 | |
| Industry | Biofuels, Energy, Oils, Oleochemicals, Aviation biofuel |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Torrance, California |
Key people | Richard Palmer (CEO) |
| Website | http://www.gceholdings.com |
Global Clean Energy Holdings (OTC:GCEH) is a Southern California-based renewable energy company with interests in the production and commercialization of non-food-based feedstocks used for the production of biofuels, biomass, and renewable chemicals. It was founded in 2007.
In 2008, GCEH purchased approximately 5,000 acres of farmland in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. The farm is a joint venture with Stewart A. Resnick and Selim Zilkha, two entrepreneurs with agricultural & alternative energy companies. [1]
On April 1, Interjet completed the first Jatropha-based biofuel test flight in Mexico. The fuel was manufactured by Honeywell’s UOP LLC from oil produced by three Mexican Jatropha producers including Globales Energia Renovables, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Global Clean Energy Holdings. [2]
In mid-2011, GCEH, Emerald Biofuels, and Honeywell's UOP LLC submitted a joint Renewable Fuel Standard pathway application to the U.S. EPA for Jatropha. [3] A pathway is necessary for Jatropha-based renewable fuels to qualify for generating Renewable Identification Numbers (RINS) under the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Two weeks after the U.S. EPA approved Camelina for RIN (Renewable Identification Number) generation under RFS2, [4] Global Clean Energy announced its purchase of Sustainable Oils, LLC, in Camelina production and genetics. [5] Completed on February 13, 2013, the acquisition was trumpeted by Honeywell's UOP LLC, Boeing, and other public and private bio-energy stakeholders. [6] [7]
In February 2015, Sustainable Oils camelina varieties were issued a first-of-its-kind feedstock-only pathway by the California Air Resources Board for the production of Camelina-based fuels under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The pathway, when combined with a specific processors production profile, will produce the lowest carbon intensity (CI) virgin oil-based fuel available in the marketplace. Camelina-based biodiesel at a CI of approximately 19 g/MJ can be produced at a fraction of soy (83 g/MJ) or canola (63 g/MJ) based biofuels. Camelina's extremely low CI will allow obligated parties in California to meet their reduction targets using a fraction of the biofuel otherwise required. The pathway only applies to Sustainable Oils' US Patent and Trademark Office-registered seed varieties - no other Camelina seed or oil can be used to produce LCFS compliant fuel.
In May 2020, GCEH acquired the Bakersfield Refinery from Alon Bakersfield Properties, Inc., a subsidiary of Delek US Holdings, Inc. and the owner of the Alon Bakersfield Refinery. The Alon Bakersfield Refinery was an existing oil refinery located in Bakersfield, California. Historically, the refinery had produced diesel from crude oil. GCEH immediately commenced in retooling the refinery to produce renewable diesel from organic feedstocks such as vegetable oils. The facility, when repurposed as a renewable fuels refinery, will vertically integrate to produce renewable diesel from various feedstocks, including GCEH’s patented proprietary fallow land crop varieties of camelina.
In January 2022, GCEH purchased Camelina Company Espana, the largest camelina producer in Europe.
The company currently holds the world's largest patent and IP portfolio for Camelina sativa, a nonfood renewable fuel feedstock that grows on otherwise idle or fallow acres between main crop cycles.
In November 2012, GCEH became the first company based in North America and the only biodiesel feedstock producer to achieve Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) certification. [8]
Richard Palmer, CEO of GCEH, is a former member of the RSB Board of Directors. [9]
In November 2010, GCEH formed the Center for Sustainable Energy Farming (CFSEF), a non-profit research institution dedicated to advancing the quality of plant-based feedstocks for biofuel production. [10] It is fueled by socially responsible clean energy produced from Jatropha.
The Center‘s mission is to perform plant science research in genetics, breeding and horticulture, and further develop technologies to allow for the economic commercialization and sustainability of energy farms. The Center provides a common research platform to foster communication and cooperation among various national and international research institutions and organizations in the biofuel sector. From global economics, environmental and social perspective, this collaboration hope to contribute to the development of more productive energy farms capable of supplying large quantities of plant-based (non-food) oils to replace the use of fossil fuels. The goals of this initiative are to create jobs in the agri-business and alternative energy industries, expand the use of non-productive land, reduce global dependency on oil reserves, and contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions. [11]
The Center is focused on developing high-yielding commercial varieties of Jatropha curcas through interdisciplinary research cooperation across multiple scientific disciplines. [12]
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic or industrial biowaste. The climate change mitigation potential of biofuel varies considerably, from emission levels comparable to fossil fuels in some scenarios to negative emissions in others. Biofuels are mostly used for transportation, but can also be used for heating and electricity. Biofuels are regarded as a renewable energy source.
Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with an alcohol, producing a methyl, ethyl or propyl ester by the process of transesterification.
Camelina is a genus within the flowering plant family Brassicaceae. The Camelina species, commonly known as false flax, are native to Mediterranean regions of Europe and Asia. Most species of this genus have been little studied, with the exception of Camelina sativa, historically cultivated as an oil plant. Heinrich Johann Nepomuk von Crantz was the first botanist to use the genus Camelina in his classification works in 1762. As a way to reduce fossil fuel emissions, the US Navy tested a 50-50 mix of jet aviation fuel and biofuel derived from camelina seeds in 2010. A study published in December 2016 explained that the current low price of conventional kerosene-based jet fuel makes it cost-prohibitive for commercial airlines to use camelina-based jet fuel. The study said substantial government intervention would be one way to create a market for camelina, by combining 9 percent government subsidy on camelina crop production, with 9 percent tax on conventional fuel.
