biofuels
The European Federation for Transport & Environment (T&E) is challenging the EU to follow the lead of California, which recently approved the world’s first law taking into account the indirect changes in land use caused by the production of biofuels. California’s “Low Carbon Fuel Standard” (LCFS)
biofuels
Biofuels such as ethanol offer an alternative to petroleum for powering our cars, but growing energy crops to produce them can compete with food crops for farmland, and clearing forests to expand farmland will aggravate the climate change problem. So what’s the best way to maximise “miles per acres”
biofuels
Governments should rethink their efforts to develop biofuels for transport and do more to limit demands for traditional fuels, according to a new study that draws on the work of 75 scientists from across the world. The research finds, among other things, that relying on biofuels has the potential for
biofuels
A new report by Sir David King, senior scientific advisor to UBS Investment Bank, explores the challenges facing biofuels (PDF) and the role they can play in a low-carbon future. More than 20 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions in the EU come from burning fuels in cars, trains, ships
biofuels
Growing duckweed on hog farms could not only clean up animal waste but provide a biofuel energy stock with five to six times more starch per acre than corn, according to researchers at North Carolina State University. That means duckweed could become an ethanol source that’s “faster and cheaper
biofuels
A process known as torrefaction could turn wood waste into a lightweight fuel source that burns like coal without coal’s massive greenhouse gas emissions, according to researchers at North Carolina State University. Torrefaction removes moisture from wood waste and “toasts” the material, converting it into chips that retain 80
biofuels
Biomass energy could meet about one-third of rural China’s energy needs by 2020, according to a national action plan developed with funding from the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). The “National Action Plan for Rural Biomass Renewable Energy Development in China” provides detailed measures to help China
biofuels
Algae might have eclipsed corn as the next great source for biofuels, but some leading venture capitalists aren’t buying it … literally. That’s what Vinod Khosla, John Doerr and Bryant Tong said when asked about their interest in algae-based fuel ventures during last week’s ECO:nomics conference in
biofuels
The corn-to-biofuel concept took another hit this week as researchers at Duke University concluded it’s an “inefficient and expensive greenhouse gas mitigation policy.” Biologist Robert Jackson led the study that found the potential carbon benefits of corn-based ethanol can take years to materialise: “Depending on prior land use, our
biofuels
Honestly, our heads have been spinning enough already with all the potential biofuel sources: corn, corn stover, wood chips, telephone poles, algae, jatropha. You name it, we thought we’ve heard of it. Then, along comes crambe. This humble crop, an oilseed plant native to the Mediterranean, is one of
biofuels
The increasingly aggressive quest for alternative energy sources is finding potential fuel stocks not only in corn, crop waste and algae, but in the stuff that flushes through sewers or is left behind on fields by livestock. Yes, that stuff. The waste-based fuel movement (sorry) is clearly taking off, as
biofuels
Biofuels could sustainably replace nearly one-third of the petrol used by US motorists by 2030, according to a new study from Sandia National Laboratories and General Motors Corporation. However, those findings come with several big “ifs.” The paper, titled “The 90-Billion Gallon Biofuel Deployment Study,” included both energy crops and
