China: tax exemption for biodiesel

By Erin Voegele | December 20, 2010

Posted Dec. 29, 2010

The People's Republic of China has taken action to make biodiesel production within the country more economical. In late December China's Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation announced that pure biodiesel made from waste animal fats or vegetable oils is now exempt from consumption taxes.

The new policy has been enacted retroactively, effective Jan. 1, 2009. According to information released by the People's Republic of China, consumption taxes paid on biodiesel since that time will be refunded.

The action aims to boost the renewable resources sector, easing demand for petroleum and protecting the ecological environment, said the government in a statement. Biodiesel producers are expected to save approximately 900 yuan ($135) per metric ton due to the action. According to the statement, this should help make biodiesel producers more competitive in the fuel sector while guarding against waste edible oils from being reused for human consumption, which will help ensure food safety.

Biodiesel producers within the country are already reacting to the news. On Dec. 28 Chinese biodiesel company Gushan Environmental Energy Ltd. announced that it is currently in the process of assessing the effect of the new policy. "Gushan is in the process of assessing the immediate impact of this notice on its business operations and production plans and expects to make an announcement regarding the implications of this notice following further evaluation by its management," said the company in a press release. Biodiesel Magazine was unable to reach a representative of Gushan for further comment on the development.

Neste Oil to Buy Rapeseed Oil as Biodiesel Feedstock

Espoo, Finland [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Neste Oil and Raisio have agreed a contract under which Raisio will supply 10,000 tons of rapeseed oil to Neste Oil this year for use as a feedstock at its NExBTL Renewable Diesel plant at Porvoo. The plant, which is due to start up this summer, is based on proprietary Neste Oil technology that can use a flexible mix of vegetable oil and animal fat to produce premium-quality biodiesel. In September last year Neste Oil contracted to buy virtually all the byproduct tallow produced by the Finnish food processing industry as raw material input for its biodiesel production. The NExBTL plant at Neste Oil's Porvoo refinery is the first of its type and will have a capacity of 170,000 t/a. A second, identical plant is being built alongside, scheduled for completion late next year.

For Further Information
Neste Oil Corporation

Bio-Extraction & BioNex Energy Pursue "Cold Crushing" Biodiesel Venture

Toronto, Ontario [RenewableEnergyAccess.com]

Bio-Extraction Inc. signed a joint development agreement with BioNex Energy Corp (BEC) in which BioExx and BEC will work on a development study to test, and prove, the commercial efficiency of the BioExx extraction technology for use in tandem with a planned BEC biodiesel production facility slated for western Canada.

BEC is a developmental stage company that intends to use cold crushing technology in its plant as a first-stage process for removal of oil from canola and other high oil-content crops; BioExx would provide the second-stage process.

The first stage of oil removal will remove approximately 80% of the oil from the biomass while maintaining a consistently low temperature. In the second and final stage of oil removal, the process will remove up to 100% of the remaining oil while at the same time maintaining the protein value originally contained in the biomass.

On a combined basis, this process could improve yields of oil volume versus existing oil-removal technologies while at the same time increasing the residual value of the biomass. In some cases, BioExx may also be able to isolate the proteins for use as protein additives in animal or fish feed and eventually for human consumption.

The BioExx technology has the capability to remove up to 100% of the oil but at a significantly reduced operating temperature while retaining all of the nutritive content of the spent biomass. The spent biomass resulting from this process can have substantially higher value because they can be sold as higher quality animal feeds or other higher value protein applications and products. The BioExx technology may therefore have the potential to fundamentally improve the economics of biodiesel manufacturing operations, while at the same time mitigating the increasingly prominent "food versus fuel" conflict over global crop usage.

For Further Information
Bio-Extraction Inc.

Soy-Based Biodiesel Can Burn as Cleanly as Natural Gas

LPP Combustion Technology proves that renewable fuel has zero emissions.

