A new technology developed by U.K.-based Aquafuel Research Ltd. allows crude glycerin to fuel standard diesel generators used in combined-heat-and-power applications, according to Aquafuel Chief Executive Officer Paul Day. The technology uses off-the-shelf diesel generators, which are altered slightly with a new combustion cycle called the McNeil cycle. Before the glycerin can be used as fuel, the catalyst salts are removed; however, the system is tolerant of water, methanol and non-glycerin organic compounds. Day said the company aims to establish a testing site in early 2009. It's currently seeking partners to license and sell the technology globally.

Aquafuel Research Ltd.'s technology allows glycerin to be used as a fuel in standard diesel engines.

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Glycerin can fuel generators

Web exclusive posted Jan. 15, 2009, at 1:58 p.m. CST 
 
 On Jan. 13, the Austrian Biofuels Institute released a list of 13 approved stabilizers for biodiesel. The list was prepared by the German biodiesel quality management working group AGQM e.V., which spent the last year evaluating biodiesel additives.
 
 AGQM evaluated a number of relatively new oxidation stabilizers, alongside the well known BHT for compliance with "no-harm" criteria. The mineral oil industry and the AGQM agreed on the methods for the tests, which included compliance with European quality requirements, filtration and engine compatibility.
 
 Products passing the tests were published in the list, maintained by AGQM as an open list where interested additive suppliers can file an application for testing at any time. 
 

 The companies and product brand names included: BASF SE (Kerobit 2637), Chimec SpA (Chimec CH4636, RS76HFP), Ciba Corp. (IRGASTAB BD100 and BD50), Infineum UK Ltd. (Infineum R120 and R130), Innospec Ltd. (BioStable 403E), International Fuel Technology (Diesolift BD-3), Kemin (BF320R), Lanxess Deutschland GmbH (Baynox plus), Eastman Chemical Deutschland GmbH (BioExtend 30 HP), Raschig GmbH (Ionol FB200). 
 
 The relative efficiencies in comparison with BHT were also studied, and can be disclosed with the approval of the respective companies, AGQM said. 
 
 The final project report and test procedures are available at cost from the <a href="http://www.agqm-biodiesel.de">AGQM Web site</a>.

Germany's AGQM approves 13 biodiesel stabilizers

This issue of Biodiesel Magazine will be at the sixth annual National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in San Francisco. In fact, you may be there, reading this in the expo hall or just before the general session. You may have already nursed that golf tournament sunburn, attended a pre-conference seminar or cheered your favorite NFL team to a Super Bowl victory. Bottom line, this is the largest biodiesel conference in the world, and a great place to meet new people in the industry and reconnect with fellow colleagues.
 
 The biodiesel industry has met a lot of milestones since last year's event, and they will certainly be celebrated in San Francisco. It also faced its share of challenges, and when the conference gets down to business, some common issues will be addressed. 
 
 Feedstock prices are still making production difficult, and for this reason, a number of alternative feedstocks emerged over the past year. If you attended last year's conference, you may recall National Biodiesel Board Chief Executive Officer Joe Jobe saying algae would be a major player, and we certainly saw more research and development in that sector. 
 

 Expect alternative feedstocks to be the subject of more than one breakout session at the conference.
 
 Policy will be another focus, and in 2009, newly elected President Barack Obama will bring a fresh perspective to U.S. energy policy. This might well be influenced by climate change concerns. As Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen has said, indirect land use may be the new hot-button issue of 2009.
 
 If you were wondering why San Francisco is the host site, check out Staff Writer Erin Voegele's feature, "Biodiesel in The Golden Gate City" on page 44. She details several biodiesel programs underway within the city and admitted to me that she had trouble fitting them all into one story. Indeed, San Francisco, and California in general, has long been in tune with environmentalism, including renewable fuels, which makes it a perfect place for this event.
 
 For those not attending the conference, I recommend considering it for next year. It's a great place to become educated on the many facets of the industry, and afterward, attendees are able to focus on the upcoming year with common goals. At the seventh annual conference, there will surely be many more milestones to celebrate.
 
 Jessica Sobolik
 Managing Editor
 <a href="mailto:jsobolik@bbiinternational.com">jsobolik@bbiinternational.com</a>

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Welcome to the National Biodiesel Conference

The U.S. airline industry applauds Biodiesel Magazine for the story, "Aviation Alternatives" (January 2009), which raises awareness about aviation's efforts to develop alternative jet fuels. 
 
 We view the research and development of alternative jet fuels as a top priority, critical to the long-term viability of our industry and the improvement of our strong environmental track record. Indeed, significant progress has been made, thanks in part to the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group and the various companies pointed out in the story.
 
 Another key contributor to this progress is the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, a diverse consortium of manufacturers, airlines, airports, government agencies and universities that is dedicated to bringing commercially viable, environmentally friendly alternative jet fuels to market. 
 

 Since 2006, CAAFI has played a critical role in driving alternative jet fuel research and development, environmental assessment, certification and business integration by developing and progressing roadmaps in these four key areas. As a result, for example, the CAAFI Environmental Team recently developed an approach to methodologies for peer-reviewed life-cycle environmental analyses for alternative jet fuels, which is essential to demonstrating environmental benefits. In another example, CAAFI established a plan and time line for the certification of alternative jet fuels, with certification of a 50 percent synthetic jet fuel expected by mid-2009 and a 50 percent biofuel certification slated for 2010. 
 
 Through CAAFI, SAFUG and other important initiatives, our industry is responding to the obstacles to implementing alternative fuels on a wide scale. With jet fuel as our No. 1 cost center and given the clear environmental challenges associated with traditional fossil fuels, no other industry is more motivated to bring alternative fuels to market than aviation. 
 
 We are proud of our efforts and thank you for the recognition.
 
 Nancy Young
 Vice President of Environmental Affairs
 Air Transport Association of America Inc.

letter to the editor

The plant was sparkling and the employees were smiling at Lake Erie Biofuels LLC when a crew of six from Discovery Channel filmed the 45 MMgy biodiesel plant in Erie, Pa., in November. For a documentary called "Shades of Green," the crew showcased the technology and on-site laboratory that Lake Erie Biofuels utilizes at its year-old facility. The documentary, scheduled to air the second week in February, is part of a series covering alternative energy and sustainable living.

Discovery Channel spent a day filming at Lake Erie Biofuels LLC in Erie, Pa., for a documentary to air in February.

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Discovery Channel visits Lake Erie Biofuels

Coorga International Trading Ltd. is marketing a proprietary compound that removes free fatty acids (FFAs) from waste cooking oils and animal fats.
 
 Company President Garfield Coore said biodiesel producers that don't utilize an acid esterification pretreatment, or some other means of using or removing FFAs from the feedstock before transesterification, will produce a lot of soaps through saponification, which reduces process performance and yield. "With our product, the [feedstock] is refined, so there's no soap being created, which lets the transesterification process proceed without negative feedback from the soaps," he said. "It's a specialized silicate compound-that's all I can say. It's a product that's good at what it does." 
 
 The product is called Quik 'n' Free, and the amount needed to do its job depends on the feedstock's FFA content. "You add whatever amount of the product and a certain amount of water, and it reacts with the free fatty acids, which makes a bond with the compound," Coore said. "Then you just filter it out using regular filtration-it's about 200 microns-or you could centrifuge it." He said there are no permitting issues in getting rid of the reacted FFA-silicate compound. "It's not regarded as a hazardous waste," he told Biodiesel Magazine. "It can be composted." 
 
 Coorga has been selling Quik 'n' Free to a company in Lebanon that uses it with additional Coorga compounds to convert waste vegetable oils into cooking oil. In addition, Coore said a major unnamed U.S. biodiesel producer and marketer recently placed an order for Quik 'n' Free for testing.

Compound available for FFA removal

Yum! Brands in Louisville, Ky., which owns Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver's, announced that its KFC restaurant operations in the U.K. have begun converting approximately 7.7 million liters (2 million gallons) of waste vegetable oil per year into biodiesel. The first KFC restaurant to convert waste vegetable oil to biodiesel was the Soichiro "Sol" Yoshida KFC restaurant in Nagano City, Japan, in 1997, with help from Pacific Biodiesel Inc. in Kahului, Hawaii.

KFCs in UK begin biodiesel program

Leading up to Inauguration Day, President-Elect Barack Obama was selecting key members of his cabinet, specifically the secretaries of agriculture and energy. He nominated former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as secretary of agriculture and Steve Chu as secretary of energy. Vilsack comes from the No. 1 biodiesel-producing state, while Chu is director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which has conducted many projects focusing on energy technologies.

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Obama nominates cabinet members

The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has begun a three-year fish-waste-to-biodiesel project called Enerfish, which aims to build a biodiesel production pilot plant next to Vietnamese fish processor Hiep Thanh Seafood JSC.
 

 Hiep Thanh Seafood produces approximately 120,000 kilograms (264,000 pounds) of fish processing waste daily. "The biodiesel demonstration plant will produce 13 tons of biodiesel per day, and take in 16 tons of fish waste oil, some amounts of methanol and some catalytic materials," said Aulis Ranne, senior research scientist at VTT. "Pangasius fish waste contains about 22 percent fat (Pangasius fillet is the Hiep Thanh plant's main product), and the amount of fish waste needed to produce 13 tons of biodiesel is about 72 tons. The rest of the waste-about 56 tons per day-will be used as animal feed." Approximately 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of fish waste is needed to produce one gallon of biodiesel.
 
 Ranne said the pilot plant is slated for start-up this summer.

Finnish researchers turn fish waste into biodiesel

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association is making available two $2,500 Biodiesel Backer Award grants to help schools in Iowa educate their communities about biodiesel, and to incorporate biodiesel and renewable fuels into school education and programming. Applications for the grants will be accepted through June 30. 
 
