Almost a year ago, I reported that the Hagerty Insurance Agency had enlisted Kettering University to study the effects of ethanol blended gasoline on the fuel systems of classic cars and boats. The study attempted to simulate 3000 hours of use in a manner that would duplicate a typical classic vehicle's use cycle. The preliminary results were released in the Spring 2009 issue of Hagerty’s Magazine.After several months and a full 3,000 hours of testing, the Hagerty study found that there was n... Read Full Story

Ethanol production hit a new high in May with over 871 million gallons produced. Imports and consumption numbers were also higher. Daily production volume reached 669,000 barrels per day. .nobrtable br { display: none }Ethanol Production Numbers in GallonsProductionImportsStocksConsumptionMay 2009871,584,00021,168,000587,958,000928,284,000April 2009807,240,0007,014,000623,490,000848,148,000March 2009833,154,0003,276,000657,384,000837,942,000February 2009761,040,0002,142,000658,896,000700,098,... Read Full Story

Top U.S. oil refiner Valero Energy Corp said all seven of the ethanol plants it bought in March from a bankrupt producer were now running at capacity and making money."Ethanol is kind of a bright spot for us right now. They are generating cash flow," Valero spokesman Bill Day said of the plants, which have the combined capacity of about 780 million gallons a year, or about 7.5 percent of the total U.S. operating capacity to make the fuel.Valero began production at the 110-million-gallon-per-y... Read Full Story

Gasoline is not a single substance. It is a complex mixture of components which vary widely in their physical and chemical properties. There is no such thing as pure gasoline. Gasoline must cover a wide range of operating conditions, such as variations in fuel systems, engine temperatures, fuel pumps and fuel pressure. It must also cover a variety of climates, altitudes, and driving patterns. The properties of gasoline must be balanced to give satisfactory engine performance over an extremely... Read Full Story

In recent years, there has been great uncertainty regarding the cause of the hypoxic zone (low oxygen) in the northern Gulf of Mexico. This has often been the result of a lack of data to support many of the prevailing theories regarding the size, duration and source of the problem. This paper looks at the available information and draws thefollowing conclusions.First, the hypoxic zone is seasonal. While localized effects can be severe, vast “dead zones” with widespread negative effects on the... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON – President Obama today announced over $467 million from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to expand and accelerate the development, deployment, and use of geothermal and solar energy throughout the United States. The funding announced today represents a substantial down payment that will help the solar and geothermal industries overcome technical barriers, demonstrate new technologies, and provide support for clean energy jobs for years to come. Today’s announcement supp... Read Full Story

February biodiesel production rose by just over 2 million gallons over January numbers.February 2009 - 35,528,366 gallonsJanuary 2009 - 33,394,510 gallonsDecember 2008 - 48,584,837 gallonsNovember 2008 - 62,218,170 gallonsOctober 2008 - 61,718,000 gallonsSeptember 2008 - 64,134,000 gallonsAugust 2008 - 66,696,000 gallonsJuly 2008 - 67,410,000 gallonsJune 2008 - 63,378,000 gallonsMay 2008 - 52,500,000 gallonsApril 2008 - 52,836,000 gallonsMarch 2008 - 49,056,000 gallonsFebruary 2008 - 43,260,0... Read Full Story

The total amount of ethanol produced during February was down from the total from January due to the fact that February had 3 fewer days. The daily production volume increased from 630,000 barrels per day in January to 647,000 barrels per day in February..nobrtable br { display: none }Ethanol Production Numbers in GallonsProductionImportsStocksConsumptionFebruary 2009761,040,0002,142,000658,896,000700,098,000January 2009820,890,00015,582,000595,812,000837,858,000December 2008854,364,00019,446... Read Full Story

One new E85 station was added during the month of April bringing the total to 1991. This is the lowest amount added for any one month since I started keeping track. Hopefully now that better weather is here more will be added in the near future. May 1, 2009 - 1991April 1 2009 - 1990March 1, 2009 - 1969February 1, 2009 - 1927January 1, 2009 - 1899December 1, 2008 - 1868November 1, 2008 - 1837October 1, 2008 - 1782September 1, 2008 - 1743August 1, 2008 - 1663July 1, 2008 - 1627June 1, 2008 - 15... Read Full Story

Panda Ethanol's Hereford facility which filed for bankruptcy in January, has been sold for $25 million to it's creditors. The plant is in the final stages of construction.The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas-Dallas Division finalized the sale of the plant to senior lenders of the company for $25 million in credit.The sale price represents about 12% of the cost to construct the plant.Source : Amarillo.comRelated Posts:Panda Ethanol Hereford Subsidiary Files Bank... Read Full Story