel policy gets Govt. approval :

The national biofuel policy, aimed at facilitating development of indigenous biomass feedstock for production of biofuels, has been cleared by the Cabinet. The draft of the policy was prepared by the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE), the coordinating ministry for biofuel development, last year.

Setting up of a National Biofuel Coordination Committee to provide policy guidance has also been approved. It is to be headed by the prime minister. A Biofuel Steering Committee chaired by the cabinet secretary will also be set up to oversee the implementation of the policy.

“The Indian approach to biofuels is based solely on non-food feedstock to be raised on degraded or waste lands that are not suitable for agriculture, thus avoiding a possible conflict of fuel versus food security,” a statement issued by MNRE read.

Promotion of biofuels could meet India’s energy needs in an environmentally-sustainable manner, while reducing its import dependence on fossil fuels.

The policy has proposed an indicative target of 20 per cent blending of biofuels — both biodiesel and bioethanol — by 2017. The government had already made 10 per cent ethanol blending with petrol effective from October last year.
The biofuel policy has also proposed financial incentives — including subsidies and grants — for second generation biofuels like cellulosic ethanol and algal biodiesel. “If it becomes necessary, a National Biofuel Fund could be considered,” it says.

The policy also mentions that a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for non-edible oilseeds would be announced with periodic revision to provide fair price to the growers. A Minimum Purchase Price (MPP) for purchase of bioethanol and biodiesel would also be announced with periodic revision.

n a bid to reduce the country’s huge oil import bill, the government after much deliberation on Thursday gave its nod to National Policy on Biofuels besides giving approval for setting up of National Bio-fuel Coordination Committee and Bio-Fuel Steering Committee. Under the approved policy, the country aims to raise blending of biofuels with petrol and diesel to 20% by 2017.

More than seven ministries and the Planning Commission have been debating about the biofuel policy for the last two years and a group of ministers (GoM) headed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had been anchoring the discussion prior to finalisation of the policy.

5. Advanced Biofuels - the Nation's Fleet and Military Vehicles

Based on 2008 DOD statistics, 56 percent of the department’s fuel budget was designated for the U.S. Air Force, since it retains the largest number of aircraft. On an annual basis, “mobility” type fuel, used in aircraft, ships, and vehicles, typically accounts for 75 percent of total DOD energy consumption.

In March 2010 President Obama announced energy policies which include continued development and use of advanced biofuels in the nation's fleet and military vehicles. This report examines how the military is using biofuel to reduce costs, curb emissions, and practice energy independence.

Biofuel is any fuel that is derived from biomass - recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts. It is a renewable energy source, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal, and nuclear fuels. Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning fuel made from renewable fats or vegetable oils that can help increase U.S. energy security by reducing dependence on foreign sources of oil.

President Obama announced that the Pentagon is pursuing the support of development of homegrown energy sources to protect national security. He calls for a goal of using 50% more alternative fuels in all Navy planes, vehicles and ships in the next 10 years. Federal mandate requires the Marines to reduce energy consumption by 30 percent by 2015.

The greatest barrier to large-scale commercialization of biofuels is their relatively high cost of production. Because they are used primarily to replace gasoline or diesel, world petroleum product prices drive commercial viability of biofuels to a large extent.

The Navy’s 2020 goal across land and sea operations is to cut fossil fuel usage by half, largely through the use of biofuels. By 2012 the Department of the Navy will demonstrate its new fossil-fuel independent Green Strike Group, using hybrid electric-diesel systems, nuclear power, and biofuels powering both fleet and aircraft.

This report outlines U.S. Military efforts to bring biofuels into widespread use into all areas of its operations and branches. Learn which feedstock is regarded as the most promising and sustainable for producing biofuels. And discover what measures the military is taking to develop and support these sources.

6. IOC wants 50,000 acres for biofuel cultivation in UP

New government policy on biofuels may consider financial incentives.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s biggest oil marketing company, is looking to acquire 50,000 hectares of wasteland in Uttar Pradesh for plantation of non-edible oilseeds, such as jatropha and karanjia, that are used for biodiesel production.

“We are in talks with the state government to acquire wasteland in the Lalitpur area near Jhansi. Plantation on this land will be done partly by IOC and partly through contract farming,” said B M Bansal, director (business development) at IOC.

The company has already acquired 30,000 hectares in Chhattisgarh and another 2,000 hectares in Madhya Pradesh. “We have planted 1,000 hectares so far and aim to plant 10,000 hectares this year. Seeds from the plantations will start coming after three to four years,” he added. IOC has also entered into an MoU with Indian Railways for plantation of jatropha on railway land.

