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    Spanish company Ferry Group is to invest €42/US$55.2 million in a project for the production of biomass fuel pellets in Bulgaria. The 3-year project consists of establishing plantations of paulownia trees near the city of Tran. Paulownia is a fast-growing tree used for the commercial production of fuel pellets. Dnevnik - Feb. 20, 2007.

    Hungary's BHD Hõerõmû Zrt. is to build a 35 billion Forint (€138/US$182 million) commercial biomass-fired power plant with a maximum output of 49.9 MW in Szerencs (northeast Hungary). Portfolio.hu - Feb. 20, 2007.

    Tonight at 9pm, BBC Two will be showing a program on geo-engineering techniques to 'save' the planet from global warming. Five of the world's top scientists propose five radical scientific inventions which could stop climate change dead in its tracks. The ideas include: a giant sunshade in space to filter out the sun's rays and help cool us down; forests of artificial trees that would breath in carbon dioxide and stop the green house effect and a fleet futuristic yachts that will shoot salt water into the clouds thickening them and cooling the planet. BBC News - Feb. 19, 2007.

    Archer Daniels Midland, the largest U.S. ethanol producer, is planning to open a biodiesel plant in Indonesia with Wilmar International Ltd. this year and a wholly owned biodiesel plant in Brazil before July, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The Brazil plant is expected to be the nation's largest, the paper said. Worldwide, the company projects a fourfold rise in biodiesel production over the next five years. ADM was not immediately available to comment. Reuters - Feb. 16, 2007.

    Finnish engineering firm Pöyry Oyj has been awarded contracts by San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. to provide services for the first bioethanol plant in the Philippines. The aggregate contract value is EUR 10 million. The plant is to be build in the Province of San Carlos on the north-eastern tip of Negros Island. The plant is expected to deliver 120,000 liters/day of bioethanol and 4 MW of excess power to the grid. Kauppalehti Online - Feb. 15, 2007.

    In order to reduce fuel costs, a Mukono-based flower farm which exports to Europe, is building its own biodiesel plant, based on using Jatropha curcas seeds. It estimates the fuel will cut production costs by up to 20%. New Vision (Kampala, Uganda) - Feb. 12, 2007.

    The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has decided to use 10% biodiesel in its fleet of public buses. The world's largest city is served by the Toei Bus System, which is used by some 570,000 people daily. Digital World Tokyo - Feb. 12, 2007.

    Fearing lack of electricity supply in South Africa and a price tag on CO2, WSP Group SA is investing in a biomass power plant that will replace coal in the Letaba Citrus juicing plant which is located in Tzaneen. Mining Weekly - Feb. 8, 2007.

    In what it calls an important addition to its global R&D capabilities, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is to build a new bioenergy research center in Hamburg, Germany. World Grain - Feb. 5, 2007.

    EthaBlog's Henrique Oliveira interviews leading Brazilian biofuels consultant Marcelo Coelho who offers insights into the (foreign) investment dynamics in the sector, the history of Brazilian ethanol and the relationship between oil price trends and biofuels. EthaBlog - Feb. 2, 2007.

    The government of Taiwan has announced its renewable energy target: 12% of all energy should come from renewables by 2020. The plan is expected to revitalise Taiwan's agricultural sector and to boost its nascent biomass industry. China Post - Feb. 2, 2007.

    Production at Cantarell, the world's second biggest oil field, declined by 500,000 barrels or 25% last year. This virtual collapse is unfolding much faster than projections from Mexico's state-run oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos. Wall Street Journal - Jan. 30, 2007.

    Dubai-based and AIM listed Teejori Ltd. has entered into an agreement to invest €6 million to acquire a 16.7% interest in Bekon, which developed two proprietary technologies enabling dry-fermentation of biomass. Both technologies allow it to design, establish and operate biogas plants in a highly efficient way. Dry-Fermentation offers significant advantages to the existing widely used wet fermentation process of converting biomass to biogas. Ame Info - Jan. 22, 2007.

    Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited is to build a biofuel production plant in the tribal belt of Banswara, Rajasthan, India. The petroleum company has acquired 20,000 hectares of low value land in the district, which it plans to commit to growing jatropha and other biofuel crops. The company's chairman said HPCL was also looking for similar wasteland in the state of Chhattisgarh. Zee News - Jan. 15, 2007.

    The Zimbabwean national police begins planting jatropha for a pilot project that must result in a daily production of 1000 liters of biodiesel. The Herald (Harare), Via AllAfrica - Jan. 12, 2007.

    In order to meet its Kyoto obligations and to cut dependence on oil, Japan has started importing biofuels from Brazil and elsewhere. And even though the country has limited local bioenergy potential, its Agriculture Ministry will begin a search for natural resources, including farm products and their residues, that can be used to make biofuels in Japan. To this end, studies will be conducted at 900 locations nationwide over a three-year period. The Japan Times - Jan. 12, 2007.

