Days after two Wisconsin oil and ethanol train derailments in early November, a national environmental watchdog group released a scathing critique of the decaying state of freight rail infrastructure—especially bridges—and the dangers they pose to wildlife habitats and waterways as heavier volumes of hazardous materials put pressure on aging track.
As U.S. subsidies for ethanol continue to disappear, retrofit installations to produce butanol—touted as a superior fuel with superior financial incentives—are catching on at plants, says butanol technology provider Butamax, the joint venture between BP and DuPont Chemical.
