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Biofuels News

India targets 20% blending of diesel to biodiesel by 2017

By: Zandile Mavuso 18th September 2015 The Indian government is planning to boost the use of biofuels in transport fuels after recognising their major contribution to air pollution. →

US biofuels consumption saved significant carbon emissions in past decade

18th September 2015 Based on analysis done by the Biotechnology Industry Organisation (Bio), in the past decade, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) programme’s requirement to substitute biofuels for fossil fuels has displaced nearly 1.9-billion barrels of foreign oil and reduced US transportation-related carbon... →

Biogas from fish, chocolate used in carpet production

By: Zandile Mavuso 18th September 2015 Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion of fish, chocolate and other food waste is currently being used as an ecofriendly agent in the production of carpets by global carpet manufacturer Interface Flooring’s plant in the Netherlands, which it hopes to employ in all its plants globally. →

Diesel generator manufacturer builds its first biogas product

18th September 2015 Generator supplier Diesel Electric Services has recently completed building its first biogas-fuelled generator, which can export 150 kW of electrical power. →

Solaris biofuel crop in Limpopo certified as sustainable

By: Keith Campbell 18th September 2015 The Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) has certified the Solaris biofuel feedstock plant grown in South Africa and used to produce jet biofuel. Solaris is a variety of the tobacco plant, but without any nicotine and not developed through modern genetic modification processes. “Project... →

Limpopo biofuel crop certified as sustainable

By: Keith Campbell 2nd September 2015 The Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) has certified the Solaris biofuel feedstock plant grown in South Africa and used to produce jet biofuel. Solaris is a variety of the tobacco plant, but without any nicotine and not developed through modern genetic modification processes. “Project... →

IDC puts biomass plants up for sale

By: Natasha Odendaal 21st July 2015 The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has put its two biomass pellet manufacturing plants up for sale. Potential buyers, who would be subject to a confidentiality agreement, were invited last week to submit their offers for the IDC’s 100 000 t/y Coega-based biomass plant and the 80 000 t/y... →

Illovo says policy certainty key to unlocking sugar’s cogeneration potential

By: Terence Creamer 25th May 2015 Sugar producer Illovo says there is a major opportunity to alleviate South Africa’s immediate power crisis and reduce rural poverty by more fully exploiting the industry’s electricity cogeneration potential. But MD Gavin Dalgleish says this potential will only be fully exploited once there is... →

Photo by Duane Daws
Illovo MD Gavin Dalgleish

Eskom exec attempt to reassure SA amid power woes

By: Kim Cloete 13th May 2015 Eskom’s group executive for generation, Mongezi Ntsokolo, was at pains to assure South Africans that the utility was working hard to sort out the country's shortage in electricity supply, when addressing delegates at an African Utility Week panel discussion on Wednesday along with energy... →

Sasol to complete design of biogas plant by year-end

By: David Oliveira 24th April 2015 Petrochemicals group Sasol will finalise the conceptual design of a 60 Mℓ anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) at the end of this year, which is expected to generate 40 MW of electricity by treating a gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant’s industrial effluent to produce methane-rich biogas. Sasol... →

ANAEROBIC MEMBRANE BIOREACTOR Sasol’s 20 000 ℓ pilot scale plant was completed in 2013 following a 12-month construction period

Four stats you should know about project management and engineering in South Africa

By: Creamer Media Reporter 17th April 2015 Today’s organisations execute projects within increasingly complex environments – particularly in the engineering sector. The ability to successfully execute these projects is what drives the realisation of successful projects and, ultimately, the achievement of business objectives. As such, the... →

CSIR report to help guide SA’s transition to an agricultural green economy

By: Tracy Hancock 27th March 2015 The agricultural sector has a key role to play in a green economy, which incorporates both an environmental and social dimension, notes Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) senior researcher and/or leader of the Agricultural Green Economy Project Dr Constansia Musvoto. “The sheer... →

DoE goes to ground over mandatory blending of biofuels deadline

By: Natalie Greve 6th March 2015 Amid an ongoing delay in the promulgation of the Final Position Paper on Biofuels by the Department of Energy (DoE), prospective biodiesel producers have cautioned that continued legislative uncertainty could cripple the fledgling industry. The ‘Regulations regarding the mandatory blending of... →

