Clean Energy Fuels Opens Newest Public CNG Station at JFK International Airport

Clean Energy Fuels Corp., today announced fueling has begun at its newest public access CNG station in New York, which is located at JFK International Airport within the newly-opened JFK multi-fuel travel plaza, the only travel plaza in New York City available to motorists. Clean Energy will be fueling many types of fleets including refuse trucks, heavy and medium duty trucks, ready-mix concrete trucks, as well as shuttles and taxis that directly serve JFK travelers.

“CNG is an important fueling option for New York businesses and has proven to be a reliable fuel for the people of New York during times of natural disaster,” said Peter Grace, senior vice president of sales and finance at Clean Energy. “We congratulate Airport Plaza for today’s grand opening and are proud to be the CNG provider at this innovative alternative fueling station.”

The new public CNG station is open 24/7 and accepts credit cards and fleet fuel cards. In addition to CNG, the JFK travel plaza also features other alternative fuels, such as E-85, electric vehicle charging stations, as well as conventional gasoline and diesel. However, CNG is the only alternative fuel which can meet the fueling needs of vehicles ranging from taxis to heavy-duty trucks which will be fueling at this station.

“As one of the first ready-mix companies in the United States to utilize natural gas in our ready-mix concrete mixers, we’re excited about fueling with Clean Energy,” said Bob Gartman, vice president of operations, Ferrara Brothers Building Materials Corp. “As a local Queens company based in Flushing, our CNG fueling will not only positively impact the surrounding community and environment, limiting the need for foreign oil, but will also positively impact our bottom line.”

Clean Energy is now successfully operating at every international airport in the Northeast and currently operates over thirty public stations in the Tri-State area.

“The New York Department of Sanitation’s municipal refuse fleet is the largest in the nation and requires a fueling partner who can meet the demands of our fleet,” said Rocco DiRico, deputy commissioner, New York City Department of Sanitation. “The new JFK CNG station makes fueling even easier for our department.”

Natural gas fuel costs up to $1.50 less per gallon than gasoline or diesel, depending on local market conditions. The use of natural gas fuel not only reduces operating costs for vehicles, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions up to 30% in light-duty vehicles and 23% in medium to heavy-duty vehicles. In addition, nearly all natural gas consumed in North America is produced domestically.

Aurora Algae Expands Operation in South Texas

Following six months of testing and evaluation, Aurora Algae has confirmed the potential for commercial-scale algae cultivation in South Texas, and is expanding its test facility, beginning with four, one-acre cultivation ponds and a harvesting system.

“We have successfully tested our algae cultivation system in countries around the world, including Australia, India, Italy, Mexico, and multiple locations in the United States,” said Greg Bafalis, Aurora Algae CEO. “Our most recent test site, near Harlingen, Texas, is meeting and surpassing our growth rate expectations for this area.”

Aurora Algae operated a demonstration-scale algae cultivation facility in Karratha, Western Australia, for over two-and-a-half years, successfully demonstrating production of up to 15 tonnes of dried algal biomass per month while continuing to refine its cultivation and harvesting processes. Aurora management believes the Karratha facility to have been the most technologically advanced algae production system in the world.

Research and development activities at the Karratha facility were concluded in December 2013, and the Company turned its focus to the commercialization of its proprietary algae cultivation process.

Located nine miles from Harlingen, the Aurora Algae evaluation site in Rio Hondo, Texas, sits on a 1,880-acre parcel, which was formerly home to a shrimp farming operation.

“Our algae grow best in salt water, in warm climates without too much rainfall,” explained Bafalis. “From our initial testing, South Texas looks like a great fit for our requirements. Early results are extremely encouraging, and we are excited by the possibility of building our first commercial-scale operation on American soil.”

BIO Encourages EPA to Speed Approvals of New Biofuel Pathways

In response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement it will halt new petitions for renewable fuel pathways for approximately six months, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today urged the agency to speed up rather than slow down the Petition Process for New Renewable Fuel Pathways under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). EPA first established the petition process in March 2010, as it finalized the rules for the RFS.