Columbia, Maryland [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] LPP Combustion, LLC has demonstrated the patented LPP Combustion System will allow soybean oil-based biodiesel to burn as cleanly as natural gas, with no net greenhouse gas emissions. Because biodiesel is a renewable fuel, gas turbines burning this fuel with the LPP System can provide "carbon neutral" electrical power by producing no net greenhouse gas emissions. LPP Combustion has developed an enabling technology that provides the cleanest possible use of biofuels in a combustion device without the need for post-combustion pollution control equipment. The soy-based biodiesel was provided by Renewable Energy Group Inc. (REG), an Iowa-based full-service company and leader in the biodiesel industry. REG markets biodiesel to customers for the on-highway, marine, military, home heating and agricultural industries.

For Further Information
LPP Combustion, LLC

Interest in Green Star Algae Biodiesel Expands Globally (June 5, 2007)

San Diego, California [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Green Star Products, Inc. (GSPI) has heard from companies from more than 20 countries on five continents expressing interest in GSPI's biodiesel and microalgae technology. In addition to numerous inquiries that have also been received from across the U.S., are South Africa, India, China, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Costa Rica, Sweden, Czech Republic, Zimbabwe, Spain, Italy, Nicaragua, Mexico, Russia, and Kazakhstan. This surge in "microalgae-oil-to-biodiesel" interest is accredited to two media events that explained the present and future status of biodiesel as an alternative fuel, which is based on feedstock oils from food sources such as corn oil and soy oil versus non-food microalgae oil. Algae can produce 50 to 100 times more oil per acre than food oils crops.

For Further Information
Green Star Products, Inc.

Homegrown Canadian Fuel

The biodiesel industry has received a boost from some favourable government policies. In fact Sturgeon County may end up being home to a commercial-scale plant.

Editor’s Note: Ian Thomson, mentioned in this article, is one of the presenters in the sustainable development stream of this year’s Annual Conference Professional Development Program. The conference, the Annual General Meeting and related activities take place April 25-28 in Calgary at the TELUS Convention Centre and the Fairmont Palliser Hotel. Mr. Thomson is president and co-founder of Canadian Bioenergy Corporation. He also serves as president of the Alberta Biodiesel Association and the British Columbia Biodiesel Association, and he sits on the Mayor’s Climate Leadership Council in Vancouver. Before Canadian Bioenergy, Mr. Thomson was a strategic consultant to organizations such as Cargill, Chevron, Duke Energy, Petro-Canada and United Technologies.



The biodiesel industry in Canada is gearing up in response to recent federal and provincial policy developments. Mandates for renewable content in diesel fuel, producer incentives, and project funding for the development of renewable alternatives to petroleum diesel - these have combined to give the industry renewed vitality.

Canadian Bioenergy is a Vancouver company planning a canola-based biodiesel production plant in Sturgeon County, near Edmonton. Since 2004 Ian Thomson, its president, has been leading the drive for a domestic biodiesel industry in Western Canada.

The company has been working with various groups in the biodiesel value chain, such as the Canola Council of Canada, to ensure the necessary framework is in place. This framework will need to have Canada growing, producing and selling renewable fuel in Canada - rather than importing the finished product from a subsidized U.S. market.

Made with renewable resources such as vegetable oils and animal fats, biodiesel burns cleaner than fossil fuels. It can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel for use in existing diesel engines and fuel injection equipment, without them being modified. Under a complete lifecycle analysis, biodiesel achieves significant reductions in both greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.

Last December, the federal government announced a minimum five per cent renewable content in Canada’s transportation fuels, with an additional two per cent average renewable requirement in diesel fuel by 2012. The government recently complemented this measure in the 2007 budget by introducing a producer’s credit of up to 20 cents a litre.

B.C. has extended even greater support in its provincial energy plan, calling for a five per cent biodiesel requirement by 2010. Other provinces are expected to follow.

Right now, only two biodiesel facilities at commercial scale are in operation. Canada’s domestic production capacity will increase substantially over the next five years to meet the forecast annual demand of 700 million litres under the federal and provincial mandates.