Group Five expects up to 50% drop in H1 earnings a share

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 2nd February 2015 Construction company Group Five expects its headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ended December 31 to be between 40% and 50% lower than the comparative period the year before, owing to a disappointing performance from its engineering and construction cluster. The company expected... →

Creamer Media publishes Liquid Fuels 2014 - A review of South Africa's Liquid Fuels sector research report

19th January 2015 Creamer Media’s Liquid Fuels 2014 Report examines these issues, focusing on the business environment, oil and gas exploration, the country’s feedstock supplies, the development of South Africa’s biofuels industry, fuel pricing, competition in the sector, the logistics of transporting liquid fuels... →

SAA to test biofuel flight next year

By: Natasha Odendaal 9th December 2014 As project Solaris gains traction, South African Airways (SAA) has made headway on its journey to becoming a biofueled airliner by 2020 through the conversion of nicotine-free Solaris tobacco plants into more environment-friendly jet fuel. SAA is currently preparing to fuel a domestic test flight... →

Solaris nicotine-free tobacco plants

Airline to turn tobacco into sustainable jet fuel

19th September 2014 For two years, Italy-based industrial research and development company Sunchem have been working on producing jet fuel using a tobacco crop project in Marble Hall, Limpopo, which has proved to be successful in the small-scale trials, says Sunchem SA MD Joost van Lier. Sustainable jet fuel... →

Consortium to lead soybean production in the Eastern Cape by 2016

19th September 2014 Development financier the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) signed a cooperation agreement with Argentina-based consortium A & G International in July, which will lead to the production of 25 000 ha of soybeans and other grains for biofuels, human consumption and animal feed in the... →

Company develops packaged power boiler

By: Jonathan Rodin 19th September 2014 Cape Town-based industrial boilers designer and manufacturer John Thompson developed the MicroGen watertube boiler – launched this year – to cater for increasing demand for small, medium-pressure power boilers that are particularly suited to applications in fibrous biomass fuel and coal-fired... →

South African biofuels industry slowly growing

By: Jonathan Rodin 19th September 2014 Although a fledgling industry, biofuels in South Africa looks promising, owing to the high volumes of waste being produced that need to be managed and South Africa’s electricity constraints, says power technology, systems and solutions, equipment and aftermarket service provider Clyde Bergemann... →

New facility increases manufacturing capacity

5th September 2014 US-based oil refiner Chevron Corporation started commercial production of premium base oils from a newly constructed manufacturing facility at the company’s refinery in Pascagoula, near Mississippi, in July. →

INCREASING CAPACITY
The facility will help countries around the world meet increasingly strict regulatory requirements and higher performance standards for lubricants

Photo by Reuters
INCREASING CAPACITY The facility will help countries around the world meet increasingly strict regulatory requirements and higher performance standards for lubricants

EnviroServ converting sludge into green energy at Belville facility

By: Kim Cloete 13th August 2014 While solar and wind energy tend to attract the most attention in the renewable energy space in South Africa, developments in biogas could make it an increasingly viable option. With the help of an international partner, South African waste management company EnviroServ has developed an... →

Photo by Bloomberg
Anaerobic Digestion produces a renewable biogas and digestate, a soil improver that can replace traditional fertilisers

New aviation biofuel project launched in South Africa

By: Keith Campbell 6th August 2014 South African Airways (SAA) and US aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced on Wednesday the latest development in their partnership (launched in October last year) to establish a sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain in Southern Africa. The two groups have established a collaboration with... →

Photo by SkyNRG
Solaris plants

SA claims market-access improvements as deal with EU is finally ‘initialled’

By: Terence Creamer 18th July 2014 The long-running and highly contested Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations between seven Southern African countries and the European Union (EU) have been concluded, with South Africa insisting that the new deal preserves coherence within the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) and... →

Dual-powered public transport economically viable, ‘favourable’ – study

By: Natalie Greve 7th July 2014 A ten-month programme investigating the viability of using clean-burning methane – in the form of compressed natural gas (CNG) and compressed biogas (CBG) – to power passenger vehicles in South Africa, has shown that the conversion of petrol- or diesel-powered minibus taxis and urban buses to a... →

