The main activity of Biofuels is the large scale production and exploitation of biodiesel and glycerine following the construction and commissioning of the initial plant.

Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils and, as an environmentally friendly product, can make a significant contribution towards reducing green house gases and meeting Kyoto targets.



RNS's from BFC can be viewed at:

http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/index?search_type=3&words=bfc&go.x=17&go.y=8

http://www.biofuelscorp.com/

Anyone know if there is any research, plans or legislation to do with aircraft using renewable fuels - that must be an enormous market to persuade to use DOO's jatropha beans processed by BFC's plant.

sd

Soya-powered planes promise greener air travel
09:45 26 March 2004
Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition
Anil Ananthaswamy
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Bernard Tao, Purdue University
David Wardle, University of Auckland
American Chemical Society meeting, Anaheim
Soya oil is just the thing to give aviation fuel a greener future, believe a group of US biochemists.

They say that an aircraft fuel based on soya oil and traditional jet fuel will slash consumption of fossil fuel, and help slow the rise in greenhouse gas levels by using carbon from renewable sources. They will tell a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, California, next week how it can be done.

Commercial jets run on a petroleum fuel called Jet A. Like all fossil fuels, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when burnt. Biofuels like soya oil, on the other hand, are "carbon neutral" because the carbon they release came from the atmosphere only recently.

Meanwhile air traffic is a growing contributor to global warming. In 2002 the UK's Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution predicted that air travel could account for nearly 75 per cent of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

"If further research fails to dispel current concerns, then, at some stage, commercial aviation is going to need a completely different fuel," says David Wardle, a fuels expert at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. And, he says, biofuel blends could be one answer.

Stumbling block
So far, attempts to create a suitable fuel from blends of jet fuel and vegetable oils have been unsuccessful. One stumbling block is the requirement that aviation fuel stays liquid down to -40 degrees Celsius. Vegetable oils generally freeze at around zero degrees Celsius.

But now biochemist Bernard Tao of Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, and his graduate student Shailendra Bist have developed a blend that freezes at -40 degrees Celsius.

They convert fatty acids within the oil into volatile, combustible esters, some of which freeze at higher temperatures and some at lower temperatures.

"Remove the components that freeze at higher temperatures, and you will be left with something that will freeze at low temperatures," says Bist. It is here that they have made the breakthrough.

Crystallised solids
The standard method of removing unwanted esters involves chilling the biofuel and removing any crystallised solids. Repeat this at ever lower temperatures and you create a fuel with a very low freezing point.

But the process can take days, and is wasteful because desirable esters "co-crystallise" out with the unwanted ones. Yields can be as low as 25 per cent.

Tao's team has developed a similar fractionation technology that takes less than an hour and has yields as high as 80 per cent. They are unwilling to discuss details pending a patent filing, but say they can now make a 40 per cent blend of biofuel and 60 per cent Jet A with the right freezing properties.

It is the highest percentage ever reported, says Wardle. The fuel is now being tested on a turbo-prop engine to assess its emissions.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4813

wilbs

Flying the A380 using chip fat must be light years away.

wilbs - very interesting, you old anorak you!

thanks sd. I like to help an old dog when I can.

woof!

Wilbs, do you know when full year resuts are out ? .

I have just called they jimmy and they are out 14th july.
wilbs

Cheers wilbs , im in ...

Nice one jimmy. Hopefully you will be rewarded soon.

Wilbs i just bought the company !

They wern't you 87 shares were they jimmy? That doesn't value the company at much!!!
Are you sure you have not been throwing you money down the toilet?

Starting to tick up now wilbs !

Its looking good but seen this before with BFC, it suddenly drops.

NUMIS BUY NOTE

Please see below for the Numis summary on their note today on BFC.


* Biofuels is in the final stage of constructing one of Europe> '> s
> largest
biodiesel refineries in northern England. When operational, the plant will convert raw vegetable oils into around 262,500 tonnes per annum of biodiesel, which is predominantly blended with mineral diesel to improve the latter> '> s environmental qualities.
> * Both UK and European governments see biofuels playing an integral
> role in
reducing CO2 levels and the dependence of the transport sector on fossil fuels.
Although Biofuels will depend on subsidies to survive in the near-term, we are confident that governments are working towards a long-term support structure for the industry.
> * Against this positive outlook, the company has performed poorly.
Construction delays, cost overruns and a flawed hedging arrangement triggered a sharp fall in the share price from 300p to 100p currently. In response, the management team has been strengthened, and the refinery is on track for full production from the end of Sept 2005.
> * There is considerable uncertainty over the near-term outlook. With
> just
three months to full production, only 30% of plant capacity has been sold, and there are fears that hedge payments and further construction delays could result in serious funding problems.
> * We believe that this negative backdrop is obscuring the underlying
opportunity, and are confident that management can sell the remaining output of the first plant. Our forecasts imply that one plant, at full output, can generate EPS of 43.7p, placing the company on a PER of 2.3x. A DCF analysis on one plant, with conservative assumptions, implies a target price of 180p and drives our Buy recommendation. However, we believe demand is likely to underpin the construction of a second plant, which would entail significant upgrades to forecasts and a re-rating of the shares.

Nice one marketmaker.
Pic updated at top.

That would be nice..

wouldn't the price target be heaps more @ 43.7p EPS ?????

wilbs i would have thought it would tick up this morning on the volume of buys,,any view ?