Following the federal budget of March 19, Doug Hooper, CEO of Canadian Bioenergy, applauded the federal government for its willingness to create a Canadian biodiesel industry. Mr. Hooper said: “A producer’s credit comparable to the one in the U.S. is one of the last key steps needed for us to build a domestic biodiesel industry.

“We’re showing the rest of the world that Canada is ready to take a real leadership role in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and improving the quality of the air we breathe. And we’re going to do it with fuel grown and produced at home.”

Canadian Bioenergy’s preliminary annual production plans are for 114 million litres of canola-derived biodiesel and about 10,000 tonnes of glycerine. Canola is an excellent feedstock for biodiesel production, with proven fuel attributes demonstrated by over a decade of on-road use in the European Union. These include superior cold-weather performance, which is a critical issue in the Canadian climate.

The Sturgeon County refinery would be designed so its capacity could be doubled to meet future demand. At the proposed initial scale, the biodiesel refinery would meet about 20 percent of the Government of Canada’s annual biodiesel production target of 500 million litres by 2010.

Canadian Bioenergy has established effective relationships with petroleum distributors to ensure that high-quality biodiesel is widely available to government, commercial and industrial fleets. The company currently operates terminal locations in Vancouver and Calgary to supply custom biodiesel blends for more than 20 large fleets throughout B.C. and Alberta.

The emergence of made-in-Alberta plans to reduce emissions from oil sands operations will mean greatly expanded demand for Canadian Bioenergy products. The location of the plant, in concert with the company’s integration with petroleum distributors, will make it attractive to large diesel users in Northern Alberta.

In addition to its beneficial fuel properties, the kind of biodiesel made from canola – methyl ester – is a versatile non-toxic, biodegradable chemical. It has a variety of uses in lubricants, solvents, release agents, and additives for drilling mud packs.

Canadian Bioenergy is leading research into expanded industrial uses of methyl ester, as well as the byproducts created in its production such as glycerine and fatty acid oils.

[Note: Original article from: http://www.apegga.com/Environment/default.htm]

Philippines in $1.3 Billion Biofuel Deal (23 May 2007)

The alternative fuels division of state-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) has signed a US$1.3 billion (€966 million) deal with UK-based NRG Chemical Engineering Pte. to establish a joint venture and build a biodiesel refinery, a jatropha plantation, and two ethanol plants.

NRG Chemical will own a 70% stake in the joint venture and provide the bulk of the equity requirement in building a biodiesel refinery, two ethanol plants and a million-hectare (2.4 million-acre) jatropha plantation. PNOC-AFC will own 30% of the project.

The refinery, expected to be in operation by early 2008, will have an initial capacity of at least 350,000 metric tons a year (about 106 million gallons US), with a projected ramp to 3.5 million tons a year.

The refinery will initially use coconut and vegetable oil as feedstock until the planned jatropha plantation can start commercial production.

DoD Begins Field Testing of O2Diesel/Biodiesel Blend

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has begun field testing of a new ethanol/biodiesel blend developed by O2Diesel. A demonstration fleet at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada, is now using the new fuel, O2Biodiesel, which consists of 28% renewable sources: ethanol, biodiesel, and a proprietary biomass-derived stabilizing additive.

Earlier emission testing at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, demonstrated the synergy between the additive package, ethanol, and biodiesel with respect to the key regulated air pollutants: particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen (NOx).

While further emissions testing continues, the new fuel will undergo real-world operational challenges under military spec. These include storage and handling, and use in extreme conditions of heat, cold, humidity, and variations in types of use.

O2Diesel fuel is a blend of 7.7 vol% ethanol treated with the company’s stabilizing additive.

In December 2006, O2Diesel Corporation received an additional $1 million in funding from the DoD to continue its existing demonstration projects and develop a new fuel with at least 20% renewable sources.

Testing of the O2Diesel/B20 biodiesel blend is also underway at Ben Franklin Transit (BFT) in Richland, Washington. The 210-day operational test there, which began in January, is using 20 vehicles that represent four different chassis manufacturers running six different diesel engines ranging in age from 1988 to 2006.