    Chrysler's chief economist Van Jolissaint has launched an arrogant attack on "quasi-hysterical Europeans" and their attitudes to global warming, calling the Stern Review 'dubious'. The remarks illustrate the yawning gap between opinions on climate change among Europeans and Americans, but they also strengthen the view that announcements by US car makers and legislators about the development of green vehicles are nothing more than window dressing. Today, the EU announced its comprehensive energy policy for the 21st century, with climate change at the center of it. BBC News - Jan. 10, 2007.

    The new Canadian government is investing $840,000 into BioMatera Inc. a biotech company that develops industrial biopolymers (such as PHA) that have wide-scale applications in the plastics, farmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Plant-based biopolymers such as PHA are biodegradable and renewable. Government of Canada - Jan. 9, 2007.


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Monday, October 30, 2006

French nuclear energy agency collaborates on plasma gasification of biomass for synthetic diesel

France's nuclear energy agency (CNE) and innovative waste treatment firm Europlasma are collaborating on the production of CO2 neutral synthetic diesel made from the gasification of biomass [project file, *.pdf / French].

The research falls under the "GALACSY programme" which was recently certified as a "pole of competitivity" in the PACA region (Provence, Alpes, Côte d'Azur) of southeastern France, in the field of "breakthrough technologies leading to energy that does not emit greenhouse gases".

The Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (the French national research agency, ANR), has awarded funding for module 1 of the program. Module 1 largely comprises a scientific approach to methods of degrading biomass using a thermal plasma. It will provide a useful contribution to a technico-economic evaluation of the biomass-to-liquids production sector.

The breakthrough technology uses any type of biomass feedstock (be it municipal, industrial, agricultural or dedicated) materials and converts it into a syngas rich in carbon, hydrogen and oxygen that is well-suited for the production of a clean diesel fuel. Europlasma's 'plasma torch' [picture] creates a plasma field that reaches temperatures up to 30,000º C. The plasma breaks down the biomass to its core elements with the resulting gas forming the input for a Fischer-Tropsh synthesis into liquid fuels.

The European Commission Green Paper on energy has set targets to substitute 20% of petrol with alternative fuels by 2020. The GALACSY programme - part of the ANR's bioenergy programme under a section called "Gazéification Allothermique de la Ligno-Cellulose Appliquée à la production de bio-Carburant de Synthèse" (allothermic gasification of lignocellulosis applied to synthetic biofuel production) -
hopes to contribute to achieving this goal by producing a synthetic diesel fuel that is perfectly compatible with current engines. This naturally sulphur-free biodiesel will not have to be diluted in a fossil fuel. It will be directly available at the pump using the existing infrastructure for distribution (no modifications will be necessary). When the time comes, this 'second generation' gasification process will mean that the biodiesel can be converted into a source of hydrogen production for future vehicles:
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::


Since 2004, Europlasma and the CEA, the French nuclear energy agency, have been working together on the GALACSY programme to develop a sector for the profitable industrial production of synthetic diesel. In 2005, joint discussions resulted in the joint application for a licence and the establishment of a road map that aims to check the technical and economic elements at each stage of the development of industrial biofuel production.

In order to meet its ambitious objectives by 2020, the CEA and EUROPLASMA are being supported by a body of experts from LCSR (Orléans), ARMINES-CEP (Sophia Antipolis, one of France's top research valleys), and IUSTI (Polytech Marseille), all financed by the ANR.

This body is spread out and financed by funds from EUROPLASMA and CEA at CNIM (La Seyne sur Mer), SPCTS (University of Limoges-UMR), LATEP (University of Clermont Ferrand) as well as LAEPT (University of Pau and the Adour region).

In the framework of this technological deployment, EUROPLASMA is focusing on the development and qualification of a prototype torch of several hundred kilowatts that could be used for targeted applications in 2007. The torch has to be qualified before a semi-industrial demonstration platform can be developed (module 2 of GALACSY).

About the CEA:
The CEA is a technological research body with 15 000 staff. It was founded in 1945 by General de Gaulle. It conducts research in three main areas: non-greenhouse gas emitting energy - nuclear fusion, fusion and new energy technology, information and health technology, defence applications, particularly that of the nuclear deterrent. CEA is developing an ambitious programme for new energy technology. Since 1999, its budget has grown and in 2006 its budget was around €40M. It employs 330 people. It is focusing on the development of a photovoltaic sector in France and energy storage, hydrogen as an energy vector, fuel cells and, lastly, the second-generation processes for biofuel production using biomass gasification.

About Europlasma:
Europlasma was established in 1992 and specializes in the disposal of hazardous waste. It operates in niche markets with high added value. The group treats waste, such as asbestos or the residues from incineration. Thus, Europlasma offers an alternative solution to waste disposal sites, in accordance with the law and the European objectives to reduce waste production and toxicity and add value to waste. The company is also active in the fields where energy is produced from biomass and waste, particularly with the development of the GALACSY programme. In 2005, Europlasma had a turnover of 12.3 million euros.


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