Malaysia is planning to limit Indonesian palm oil imports to control rising domestic inventory.

Malaysia's Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas says Malaysia intends to control the import of palm oil from Indonesia instead of banning it.

‘If we don't do anything now, it is expected that palm oil inventory would exceed 3 million tons by November. And I would not use the word "ban", we are just minimizing the import volume,' Uggah says.

The Malaysian government hopes to reduce the country's palm oil inventory to below two million tones as the inventory for August 2015 was higher at 2.49 million tonnes. Besides import control, the B10 biodiesel program would also increase palm oil consumption. However, the target dates for the program have not been released.

Hawaiian authorities have approved Pacific Biodiesel Technologies' (PBT) contract to supply biodiesel to Hawaiian Energy to use at their power plants on the island of O'ahu.

The contract was approved after both parties agreed on the price of biodiesel. The diesel will be produced locally and would contribute to the local economy. The fuel will be produced from waste cooking oil and other local waste feedstock.

PBT will supply 2 to 3 million gallons of biodiesel annually to Hawaiian Energy. The contract with REG is set to end in November as the new PBT contract comes into effect.

The dredging and marine expert, Boskalis, and a power service provider for marine and energy markets, Wärtsilä, have collaborated with GoodFuels Marine, a marine biofuel company.

The collaboration will pioneer the development of sustainable marine biofuels for the shipping industry. GoodFuels Marine and its partners will spearhead a two-year program to accelerate the development of sustainable and affordable marine biofuels.

The program's focus will be on analyzing feedstock, securing industry certification, and preparing the building blocks for large-scale production. The partners will also initiate a global study aiming to identify tangible opportunities for scaling supply to the world's commercial shipping fleet.

With the objective of developing a fuel mix that is fully sustainable, the program seeks to promote a lower carbon footprint for the maritime sector.

Through efforts in metabolic engineering, microorganisms that produce biofuels were developed.  However, these fuels are toxic to cells, limiting their yields. Some microorganisms have evolved mechanisms for tolerating hydrocarbons, such as those that thrive near natural oil seeps and in oil-polluted waters.

Timothy A. Tomko and Mary J. Dunlop from the University of Vermont developed transgenic Escherichia coli using DNA from the hydrocarbon-degrading microbe Marinobacter aquaeolei. The researchers then exposed the cells to pinene, a monoterpene that serves as a jet fuel precursor. Further analysis determined that a single gene, yceI, was responsible for improving hydrocarbon tolerance.

The tolerance of transgenics to other monoterpenes were also tested and showed that yceI selectively improved their tolerance.

The bacteria Caldicellulosiruptor bescii does not produce ethanol. However, the recent introduction of an NADH-dependent AdhE from C. thermocellum into a mutant of C. bescii resulted in production of ethanol from un-pretreated switchgrass.

However, C. thermocellum AdhE becomes inactive in high temperatures, which is the optimum growth temperature of C. bescii. This means ethanol can not be produced above 65°C. Researchers from the University of Georgia and Oak Ridge National Laboratory expressed the adhB and adhE genes from Thermoanaerobacter pseudethanolicus 39E, a thermophilic bacteria capable of producing ethanol, in a mutant of C. bescii.

The modified strains produced ethanol at 75°C. The AdhB expressing strain produced ethanol and acetate from switchgrass. On the other hand, AdhE expressing strain produced more ethanol but reduced levels of acetate. The use of thermostable enzymes will be critical in achieving high temperature production in bacteria.

Belgian researchers believe the droppings of the giant panda may unlock secrets to more efficient biofuel production.

Researchers from Ghent University examined the potential of the microorganisms in a pandas' digestive track in developing new generations of biofuels. Pandas have a unique digestive system as panda bears subsist on a diet consisting almost entirely of bamboo. The results of the study may lead to cheaper ways to produce 2G biofuels.

‘We can look for new enzymes which could be used to degrade tough biomass,' says Korneel Rabaey, professor for biochemical and microbial technology at Ghent University.