Brent Erickson, Executive Vice President of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, said, “EPA’s effort to improve the petition process for new renewable fuel pathways under the RFS is welcome. But the agency should aim to complete this review process in a more timely manner.

“Advanced biofuel companies need a pathway to the fuel market in order to attract necessary investment to build and start up new production facilities that create new jobs. The lengthy wait for approval of new pathways chills job creation and investment in the sector.

“In the past four years, EPA has completed fewer than half of the 62 petitions it has received for new renewable fuel pathways under the RFS. More than 36 petitions are still awaiting action – either approval or denial – and the average time that all petitioning companies have waited is currently 17 months. Companies filing cellulosic biofuel pathway petitions have faced the longest wait times – on average 24 months. This delay has slowed deployment of new advanced biofuel technologies.

“Combined with the proposed rule the proposed delay of the petition process may further undermine the development of advanced and cellulosic biofuels just as they are set to produce millions of commercial gallons and launch a rapid scale up.”

Purdue Researchers Launch Innovative Biomass Renewable Energy Company

Mahdi Abu-Omar

Purdue University researchers are launching a company focusing on an innovative process that could revolutionize how lignocellulosic biomass is used to make biofuels and other bio-based products and chemicals.

Spero Energy Inc., which is based in the Purdue Research Park, will be led by Mahdi Abu-Omar, the R.B. Wetherill Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and associate director of Purdue's Center for Direct Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels (C3Bio).

"Spero Energy's transformative technology of making high-value chemical products from lignin with simultaneous production of lignin-free cellulose in one step, is a significant step toward our nation's pursuit of renewable energy sources," said Abu-Omar, division head of inorganic chemistry and associate director of C3Bio. "The lignin-derived Spero products also are expected to provide this new company an entry into the aromatic specialty chemicals market."

Current biorefinery processes for producing cellulosic ethanol make use of the carbohydrates in the biomass. The lignin, accounting for more than 35 percent of the carbon in biomass, is often used in low-value applications such as heat generation.

Spero's technology portfolio, based on research efforts at C3Bio, centers on novel catalytic processes for converting lignin in wood biomass and waste to liquid chemical products. These chemicals have applications in flavoring and fragrance in addition to high-octane fuels and high-value materials, Abu-Omar said.

The process developed by Spero - its name means "hope" in Latin - produces lignin-free cellulose that can be easily converted into fermentable sugars and sugar-derived, high-value chemicals. It focuses on the delignification of mechanically milled and shredded wood with lignin conversion to methoxypropylphenols with a bifunctional catalyst under mild thermal conditions.

Phenols, which currently are manufactured from petroleum feedstock through multistep processes, are high-value fragrance and flavor compounds.

Current biofuel production is a multistep process, with carbohydrates separated from lignin in a pretreatment process, generally using acid and high temperatures.

For ethanol production, enzymes break down plant material carbohydrates into sugars, which are fermented using yeast. The yeast, using the sugars as food, creates ethanol.

Lignin, however, acts as a physical barrier in plant cell walls, making it difficult for enzymes to break down the biomass, and a chemical barrier by poisoning the enzymes. Without expensive pretreatment, the enzymes get to less than 20 percent of the biomass sugars.

Basudeb Saha, an associate research scientist at Purdue, will serve as chief technology officer of the new company, and postdoctoral researcher Trenton Parsell, with doctoral students Ian Klein and Barron Hewetson, are part of Spero's technical team. Agricultural and biological engineering professor Nathan Mosier and chemical engineering professor Fabio Ribeiro are scientific advisers.

Spero is a spinoff of efforts by Purdue researchers working on the U.S. Department of Energy-funded C3Bio project at Purdue. Affiliated with Discovery Park's Energy Center and the Bindley Bioscience Center, C3Bio also is investigating how to produce fuels that closely resemble gasoline in terms of their molecular makeup and energy density.

