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ASHTON, Wis. — A Madison company hopes to begin making biodiesel from soybean oil about April 1 on the far south side of Cashton. And it hopes to begin producing electricity by late 2007 using synthetic gas made from manure and sawdust at a pyrolysis unit that would be built near the biodiesel plant. The biodiesel plant in the Cashton Greens Business Park on the west side of Hwy. 27 is expected to have about 15 employees, and the pyrolysis unit will have about 12 employees, said Neil Young, president and CEO of BEST Energies Inc. in Madison. Cashton Greens,...

he recent pouring of the foundation for the nation's largest biodiesel plant at the Port of Grays Harbor, Wash., was cause for celebration for many people and for many reasons. "We stand here today to celebrate not just the foundation of a physical plant, but the foundation of an entire movement - a movement away from our dependence on foreign oil toward reliance on renewable, home-grown biofuels," said John Plaza, founder and president of Imperium Renewables. The new plant, Imperium Grays Harbor, will produce up to 100 million gallons of biodiesel, mainly from soybean, canola oil and other extracts. The...

With the price of oil topping a wallet-busting U.S. $70 a barrel yesterday, the search for alternative fuels keeps heating up. Last week, scientists announced what may be a new end-run around the oil problem: producing diesel fuel from coal, natural gas, and organic material. Reporting in the current issue of the Journal Science, researchers say they have developed a way to shuffle the carbon atoms derived from cheap fuel sources like coal to form more desirable combinations, such as ethane gas and diesel fuel. In their study, scientists scrambled the makeup of hydrocarbons—organic compounds found in fossil fuels—using two...

DaimlerChrysler project was shaped by a tropical fish DaimlerChrysler on Tuesday unveiled a diesel concept car that gets more than 70 miles per gallon, reduces some pollutants by 80 percent, seats four and looks like something that popped out of a Caribbean reef — only magnified. The company attributed the high mileage and lower emissions to new technology and an aerodynamic design based on the biology of a boxfish.The fully functional car was on display at a company technology exhibit in Washington, D.C. DaimlerChrysler said it had no plans to mass produce the vehicle, but that some of the technology...

DETROIT ? They won't celebrate in public, but the Big Three domestic automakers are hoping that Democratic control of the U.S. House and perhaps the Senate will bring a government that's more responsive to their plight as they fight for business with Asian competitors. Top U.S. auto executives have grown increasingly frustrated with the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress on energy policies, health care costs, currency manipulation by other countries and protection of intellectual property. After months of trying, leaders of the Big Three are scheduled to meet Tuesday at the White House with President Bush, White House spokesman...

Toyota Motor Corp. has formed an alliance with Isuzu Motors Ltd., positioning diesel engines as a pillar of next-generation environmental technologies. Under the alliance announced on Tuesday, Toyota will purchase 100 million common shares of Isuzu for 44 billion yen from Mitsubishi Corp. and Itochu Corp. It will become Isuzu's third-largest shareholder after the two trading houses. Toyota said its equity stake will be at least 5.9 percent even if other investors convert Isuzu's preferred shares into common stock, which carry voting rights. Toyota and Isuzu aim to commercialize new small diesel engines in three years. Isuzu, a major diesel...

A California company and a Department of Energy research lab have announced that they're teaming up to make oil out of algae — a potential fuel source that would be low species of algae are promising, LiveFuels said, but the fats — at prices around $1,200 a pound — are cost prohibitive. "'Fat algae' doesn't sound like a biocrude oil feedstock, but the petroleum we use today is derived from prehistoric biomass (including algae)," LiveFuels said in a statement announcing the joint venture. "Nature's biomass decomposition process occurred over millions of years under conditions of enormous heat and pressure. Much...

SUGAR LAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Independence Renewable Energy Corporation is moving forward with the first phase of a planned 40 million-gallon per year biodiesel plant. ADVERTISEMENT For details, view the entire article by subscribing to Industrialinfo.com's Premium Industry News at http://www.industrialinfo.com/showNews.jsp?newsitemID=102094, or browse other breaking industrial news stories at www.industrialinfo.com. Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a Marketing Information Service company that has been doing business for over 23 years. IIR is respected as the leader in providing comprehensive market intelligence pertaining to the industrial processing, heavy manufacturing, and energy-related industries throughout the world. For...

PHILADELPHIA - Hundreds of millions of tons of waste coal are lying around the mines of Pennsylvania and nearby states, and that gets John Rich excited. Rich is president of WMPI, in Gilberton, northeastern Pennsylvania, where he is setting up the first plant in the United States to turn waste coal into diesel fuel. "This will help clean it up once and for all," he said. "It's a lot cheaper to pick it up from the ground than to dig it out." Rich plans to start producing diesel for the state of Pennsylvania and other clients within three years, one...

Take it from someone who spent a childhood in the backseat of diesel-powered cars: They stank. It wasn't just the noxious spew from the tailpipe or the kerosene odor you endured while filling up next to towering 18-wheelers. The engines clattered and shook, or they refused to start at all on frigid Michigan mornings. They even caused cancer: Several studies found the sooty exhaust to be a carcinogen, and it was linked to asthma, heart attacks and premature deaths. My only fond diesel memory was how my penny-pinching father coaxed 300,000 miles from his oil-burning Mercedes-Benz cars and International Harvester...

