As part of its national infrastructure plan, Renewable Energy Group (REG) is now offering SoyPower-brand biodiesel to fuel distributors in the Northeast through a terminal in Baltimore, Md. The terminal, owned by Westway, provides B99.9 fuel in truckload lots to distributors without rail access. REG also offers biodiesel at a Holyoke, Mass., terminal.

REG offers biodiesel in Baltimore

There's a cluster of important policy initiatives on the U.S. biodiesel industry's plate this summer. Topping the list are efforts to extend the biodiesel excise tax credit through 2010, establish a "Biodiesel Incentive Program," redefine renewable diesel's eligibility for the blender's credit and possibly create an "alternative diesel standard." Another urgent legislative issue-still unresolved at press time-is closing the so-called loophole in the blender's credit that's allowing importers, some of them U.S.-based companies, to cash in on a practice dubbed "splash-and-dash."

 
 Splash-and-dash, a variation of "touch-and-go" trade, is the name given to the practice of shipping large volumes of foreign biodiesel into U.S. ports, topping biofuel-laden tankers off with a "splash" of petroleum diesel and "dashing" off to Europe where more subsidies await. Adding just one-tenth of a percent of petroleum diesel allows the importer-acting as the blender-to qualify for the U.S. federal biodiesel excise tax credit of 1 cent per percentage of biodiesel blended with diesel.
 
 Importers started taking advantage of the loophole last year, topping off tankers in port cities like Houston; Savannah, Ga.; and New Orleans, where vessels can receive a splash of diesel from dockside fuel suppliers. The ships stay just long enough to legitimize the credit before pushing off for ports in the Netherlands, Spain or Germany.
 
 Critics of the practice say the U.S. blender's credit was intended to promote the use of biodiesel blends in the United States-not necessarily in other countries. The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has called the practice "indefensible," and the association fully supports efforts to shut down pure splash-and-dash transactions. Meanwhile, the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) is up in arms over the practice, and pressing hard for change. Its leaders say cheap B99 imports could have a ruinous effect on the European biodiesel market, and principally hurt farmers.
 
 According to the EBB, U.S.-subsidized biodiesel is entering the European market at the same price that European Union (EU) producers are paying for feedstocks like rapeseed oil. The EBB claims the practice is literally putting its producers out of business. Reports of ridiculous transactions taking place-like one account of European biodiesel producers shipping their product from Europe to the United States and back to Europe just to get the U.S. blender's credit-illustrate the upside-down, unsustainable nature of splashing and dashing.
 
 At press time, language that would close this loophole was tucked into pending legislation in the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. If passed, the new law would basically make the blender's credit available to only fuel being blended for use in the United States. The bill would also disallow domestically produced fuel sold for export to qualify for the tax incentive, and that's not something everyone readily agrees on. The NBB supports the elimination of true splash-and-dash activities, but some of its members would probably like to maintain the applicability of the blender's credit for U.S.-produced biodiesel that is exported. That's not going to cut it for the Europeans. The EBB made a public plea to the EU's trade commissioner in March, telling him that subsidized U.S. imports have been flooding the European market. The letter said the U.S. trade practice is "clearly breaching" World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and "represents a serious threat to the fair trade of biofuels."
 
 The EBB has threatened to go to the WTO if the United States doesn't remedy the problem itself. If that doesn't work, some Europeans say the only remaining option would be to put a countervailing measure in place to cancel out the competitive advantage that U.S. exporters currently enjoy. This is a big international issue that's simply hard to take sides on. The September issue of Biodiesel Magazine will include a comprehensive feature on the splash-and-dash controversy, and right now, you can go to <a href="http://www.biodieselmagazine.com" target="_blank">www.biodieselmagazine.com</a> and tell us how you feel about it by answering our "Question of the Week."

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'Splash-and-dash' controversy still unresolved

Editor's Note

New quality standards for biodiesel could come sooner rather than later, thanks to a push by Congress. At a recent meeting of ASTM International's (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials) Biodiesel Task Force, it was made known that the proposed energy bill before Congress contains a provision that would require the U.S. EPA to develop biodiesel blend standards if ASTM standards were incomplete 270 days after the bill becomes law.

 
 "It depends on whether the bill passes and whether that clause remains in the bill or gets changed," said Steve Howell, chairman of the ASTM Biodiesel Task Force. "From our industry's perspective, we fully support the ASTM process, and believe the ASTM process is the best in the world and should be continued to be used for all fuel specifications in the United States. It would be a mistake to delegate the setting of the fuel standards to any government agency, as opposed to using the industry consensus process."
 
 There are still several outstanding issues to be resolved for the biodiesel and biodiesel blend standards, Howell said. The most pressing concern involves precipitates that form at temperatures over the cloud point, which would apply to pure biodiesel standard ASTM D 6751. The industry is currently gathering data to validate a method called the "cold soak filter test." "That's the major activity we are working on to determine what actions need to happen with ASTM D 6751," Howell said.
 
 Currently, biodiesel blends up to B5 are being proposed under the ASTM D 975 standard for diesel fuel, provided the biodiesel meets the ASTM D 6751 standard prior to blending. In addition, a separate standard is being considered for B6 to B20. Howell said the proposed B6 to B20 standard would mirror the ASTM D 975 diesel standard with a few modifications. One exception would be an allowance for a higher distillation temperature. This is a measure that indirectly reflects how much particulate matter the fuel would produce after combustion. Since biodiesel produces fewer particulates, a higher temperature is allowed. The specification would also require two additional tests for the fuel: a stability parameter and an acid number. "The acid number is a long-term surrogate for stability," Howell explained. "Other than those two tests and one expanded parameter, it's just D 975 diesel fuel."
 
 The growing popularity of biodiesel is another factor creating an impetus to quickly approve new regulations. "There is a lot of pressure from a lot of different angles to pass the blended fuel standard," Howell said. "That's primarily because people are using this fuel. It's important for regulators to have something they can enforce to make sure everybody is doing the right job and has good fuel quality. It's difficult for regulators to enforce specifications that don't exist."
 
 ASTM works by getting a consensus on new regulations among its membership. That can be a time-consuming process, which may be one reason why the organization is being pressured to move forward more quickly. "The issue is that ASTM has always been based on data," Howell said. "Anytime there is a technical question that comes up for which you need more data, you have to go out and get that data."
 
 The ASTM Biodiesel Task Force will meet several times to evaluate the additional testing results and prepare ballots to vote whether to adopt the new standards before the ASTM ballot deadline in October. "We are trying really hard," Howell said. "We will have to see how the data looks."

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Proposal pushes biofuels standards forward

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) hosted a webinar July 11 to educate its members on compliance with the federal renewable fuels standard (RFS), which takes effect Sept. 1, 2007, and requires all renewable fuel production facilities, refiners, importers and exporters to register with the U.S. EPA by that date.
 
 According to Scott Hughes, director of governmental affairs for the NBB, 120 participants attended the three-hour webinar, which discussed the various biodiesel industry regulations about to take effect. Upon EPA registration, companies will receive a four-digit company identification number. Some companies may already have an identification number through registration under the Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel Sulfur program; reregistration isn't required for these companies.
 
 The registration form is short, but the compliance, recordkeeping and reporting are more complicated. "Compliance is demonstrated through the acquisition of unique renewable identification numbers (RINs) assigned by the producer or importer to every batch of renewable fuel produced or imported," the EPA stated in the final ruling issued in May. "The RIN shows that a certain volume of renewable fuel was produced or imported. Each year, the refiners, blenders and importers obligated to meet the renewable volume requirement must acquire sufficient RINs to demonstrate compliance with their volume obligation. RINs can be traded, thereby functioning as the credits envisioned in the [Energy Policy Act of 2005]."
 

 Each 38-character RIN stays with the batch of fuel as it is transported. This trading program will allow renewable fuels to be used where they are most economical while providing a flexible means for obligated parties to comply with the standard, according to the EPA.
 
 When the RFS goes into effect in September, the trading of renewable fuel is considered a regulated activity. RINs must be generated for all renewable fuel produced or imported on or after this date. Producers and importers of renewable fuel can also generate RINs for product in inventory on the start date. At that time, recordkeeping and reporting requirements also begin, with the first report due to the EPA on Nov. 1, 2007.
 
 "Owning RINs, and engaging in any activities regarding RINs, is prohibited as of Sept. 1, 2007, unless the party has registered and received EPA company and facility identification numbers," the EPA said. The association also encouraged timely registration because the generation of RINs and the handling of transactions involving RINs is prohibited without a confirmed registration.
 
 The NBB has information about the RFS available on the "Members Only" section of its Web site at <a href="http://www.biodiesel.org" target="_blank">www.biodiesel.org</a>. Presentations, talking points, background information and papers are included under the federal regulatory section of the site. Details about the final ruling and links to the EPA registration forms can be found at <a href="http://www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels" target="_blank">www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels</a>.

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RIN registration deadline approaches

Biodiesel Technologies Inc., which officially changed its name to Orbitek Inc. at the end of July, is in the process of negotiating with a Japanese firm to supply biodiesel production units in southern China.
 
 In that region of the country, the land is rocky, undernourished and unfit for agricultural use. However, the jatropha plant can thrive under these conditions and could be a high-yielding feedstock source for biodiesel production. Biodiesel Technologies' proprietary process technology, developed at Cornell University by company CEO Christian Fleisher in 2000 and commercialized in 2006, would be used alongside local crushing facilities. "We're really excited about this opportunity to go into underserved areas and create small energy islands," said Martha Hyde, a company spokeswoman.
 
 Biodiesel Technologies' biodiesel production unit is skid-mounted, can produce 4 MMgy and can be shipped in a standard shipping container. Hyde said the company expects to ship its first unit overseas by the end of 2007, and the first plant is expected to be on line in 2008. Fifty percent of the oil processed from the jatropha will be shipped to Japan for biodiesel production. The remainder will be converted into the biofuel on-site. Ultimately, the two companies want to build as many as 100 facilities in southern China, Hyde said.
 
 In addition, Fleisher recently participated in a conference call with United Nations officials to discuss funding for a similar project in the Caribbean. In this case, the production facilities would be located near ports, bringing jobs to those areas and providing a fuel that cruise lines can utilize in an effort to become more eco-friendly. "They seemed impressed with how portable and flexible our technology is," Hyde said. "However, they seemed more interested in pursuing this type of project in Africa. We'll see what comes of it."

Biodiesel Technologies' BPU400 biodiesel production unit.

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Biodiesel Technologies to participate in plant constructions in China

Intellectual property is at the heart of virtually all businesses today. Industries that were once considered low tech now utilize high technology in essentially every part of their function, from manufacturing to accounting and everything in between. Obviously, this is also true for the biodiesel industry. While the process of converting vegetable oils and animal greases to methyl esters is relatively straightforward, biodiesel production is a sophisticated business, and technology providers take great pains to protect their proprietary information and technology. Intellectual property law gives those providers powerful tools they can use for that purpose.
 
 Intellectual property law can come into play in several ways with respect to the design of biodiesel production plants. The drawings, specifications, calculations, data, notes, and other materials and documents used by the builder will all be subject to copyright law. With the right protections in place, the information incorporated in those works might also be considered trade secrets. If elements of the plant design meet certain requirements, including innovation and originality, those elements might also be patentable. Copyrights, trade secrets and patents can be used to control how information about the design of a biodiesel plant can be used or shared, and how design documentation can be copied or distributed to others. The person owning intellectual property rights will be the one with that control. That person might be the builder, but often the builder obtains some or all of the technical information used in the construction of the biodiesel plant from a technology provider. The technology provider will grant the builder a license to use its intellectual property as part of the builder's services to the owner.
 

 So how does the biodiesel plant owner get the rights necessary to operate, maintain and repair the plant? Each biodiesel plant is constructed under the terms of a design/build agreement. These agreements cover a wide range of issues, including the assignment of responsibilities between the builder and the owner, how the work will be performed, pricing, indemnification, production and quality warranties, and insurance requirements. The use and ownership of intellectual property related to the plant and its design is another key issue addressed in the design/build agreement.
 
 The design/build agreement will clarify who obtains ownership of the intellectual property necessary for, or resulting from the design and construction of the biodiesel plant. The plant owner rarely acquires ownership of that intellectual property. Instead, ownership typically remains with the builder or with the builder's technology provider. The owner will have certain limited license rights, which are either granted by the builder to the owner, by the technology provider indirectly through the builder, or directly from the technology partner to the plant owner.
 
 The owner should be certain to obtain rights that extend beyond just the actual construction of the plant. In addition to the owner's obvious need for physical access to drawings and specifications regarding tanks, piping and other elements of the biodiesel plant, it is also necessary for the owner to have intellectual property rights for the use and reproduction of such materials. Typically the owner is granted only limited rights that apply to the operation and maintenance of the plant-any other use, such as plant expansion, is likely to be excluded.
 
 Intellectual property issues associated with biodiesel technology already are significant issues in the construction of biodiesel plants. They will continue to take on even greater relevance for biodiesel and related businesses as the industry grows (and perhaps consolidates) and as technology changes.
 
 Todd J. Guerrero and Timothy Keller are members of Lindquist & Vennum PLLP, a leading provider of legal assistance on biofuels projects throughout the country. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.lindquist.com" target="_blank">www.lindquist.com</a> or call (612) 371-3211.
 
 This article is only a general summary for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified and experienced legal advisor for your specific situation or particular questions.

Handling Proprietary Information in Biodiesel Plants

Northington Energy LLC has begun construction of its new 3 MMgy "ultra-refined biodiesel" research and development facility near Wartburg, Tenn., adjacent to the company's 6 MMgy biodiesel plant currently under construction. The new $3 million research facility will be situated on six acres in the Flat Fork Business Park, and it will be the first facility in the United States to focus entirely on renewable racing fuels and related engine testing. It is expected to open in early 2008.

 
 Once complete, the research facility will enable Northington Energy to expand its manufacturing operations to include highly refined biodiesel for use in the racing industry. It will be occupied by the Cheyenne, Wyo.-based company's research and development arm NorthingtonSport, and will house leading-edge renewable fuel processing systems, as well as engine management and dynamometer testing cells. This newest division of Northington Energy will work closely with automotive and motorcycle racing engine manufacturers, such as Volkswagen and Suzuki, whose competition programs are increasing their use of renewable biofuels.
 
 "We are excited about the new facility and the positive impact it will have on the industry," said Lisa Horn, new business development manager for Northington Energy. "It will help the community produce new, quality fuels that are good for the environment, farmers and consumers. We think the biodiesel business we're in, the jobs that this industry will create and our environmentally friendly plant will be an asset to the county and the entire region, and will help promote Flat Fork Business Park."
 
 Northington Energy will be collaborating with the Tennessee Technology Center in Harriman, Tenn., to obtain the highly skilled personnel required to test and develop the company's next generation of competition biofuels. Northington Energy's forthcoming racing fuels-Research 3 Biodiesel and Research 3 Ethanol-will be distributed by select racing fuel suppliers across the country.
 
 In East Tennessee, there are more than 70 private and government fleets using biodiesel blends, according to the East Tennessee Economic Development Agency (ETEDA). The Northington Energy biodiesel plant in Morgan County will help support those efforts and others that will capitalize on the benefits of biodiesel.
 
 "This is a great start for the park," Morgan County Executive Becky Ruppe said. "Northington Energy's decision shows that biofuels production can succeed and that a smaller, more community-based focus on green industry is possible."

Initial construction has begun on Northington Energy's 3 MMgy research and development biodiesel plant in Wartburg, Tenn., which will test racing fuels.

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Biodiesel research facility to explore racing fuels

The crewmembers of Earthrace, a tri-hulled powerboat fueled by biodiesel that attempted to set a circumnavigation speed record, "gave it [their] best shot," said Captain Pete Bethune, but in the end, it was not enough to stop water from leaking into a damaged hull. Therefore, the race was postponed until 2008, and following successful repairs, the boat and crew have embarked on a European promotional tour.
 
