HDI offers bolt-on biodiesel processing for ethanol plants

Hydro Dynamics Inc. of Rome, Ga., announced that complete biodiesel plants incorporating its cavitation-based ShockWave Power Reactor are now available for the fuel ethanol industry. The majority of ethanol plants already recover their corn oil and much of this ends up converted to biodiesel. By integrating a biodiesel plant directly into the ethanol plant a producer can realize many competitive advantages due to reduced transportation cost, shared infrastructure and the ability to merge coproduct streams.

In order to offer ethanol plants a seamless “bolt-on biodiesel” solution HDI is expanding its existing relationships with World Energy of Boston, Mass., and Phibro Ethanol Performance Group of Teaneck, N.J. World Energy is a leading producer, supplier and distributor of biodiesel and HDI has previously partnered with World Energy’s WMG Services business unit for sale of the SPR to the biodiesel industry. This new venture expands the cooperative offering to include not only the SPR, but complete plants designed by WMG Services. Phibro Ethanol Performance Group is the exclusive marketer of Lactrol antimicrobial to the ethanol industry and HDI has been partnered with Phibro for commercializing the SPR to enhance yield. Phibro’s technical expertise and extensive customer relationships make them an excellent partner to help bring biodiesel to the ethanol industry.

SPR technology is already well established in the biodiesel industry with well over 500 million annual gallons of capacity sold using the SPR technology. “Our SPR technology is well positioned in the biodiesel market as the most efficient technology available to drive the reaction to convert corn oil and other feedstocks into biodiesel”, stated Doug Mancosky, vice president of Hydro Dynamics. “The SPR offers biodiesel producers significant production advantages over those using conventional reactors and mixing systems to drive the transesterification reaction.”

The SPR technology has potential to offer ethanol producers a “bolt-on biodiesel” solution at significant capital savings and ongoing production cost efficiencies over conventional biodiesel processes.