 To assist teachers with promoting and incorporating biodiesel in education, the IRFA has created the Biodiesel Backer Toolkit, which includes fact sheets, brochures, curriculums, 
 Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentations and recorded public service announcements. The association developed the curriculums for both elementary and secondary education. The toolkit also includes information about how school bus petroleum diesel exhaust affects children and how to obtain funding through the U.S. EPA's National Clean Diesel Funding 
 Assistance Program to incorporate using biodiesel in a school bus fleet. For more information about the Biodiesel Backer Award and the toolkit, visit www.iowarfa.org/educators.php.

IRFA offers grants for schools

Maplewood, N.J.-based Woolley Fuel Co. held a grand opening in December for New Jersey's first public retail bio-diesel pump. New Hampshire-based Sprague Energy Corp. will supply the B100, which will be stored in a tank donated by New York-based Roth Industries Inc. Indiana-based Thermo Products LLC donated a furnace to heat the B100, and the furnace will be powered by soy-based Bioheat heating oil. Local politicians attended the grand opening, which included a biodiesel transport delivery, according to Norman Woolley Jr., vice president of Woolley Fuel Co.

New Jersey's first biodiesel pump opened at Woolley Fuel Co. in

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New Jersey's first biodiesel pump opens

The European Union turned voluntary goals into mandatory requirements when it adopted the Renewable Energy Directive issued by the European Parliament on Dec. 17. A 10 percent mandate for renewable content in transportation fuels is part of the new 20-20-20 plan that calls for a 20 percent cut in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for all energy compared with 1990 levels, a 20 percent increase in the use of renewable energy and a 20 percent cut in energy consumption through improved energy efficiency, all by 2020.
 
 Transportation fuels, including biofuels, electricity and hydrogen, are included in the 20 percent increase in renewable energy usage. The 10 percent mandate for renewable content in transportation fuels was set after much discussion over lowering the target. It replaces the voluntary targets of 5.75 percent by 2010 and 10 percent by 2020, which were adopted in a 2003 policy. 
 
 In a separate Fuel Quality Directive adopted on the same day, the European Union increased its B5 standard to B7. While the Renewable Energy Directive will phase in climate change reduction goals over the next decade, the new blending standard can be implemented within the next two years by member states. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) will publish the revised standard by June. 
 
 The European Biodiesel Board said the 10 percent requirement for 2020 sends a stronger signal to Europe's biodiesel industry. "In times of economic recession when different sectors are hit by declining investment, the [requirement] is essential in order to pave the way for even more ambitious developments of renewable energy in the transport sector," the EBB stated. The board is projecting the requirement to create a demand for 34 million metric tons of both biodiesel and ethanol. Current European biodiesel production capacity is 16 million metric tons (4.8 billion gallons). 
 
 The specific GHG reduction target for biofuels is 35 percent, compared with fossil fuels, and will be enforced in 2011. For biofuels producers that began operation in January 2008, the requirement will take effect April 1, 2013. In 2017, the requirement increases to a 50 percent reduction, and for new producers after 2017, the target will be 60 percent. Targets for GHG emission reductions include not only fossil fuels, but also biofuels, electricity and hydrogen. The new directive requires fuel suppliers to reduce GHG emissions caused by extraction or cultivation, including land-use changes, transport and distribution, processing, and the combustion of transport fuels. 
 
 A separate European initiative focusing on sustainability criteria is expected to be complete by the end of 2009, giving the European Commission time to review the language for inclusion in the climate change directive. The Renewable Energy Directive offers incentives for more sustainable biofuels by allowing second-generation biofuels to be double-credited in the 10 percent target. The directive calls for the European Commission to develop a methodology to measure GHG emissions from indirect land use by 2010.

The European Union has a new 10 percent renewable mandate for transportation fuels, along with GHG reduction and sustainability goals.

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EU adopts 10 percent mandate

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. has been at the center of several jetliner biofuel test flights recently after partnering with various airlines, alternative fuel producers and technology providers across the globe. 

 
 Most recently, Boeing, Continental Airlines, UOP LLC, engine company CFM International, algae-based fuel eveloper Sapphire Energy and jatropha oil provider Terrasol conducted a demonstration flight of a U.S. commercial airliner powered by 50 percent jatropha- and algae-based biofuel, and 50 percent traditional jet fuel. On Jan. 7, a Boeing 747-800 equipped with two CFM56-7B engines performed multiple tests during a two-hour flight around Houston, which included power accelerations and decelerations, an in-flight engine shutdown and restart, and other standard and nonstandard flight maneuvers. The crew consisted of two pilots, an engineer and no passengers. Continental expected the post-flight analysis to indicate that the lower-emission biofuel blend could replace regular fuel without the loss of performance or safety.
 
 Boeing also teamed with Air New Zealand for a biofuel test flight that proved successful after a month-long delay. Air New Zealand pushed the test flight back from Dec. 3 after one of its Airbus A320s crashed in an unrelated test flight Nov. 27. All seven people on board were killed. On Dec. 30, a 747-400 jetliner left the Auckland, New Zealand, airport with one of its four Rolls-Royce RV211 engines powered with a blend of 50 percent standard jet fuel and 50 percent synthetic paraffinic kerosene derived from jatropha oil. Air New Zealand 
 Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe said the flight is a milestone for the airline, and commercial aviation in general.
 
 Across the Pacific Ocean on Jan. 30, Japan Airlines will fuel a Boeing 747-300 aircraft with 50 percent algae, camelina and jatropha oil, and 50 percent jet fuel for a one-hour demonstration flight around Tokyo. Montana-based Sustainable Oils Inc. provided the camelina oil, India-based Terasol Energy supplied the jatropha oil, and California-based Sapphire Energy supplied the algae oil. The fuel mix, which will power one of the aircraft's four Pratt & Whitney engines, was produced via UOP's proprietary hydro-processing technology.
 
 In other aircraft biofuel news, New Zealand-based Aquaflow Bionomic Corp. announced it had successfully refined wild algae into a sample of synthetic paraffinic kerosene, which the company believes can be used to power commercial and military aircraft. It obtained its wild algae from oxidation ponds in Marlborough, New Zealand. Company Director Nick Gerritsen said the sample, which was extracted from algae using UOP's process technology, meets Jet A-1 specifications, including density, flash point and freeze point.

A Boeing 747-400 jetliner was powered with a fuel mixture containing jatropha oil in a test flight around Auckland, New Zealand, on Dec. 30.

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Aquaflow said these diesel and jet fuel samples, which were extracted from algae, meet jet A-1 specifications.

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Boeing planes successfully fly with biofuels

Although Canada passed a federal renewable fuels standard in mid-2008, which calls for 2 percent renewable content in diesel fuel by 2012, two more Canadian provinces have recently taken further action to expand the use of renewable fuels such as biodiesel. Alberta and British Columbia joined Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario as provinces with individual renewable fuels standards (RFS). However, the two provinces are the only two with biodiesel included in their RFS. In addition, Biodiesel Magazine learned about two separate biodiesel usage tests taking place across the nation. Here's a brief rundown.
 
 Alberta 
 In an effort to establish a long-term action plan to produce clean energy and sustain economic prosperity, Alberta implemented a Provincial Energy Strategy in mid-December, which included an RFS that requires 2 percent biodiesel blends by 2010. 
 
 Under the strategy's Nine-Point Bio-Energy Plan, $239 million was allocated to support the production and marketing of bioenergy and biofuels. The plan also included increased investment in the research, development, demonstration and deployment of energy technology, and the implementation of emission goals and carbon charges for large industrial facilities. 
 

 Alberta's RFS is intended to help the province meet its climate change targets by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 1 million tons annually. "Our strategic approach going forward recognizes that 21st century energy challenges also represent great opportunities for Alberta," said Alberta Ministry of Energy Mel Knight. "The actions described in the Provincial Energy Strategy will help make Alberta a global energy leader that is recognized as a world-class energy supplier, energy technology champion, and a responsible energy consumer and environmental citizen."
 
 British Columbia 
 Also in mid-December, British Columbia passed legislation mandating 5 percent renewable content in provincially supplied diesel and gasoline fuels by 2010. The New Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act is part of the B.C. Energy Plan. 
 
 One of British Columbia's priorities is supporting the production of liquid biofuels with demonstrated low greenhouse gas life-cycle emissions. A week before the renewable fuels mandate was finalized, the province created an Innovative Clean Energy Fund, from which $10 million will be distributed to promote the development and production of liquid biofuels for transportation and home heating. Eligible projects, which were accepted through early January, included conventional and second-generation technologies for biodiesel production. Funding decisions are expected to be made in March.
 
 Manitoba
 Also in December, Manitoba enacted quality standards for the production and sale of biodiesel. As part of the Manitoba Biofuels Act, the standards require biodiesel manufacturers to obtain a license, keep records, and meet quality standards for biodiesel blends and petroleum diesel fuel. Failure to comply with the regulations will result in a $75,000 penalty. 
 
 Jim Rondeau, Manitoba minister of science, technology, energy and mines, announced the biodiesel fuel requirements Dec. 5. "We are excited about the potential that the biofuels industry holds for Manitoba," he said. "Biodiesel joins hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, ethanol, solar and biomass power as one of the pillars of our clean-energy strategy. It is a proven energy source that will help us find solutions to climate change in order to meet our Kyoto commitments."
 
 Manufacturers that plan to sell biodiesel in Manitoba or produce more than 15,000 liters (3,963 gallons) per year are required to obtain a commercial license. Small-scale producers that make less than 15,000 liters per year are required to have a noncommercial manufacturing license. 
 
 Use

 In collaboration with Kyoto Fuels Corp. and JK Trucking, the government of Alberta and Olds College of Innovation are conducting a yearlong over-the-road biodiesel demonstration test to monitor the operability and functionality of B10 in JK Trucking fleets driven in the Canadian climate. 
 
 The Biodiesel Integration Study Pilot project, launched in June, collects data from Global Positioning Systems and the electronic control module computers in each trucking unit. The JK Trucking fleets consist of 50 Class 8 highway tractors that use 48 Cummins engines, and travel throughout western Canada and the western U.S. Cummins Western Canada provided the hardware required to download the data. At press time, the project's manager Ryan Deacon-Rogers said the use of B10 hadn't caused any mechanical problems or changes in vehicle performance. 
 
