| Biofuels Image of the Month |
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| As part of its commitment to advancing public education about biofuels, the Biofuels Center of North Carolina launched its biofuels awareness campaign with a "biofuels casting call" at the 2010 North Carolina State Fair. The event drew fairgoers from across the state to record their personal biofuels support videos. Watch over 560 testimonial videos by visiting ncbiofuels.net and click "2010 State Fair Videos." |
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| Biofuels Company Spotlight |
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Catchlight Energy is a 50/50 joint venture between Chevron Corporation and Weyerhaeuser Company with the mission to commercialize large-scale production of liquid transportation fuels from sustainable forest-based resources. Catchlight Energy’s vision is to be the leader in delivering advanced biofuels derived from lignocellulosic feedstocks. To accomplish this, Catchlight Energy is researching, developing, and commercializing technologies and business models to produce second-generation biofuels. The joint venture is also developing a research platform that ensures sustainable practices and production.
Catchlight Energy’s sustainability research platform includes large-scale site studies on Weyerhaeuser timberland with credible research partners, including NCASI, key research universities, and the USDA Forest Service. Several studies already in-place are exploring (1) soils, nutrients, soil carbon, site productivity, (2) wildlife/biodiversity, (3) water quality/quantity, and (4) carbon life-cycle analysis. The Biofuels Center of North Carolina and Catchlight Energy are collaborating on a study focused on the feasibility and sustainability of intercropping Miscanthus in Loblolly Pine plantations. The study is located in Dover, North Carolina, on Weyerhaeuser’s timberland. The long-term goal of the study is to determine the impacts of land management for the dual purpose of producing biofuels using Miscanthus as a feedstock and traditional forest products (i.e., crop trees). This information will be critical in determining the effectiveness of the proposed management approaches. As such, it will provide direction for developing guidelines and management practices for this type of production system.
As fuel security and the anticipated impacts of climate change have prompted the search for alternatives to fossil fuels, Catchlight Energy is uniquely positioned to make large-scale, renewable transportation fuels from sustainable forest resources a commercial success.
For more information, visit www.catchlightenergy.com.
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| Biofuels Center News |
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Biofuels to support community, create jobs in eastern N.C. (Scottrade)
Currently, the Military Growth Task Force of North Carolina's Eastern Region is implementing the first phase of Project Eastern Gain, a partnership between MGTF and the Biofuels Center of North Carolina, to create a robust and viable biofuels industry in eastern North Carolina...
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Emerging sector should be cultivated (Raleigh News & Observer)
With seed investment by the General Assembly, supplemented with recent federal stimulus dollars and grants from organizations like the Golden Leaf Foundation, the Biofuels Center opened a 426-acre campus in Oxford...
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"Biofuels casting call" a smash hit at North Carolina State Fair
Complete with a professional video recording studio, the Biofuels Center's booth at the Green N.C. Pavilion gave fairgoers the opportunity to voice their support for biofuels in 30-second, green-screen videos...
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Center president addresses N.C. A&T State University's inaugural green conference
Biofuels Center president and CEO Steven Burke presented the keynote address at N.C. A&T State University's inaugural two-day conference, "Green and Sustainable Technology: Research and Workforce Development" on 18 November 2010 in Greensboro...
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North Carolina agency rules on state biomass policy
In mid-October 2010, the North Carolina Utilities Commission issued an order with long-term implications for the state’s renewable energy and biofuels sectors...
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USDA modifies biomass program
In late October 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced revised rules to govern the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP)...
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Center seeks industry development director
The Biofuels Center of North Carolina is seeking applicants for the director of industry development opening...
+ Read More
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| North Carolina Biofuels News |
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On U.S. Navy's 235th anniversary, Secretary Mabus talks green fuels (Wilmington Star-News)
Mabus began with a story about a recent flight he and Congressman Mike McIntyre took aboard a Navy FA-18 Hornet fueled with a mixture of jet fuel and camelina, a type of plant...
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Fort Bragg may have new use for biofuels (Biodiesel Magazine)
A recent tour put on by the Sustainable Sandhills organization of North Carolina at the state’s largest military institution has revealed a new use for biodiesel and other biofuels...
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City of Raleigh collects curbside grease for biofuels (News 14 Carolina)
For the second straight year, the city is collecting unwanted cooking oil and grease from homes and churches free of charge...
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"Seinfeld" actor's company set to convert N.C. trash to biofuels (Raleigh News & Observer)
The project planned at the C&D Landfill in Greenville will hire 75 workers, and it will produce gas for electricity and biodiesel fuel for the commercial market...
+ Read More
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| News Around the Globe |
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Report shows ethanol can be cost saving (Carolina-Virginia Farmer)
The USDA's Economic Research Service has completed an economic study that shows ethanol helps the U.S. economy and puts money back into the household budget...
