US biofuel specialist Greenline Industries has landed $20m in venture funding to support the production of its waterless biodiesel.
The San Francisco-based company, which sells biodiesel production plants, signed a deal with energy investment firm Leaf Clean Energy.
The company's biodiesel production process uses an ion resin catalyst to purify the biodiesel, rather than the more traditional process of washing it with water. Water can be a problem during biodiesel production, because residual water in biodiesel fuel can make it more difficult for the fuel to combust, reducing its power.
A series of reports have also warned that water-intensive biofuel refinery and agricultural processes could contribute to water scarcity. A study last year from the National Research Council warned that increased demand for water through energy crop irrigation and biofuel production could result in a serious drought risk in coming years.
Greenlines said it will use the cash to step up its research activities and add new products to its portfolio. The company, which has sold 30 plants worldwide, sold its most recent processing plant to Euless, Texas-based Direct Fuels. That plant processes 10m gallons of biodiesel per year.
The company is expecting to see growing demand for large scale production
plants following concerns that smaller localised plants tend to deliver poorer
quality fuel. The
National
Renewable Energy Laboratory's 2007 biodiesel quality survey
highlighted relatively poor quality in the biodiesel output of smaller
production plants in the US.
"Small and medium producers had significant failure rates; however, combined, they account for only approximately 11 per cent of the market by volume," the report said.
Amber Thurlo Pearson, spokeswoman for the National Biodiesel Board said that despite recent concerns about the health of the biodiesel sector Greenline was addressing a still expanding market opportunity. "The biodiesel industry has continued to grow in the last several years, with sales volumes tripling or doubling," she said. "Right now, we're seeing more of a steady growth, rather than the extreme growth that we saw over the last couple of years."
New enzyme promises to speed delivery of second-generation biofuels made from waste biomass 18 Oct 2007
US study argues that increase in land used to grow energy crops would lead to deterioration in water quality and availability 11 Oct 2007Support for biofuels and renewable energy welcomed, but critics ask questions over generous subsidies 19 Dec 2007
Fresh from securing $100m in funding Range Fuels is pressing ahead with the construction of an ethanol plant capable of turning wood into biofuel 04 Apr 2008ActionAid accuses G8 of driving more people into poverty by pursing biofuels and cutting agri-aid 04 Jul 2008
Intelligent Energy ramps up funding for R&D and partnerships 04 Jul 2008
Focus on energy savings through fuel efficiency for homes and public and commercial buildings 04 Jul 2008ActionAid accuses G8 of driving more people into poverty by pursing biofuels and cutting agri-aid 04 Jul 2008
More news
Businesses' new found focus on the environment may be welcome, but according to Conrad MacKerron, it is taking attention away from workers' rights issues – and the credibility of the entire green business movement could be at risk 03 Jul 2008
It may be a year old, but as Dell's Jonathan Perry explains, firms looking to get rid of their old IT kit still need to pay attention to the WEEE directive 02 Jul 2008
Telling customers about your environmental targets is all well and good but, as Paul Thomas argues, they are meaningless if you do not know how they are to be achieved 01 Jul 2008 More in-depth
Post your comment
Send an email to the Business Green editor at feedback@businessgreen.com