 The Olds College of Innovation is acting as a third-party supervisor for the project, ensuring the research is unbiased. The college is also providing consulting services related to data collection, verification and analyses of findings. 
 
 Meanwhile, Ontario-based Rothsay Biodiesel, a division of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., announced Nov. 24 that its largest truck fleet has begun fueling with B5 produced at its 9.2 MMgy biodiesel facility in Montreal. The 40-truck fleet in Dundas, Ontario, will consume approximately 1.4 million liters (370,000 gallons) of biodiesel annually. "This is a major step forward for sustainability at Rothsay," Vice President Todd Moser said. "Not only will we decrease our environmental footprint by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released from our 40 trucks, but we're fuelling them with our own biodiesel produced from animal byproducts and recycled restaurant grease."
 
 Since 2002, Rothsay Biodiesel has provided fuel for its Montreal truck fleet. With the addition of its Dundas fleet, Rothsay trucks will consume more than 2 million liters (528,400 gallons) of B5 throughout 2009.

The Alberta government recently adopted a renewable fuels standard as part of its Provincial Energy Strategy.

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Canada beefs up biodiesel policy, use

A Food for Progress project led by Texas A&M University's Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture has led to the development of two biodiesel production plants along the western coast of Guatemala, one in Masagua and another in Nueva Concepcion. The facilities are part of a larger agricultural project funded by a $3 million USDA grant initially awarded in 2005. 
 
 The plants use locally produced jatropha oil as a feedstock but also operate their own seed presses. Each has the capacity to produce approximately 80 gallons of biodiesel per day and 25,000 gallons annually. 
 
 Each facility is run by a farmer-owned cooperative. To date, approximately 70 local farmers have become involved in the project, according to Travis Miller, a Texas AgriLife Extension Service agronomist at Texas A&M in College Station. The farmers will be using biodiesel primarily to fuel farm equipment, although there may be opportunities to sell the fuel in the future. 

 
 Jatropha has traditionally been used for natural fencing in Guatemala, Miller said. There are thousands of kilometers of this fence throughout Guatemala and other Central American countries, and the vast majority of jatropha oil processed by the two biodiesel facilities is being sourced from these fences. However, many of the plants found within the fences produce low yields. Miller said this is due in part to the way the jatropha is planted-as close as six inches apart. One way to increase yields is to space the plants at seven- or eight-foot intervals. "I think we can get significant yields off that fence line without really changing anything-other than how we manage the trees and the fence line," he said. "They'll still make a good fence when spaced out."
 
 Local communities can benefit from jatropha growth, as well. "We're taking something that would have been … of minimal use and creating value out of it," Miller said. "There is an opportunity to really make a difference in income for these people and expand it to places where there truly is very little value to the land." In addition to fuel production, farmers can use jatropha seed cake as fertilizer, and the biodiesel byproduct glycerin to produce candles, according to Johanna Roman, the Latin American programs coordinator for the Borlaug Institute and project manager for the Guatemalan Food for Progress project. 
 
 The next step of the project will include the establishment of jatropha plantations and nurseries, which has been funded by a second USDA grant worth $3.5 million, Roman said. 
 
 The institute plans to work with several small growers to establish plantations, rather than working with one large plantation. Some farmers have already begun intercropping jatropha with their other crops. 
 
 Miller said he hopes the project will serve as an economic model that will improve rural development in Guatemala and other Central American countries. The Food for Progress program also aims to improve agricultural techniques, such as the establishment of greenhouses, irrigation systems and food processing facilities. Farmer education is part of the program, as well.

Participants in the USDA-funded Food for Progress project in Guatemala at the biodiesel production facility in Masagua

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Jatropha seeds have an average oil content of 35 percent. 

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Two biodiesel plants open in Guatemala

Bipartisan cooperation for a major statewide energy policy can be hard to come by, but Northwestern states have made it happen.
 
 On Nov. 30, Washington implemented a B2 requirement that was enacted in March 2006 when Gov. Christine Gregoire signed into law Senate Bill 6508. Specifically, the legislation mandates fuel retailers to sell a B2 blend within state borders. The requirement will increase to 5 percent once in-state biodiesel production reaches 3 percent of total in-state diesel demand.
 
 The Washington State Department of Agriculture is developing rules to implement the standard, which was endorsed by the state's Apollo Alliance, Labor Council, Farm Bureau and environmental community. In addition, all state agencies will be required to use a minimum of B20 in all diesel-powered vehicles, vessels and construction equipment by June 1. 
 
 The standard contains a contentious caveat, however, according to some existing and future biodiesel producers. "It's not an enforced mandate," said Doug Bartlett, chief executive officer of Spokane County Biodiesel, a 1 MMgy plant under construction in Spokane Valley, Wash. "It's not like you have to do this or else." The company, which temporarily suspended construction in late December due to limited funding, plans to use yellow grease as its primary feedstock. 
 

 Meanwhile, Oregon is ramping up for a similar mandate that the state legislature passed in July 2007. It requires the use of B2 once in-state biodiesel production reached 5 MMgy, which recently occurred. It also allows for an increase to B5 once production reaches 15 MMgy.
 
 SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel LLC, Oregon's lone operating biodiesel plant in Salem, completed a major expansion from 1 MMgy to 5 MMgy at its three-year old biodiesel facility in early November. It uses waste vegetable oil as a feedstock, as well as locally grown canola oil processed at Willamette Biomass Processors Inc., an 80 million-pound-per-year oilseed crushing plant in Rickreall, Ore., 12 miles west of Salem. 
 
 Washington now houses six operating biodiesel plants with a combined production capacity of 141 MMgy, including Inland Empire Oilseeds LLC, which began production at its 8 MMgy canola-based facility in Odessa, Wash, in mid-November. By late December, it had sold 33,000 gallons of B100 and met all ASTM D 6751 specifications. The company, formed three years ago, plans to distribute its renewable fuel throughout the Pacific Northwest and export to Pacific Rim countries. King County, Wash., the largest biodiesel-consuming county in the U.S., will be the company's core trade area, according to General Manager Steve Starr. 
 
 Inland Empire Oilseeds also plans to build an adjacent oilseed crushing facility that can process approximately 35,000 tons of locally produced canola, Starr said. Expected to be operational by June 2009, it will supply up to 50 percent of the canola oil needed for biodiesel production.
 
 To help distribute biodiesel in this emerging market, Exxon Mobil Corp. built a $3 million blending terminal on its 15-acre fuel storage site in Spokane Valley, Wash. The facility, which opened Dec. 1, one day after the statewide B2 mandate went into effect, is Exxon Mobil's first in the U.S. The oil major said it will use a ratio blending process at the terminal's loading rack to ensure that an appropriate percentage of biodiesel is transported by truck to local service stations. Chevron Corp. has also announced plans to distribute B5 in Washington. Meanwhile, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP is evaluating the transportation of biodiesel in its 110-mile pipeline between Portland and Eugene, Ore.

Inland Empire Oilseeds LLC began biodiesel production in Odessa, Wash, in mid-November.

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Inland Empire Oilseeds will use canola oil as a feedstock and have the capacity to produce 8 MMgy.

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Washington B2 mandate in effect; Oregon soon to follow

Researchers at the Center for Renewable and Alternative Fuel Technologies at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky., are partnering with San Diego-based General Atomics to study the potential for converting cellulosic biomass into biodiesel and ultimately jet fuel. 
 
 General Atomics is best known for its affiliated company General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., the manufacturer of the U.S. military's Predator unmanned aircraft system.
 
 "We are very excited by this opportunity to work together with EKU to develop and deploy a technology that we believe has great economic, environmental and strategic potential," said Bill Davison, vice president of General Atomics' Advanced Process Systems Division, the group overseeing the company's biofuels development programs.
 
 "This partnership links Kentucky and EKU with an international business leader that is turning its focus and considerable resources to biomass-to-fuel initiatives," said university President Doug Whitlock. "This project is different in that it will be focused on the production of biodiesel and ultimately biobased jet fuel using nonfood cellulosic materials in a process that will utilize algae to convert the biomass into bio-oils. The research at EKU will determine both the optimal 'recipe' of cellulosic material and the economic feasibility of the project." He said EKU will also pursue opportunities to develop collaborative relationships with other colleges and universities.
 
 According to Bruce Pratt, chairman of EKU's Department of Agriculture, researchers will look at using commercially available cellulase enzymes to convert cellulosic biomass to sugars, which will then be fed to heterotrophic algae that can convert sugars to oils without photosynthesis. "These are not the phototrophic types (of algae) that use sunlight," he said. "These are membranous-type algae, and they are heterotrophic because we need to feed them the nutrients [they would otherwise get] from the sun. These strains of algae have very high oil content." The oils are then extracted from the algae and converted to biodiesel. 

 
 Pratt said the process is similar to how cellulosic ethanol is produced except the end product is biodiesel. "The similarity is that we're using biomass, and we're going to be digesting it to release the sugars," he said. "To get ethanol, you take those sugars and ferment them to make alcohol. Our difference is taking the sugars and feeding them to algae, and having the algae produce the oils." 
 
 The researchers are choosing to produce biodiesel instead of ethanol because biodiesel is a key fuel for heavy industry. "With biodiesel, you have a product that is going to have more industrial applications," Pratt said. "Diesel runs industry-our trucks on the road, our trains, our freighters out on the ocean, our jets-whereas ethanol is primarily a gas additive for the auto industry. Both of them are very important." 
 
 EKU scientists will analyze multiple nonfood feedstocks-corn stover, woody biomass, switchgrass and sorghum-to determine potential crop yields and the best feedstock for the conversion process. EKU will also identify which land in Kentucky might be cultivated for energy crop production without negatively impacting existing agricultural businesses.
 
 One of the project's goals is to provide Kentucky farmers with alternatives, Whitlock said. In particular, he said the project is "important to Kentucky's farmers looking for cash crops to replace tobacco, to the Commonwealth's carbon footprint and for making Kentucky a leader in an emergent technology." Pratt said tobacco stalks, a crop residue, might also be considered as a feedstock. "Kentucky's current economic situation makes this a critical time for the initiation of such a project," Whitlock said.
 
 Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear applauded the project. "It is vital that we examine innovative, long-term solutions to the energy issues we face," he said. "Due in part to our fertile farms, Kentucky has the ability to greatly contribute to the research and development of alternative fuel sources." 
 
 EKU will also examine the logistics of transporting feedstocks to regional processing facilities and determine the economic impact of energy crop production in the region. Uses for byproducts will also be explored. 
 
 As a partner, General Atomics will provide input on the cost of converting various feedstocks to biodiesel and will design the processing system that will produce biodiesel from cellulosic biomass. 
 
 According to the university, the project is being funded through a $4 million federal appropriation in the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance and Continuing Appropriations Act of 2009, which became law Sept. 30.

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EKU President Doug Whitlock announces the school's partnership with General Atomics to study the conversion of cellulosic biomass to biodiesel and ultimately jet fuel Dec. 1.

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Kentucky university, General Atomics to explore enzyme, algae process

Food prices remained high for months after the commodity markets tumbled in the second half of 2008, prompting groups such as the National Biodiesel Board and the National Farmers Union to ask why. 
 

 In an editorial written in December, NBB Chief Executive Officer Joe Jobe accused the food industry of fallaciously blaming government policies that support domestic biofuels production for record commodity prices, which food companies said in turn forced them to raise prices. "Something interesting happened on the way to the grocery store checkout line," he wrote. "The prices of corn, wheat and soybeans dropped dramatically, about 50 percent from their prices in the spring of [2008]." When adjusted for inflation, the price of soybeans is at its lowest level since the Great Depression, he pointed out, yet grocery prices haven't budged. Meanwhile, Kraft Foods posted net earnings of $1.4 billion in the third quarter of 2008, more than doubling its profits. "Besides Big Oil, can you name one other industry with such profits in the current economic malaise?" Jobe wrote. "It is clear today that the multimillion dollar public relations campaign financed by the Grocery Manufacturers Association to relentlessly drive the 'food-versus-fuel' farce was a smokescreen to divert our attention from the profits of the food companies. Biofuels, not yet fully understood by all Americans, was an easy scapegoat." 
 
 In November, the National Farmers Union asked U.S. Congress to reexamine the cause of high food prices. NFU Director of Communications Liz Friedlander said the union's intent was to "set the record straight on the true causes of food price increases," and the action may in turn repair the reputations of the ethanol and biodiesel industries, and the government policies supporting domestic biofuels production. She said the small business committee put the issue on its agenda for the upcoming session. "We're optimistic they'll take it up," she added. "The day before they did the joint economic committee hearings in the Senate, there was a story on the front page of the Washington Post about how a bagel shop in Bethesda was going to raise their prices because of ethanol. So we did the math, and there's 8 cents worth of wheat in that bagel, and they raised their price by 25 cents, blaming it all on ethanol. That is the sort of thing that gets on the front page of the paper, and we're trying to squash it." 
 
 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices increased 0.2 percent in November and 6 percent over the past year, while energy prices fell 17 percent in November. "It is clear that contrary to claims of food processors, retailers and others quick to criticize agriculture commodities, commodity prices have very little impact on the American consumers' cost of food," wrote NFU President Tom Buis in a recent letter to Congress. "It is equally clear that processors and retailers are pocketing the economic benefit of declining farm commodity prices and reduced energy costs without passing those savings on to the consumer." 
 
 The GMA and the Food Products Association's biofuels policy opposes new biofuel mandates, and supports the expiration of the ethanol tariff and ethanol, biodiesel and alternative fuels tax credits. The World Bank also blames biodiesel, ethanol and U.S. policies for the global hike in food prices. "The contribution of biofuels to the rise in food prices raises an important policy issue since much of the increase was due to EU and U.S. government policies that provided incentives to biofuels production," the organization stated. "Biofuels policies that subsidize production need to be reconsidered in light of their impact on food prices." 
 
 However, Jobe said high food prices appear to be the result of price gouging. "Gouging is a serious charge, for sure," he wrote. "What's more important: the bottom line of consumers or the food industry's billions in profits? No more excuses."

Buis speaks at a press conference addressing food prices in April.

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High food, low commodity prices raise questions

In mid-December, Buffalo, N.Y.-based Global Earth Energy Inc. announced plans to collocate a biodiesel plant with a chemical plant owned and operated by American Distillation Inc. in Leland, N.C. The situation gives the biodiesel plant access to tankage, personnel and a laboratory, among many other synergies.
 
 Global Earth Energy will rent the land, build the modular biodiesel plant and sell the finished product, and American Distillation will operate the plant once it's built. The two companies will share utilities, operators, truck scales and more, according to Will Oliver, technical director of American Distillation. "This decision is key to the success of a modern-sized biodiesel plant," he told Biodiesel Magazine. If [biodiesel plants] aren't attached to an operating unit, I think they have a harder time making it work. It's a volatile marketplace."
 
 Syd Harland, president and chief executive officer of Global Earth Energy, told Biodiesel Magazine that his company anticipates relatively no start-up costs for the facility that will initially produce 1 MMgy, possibly increasing to 5 MMgy if operations go well. "I've been looking at this for a long time," he said. "The problem is everyone wants to do 50 MMgy, but it's hard to get financing for that. The cost of oil is down. I think it's a better idea to start off small and see where we can go with that."
 
 Harland said potential feedstocks include palm oil, soybean oil and animal fats. "There are a lot of soybeans and fats in North Carolina, but it always depends on the best price," he said. Oliver pointed out that American Distillation is located directly on the shore of Cape Fear, which leads to the Atlantic Ocean. Both he and Harland said they are considering importing feedstocks or exporting excess biodiesel once U.S. markets are satisfied. 
 
 Attributes that attracted Global Earth Energy to North Carolina included production incentives, ideal weather and proximity to a large group of end users. Mild temperatures will allow the company to avoid costly infrastructure installations, such as heaters that are needed in the Northeast. Two military bases are also located near the plant. Fort Bragg, a paratrooper and special operations base, is 100 miles northwest of Leland, while Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base, is 55 miles northeast of Leland. "They are federally mandated to use biodiesel in noncombat equipment," Harland said.

 
 By June, Global Earth Energy hopes to begin installation, which will be handled by a construction company owned by American Distillation President Andy Simmons. A 40-by-8-foot concrete pad has been poured, and Harland is negotiating with equipment providers. "It's going to be easy because it's a small plant," Harland said. "At the same time, we have to prove in the long haul that we can make money with this." He mentioned the company is considering solar panels to bring electricity costs down.
 
 Global Earth Energy may sell its 1 MMgy modular design to individual North Carolina counties in the future, according to Harland, putting the production process closer to the feedstocks. Those plants would then ship their B100 to Leland, where it would be blended and distributed. "We are trying to make this a project where it helps people in North Carolina and those who want to be involved in a green business," Harland said. 
 
 The chemical plant, in operation since 1992, had been contacted over the years by seven or eight parties interested in building an adjacent biodiesel plant, according to Oliver. "Global proved most serious," he said. Harland pointed out the fact that Oliver is a chemical engineer, which will also benefit the biodiesel plant. "Until we get the plant in there, it's hard to say [exactly how things will progress]," Harland said.

Global Earth Energy Inc. will be collocated with this American Distillation chemical plant in Leland, N.C.

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North Carolina project plans collocation

In 1849, after the discovery of gold in California, some 300,000 ¡§forty-niners¡¨ flooded the state. San Francisco became such a thriving boomtown that it led to California¡¦s admission as the 31st state the following year. One hundred sixty years later, some 3,000 or so ¡?&bull;09ers are gathered back in San Francisco to prospect for energy. Under the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge, the biodiesel industry will meet for NBB¡¦s sixth annual conference to address the leading issues facing the biodiesel industry in the U.S. and worldwide. The number and significance of the challenges facing the industry has never been greater, and it will require the kind of leadership shown by Joe Montana as he led the 49ers to four Super Bowl championships. That is why the theme for this conference is ¡§Leading. Change. Now.¡¨
 
 Currently, one of the most important issues to the industry is indirect land use change (ILUC). A number of well-intentioned environmental groups and some not so well-intentioned biofuels opponents are strongly advocating that all biofuels policy consider global ILUC of various biofuels for the stated purpose of quantifying real global carbon benefits. Unfortunately, it¡¦s also sometimes for the unstated purpose of eliminating biofuels from energy policy.
 
 Trying to attribute global indirect carbon impacts to a given technology and policy is incredibly complicated, and accurate, generally accepted scientific principles do not exist. Trying to guess how the increased use of biodiesel in the U.S. might influence the planting decisions of farmers in Africa, and trying to quantify the impacts of those decisions given the infinite number of other government policies, weather impacts, currency valuations, etc., is currently impossible. This alarming fact is not stopping policymakers from embracing this concept. The numbers that are being generated by this questionable exercise are all over the map. 
 
 Even more alarming is that current efforts to measure carbon impacts of biofuels constitute a violation of a fundamental scientific principle: that statistical comparisons between two products must be based on the same boundary conditions and comparative criteria. This is as basic as apples and oranges. However, this elementary principle is being ignored today in biofuels-versus-petroleum fuels comparisons in order to make the case that continued reliance on petroleum is better than increased reliance on biofuels. This not-so-clever manipulation to intentionally rig the results in favor of petroleum is happening in two very significant ways: by calculating biofuels impacts based on a) incremental sources and b) indirect emissions (but making no such calculation for the comparative petroleum impacts). 
 
 Incremental source comparisons: Almost all of the ILUC analyses existing to date have compared the carbon dioxide emissions of future biofuels to the average carbon dioxide emissions of past petroleum fields, not the new sources of oil. Despite the fact that agriculture and biofuel technology continue to decrease their energy intensity, and petroleum extraction continues to increase its energy intensity, ILUC advocates insist that the opposite be assumed.
 