The Union Cabinet last month approved a national policy on biofuels that aims to implement 20 per cent blending of biodiesel with diesel and ethanol with petrol (the current rule is 5 per cent) by 2017. The new policy may consider financial incentives such as subsidies and grants for biofuel production. The policy also envisages setting up of a National Biofuel Fund and a National Biofuel Coordination Committee headed by the prime minister.
The government will also announce a minimum support price for such oil seeds. A minimum purchase price (MPP) for purchase of bioethanol and biodiesel would also be announced with periodic revision.

The current rule on 5 per cent ethanol blending with petrol is still not successful. Ethanol is being produced by sugar mills from molasses, a byproduct of sugar.

The research and development division of IOC has perfected a process to produce biodiesel from various non-edible oils, especially from jatropha and karanjia. The biodiesel produced has been tested for its properties and meets the stringent international standards. Extensive field trials have been conducted by IOC using five and 10 per cent biodiesel blends in collaboration with Indian Railways and Haryana Roadways. A reduction of 10-15 per cent in smoke density has been observed with the use of biodiesel blends.

Biofuels are derived from renewable bio-mass resources and help promote sustainable development. Beside supplementing conventional energy sources in meeting the rapidly increasing requirements for transportation fuels associated with high economic growth, as well as in meeting the energy needs of India’s vast rural population.

7. Railways develop engines powered by biodiesel

The Indian Railways’ Research Design and Standard Organization (RDSO) has successfully developed and tested biodiesel-based locomotive engines, in its bid to scout for renewable and environment friendly fuels. Lucknow-based RDSO is the railway’s sole research and development facility in the country, whose executive director (engine development) Shishir Dutta was in the city to attend an energy conclave at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K).

Dutta said the railways operated around 8,000 engines everyday for various transportation purposes, of which almost 4,500 were run on diesel. “We have been working on the idea of developing engines capable of running on alternative fuels since past five years and have finally gained success after a positive trial run last September,” he said.

The development is being viewed as a milestone as it would enable the consumption of large amount of biodiesel being manufactured by various companies in the country, which can easily serve as an eco-friendly alternative to the fossil fuels, which apart from being polluting, are fast getting depleted and are also expensive.

“The government has been serious regarding the issues of global warming and the step is an initiative towards cutting the carbon emissions in the country,” explained Dutta.

He also said the biofuel would be amalgamated with the presently used fossil fuels in a gradually phased manner over a period of three years, after witnessing the long term effects of the switchover.

“In the first phase we will mix up to 10 per cent and graduate to 20 per cent in second phase and reach the maximum limit of 50 per cent amalgamation after three phases. The present engines will be altered to run on the substitute fuel, so as to save the costs of manufacturing new units,” Dutta elaborated.

One locomotive generally needs around Rs 5 crore investment for its manufacture, while the altering expenses will be marginal, running just into few lakhs rupees. The initiative, however, is currently not expected to bring about any cost reduction as the prices and production cost of bio-diesel is almost similar to the conventional fuels.
The railways are also running another project to promote the cultivation of bio-diesel plants, jathropa on lakhs of hectares of land lying along its tracks across the country. Bio-diesel can now also be generated from neem and waste vegetable oils, according to the latest research findings

With the Pearl Harbor memorial as a backdrop and a Pacific Biodiesel hat on the podium, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Tuesday highlighted the use of biodiesel by the U.S. Navy. Pearl Harbor naval base was the first Hawaii military marine fleet to use biodiesel, replacing the Department of Navy-operated tour boats that shuttled visitors to and from the USS Arizona Memorial with five new boats capable of running on 100% biodiesel.

		With the Pearl Harbor memorial as a backdrop and a Pacific Biodiesel hat on the podium, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Tuesday highlighted the use of biodiesel by the U.S. Navy. Pearl Harbor naval base was the first Hawaii military marine fleet to use biodiesel, replacing the Department of Navy-operated tour boats that shuttled visitors to and from the USS Arizona Memorial with five new boats capable of running on 100% biodiesel.

17. Biodiesel Blends Prove their Worth in Winter 9th, 2012

Biodiesel blends operate trouble-free all winter in cold climates in vehicles, buildings and even homes. All you need to be successful is high-quality fuel and good fuel management, according to the National Biodiesel Board.