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Military, government increase investment in algae fuels (Forbes.com)
The forest green algae bubbling in a stainless steel fermenting tank in a suburban warehouse may look like primordial pond scum, but it is a promising new source of domestically produced fuels being tested on the nation's jets and warships...
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BP to focus its biofuels growth in U.S. and Brazil (Silicon Republic)
BP will target its biofuels energies on energy grasses in the U.S. and sugar cane in Brazil, holding off on biofuels investments in the rest of the world for now...
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Ohio company growing "green" fuel (WBNS-TV)
For more than a year, Dublin-based Independence Bio Products has been growing algae and researching ways to help "green" the environment and the economy...
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U.S. Navy spells out green agenda (United Press International)
The U.S. Navy aims to use alternative energy to meet 50% of its needs within the next 10 years, an environmental official said in Washington...
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Chicken fat could power Air Force jets (EarthTechling)
In Geismar, Louisiana, a new biofuels plant is in full production, generating diesel not from corn or biomass, but from non food-grade fats and greases...
+ Read More
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| Biofuels Education Spotlight |
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As North Carolina continues to develop its biofuels industry, the faculty at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh is training students, technicians, fleet managers, and others in biofuels and sustainable transportation technologies. Biofuels education is part of the regular curriculums for the Heavy Equipment and Transport Technology program (HEATT) as well as the John Deere Agricultural and Construction Equipment programs.
Biodiesel and ethanol education are also incorporated into the Automotive Systems Technology degree program. Approximately 100 students are enrolled in the two-year program, and upon graduation, each will earn an Associate’s of Applied Sciences degree. These students will be armed with biofuels knowledge and ready to enter the automotive workforce as technicians or any number of other automotive career opportunities.
As a continuing education option, Wake Tech also offers an intensive two-day course in biodiesel production and clean diesel technology. This workshop, held several times per year, provides hands-on training in the conversion of vegetable oils into biodiesel. The workshop also concentrates on the quality tests that must be performed to assure that the end product meets the nationally-recognized testing standards (i.e., ASTM). These standards must be applied to biodiesel handling and usage procedures, assuring that the fuel retains this quality right up to the point where it enters the engine fuel system.
Biodiesel programs taught at Wake Tech not only cover production, testing, handling, and use of the fuel, courses examine the relationship between renewable biodiesel and the vehicle power train, impact upon fuel economy, power, maintenance, and emissions.
For more information, contact Rich Cregar at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or visit www.waketech.edu.
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| Biofuels Center Podcasts |
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N.C. State University professor Dr. Dimitris Argyropoulos talks about his National Science Foundation-funded lignin research and its potential impact on biofuels production with Biofuels Center communications manager Shane Reese.
+ Click Here to Listen
Biofuels Center vice president of finance and administration Remona Callair discusses the organization's in-house energy efficiency projects with Biofuels Center communications manager Shane Reese.
+ Click Here to Listen
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| Biofuels Wiki Recent Updates |
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The Biofuels Wiki is a one-stop, collaborative site where reliable knowledge about liquid renewable fuels can be found—think of it as a biofuels encyclopedia on the Internet. To add or edit content on the site, click here to register.
Agrofuels
Agrofuels are biofuels made from crops and trees grown specifically for feedstock purposes on a large scale...
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Blender pump
A blender pump, or ethanol blender pump, refers to equipment that allows petroleum stations to blend different percentages of blends of ethanol and gasoline...
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Hubbert Curve
The Hubbert Curve is an approximation of the production rate of a resource over time...
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ASPO
ASPO (Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas Ireland) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of the phenomenon of peak oil...
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Lifecycle assessment
A lifecycle assessment is a study of the total environmental impact a product has throughout its full lifecycle (i.e., raw materials -> production -> consumption)...
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The Biofuels Center of North Carolina is developing a sustainable, statewide biofuels industry to reduce North Carolina’s dependence on imported liquid fuels and to create jobs. The goal is to replace 10% of the state’s liquid fuel consumption with home-grown and -produced biofuels by 2017. Find out more at www.biofuelscenter.org |
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Did You Know?
Moving millions of gallons of fossil fuels to troops is costly and dangerous: Every 24 convoys, the nation loses a Marine or soldier, according to U.S. Secretary of Navy Ray Maybus. (Source: Wilmington Star-News)
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Biofuels Crop Profile
Cottonwood trees have a natural range that covers almost all of the Piedmont and Coastal Plains of North Carolina…
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Biofuels Term to Know
A biofuels coproduct is a product, substance, or chemical compound that is intentionally produced during the process of making biofuels to be used for another purpose or industry...
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29 November 2010 -
Energy Policy Council Meeting
Raleigh, N.C.
20 December 2010 -
Energy Policy Council Meeting
Raleigh, N.C.
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Biofuels Headline Newsletter 
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