 If the targeted 36 billion gallons of renewable biofuels did not go into the fuel pool, what is it going to be replaced with? It won¡¦t be replaced with the relatively cheap and easy petroleum lying around in known oil fields waiting to be depleted. These are the kind of oil fields that used to exist in places such as Texas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, where you dig a hole and black gold comes gushing out of the ground. No, these fields have mostly been used up, and the ones that remain are in places such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela. 

 
 The petroleum-forever crowd likes to point out that the U.S. gets a significant portion of its oil imports from Canada. Canada¡¦s oil reserves are made up in large part by non-conventional petroleum such as tar sands. Extracting the petroleum from these sources requires significantly increased energy and intense land use changes. Since it is this more expensive and energy-intensive petroleum that biofuels will be replacing, it should be the material that biofuels are measured against. There are currently 18 billion gallons of petroleum being extracted from tar sands annually, and a projected 50 billion gallons per year by 2020. According to the Natural Resources Canada¡¦s GHGenius life cycle model, this material results in 10 percent to 25 percent more life cycle carbon dioxide than petroleum, depending on the oil sand location and the method used to extract it. Since biofuels impacts are being calculated using future sources (without consideration to technological advances in agriculture and new feedstocks), the same methodology must be applied to petroleum.
 
 Indirect Emissions: If the U.S. EPA and other policymakers insist on including indirect emissions in calculating life cycle carbon dioxide impacts, they must also consider indirect emissions in the comparative calculation for petroleum. In addition to a wide range of land use impacts for petroleum which are not being considered, there are carbon dioxide emissions associated with military activities that help to keep Persian Gulf oil flowing. Global indirect emissions must be considered for both, or neither, fuels if they are to be compared to each other. To do otherwise defies logic and violates fundamental scientific principles.
 
 Like the pioneers who came to San Francisco in 1849, we find ourselves in new, uncharted territory. Carbon policy is fast becoming the future of energy policy, and the outcome of these detailed comparison methodologies will determine biodiesel¡¦s role in our future energy mix. As we gather in the Golden State for our annual conference, it is critical that we recommit to unity in order to combat the continued attacks on our industry. Regardless of who makes it to the Super Bowl this year, I¡¦m rooting for the San Francisco ¡?&bull;09ers. ƒ¬
 
 Thank you, 
 
 Joe Jobe
 Chief Executive Officer
 National Biodiesel Board

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif.

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Miners for a Fuel of Gold in San Francisco

MARC-IV, a longtime consultant to the National Biodiesel Board, is pleased to announce that a familiar face to the biodiesel world joined the company in January. Rebecca Richardson has an extended history in both commodity-based association management and the biodiesel industry. Richardson will focus on fuel quality, state governmental affairs, technical support to state initiatives, and providing membership support and service to NBB members. 
 
 Based in Illinois, Richardson recently completed an 11-year tenure with the Illinois Soybean Association, where she held positions as communications coordinator, director of operations and most recently director of legislative and external affairs. Her primary duties with ISA included state lobbying efforts, membership development, strategic planning and corporate relations.
 

 In 2003, Richardson was instrumental in gaining a new state sales tax credit for biodiesel that mirrored a similar tax credit for ethanol. This sales tax credit continues to be a significant part of the backbone for biodiesel consumption in the U.S. The legislation was enacted during the summer of 2003 and will sunset in 2013. In addition to her successful lobbying efforts, Richardson convened and facilitated an Illinois biodiesel stakeholder group that continues to meet semiannually to discuss issues including fuel quality, infrastructure funding, education and outreach, and regulatory considerations.
 
 Prior to her work with the ISA, Richardson was director of education for the American Society of Animal Science and education manager for the American Oil Chemists' Society.
 Richardson is no stranger to biodiesel, MARC-IV, or NBB members and staff. MARC-IV, www.marciv.com, is dedicated to the commercialization of industrial products from agricultural resources. Since 1993, they have been instrumental in the research and market development of biodiesel in the U.S.

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MARC-IV hires Richardson

With the cold weather season upon us, the National Biodiesel Board is pleased to announce the launch of Bioheatonline.com, an exciting new Web site designed to educate customers and dealers on the beneficial properties of Bioheat fuel. Bioheat fuel is an environmentally friendly home heating oil blended with pure biodiesel. 
 
 Bioheat oil meets the increasing demand for cleaner and greener home heat. Bioheatonline.com was created with two goals in mind: to educate home heating oil customers and dealers on the benefits of Bioheat fuel, and to provide top-notch marketing tools for local heating oil dealers. With a simple, video-based approach, Bioheatonline.com features personable hosts who walk consumers through the basics of biodiesel and Bioheat fuel while explaining their benefits for our country, environment and homes. 
 
 For heating oil dealers, the site provides technical resources and clear, concise information about blending and selling Bioheat heating oil. The site also encourages heating oil dealers to register online to become Bioheat dealers. Once registered, dealers are given access to professionally produced advertising and marketing materials, customizable for their market, with the help of the Shaw Co., the campaign's creator and authorized facilitator. In addition to marketing materials, dealers have access to the Bioheat hotline at (877) B5-1-LINE, where they can discuss technical and market issues with the industry professionals at Advanced Fuel Solutions, which is led by Paul Nazzaro Sr. 
 With more than 100 Bioheat fuel dealers registered, the heating oil market is going green. Now it has all the tools to do it at <a href="http://Bioheatonline.com">Bioheatonline.com</a>.

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NBB launches BioheatOnline.com

The USA Today published a National Biodiesel Board opinion editorial response that corrected an assertion made by Kraft Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld that "40 percent of the food supply is being diverted for biofuels." This is false, and it gave NBB's response plenty of fodder, especially since Rosenfeld also called for decisions to be made with "facts and science." 
 
 The fact is that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has said that of the 10.4 billion acres of land that could be used for agriculture today, only 3.7 billion acres are used for food production. Of that, only 1 percent is used for biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. NBB's response can be found at <a href="http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/12/kraft-ceo-sprea.html">http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/12/kraft-ceo-sprea.html</a>.

NBB sets Kraft's inaccuracies straight in USA Today

Sprague Energy Corp. announced in December that it is supplying New Jersey's first biodiesel retail station. Its customer, Woolley Fuel Co. of Maplewood, N.J., has begun to offer biodiesel at its retail station at 12 Burnett Ave. While some larger New Jersey fleets have been using biodiesel in their commercial facilities for a number of years, this marks the first opportunity for the general motoring public to access this beneficial fuel.
 
 "Woolley should be commended for taking the lead in offering this environmentally friendly fuel to concerned citizens looking to offset our dependence on foreign oil imports," said Steven J. Levy, Sprague Energy managing director. "Woolley is currently pumping B5, a 5 percent biodiesel blend. They look forward to expanding to B20 in the near future. 

 
 Hopefully this will be the first of hundreds of stations carrying biodiesel throughout the state of New Jersey, joining the 1,200-plus biodiesel retail sites already existing throughout the United States."
 
 Sprague Energy founded in 1870 and based in Portsmouth, N.H., offers clean fuels through its network of terminals in the Northeast. Biodiesel is the latest addition to a clean product line that includes ultra low sulfur diesel, Bioheat and ethanol. Sprague was the first petroleum terminal operator and marketer to earn BQ-9000 Certified Marketer status under the BQ-9000 quality control program. Sprague Energy is a member of the National Biodiesel Board. For more information, visit <a href="www.spragueenergy.com">www.spragueenergy.com</a>.

Eric DeGesero of the Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey, left, and Steven Levy of Sprague Energy

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Sprague Energy, Woolley Fuel celebrate first N.J. retail station

New federal pump labeling laws took effect Dec. 16. The Federal Trade Commission requires labels to be displayed on all retail biodiesel pumps selling more than a 5 percent blend of biodiesel. The purpose of the labeling is to inform "consumers of the percent of biomass-based diesel or biodiesel that is contained in the biomass-based diesel blend or biodiesel blend that is offered for sale, as determined by the FTC." 
 
 The FTC labeling requirement together with the recent success of the biodiesel industry at ASTM International will provide easier access to the fuels marketplace for biodiesel. In fact, as the industry moves forward, biodiesel blends of 5 percent or less are simply considered part of the conventional diesel fuel pool and will meet the same ASTM D 975 performance requirements.
 
 Three categories of biodiesel blends or biomass-based diesel blends are addressed in the ruling:
 
 ›No Label Required: Fuel blends containing no more than 5 percent biodiesel and no more than 5 percent biomass-based diesel and that meet ASTM D 975.
 
 ›Labels Required: Fuel blends containing more than 5 percent but no more than 20 percent biodiesel or biomass-based diesel. 
 
 ›Labels Required: Fuel blends containing more than 20 percent biodiesel or biomass-based diesel.
 

 There are separate labels for biodiesel and biomass-based diesel.
 
 The NBB has an issue brief located at <a href="www.biodiesel.org">www.biodiesel.org</a>.
 
 The official labels are available for $1 at <a href="www.allthingsbiodiesel.com">www.allthingsbiodiesel.com</a>. The site also features other marketing materials such as a pump topper kit.

FTC labeling laws take effect

›Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group Inc. met three biodiesel production/distribution milestones recently. It partnered with Kellerstrass Oil Co., an independent fuel marketer in Odgen, Utah, to sell truckloads of pure or blended biodiesel, it received a $740,000 grant from the Iowa Power Fund to staff a new state-of-the-art biodiesel research and feedstock commercialization lab at its headquarters in Ames, and it celebrated the grand opening of Blackhawk Biofuels LLC in Danville, Ill., in November. Blackhawk Biofuels and REG acquired the 45 MMgy plant from Biofuels Co. of America LLC earlier this year.
 
 ›Great Plains-The Camelina Co. and the Bear Paw Development Corp. received a $50,000 grant from the Montana Agriculture Development Council to conduct a feasibility study for a new oilseed crushing plant that would ultimately produce feedstocks for biodiesel production. Great Plains is currently contracting with farmers to raise camelina in Montana, and neighboring states and provinces. Bear Paw Development is a regional economic development organization based in Havre, Mont.
 