Operational data will span winter and summer months.

One effect of combining ethanol and biodiesel is the lowering of the pour point (the temperature at which the fuel begins to gel). Conventional practice for winter blends has been to mix No. 2 diesel with No. 1 diesel to lower the pour point. The use of e-diesel may reduce the need to blend No. 1 diesel into winter blends (depending upon the ethanol content and other additives).

GM Vauxhall Begins B30 Commercial Van Customer Trials in UK

GM’s Vauxhall has introduced B30-compatible models of its Vivaro and Movano panel vans, and will begin trials with two key fleet customers.

The biodiesel B30-compatible models use the existing 2.0 CDTI Vivaro and 2.5 CDTI 98 hp and 118 hp Movano engines, and offer up to 20% less CO2 emissions on a ‘source to wheels’ basis compared to the standard Euro 4-compliant diesel units.

As part of a controlled fleet trial, a number of vans will run on biodiesel B30 across the country as GM and Vauxhall investigate the long-term potential for the fuel in the UK, and look towards a more widespread distribution network for it.

Vauxhall is also calling on the UK government to look at establishing a quality specification for the fuel.

In August 2006, Citroën announced it was running its UK Head Office-based diesel cars and vans, including all those used by the media, on a 30% biodiesel blend. The B30 blend can be used in all current Citroën diesel vehicles without any modifications.

Fuel tax changes 'threaten biodiesel industry'

here are concerns from biodiesel producers that changes to the fuel tax system will threaten the viability of the industry.

The changes come into effect this month and mean that farmers and miners can no longer receive rebates on biodiesel.

The president of the Biodiesel Association, Adrian Lake, says some biodiesel projects are being reviewed because of the changes.

"Under these laws a lot of the certainty is certainly gone and that has a big impact on whether people will commit the resources that are required to develop the crops and the infrastructure around it to supply to biodiesel," he said.

Mr Lake says regional areas will suffer the most under the changes.

He is calling on the Federal Government to consider the effects.

"We'd like to see the Government evaluate the impact of these changes to the tax laws and see what they can do to really stimulate the industry and also create the regional benefits for Australia, the regional cropping and also production of biofuels."

The Assistant Treasurer Peter Dutton said in a statement the new laws create a fairer system and correct a loophole that gave some biodiesel producers an unfair advantage.

[Source: ABC]

Biodiesel Jobs

Area entrepreneurs getting into the biodiesel business

Forget the Middle East, Nigeria or the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge. The fast-food kitchen is the chic place where environmentalists and entrepreneurs are tapping another source of oil.

Leftover restaurant grease is being used to make an increasingly popular alternative fuel — a blend of vegetable oils, animal fats and diesel popping up at more metro Atlanta stations.

Rob del Bueno, a leader in Atlanta’s “underground” biodiesel community the past few years, is launching his first mom-and-pop-style, pay-at-the-pump location.
His Atlanta biodiesel station at the corner of DeKalb Avenue and Oxford Road should be up and running by mid-July.

He isn’t alone. Citgo Food Mart in Alpharetta started selling biodiesel in the past two weeks.
In all, 10 stations selling the fuel — which burns cleaner than diesel — are scattered across Georgia from Rome to Waycross, according to the National Biodiesel Board. Many are selling it for $2.88, or about the same price as standard diesel.

So why will drivers turn to biodiesel if it’s not cheaper?
“The environmental benefits,” said del Bueno, whose endeavor gets funding from a foundation that wants his business model to spread across the Southeast.

Strike the iron while it’s hot
The concept may have its best chance yet. With oil prices hovering near $70 a barrel and the price of gas at the pump hanging around $2.80, consumers are more willing to listen to talk about alternative fuels. “We’re a nonprofit, so we’re really not looking to make money,” del Bueno said. “We want people to learn from this period and consider biodiesel as an option. Some may want to stick with it.”

