March 2022

Researchers have found a way to turn bamboo into biofuel, a process that could have major implications for the future of the clean energy industry. “This is a simple and yet cost-effective process,” said Ali Salifu, a researcher at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Originally from Ghana, Salifu understands just how hard it is for developing nations to maintain any source of normalcy when it comes to power.

Research from the lab of Peng Bai, assistant professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, recently revealed the formula for building a perfectly stable sodium electrode. The team has now discovered the formula for a perfectly stable and safe electrode.

Advanced BioFuels USA

Thomas Brück, professor of synthetic biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is leading a collaboration between TUM’s AlgaeTec Center and Airbus to produce aviation biofuel from microscopic algae, which are grown in saline environments on marginal land unsuitable for crop cultivation. Brück’s team has already tested its fuel with Airbus’s planes.

… But some urge caution, noting that almost all the hydrogen currently produced is derived from fossil fuels, especially natural gas. And a study published last year found that, if those embodied emissions are considered, purportedly “clean,” hydrogen can have a greater climate impact than natural gas or oil.

Cleantech company Locus Fermentation Solutions announced the launching of a new mining operating division whose focus will be on developing and commercializing carbon-neutral biosurfactant additives to boost mineral extraction from low-grade ores. Biosurfactants are compounds of microbial origin that lower the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or between a liquid and a solid.

With the aviation industry committed to curtailing lifecycle carbon emissions, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has an important role to play. Air bp is already working alongside airlines and airports around the world to deliver increasing volumes of SAF.

Micro supercapacitors could revolutionize the way we use batteries by increasing their lifespan and enabling extremely fast charging. Manufacturers of everything from smartphones to electric cars are therefore investing heavily into research and development of these electronic components. Now, researchers have developed a method that represents a breakthrough for how such supercapacitors can be produced.

NGO-backed Gold Standard certification obtained for Ghana plantation; JOil’s proprietary Jatropha varieties a highly productive non-food crop for multiple sustainable industrial applications including biofuel; Second certification following ISCC certification since 2019 Singapore-based Jatropha JOil Singapore Pte Limited (JOil) has become the first corporate to be awarded the world-class sustainability certification Gold Standard for its Jatro.

A 16-megawatt hydropower facility sited in Eastern Samar is ready to kick-off its commercial operations, according to project sponsor Taft Hydro Energy Corp. (THEC), one of the flourishing renewable energy companies in the country.With the facility now adding capacity to the grid, THEC indicated that the project “will support the country’s growing need for power and boost economic growth.

The Jakarta Post

Indonesia is the world’s largest nickel producer and also rich in cobalt, bauxite and copper ores, key materials in the manufacture of batteries for electric cars.

Channel NewsAsia

Indonesia has raised its palm oil export levy and the maximum rate has been set at $375 a tonne when the reference price for the edible oil hits $1,500 a tonne, up from $175 previously, a new government regulation showed on Friday.

Biofuels Digest

In Singapore, Anglo American has successfully completed a sea trial using biofuel blended with very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO), reducing carbon emissions by approximately 10%. The trial further demonstrates the potential for sustainable biofuel to be used as a ‘drop-in’ fuel, improving its viability to help reduce emissions in the shipping sector.

South China Morning Post

Singapore named a Japanese scientist as the recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize for inventing an efficient waste water treatment technology that has helped the city state recycle its scarce water resources.

VN Express

Vietnam is working on administrative procedures to build a third oil refinery amid apparent shortages and surging prices due to dependency on global supply.

Biofuels Digest

In China, chemists have developed a nano-scale structure that combines copper, gold and silver to work as a superior catalyst in a chemical reaction whose improved performance will be essential if carbon capture and utilization efforts are to succeed in helping to mitigate global warming. One possible means of carbon-capture-and-utilization is via a chemical reaction called the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR, or simply ECR).

Bangkokpost.com

A global energy crunch is sending liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices skywards, but Thailand needs to ramp up its purchases to offset a steep production fall at its largest gas field and as sanctions threaten supplies from Myanmar.

The Irrawaddy

State-owned PTTEP will take control of operations from July 20; the field accounts for roughly half of Myanmar’s gas demand and 11 percent of Thailand’s. The post Thai Firm Takes Over Myanmar Gas Field After Withdrawal of Chevron, Total appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Advanced BioFuels USA

(Biofuels International) CMA CGM along with Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has started biofuel bunkering in Singapore as part of its global trial to scale-up the wider adoption of the clean energy. Its 10,640 teu vessel, APL Paris, was the first of the group’s vessels on trial to be bunkered with biofuel in the city-state.

Rigzone.com

ConocoPhillips has completed the sale of its oil and gas assets in Indonesia for $1.36B to local energy firm Medco Energi. The company decided to sell the assets after reassessing its portfolio in a bid to pursue energy transition opportunities, which would allow it to amass assets with lower GHG intensity, such as LNG.

Biofuels Digest

In Singapore, GoodFuels, the leading biofuels pioneer for the global transport industry, is expanding its activities into the Asia-Pacific region with the opening of a first office in Singapore. This new permanent presence in the region will enable GoodFuels to respond to the fast-growing global demand for its advanced sustainable biofuels, which reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by up to 90%. The Singapore office will be GoodFuels’ second office and its first outside of Europe.