April was a monster month in the biofuel world. I've already written about a few top stories, including a biofuel race from Washington, D.C. to San Jose, Costa Rica, UC Berkeley proposing a biofuel rating system, and San Francisco announcing it will be turning restaurant oil into biodiesel.

I couldn't write about it all though, so I thought a summary of other big stories was in order:

1. A study from Colorado State found big greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) reductions for biodiesel and ethanol (April 3).
Colorado State University and the USDA's Agricultural Research Center found that, when compared to regular gasoline or diesel, ethanol and biodiesel from corn or soybean rotations reduced emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) by almost 40%. Cellulosic canarygrass was found to reduce GHG emissions by 85%, while switchgrass and hybrid poplars reduced GHG emissions by 115%. Differences in crop inputs and production practices were shown to account for the variation. Here we have yet another study showing significant greenhouse gas emission reductions for different biofuel feedstocks, although corn-grain ethanol was given much higher (and potentially controversial) numbers.

2. The EPA finalized the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) (April 10).
This is the first ever comprehensive Renewable Fuel Standard program in the United States, and "requires major American refiners, blenders, and importers to use a minimum volume of renewable fuel each year between 2007 and 2012". The program required 4.7 billion gallons of renewable fuel blended into motor fuel this year, a target exceeded by ethanol production (5.38 billion gallons). By 2012, 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel blended into motor fuel will be required, and this may be expanded to 35 billion gallons by 2017. This RFS is an offshoot of the Twenty in Ten plan (a 20% gasoline reduction in 10 years). As already noted, a large proportion of the RFS is being met by corn-grain ethanol, not a great prospect for hungry people or the environment.

3. ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods Inc. announced plans to collaborate on biodiesel production from animal fat (April 16).
Yes, it may be unappetizing, but biodiesel can be made from animal fat as well as plant oils. ConocoPhillips has offered to use some of its refining capacity (not even a blip on their radar screen) to process the 300 million gallons of beef, pork, and chicken fat that Tyson produces each year. ConocoPhillips will refine about 58% of that - or 175 million gallons of biodiesel - and blend it in with it's regular diesel fuel. Tyson officials noted that each barrel of biodiesel they produce will require two steers,16 hogs, or 1,300 chickens. Honestly, pretty disgusting, but these companies do get serious points for recycling waste streams. I wonder what the exhaust will smell like.

4. One of the technology institutes in Switzerland announced the formation of a global alliance to draft standards for biofuel sustainability (April 17). The founding members of the 'Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels' include the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), BP, Toyota, UC Berkeley, and other international groups. This could be the all-important steering committee that international biofuel trade needs (see my post on the subject). Major considerations for the standards include safeguarding local habitat, water resources, and "encouraging biofuels’ contribution to economic development in rural areas." For more information, see: The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels and Biofuels Sustainability Standards - Further Reading (EPFL).

5. Fleetwide use of E85 could worsen public health, according to Stanford professor Mark Jacobson (April 18).
This study claims that increased smog-formation (an issue I've touched on) produced by higher ethanol blends (like E85) has the potential to increase respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations by 4% nation-wide. As would be expected, this generated considerable criticism. The American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest pointed out that E85 was never meant as a gasoline replacement and will never have the type of penetration the Jacobson estimated, and the National Resources Defense Council urged clarification of the study results and claimed the author overstated the potential impacts. Jacobson was firm in his reply, however, maintaining that his results were an upper-bound for the potential consequences of ethanol use that could be used to estimate smaller-scale impacts.

6. Clif Bar announced it would expand the use of biodiesel in its field marketing vehicles (April 26), which would offset an estimated 40% of the team's emissions, or 60,000 lbs of CO2. The company has already been using B100 in the transport trucks used between their bakery and distribution center. Last year, Clif Bar started a Cool Commute program that pays cash to employees buying high-mileage hybrid or biodiesel-burning vehicles (or not driving them at all). Last winter the marketing team also conducted a Save Our Snow (SOS) Winter Roadtrip that ran entirely on straight vegetable oil. The new marketing fleet is composed of 8 new Dodge Ram 2500s - why they chose these fuel-guzzling behemoths is anybody's guess, but hey, it still makes me want to grab a Clif-Bar.

That's the news for April! Stay tuned in May for more biofuel news - same time, same channel.