Biodiesel is nothing new. But its burgeoning popularity is.
The volume produced and sold in the United States tripled from 25 million gallons in 2004 to 75 million last year, according to the National Biodiesel Board. Some 850 U.S. retail locations offer biodiesel at the pump in grades from B-5, or 5 percent biodiesel, to B-20.
Soybeans are the most common source of the fuel — which can run in any diesel engine.

Not just for the environmentally conscious
A few years ago, del Bueno made only enough biodiesel for use in his old Mercedes and the cars of a few friends. He helped spearhead an Atlanta grass-roots effort to embrace biodiesel, launching a Web site, creating an online forum and holding seminars.
“Education has always been an important aspect of this,” del Bueno said.
Now, he shares the world of biodiesel with businessmen who want to make a buck and help the environment.
Gwinnett resident Dan Maher is building a biodiesel production plant in Loganville that can make at least 1,000 gallons a day. By winter, he wants to offer biodiesel-at-the-pump at his chain of Dirty Dan’s car
washes.
Maher, owner of Georgia Biofuels Corp., said he could have 15 franchises set up by the end of next year.
One of his aims is to offer energy security — an increasingly important issue for Americans as the oil supply has been put at risk in recent months by hostile countries and historic hurricanes.
“You want to be able to see a business owner take pride in his investment,” Maher said. “This is American made — that’s the biggest thing. Plus, it’s a better fuel that burns cleaner. People want it.”

Tiny Microreactor For Biodiesel Production

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Chemical engineering researchers at Oregon State University have developed a tiny chemical reactor for manufacturing biodiesel that is so efficient, fast and portable it could enable farmers to produce a cleaner-burning diesel substitute on their farms using seed crops they grow on their own land.

"This could be as important an invention as the mouse for your PC," said Goran Jovanovic, the OSU professor who developed the biodiesel microreactor. "If we're successful with this, nobody will ever make biodiesel any other way."

Current biodiesel production methods involve dissolving a catalyst, such as sodium hydroxide, in alcohol, then agitating the alcohol mixture with vegetable oil in large vats for two hours. The liquid then sits for 12 to 24 hours while a slow chemical reaction occurs, creating biodiesel and glycerin, a byproduct that is separated. This glycerin can be used to make soaps, but first the catalyst in it must be neutralized and removed using hydrochloric acid, a tedious and costly process.

The microreactor developed at OSU eliminates the mixing, the standing time for separation and potentially the need for a dissolved catalyst.

But more importantly, Jovanovic says, the microreactor, which is about half the size of a thick credit card, could help farmers reduce their dependence on mass-produced petroleum as well as reduce the need to distribute fuel via truck, tanker or pipeline.

"This is all about producing energy in such a way that it liberates people," Jovanovic said. "Most people think large-scale, central production of energy is cheaper, because we've been raised with that paradigm. But distributed energy production means you can use local resources - farmers can produce all the energy they need from what they grow on their own farms."

The microreactor, being developed in association with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), consists of a series of parallel channels, each smaller than a human hair, through which vegetable oil and alcohol are pumped simultaneously. At such a small scale the chemical reaction that converts the oil into biodiesel is almost instant.

Although the amount of biodiesel produced from a single microreactor is a trickle, the reactors can be connected and stacked in banks to dramatically increase production. "By stacking many of these microreactors in parallel, a device the size of a small suitcase could produce enough biodiesel to power several farms, or produce hundreds of thousands of gallons per year," Jovanovic said.

Using microreactors, biodiesel could be produced between 10 and 100 times faster than traditional methods, said Jovanovic, who is also developing a method for coating the microchannels with a non-toxic metallic catalyst. This would eliminate the need for the chemical catalyst, making the production process even more simple, a key to widespread use.

Jovanovic is looking to partner with a new or existing company in order to commercialize the technology through the Microproducts Breakthrough Institute at ONAMI, Oregon's signature research center focused on growing research and commercialization to accelerate innovation-based economic development in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

But he admitted it will take a visionary business partner.