From engines and new fuels to connectivity, Airbus pushing innovation envelope

By: Keith Campbell 4th July 2014 European airliner manufacturer Airbus spends some €2-billion a year on research and development (R&D), research and technology (R&T) and innovation. Airbus is part of the larger Airbus Group and it is important to stress that this is the figure for the airliner company and not the group as a... →

Afasa eagerly awaiting biofuels position paper publication, ready to participate

By: Leandi Kolver 22nd April 2014 The African Farmers Association of South Africa (AFASA) on Tuesday said it welcomed the announcement made by the Department of Energy that the final biofuels position paper would be published next month, stating that it was ready to meaningfully participate in the first phase of the biofuels... →

Green economy could aid in global unemployment challenge

By: Natasha Odendaal 9th April 2014 Transitioning to a green economy can help the world mitigate rising unemployment levels, particularly at a time when youth unemployment is peaking. Globally, in 2013, 202-million people were unemployed, up five-million on the previous year, said International Labour Organization (ILO) Green Jobs... →

Amid technical and financial concerns, SA moves ahead with biofuels strategy

By: Schalk Burger 21st March 2014 While the food-versus-fuel dilemma remains, South Africa is moving ahead with the roll-out of its much debated biofuels strategy, which even received a mention in President Jacob Zuma’s February State of the Nation address, when he confirmed that biofuels manufacturers had been selected and had... →

Amid technical and financial concerns, SA moves ahead with biofuels strategy

By: Schalk Burger 21st March 2014 While the food-versus-fuel dilemma remains, South Africa is moving ahead with the roll-out of its much debated biofuels strategy, which even received a mention in President Jacob Zuma's February State of the Nation address, when he confirmed that biofuels manufacturers had been selected and had... →

Recognition of biofuels in SoNA underscoring relevance of industry

By: Leandi Kolver 17th February 2014 President Jacob Zuma’s recognition of South Africa’s emerging biofuels sector in the 2014 State of the Nation Address (SoNA) underscored the relevance of the industry to the country’s economic growth plans, South African biofuels company Mabele Fuels said on Monday. During the SoNA, Zuma... →

NMMU coal fines to biofuel technology to undergo feasibility study in 2014

By: Leandi Kolver 27th January 2014 The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s (NMMU’s) Coalgae technology, converting waste coal dust into high-quality clean coal, that could then, with further processing, be transformed into biofuel, would undergo a full feasibility study early this year, the university said on Monday. Coalgae... →

NMMU develops biofuels technology using coal fines, algae

By: Leandi Kolver 24th January 2014 The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), in the Eastern Cape, has developed and patented a new technology to blend microalgae with fine coal particles that could further the realisation of a biofuels industry. Through this technology, coal fines are mixed with microalgae in an... →

Draft Biofuels Regulatory Framework published for public comment

By: Leandi Kolver 16th January 2014 The Department of Energy (DoE), on Wednesday, published its draft position paper on the South African Biofuels Regulatory Framework, which included the mandatory blending regulations and a pricing framework, in the Government Gazette for public comment. According to the document, the South... →

Creamer Media publishes Liquid Fuels 2013 research report

6th November 2013 Creamer Media’s 2013 Liquid Fuels electronic research report examines South Africa’s liquid fuels market, focusing on the business environment, oil and gas exploration, the country’s feedstock supplies, the development of South Africa’s biofuels industry, fuel pricing, competition in the sector,... →

Zimbabwe says work could start in 2014 on Batoka Gorge hydro project

By: Oscar Nkala 18th October 2013 The Zimbabwe government says work on the construction of the Batoka Gorge hydroelectric scheme, on the Zambezi river, will mostly likely begin at the end of 2014, following the conclusion of feasibility studies and the project's designs. →

SAA and Boeing to cooperate on biofuels in Southern Africa

By: Keith Campbell 11th October 2013 South African Airways and US aerospace giant Boeing on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate in the development and implementation of a “sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain in Southern Africa”, in the words of the joint press release. The MoU was signed at the... →

Photo by Duane Daws/Creamer Media
A Boeing 737-800 of South African Airways

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