UPM is to invest in a biorefinery producing biofuels from crude tall oil in Lappeenranta, Finland. The industrial scale investment is the first of its kind globally. The biorefinery will produce annually approximately 100,000 tonnes of advanced second generation biodiesel for transport. Construction of the biorefinery will begin in the summer of 2012 at UPM’s Kaukas mill site and be completed in 2014. UPM’s total investment will amount to approximately EUR 150 million.
MOTORISTS across Europe are set to pay an additional £15bn a year for petrol and diesel as a result of EU biofuel targets that will not reduce climate change emissions, according to new research published today.
The research, carried out on behalf of Friends of the Earth Europe and ActionAid, shows that the planned increase in the use of biofuels could cost EU consumers an extra £78 to £104bn between now and 2020. This is despite evidence that increased use of biofuels will actually make climate change worse and increase global hunger.
Wood is the first source of energy for human. It is used as the means of heating, lighting and cooking until the industrial age. With the discovery of petroleum and coal; and then utilizing the natural gas, the sources that nourishes peoples source of energy have developed and changed.
During the last two years, global wood pellet production increased from about nine million tonnes to some 15-16 million tonnes, while apparent consumption expanded from about nine million to 13 million tonnes.
In 2010, estimated global wood pellet production exceeded estimated consumption by about two to three million tonnes, while global pellet production capacity exceeded consumption by around seven to eight million tonnes (including new production facilities under construction but not operating).
Sony recently showed off a new bio-cell battery that breaks down paper in order to create power. This novel use of paper has the potential to change how we power devices in the future.
The process starts with an enzyme suspended in water. When paper is dropped in, the enzyme starts to break it down and produce glucose that can then be harvested and used to power a battery. Sony described the break down process as similar to how a termite might eat and break down wood.
Most biodiesel production is making climate change worse not better, studies show. Biodiesel from palm oil plantations may be the world's dirtiest fuel - far worse than burning diesel made from oil when the entire production life cycle is considered.
The U.S. EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) has issued a draft report response to the EPA’s Accounting Framework for Biogenic CO2 Emissions from Stationary Sources. The framework was first issued by the EPA in September.
Greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels such as palm oil, soybean and rapeseed are higher than those for fossil fuels when the effects of Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) are counted, according to leaked EU data seen by EurActiv.
The default values assigned to the biofuels compare to those from Canada’s oil sands – also known as tar sands – according to the figures, which should be released along with long-awaited legislative proposals on biofuels in the spring.
As a result of global wood pellet supply significantly exceeding demand during the last two to three years, industrial wood pellet prices in Europe have been flat to decreasing slightly on a euro basis. Prices increased from €115/tonne in July 2007 to €140/tonne at the beginning of 2009. Since then, they have declined to a low of €125/tonne at the end of 2010, and have increased slightly to €133/tonne at the end of 2011.
With temperatures dropping below zero, Colby’s new biomass plant goes into normal operations this week. The plant—a key part of the college’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2015—burns forestry byproducts, including wood chips, bark and treetops, which would otherwise have been left on the forest floor. During this period of peak usage, the College is expected to save $250,000 monthly at current market prices.
Biomass, which is an especially logical choice for Maine due to the existing forestry operations, offers a number of benefits.