AltCar Expo Set for December 9-10 in Santa Monica Santa Monica, California, September 21, 2006 – The City of Santa Monica announced today it will sponsor and host the most comprehensive, technologically advanced exposition of alternative fuel and high MPG vehicles ever held. AltCar Expo, specifically designed for the public, will take place on December 9 and 10, 2006. Admission to the Expo, as well as a wide-ranging selection of seminars and advanced technology displays, will be free. The event will be held at Barker Hangar, located at the Santa Monica Air Center. Over 100 alternative fuel and high MPG...

Maui-based Pacific Biodiesel will begin construction in December on its 11th biodiesel plant. The plant will be located in Brooklyn, N.Y., the first "urban" facility built by Pacific Biodiesel in the U.S. Pacific Biodiesel is building the plant for Tri-State Biodiesel, one of several clients that have paid the Maui business over the past decade to build a biodiesel facility. It will be Tri-State's first biodiesel plant, and is expected to produce about 5 million gallons of biodiesel per year. Pacific Biodiesel was founded by Maui residents Bob and Kelly King in 1996. They are considered among the world's pioneers...

TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Kubota Tractor Corporation (KTC) announces a global Kubota decision to approve the use of "B5" biodiesel fuels in specified Kubota diesel-powered products. Biodiesel fuels, most often offered in a blended-petroleum format, are derived from vegetable oils such as soybean and are offered in the United States as an alternative source for energy. The approved blends of biodiesel fuel for use in Kubota diesel-powered products range up to a "B5" blend that consists of 5% biodiesel and 95% petroleum diesel. "Kubota is committed to environmentally sound practices and the support of renewable, agriculturally based products...

The Radmax Direct Charge engine is an internal-combustion engine built around a rotary design. The technology is owned and licensed in North America by Reg/Regi Tech, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada (regtech.com). A Radmax engine would have two to three times the power and weigh half as much as a Wankel engine of the same size. Simplicity, power, and efficiency are key design priorities in the development of the Radmax/Direct Charge Engine, a truly revolutionary form of rotary power. The engine is comprised of a disc-shaped rotor and driveshaft which turn the housing, or stator, which remains stationary. Up to...

Missouri: New Biodiesel Plant Joint Venture Between Farmers and ADM Oct 24, 2006 - By: Christopher Leonard, AP, Star Telegram - Link to Story Indiana: Green Energy Firm Expand Commercial Engine Research Oct 24, 2006 - Today's Trucking - Link to Story New York: Biodiesel Plant Set for Former 84 Lumber Site Oct 23, 2006 - By: Amy Wu, Democrat & Cronicle - Link to Story Oklahoma: Lease Signed to Bring Biodiesel Plant Here Oct 18, 2006 - MuskogeePhoenix.com - Link to Story Texas Cottonseed Crusher to Build Biodiesel Plant Oct 17, 2006 - Biodiesel Magazine - Link to Story...

For almost 40 years ELSBETT has been developing and designing engines and their components from the concept to readiness for production. Today ELSBETT owns a few hundred patents and international property rights, that are the basis for successful business relations all over the world. It all started as a family business in 1964. There have been successes and setbacks during the past decades. But ELSBETT kept on working on future technology. Today the company has 6 employees, who are busy on the conversion of passenger car and heavy duty truck engines as well as the development of engine perfomance improvement....

Neil Rich (left), Don Miksch (center), and Darin Rich switched from homemade fuel to managing a 10-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant near Crawfordsville, Iowa. The tank behind them holds 150,000 gallons of biodiesel made mostly from soybean oil. Smelling is believing. At least it was for Don Miksch, a Washington, Iowa, farm kid trained as an accountant. He doubted that his friends, Neil and Darin Rich, could make fuel on their farm from used French fry grease. "Until they made their first batch and physically showed me they were running a vehicle on it, I was skeptical," Miksch admits. "I watched...

Northern Biodiesel has sealed the deal on a former 84 Lumber warehouse on Route 104 in Ontario, Wayne County, and is moving ahead with the launch of its biodiesel plant. The 20,000 plus square foot facility will house the biodiesel plant, along with a Harbec Plastics warehouse expansion, and a third company called Sustainable Energy Development. The start-up company plans to manufacture biodiesel fuel catering to fleets. Bob Bechtold, co-founder at Northern Biodiesel, said that they are focused on refurbishing the plant and expect it will be up and running in six months. For the first year, the plant expects...

LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's market for biodiesel is expected to more than double in value to about eight billion euros (5.35 billion pounds) a year by 2010, investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday. Concerns about the security of oil supplies and climate change will drive output of the clean fuel up 35 percent by 2010 as companies spend up to three billion euros on production facilities, the bank said in a research note. "We believe biofuels are here to stay as they represent a road to a cleaner transport sector that currently lacks significant alternatives,"...

UPM prepares to invest strongly in second generation bio-diesel (UPM, Helsinki, October 31, 2006) – UPM will strongly increase its stake in second generation bio-diesel in the next few years and prepares to become a significant producer of bio-fuels. Currently, UPM is developing the business concept and the respective technical solutions. Decisions to invest in the first commercial scale production plant can be expected within the next few years, rather sooner than later. The plant will be located adjacent to one of UPM's paper mill sites in Finland, France, Germany or UK. "Investments in development of concepts and plants will...