 ›The state of Connecticut recently awarded 15 grants worth more than $3.3 million to support the state's biodiesel industry. Four grants were awarded to biodiesel production facilities through the Production Facility Grant Program. Recipients were Greenleaf Biofuels LLC, DBS Energy Inc., BioDiesel One Ltd. and CT Biodiesel LLC. In addition, three universities received funding through the Fuel Diversification Grant Program, while seven biodiesel distribution facilities will receive grants through the Distribution Facilities Grant Program, including Magellan Terminal Holdings LP. All three programs are funded by the state's Department of Economic and Community Development, and administered by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology. To learn more about the grants and their recipients, visit www.biodieselmagazine.com. 
 
 ›Fort Collins, Colo.-based Solix Biofuels, a technology partner of Colorado State University, raised $10.5 million in a Series A round of outside financing and reached an agreement with its investors for an additional $5 million to support the construction of a pilot-scale algae oil production plant in Durango, Colo. The oil produced at the facility will be used by biodiesel producers and the chemical industry, according to Chief Executive Officer Doug Henston. I2BF Venture Capital and Bohemian Investments led the Series A round. Southern Ute Alternative Energy LLC, Valero Energy Corp. and Infield Capital also participated. 
 
 ›The Buenos Aires, Brazil, office of Baker & McKenzie advised Biogreen Oil Argentina SRL in an agreement with the province of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, to foster the growth of jatropha crops to be used as a local biodiesel feedstock. The agreement calls for up to 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres) of land owned by approximately 4,000 farmers, which would receive jatropha planting assistance from Biogreen Oil. 

 
 ›Ohio-based Cognis Corp. recently announced a partnership with Biodiesel Analytical Solutions, a supplier of biodiesel quality testing solutions. Biodiesel Analytical Solutions will sell and support Cognis' QTA system, which uses infrared technology to digitize the light spectra of a biodiesel sample. The digitized spectra are sent to Cognis' central database via the Internet, where algorithms convert the spectra into quality measurements that can be viewed online. The process takes less than two minutes to complete, according to Cognis. 
 
 While Biodiesel Analytical Solutions will sell and support the system, Cognis will continue to maintain its online 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-per-week support. 
 
 ›German biofuels producer Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (Verbio) reported higher profits during the first nine months of 2008 due to increased biodiesel exports to Eastern Europe. The company said its biodiesel profits in particular were €16.4 million ($20.8 million). Verbio had been running at 94 percent of its 450,000-ton-per-year (123 MMgy) production capacity. 
 
 Meanwhile, German biodiesel producer Petrotec AG posted net sales of €41 million ($61 million) during its first half of 2008, up 29 percent from 2007. The company's production capacity is 185,000 tons per year (53 MMgy).
 
 ›Greenline Industries Inc., a California-based biodiesel equipment provider, has partnered with Georgia-based cotton gin equipment supplier Lummus Corp. to provide joint cottonseed-oil-to-biodiesel solutions to customers. Lummus will supply the equipment to delint the cottonseed, while Greenline will offer its waterless biodiesel production platform. 
 
 According to Lummus, a cottonseed's oil yield can range between 30 and 40 gallons per acre, depending on where the cotton is grown. 
 
 In other business news, Greenline added Gavin Carmichael to its sales team. He has 24 years of capital sales experience, two of which he spent as vice president of sales with a biodiesel equipment manufacturer based in Kansas. For 22 years, he sold manufacturing process automation equipment for Honeywell International Inc.'s Honeywell-Measurex division, representing the U.S., Africa and Asia, where he worked to establish new operations.
 
 ›On Nov. 20, Maas Cos. Inc. auctioned off Great River Soy Processing LLC, a 5 MMgy biodiesel plant in Lilbourn, Mo. Construction of the facility was completed in 2007, but it only operated for two weeks before shutting down due to high feedstock costs. A Maas Cos. representative told Biodiesel Magazine that the auction was successful, but the buyer remained unnamed at press time. 
 

 ›Texas-based GreenHunter Biofuels Inc. said it resumed operations Nov. 25 after being shut down for more than two months to assess and repair damage caused by Hurricane Ike. 
 
 The 105 MMgy biodiesel production plant sustained damage to offices, piping between reagent tanks, and some small and intermediate tank foundations. The company also reported a loss of nearly 50 barrels of canola oil. In order to pay for the repairs completed as of Nov. 25, the company said it utilized its existing working capital. It will also be collecting money from its various insurance carriers.

Blackhawk Biofuels LLC is on line in Danville, Ill.

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Producers' Choice Soy Energy LLC is under construction in Moberly, Mo.

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Great River Soy Processing LLC, a 5 MMgy biodiesel plant in Lilbourn, Mo., was auctioned in November.

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Business Briefs

Web exclusive posted Jan. 15, 2009, at 2:43 p.m. CST 
 
 The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a method to accelerate stability testing of biodiesel fuel and identified additives that enhance stability at high temperatures. 
 
 The results of the NIST work are described in the paper titled "Stabilization of biodiesel fuel at elevated temperature with hydrogen donors," and authored by T.J. Bruno, A. Wolk and A. Naydich. The paper is available <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ef800740d ">online</a>.
 
 Both oxidation and heating can cause biodiesel to break down, adversely affecting performance. These two effects usually are analyzed separately, but NIST chemists developed a method to approximate both effects at the same time while also analyzing fluid composition. NIST's advanced distillation curve method could accelerate and simplify testing of biodiesels, according to lead author Tom Bruno. NIST researchers used the new method to demonstrate the effectiveness of three additives in reducing oxidation of biodiesel at high temperatures, as would occur in aviation fuels.

 
 Antioxidants often are added to vegetable oils to retard oxidation during storage. The NIST work may be the first to enhance stability of biofuel at high temperatures, Bruno said. The study focused on three compounds, THQ, t-decalin and tetralin, which help neutralize highly reactive free radicals formed at temperatures above 300 degrees Centigrade (570 degrees Fahrenheit). Test results showed that all three compounds stabilized biodiesel. As expected from studies of aviation fuels, Bruno said, THQ and t-decalin performed similarly and outperformed tetralin. For solutions containing 1 percent additive, THQ performed best overall.
 
 The researchers demonstrated the testing method using a typical soy-based biodiesel. A distillation curve charts the percentage of a mixture that evaporates as a sample is slowly heated. Because the different components of a complex mixture typically have different boiling points, a distillation curve gives a good measure of the relative amount of each component. NIST chemists enhanced the traditional technique by improving precision and control of temperature measurements and adding the capability to analyze the chemical composition of each boiling fraction.
 
 To adapt the method for biodiesel, the authors made repeated distillation curves of samples and quantified the variation in parameters, such as temperature, for each distillate fraction across the different runs of the experiment. The results were averaged over the entire distillation curve to identify the range of variations that might occur. This range was extended to theoretically model the potential oxidative and thermal decomposition of the samples.

NIST develops faster biodiesel test method

Many biodiesel plants have felt the economic pinch when it comes to high feedstock prices. Therefore, while in the construction phase, several facilities look for ways to diversify their businesses before they start production to ensure profitability and sustainable operations. 
 
 Spokane County Biodiesel considered diversifying its output stream by producing a fuel additive for trucking companies in addition to biodiesel from yellow grease. "We're thinking of adding two gallons [of additive] per 100 [gallons of fuel], which would give you a 2 percent blend and also raise the cetane level to about 1,200," said Chief Executive Officer Doug Bartlett. "It makes sense to be a boutique fuel maker and distributor in the market we're in these days. We're figuring out how to diversify to survive in this industry." In fact, the company's 1 MMgy project in Spokane Valley, Wash., was temporarily suspended due to a lack of financing, but the company expected to receive a $250,000 loan from the USDA in December, which would allow it to resume construction. 
 
 Macon, Ga.-based Alterra Bioenergy of Middle Georgia employed a similar diversification strategy when it introduced its new biobased additive Alterra DieselMaxx in October. The company, which operates a 15 MMgy plant in Gordon, Ga., and is building a 30 MMgy facility in Plains, Ga., has distributed the product in Colorado and Georgia. It's currently being sold at truck stops and auto parts stores in gallon jugs that each treat approximately 400 gallons of fuel. 
 
 In other news, Delta American Fuel confirmed that construction of its 40 MMgy plant in Helena, Ark., is complete. Initial production has begun, and the company hoped to reach full production by early February, according to spokesman Bernie Crowley. The plant, which will use animal fats as a feedstock, sits just outside Helena along the Mississippi River, approximately 70 miles southwest of Memphis, Tenn.
 
 Interior work continues at Canada Inc., a 50 MMly (13 MMgy) plant in Sombra, Ontario. According to spokesman Steve Anthony, the company planned to install the first two of 10 5 MMly (1.32 MMgy) production modules in January. It intends to begin initial production while installing the remaining modules throughout the year and aims to achieve full production capacity by late 2009.

Plants Diversify Businesses During Construction

San Francisco's biodiesel industry has made great strides over the past several years. The city implemented a B20 mandate for the city fleet, started a successful waste grease collection program and has plans to build an innovative biodiesel production facility that will use brown grease as a feedstock. In the private sector, Darling International Inc. plans to build a biodiesel plant at the Port of San Francisco. At the same time, local cooperatives and nonprofits are stepping up their efforts to supply the community with biodiesel, while spearheading advocacy and educational initiatives. 
 
 Projects and Initiatives
 SFGreasecycle, the city's highly successful grease collection program, was launched in November 2007. The program is housed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's wastewater division. The SFPUC collects used cooking grease from San Francisco-based grease generators, including restaurants, schools and hotels free of charge. Currently, more than 500 restaurants participate in the program, says Karri Ving, SFPUC's biofuels coordinator. The waste cooking oil is hand collected by city truck drivers and brought to the SFPUC's transfer station, where it is heated, settled and filtered. The grease is then sold at discount to four local biodiesel manufacturers in rotation. 
 
 Restaurants that participate in the program are donating a valuable commodity to their community, Ving says, which will help the city reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. "Sometimes the cooking oil is worth money and sometimes it isn't," she says. "We want that material regardless of its market value. We want all of that grease to stay here in San Francisco to benefit San Franciscans."