Camelina sativa is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae and is usually known in English as camelina, gold-of-pleasure, or false flax, also occasionally wild flax, linseed dodder, German sesame, and Siberian oilseed. It is native to Europe and to Central Asian areas. This plant is cultivated as an oilseed crop mainly in Europe and in North America.
This article describes the use and availability of biodiesel in various countries around the world.
Neste Renewable Diesel is a vegetable oil refining fuel production process commercialized by the Finnish oil and refining company Neste. Whether as an admixture or in its pure form, Neste Renewable Diesel is able to supplement or partially replace diesel fuel without problems. Unblended Neste Renewable Diesel meets the requirements set by the European standard EN 15940. Fuel blends meet the European diesel fuel standard EN 590.
Biofuel development in India centres mainly around the cultivation and processing of Jatropha plant seeds, which are very rich in oil, ranging from 27 to 40%, and averaging 34.4%. The drivers for this are historic, functional, economic, environmental, moral and political.
The United States produces mainly biodiesel and ethanol fuel, which uses corn as the main feedstock. The US is the world's largest producer of ethanol, having produced nearly 16 billion gallons in 2017 alone. The United States, together with Brazil accounted for 85 percent of all ethanol production, with total world production of 27.05 billion gallons. Biodiesel is commercially available in most oilseed-producing states. As of 2005, it was somewhat more expensive than fossil diesel, though it is still commonly produced in relatively small quantities.
Biofuel is fuel that is produced from organic matter (biomass), including plant materials and animal waste. It is considered a renewable source of energy that can assist in reducing carbon emissions. The two main types of biofuel currently being produced in Australia are biodiesel and bioethanol, used as replacements for diesel and petrol (gasoline) respectively. As of 2017 Australia is a relatively small producer of biofuels, accounting for 0.2% of world bioethanol production and 0.1% of world biodiesel production.
Vegetable oils are increasingly used as a substitute for fossil fuels. Vegetable oils are the basis of biodiesel, which can be used like conventional diesel. Some vegetable oil blends are used in unmodified vehicles, but straight vegetable oil often needs specially prepared vehicles which have a method of heating the oil to reduce its viscosity and surface tension, sometimes specially made injector nozzles, increased injection pressure and stronger glow-plugs, in addition to fuel pre-heating is used. Another alternative is vegetable oil refining.
Second-generation biofuels, also known as advanced biofuels, are fuels that can be manufactured from various types of non-food biomass. Biomass in this context means plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel.
China has set the goal of attaining one percent of its renewable energy generation through bioenergy in 2020.
Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is a biofuel made by the hydrocracking or hydrogenation of vegetable oil. Hydrocracking breaks big molecules into smaller ones using hydrogen while hydrogenation adds hydrogen to molecules. These methods can be used to create substitutes for gasoline, diesel, propane, kerosene and other chemical feedstock. Diesel fuel produced from these sources is known as green diesel or renewable diesel.
Sustainable biofuel is biofuel produced in a sustainable manner. It is not based on petroleum or other fossil fuels. It includes not using plants that are used for food stuff to produce the fuel thus disrupting the worlds food supply.
An aviation biofuel or bio-jet fuel or bio-aviation fuel (BAF) is a biofuel used to power aircraft and is said to be a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The International Air Transport Association (IATA) considers it a key element to reducing the carbon footprint within the environmental impact of aviation. Aviation biofuel could help decarbonize medium- and long-haul air travel generating most emissions, and could extend the life of older aircraft types by lowering their carbon footprint.
A low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) is an emissions trading rule designed to reduce the average carbon intensity of transportation fuels in a given jurisdiction, as compared to conventional petroleum fuels, such as gasoline and diesel. The most common methods for reducing transportation carbon emissions are supplying electricity to electric vehicles, supplying hydrogen fuel to fuel cell vehicles and blending biofuels, such as ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, and renewable natural gas into fossil fuels. The main purpose of a low-carbon fuel standard is to decrease carbon dioxide emissions associated with vehicles powered by various types of internal combustion engines while also considering the entire life cycle, in order to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation.
SG Biofuels is a privately held bioenergy crop company, which grows and researches Jatropha curcas for the production of biodiesel, bio jet fuel, and specialty chemicals.
The indirect land use change impacts of biofuels, also known as ILUC or iLUC, relates to the unintended consequence of releasing more carbon emissions due to land-use changes around the world induced by the expansion of croplands for ethanol or biodiesel production in response to the increased global demand for biofuels.
Sustainable Oils is a renewable fuels company specializing in the research and production of Camelina, the only advanced biofuels feedstock with United States Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory approvals. Oil extracted from Camelina seeds can be processed into a number of renewable products including renewable jet fuel, green diesel, biodiesel, green plastics and renewable oleochemicals. The biomass that remains after oil extraction, generally referred to seedcake or meal, can be used as nutrient-rich animal feed. Camelina offers several advantages over traditional biofuel feedstocks like soy and corn, such as competitive oil yields and shorter growing seasons. Sustainable Oils has its primary operations in the state of Montana and is headquartered in Great Falls.