 On July 3, Earthrace left Valencia, Spain, where extensive repairs were made, to begin a promotional tour around Europe. Its first stop will be Cork, Ireland, followed by ports in Wales, England, Scotland, France, Norway, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The crew is looking for various boat and ground crew members to help with the tour. Visit www.earthrace.net for more information.
 
 Earthrace started its record bid in Barbados in March, but encountered mechanical problems that slowed the vessel. Repairs were made along the way, but near Guatemala the trimaran collided with a fishing boat. One fisherman on the Guatemalan boat was injured, while another was missing and presumed dead. During an investigation, the crew was held in Guatemala for several days. The race clock was reset once Earthrace left San Diego, Calif., but despite the crew's best efforts, the race was called off in Malaga, Spain, after the vessel faced several storms and sustained additional damages. Undeterred, the crew plans to shoot for the record a second time, starting in March 2008.

Earthrace docks in Cochin, India, in May during its attempt at breaking the circumnavigation record.

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Earthrace returns to water

The California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) is completing a $100,000, six-month pilot project to determine the feasibility of using B20 in its fleets. If the results are favorable, the 4,500 CalTrans trucks and construction vehicles would use about 600,000 gallons of biodiesel per year. CalTrans uses 3 million gallons of regular diesel annually.
 
 Since January, about 20 CalTrans vehicles at Indio, Calif., have been running on B20 derived mainly from recycled cooking oil. Data collection for the pilot study was concluded in July, and the information is being analyzed at the University of California, Riverside.
 

 In announcing the project this summer, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "California is continuing to establish its leadership role in reducing its dependence on oil and greenhouse gas emissions." According to California's Office of the Governor, the study was undertaken to fully understand the benefits and drawbacks of using a new fuel before making the change statewide. Researchers gathered information such as vehicle descriptions, facility descriptions, vehicle usage, fuel costs, maintenance records and driver feedback. They will examine compatibility and warranty issues, and review the latest studies on emissions conducted elsewhere to evaluate environmental impact.
 
 According to the Office of the Governor, biodiesel is seen as a viable choice for CalTrans because the infrastructure is already in place. Only minor, relatively inexpensive modifications would be needed before switching to B20. CalTrans has about 230 diesel fuel sites statewide.
 
 Last year, Schwarzenegger signed into law the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which requires a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in California to 1990 levels by 2020. He has also set administrative targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

CalTrans selected 20 vehicles at its Indio, Calif., location to participate in a B20 study. If results are positive, the entire fleet would switch to B20.

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CalTrans conducts B20 pilot project

Biodiesel distribution and production company Earth Biofuels Inc. announced plans to break into the cellulosic ethanol arena by recently signing a letter of intent (LOI) with Revolution Biorefining LP. The intention is to form a new company under the name Earth Revolution to commercialize a unique biomass processing technology, one that bypasses the traditional pretreatment of cellulose materials for downstream fermentation, said Robert Bickel, founder of Revolution Biorefining and inventor of the patent-pending tech design.
 
 "It's a semi-mechanical process that falls into the category of almost being an ambient, supercritical, dynamic environment," Bickel said. Essentially the biomass is converted into a bioaerosol. "From there, you have the ability to do a lot of things from a catalytic standpoint," he said. The material is reduced to nano- and micro-scale particles, which, for instance, could eliminate the need for designer enzymes in pretreatment. Bickel said the same technology can be altered to produce biodiesel, too. "There's one simple piece of equipment sitting in my shop, where we can produce continuous-flow biodiesel to the tune of 70 gallons a minute," said Bickel, adding he believes some biodiesel producers today are still "hung up on ancient technology."
 
 Despite recent reports of turmoil in the management ranks of Earth Biofuels-CEO Tommy Johnson left the company and country music legend Willie Nelson gave up his board seat-Bickel said Nelson is "still very much involved" with the company, and it continues to distribute BioWillie-branded biodiesel. "I know the people with Earth Biofuels and deal with them on a regular basis," Bickel said. "I know what they're trying to accomplish, and I think they've accomplished things while others want to sit around making a living on government grants."
 
 Conditions of the LOI include building a small commercial unit to process 20 tons of biodiesel per day from virtually any biomass feedstock.

Earth Biofuels signs LOI with Revolution Biorefining

Select restaurants in north-central California-from fast food joints to four-star dining rooms-are displaying stickers in their windows that read: "Our cooking oil is recycled into biodiesel fuel to help reduce global warming." Richard Gillis, president and CEO of Watsonville, Calif.-based Energy Alternative Solutions Inc. (EASI), which is processing this waste into fuel at its facility in Gonzales, Calif., said these restaurants "are happy to announce to customers that their greases are not going down the drain or to the landfill, but are being recycled."
 
 By developing strong relationships with the local rendering companies San Jose Tallow in San Jose, Calif., and Salinas Tallow in Salinas, Calif., which are collecting the greases, EASI will be utilizing a low-cost feedstock for its production process. The company currently takes in about 13,000 pounds of used cooking oil per week. The community focus of this partnership matches EASI's business model, too. "Made from locally grown crops and recycled cooking oil collected from local renderers, our biodiesel supports the local economy by keeping production dollars at home," EASI said.
 
 The program is also contributing to plant expansion plans, Gillis told Biodiesel Magazine, adding that he is looking to increase capacity at the Gonzales facility, which started production in March. In fact, the company plans to build seven additional plants in California over the next five years. "You have to be considerate of the raw material and be confident that you can secure it for the long-term," Gillis said. "Because we have a multi-feedstock process, we can take advantage of various sources-from virgin oils to yellow grease-and that is why we're expanding."

EASI will pick up waste restaurant grease at various restaurants in north-central California in order to convert it to biodiesel.

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Grease recycling program yields biodiesel

Although a "renewable" diesel molecule and a biodiesel molecule don't resemble each other, the future of biodiesel has become intertwined with renewable diesel ever since the IRS ruled that oil refineries can coprocess animal fats and vegetable oils with crude oil and receive the $1 per gallon renewable diesel tax credit. Many in the biodiesel industry have expressed concerns about how they will compete for feedstocks with established oil refiners.
 

 Some observers believe that the inherent advantages the oil refiners receive from the tax credit will allow them to push the cost of feedstock beyond the profitable reach of most biodiesel producers. But, emotions aside, what are the facts? Two fundamental questions need answering:
 &bull; Are oil refiners being given a better deal than farmer-owned biodiesel plants?
 &bull; Does coprocessed renewable diesel deserve the same (or actually better) tax treatment as biodiesel?
 
 The oil company lobbyists have done a good job framing the debate in the halls of Congress as: "Don't pick winners and losers. If it's good for farmers then it should also be good for oil companies."
 
 Yet a close look at the two incentives shows that a winner has been (inadvertently) picked-and the winner is renewable diesel. The very structure of the renewable diesel tax credit provides oil refiners with two significant advantages over biodiesel producers.
 
 1. The renewable diesel tax credit is a production tax credit. Oil companies receive it on the product they purchase and put into the process. Feedstocks like animal fats or used cooking grease may contain 3 percent to 15 percent water or other impurities, but the oil companies get paid on every gallon that goes into the process.
 
 On the other hand, biodiesel receives a blenders' tax credit. It only applies to the gallons of biodiesel actually produced and blended into diesel fuel. The biodiesel producer must remove the water and other impurities and won't receive one cent for that portion of the feedstock. 
 
 2. With a production credit, the oil refiners receive their tax incentive directly. With a blenders' tax credit, a biodiesel producer must negotiate for its part of the credit with its customers in the marketplace. Based on some posted prices, the biodiesel producer may only receive 95 cents of the dollar, and that amount could go lower based on supply and demand.
 
 Combined, these two attributes impart a huge financial advantage to oil refiners and leave biodiesel producers fighting uphill against an established, quite profitable industry for feedstocks.
 
 Should the U.S. taxpayer care? This leads us to our second question. Biofuels, like ethanol and biodiesel, receive public support because they help address pressing public policy issues, including environmental, economic and energy security concerns. Biofuels burn cleaner, protect our water, create American jobs, attract investment capital, increase U.S. refining capacity and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

 
 The same cannot be said for an oil refiner's coprocessed renewable diesel. The end product is essentially indiscernible from regular diesel. There is little to no environmental, economic or energy security benefit from co-processed renewable diesel. Renewable diesel simply does not give the U.S. taxpayer the same bang for the buck.
 
 Washington, D.C., gets pretty hot in August and legislators usually head home. Take this opportunity to turn up the heat on this issue. Congress must act to close the oil refinery renewable diesel loophole.
 
 Monte Shaw is the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. Reach him at <a href="mailto:mshaw@iowarfa.org">mshaw@iowarfa.org</a> or (515) 252-6249.

Talking Point

Finland's Neste Oil started second-generation biodiesel production at its Porvoo refinery early this summer. The first plant using the company's NexBTL (Next Generation Biomass-to-Liquid) technology began producing renewable diesel in June. The plant will use rapeseed oil and tallow to manufacture 170,000 tons of fuel per year (60 MMgy). A second, identical plant is being built alongside the first facility, scheduled for completion in late 2008. A new petroleum diesel line also began operation at the site.

Neste Oil starts renewable diesel production in Finland

Des Plaines, Ill.-based UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, has supplied its trademarked Ecofining technology to Rome-based Eni SpA, which plans to use it in a biodiesel plant in Livorno, Italy. According to UOP, the proposed facility will process 6,500 barrels of vegetable oils per day. It would be the first to use Ecofining technology, jointly developed by UOP and Eni. UOP has completed the basic design for the facility, which is slated to come on line in 2009.

Eni to build Italian biodiesel plant

Philadelphia Fry-o-Diesel hosted a road rally June 15 at the Philadelphia Zoo. Twenty-five vehicles demonstrated to the public the utility of biodiesel in various makes and models ranging from tanker trucks, land rovers, university fleets, passenger cars and school buses. The rally was held to highlight Fry-o-Diesel's production process at its pilot plant that produces consistent, large volumes of on-spec biodiesel from trap grease, according to company President Nadia Adawi. She said agreements to sell fuel will be limited until the company's commercial-scale production facility is built.

Philadelphia Fry-o-Diesel hosts road rally at Philadelphia Zoo

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he intends to use Bioheat heating oil produced from soybean oil to heat city buildings starting in 2008. The plan is part of the city's goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2030. Starting in July 2008, one-third of the Bioheat heating oil bought by the city must contain 5 percent biofuel. According to a New York City economic development spokesman, the proportion will rise in stages to 20 percent biofuel by 2012.

New York City plans to use Bioheat heating oil

NearBio, a service provided by WHDC LLC in Nevada City, Calif., launched a Web site in mid-June that aims to link consumer demand for biodiesel with suppliers. Users of the free service at <a href="http://www.needbio.com" target="_blank">www.needbio.com</a> register their biodiesel need requirements, including their blend of choice, number and type of vehicles driven, and how far they're willing to drive to fill up. Consumers are informed by e-mail when a retail outlet opens that meets their criteria. Once significant pockets of demand are identified, suppliers in those areas will also be notified. Within the first three weeks that the Web site was live, about 1.5 million gallons of unmet need was registered, said Kevin Hull, president of the Web site.

Web site maps regional biodiesel demand

In May, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen announced the recipients of the Feedstock Processing Demonstration Loan. Tennessee Soy Products Inc. in McMinnville, Tenn., received $500,000 to purchase a facility that its partner Alliance Biofuels will use for biodiesel production. Madison, Tenn.-based Freedom Biofuels Inc. received $250,000 to process soybeans into soy oil and meal in Robertson County, Tenn. NuOil Inc. in Counce, Tenn., received $250,000 to purchase additional equipment for soybeans used to make biodiesel.

Tennessee governor announces loan recipients

London-based ESV Group plc recently announced the purchase of Mozambique-based company Inveragro SARL and the acquisition of 11,000 hectares (approximately 27,120 acres) of land in the Inhambane Province of Mozambique. ESV Group said it had already begun planting jatropha there, and it intends to have 1,500 hectares (approximately 3,705 acres) sown by year's end. Plans are being drawn for a crush facility on-site and eventual oil exports to the European biodiesel industry.

Ukrainian company plants jatropha in Mozambique

It should be news to no one that the biodiesel industry has changed dramatically over the past few years. The biodiesel tax credit, which became law in January 2005, significantly changed the industry's landscape. The industry's growth, which Congress and President George W. Bush sought, quickly began to occur. This growth has continued at a break-neck pace ever since.

 
 The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has seen growth as well. The national trade association for the biodiesel industry has grown from about 65 members in 2004 to over 450 today. The growth in membership has also changed the landscape of the trade association.
 
 In recognition of the significant changes in membership, the NBB's governing board established a Bylaws and Structure Review Task Force in November 2006. NBB Chairman Darryl Brinkmann appointed the task force members and charged them with a top-to-bottom review of the bylaws. He began the process by asking NBB's legal counsel, Mark Truesdell, to thoroughly review the bylaws for compliance with all applicable laws. Upon completion, the task force began its review by carefully looking for areas where the bylaws did not reflect the current condition of the industry as well as they should. The review included the makeup of the governing board.
 
 The 15-member governing board-the elected leadership of the association-is elected every November. The bylaws provided for eligibility for election to the governing board for any "voting member" of the association. Nominations have been solicited by the Election Committee. In the past, all nominees were required to affiliate themselves with one of three categories: 1) vegetable oil, 2) animal/recycled or 3) at large. These categories were used to divide up the ballot, as the bylaws directed that one nominee be elected from each category.
 
 The growth of the biodiesel industry, and the feedstock neutrality of many of its production facilities, made affiliation with a single category more difficult. The task force studied this issue very carefully and recommended some sweeping changes. First, the task force recognized the increased number of biodiesel producer-members among the voting membership, as well as the need to maintain the strong leadership which has been constantly present from the industry's renderer- and farmer-members. The task force felt that breaking down the ballot into categories to ensure governing board membership from constituency groups continued to be valuable.
 
 The task force recommended that new categories be used that could be tied to the member's membership category with the NBB (i.e., biodiesel producer, feedstock producer, feedstock producer organization). Ultimately, the task force recommended that two members of the governing board be elected from the feedstock producers, two from the voting membership, but limited to those with a renderer affiliation (membership in the National Renderers Association or Fats & Protein Research Association), and four be elected from the biodiesel producer/feedstock producer organizations. In addition to these eight members, the task force recommended the remaining seven be elected on an open ballot via a weighted vote (earned by voting members based on financial contributions and dues paid). All 15 members will have two-year terms with no term limits. Term limits will apply to all elected officers within the governing board. The task force recommended that the terms of all current members of the governing board expire this November to allow the new structure and representation to fully be in place after the November election.
 
 This proposal was presented to the membership via an online webinar in early June. The final proposal, which included webinar input, was presented to the membership at the NBB's June board meeting and overwhelmingly passed.
 
 An ever-changing industry needs a trade association that is nimble and flexible. This new structure for leadership of this association should ensure NBB's ability to speak with one voice and continue to advance the causes necessary to continue building a prosperous biodiesel industry in the United States.

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NBB structure change reflects current industry

NBB In Sight

In the days leading up to Congress' July 4 District Work Period, the House and Senate considered energy legislation that addressed key tax issues for the biodiesel industry.
 
 An extension of the federal biodiesel tax incentive passed the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee on June 20 as part of H.R. 2776, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007. Specifically, the bill:

 
 &bull;	Extends the biodiesel tax incentive through Dec. 31, 2010. Under current law, the incentive expires after Dec. 31, 2008.
 
 &bull;	Denies the $1 per gallon renewable diesel credit to fuel derived from petroleum coprocessing. This is consistent with the provisions of Reps. Kenny Hulshof and Lloyd Doggett's Responsible Renewable Energy Tax Credit Act of 2007, which is endorsed by the NBB. 
 