"We're excited about how our DOE-funded C3Bio team at Purdue is advancing this high-risk, high-reward research effort," said biological sciences professor Maureen McCann, director of C3Bio and the Purdue Energy Center. "We believe we are having a meaningful, broader impact on the overall economy and the pursuit of viable renewable energy sources through patented technologies and processes and startup companies such as Spero Energy."

Since its 2009 launch through a $20 million grant from the DOE, C3Bio and its team of researchers led by McCann have aimed at using thermal and chemical catalysts to create biofuels that utilize more of a plant's carbon.

The C3Bio team hopes to engineer catalysts or catalytic sites into plants and use heat or chemical catalysts to convert the biomass into fuel directly, without the need for enzymes, yeasts or other microbes. In addition, five patent applications have been filed in connection with the research generated through C3Bio.

The five-year project also has had additional impacts. C3Bio has created more than 20 jobs for students, postdoctoral researchers and professional staff in Indiana and another eight jobs at partner institutions. McCann also serves as director of the Purdue Energy Center.

Joining Purdue as partners of C3Bio are the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, University of Tennessee, Northeastern University and Argonne National Laboratory.

Abu-Omar, who came to Purdue in 2003 from the University of California at Los Angeles, has published more than 100 original research papers and mentored 25 doctoral students and 10 postdoctoral fellows. He and his research group are developing catalysts that transform renewable resources such as biomass to hydrocarbon fuels and high-value chemicals.

A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Abu-Omar won the JPP Young Investigator Award from the Society of Porphyrins and Phtalocyanines and was a senior Fulbright Fellow. He also was a University Faculty Scholar and won the College of Science Interdisciplinary Award in 2010.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Converts Vehicles To Alternative Fuels; Set To Install EV Recharging Stations

Image Credit : ETCleanFuels

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is loved by millions of Americans, including the over 9 million annual visitors. Unfortunately, the vehicles that bring visitors to the park and aid staff also produce tailpipe emissions that pollute the air and threaten iconic views and species. To reduce the environmental impact of vehicles in the park, the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition (ETCleanFuels) is pleased to announce a new project with the National Park Service (NPS) and the Land of Sky Clean Vehicles Coalition to deploy alternative fuel vehicles, reduce park transportation costs and improve park air quality with joint Department of Energy and Department of Interior grant funding.

“I think the American public understands that managing a National Park is a tremendous responsibility and takes a great deal of dedication and effort by its staff, volunteers and supporters,” said +Jonathan Overly, Executive Director of ETCleanFuels. “Vehicles should enhance the work of park staff, not strain budgets with high fuel costs or harm the park’s natural resources.”

The project partners will collaborate to replace three gasoline pickup trucks with all-electric work trucks, convert five gasoline mowers to operate on propane, and install four public electric vehicle (EV) chargers at the Sugarlands and Oconaluftee Visitor Centers. DC fast-charging stations capable of repowering an all-electric vehicle in about twenty minutes will be installed at each of the two Visitor Centers—a first for the National Park Service. Traditional Level 2, 220-volt chargers will be installed as well.

A collection of outreach materials is also being released to help the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and others engage visitors and staff on the benefits of ecofriendly driving practices. The Green Rides Toolkit, as it is called, addresses vehicle idling, green driving habits, alternative fuels use, efficient vehicles options, and more sustainable forms of transportation such as mass transit, biking and walking.

ETCleanFuels looks forward to assisting the park in its on-going work to reduce emissions. Since 2005, the Smokies have been using biodiesel in their vehicles and heating fuel and are one of the largest users of biodiesel in East Tennessee. By converting to alternative fuels, organizations not only improve the quality of their communities’ air, but also achieve fuel cost savings and help secure America’s energy independence. Local, county and state parks are encouraged to look to the National Park Service’s alternative fuels work as a tremendous case study example and are welcome to seek grant funding and technical assistance from ETCleanFuels as well.