BIOX resumes biodiesel production
Canada-based BIOX Corp. has resumed biodiesel production at its Hamilton, Ontario, facility after temporarily suspending operation last October. The company stated improvements in US biodiesel market and confidence in market outlook as reasons for resuming production. The facility has 67m liters/year of biodiesel production capacity.

Electrawinds starts biodiesel operations
Belgian green energy company Electrawinds via its new subsidiary Electrawinds GreenFuel has started producing biodiesel using animal waste fats for feedstock in Sluiskil, the Netherlands — a facility that ElectraWinds acquired and renovated last year. The biodiesel plant has a capacity to produce up to 250,000 tonnes at its full capacity. The company said the site has a storage capacity of up to 25,000 tonnes at its disposal.

Plasco to build waste-to-electricity facility
Canada-based Plasco Energy Group will build a 150,000 tonnes/year waste conversion facility in Ottawa, Ontario, using municipal solid waste of around 109,500 tonnes/year supplied by the City of Ottawa. The facility will use Plasco’s proprietary Integrated Converting and Refining System (ICARS), which will gasifies the waste and refines the gas using plasma technology. The synthetic gas will then be used to produce 15 megawatts of net electricity that will be sold to the grid. Construction is expected to start in the second half of 2013 with commercial operation planned for the first half of 2015.

LSU pilot plant to open
The LSU AgCenter Audubon Sugar Institute will commence the completion of a pilot plant in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, which will be dedicated to producing biofuels and biochemicals such as butanol, gasoline, isoprene using agricultural crops and byproducts such as sweet sorghum, energy cane and other grassy feedstocks. The facility can be scaled up to any capacity, according to LSU AgCenter. The pilot plant is part of a larger project funded by a five-year, $17.2m grant from the US Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Delex purchases biodiesel facility
Delek US Holdings has entered into an agreement to buy a biodiesel production facility and related assets based in Cleburne, Texas, owned by EQM Technologies & Energy for $5.3m. The facility has a production capacity of 12m gal/year. Delek intents to spend $3m to improve the facility’s feedstock flexibility. The facility currently produces biodiesel exclusively for Delek and its affiliates under a tolling agreement, which will terminate upon completion of the transaction.

More benefits for perennial biofuel crops
A 4-year University of Illinois study that compared miscanthus, switchgrass and mixed prairie species to typical corn-corn-soybean rotations showed that each of the perennial crops were efficiently at reducing nitrogen losses, with miscanthus having the greatest yield. The researchers found that the perennial crops quickly reduced nitrate leaching in the mid-soil profile as well as from tile lines. Although more research is needed, the researchers said results from the study show these crops have the potential to quickly and greatly reduce nitrogen losses that have important environmental effects, while providing a large biomass harvest.

ARA, Blue Sun partnership
Applied Research Associates (ARA) and Blue Sun Energy have partnered for the design, construction and operation of a Biofuels Isoconversion Process (BIC) demonstration system using the ARA and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG) process for the production of a certification quantities of 100% drop-in renewable jet, diesel and gasoline. According to ARA, the hundred barrels/day demonstration system will be capable of producing large fuel samples. A demonstration facility is scheduled for ground breaking in St. Joseph, MIssouri, in the first quarter of 2013, and will be operational in the third quarter 2013. Blue Sun also signed a global license deal with CLG for use of the BIC process in its biorefineries and joint ventures worldwide.

POET corn oil tech in 25 biorefineries
Ethanol producer POET has now installed its patent-pending corn oil technology in 25 of its 27 biorefineries brining its total capacity to 250,000 tons/year, enough feedstock to produce 68m gal/year  of biodiesel. POET has been selling its Voila corn oil into biodiesel and feed markets since January 2011.