Northumberland, UK-based biodiesel producer V-Fuels has entered administration owing to a combination of events borne from poor market conditions.It doesn’t mean that as a site and as a business we are a dead duck. We are hoping that the business will be able to move forward, whether as V-Fuels or as another entity,’ V-Fuels site director John Moller comments.
The plant, which is running at two-thirds of the 150,000 tonnes per year capacity, is a multi-feedstock site set up in 2006 to process mainly used cooking oil along with smaller amounts of rapeseed and soya oil.
A month-long shut down forced by a blocked effluent discharge system in late 2008 tipped the firm into administration, Moller says.

UK-based Bentley Motors, one of the latest vehicle manufacturers to announce it is developing bioethanol-powered versions of its cars, is to give the keynote presentation at this year’s Biofuels International expo & conference.The two day conference and exhibition will be held on the 27-28 May at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam.The event aims to bring together medium-to-large producers, investors, policy makers and equipment suppliers to discuss topical issues such as recent policy changes, future feedstocks, storage and handling concerns and sustainability targets to help the industry through a challenging year.
Other key speakers include Argent Energy, European Biodiesel Board, EOP Biodiesel, Ineos Bio, Renewable Fuels agency, Dong Energy, Port of Amsterdam, Tereos, European Biomass Association, 3B Biofuels, TNO, Ernst & Young, McKinsey & Co, Decal terminal, Honeywell Enraf and many more.
With over 500 visitors attending the meeting in 2008, 2009 promises to be even bigger and better, covering both the biodiesel and bioethanol sectors.

Energy company BP and cellulosic ethanol developer Verenium have announced the formation of a 50-50 joint venture to develop and commercialise cellulosic ethanol from non-food feedstocks.
The companies have agreed to commit $45 million (€35.7 million) in funding and assets to the joint venture company.The joint venture company will initially focus on developing and securing financing for a first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Highlands County, Florida, and expects to break ground on that site in 2010The estimated construction cost for this 36 million gallon a year facility is between $250 and $300 million. Production from this plant is expected to begin in 2012.

Sudan's first ethanol plant, state-owned Kenana Sugar Co.'s (KSC), is due to begin operations at the end of March.Situated within the KSC complex, 250km south of Khartoum, the plant is expected to produce about 61 million litres a year of alcohol from molasses made in the country.
The plant was built by Brazil's Dedini Industrias de Base.
KSC is contracted to supply 5 million litres a year of ethanol to the UK.
Around $800 million (€620 million) has been invested in the overall KSC project, largely sugar plantations and sugar mills, with funds from several governments including Sudan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Japan.
KSC exports most of its sugarcane to the Middle East.
In July 2008 the Sudanese government invited Brazilian ethanol facility contractors such as Dedini to build as many as 18 sugarcane ethanol plants in the African country.

Texas-based Earth Biofuels has finalised funds for upgrades to its 10 MMgy Oklahoma biodiesel production facility.The transaction includes the acquisition of more than 350 storage tanks, with capacities ranging from 8,000 to 39,000 gallons.
Approximately 30 of the tanks will be installed at the company’s Durant facility with a total storage capacity of more than 1 million gallons.
The remaining tanks will be sold to help provide funding for additional upgrades to the facility.
The upgrades include the installation of a pre-treatment process that will allow the facility to recover methanol used in the production process.
In addition to soyabean oil, the upgraded facility will be able to use beef tallow, yellow grease, and poultry fat as feedstocks.

Swedish power utility Vattenfall plans to convert its power plant facilities in Denmark to use large quantities of biomass fuel instead of coal.
Project MaxBio will replace up to 724,000 tonnes of coal a year, beginning in 2018. As a result, it will prevent at least 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.
According to the company, in the Nordic region alone it will invest more than 60 billion Danish crowns (€8 billion) until the year 2016 in order to achieve this goal. The new MaxBio plan comprises investments in excess of 5 billion Danish crowns.