 
 In addition to benefiting the community through supplying low-cost feedstocks to local biodiesel producers, the program also helps curb improper disposal of grease by restaurants. Ving says the SFPUC spends $3.5 million annually to dislodge fats and greases from city sewers and to address grease-related sewage backups. "The best way to address those problems is to divert that material right at the source, before it enters our sewer system," she says. 
 
 The next step for SFGreasecycle is the development of a residential grease recycling program. The residential program will include the establishment of grease collection sites within the city's household hazardous waste drop-off locations. Temporary post-holiday drop-off locations are also being established at local grocery stores. "Over Thanksgiving, we collected more than 450 gallons of waste cooking oil," Ving says. In the future, there is also the potential to expand recycling programs regionally. 
 
 In addition, the SFPUC is developing a demonstration-scale biodiesel plant that will convert brown grease into ASTM-quality biodiesel. The SFPUC received a $1 million grant from the California Energy Commission in May 2008 to assist with the project. The facility will be built at SFPUC's Oceanside Sewage Treatment Plant. 
 
 Construction on the project was scheduled to begin in January, and is expected to be complete in June. The plant will feature two phases of production, Ving says. "The first phase will concentrate on the trap grease, which starts as 97 percent water," she says. "The second phase will convert the substance into ASTM biodiesel. When we bring that pilot plant on line, we will be producing 300 gallons of ASTM quality biodiesel per day out of approximately 10,000 gallons of trap grease."
 
 The brown grease the plant will utilize is a true waste product with a negative market value, Ving says. "We are handling a marginal material that no one else wants, while showcasing developing technologies," she says. "For me that's the role of government."
 
 The ultimate goal of the project is to develop a tool kit and model that other municipalities can replicate at their water treatment facilities. "San Francisco is taking a leadership role in utilizing waste materials and bringing emerging technologies to market in a way that is not dependent on venture capitalism," Ving says. "A public utility will be able to absorb that trial and error period longer than a private company may be able to."
 
 A private company is developing another biodiesel facility within the city of San Francisco. Darling International plans to construct a 10 MMgy production facility near Pier 92 on the Port of San Francisco. The company has operated a rendering facility at the port since 1966. Darling International's biodiesel plant will be adjacent to the company's animal fats and waste vegetable oil rending facility. "That's a pretty big thing, to have 10 million gallons of biodiesel made right here on the doorstep of the city," says Eric Smith, director of Green Depot, a nonprofit that promotes the use of biodiesel.
 
 Community's Project Development Involvement 

 Many in San Francisco credit the Biodiesel Task Force with helping to bring public and private entities together to develop these projects and make biodiesel accessible to the community. The task force is made up of 17 members, seven are voting members and 10 nonvoting members. The seven voting members are appointed by the city's Board of Supervisors and represent the biodiesel community, such as fuel station owners, fleet operators and consumers. The nonvoting members are appointed to the task force by the heads of 10 San Francisco city departments and agencies. 
 
 The purpose of the task force is to facilitate the creation of a biodiesel fueling infrastructure that will provide the public with access to biodiesel and biodiesel-blended fuels. To do this, the task force recommends legislative actions and citywide strategies to the Board of Supervisors, including the development of incentives and ways to streamline the permitting process for biodiesel fueling stations. 
 
 "The Biodiesel Task Force has been an incredibly positive forum for the community to be able to get issues addressed directly through government officials," says Benjamin Jordan, a civil engineer who works with the People's Fuel Co-op and the Biofuel Recycling Co-op. "What the task force has done is tried to start removing the institutional barriers that were in place." This includes setting the stage for Mayor Gavin Newsom's B20 mandate for the city fleet. 
 
 According to Smith, the task force is also interested in ensuring that only high-quality biodiesel reaches consumers. "In the real estate market it's location, location, location," he says. "For the biodiesel world, it's quality, quality, quality." Although the quality of biodiesel sold in San Francisco has generally been high, it's important to make sure the city continues to receive high-quality fuel in the future, he says. 
 
 At the community level, nonprofits, such as Green Depot, and cooperatives are working to make biodiesel available to the public. "Green Depot is the home of all the other biodiesel nonprofit organizations in San Francisco," Smith says. Many of these organizations serve as user groups for retail biodiesel sales.
 
 "To sell biodiesel in California, you have to get a variance and you have to be a member of a biodiesel user group," Smith says. This is because biodiesel is considered an experimental fuel. The user group collects data on the sale, including the make and year of the vehicle and the kind of fuel that was purchased. That data is sent to the state, Smith says. Some groups offer the fuel at fixed locations, and others offer bulk fuel delivery or mobile fueling services. 
 
 In addition to providing consumers with access to the fuel, some co-ops, such as the San Francisco Biofuel Co-op, aim to serve members of the public by providing education and advocacy services. Others, including the People's Fuel Co-op, work to benefit fleet managers and fuel distributors. "People's Fuel, along with Community Fuels, City College of San Francisco and the San Francisco Department of the Environment are working together on a grant that is creating training curriculum for three types of biodiesel users," Jordan says. 
 
 These include those who use the product in their own vehicles, fleet managers and distributors. 
 
 The Future of Biodiesel 

 With the various community- and city-based projects in development, it seems the biodiesel industry in San Francisco will continue to grow. Ving credits Newsom for much of the city's progress. "It has been the leadership from the top that has given us the momentum to get agencies working together in ways that they are not used to," she says. 
 
 In addition to city leadership, many also credit San Francisco community members. "San Francisco is an early adaptor city," Jordan says. "We just have political support for it. 
 
 People in San Francisco are environmentally conscious and are ready for these types of programs." Over the past five years, he has seen community interest in biodiesel grow and change. Five years ago many people didn't know what it was, he says. Now, people are aware of it and want to learn more. 
 
 As more consumers become interested in using biodiesel, there is one major obstacle that could restrict retail access of the fuel. Biodiesel can't currently be stored in underground storage tanks, which limits the ability of many traditional fueling stations to offer the fuel to customers. According to William Rukeyser, the State Water Resources Control Board's public affairs director, the storage issue stems from the fact that underground storage tanks aren't currently certified by Underwriters Laboratory Inc. for use with biodiesel.
 
 The issue is expected to resolve itself fairly quickly once UL certification becomes available. "The issue is not about whether biodiesel can be sold or used as a fuel in California," Rukeyser says. "The only issue that we are dealing with is where it can be stored while it's awaiting sale."
 
 Resolution of the underground storage tank issue should help increase public access to biodiesel because more retailers will be able to offer the fuel using existing infrastructure. In addition, Smith and Jordan say they see the potential for a citywide biodiesel mandate in the future, similar to the mandate that has been implemented in Portland, Ore. "In Portland, every gas station within city limits selling diesel has to offer a B5 blend of biodiesel or higher," Smith says. "It was a little complicated, but they managed to get it done."
 
 Based on the success the community has realized so far, it seems likely the use of biodiesel will continue to grow. "I think we are going to be on the same path five to 10 years from now," Jordan says. "I think we'll have more biodiesel blends being used, not only within the city fleet, but the private fleets as well." He also expects to see the formation more public/private partnerships that will help celebrate the private industry's capacity and to develop energy recovery programs throughout the city. 
 
 Although biodiesel isn't necessarily a cheaper alternative to petroleum-based fuel right now, and can be difficult for many to afford, Smith says many choose to purchase it anyway. "Sometimes desperate measures lead to innovation and a burning desire and belief in doing the right thing and trying to save the planet," he says. "I think that's what San Francisco is about."
 
 Erin Voegele is a Biodiesel Magazine staff writer. Reach her at <a href="mailto:evoegele@bbiinternational.com">evoegele@bbiinternational.com</a> or (701) 373-8040.

A SFGreasecycle truck collects used cooking oil from area restaurants.

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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, far right, watches as city workers collect used cooking oil for the SFGreasecycle program.

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The People's Fuel Co-op makes bulk biodiesel deliveries to customers.

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San Francisco has taken the lead when it comes to creating a communitywide, multifaceted biodiesel initiative. The city serves as an example of what is possible when leaders and community-based grassroots organizations work together to better their community.

Biodiesel in the Golden Gate City

One of the appealing aspects of biofuels is that they come in familiar forms. From the standpoint of the consumer, ethanol and biodiesel are liquid fuels that are dispensed by nozzles attached to fuel pumps found at refueling stations. There is no electrical plug, hydrogen clamp or any other strange device needed to refuel. It is familiar. The journey to get biofuels to the retail pump is a different story. The infrastructure through which biodiesel moves from the production facility to the pump is built around liquid petroleum products-the similarities between biofuels and liquid petroleum products is the blessing, while the differences between them is the curse. B100 often requires heated storage tanks and injection blending equipment at terminals where biodiesel blending occurs. Because of the high priority put on jet fuel quality, concerns about moving biodiesel in pipelines through which jet fuel is transported, for fear of contaminating jet fuel with biodiesel "trailback," have obstructed progress in getting biodiesel accepted into the most efficient means of today's fuel transport. 

 
 A growing number of fuel terminals over the past few years, however, have begun to offer B100 tank storage and biodiesel blending capabilities, but the question remains: Is the necessary infrastructure in place to successfully implement the forthcoming U.S. biodiesel mandate? Furthermore, how does infrastructure come into play economically in establishing incentives to blend biodiesel at levels above the mandated amount? It is important to remember that any mandated volume is a floor, not a ceiling. Also, any federally mandated amount is the obligation of refineries to carry out and is designed to be tracked using renewable identification numbers, or RINs, associated with each gallon of biodiesel blended into on-road and off-road fuel supplies. 
 
 The term "infrastructure" refers to all the means required to get B100 fuel from the producer to the consumer in the desired blended amount. This includes railcars, barges, tanker trucks, adequate B100 storage, blending racks or other necessary equipment at the terminals, pumps, and the most efficient mode of infrastructural transport of them all-moving biodiesel in pipelines. Some may wonder why it's important to move biodiesel efficiently under a mandate. After all, it's the refiners' obligations, so let them worry about it, right? Not necessarily. If the refiners find it economically advantageous to blend biodiesel then they will have an incentive through the directive to blend biodiesel, but also there will exist an economic incentive to blend volumes higher than required by federal law. 
 
