Sen. Bond brings DOT funding to glycerin utilization program

Opening up new markets for glycerin, a by-product of biodiesel production, will help make the biodiesel industry more profitable. Now, through the leadership of U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., funds will become available for glycerin utilization research. Funding comes from the Highway Bill's Department of Transportation Bio-Based Transportation Research Program.

"Thanks to the leadership of Senator Bond for the biodiesel industry, the potential can be opened up to find new ways to use large quantities of glycerin in a relatively short period of time," said Tom Verry, National Biodiesel Board (NBB) director of outreach and development. Over the next four years, the $200,000 funded research will center on using glycerin as a livestock feed input, Verry said.

The Missouri Soybean Association (MSA), in partnership with the NBB, will direct the Glycerin Utilization Project research. Research will be conducted at the University of Missouri-Columbia with a team including Monty Kerley, a nationally known ruminant nutritionist who is working with the nutritional value of glycerin for its use as animal feed.

"With the proper investment in research, this country's fast-growing biodiesel business holds great promise in having a useful by-product," said Dale Ludwig, MSA executive director and CEO. "By capturing the value-added opportunity that exists with glycerin, soybean farmers can make a worthwhile venture out of something that otherwise may have been a burden."

Kerley added, "The use of glycerin as a feed ingredient creates a new market with potential to use substantial quantities of glycerin. Missouri alone produces enough beef calves to use more than 350 million pounds of glycerin, or more than 8 million acres of soybeans. This market would expand nationally just as the market for soybean meal and soyhulls has done, and glycerin can be used in diets of several animals."

The MSA has previously worked closely with the University of Missouri to develop promising new uses for glycerin, such as propylene glycol, which can be used for antifreeze. This new research should begin in early 2007.