July Ethanol production moved sharply higher ending the month with 799,764,000 gallons of total production. This marks the first month that daily production topped 600,000 barrels per day with 614,000 barrels per day produced.
July 2008 - 799,764,000 gallons
June 2008 - 736,848,000 gallons
May 2008 - 778,806,000 gallons
April 2008 - 708,456,000 gallons
March 2008 - 730,674,000 gallons
February 2008 - 631,050,000 gallons
January 2008 - 664,356,000 gallons
December 2007 - 636,762,000 gallons
November 2007 - 602,592,000 gallons
October 2007 - 588,756,000 gallons
January 2007 - 488,082,000 gallons
Source: - Energy Information Administration
September 30, 2008
September 29, 2008
Caterpillar Approves Use Of B20 Biodiesel For Compact and Mid-Range Industrial Engines
Caterpillar today approved the use of B20 biodiesel -20% dilution of biodiesel with standard diesel - across its range of compact and mid-range engines including the C0.5 through C2.2 Tier 4 Interim (11-66 hp), the C4.4, C4.4 ACERT® and C6.6 ACERT® (72-275 hp) Tier 3/Stage IIIA compliant engines. Caterpillar believes the growth of biodiesel as a fuel source and the move to higher percentage blends makes approval of this fuel source a strategic market advantage for OEMs and end users.
Addition of these engines to the B20 approved product line follows successful testing of higher percentage blended fuels in a number of installations. Results of those tests indicate trouble-free operation. Biodiesel used in B20 blends must meet the most current version of ASTM D6751 or EN14214. The final B20 blend should meet the minimum requirements of the upcoming ASTM specification for B5-B20 blends.
“This announcement further confirms Cat’s commitment to its industrial customers by bringing the broadest range of biodiesel compatible engines to market.” said Cat industrial engine marketing manager Mike Reinhart. “These engines join the previously B30 approved C7 ACERT® through C32 ACERT® and our 3400 and 3500 series. Cat industrial engines provide customers who want the flexibility to utilize a wide variety of fuels the confidence to use them in numerous industrial applications,” Reinhart added. “Biodiesel that meets industry quality standards can be good for the environment and for our customers.”
Addition of these engines to the B20 approved product line follows successful testing of higher percentage blended fuels in a number of installations. Results of those tests indicate trouble-free operation. Biodiesel used in B20 blends must meet the most current version of ASTM D6751 or EN14214. The final B20 blend should meet the minimum requirements of the upcoming ASTM specification for B5-B20 blends.
“This announcement further confirms Cat’s commitment to its industrial customers by bringing the broadest range of biodiesel compatible engines to market.” said Cat industrial engine marketing manager Mike Reinhart. “These engines join the previously B30 approved C7 ACERT® through C32 ACERT® and our 3400 and 3500 series. Cat industrial engines provide customers who want the flexibility to utilize a wide variety of fuels the confidence to use them in numerous industrial applications,” Reinhart added. “Biodiesel that meets industry quality standards can be good for the environment and for our customers.”
PetroSun To Build Algae Farm Pilot Plant In China
PetroSun has entered into an agreement with a Shanghai Firm to construct and operate a commercial scale algae farm pilot facility in China.PetroSun, Inc. announced today that the Company has executed an agreement with Shanghai Jun Ya Yan Technology Development Co., Ltd. to establish a commercial scale algae farm system pilot facility within the People's Republic of China. The planned algae farm complex will produce algae biomass for conversion to biodiesel, ethanol and other commercial products.
The terms of the agreement include a forty million dollar ($40,000,000US) sole funding commitment from Shanghai Jun Ya Yan Technology Development for the construction and equipping of the initial algae farm system. The profits from the venture will be allocated on a 50/50 basis between the parties. PetroSun China has been granted the license from PetroSun, Inc. for the algae-to-biofuel technology and will manage the operations in China.
Source : PetroSun Press Release
September 24, 2008
Ethanol Production More Energy Efficient Than Previously Thought
University of Nebraska at Lincoln researcher Kenneth Cassman concluded in a upcoming study that ethanol production has become more energy efficient.“Recent research conducted at the University of Nebraska clearly shows that estimates for the energy balance of corn-based ethanol are much more favorable – in fact two to three times more favorable, than previous estimates,” Cassman said. “That's because most of the published values for energy efficiency of corn-ethanol are ‘backward looking’ in the sense they evaluated older technologies with regard to energy use in corn production, the biorefinery, and co-product utilization.”
The study also addresses how much petroleum is needed to produce a given quantuty of ethanol.
Using dated information simply doesn’t work in a world where the technology and efficiency of corn and ethanol production are rapidly improving over the years,” he said. “Moreover, if the goal is to reduce dependence on imported oil, we estimate that 13 gallons of ethanol are produced for every gallon of petroleum used in the production lifecycle for corn ethanol.”
The study has been submitted to be published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology.
Source : Clean Air Choice
September 23, 2008
Tyson Foods Executive Blames Ethanol For Rising Food Prices
Richard Greubel, president of Tyson Foods’ international division, blamed ethanol for pushing up food prices in a recent news article.
He claims that ethanol production has caused corn prices to rise which will push up meat prices. And while it is true that corn prices have gone up in part because of ethanol production, any direct link is much harder to find.
It is also true that retail prices for chicken has gone up. According to the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) the retail broiler composite has gone up from $1.674 per pound in August 2007 to $1.741 in August 2008. But the numbers that are most telling are the wholesale prices for the same time periods. The wholesale broiler composite went from $.814 per pound in August 2007 to $.719 in August 2008.
In other words producers at the lower end of the chicken supply chain are receiving less money in August of this year compared to last while at the retail level prices are higher. So the increased cost at the retail level that we were lead to believe was to cover rising feed costs isn't being passed down to the people actually buying the corn.
Note: According to this article the same thing appears to be happening in the pork industry as well.
The rising price of foods in local supermarkets is a direct result of Congress’ increased mandate for U. S. ethanol production, a Tyson Foods Inc. executive told University of Arkansas at Fort Smith students Monday.
He claims that ethanol production has caused corn prices to rise which will push up meat prices. And while it is true that corn prices have gone up in part because of ethanol production, any direct link is much harder to find.
It is also true that retail prices for chicken has gone up. According to the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) the retail broiler composite has gone up from $1.674 per pound in August 2007 to $1.741 in August 2008. But the numbers that are most telling are the wholesale prices for the same time periods. The wholesale broiler composite went from $.814 per pound in August 2007 to $.719 in August 2008.
In other words producers at the lower end of the chicken supply chain are receiving less money in August of this year compared to last while at the retail level prices are higher. So the increased cost at the retail level that we were lead to believe was to cover rising feed costs isn't being passed down to the people actually buying the corn.
Note: According to this article the same thing appears to be happening in the pork industry as well.
Retail pork price in August were up 1.9 percent from July and up 2.9 percent from August of 2007. For January-August retail pork price were up 1.3 percent from a year earlier. Only the marketers benefited from the higher retail prices. The processor-retailer margin was up 1.8 percent and the packers' margin was up 8.6 percent from 12 months earlier. The producer’s average price for January-August was down 1.2 percent from 2007.