 &bull;	Provides that biodiesel, renewable diesel, ethanol or fuels eligible for the alternative fuels credit must be produced in the United States for use as a fuel in the United States. This would preclude exported biodiesel from claiming the $1 per gallon excise tax credit on a prospective basis. To address so-called "splash-and-dash" transactions, the bill retroactively denies the credits to fuels produced outside the United States for use as a fuel outside the United States. For biodiesel, this would deny credits claimed for "splash-and-dash" transactions retroactive to the creation of the biodiesel tax incentive in the American JOBS Creation Act of 2004.
 
 The Senate Finance Committee approved the Energy Advancement and Investment Act of 2007 on June 19. The bill:
 
 &bull;	Extends the biodiesel tax incentive through Dec. 31, 2010. 
 
 &bull;	Extends the biodiesel small producer credit through Dec. 31, 2012. 
 
 &bull;	Provides a cap of 60 million gallons per facility for purposes of claiming the $1 per gallon credit that can be claimed for petroleum coprocessed renewable diesel. Beyond 60 million gallons, the credit would be 50 cents per gallon. The bill also extends the renewable diesel tax credit through Dec. 31, 2010.
 
 &bull;	Defines biodiesel fuel mixtures and alcohol fuel mixtures, including 99.9 percent blends, as taxable fuels. Under existing Department of the Treasury regulations, 99.9 percent blends are not considered taxable fuels. 
 

 &bull;	Allows the excise tax credits for biodiesel, alcohol fuels, renewable diesel and alternative fuels to be claimed only on fuels consumed or sold for consumption in the United States. 
 
 The full House has not yet considered H.R. 2776, though the bill will likely be considered in the upcoming months. In the Senate, the energy tax package approved by the Finance Committee was offered as an amendment to H.R. 6, the CLEAN (Creating Long-term Energy Alternatives for the Nation) Energy Act of 2007. However, the energy tax package failed to garner the 60 votes required to clear a procedural hurdle, and thus was not included in the energy bill ultimately approved by the U.S. Senate. Despite this, both the Senate leadership and Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, have vowed to resurrect the package. The timing of such an effort is to be determined.
 
 NBB position: The NBB strongly supports the provision in both bills that extends the biodiesel tax incentive for two years. The NBB also strongly supports the four-year extension of the small producer tax credit in the Senate Finance package, and the Ways and Means position that petroleum coprocessed renewable diesel should not qualify for the $1 per gallon renewable diesel tax credit.
 
 The NBB is clearly on record as supporting efforts to shut down so-called "splash-and-dash" transactions, which allow foreign-produced fuel to be transshipped through the United States for the sole purpose of claiming the U.S. biodiesel tax incentive. However, the NBB is very concerned and will be working to correct provisions that could put the domestic biodiesel industry at a competitive and economic disadvantage by denying the excise tax credits for domestically produced fuel that is used to meet foreign demand. The NBB is also concerned that the provision in the Senate Finance Committee package that would define all biodiesel blends as taxable fuels could impose an undue regulatory and compliance burden on producers. The NBB's Washington, D.C., office will be working to remedy these problems as the legislative process moves forward.
 
 Petroleum, biodiesel workshops-coming to a state near you
 Nine areas of the country will host biodiesel workshops for petroleum distributors, thanks to grants awarded to select Clean Cities Coalitions. These U.S. DOE program coalitions will educate petroleum marketers, fleet managers and other officials about biodiesel fuel quality and ideal management practices.
 
 The Maryland Energy Administration, Clean Cities program and the National Biodiesel Foundation teamed up to award grants to Ohio, New Mexico, South Carolina, Virginia, Philadelphia and Denver. Other areas include Columbia and Willamette, Ore., Puget Sound and the Triangle area in North Carolina. The goal of the seminars and Clean Cities is to increase the use of alternative fuels in metropolitan areas.
 
 The workshops began in July and run through Oct. 31. Some of the grant awardees will present encore workshops. Some scheduled workshops (locations to be announced) are as follows:
 
 New Mexico: Aug. 17

 Ohio: Sept. 12 and 13
 North Carolina: Sept. 18
 Ohio: Sept. 18 and 19
 South Carolina: Sept. 19
 North Carolina: Oct. 24
 
 For a complete list of workshops, visit <a href="http://www.biodiesel.org/events" target="_blank">www.biodiesel.org/events</a>.
 
 The National Biodiesel Foundation was created to conduct outreach, education, research and demonstrations for the advancement of biodiesel and its coproducts.
 
 NBB staff honored for service
 During its June board meeting, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) recognized three of its trailblazing team members for their leadership and service.
 
 NBB CEO Joe Jobe celebrated his 10th anniversary with the board. He joined the organization as chief financial officer and became the CEO in 1999. Jobe's tireless dedication to the industry has seen it through many developments, including extreme growth and the establishment of a tax incentive for biodiesel blending.

 
 NBB Regulatory Director Scott Hughes and Marc-IV's Alan Weber were recognized for successfully launching the NBB's Washington, D.C., office in 2006. The office has grown to four employees: three from the NBB and one from Marc-IV, which is a consulting group for the biodiesel industry. Hughes and Weber now have a team in place that allows them to transition back to their home-state of Missouri, where they will continue working for NBB.
 
 The next NBB meeting is scheduled for Nov. 12-14 at the L'Enfent Hotel in Washington, D.C.
 
 A destiny to be green
 Biodiesel-powered construction equipment is one way Destiny USA is fulfilling its commitment to operate a construction site and new facilities without the use of fossil fuels. The project, a proposed retail and entertainment complex in Syracuse, N.Y., is designed to be the largest facility of its kind to be powered by renewable energy sources.
 
 Construction and related companies are increasingly realizing the health, environmental and energy security benefits of using cleaner-burning biodiesel in construction equipment.
 
 "The Destiny USA project is fully committed to operate 100 percent free of fossil fuels," project founder Robert J. Congel said. "With this project, we will stop talking about our dependence on fossil fuels and instead demonstrate how we can earn our independence. This project will prove the viability of using 100 percent biofuel in all types of equipment, and will educate and challenge other developers in New York and around the country to adopt similar environmentally friendly approaches."
 
 Destiny USA will be a showcase for the world's most advanced technologies and services and a showroom for the latest and best products and brands, according to company officials. Construction officials initially used a B5 biodiesel blend before increasing to B20 and B50. They plan to convert all 18 excavation and site work vehicles to B100. It's expected that nearly 100 different construction vehicles will run on biodiesel, consuming over 10,000 gallons of B100 per month throughout construction.
 
 Other construction users of biodiesel include Earthwise Excavation of Snohomish, Wash.; Turner Construction Company in Washington state; the Tennessee Department of Transportation; the Cherokee Boys Club of Cherokee, N.C.; Manatt's Inc. of Brooklyn, Iowa; and North Bay Construction of Petaluma, Calif.
 

 Visit <a href="http://nbb.grassroots.com/07Releases/construction2" target="_blank">http://nbb.grassroots.com/07Releases/construction2/</a> to read more about these organizations and hear what they have to say about biodiesel. More information on the Destiny USA project is available at <a href="http://www.destinyusa.com" target="_blank">www.destinyusa.com</a>.
 
 NBPAC offers donation program
 It is now easier to give to the National Biodiesel PAC (NBPAC), a political action committee organized to help elect candidates around the country who support and share the ideals of creating a sustainable biodiesel industry. The NBPAC has launched an annual, quarterly or monthly gifting system.
 
 "The biodiesel industry relies on government support as its moves into maturity," said World Energy President and CEO Gene Gebolys, who serves as chair of NBPAC. "Our newly established industry PAC is key to ensuring that our story is told effectively in Washington. With the introduction of regular-payment credit card set-up, making contributions is one step easier. If you haven't given this year, now is the time."
 
 The NBPAC works to make sure that legislation passed in Congress continues to advance the interests of its PAC members by creating industry growth. It will serve as a central coordination entity and voice for political action for the industry. NBPAC's membership is comprised of state, national and international feedstock and feedstock processor organizations, biodiesel suppliers, technology providers, and fuel marketers and distributors.
 
 For more information, contact Heather Grote, (573) 256-7060, <a href="mailto:hgrote@biodieselpac.org">hgrote@biodieselpac.org</a>, or visit <a href="http://www.biodieselpac.org" target="_blank">www.biodieselpac.org</a>. There you can learn how to more conveniently donate to the PAC. Please specify annual, quarterly or monthly payments, if desired.

 
 The regular payment gift amounts can be set up with a credit card. NBPAC accepts federal contributions from individuals, partnerships and other federal committees (committees registered with the Federal Election Commission, such as political action committees) of up to $5,000 per calendar year. Personal or PAC checks should be made payable to "NBPAC" and mailed to: P.O. Box 104554, Jefferson City, MO 65110.
 
 Paid for by NBPAC and not authorized by any candidate or candidates' committee.
 
 Membership has its advantages
 National Biodiesel Board (NBB) members have another driving reason to appreciate their membership even more this year-driving a DaimlerChrysler vehicle.
 
 NBB-member companies, employees, retirees and more are now eligible to participate in the DaimlerChrysler Affiliate Rewards-(Designated Corporate Customer) Program. Announced at the National Biodiesel Conference in February, this program is almost ready to go and will allow a significant discount on the purchase or lease of select, new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles at the "preferred price." Preferred price is 1 percent below factory invoice plus a $75 administration fee. Final prices could also include consumer incentives available at the time of sale.
 
 This is a great opportunity to purchase one of the company's diesel offerings and use a biodiesel blend. The program includes most hot new products, such as the diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee. Employees or their spouses may purchase or lease two vehicles per calendar year.
 
 As the final details are put in place, the NBB will post instructions on the Members Only Website on how to save big on a new ride. For more information, call the NBB at (800) 841-5849.

Washington watch: Biodiesel tax issues under consideration in Congress

Imperium Renewables Inc. has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering (IPO) up to $345 million in common stock.
 
 The company operates a 5 MMgy biodiesel plant through a subsidiary and is building a 100 MMgy plant in Aberdeen, Wash. The company is planning additional plants in Hawaii, Argentina and the east coast of the United States.
 

 Morgan Stanley & Co. and Lehman Brothers Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering, which will be made by prospectus. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.imperiumrenewables.com" target="_blank">www.imperiumrenewables.com</a>.

Imperium plans IPO

Salem, Ore.-based Eagle Tanks Inc. recently delivered four process and double-wall storage tanks to SoCal Biodiesel Fuels in San Jacinto, Calif. The 1 MMgy biodiesel plant, which is nearing production, received two 10,000-gallon tanks for biodiesel and waste vegetable oil, one 5,000-gallon tank for methanol, and one 240-gallon cone-bottom process tank from Eagle Tanks, according to Brandt Clupper, president and CEO of SoCal. Eagle Tanks manufactures tanks for combustible and flammable materials.

Eagle Tanks delivers equipment to SoCal Biodiesel Fuels

Imerjent LLC has sold a modular 500,000-gallon-per-year biodiesel processor to Pendleton Grain Growers Inc. (PGG) in Pendleton, Ore. The automated system was built into a standard shipping container in Imerjent's factory in Wilsonville, Ore. David Handaly, Imerjent senior vice president, described it as a landmark project for PGG, which is using a USDA grant to crush and convert its members' canola into biodiesel for its members and the city of Portland.

Imerjent builds its modular biodiesel plant in a standard shipping container, one of which Pendleton Grain Growers in Pendleton, Ore., will use to produce biodiesel from canola oil.

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PGG buys Imerjent biodiesel unit

Aventine Renewable Energy Inc., a leading producer, marketer and end-to-end provider of clean renewable energy, announced that it has added Delta Biofuels Inc. to its biodiesel marketing program. Delta Biofuels has begun biodiesel production at its 18 MMgy facility in Natchez, Miss., and it has also nearly completed an expansion of its continuous flow system, which would increase capacity to around 80 MMgy to 100 MMgy. "We wanted to make sure that our biodiesel marketer was the best in the industry," Delta Biofuels President Clint Vegas said. "We believe we found that in Aventine."

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Aventine to market biodiesel for Delta Biofuels

The National Renderers Association (NRA) formed a new committee this past spring to address issues relating to biofuels. "Over the last few years, biofuels have become a very important part of the rendering industry," NRA President Tom Cook said. "We needed a committee to turn to for direction on policy and technology issues." The committee held its first meeting in April and is composed of staff members from the association's member companies. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.renderers.org" target="_blank">www.renderers.org</a>.

NRA forms biofuels committee

In early July, a Crown Iron Works representative told Biodiesel Magazine that the oilseed extraction technology company was being sold to another company. At press time, a change of hands was "in process," although further information, including the name of the purchasing company, wasn't available at press time.

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Company purchases Crown Iron Works

In mid-June, Tonga Capital Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary Momentum Biofuels Inc., a 20 MMgy biodiesel producer in Pasadena, Texas, named its management team, which joined the company in March. Barry Cater will serve as the company president, CEO and a director. He appointed Jim O'Neal as COO and Stuart Cater, his brother, as CFO.
 
 In addition to Barry Cater and Jeff Ploen, director of Tonga, three additional directors were named to the board: Richard Cilento, Richard Robert and Jackson Wilson. Cilento is currently the president, CEO and founder of FuelQuest Inc., a software and service provider for global downstream energy. Robert is currently the executive vice president and CFO of Vanguard Natural Resources LLC, a natural gas and oil production company. Wilson retired from Accenture Ltd., a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, in 2004.

Momentum Biofuels names managers, board

As a young boy helping his big brother work on cars for a living, Matt Young knew somehow, someway he was destined to get his hands dirty working in the automotive industry. "I've always enjoyed working on vehicles," Young tells Biodiesel Magazine. "My brother was the big mechanic so I learned as much as I could when I was real young."
 
 When he first started college he didn't know exactly what to pursue but he was interested in the engineering aspect of automobiles. So he decided to study computer engineering, which led him into designing automotive controls and eventually into a national vehicle design competition.
 
 Young, a graduate student in electrical engineering at Mississippi State University (MSU), finally received the opportunity to put his childhood aspirations into practice when he joined the MSU Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS). CAVS is an interdisciplinary center that allows engineering, research, development and technology transfer teams to focus on complex problems, such as those encountered in the technologies designed to improve human mobility.

 
 At CAVS Young, with his background in computer engineering, learned the fundamentals of automotive controls and would later apply that valuable knowledge by participating in the 2007 Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility event that was held at the General Motors Corp. (GM) proving grounds in Milford, Mich., May 30-June 7.
 
 MSU placed first out of 17 schools that participated in the four-year competition that started in 2005 and ends in 2008. The teams were challenged to reengineer a GM-donated 2005 Chevrolet Equinox. The goal was to maximize the vehicle's fuel economy, and reduce emissions and greenhouse gases (GHGs) while maintaining or exceeding the vehicle's stock utility and performance. Co-sponsored by the U.S. DOE and GM along with several others, the groundbreaking national event just completed its third year. The sponsors supplied cutting-edge technology and support, including software and hardware components. The first year of the program focused on vehicle simulation, modeling, and subsystem development and testing. In 2006 and 2007, students were able to physically integrate their advanced powertrains and subsystems into the Equinox where they were judged on various categories which were calculated into a point system.
 
 According to Micky Bly, director of engineering for GM hybrid vehicles and co-executive lead for Challenge X, each team followed a modified version of the GM Global Vehicle Development Process (GVDP) to guide their design and development activities in order to complement the engineering goals of Challenge X. "We gave the students a lot of latitude on what they could do and we also overlaid the competition right on top of GM's GVDP, so we tried to introduce the students to the reality of what it is to design, develop and really almost manufacture a vehicle," Bly says.
 
 In addition to MSU, the other teams participating in the challenge are Michigan Technological University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, San Diego State University, Texas Tech University, the University of Akron (Ohio), the University of California, Davis, the University of Michigan, the University of Tennessee, the University of Texas, Austin, the University of Tulsa, the University of Waterloo in Canada, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Virginia Tech and West Virginia University. MSU tallied 895.5 points out of a 1,000 total points while the runner-up University of Wisconsin, wasn't far behind with 888.3 points. Virginia Tech came in third while Ohio State and Penn State finished fourth and fifth respectively, rounding out the top five.
 
