Biodiesel Production

May 10, 2018

REG completes major expansion project at Ralston biodiesel plant

BY Ron KotrbaRenewable Energy Group wrapped up a $32 million expansion and upgrade project at its Ralston, Iowa, biodiesel plant. Production capacity in Ralston has more than doubled, from 12 to 30 MMgy, and its logistics and storage capabilities were upgraded. READ MORE

April 24, 2018

Ace Ethanol to install D3MAX technology at its Wisconsin facility

BY BBI International Ace Ethanol will be the first ethanol plant to integrate the patented D3MAX technology at its dry-mill ethanol plant in Stanley, Wisconsin. Fagen will build the new facility, also featuring membrane-based ethanol recovery from Whitefox Technologies. READ MORE

April 24, 2018

Hero BX to manufacture at Iowa Renewable Energy biodiesel plant

BY Hero BX Pennsylvania-based biodiesel producer Lake Erie Biofuels LLC, doing business as Hero BX, recently announced a strategic partnership with Iowa Renewable Energy based in Washington, Iowa, to manufacture and market biodiesel from IRE's Iowa facility. READ MORE

April 12, 2018

Aemetis glycerin refining unit producing above nameplate capacity

BY Aemetis Inc. Universal Biofuels, Aemetis' Indian subsidiary, is producing refined glycerin at above nameplate capacity as demand for the product exceeds supply. The plant refines its own crude glycerin and imports crude product from Argentina and elsewhere. READ MORE

April 06, 2018

BDI to engineer scale-up of phosphorus recycling plant in Germany

BY Ron KotrbaAustrian plant engineering firm and biodiesel tech provider BDI-BioEnergy International has been contracted for a scale-up project funded by the German environmental ministry to recover phosphorus from sewage sludge with Remondis and Hamburg Wasser. READ MORE

April 04, 2018

Benefuel plans to build a 20 MMgy biodiesel plant in Ontario

BY Ron KotrbaBiodiesel technology developer Benefuel Inc. is exploring construction of a new 20 MMgy biodiesel plant in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Engineering is underway and the company anticipates breaking ground by end of year, according to CEO Rob Tripp. READ MORE

March 28, 2018

ADM blames imports for cutting German biodiesel output

BY Ron KotrbaADM announced plans in March to temporarily cease production of biodiesel at its facility in Mainz, Germany, as a result of increased biodiesel imports into the EU. Last fall, looming imports caused France's Saipol to make a similar decision. READ MORE

March 20, 2018

World Energy acquires AltAir biojet, renewable diesel assets

BY World Energy LLC The purchase includes a 63-acre complex consisting of a 45 MMgy renewable jet/renewable diesel production facility, 1.7 million barrels of product storage, a truck rack with 28,000 barrels per day of throughput capacity, rail storage and pipelines. READ MORE

March 19, 2018

Aemetis completes construction of biodiesel pretreatment unit

BY Ron KotrbaAemetis announced that its 50 MMgy Universal Biofuels subsidiary in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India, has completed construction of a biodiesel pretreatment unit to process low-cost feedstocks, which was part of a supply deal inked with BP Singapore. READ MORE

March 16, 2018

Powerful reasons to celebrate National Biodiesel Day March 18

BY Ron KotrbaWhile the biodiesel industry is celebrated by many people every day of the year for its creation of jobs, support of farmers, use of byproducts and waste for clean energy, and its important role in helping the environment, March 18 is special. READ MORE

March 15, 2018

Oklahoma cellulosic diesel facility achieves D7 Q-RIN status

BY Ron KotrbaD7 RINs generated at a biorefinery in Oklahoma City producing cellulosic diesel fuel have been verified by Weaver and granted Q-RIN status. Envia Energy uses FT technology to convert landfill gas and natural gas into diesel fuel, naphtha and wax. READ MORE

March 08, 2018

March Madness: NBB releases field of 'Elite 8' biodiesel schools

BY The National Biodiesel Board As March Madness nears, the very best of college basketball will be showcased. In that spirit, the National Biodiesel Board has released its own bracket of colleges and universities upping their game with biodiesel research, production and education. READ MORE

March 05, 2018

US EPA approves new fuel pathway for REG Geismar

BY Erin Voegele The U.S. EPA approved a fuel pathway for the Renewable Energy Group Inc.'s Geismar, Louisiana, biorefinery that will allow the facility to generate D5 advanced biofuel renewable identification numbers (RINs) for naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas. READ MORE

February 21, 2018

Revived Calif. plant celebrates low-carbon biodiesel production

BY Western Iowa Energy LLC An open house and ribbon-cutting Feb. 21 drew supporters from the Midwest to the West Coast to celebrate the reopening of Agron Bioenergy, a 15 MMgy biodiesel production facility in Watsonville, California, recently acquired by Western Iowa Energy. READ MORE

February 05, 2018

USDA stops support for Farm-to-Fleet biofuel production incentive

BY Erin Voegele The USDA Commodity Credit Corp. has withdrawn support for the Farm-to-Fleet biofuel production incentive, effective Feb 1. Payments will continue to be made, however, under existing commitments. The USDA said the incentive is no longer a priority. READ MORE