The largest municipal user of biodiesel, New York City, uses biodiesel blends in snow removal equipment. The New York City Parks & Recreation Department was the first city agency to pilot biodiesel in 2005 and still uses B20. The 850-vehicle strong diesel fleet helps to maintain more than 29,000 acres in New York City.

The fleet includes more than 40 different types of vehicles and equipment – handling everything from snow removal to landscape and parks maintenance to road construction and waste management. The New York City Sanitation Department also uses biodiesel blends in vehicles used to fight winter weather, such as salt spreaders and plows.

“We can’t afford for our garbage trucks not to run,” said Supervisor of Mechanics Spiro Kattan. “Our trucks don’t only pick up garbage, they are also equipped with snowplow hitches.

We’re a part of the city’s snow emergency plans and the residents of New York City would not be too happy if our vehicles went down during a snow storm.” Further, JFK International Airport uses B20 to keep runways clear even in the worst of snowstorms.

In addition, New York City enacted a groundbreaking law requiring that all heating oil sold in the city contain at least two percent biodiesel beginning in October 2012. Bioheat is already keeping many homes and offices warm this winter, including New York City Parks’ buildings.

18. Pacific Biodiesel Continues Growth 16th January 2012

Comment on this post Posted by Cindy Zimmerman/During a visit to highlight renewable energy use by the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also spotlighted the Hawaii-based biodiesel producer that supplies much of the fuel used there.

Pacific Biodiesel “is the oldest biodiesel producer and refinery in the country, started in 1996,” said Vilsack during his remarks on Tuesday at the memorial, noting that USDA has provided assistance to help that company grow.

“We provided recently a $5 million business and industry loan to Pacific Biodiesel to allow it to continue to expand its capacity.”

That loan, announced in February 2010, is being used to construct a $10 million, 5.5 million gallon per year biodiesel production plant in Kea’au on the Big Island.

Pacific Biodiesel vice president and co-founder Kelly King says Big Island Biodiesel will be the companies 13th biodiesel plant. “We’ll be owning and operating five of them, the other ones we built for clients throughout the mainland, from the east coast to the west coast,” she says, with capacity ranging from a half million to six million gallons.

“We started in Maui, where we actually had the first available biodiesel pump for the public,” said King. “Back then, most of our customers were environmental hippies who would come and pay 70 cents a gallon more for fuel and thank us and tell us to keep the change!” King says Pacific Biodiesel operates on a community-based sustainable model set up locally to benefit local communities.

While all the plants can use any type of oil feedstocks, much of them operate on used cooking oil. “It can use the most degraded oils up to the purest oils,” she said. “The degraded oils make the best feedstock because it’s the cheapest!” King and two of her Pacific Biodiesel team members were excited to be part of the secretary’s appearance at Pearl Harbor and to have him recognize the importance of renewable fuels in the Aloha State.DOMESTIC FUEL

19. Black Gold and SLM form JV for Biodiesel Production Wednesday, January 18, 2012

US - BlackGold Biofuels and SLM Facility Solutions Nationwide have joined forces in the US to turn used cooking oil (UCO), derived from restaurants, into Biofuels.

The process will cost the hospitality companies no extra money to deliver the UCO to the facilities, and then BlackGold Biofuels will extract and recycle the grease, turning it into biodiesel.

SLM has links to the hospitality industry, which it will use to consolidate the grease trapping process and jetting services for commercial kitchens. At the moment in the US, UCO is often shipped to landfill or disposed of on fields. Although it could be used for heavy industrial fuel, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits the amount of fuel sulphur that can be released into the atmosphere, so this process is not readily used. BlackGold’s chemical process meets ASTM and EPA specifications, with about 80% of the energy content from the waste being recycled.

Currently SLM has more than 15,000 clients around the US which it will direct to BlackGold recycling facilities that are close enough to their locations to make the journeys cost-effective. BlackGold is also building some more recycling centres around the southeast and mid-Atlantic regions of the US which will lower the cost of freight. Emily Landsburg, CEO of BlackGold Biofuel, says: "In partnership with SLM, we have identified both the most cost effective and best use for wastewater materials, eliminating confusion and headaches for kitchens and waste-haulers."

20. Biodiesel Producer Applauds Programme Extension Thursday, January 05, 2012

US - The Illinois state government has extended the tax credit for biodiesel for an extra five years, until 2018. Senate Bill 397 on Tuesday passed the full Illinois Senate by a vote of 44-9.

The bill extends the sunset date for the biodiesel state sales tax incentives to December 31, 2018.