 "The biggest thing I think [the students] get out of it is that they're really given a platform of technologies and support that's pretty much unparalleled," says Forrest Jehlik, Challenge X lead technical coordinator and research engineer for the Advanced Powertrain Research Facility at Argonne National Laboratory which is a competition sponsor. Jehlik, a veteran competitor, took part in the 1997 Propane Vehicle Challenge and the 1998 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge. He was team captain both years for the University of California, Riverside. "They go through a whole series of disciplines to achieve the ultimate goal of putting this vehicle together, and they learned an amazing amount," Jehlik says. "It's just tremendous."
 	
 Under the Hood
 The teams employed many novel ideas into their designs and technologies that could lead to solutions to reduce well-to-wheel energy consumption, petroleum consumption and tailpipe and GHG emissions, and increase pump-to-wheel fuel economy. All the teams selected hybrid vehicle designs some of which go beyond those being considered by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The designs span the scope of parallel through-the-road designs and other hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) series configurations. A parallel through-the-road design is where the biodiesel engine powers the front wheels while the hybrid electric motor powers the back wheels. The electric motor is only used during acceleration periods, and regenerative braking recaptures energy for the electric motor.
 
 During the competition, teams were judged on 19 categories and could earn 1,000 points. The categories ranged from vehicle-handling dynamics to technical presentations where they explain the methodologies they used. The static consumer acceptability event at 90 points, accounted for the most points. "That was probably the one event that put us over the top," Young says. "That was the highest weighted event during the competition."
 

 Twelve of the 17 teams used B20 in their tanks. Three used E85, one used reformulated gasoline and one team used pure hydrogen. "The purpose of the Challenge X competition is to really look at some of the advanced propulsion technologies that can increase fuel efficiency and reduce environmental impact while retaining customer appeal," says Brendan Prebo, manager of OEM outreach education for the National Biodiesel Board (NBB). "If you look at those three things all of those are attributes that biodiesel has."
 
 The MSU team, which took third place in last year's competition, designed a through-the-road parallel electric hybrid Equinox that runs on a 1.9-liter GM direct-injection turbo diesel engine fueled by B20. For the hybrid motor, the team installed a 330-volt Johnson Controls nickel metal hydride battery along with a 45-kilowatt Ballard integrated power transaxle (IPT).
 
 The vehicle achieved a 48 percent increase in fuel economy over the production stock version while attaining a 32 percent reduction in GHG emissions. "All we did was downsize the engine to get better efficiency during a steady driving state and then we supplemented that with an electric drive, which has high efficiencies and very high torques at low speeds and they just complement each other well," says Dave Oglesby, MSU Challenge X team leader and mechanical engineering graduate student. "As a result, you get a vehicle that performs really well. The acceleration and passing capability are really competitive with gas or conventional vehicles, and you have a small engine to propel it down the road in an efficient manner, so you get the best of both worlds."
 
 Seventh-place finisher, the University of Waterloo, which took top honors in the competition's first year, encountered the most daunting task-building a dedicated hydrogen fuel cell for its primary propulsion source. The result was a vehicle with zero emissions from the tailpipe. "I was very impressed with the guys from Waterloo doing a full fuel cell because they took off on a technology that really is in rapid development," Bly says. "They had to implement a system that is not widely available, and they had to engineer a lot of redundancies and safety measures because of the hydrogen on board. They really bit off a ton."
 
 Three teams-Pennsylvania State University, Texas Tech University and the University of Tulsa-used hydrogen as a supplementary or secondary propulsion source. The Penn State team injected hydrogen into their vehicle's diesel engine as an emissions abatement strategy. Texas Tech and Tulsa used hydrogen to power auxiliary systems for their vehicles. The University of California was the only team that used plug-in hybrid technology for an energy source in their Challenge X vehicle.
 
 The University of Michigan team developed a hydraulic hybrid, which stores pressurized fluid in large tanks from which the vehicle can extract or store energy much like an electric hybrid battery stores energy recovered from regenerative braking- a mechanism that reduces vehicle speed by converting some of its kinetic energy into electrical energy. This electrical energy can then be stored for future power demand.
 
 Ohio State and last year's winner, Virginia Tech, used belt alternator/starter technology for an electric performance assist while West Virginia and the University of Akron used ultra-capacitors-electrochemical capacitors that possess high-energy density commonly used in hybrid vehicles-to source high levels of power for short periods of time and still recapture energy from braking. "From a pure refinement point-of-view, I was very impressed with how the teams did with their diesel implementation with the hybrid because they were able to really do a lot of control execution to make it a very pleasing ride," Bly says.
 
 The Future Looks Bright
 With results of the third year Challenge X competition in the books, the focus will be directed at preparing for the final event of the competition. In the fourth and final installment of the Challenge X series next year, students will focus on customer acceptability, over-the-road reliability and durability of their advanced propulsion systems with real-world evaluation outside of the laboratory. While some students will remain on the teams, others will take what they learned during the competition and advance their careers in the automotive industry, which will benefit GM and other automotive manufacturers. "I've seen the results of what happens with these students and it's huge," Jehlik says. "The payoff is almost incalculable."

 
 The students who used biodiesel in the competition now know that it is a viable fuel that increases fuel economy and lowers emissions levels. They could go on to establish their unique automotive biodiesel technologies in the automobile industry. "The engineering students that are working on these competitions are absolutely the same students that are going to become the engineers and the program managers for the future technology," Prebo says. "They're learning about diesel engines, hybrid engines and biodiesel now and they're going to take that into their respective employers and really be champions for those technologies. I think that's a real win for biodiesel."
 
 For more information on the Challenge X, visit <a href="http://www.challengex.org" target="_blank">www.challengex.org</a>.
 
 Bryan Sims is a Biodiesel Magazine staff writer. Reach him at <a href="mailto:bsims@bbibiofuels.com">bsims@bbibiofuels.com</a> or (701) 746-8385.

The Mississippi State University team poses with its "through-the-road" parallel hybrid electric 1.9-liter GM direct-injection turbo diesel engine vehicle fueled by B20.

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The University of Wisconsin's hybrid electric Chevrolet Equinox engine has a drivetrain that consists of a 1.9-liter GM Diesel turbocharged engine with a selective catalyst reduction system.

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University of Waterloo students inspect the driveshaft and differential underneath their dedicated hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

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Students at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology unveiled their new biodiesel hybrid electric Chevrolet Equinox at the 2007 Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility.

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The University of Waterloo team were runners up at the 2007 Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility.

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The 2007 Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility competition enables today's students to shape tomorrow's vehicles.

Daring to Design the Vehicle of the Future

Green Earth Fuels LLC is a new biodiesel company, but those involved aren't new to the energy industry. The management team has significant experience with traditional energy infrastructure like pipelines and power plants. "The team we put together understands the industry well and can relate to the companies that aren't coming from an agricultural background, but from an energy background," says Jeff Trucksess, executive vice president of government and regulatory affairs for Green Earth Fuels.
 
 "We looked at the model of how biodiesel would enter the mainstream and developed a model of what oil does," Trucksess says. The petroleum industry operates on a strict level of quality, scale, ratability and access in the terminals. Having access in the terminals is one of the key points to the company's philosophy. "Being in the terminal is the ideal location," Trucksess says. "It gives you access to the distribution system." The company focused its efforts on the Gulf Coast because it's the launching point for the oil and gas systems. "In our mind, it's cheaper to move vegetable oil than it is to move the finished product," Trucksess says. "It seems to make more economic sense."
 

 This line of thinking resulted in a business plan that is consistent with how the energy industry thinks and works, as opposed to some of the biodiesel companies that came out of the agricultural sector, Trucksess notes. It was the company's business plan that helped it land a major partnership with Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP). In late February, KMP announced plans to invest up to $100 million to expand its terminal facilities to help serve the growing U.S. biodiesel market. KMP will build up to 1.3 million barrels of tankage that will handle approximately 8 million barrels of biodiesel production at its terminals on the Houston Ship Channel, the Port of New Orleans and in New York Harbor. Tanks will be provided for both biodiesel and the raw vegetable oil feedstock.
 
 The plans include a long-term agreement with Green Earth Fuels, in which the biodiesel company has rights to lease KMP land to build biodiesel production facilities at various KMP terminal sites in these regions, and options for expansion to other terminals in the future. "It gives us an opportunity to have a tremendous footprint, and locate in parts of the country where the infrastructure is set up for oil and gas distribution," Trucksess says.
 
 Green Earth didn't waste any time implementing the terms of the agreement. Its first biodiesel plant, Green Earth Fuels of Houston LLC, which is located at KMP's Galena Park Terminal on the Houston Ship Channel, is scheduled to start production in July in half of the 86 MMgy facility. The facility is essentially two 43 MMgy plants; the second production line is scheduled to come on line in September. Construction on a 90 MMgy facility in Harvey, La., will likely begin this year as well, Trucksess says. The company is also just starting the development process for a third plant in New York.
 
 Trucksess doesn't anticipate that the building process will stop in New York. "Kinder Morgan is the largest terminaling company in the United States," he says. "They have lots of strategic locations that we're exploring. We think it has tremendous opportunities and advantages to be aligned with the leading terminal company. The dramatic benefit of biodiesel is it can use existing infrastructure. It doesn't have some of the challenges that ethanol distribution has, so it seems to make sense to locate right in the heart of that infrastructure."
 
 KMP also sees the synergies of biodiesel and petroleum infrastructure across the country. "Certainly within our own group, there are literally over 100 spots that we would be interested in talking with customers about, and promoting that within the industry," says John Mahon, who does business development for renewable fuels at KMP. It all comes down to where the markets are, which are primarily in the Gulf Coast, East Coast and West Coast, he adds.
 
 Mahon is optimistic about the opportunities for biodiesel to feed the nation's appetite for fuel. "Even if you build six [40 MMgy biodiesel plants], the distillate pool is so much bigger-you can't be big enough to service that market on your own," he says. "We've been talking about gallons, they talk in barrels and/or metric tons on the gasoline side. You could build several 200 MMgy biodiesel plants in the Houston area and it would all be consumed."
 
 The $100 million investment is large, especially for a fuel that will be just a small part of KMP's total fuel load. In the Houston area, KMP's Pasadena terminal has over 15 million barrels of storage capacity. "We move over one million barrels per day," Mahon says. "That is the marketplace for petroleum finished products." For these reasons, Green Earth is just one of a number of potential players that can fit into this infrastructure network, he says.
 
 Financially, KMP will likely find it necessary to increase the biodiesel production capacity at its sites to utilize the infrastructure, which is totally separate from the petroleum infrastructure. "Many petroleum facilities use common infrastructure-they can move multiple grades in the same infrastructure," Mahon says. "We're building dedicated equipment like a chemical facility. Biodiesel has to bear the fiscal burden of that infrastructure on its own."
 
 The biodiesel infrastructure is set up to blend seamlessly into the petroleum infrastructure. The feedstock will be stored in dedicated tanks and can be piped to the biodiesel facility. The biodiesel that's produced can then be piped to dedicated tanks. From there, it can be piped to other parts of the KMP terminal, such as truck racks or boat docks. "The Galena Park facility is connected to the system by four different pipelines that we own," Mahon says. "We blend biodiesel on the Galena side, and we can transfer product from Galena to Pasadena."

 
 For now, Green Earth's biodiesel will be distributed locally and beyond. "Barging is our major modal," says Trucksess. "Because we're in Kinder Morgan, the standard distribution system at the local level is through truck racks. We will use the standard transportation modalities, relying mostly on barging."
 
 Having immediate access to standard distribution modalities such as truck racks and barges is certainly crucial, but where this agreement will really realize its power is the proximity to the pipelines. "That's one of the best means to leave the niche fuel status," Mahon says. "Getting through the pipeline is how it gets to markets."
 
 At the Galena Park site in Houston, Green Earth is located at the starting point of the pipelines. "This gives us tremendous logistical advantages," Trucksess says, noting that each of the KMP locations will provide access to the pipelines. When other companies have tested biodiesel in pipelines, just getting the biodiesel to the pipeline was a logistical challenge involving trucks, tanks and barges.
 
 Mahon says KMP is still researching the effects of biodiesel in pipelines. "We're still in the tentative stage right now," he says. "Kinder Morgan is an entry point to other pipelines. We also own a fair amount of pipeline ourselves, so we can do something internally." Nevertheless, he says no specific tests are being announced right now.
 
 When biodiesel is allowed into a pipeline, Mahon confirms that it will likely start at a B5 blend because there is more knowledge on the effects of that blend in a pipeline. "We have good intelligence on a B5 blend in a pipeline," Mahon says. It may not be long beyond that however, that B20 makes its way into the pipeline. "There is a fair amount of data out there that it won't be that high of a hurdle," he says. Nevertheless, since research is still being done, he anticipates that B20 won't be transported much beyond a regional basis.
 
 When pipeline transportation of biodiesel becomes a reality, Green Earth will already be integrated into the distribution system. "If you don't own a crushing unit for soybean oil, the next best place to be is where there is infrastructure," Mahon says. "It makes sense to team up with a terminal that has those things already. We offer all those things, but we offer those things next door to the petroleum world. Our solution happens to be better than everyone else's."
 
 This solution appears to be a win for many parties-especially consumers who will eventually benefit from a more efficient method of biodiesel distribution.
 
 Anduin Kirkbride McElroy is a Biodiesel Magazine staff writer. Reach her at amcelroy@bbibiofuels.com or (701) 746-8385.

The Green Earth Fuels biodiesel facility is shown under construction in May at the Galena Park terminal in Houston. The construction site can be seen at the bottom of this picture.

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Kinder Morgan has almost 20 million barrels of storage capacity at its two Houston terminals. More than 1 million barrels of product is moved each day.

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A partnership between Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP and Green Earth Fuels LLC literally places biodiesel production within the petroleum distribution network, right next to the pipelines. Kinder Morgan believes this would be effective in taking biodiesel out of its niche fuel status.

Within the Petroleum Distribution Network

Diesel passenger vehicles are as prevalent on European roadways as the options for continental consumers are many, but the choices are far more limited to U.S. buyers today. Approximately 63 billion gallons of middle distillate fuels were consumed in the United States in 2005, much of which was used as on-road diesel fuel. But U.S. passenger diesel consumption constituted only a tiny fraction of this. So the biodiesel industry's growth is not constricted at this time by the availability of passenger diesel vehicles. There are good reasons, however, to "dieselize" passenger transport in the United States. The fuel efficiency of a diesel engine compared with an equally sized gasoline counterpart-a savings between 20 percent and 40 percent according to the Diesel Technology Forum-means it consumes less fuel and conserves limited resources. Margo Oge, director of the U.S. EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, calculates that if one-third of all U.S. light-duty vehicles were modern diesels, the United States would consume 1.4 million less barrels of oil per day-an equivalent daily volume of oil imported from Saudi Arabia. Advanced emissions controls such as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), oxidation catalysts, particulate filters, lean nitrogen oxide traps and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems will become standard features to help to make diesels much cleaner compared with those of previous generations. As U.S. car buyers become more attuned to the efficiency and cleanliness of the new-age diesel, consumer demand is expected to rise. The renewable and environmental aspects of biodiesel would naturally intensify the benefits diesel engines offer. Biodiesel would be especially beneficial in the realm of carbon, as diesels already consume less fuel and inherently emit less carbon. Furthermore, as acceptance of light-duty diesels increases, the biodiesel industry would gain the priceless opportunity to build relationships with mainstream consumers, ultimately breeding confidence in the renewable fuel. 

 
 Current Diesel Models for the U.S. Market
 
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 2006 Volkswagen New Beetle TDI
 Although Volkswagen is not making a 2007 model-year New Beetle TDI (turbocharged direct injection), the company is making the 2006 model of this revisited, revised classic available through this calendar year. The 2006 TDI powertrain consists of a 1.9-liter in-line four-cylinder engine, capable of producing 100 horsepower. Highway driving will achieve 42 miles per gallon (mpg) while city driving is rated at 36 mpg. The German automaker is scrapping production of the 1.9-liter TDI and in 2008 is introducing for the New Beetle a 2.0-liter common-rail diesel engine with 40 more horsepower. "We aren't offering a 2007 model year Jetta or New Beetle due to the fact that that they would not meet the new emissions requirements," says Volkswagen spokesman Steve Keyes. Volkswagen approves the use of B5 under warranty.
 