February 05, 2018

UPM assesses construction of second biorefinery in Finland

BY UPM Biofuels UPM has begun an environmental impact assessment for a possible biorefinery in Mussalo, Kotka, in southeastern Finland. The 500,000-ton plant, which would be UPM's second, would use different feedstocks than the current UPM Lappeenranta Biorefinery. READ MORE

February 01, 2018

Despite challenges, 2017 was a solid year for US biodiesel

BY Ron KotrbaIn terms of the U.S. market for biodiesel, 2017 was not a record-breaking year, as was 2016, but it was also not a bad year for production and demand either, particularly considering that the industry faced numerous challenges. READ MORE

January 31, 2018

Emergent research could forge new paths to biodiesel's future

BY Ron KotrbaYoung scientists presented their ongoing biodiesel research projects during a panel at the National Biodiesel Conference in late January. Process and feedstock research like the work presented could provide an impetus the biodiesel industry needs. READ MORE

January 30, 2018

Biojet fuel producer AltAir Fuels achieves RSB certification

BY Ron KotrbaAltAir Fuels, a 40 MMgy biojet fuel production facility in Paramount, California, has been certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials to produce certified-sustainable biojet fuel, renewable diesel and naphtha. READ MORE

January 26, 2018

BDI breaks ground on algae production facility in Styria, Austria

BY Ron KotrbaBiodiesel technology and engineering firm BDI-BioEnergy International AG officially broke ground Jan. 26 on its new algae biomass production plant at Hartberg Ecopark in the Austrian state of Styria. The milestone is the culmination of years of R&D. READ MORE

January 19, 2018

Evonik, Siemens to make chemicals from CO2, eco-electricity

BY Evonik Corp. Evonik and Siemens are planning to use electricity from renewable sources and bacteria to convert CO2 into specialty chemicals. The two companies are working on electrolysis and fermentation processes in a joint research project called Rheticus. READ MORE

January 12, 2018

Innoltek acquires Evoleum biodiesel plant in Quebec

BY Ron KotrbaCanadian biodiesel producer Innoltek Inc., based in Thetford Mines, Quebec, where it operates a 5 MMly biodiesel facility, has acquired the 19 MMly Evoleum biodiesel plant formerly known as QFI Biodiesel in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. READ MORE

January 05, 2018

In Depth: Against the Odds

BY Ron KotrbaContinued investment and expansion took place in the U.S. biodiesel sector throughout 2017, despite rising political uncertainty and a lapsed tax credit. Here is an overview of some of the activity, plus a special sidebar story from Joe Jobe. READ MORE

January 04, 2018

In Depth: Biodiesel Agents of Change

BY Ron KotrbaBiodiesel Magazine spotlights four companies—a respected producer, a service-oriented wholesaler, a 200-year old chemical firm, and a fuel conditioning company—that enable biodiesel's role as an effective change agent. READ MORE

January 03, 2018

Opinion: Natural Selection of Biodiesel Process Technology

BY Blake Hendrix Desmet Ballestra began researching biodiesel production in the early 1980s. In 1993, we built our first commercial-scale biodiesel plant. Today, Desmet Ballestra is positioned to supply multifeedstock plants from 50,000 to 500,000 tons per year. READ MORE

January 02, 2018

In Depth: Fat and the City

BY Hermann Stockinger and Stefan Divjak Nature knows no waste, but we all certainly do—at the end of the day we ourselves might be readily biodegradable, but the progress mankind made over the past thousand years undeniably came with a few side effects. READ MORE

November 30, 2017

First RFS rule from Trump EPA a big disappointment for biodiesel

BY Ron KotrbaThe U.S. EPA released its final rule for renewable volume obligations under the RFS Nov. 30, and the Trump administration's first final rule is a big disappointment for biodiesel producers. The rule stalls biodiesel volumes at 2.1 billion gallons. READ MORE

November 27, 2017

Air Liquide to engineer, supply Cargill biodiesel plant in Kansas

BY Air Liquide Engineering & Construction Air Liquide Engineering & Construction has built six biodiesel plants for Cargill. Now, its leading-edge Lurgi biodiesel technology, which offers a complete oleochemical production chain, will be the heart of Cargill's new 60 MMgy Kansas plant. READ MORE

November 15, 2017

Western Iowa Energy acquires 15 MMgy California biodiesel plant

BY Ocean Park Advisors Agron Bioenergy closed the sale of its biodiesel plant in Watsonville, California, to Western Iowa Energy. The assets include a biodiesel refinery designed to produce 15 MMgy and patents encompassing Agron's centrifuge system and distillation steps. READ MORE

November 14, 2017

Pacific Biodiesel to supply fuel to new Schofield power plant

BY Ron KotrbaHawaiian Electric Co. and Pacific Biodiesel Technologies signed a three-year biodiesel supply contract for the new 50-MW Schofield Generating Station, 8-MW Honolulu International Airport Emergency Power Facility, and other Oahu generation facilities. READ MORE