With the extension, any biodiesel blend of more than 10 per cent continues to be eligible for fuel tax exemption.

“On behalf of our employees, vendors and customers, Renewable Energy Group applauds the Illinois legislature for promoting green collar jobs, Illinois agriculture, rural economic development and sound environmental policy,” said the company’s President & CEO Daniel J. Oh. REG markets biodiesel from its REG Danville (45 mmgy capacity) and REG Seneca (60 mmg capacity) facilities as well as several Chicago-area terminal locations.

“Since Illinois’ inception of the B11 blending credits in 2004, more biodiesel has been blended in Illinois annually than in any other state. By extending the biodiesel tax abatement for B11 and higher blends through 2018, the Illinois legislature showcases its commitment to more than 1,500 green collar jobs in the state,” said Oh citing data from a recent Illinois biodiesel economic impact study by CardnoENTRIX.

“We appreciate the support of our partners at the Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Corn Growers and the House and Senate members from our plant districts for continuing Illinois’ leadership in the biodiesel industry” said Oh. The biodiesel industry generated $1.5 billion of household income, and was responsible for more than $2.6 billion of Illinois Gross Domestic Product between 2004 and 2010

21. TCEQ Allows Biodiesel to be Blended in Any Quantity Thursday, January 05, 2012

US - The federal Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS-2) has mandated significant use of “biomassbased” diesel in the United States.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has concluded that the volumes of biodiesel blended in the Texas Low Emission Diesel (TxLED) market to meet these requirements will have no measurable negative impact on Texas’ air quality.

Consequently, TCEQ now allows biodiesel to be added to any TxLED compliant fuel, at any ratio, without additional additisation.

22. Argentina Biodiesel Exports Going Strong Thursday, December 29, 2011

ARGENTINA - Argentine biodiesel exports rose more than 58 percent to $1.9 billion in 2011 compared with the year before, the country's main biodiesel industry group has announced. In volume terms, biodiesel exports from the South American country shot 18.5 per cent higher to 1.6 million tonnes, according to a statement from the Argentine Biofuels Chamber, CARBIO. Argentina is the world's top biodiesel exporter, according to Commodities Now.

The fuel is made with soyoil, which is produced in abundance in the agricultural powerhouse. "In 2011 new plants were built and expansion projects were begun," the statement said, "which will bring Argentine production capacity to close to 3.2 million tonnes in 2012." It said the country will have produced 2.4 million tonnes of biodiesel in full-year 2011.

All regular diesel sold in Argentina must contain seven per cent biodiesel, a level that industry leaders want the government to increase to 10 per cent. Argentine farmers are close to finishing the planting of their 2011/12 soy. Agriculture Ministry authorities say the crop could come in at between 52 million and 53 million tonnes.

23. EPA Finalises 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards: Tuesday, January 03, 2012

US - The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalised the 2012 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2). EPA continues to support greater use of renewable fuels within the transportation sector every year through the RFS2 programme, which encourages innovation, strengthens American energy security, and decreases greenhouse gas pollution.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) established the RFS2 program and the annual renewable fuel volume targets, which steadily increase to an overall level of 36 billion gallons in 2022. To achieve these volumes, EPA calculates a per centage-based standard for the following year.

Based on the standard, each refiner and importer determines the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must ensure is used in its transportation fuel. The final 2012 overall volumes and standards are:

• Biomass-based diesel (1.0 billion gallons; 0.91 per cent)
  
• Advanced biofuels (2.0 billion gallons; 1.21 per cent)
• Cellulosic biofuels (8.65 million gallons; 0.006 per cent)
• Total renewable fuels (15.2 billion gallons; 9.23 per cent)
  
  

April, 2012
In April this year, Qantas made its first flight using a 50-50 blend of refined cooking oil and regular jet fuel. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told the Australian: “We need to get ready for a future that is not based on traditional jet fuel or frankly we don’t have a future … And it’s not just the price of oil that’s the issue – it’s also the price of carbon”. Australia’s tax on carbon emissions is scheduled to come into force on 1 July 2012.

The black gold of petroleum is taking a back seat.

Bioethanol produced mainly from sugarcane replaced 40% of gasoline used in Brazil in 2008, with the introduction of flex-fuel vehicles allowing high-blending of bioethanol with petrol (all petrol blends in Brazil contain 25% bioethanol). The first generation of biofuels was produced from starches, sugars and oils of agricultural crops, including corn, sugarcane, rapeseed and soybean.