 <center><img src="/images/upload/20070807092734.jpg"></center>
 2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI
 As is the case with the New Beetle TDI, Volkswagen is not producing a 2007 model-year Jetta TDI. The 2006 model carries the same 1.9-liter diesel engine as the New Beetle TDI, achieving 100 horsepower. Pricing for the stylish auto begins at under $20,000. Future Jettas will come available with a 2.0-liter common-rail diesel engine. The German automaker covers B5 use under warranty. 
 
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 2007 Volkswagen Touareg TDI

 Introduced in 2003, the 2007 Touareg TDI is a sport utility vehicle (SUV) with a 10-cylinder 5.0-liter powerhouse capable of producing 310 horsepower, with maximum torque exceeding 550 pound-feet and towing capacity of more than 7,700 pounds. The automaker states the 2007 Touareg is the first light-duty diesel to come standard with a particulate trap allowing it to meet tightening U.S. emissions regulations. Approved for use of B5, this diesel-powered SUV meets current emissions standards in 45 states. 
 
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 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD
 DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group has rolled out for the first time ever a full-sized, diesel-powered SUV-the 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD. It comes equipped with the same 3.0-liter V6 common-rail injection turbo diesel engine found in the Mercedes Benz GL320, R320 and ML320. Also available in four-wheel-drive, this classic SUV with a new compression ignition twist exhibits a 30 percent fuel economy savings over its gasoline counterpart and produces 20 percent less carbon dioxide emissions. The 3.0-liter diesel V6 is available in the Overland and Limited Cherokee models. The use of B5 is approved and the Jeep Grand Cherokee receives a B5 factory fill.
 
 <center><img src="/images/upload/20070807092844.jpg"></center>
 2008 Audi Q7
 In 2008, Audi will introduce a 3.0-liter V6 TDI diesel for its Q7 luxury SUV that will meet emissions requirements in all 50 U.S. states utilizing BLUETEC emissions abatement technology in cooperation with DaimlerChrysler. The V6 diesel Q7 will come equipped with common-rail Piezo direct injection fuel delivery system. Audi is also making a monster 12-cylinder 6.0-liter TDI engine for the Q7. According to the automaker, Audi will make more of its vehicles available with diesel engines in the United States as customer demand rises.
 
 <center><img src="/images/upload/20070807093107.jpg"></center>
 2007 Mercedes Benz GL320 CDI
 Coming standard with a maintenance-free particulate trap, this seven-seat SUV is equipped with a common-rail diesel injected 3.0-liter V6 and permanent all-wheel drive. 
 

 <center><img src="/images/upload/20070807093207.jpg"></center>
 2007 Mercedes Benz ML320 CDI
 This mid-sized SUV was introduced in 2007 and carries a suggested retail price of $44,455. Equipped with a 3.0-liter V6 common-rail injected engine, the ML320 CDI displays a maximum horsepower rating of 215 and tops out torque at 398 pound-feet. 
 
 <center><img src="/images/upload/20070807093019.jpg"></center>
 2007 Mercedes Benz R320 CDI
 This six-passenger luxury vehicle comes with the same quiet and clean 3.0-liter V6 available in the ML320 and GL320. The price of this sleek and roomy addition to the Mercedes Benz family of cars begins at approximately $45,000. 
 
 2008 BMWs
 "Predestined for the U.S. market" is how BMW describes its 3.0-liter variable twin-turbo in-line six-cylinder introduced recently in 335d and 535d European models. With 286 horsepower and 427 pound-feet of torque, the 535d accelerates to 60 mph in less than 6.5 seconds, while delivering an impressive 37 mpg on the highway. The German automaker will fulfill the predestination by bringing its high-tech V6 compression ignition engine to U.S. car markets in 2008.
 
 The Future, Real and Conceptualized
 German automaker BMW is preparing to launch new diesel passenger vehicles with EfficientDynamics in 2008 U.K. markets, such as the 635d with a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter. EfficientDynamics is fuel-savings technology that utilizes such things as brake energy regeneration and the ability to decouple the air conditioner from the drivetrain so auxiliary devices don't unnecessarily drag on the engine, all of which combined make for a powerful engine achieving approximately 40 mpg. Other models such as the X5 will be available with EfficientDynamics in U.K. markets in 2008.

 
 Japanese automakers Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota and others intend to come out with clean diesels for U.S. and other markets within the next few years. In April, Nissan announced its plans to launch a clean diesel-powered Maxima line in the United States in 2010. Nissan, which is already supplying Europe with clean diesels, introduced its new Euro 4-compliant two-liter class this year. The company says it will bring clean compression ignition engines to North America, China and Japan. Honda, which produces among other varieties a European Accord with a 2.2-liter i-CTDi engine, states it will bring a similar model to U.S. markets within a couple years, and one that will meet EPA's T2B5 emissions standards. The U.S. model will not only offer high-pressure common-rail injection, reconfigured combustion and timing, and an improved EGR system, but also a dual-layered lean nitrogen oxide trap-a nitrogen abatement technology that doesn't get entwined in the technical and packaging problems of urea injections like some SCR systems. During lean-burn conditions (low-end use), the trap adsorbs nitrogen oxide until rich operating conditions occur when hydrogen from the exhaust reacts with the trapped nitrogen oxide making ammonia, which is then adsorbed in the upper layer. Once lean-burn conditions return, the stored ammonia reacts with exhaust stream nitrogen oxide to make and ultimately emit simple nitrogen. Look for Honda's clean diesels soon.
 
 All automakers have concept cars for the future. Even though Volvo will soon be commercializing diesel hybrids for the heavy-duty markets (see <a href="http://biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=1503" target="_blank">March 2007 Biodiesel Magazine</a>), the talk of passenger diesel-hybrid vehicles has been less than fulfilling. Concepts are often unveiled but commercial costs are still too high. A more realistic concept car, and one more like the Europeans already have available, is a straight-diesel-powered offering by Chevrolet-the Groove. Inspired by a "half-soldier, half-modern" military helmet, the vehicle is powered by a highly efficient 1.0-liter diesel engine.
 
 Developed in collaboration with GM's Saturn and Opel brands, the PreVue concept car-its clever name is an extension of the production-line model compact SUV from Saturn named the Vue-is powered by a two-stage turbocharged 212-horsepower twin-turbo common-rail diesel engine. The automaker states that the PreVue, a three-door four-wheel-drive crossover, merges elements from seemingly contradictory designs of a sporty coupe and a powerful SUV.
 
 Ron Kotrba is a Biodiesel Magazine staff writer. Reach him at <a href="mailto:rkotrba@bbibiofuels.com">rkotrba@bbibiofuels.com</a> or (701) 746-8385.

Automakers across the globe have been retooling their passenger diesel powertrains-tweaking fuel injection, timing and combustion specs while adding sophisticated advanced emissions control gear-to meet new U.S. and global regulations on particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.

Current and Future Passenger Diesels

Abandoned copper smelters, old dumps, chemical refuse heaps-these are the hazardous waste sites that the U.S. Congress wanted cleaned up when they established the U.S. EPA's Superfund program in 1980. The federal initiative has provided the opportunity for a lot of innovative projects.

 
 Biodiesel is a part of the resourcefulness involved in the "greening" of ugly and dangerous brownfield sites in Michigan. A research lab, a biodiesel producer and a major automaker are collectively looking to transform an industrial cesspool near Detroit into a fertile, energy crop producing landscape. According to the EPA three sites within a five-square-mile area in Rose Township in Oakland County, Mich., were filled with about 5,000 drums of liquid industrial wastes including paint sludges, solvents, oils and greases. The wastes were either buried or deposited on the surface. "Some may have been emptied into the ground or in pits so that the drums could be recycled," the EPA says, adding that the state removed most of the drums in 1980, but groundwater, surface water and soils remained contaminated for many years.
 
 "DaimlerChrysler was one of the companies that was doing the dumping," says Max Gates of DaimlerChrysler. "Since we were one of the larger companies, it was just easier for us to take over the cleanup." While they weren't responsible for all the pollution there, DaimlerChrysler and the other responsible parties agreed that something needed to be done, and began administering the effort to clean the site in 1988.
 
 Since then, a unique partnership has formed to turn the Rose Township industrial refuse area into a place where crops that yield vegetable oils can be grown and used to produce biodiesel. Michigan and Detroit are looking to position themselves as leaders in the development of alternative fuels. There is a transformation occurring in the heart of the state's biggest city because of technological research and development at the NextEnergy Center (NEC), which houses the U.S. DOE-funded National Biofuels Energy Laboratory. In turn, DaimlerChrysler wants to "green" its image through the promotion of biodiesel, and is also integrating the fuel into its vehicle designs. Biodiesel Industries Inc. (BI), a company that is expanding its production capacity, has made research and development an integral part of its business model. From its perspective, what alternative fuel producer wouldn't want to be partnered with a major vehicle manufacturer?
 
 The project also involved Kurt Thelen, associate professor and extension specialist in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Michigan State University (MSU), who is growing soybeans, corn, canola and switchgrass on two acres of the 110-acre site. The test plots are being established to explore the possibility that the site could produce crops that have the quality and yield for biodiesel production, and could in turn help clean the contaminated soil. "It's a site where you don't want to grow crops for human consumption because it's not really known if the food would be safe for humans or livestock," Gates says. MSU harvested a crop last fall and has been studying it for various characteristics. The oil yield per bushel will be measured and the soil examined to see if there were any changes as a result of its interaction with the vegetation. "Biodiesel production is going to require a significant land base to meet future production expectations," Thelen says. "Using marginal lands or sites that aren't preferable for food crops is a good idea that needs to be explored." The sites also will be analyzed to determine which soil and climatic conditions, cultivation and irrigation processes, and crop varieties will produce the most fuel. "Eventually these oilseeds will be fed into Biodiesel Industries' plant in Detroit for refining into biodiesel," Gates says.
 
 Russell Teall, president and founder of BI says a small amount of oil was produced from those crops but not quite enough to make any biodiesel. "These were very small test plots, but considerably more acres [for energy crops] are under development," he says. BI, which established production in 2001 using its own process technology, broke ground on a 10 MMgy plant in mid-May at the Detroit site. The company knows that new and innovative feedstocks will be necessary to grow the industry as biodiesel demand increases. The company is excited to work with DaimlerChrysler and the state-funded NEC to utilize crops grown on brownfield sites to make methyl esters a fuel staple in the Motor City.
 
 Enter Renewable Fuels Research
 The NEC is in Tech Town, Detroit's entrepreneurial high-tech center, which is in the shadow of the auto industry's manufacturing stronghold. "This is right in the area where Cadillacs and Corvettes were designed and next to Henry Ford's original Model-T assembly line," Teall says. "NextEnergy's entire focus is to bring Detroit into the 21st century with enhanced propulsion systems, fuels, etc." NEC is a state-of-the-art, 45,000 square-foot facility dedicated to an alternative fuels testing program aimed at increasing the infrastructure, quality and distribution of hydrogen fuel cells, biodiesel and ethanol, among other renewable fuels. "We've worked with NextEnergy on other types of projects, such as testing with fuel cells and on various renewable fuels," Gates says. "Now Biodiesel Industries will be able to supply NextEnergy with the biodiesel needed for their research and development.
 
 BI's Detroit biodiesel plant, which is scheduled to begin production this fall, is being constructed at a site that's three blocks away from the NEC, in an area of the city that is being completely revitalized by renewable fuels developments. The company could also become a supplier for DaimlerChrysler in the near future. When launching the Jeep Liberty CR5 factory fill, DaimlerChrysler purchased fuel from Peter Cremer Inc., in Cincinnati, which it still does to this day. "We knew they were making a particularly high-quality biodiesel," Gates says. "Once Biodiesel Industries gets up and running and quality has been assured, we may begin purchasing our biodiesel from them."
 

 Teall says there is widespread appreciation for Daimler Chrysler in the biodiesel industry for their efforts to promote the renewable fuel, especially as it was the first automaker to deliver new vehicles with a blend of biodiesel in the tank to customers. This promotion has largely been done using the Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD, Dodge Ram, Cummins Diesel pickup and Mercedes E320 models. In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, the world's fifth-largest automaker has even supported the development of a national B20 mandate.
 
 While industry and technology are certainly a large part of the work detailed in this project, concerns over conservation and public health were the initial motivating forces for the cleanup of the Rose Township dump. The EPA has endorsed these endeavors for the Superfund site through its "return to use" initiative. This particular location could serve as a model for potential reuse for literally hundreds of Superfund and brownfield sites nationwide. The brownfield biodiesel project in Michigan is part of the Superfund program's success, the EPA reports. As of December 2005, construction work was complete at 966, or 62 percent, of Superfund sites and work was underway at an additional 422 sites. Crunching the numbers, there are more than 20 Superfund sites per state and one in every four Americans lives within three miles of a hazardous waste area. It is hoped that biodiesel and energy crop cultivation will change those statistics. "If I had a brownfield in my neighborhood, I know that I would prefer it be 'greened' and put to a constructive use," Thelen says.
 
 Nicholas Zeman is a Biodiesel Magazine staff writer. Reach him at <a href="mailto:nzeman@bbibiofuels.com">nzeman@bbibiofuels.com</a> or (701) 746-8385.

DaimlerChrysler Corp., NextEnergy Center and Biodiesel Industries Inc. are cleaning up a brownfield site in Detroit to grow feedstocks for biodiesel production. Developing future fuels in Michigan is critical as it's the U.S. automobile manufacturing hub. Furthermore, if the project is successful it could serve as a model for the "greening" of hazardous waste sites nationwide.

Motor City Methyl Esters

The first inspirations for an engine that combined the best qualities of the diesel- and gasoline-powered engines-great fuel economy and low emissions, respectively-grew from observations by Japanese researchers over two decades ago that gas-powered tractors often continued to run despite fouled spark plugs and engines.
 
 In a typical engine, fuel is burned to release energy for motion in an event called internal combustion. When this explosion can be set off rapidly and repeatedly, enough energy can be created to propel a car forward. In engines that run on gasoline, each combustion cycle usually consists of these steps: a mixture of fuel and air is taken into a cylinder or combustion chamber, compressed and ignited with a spark, which causes an explosion that drives the exhaust out of the cylinder and through the tailpipe. The well-mixed fuel blend burns more completely resulting in lower soot emissions. In addition, emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx) are relatively low because advances in techniques for recycling exhaust gas into the combustion chamber lowers the reaction temperature and reduces the formation of NOx. Any rogue emissions are scrubbed clear of the exhaust with catalytic converters. However, the fuel economy-the achievable miles per gallon-of this type of engine leaves much to be desired.
 
 <center><img src="/images/upload/20070807093534.jpg"></center>
 
 In a diesel engine, on the other hand, the air and fuel are not premixed; air is first injected into the combustion chamber and compressed before the fuel is added. The compressed air provides the heat needed for ignition of the fuel. Since the need for a spark plug is eliminated, a higher compression can be used, which allows the engine to squeeze more economy from its air-fuel mixture. However, higher compression also means higher reaction temperatures. This results in greater NOx emissions, which can't be controlled with conventional catalytic converters because the sulfur in diesel fuel pollutes these devices.
 

 Herein lies the central barrier that engine makers must overcome in designing the ideal engine: when fuel economy is optimized, emissions rise; when emissions are reduced or eliminated, fuel economy crashes. How can this either/or interplay between better fuel economy and lower emissions be overcome? Enter those enigmatic tractors mentioned above.
 
 "It was really a mode of combustion that in many ways was happening by accident," explains Dennis Assanis, chair of the mechanical engineering department at the University of Michigan. "They figured out that somehow you could have ignition happening in an engine as long as you had hot air and hot fuel and the right amount of compression."
 
