California Presents Plan to Limit Greenhouse Gases from Biorefineries

Date: October 15, 2010

Source: News Room

Anticipating a boom in the construction of biofuel production facilities, or "biorefineries," California regulators have unveiled a broad strategy to reduce potential pollutants, including greenhouse gases (GHGs), from the new facilities. The "Air Quality Guidance for Siting Biorefineries in California," released Oct. 11 by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) could be a model for other states or federal regulators as new biorefineries are built across the country to reduce petroleum use and lower the carbon content of transportation fuel. It may eventually apply to waste-to-fuel facilities. California officials are expecting dozens of new biorefineries, including those that produce ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel and hydrogen, to be built in the coming years to help oil companies meet their obligations under the state's low carbon fuel standard (LCFS), and to meet a state goal of increasing biofuels production. The report covers a number of different processes to make: ethanol from grains, sugarcane and cellulose; biodiesel; renewable diesel; biogas; hydrogen; and biogasoline and evaluates a number of conversion technologies including fermentation, hydrolysis, gasification, transesterification, anaerobic digestion, reformation, and acid fermentation.

Draft Air Quality Guidance Document for Siting Biorefineries in California

11 Oct 2010

The California Air Resources Board (ARB/Board) has released a draft Air Quality Guidance for Siting Biorefineries in California, which will be discussed at a public meeting on October 14, 2010. The ARB has also released an agenda for this meeting.

The draft document and meeting agenda can be found on the LCFS website at: www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/101110_DRAFT_Air_Quality_Guidance_for_Siting_Biorefineries.pdf.

www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/101410_Meeting_agenda.pdf.

Staff request that stakeholders provide comments on the document to:
Lea Yamashita at (916) 323-0017 or via email at lyamashi@arb.ca.gov, no later than December 1, 2010.

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