"The challenge is that we're trying to change a paradigm, moving from centrally-produced energy to distributed energy production, and that's not easy," he said. "But wind and solar energy technologies faced difficulties in their early days. And we're coming to a place in history where we cannot tolerate the growing uncertainty of petroleum-based energy supplies."


ONAMI is a collaboration involving Oregon's three public research universities - Oregon State University, Portland State University and University of Oregon - as well as the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., the state of Oregon and the regional business community.

President Bush, in his 2006 State-of-the-Union address, pledged support for cutting-edge research in methods to produce biofuels. Jovanovic hopes his research will get a benefit from this pledge.

The federal government has granted $8 million over four years to OSU as one of the country's five Sun Grant centers of excellence - regional hubs charged with research and development of new technologies for using agricultural wastes, residues and new crops for the production of bio-energy.

Finding a better way to make biodiesel

AMES, Iowa -- They're only 250 billionths of a meter in diameter. But fill them with the right chemistry and Iowa State scientists say the tiny nanospheres they've developed could revolutionize how biodiesel is produced.

The researchers are after a new, high-tech catalyst that takes some of the energy, labor and toxic chemicals out of biodiesel production. They've come up with a technology that works in the laboratory. And now they're working with the West Central Cooperative in Ralston to test their discoveries on a larger scale. They're also working to establish a company that would move the new technology into biorefineries.

The Iowa State research team is led by Victor Lin, an associate professor of chemistry. The team also includes George Kraus and John Verkade, both University Professors of chemistry at Iowa State. The researchers are part of Iowa State's Center for Catalysis.

Their project is being supported by a $1.8 million, three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a $120,000, two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and a $140,000 grant from the Grow Iowa Values Fund.

"This is a project that's definitely relevant to the state's economy," Lin said. "I thought as a scientist I could contribute something to the state."

Current biodiesel production technology reacts soy oil with methanol using toxic, corrosive and flammable sodium methoxide as a catalyst. Getting biodiesel out of the chemical mixture requires acid neutralization, water washes and separation steps. It's a tedious process that dissolves the catalysts so they can't be used again, Lin said.

So Lin and his research team started looking for technologies that would create an easier, more efficient and more economical process. They were also hoping to find technologies that would effectively make biodiesel out of raw materials such as used restaurant oils and animal fats -- materials that are much cheaper than soy oil, but also contain free fatty acids that can't be converted to biodiesel by current production methods.

Lin has developed a nanotechnology that accurately controls the production of tiny, uniformly shaped silica particles. Running all the way through the particles are honeycombs of relatively large channels that can be filled with a catalyst that reacts with soybean oil to create biodiesel. The particles can also be loaded with chemical gatekeepers that encourage the soybean oil to enter the channels where chemical reactions take place. The results include faster conversion to biodiesel, a catalyst that can be recycled and elimination of the wash step in the production process.

Lin's particles can also be used as a catalyst to efficiently convert animal fats into biodiesel by creating a mixed oxide catalyst that has both acidic and basic catalytic sites. Acidic catalysts on the particle can convert the free fatty acids to biodiesel while basic catalysts can convert the oils into fuel.

And the particles themselves are environmentally safe because they are made of calcium and sand.

"We're excited about this and so is West Central," Lin said. "This serves as an example of how nanotechnology can be useful for advancing an industry that's not that high-tech. And this allows our students from the Midwest -- some of them from farms -- to learn a new kind of technology that doesn't take them away from home."

Larry Breeding, the general manager of biodiesel operations for the West Central Cooperative, said the technology shows promise for improving the efficiency of biodiesel production. But he said it still needs to be tested at larger and larger scales to see if the economic benefits are there. Tests also need to prove if the technology works in continuous-flow production rather than batch-by-batch production.

"This research is a real boon to us," Breeding said. "We don't have a research campus. So we have to rely on academia and we've leaned on the people at Iowa State very heavily for a lot of this work."

Contacts:

Victor Lin, Chemistry, (515) 294-3135

Larry Breeding, West Central Cooperative, (712) 667-3511

Mike Krapfl, News Service, (515) 294-4917