 These early observations led to what is now called the homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI), a type of internal combustion that combines the best of the gas engine and the best of the diesel engine to create an engine with low emissions and high fuel economy. The homogeneous charge part of HCCI comes from the gas engine and the well-mixed blend of fuel and air that is added to the combustion chamber prior to ignition. The compression ignition part of HCCI comes from the diesel engine. In this case, however, the compression of the air-fuel mixture results in a fireworks display of auto-igniting fuel at an array of points within the chamber. "This new mode of combustion has been phenomenal because it can substitute all the spark usage under light-load conditions thereby improving city driving by 25 [percent] to 30 percent or more," says Assanis. "By relying on compression ignition you get good fuel economy."
 
 With over 10 years of serious research into these engines, why aren't vehicles running with HCCI out on the road? Well, a few are, says John Dec, a mechanical engineer and HCCI researcher at Sandia National Laboratories. However, these vehicles aren't running with true HCCI engines. Instead they're more like a partial-HCCI diesel-engine hybrid with significantly lower emissions but not yet at the levels promised by HCCI. "We're seeing more and more manufacturers investigating partial HCCI and methods that extend HCCI over more of the operating range in order to meet the [U.S.] EPA's 2010 diesel engine standards," Dec says. These new regulations require that emissions of NOx and particulates must be reduced to levels comparable to spark-ignition engines with a three-way catalyst. "The need to reach this goal is driving HCCI research because of its potential to achieve these ultra-low NOx and particulate emissions without expensive after-treatment," he says. "On the other hand, automotive manufacturers are working on the development of HCCI engines for their significant fuel-economy benefits over spark-ignition engines," Dec says. "HCCI engines can reduce fuel consumption by 30 percent over a typical driving cycle, and General Motors has recently announced that it will introduce a demonstration vehicle next year."
 
 The obstacles to overcome before the HCCI engine will be widely available include, controlling the timing of combustion and reducing emissions of unburned fuel or hydrocarbons. The timing issue stems from the lack of a trigger for ignition such as a spark plug or fuel injector. The high emissions of unburned fuel results from the lower temperatures of the reaction; the fuel burns more slowly and the fraction that doesn't burn by the end of the cycle gets flushed through the exhaust system. Scientists generally try to solve these problems by one of two approaches: working directly on a prototype engine or developing computer models of the dynamic interactions that occur in the combustion process.
 
 Assanis and his team of researchers at the University of Michigan recently began experimenting with biodiesel in HCCI engines. "Biodiesel is very attractive because we can grow it locally and it has no sulfur by definition … this is a huge advantage in helping with emissions because catalysts in the engine would work much better," Assanis explains. "Another advantage of biodiesel is that it has more oxygen in the molecule, which helps a number of things with respect to diesel combustion such as releasing less soot … and oxidizing hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide," he explains. "In theory you can get all your emissions to zero by using biodiesel in an HCCI engine with the right set of catalysts."
 
 However, there are two unfavorable properties of biodiesel for HCCI: it has a high cetane number, which represents how quickly the fuel auto-ignites and it has low volatility, which makes it harder to vaporize-a phase-change that must occur before a fuel can be burned, Assanis says. "The combination of this low volatility and high cetane number means that we might actually ignite something that has not mixed well," he says. "But I think we have ways to address that."
 
 One of the strategies his team is using to try to delay ignition of biodiesel is to recycle up to 50 percent of the exhaust of the engine back into the chamber. "Because we're using something that's already burned it's not going to ignite as easily. We hope this will be the solution to slow down how quickly the biodiesel will ignite," Assanis explains.
 
 In terms of control, Assanis also explains that a cross between HCCI and diesel combustion or HCCI and spark-ignition combustion may be the more realistic solution. "In reality, for better fuel economy and ultra-low emissions internal combustion engines will rely on a hybrid combustion strategy," he says. We don't make the fuel-air mixture perfectly homogeneous. In that respect, we retain some control over how fast the fuel burns. We sacrifice a little bit of the benefit but we have a little bit of the control. That's the catch, to play the devil and to basically still get enough controllability without sacrificing all the benefits."

 
 Another approach to making HCCI engines road-ready is to build computer simulations of combustion under various conditions including the use of different fuels. To that end, Charles Westbrook, an expert in combustion chemistry modeling and president-elect of the Combustion Institute, is developing chemical models for biodiesel from soy and canola as well as for ethanol and butanol fuels. The structural features of these compounds determine the factors related to ignition like cetane number for diesel fuels or octane number for fuels used in spark-ignition engines. "There are no existing computer simulation models for the large molecules characteristic of biodiesel fuels," Westbrook says. "My computational models can be used to predict HCCI ignition timings for any of these cases."
 
 In a second modeling approach, Gregory Shaver, a mechanical engineer at Purdue University, and his team of researchers developed a model that tracks the performance of an HCCI engine from one combustion cycle to the next. "A key part of our work is being able to, with models, capture this cycle-to-cycle coupling," Shaver says. "We were the first to do that."
 
 This type of model informs the design of combustion control strategies because knowing what happened on a previous cycle determines how to adjust factors like the injection of fuel, air and exhaust for subsequent cycles thereby allowing for more efficient combustion. "It's an interesting challenge," Shaver says. "The benefit for both traditional gasoline engines and diesel engines really merits this level of attention."
 
 Another key aspect of Shaver's work is the achievement of HCCI through variable-valve actuation (VVA), a system that allows for the re-induction or trapping of hot exhaust back into the cylinder. This differs from re-circulating exhaust because in the latter case, the gases are cooled before they're mixed with fuel and air. With VVA, the hot gases are directly mixed with the fuel-air blend to achieve HCCI with modest compression, which helps with efficiency, Shaver says. "We like re-induction and trapping because it allows us to elevate the precombustion temperature and also get the benefit of diluting the reactant gas to bring down NOx emissions."
 
 Shaver hasn't tested the flexible-valving with biodiesel yet, but says, "The idea of using some of the same things that VVA allows you to do with HCCI with alternative fuels is a big deal."
 
 Although it's unclear how soon HCCI engines will become a common fixture in cars and trucks, it's clear that this is an increasingly popular and important area of research. "There's no doubt that this direction improves fuel economy, reduces greenhouse emissions and is very compatible with alternative fuels…we're going to see more and more developments along these lines," Assanis says.
 
 Jessica Ebert is a Biodiesel Magazine staff writer. Reach her at <a href="mailto:jebert@bbibiofuels.com">jebert@bbibiofuels.com</a> or (701) 746-8385.

Shaver, left, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue, and graduate student David Snyder discuss how to modify a commercial diesel engine with a new technology.

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An engine that produces near-zero emissions, gets great fuel economy and runs on fuels produced in the homeland is the dream of environmentalists, engineers and those who seen an energy-independent economy. Scientists across the globe are close to taking this concept from the realms of REM sleep and wishful thinking to plunking it into reality.

The Ideal Engine

Standing in the middle of a driveway near feedstock tanks situated on the south side of his new biodiesel plant, Leif Forer tries to gather everyone in the group to begin the tour. As part of his emphasis on outreach and ongoing education, at 10 a.m. the first Friday of every month, Forer guides a group of biodiesel enthusiasts, possible investors, potential customers, interested neighbors and local students through a state-of-the-art biodiesel refinery located in Pittsboro, N.C. Piedmont Biofuels Industrial LLC is the brainchild of Forer and two partners-Rachel Burton and Lyle Estill.

 
 Piedmont Biofuels' founding members met in a college classroom in 2004. Forer, Piedmont's chief engineer, says he didn't really know at the time the career path he would take, but "biodiesel producer" wasn't on his list. Following a brief stint in film school, he entered the chemical engineering field. After graduating from Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., he moved to North Carolina and took a job teaching at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro. It was here he met Rachel Burton, and they started their relatively unintentional journey into the biodiesel industry.
 
 "My move into the biodiesel industry really happened accidentally," Forer says. "I was teaching at Central Carolina Community College here in Pittsboro. One of my business partners, Rachel Burton, and I thought wouldn't it be fun to teach a biofuels course?'"
 
 The two proposed the course to the school's board and it was approved. Since that first class, the biofuels program has rapidly gained interest and enrollment. The school now offers multiple biofuels classes and is going through the approval process to become part of the North Carolina State Community College system curriculum.
 
 One of the most enthusiastic students in that first class was Lyle Estill, who later brought his brother, Mark, into the fold. Since that first class, Forer has progressed from making biodiesel in Lyle's backyard to operating one of the biggest biodiesel plants in the southeastern United States-one of only three operating in North Carolina.
 
 Not only is it an impressive facility, but it's not every day a college professor goes out into the "real world" and practices what he's been preaching to his students. Forer and his former students formed a limited liability corporation and launched Piedmont Biofuels, which officially went on line in January 2007. It's quickly ramping up production and marketing efforts to create a profitable business with a foundation of quality, sustainability and education.
 
 The Lesson Begins
 The plant becomes the new classroom, and Leif Forer is in his element. The plant tour is a key component of the ongoing education at Piedmont and begins promptly at 10 a.m. The tour group follows Forer throughout the entire facility, stopping to allow Forer to provide details of how they produce B100 and describe the many benefits of the renewable fuel. But first, always the teacher, Forer provides a brief history lesson to the group.
 
 "This facility was an abandoned metal alloy plant that happened to be painted in Piedmont colors-green and yellow-so we had to buy it," Forer says. "In hindsight, we might not have purchased it had we taken the time to test the water pressure and had we known what the city water treatment capacities were like. To top it off, we didn't realize at the time the disadvantage of not being located near a rail line. But having said that, we have worked through all those problems and now we have a beautiful place in the country that is a true joy to work at."
 

 The facility looks brand new and extremely clean. However, due to some space limitations, Forer's group had to build tall, narrow reactors to fit into certain areas of the plant. This has no adverse effect on the overall process, and the plant could be upgraded in the future.
 
 Next, Forer covers the initial phases of the biodiesel production process by focusing the tour group's attention to the feedstock tanks located directly behind the processing plant.
 
 "Our feedstock is anything we can get our hands on with the correct quantity, quality and price," he says. "So, we've run chicken, soy and recycled yellow grease from restaurants through our facility. I would love to use other stuff, too. In fact, one of our long-term goals is to work with the local restaurant community higher up in the supply chain. We would buy the oil, then lease it out to restaurants to use for cooking food. We essentially maintain ownership. They can use it to cook the food, degrade the oil a little bit. Then we would bring it back, clean it up and use it for fuel. That creates just one extra layer of use before we turn it into fuel. From an energy balance perspective, I love it. You're not using virgin product. It's already been through a useful life."
 
 Forer then leads the group into one of the large buildings located on the property. He explains that the feedstock is transferred via sliding vane pumps manufactured by Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Blackmer, a leading authority on pump technologies used in biodiesel processing, from the holding tanks to the reactors located in what he calls the "Reactor Room."
 
 "This is where the actual chemistry happens," Forer says. "The first things we do in the morning are load the reactor in the back with oil and bring it up to temperature. Meanwhile, we load the reactor up front with our alcohol and then we take a sample of that oil and test it in the lab. Not all oil is equal. It's all got different profiles and has degraded to various extents. So we need to set our recipe on that particular batch, which is why every single time it goes through the lab."
 
 Once the recipe is set and Piedmont employees know how much sodium methylate they need to meter in, the alcohol catalyst is injected into the hot oil stream and worked in over a couple of stages. The entire reaction from loading to completion is about four hours, with an operational temperature of approximately 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
 
 "That's the transesterification process," Forer tells the tour-goers. "And what's happening there is that we're tearing apart the oil molecule and swapping alcohols. So glycerin is the alcohol that we're swapping out for methanol."
 
 All of the reactors and settling tanks that Piedmont Biofuels uses to this point are conical in shape. Gravity assists with settling and separating during these different phases. Piedmont will eventually create two, 2,000-gallon batches that will be combined and run as a 4,000-gallon lot of fuel throughout the rest of the production system. The lot is pumped with sliding vane pumps into the adjacent building to be washed. 
 
 Proper Pump Selection is Critical

 While guiding the group to the washing and drying building, Forer emphasizes the importance of the pumping technologies used in the process. With the proper pump, the plant runs smoothly with little or no downtime. An incorrect pump can grind the production schedule to a halt. This was a lesson Forer says he learned in the process of putting together his plant. Knowing that he wanted the most energy efficient yet productive facility possible, he turned to an expert in the business of flow technologies, Jeff Oakley of OEC Fluid Handling Inc. in Spartanburg, S.C.
 
 "I told Jeff what we were looking for and he recommended sliding vane technology from Blackmer," Forer says. "Based on the information Jeff provided, it was easy to understand that the principles of sliding vane technology were perfectly suited for all stages of the biodiesel production process."
 
 To emphasize his point, Forer points out the Blackmer sliding vane transfer pump on a Piedmont Biofuels delivery truck. "The majority of the pumps used in our plant are Blackmer X or XL Series sliding vane pumps," he says. "In fact, we believe in them so much we even have a Blackmer transfer pump on our truck. We love these pumps because they meet our high standards in all performance categories. I tell everyone in the biodiesel industry that these Blackmer pumps are what you want."
 
 Forer adds, "These pumps are really reliable. I love the fact that you can run Blackmer pumps in both directions and that they have a tremendous amount of suction, which is important in the wintertime," Forer says. "We can clear a line or tank by using the suction capability of a Blackmer pump. Beyond that, maintaining them is quick and easy since we can replace the vanes when necessary without removing the pump from service. When time is money, which it is in this business, this is a very important economic advantage for using vane pumps."
 
 Wash, Dry, Test and Deliver
 Forer leads the group into the plant's washing and drying area where contaminants are washed out of the product. Equating it to a shower, Forer explains that warm, softened water is mixed in through the top of the tank. The water falls down via gravity because it's heavier than the fuel. While doing so it collects the contaminants. While this process occurs, air is bubbled up from the bottom of the tank.
 
 "Those air bubbles you can think of as an elevator for the water," Forer says. "So the water sticks to the air, goes up through the fuel, the bubble pops and the water falls back down. So you get this gentle washing up and down."
 
 Once the wash process is complete, lab tests are run to check the contaminant levels. After the product passes the tests, the fuel is dried. Piedmont Biofuels uses the same technology to dry the final product as in the wash process-heat and circulation. Following the drying process, a final polishing is completed by running the product through a coalescent filter for a few hours to remove any particles that might have fallen into the top of the tank.
 
 The final product is loaded via a Blackmer pump into the final product storage tank. Every gallon produced at the Piedmont Biofuels plant eventually runs through the meter at its fueling rack. The rack is located on the exterior wall of the washing and drying area and consists mainly of a steel ladder, safety access platform and loading arm, which are all located under a canopy.

 
 "We generally top-load everything," Forer says. "We can bottom-load with our wet hose, but I'd rather top load." As Forer explains the loading process, a tanker truck rolls into the loading area and the tour group is provided a first-hand lesson in the loading process.
 
 Capacity and Sustainability
 When asked about overall production capacity, Forer answers the group by giving Piedmont Biofuels' current and potential plant capacity. "We designed the place to do 1 million gallons per year off of five shifts a week," he says. "So, we had very modest goals starting out for our company. If we throw in a couple extra wash tanks and tack on a couple extra shifts, and work weekends, we could end up somewhere around 4 million gallons per year, which I am confident we could sell every drop of today. We have the wonderful problem of greater demand than capacity. But, we've only been producing at this facility for a handful of months and we're kind of getting up to speed training new operators, working out our shift schedules, etc. Getting the right balance between production, deliveries, all the logistics and the lab work, has taken a little bit of effort."
 
