July 2022

In China, oil spills and industrial pollution pose a huge threat to the ecological environment. Concerns over safety have seen an increased focus on improving the filtration of oily wastewater; for example, during the treatment of sewage. Membrane separation technology offers a promising and efficient option for treating that wastewater, particularly with its low energy consumption.

Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a sodium-ion battery with greatly extended longevity in laboratory tests, thus overcoming one of the major obstacles hindering the large-scale application of the technology. Scientists explain that a shift in the ingredients that make up the liquid core of the battery prevents the performance issues that have bedevilled sodium-based batteries so far.

While we can thank the trucking industry for the packages that arrive at our doors in what seems like mere minutes after we’ve ordered them, there is no denying that long-haul freight transportation still faces many challenges. Today, the logistics industry faces a critical awakening while it searches for ways to minimize the environmental impact of trucking.

A new artificial enzyme has shown it can chew through lignin, the tough polymer that helps woody plants hold their shape. Lignin also stores tremendous potential for renewable energy and materials.

Corn is a primary feedstock for ethanol producers and as its price rises, so do the production costs for many ethanol plants located in the corn-belt region of the U.S. A likely result from this increased cost of producing ethanol from corn is margin contraction and reduced profits for many in the industry.

“It’s going to be an ongoing challenge for supply to keep up with demand, even with significant new capacity coming on stream,” says William Adams, head of battery and battery materials research at Fastmarkets.

As consumers face steep increases in food and fuel costs, ethanol production must be part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy to lower costs. One common misconception is that utilizing corn for food or fuel comes at the expense of the other. Perhaps that was once the case, but with today’s technology you can have both food AND fuel.

In California, biofuel scientists used an oddball molecule made by bacteria to develop a new class of biofuels predicted to have greater energy density than any petroleum product, including the leading aviation and rocket fuels, JetA and RP-1.

Corn will become less important and sugarcane will become the dominant feedstock for making ethanol in the coming decade, said an agricultural outlook published jointly by the OECD and FAO on Wednesday. The report forecast a relatively slow growth rate for biofuels, averaging 0.6% a year worldwide, with growth in the United States constrained by declining gasoline consumption.

Green ammonia is emerging as a major contender to become a vital emissions-free fuel for the world. The renewable fuel is also gaining major attention from energy giants such as Exxon. Greater investment in the energy source could support innovations in technologies to reduce production costs as well as support countries in meeting their climate targets.

Bruce Dannenberg founded his company Phytonix in 2009 after having worked in the renewable energy industry for many years. Familiar with a variety of bio-based technologies, he saw a lot of energy production efforts operating at high costs and low volume, thus never likely to be feasible or commercially sustainable.

In Indonesia, Reuters reports that Indonesia aims to implement a 35% palm oil mix in biodiesel (B35), by the end of July to help absorb excess palm oil supply, senior energy ministry official Dadan Kusdiana said on Friday. Dadan also told CNBC Indonesia that the ministry had run laboratory testing for biodiesel containing up to 40% of palm oil fuel in biodiesel (B40).

The Tapioca Ethanol Association is urging energy policymakers to promote more use of cassava-based ethanol in order to help motorists cope with high fuel bills, which have been driven up by the global oil price surge. The proportion of E20 and E85 in the benzine segment must increase if the government wants to help motorists better cope with the impact of the global oil price surge.

China’s top economic planning body has set a deadline of 2035 to build an “efficient, green, intelligent and safe” road system in the country, the Xinhua news agency reports. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), together with the Ministry of Transport, said the modernised network would increase capacity and help to “sustain a modern economic system”.

In Singapore, CTI-Maritec has been offering full range of biodiesel blends testing for bunker fuels since early 2022. Since then, CTI-Maritec has tested quite a number of biodiesel blends in residual marine fuel, typically the biodiesel blends are ranged from B20 to B30. In addition to the ISO 8217 parameters, it is highly recommended that biodiesel blends shall also be measured for FAME content and lower calorific value (or net heat of combustion).

In Malaysia, the Star newspaper reports palm oil exports fell again in June which in turn pushed stocks level to the highest seen in seven months to around 1.71 million metric tons, up 12.3% from the end of May. While exports fell, production rose more than 8% to 1.53 million tons, creating the excess stock levels.

In Indonesia, Reuters reports that with the country’s return to the global vegetable oil market following temporarily banning exports of palm oil during three weeks in May to ensure food security in light of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, there are now concerns about an emergency building up for farmers thanks to the quickly following global prices. Now the export quota for palm oil has risen seven-fold to allow for revenue generation to ensure farmers get paid.

China’s Sinopec Corp produced its first aviation fuel from used cooking oil at an industrial-scale facility in east China, the state refining giant said on Tuesday. The biojet facility, built in Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co and able to process 100,000 tonnes of used cooking oil or “gut oil” each year, paves the way for Sinopec to start commercial manufacturing of the biofuel.

In China, Reuters reports that Sinotec has produced its first batch of sustainable aviation fuel at its Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co refinery in Eastern China. The facility has the capacity to produce 100,000 metric tons of SAF annually from used cooking oil. The technology has been under development since 2009 and received a certificate for airworthiness in 2014 but has only just now begun producing fuel.

Evoqua Water Technologies has opened a new manufacturing facility in Singapore to meet growing demand for water treatment solutions in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

THE possibility of domestic electric vehicle (EV) production will depend on the market reaching critical mass in both adoption and the number of charging stations, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). “We will come to a stage where we will assemble the vehicles here (in the country). But we’re not yet there because there’s so many preconditions to bringing in EVs here. You need a critical number so you can have charging stations along the way.

Indonesia has scrapped its export levy for all palm oil products until Aug 31 in a fresh attempt to boost exports and ease high inventories, finance ministry officials said on Saturday, adding the move would not disrupt government revenues. The decision by the world’s biggest palm oil exporter could further depress prices, which have fallen by about 50 per cent since late April to their lowest in over a year.