 Beyond perfecting the production process and boosting capacity, Piedmont Biofuels aims for what is perhaps a more noble cause at the core of the biodiesel industry. "Sustainability is at the heart of this project," Forer says. "We are interested in sustainability in all of its forms and biodiesel is a good fit. It's only one part of what we really need to be doing to get more sustainable. We are really interested in local fuel production. I don't think that we need to be going down the road of monolithic centralized energy production. We've done that a few times and we've seen where the weaknesses lie in that system. Hurricane Katrina hit, took out a couple of key components and it gets rough when production comes grinding to a halt. But if you have a decentralized, micro nodal approach to energy production you have a very robust system where a couple of nodes can go out and there's so many others operating that you still have the supply you need to keep the trucks rolling.
 		
 Darren Wight is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based writer. He has written for Biodiesel Magazine in previous issues.
 
 The claims and statements made in this article belong exclusively to the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Biodiesel Magazine or its advertisers. All questions pertaining to this article should be directed to the author(s).

Piedmont Biofuels Chief Engineer Leif Forer provides regular tours of the co-op's biodiesel plant in Pittsboro, N.C.

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Forer shows off a Blackmer pump, which is the blue and orange equipment on the lower left.

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A Blackmer sliding vane pump moves biodiesel throughout Piedmont Biofuels.

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A tanker truck prepares to load finished product at Piedmont Biofuels' load-out area.

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A Lesson in Biodiesel Production

Rapeseed and soybean oil are the most-used feedstocks for biodiesel production in the European Union and the United States, respectively. However, the use of palm oil-based biodiesel is increasing due to strong production growth in tropical countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria and Colombia. Palm oil is a promising feedstock for biodiesel production because of its low cost and high productivity per unit of planted area.
 
 Palm oil biodiesel, also known as palm oil methyl ester (PME), differs from other types of biodiesel in its grade of molecule unsaturation. PME is more saturated, which means it has a lower number of double carbon bonds in its molecules. For diesel engine applications, the degree of biodiesel molecule unsaturation represents a compromise. Saturated fuels such as PME have high-ignition quality. However, they also harden at higher temperatures, making them difficult to use in cold weather.

 
 Since biodiesel is derived from renewable sources, its production and use are being promoted worldwide as a way to reduce oil dependency and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Due to PME's rising importance as a biodiesel feedstock, it's important to consider its combustion and operational performance.
 
 An Overview of Combustion
 In diesel engines, air is highly compressed in order to reach conditions that cause the fuel to self-ignite. Fuel is injected at a point called the start of injection, which is toward the end of the piston's compression stroke. Before self-igniting, the fuel breaks up into droplets that are heated, vaporized and mixed with air. The period between the start of injection and the start of combustion is aptly named ignition delay. Initially, a phase of pre-mixed combustion takes place, where the fuel/air mixture prepared during the ignition delay ignites, causing a very rapid rise in pressure. Combustion then continues at the rate at which the mixture becomes available for burning.
 
 Diesel combustion byproducts are a major source of urban air pollution. Diesel engines produce significant amounts of nitrogen oxide (NOx), gaseous hydrocarbon emissions (HC) and particulate matter (PM) emissions. However, carbon monoxide emissions are much lower than those from gasoline engines.
 
 PME has a short ignition delay, which is represented by its high cetane number (68)[1]. Thus, when compared with fuels with a lower cetane number, less fuel ignites during pre-mixed combustion. This leads to a lower peak of in-cylinder pressure and temperature. NOx is reduced since it's strongly dependent on the flame temperature. HC emissions also tend to be reduced when high cetane fuels are combusted[2].
 
 The most serious emission from diesel engines is PM, which consists primarily of soot (i.e., combustion-generated carbonaceous material). These particles are a health concern because they easily reach the deepest parts of the lungs, causing a series of significant health problems[3]. Studies using chemical kinetic modeling of diesel combustion with oxygenated fuels[4] show that oxygen atoms present on the biodiesel molecule prevent the carbon atom to which they are bonded to participate in the formation of soot precursor species, which leads to a reduction in soot emissions.
 
 My Master's thesis work, conducted at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden[5], showed a reduction in NOx, HC, and soot emissions from a research diesel engine fueled with PME compared to those emissions from Swedish low sulfur diesel fuel, also known as MK1. Reductions in NOx and HC emissions are explained by the better ignition quality of PME. The reduction in soot emissions is explained by the presence of oxygen atoms in the biodiesel molecule.
 
 Operational Performance

 While the benefits of using PME to reduce emissions have been proven in laboratory tests, its operational performance is still of concern to end users and the automotive industry. Oxidation stability and low-temperature fluidity are the main concerns.
 
 PME oxidation stability has better performance than soy methyl esters and rapeseed methyl esters. PME also exceeds Europe's EN 14214 specification. Both are because PME has fewer unsaturated molecules susceptible to oxidation through its double carbon bonds. Oxidative stability is important to engine performance because oxidation byproducts can cause harmful effects such as filter plugging, deposits and corrosion.
 
 On the other hand, saturated molecules harden at higher temperatures. As the biodiesel cools down, solid crystals form which eventually cause fuel filter plugging. The temperature at which this occurs is known as the cold filter plug point (CFPP). This property is the major difficulty facing the use of pure PME (B100) in cold weather conditions, since CFPP of PME is 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit). To reduce the impact of low CFPP, PME is mainly used in blends with diesel fuel.
 
 In order to evaluate the operational performance of PME and to clear up the concerns about its use, a group of organizations from Colombia, led by the Colombian Oil Palm Research Center (CENIPALMA)[6], is conducting a long-term evaluation of transit buses from Transmilenio, which is the rapid transit system that serves the capital, Bogotá. The buses are scheduled to travel 100,000 kilometers (62,000 miles) on varying PME blends (from B5 to B50). During the study several operating parameters will be evaluated, such as specific fuel consumption, emissions and maintenance costs. The fact that tests take place in Bogotá is a challenge to PME performance: Bogotá is located at 2,600 meters (8,530 feet) above sea level, thus its climatic conditions are irregular with temperatures ranging from minus 8 to 20 degrees Celsius (18 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit). In addition, Bogotá has 8 million inhabitants and severe air contamination issues. B5 use will be mandatory in Colombia starting in 2008, and researchers expect results from testing to support the use of higher blends. This would greatly benefit a country which is one of the world largest producers of palm oil and whose regular diesel fuel has a sulfur content of 4,000 parts per million, which increases PM emissions.
 
 In order to supply increasing biodiesel demand and reduce the cost of the production process, a wide variety of vegetable oils are being used as biodiesel feedstock, but their success will depend on low cost and good performance. PME emerges as a suitable alternative to diesel fuel due to its high ignition quality and high oxidation stability, though its low-temperature fluidity should be considered when used in cold weather conditions.
 
 Mauricio Rojas holds a Master of Science degree in automotive engineering from Chalmers University of Technology. He is a researcher at the Colombian Oil Palm Research Center. Reach him at <a href="mailto:mrojas@cenipalma.org">mrojas@cenipalma.org</a> or 011-57-1-208-8660.
 
 1. Evaluation of palm oil biodiesel/diesel fuel blends. Project Results. ECOPETROL and CENIPLAMA. November 30, 2006.
 2. Heywood J. Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals. McGraw Hill. 1988.

 3. United States Environmental Protection Agency. <a href="http://www.epa.gov" target="_blank">http://www.epa.gov/</a>
 4. Curran H., et al. Modeling of Diesel Combustion with Oxygenated Fuels. SAE Paper 2001-01-0653.
 5. Rojas, M. Diesel Combustion of Palm Oil Methyl Ester. Chalmers University of Technology. Master's Thesis 2006:97.
 6. Colombian Oil Palm Research Center. <a href="http://www.cenipalma.org" target="_blank">http://www.cenipalma.org/</a>

Palm oil trees provide the feedstock for biodiesel production in many tropical countries.

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Bogota, Colombia's bus transit system, Transmilenio, is testing the use of palm oil-based biodiesel.

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Assessing the Engine Performance of Palm Oil Biodiesel

Except for raising capital, obtaining an air permit is probably the most difficult and time-consuming obstacle to opening a new biodiesel production facility. Now, because of a new U.S. EPA regulatory interpretation, permitting and operating biodiesel plants just got a lot more difficult and costly.
 
 Although air permitting differs from state to state, generally speaking, a company cannot break ground without one. This is why the air permit is often called the "critical path permit." Without it, companies cannot build their facility-much less attract investors.
 
 The permit is important for other reasons as well. Once built, the air permit will control many facets of plant operation. For example, it can limit the amount and types of feedstock used, curtail the total annual production, or even mandate how employees are trained. The air permit will act as a guide to operating the plant throughout its life. In addition, the EPA, a state agency or private individuals can sue if the plant is not complying with the permit's terms or EPA's regulations. Therefore, correctly negotiating the permit language with the regulatory agency at the outset is enormously important.
 
 Compared to other industrial plants, biodiesel production is clean. In fact, it's significantly cleaner even than producing ethanol. For biodiesel production, the principle air pollutants of concern are methanol and hexane, although the facility will also emit various other pollutants depending on the fuel burned in the boiler (natural gas, coal, wood pellets, etc.). The problem, of course, is that EPA's regulations were written before biodiesel production was even occurring in the United States. That's why permitting a biodiesel production facility is like putting a square peg in a round hole-the EPA's regulations just don't fit.
 
 There are generally two types of air permits-construction permits and operating permits-although many states combine the two. Anyone wishing to construct a new plant, or modify an existing facility, must first apply for and receive an air construction permit. The construction permit will specify the terms under which the source is authorized to be built and initially operated. In most states, construction permits are issued for a period of 18 months, although that term can be extended to 24 or 36 months if the state agency is presented with information justifying a longer construction period. Some small biodiesel plants (e.g., less than 5 MMgy) have avoided obtaining a construction permit by claiming that their facility will have no air emissions or that their facility meets a de minimis exemption, but this is rare. For example, in Ohio, a permit is not required for small biodiesel plants with a closed-loop process if they can show that the plant will emit less than 10 pounds per day of air pollutants.
 

 A separate operating permit is issued to authorize the plant's operation. The operating permit is typically issued for a five-year term. It will identify all the emission units at the plant-stacks, reactors, distillation units, boilers and tanks-and specify the amount of each pollutant that may be emitted from each separate unit. Operating permits also contain recordkeeping and reporting requirements, and compliance demonstration methods. For example, most permits require complicated air emission reports to be sent in to the agency at least semi-annually. They also require immediate notification to the state agency if there is an unexpected emissions release or a backup generator is used.
 
 The key problem for biodiesel plants is the production of glycerin. If a plant produces glycerin as a byproduct, three long-standing EPA rules that regulate the synthetic organic chemical manufacturing industry (SOCMI) apply. The SOCMI rules require significantly more environmental control technology along with mounds of recordkeeping and reporting requirements. However, most of these requirements have very few environmental benefits because they were meant for other types of facilities. Glycerin production triggers the rules, and there is generally no de minimis exemption.
 
 The past few years, states have had differing opinions as to whether the SOCMI rules applied to biodiesel plants, causing different operational requirements and costs between states. Many states, including Minnesota and Indiana, relied on the plain language of the regulations and included the SOCMI requirements in their biodiesel permits. Other states left the SOCMI requirements out.
 
 Why the disparity? Many years ago, when the EPA adopted the SOCMI rules, the agency stated that they do not apply to "chemicals extracted from natural sources." Because biodiesel and glycerin production stems directly from soybean oil-a natural source-states thought the plants were exempt. In fact, the EPA stated years ago that ethanol plants are exempt from SOCMI for the same reason. During the recent permitting of a 45 MMgy plant in Wisconsin, the state Department of Natural Resources asked the EPA for a formal opinion on the issue. In a six-page letter, George Czerniak, chief of the EPA's Air Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Branch, responded and found that the onerous SOCMI regulations apply.
 
 In its determination letter, the EPA states that "Although one of the raw materials which will be used in the process, soybean oil, is a natural product, methanol, the other raw material, is not." While this does differentiate ethanol production and biodiesel production, the EPA has wide discretion and could easily have exempted biodiesel production from the SOCMI requirements.
 
 The EPA's position is surprising. Recently, the EPA significantly eased air permitting restrictions for ethanol plants, and years ago it exempted ethanol plants from the same SOCMI regulations that it now says apply to biodiesel facilities. Given President George W. Bush's administration's recent pro-biofuel stance, one would think that the EPA would want to help the biodiesel industry-not burden it with additional costly regulations.
 		
 Brian H. Potts is an attorney in Foley & Lardner LLP's Environmental Regulation and Energy practice groups. He has a juris doctor degree from Vermont Law School and a Master's degree in energy law from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law-Boalt Hall. Reach Potts at <a href="mailto:bpotts@foley.com">bpotts@foley.com</a> or (608) 258-4772.

 
 The claims and statements made in this article belong exclusively to the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Biodiesel Magazine or its advertisers. All questions pertaining to this article should be directed to the author(s).

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The EPA's interpretation may affect the construction of biodiesel plants such as Prairie Pride Inc. in Nevada, Mo., which is shown in a photo taken in spring 2007.

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EPA's Air Permitting Interpretation Increases Costs

What's the true value of a top performing employee? According to human resources expert Dr. John Sullivan, top performers out-produce their peers by 25 percent to as much as 1,000 percent.
 
 The differences between high-performance employees and the rest of the pack are immense. They're harder working, more innovative and produce better results. They possess better communication skills, planning and organizing ability, and a greater capability to adapt and ability to learn.
 
 This applies to all industries, including biodiesel. From top executives to plant managers, it's easy to spot high achievers once they're on the job. However, how do you determine them during the hiring process? Here's the first tip-don't rely on traditional hiring techniques. Resumes don't tell the whole story, and the functional interviews most companies rely on typically highlight knowledge rather than results.
 
 To find the best employees more often, add these steps to the hiring process:
 
 1. Identify the key behavioral traits of current top performers.
 2. Get familiarized with the common characteristics of each trait.
 3. Use behavioral interview questions to determine whether candidates possess the desired traits.
 

 Behavioral interview questions are designed to uncover specific examples when a candidate demonstrates a trait you're seeking. Past performance is widely viewed as the best indicator of future behavior, so a candidate who has already exhibited the traits you seek is most likely to exhibit those traits again.
 
 The Traits of Success
 In every company and job, key performance traits vary for top performers. As a start, here are several behavioral traits typically linked to superior performance. To help with the hiring process, I've included a few sample behavioral interview questions you can use to evaluate each trait.
 
 1. Initiative
 Most top performing employees are "take charge" kinds of people. They don't wait to be told what to do; they look for problems and opportunities and assume responsibility for them. To determine if a candidate will show initiative, ask targeted questions that force the candidate to provide specific examples of where he or she demonstrated initiative in previous jobs. Listen for examples such as completing more work than what's required or expected, taking risks that resulted in success, and making an effort toward continuous improvement. Below are a few sample questions that will help uncover characteristics of initiative.
 &bull; Tell me about a time when you took initiative and went above and beyond the call of duty.
 &bull; Tell me about a time when you created a new process or program that was considered risky. What was the result?
 &bull; Tell me about a time when you encountered obstacles while pursuing an important professional goal. Did you reach the goal? How?
 
 2. Personal Effectiveness
 Personal effectiveness encompasses everything from how a potential employee interacts with others, to how strong a sense of confidence and professionalism they display. Look to find out if the candidate is confrontational, has a positive self-image, and can focus clearly on goals and objectives. Some sample questions to help determine how effective a candidate is on a personal level are:
 &bull; Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.

 &bull; What are your top three personal and business goals? How do you measure your success in terms of reaching those goals?
 &bull; Have you ever been displeased with your own performance? When, why, and what did you do about it?
 &bull; Describe a specific goal you set for yourself and how successful you were in meeting it.
 
 3. Flexibility
 There are certain positions that require a higher level of flexibility than others in order to ensure success. For example, a biodiesel plant maintenance worker may need to demonstrate a different level of flexibility than a chemical engineer testing the safety of a new catalyst. However, there are certain universal situations in which every employee needs to exhibit the ability to "bend." A strong candidate should be able to demonstrate creativity when problem solving, show that he or she can compromise in challenging situations, and find alternate ways to succeed when faced with roadblocks. Here are a few questions you can ask to evaluate a candidate's ability to demonstrate flexibility:
 &bull; Describe the most creative idea that you've implemented to solve a problem. How did you come up with the solution?
 &bull; Tell me about the most difficult challenge you faced in trying to work cooperatively with someone who did not share your ideas. How did you deal with the situation?
 &bull; Tell me about a situation when you abruptly had to change what you were doing. What was the outcome?
 &bull; Describe a situation that required you to do a number of things at the same time. How did you manage your time? How successful were you?
 
 4. Knowledge
 One of the most valuable traits for a job candidate to demonstrate in an interview is his or her range of knowledge. As the interviewer, you may be looking for functional product knowledge, comprehensive knowledge of the biodiesel market, or basic critical thinking skills. Depending on the specific job market and the skilled labor shortage that experts are predicting, you may find a need to be flexible in certain areas of this part of the interview. The best way to discern if a potential candidate has enough expertise is to delve further into his or her past by asking these questions:
 &bull; Tell me about products or services that were sold or implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
 &bull; Tell me about a time when you recognized a change in your market or territory. What did you do? How successful were you?

 &bull; How have you kept on top of the current trends in your area of expertise?
 &bull; What process do you use to solve problems? Tell me about a time you had to analyze information and make a recommendation.
 
 5. Teamwork
 Whether a company employs five people or 500, the cornerstone of achievement will always be teamwork. Finding a group of people to work together toward a common goal can often be a daunting task. Personalities and egos can get in the way and result in a delay in progress. Every candidate should be hand-selected carefully with the entire "team" in mind. The best candidates will be able to demonstrate that they can accept constructive criticism, deal with controversy, and understand that others can provide valuable ideas. These questions will help you assess a candidate's willingness to be a team player:
 &bull; Give me some examples of how you encouraged others to share their ideas with you. Were their ideas useful?
 &bull; Tell me about a time when you felt it necessary to modify or change your actions in order to respond to the needs of another person.
 &bull; Tell me about the most difficult coworker or boss with whom you have ever had to work. What actions did you take that helped? What made things worse? What would you do differently?
 &bull; Describe a time that you received less than positive feedback from your boss. How did you respond? Did you implement any changes as a result?
 
 6. Leadership
 Not every job candidate will be cut out to be a leader, and even those who possess the traits of leadership need to be able to demonstrate to you in the interview they are an effective leader. An effective leader possesses the ability to question conventional ideas, even when others will not. They are honest and have integrity. They work to develop other's strengths, and show trust in the abilities of their coworkers and associates. The following questions will help you to uncover qualities of leadership:
 &bull; Have you ever tried to "sell" an idea that wasn't conventional? How did you do it? Did your coworkers "buy" it?
 &bull; Have you ever experienced a personal loss from doing what is right?
 &bull; Tell me about a time when you were able to provide a co-worker with valuable job guidance.

 &bull; Discuss a time when you had to delegate responsibility. How did you assign roles? Monitor progress? Evaluate performance?
 
 Take the Guesswork Out of Hiring
 Most of us know all too well that the hiring process can be as risky as a roll of the dice. Behavioral interviewing techniques help take the guesswork out of hiring. With a clear outline of the traits that are necessary to succeed at any given job, and an effective list of questions that help to uncover those traits, you are well on your way to being able to spot high potential employees. It may take some practice to hone your skills as an expert interviewer, but, in the end, your bottom line will thank you.
 		
 Patrick B. Ropella is president and CEO of Ropella & Associates. Reach him at (850) 983-4777.
 
 The claims and statements made in this article belong exclusively to the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Biodiesel Magazine or its advertisers. All questions pertaining to this article should be directed to the author(s).

The Search for Top Biodiesel Employees

Posted Aug. 7, 2007, at 12:31 p.m. CDT
 
 <a href="http://www.eastman.com/" target="_blank">Eastman Chemical Company</a>, a Tennessee-based company, has switched all onsite locomotives at its Kingsport, Tenn., facility to a 20 percent biodiesel blend. The change is expected to take place by the end of this month. The company had previously moved to B10 in early July and found no problems with the initial move.
 
 "We don't anticipate any unexpected problems based on three things," Eastman Staff Engineer Darren Curtis said, "our previous experience with biodiesel blends, our experience thus far with B10 in the locomotives and Genesee & Wyoming's testing of biodiesel."

 
 Rail Link, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI), owns the locomotives and performs in-plant switching at Eastman's facility while Eastman provides the fuel for the locomotives.
 
 According to a press release from the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition, the program is a first for Tennessee and very likely the entire southeastern United States. "Every company out there with diesels has to make its own decision about choosing to use biodiesel," Curtis said. "For us, looking at the smaller and the bigger picture, it was worth it. But what made it easier for us with regard to the locomotives [was] because GWI had already done extensive testing on their locomotives with biodiesel and determined that B20 was an acceptable blend to use."
 
 Five locomotives are currently in use at the Eastman facility and around-the-clock operations move an average of 12,000 rail cars within the plant each month.
 
 Eastman estimates that its use of B20 will result in the consumption of approximately 225,000 gallons of B20 each year. Adding this figure to other biodiesel-run equipment at the facility, it's estimated that Eastman will consume more than 600,000 of B20 annually.
 
 "I'm not surprised at all that Eastman is doing this," sad Jonathan Overly of the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition. "The company has been a champion for biodiesel for several years and has helped other fleets in our community learn about this fuel."

Locomotive fleet switches to biodiesel

Posted Aug. 8, 2007, at 8:52 a.m. CDT
 
 A biodiesel use workshop is scheduled for Thursday (Aug. 9) at the county library in Pueblo, Colo. Registration for the workshop begins at 9 a.m. with the program beginning at 9:30 a.m. Speakers will include representatives from the National Biodiesel Board, City of Colorado Springs and Pueblo County.
 
 The workshop is free and open to the public, including both fleet managers and individuals, and is organized by the Clean Cities of the Pikes Peak Region.

 
 What: Biodiesel use workshop
 When: Thursday, Aug. 9, 9:30 a.m. (registration at 9 a.m.)
 Who: General public, including fleet managers and operators of diesel equipment
 Where: County Library, 100 E. Abriendo Ave., Pueblo, Colo.
 
 For more information, contact Larry Barrett at 719-634-4468

Biodiesel workshop set for Pueblo

Posted Aug. 8, 2007, at 10:14 a.m. CDT

 
 NextDiesel Biodiesel in Adrian, Mich., will host a grand opening ceremony Aug. 14 to celebrate the opening of the first biodiesel facility in Michigan to be built in a designated renewable energy renaissance zone.
 
 The event will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT iwth a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12:15 p.m. that will feature dignitaries including Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm; U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin; officials from NextDiesel's parent company, Biofuel Industries Group; and other local political officials. Tours of the facility will follow the ribbon cutting.
 
 NextDiesel Biodiesel will initially produce 20 MMgy with the capacity to expand to 100 MMgy, with multiple feedstocks being used to produce the fuel.

NextDiesel to host grand opening

Posted Aug. 10, 2007, at 10:38 a.m. CDT
 
 "Minnesota has led the nation in unleashing a renewable energy revolution," Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Thursday at Farmfest, an annual event in Redwood County, Minn. "Other states are starting to catch on and it's time for us to continue to blaze the trail to a cleaner, more secure energy future. Increasing the level of biodiesel in diesel fuel means that more of our energy will come from farm fields rather than oil fields and that's a good thing."
 
 And so begins Minnesota on its next step toward Pawlenty's vision of having 20 percent of the state's motor fuel coming from renewable sources. Minnesota is already ahead of much of the nation with its current B2 mandate and if Pawlenty and Minnesota state legislators are of like minds, that mandate would gradually increase to B20 by 2015.
 
 Pawlenty's plan, announced Thursday, would call for a B5 mandate to go into effect by 2008. Pawlenty said that since the state already produces 67 MMgy-four times more biodiesel than it uses-that move shouldn't require much in terms of infrastructure development. The plan also calls for a B10 mandate by 2011, a B15 mandate by 2013 and a B20 mandate by 2015.
 
 One hurdle in the way of the plan is quality control, as Minnesotans found out in the first winter of the B2 mandate. Pawlenty said quality control issues could best be addressed by requiring BQ9000 certification on all biodiesel sold in the state and by giving the Minnesota Department of Commerce authority to modify or lift blend requirements to address any concerns that arise.
 

 For more information on Pawlenty's B20 by 2015 plan, visit the <a href="http://www.mda.state.mn.us" target="_blank">Minnesota Department of Agriculture</a>.

Minnesota could be headed for higher biodiesel mandate

Posted Aug. 13, 2007, at 8:29 a.m. CDT
 
 Quality was the emphasized word Aug. 9 in Pueblo, Colo., at a biodiesel workshop organized by Clean Cities of the Pikes Peak Region. The workshop targeted fleet managers either using biodiesel or considering making the switch. Presenters included the National Biodiesel Foundation, managers of city fleets and biodiesel producers.
 
 Nick Kittle of the City of Colorado Springs (Colo.) described his city's transition in 2004 and 2005. Kittle said the transition was a mixed experience, with early issues being solved by switching to a vendor producing the fuel with a more consistent measure of quality. Another tactic Kittle said his department used was to "deploy biodiesel for a month before telling the vehicle operators in order to overcome their preconceived objections."
 
 Colorado Springs currently uses biodiesel in more than 2,100 fleet vehicles.
 
 Alta Fuels President Dan Mortensen was one of several producers to address the attendees, noting that consistent quality is of such importance to the Alamosa, Colo., company that it built its own laboratory to test fuel quality. Eric Liebold of Colorado Springs' Chief Petroleum said his company is working on availability issues by making use of card-lock self-services pumps. At Blue Sun Biodiesel in Westminster, Colo., efforts are underway to improve the economics of biodiesel production. According to Paul Prentice, Blue Sun's goals for biodiesel "extend along the entire verticle value chain starting with growing canola from improved varieties to producing premium specifications of biodiesel."
 
 "Premium biodiesel appears to increase miles per gallon by 5 to 6 percent," Mortensen told attendees, pointing to the fact that quality control is not only important for marketing biodiesel, but can also improve the performance of the fuel significantly.

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Biodiesel workshop aimed at fleet managers

Posted Aug. 13, 2007, at 8:46 a.m. CDT

 
 A new Web site designed to give users access to information about alternative fuels and advanced transportation technologies launched in early August. The site, <a href="http://www.cleantransportation.org" target="_blank">www.cleantransportation.org</a>, is operated by the North Carolina Solar Center's Clean Transportation program at North Carolina State University.
 
 The site is hosted by N.C. State's College of Engineering and is managed on campus.
 
 According to an N.C. State press release, the site features news items related to alternative fuel and advanced transportation technologies in North Carolina, an upcoming events section, fact sheets about renewable energy sources, and will "serve as a clearing house for funding opportunities available to business, government and non-profit projects that reduce transportation related emissions."
 
 On the Web: <a href="http://www.cleantransportation.org" target="_blank">www.cleantransportation.org</a>.

Clean transportation Web site launched

Posted Aug. 15, 2007, at 10:23 a.m. CDT
 
 Imperium Renewables will officially open its Grays Harbor biodiesel facility in Grays Harbor, Wash., today with a grand opening ceremony at the facility. With 100 MMgy of production capacity, Imperium Renewables Grays Harbor will be the largest biodiesel production facility in the U.S.

 
 "The launch of Grays Harbor represents a coming of age for the biodiesel industry," said John Plaza, founder and president of Imperium Renewables. "This facility has the scale and the systems to produce fuel comparable to petroleum diesel that meets or exceeds ASTM standards. The difference is that our fuel has far less impact on our environment than fossil fuels and is made from renewable resources."
 
 The facility lies at the Port of Grays Harbor, Wash., and is capable of storing up to 17 million gallons of biodiesel and feedstocks at any one time.

Imperium Renewables opens 100 MMgy facility

Updated Aug. 16, 2007, at 5:36 p.m. CDT
 
 Oilseed extraction technology company Crown Iron Works (CIW) has been sold to California Pellet Mill (CPM), according to a CIW representative. Although the sale has been in the works for more than a month, CIW had declined to confirm the identity of its buyer.
 
 According to a CWI press release, the transaction includes Europa Crown Limited based in Hull, England, and majority joint venture interest in Crown Friendship Engineering Company based in Wuhan, China. Crown Iron Works will continue operations at its current locations.

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CPM buys Crown Iron Works

The Lemelson-MIT Program is now accepting nominations for the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize, the most prestigious cash award for invention in the United States. The Lemelson-MIT Program is also accepting nominations for the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability, which supports individuals whose inventions enhance economic opportunities and societal well-being in developing and/or developed countries, while protecting and restoring the natural environment. The deadline for nominations is November 2, 2007.
 
 "The Lemelson-MIT Program has long honored the unsung heroes who have improved our lives through invention. We are proud to continue this tradition, with an additional focus on sustainability and role models who inspire the inventive spirit in youth. We are excited to receive nominations for our 2008 awards," said Joshua Schuler, executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
 
 The prestigious $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize recognizes individuals who turn their ideas into inventions that improve the world. Dubbed the "Oscar for Inventors," the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize is awarded to outstanding mid-career inventors who have developed a patented product or process of significant value to society, which could be or has been adopted for practical use. 
 
 The $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability is presented to inventors whose products or processes are viable and sustainable, and have high potential to improve the quality of life for future generations. The award serves to increase awareness of local or global sustainability issues and inventors working in these critical areas, and also supports continued inventive work of these individuals. 
 

 Candidates for both awards are nominated. More information about the awards, as well as nomination applications, is currently available at http://web.mit.edu/invent/. The deadline for nominations is November 2, 2007. Both winners will be announced in spring 2008. 
 
 About the Lemelson-MIT Program
 The Lemelson-MIT Program recognizes outstanding inventors, encourages sustainable new solutions to real-world problems, and enables and inspires young people to pursue creative lives and careers through invention. Jerome H. Lemelson, one of the world's most prolific inventors, and his wife Dorothy founded the non-profit Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. More information is available online at http://web.mit.edu/invent.

Lemelson-MIT Program seeks nominees for prestigious Lemelson-MIT Prize and Award for Sustainability

Posted Aug. 29, 2007, at 2:18 p.m. CDT
 
 Seatle-based Propel Biofuels has announced the closing of a $4.75 million Series A investment from partners @Ventures and Nth Power. @Ventures will be represented on the board of directors by Peter Mills and Matt Horton. Nancy Floyd, founder and managing director of Nth Power, will chair the newly formed board.
 
 In conjunction with the financing, Arthur Rubinfeld will join Propel Biofuels' board of directors. Rubinfeld comes to Propel from Starbucks, where he was executive vice president.

August 2007

Business Briefs

Imperium plans IPO

Eagle Tanks delivers equipment to SoCal Biodiesel Fuels

PGG buys Imerjent biodiesel unit

Aventine to market biodiesel for Delta Biofuels

NRA forms biofuels committee

Company purchases Crown Iron Works

Momentum Biofuels names managers, board

Columns

Editor's Note

NBB In Sight

Featured

Daring to Design the Vehicle of the Future

Within the Petroleum Distribution Network

Current and Future Passenger Diesels

Motor City Methyl Esters

The Ideal Engine

August 2007.css-7jxktu{position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;right:0px;height:3px;border-radius:3px;background-color:var(--chakra-colors-brandBlack);}

Business Briefs

Imperium plans IPO

Eagle Tanks delivers equipment to SoCal Biodiesel Fuels

PGG buys Imerjent biodiesel unit

Aventine to market biodiesel for Delta Biofuels

NRA forms biofuels committee

Company purchases Crown Iron Works

Momentum Biofuels names managers, board

Columns

Editor's Note

NBB In Sight

Featured

Daring to Design the Vehicle of the Future

Within the Petroleum Distribution Network

Current and Future Passenger Diesels

Motor City Methyl Esters

The Ideal Engine

August 2007