 It's also important to remember that virtually anyone affected by the biodiesel mandate can petition the U.S. EPA for a waiver under the new renewable fuels standard (RFS), as opposed to the previous RFS, which said only states could petition EPA for a waiver. Ostensibly, then, this could mean that the more economically refiners can blend biodiesel, the fewer petitions for waiver EPA might receive. "I think it is possible, and I think there is potential, for blending volumes of biodiesel above the mandated amount," says Gary Haer, vice president of sales and marketing for Renewable Energy Group Inc., a major biodiesel producer and marketer. "The mandated amount only impacts the refining business and the refining industry." Haer says over the past couple of years a market has been developed that is essentially independent of the refining market segment. "I see it as being incremental to the market today," he says. "So the factors that are going to impact that are, what the feedstock costs, and what the manufacturing costs are relative to the price of petroleum. The market could be huge and consume lots of biodiesel given the right price parameters. If those price parameters are not correct and do not provide an incentive to the market to consume biodiesel, then it will be lower." The cost-efficient distribution of that fuel is also an important factor in determining favorable blend economics to drive U.S. biodiesel consumption beyond the federally mandated amount. "It's strictly an economic question," Haer tells Biodiesel Magazine. "I think going forward that is going to be the deciding factor to how big the market will be."
 
 Examining the Question
 In late 2008, the EPA announced that because of the lack of mechanisms to implement the 500 million-gallon biomass-based diesel portion of the RFS, it would likely rule that refiners will not be obligated to meet the 2009 mandate volume in 2009 per se; but rather EPA may allow refiners to meet those requirements in 2010 along with the mandated volume of biodiesel required for blending in 2010, which is 650 million gallons. If no RINs are generated in 2009 from the 500 million gallons of biodiesel required for blending in that year, it would mean refiners would be obligated to blend 500 million gallons (from 2009) plus 650 million gallons required in 2010 by the end of that year; and conversely, any qualified biodiesel RINs generated in 2009 will certainly count towards the 2009/2010 combined volume. However, this has not been officially announced-only alluded to by EPA as a likely decision it will make. It is important to remember, however, that RINs generated by off-road markets can be sold to refiners to help obligated refiners meet their quotas. 
 
 So will the U.S. infrastructure be equipped to meet the mandate of one-billion gallons by 2012? Haer says that's a great question. "Is the infrastructure just sitting there today, not being utilized, ready for biodiesel to go into?" he asks. "No. But I think there are ways we can introduce biodiesel and biodiesel blends into the marketplace through the existing infrastructure that creates a real exciting opportunity for our industry in the future." He says ASTM's diesel specification, D 975, invisibly allowing up to 5 percent biodiesel in the spec, should facilitate the broader introduction of B5 as a fungible commodity that can move through existing infrastructure. "That's going to be a real solid mechanism for the big oil and the petroleum community to begin to look at biodiesel and blends, and how can it move through existing transportation infrastructure," Haer says. "It gets us thinking about pipelines, thinking about terminals, truck racks, loading racks, and everything utilized today to move petroleum. So it gives us a mechanism and an opportunity to blend in biodiesel and become a part of that fuel that moves through the existing infrastructure."
 
 James Holland, vice president of logistics for Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP, says this extra time could be critical to Kinder Morgan's work in proving out the feasibility of pipelining low-level biodiesel blends. "It means we have a little extra time to do more research, and it gives us the ability to look at our economics of scale when purchasing equipment-let's say to investigate pipelining biodiesel on a broad basis-how would you actually inject biodiesel in the pipeline and how much does it cost, and is it economically viable for your customers to go down that path," Holland says. 
 
 Plantation Pipeline

 Testing biodiesel shipments in pipelines isn't a new concept-Magellan Midstream Partners LP, World Energy, Growmark Inc., and other companies have done it in the past-but in late November, Kinder Morgan completed one of the nation's most recent test shipments of a biodiesel blend. The test involved injection blending of a B5 mix in a lengthy segment of Kinder Morgan's 
 
 Plantation Pipeline, which runs from Collins, Miss., to Greensboro, N.C. Kinder Morgan took over Plantation Pipeline operations in 2000 when it also became partial owner of the pipeline. 
 
 "We actually took some B100 from soy and put it in tanks at one of our facilities on the Plantation Pipeline, and then injected the B100 into ULSD (ultra-low sulfur diesel)," Holland says. "We did it at a rate to give us a B5 blend, delivered it to a downstream location, and then took some samples to verify we actually achieved a B5 blend and delivered it the way we were expecting. That part-the feasibility let's call it-to be able to blend biodiesel in proportion to the pipeline stream to come up with a B5 blend, we were successful at that." 
 
 Plantation Pipeline is one of the largest products pipelines in the U.S. and delivers more than 600,000 barrels a day of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel through its 3,100-mile pipeline network, serving large markets in the Southeast such as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. According to Kinder Morgan, the line consists of petroleum products pipelines connected to 34 shipper terminals in eight states, which are owned by petroleum refiners, marketers, and military and other commercial fuel users. Products are tendered to the Plantation Pipeline from nine refineries in Mississippi and Louisiana, from other products pipeline systems, and through marine facilities on the Mississippi River. 
 
 John Fay, manager of scheduling and quality control for Plantation Pipe Line Co., sent a letter to his customers along the line in September 2008, prior to the B5 shipment. The letter, forewarning its customers of the upcoming test, read: "Plantation Pipe Line Company will be conducting a test movement of blended B5 biodiesel in the near future in order to assess the operational viability of transporting this renewable fuel through its system. The batch will be specifically identified within the normal ultra low sulfur diesel sequence and transported in the CNG (compressed natural gas) pipeline. The CNG pipeline extends from Collins, [Miss.] to Greensboro, N.C., with several intermediate delivery locations. No aviation fuel is currently transported in the CNG pipeline." 
 
 The line in Fay's letter stating there is no aviation fuel being transported in the CNG Plantation Pipeline is critical. "That was one of the concerns expressed early on," Holland says. "[Customers wanted to know], what are the implications of this trailback into jet fuel? And, at that point, the engine manufacturers, who warranty the jet engines, said they wouldn't recognize their warranties if there was a problem and biodiesel was found in the jet fuel. So that pushed everyone away from pipeline applications." Holland agrees there is still the need, if a company intends to ship biodiesel via a pipeline segment that carries jet fuel, for a single parts per million test method to detect trace levels of biodiesel trailback in jet fuel; and jet engine makers still need to establish maximum trace levels of biodiesel allowable in jet fuel without causing adverse affects in their jet engines. 
 
 Additional Thoughts
 One could look at the relationship between the U.S. ethanol industry and the obligated refiners required to blend 11 billion gallons of ethanol into gas supplies in 2009, and wonder if ethanol can reach maturation without widespread pipeline acceptance. Why then should the much smaller biodiesel industry be concerned with pipeline movement at all in this stage of the game? Holland says there are a couple of different reasons. "No. 1, our customers are looking for the most efficient ways to transport biodiesel, or at least have it available commercially," he tells Biodiesel Magazine. "And second, when you look at some of the pending regulations, you may not be able to swap an ethanol RIN for a biodiesel RIN so that places a new emphasis on how they can comply with that regulation in the most efficient manner. If you can blend biodiesel the way we did into the Plantation Pipeline, then that saves everyone a lot of money by not having to put individual blending facilities in at each individual terminal." 
 
 There are and will continue to be growing numbers of terminals outfitted with B100 tank storage and blending racks. Railcars, tanker trucks and blending racks at individual terminals will all continue to be a mainstay in the biodiesel distribution network. But the ability to move large quantities of a fungible B5 blend strategically through the pipeline network can eliminate or help curb the costly and inefficient installation of new B100 storage tank capacity and specialized injection racks throughout the decentralized terminal network. "This would be another way to take advantage of those economics," Holland says. "You have potentially one single point where you can inject and make a blend as opposed to trying to equip each and every downstream terminal with blending equipment and also the infrastructure for bringing all of that B100 into each and every terminal." So, while the biodiesel industry may not need pipeline access to see fulfillment of the 1 billion-gallon RFS by 2012, the shipment of biodiesel blends through the pipeline infrastructure may provide that extra economic advantage needed to build the incremental market out beyond any mandated volumes. 

 
 Ron Kotrba is a Biodiesel Magazine senior writer. Reach him at <a href="mailto:rkotrba@bbiinternational.com">rkotrba@bbiinternational.com</a> or (701) 738-4942.

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Biodiesel Magazine talks with major U.S. biodiesel marketer Renewable Energy Group and midstream energy giant Kinder Morgan, about the preparedness of the nation's infrastructure to meet the forthcoming U.S. biodiesel mandate.

Entrée into the Majors

Benjamin Franklin is credited with introducing the Chinese tallow tree to the New World. In a letter from Franklin written in 1772 to Noble Wimberly Jones of the Georgia colony, he wrote: "I send also a few seeds of the Chinese Tallow Tree, which will I believe grow & thrive with you. 'Tis a most useful plant." (Bell 1966) Some curse Franklin for his generosity, however. That single species, Triadica sebifera, has spread across the South and coastal regions, earning it a reputation as an invasive species. Reports of its high oil yield have some evaluating the seeds for biodiesel production, while one developer serendipitously discovered the woody biomass contains extractable oil as well.
 
 In Asia, the Chinese tallow tree has a reputation as a highly productive commercial tree. China has 1,500 years experience in using the five cultivated species of tallow tree for multiple uses. The outer coating of the seed provides a vegetable wax and the leaves produce a silk dye. The kernel oil, called stillingia, has drying properties that make it useful in paints. The oil is used for soap and lamp oil. The Chinese continue to develop products from the tree, says Gary Breitenbeck, a professor at the School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences in the Louisiana State University AgCenter. Along with identifying pharmaceuticals, the Chinese developed a process to separate the oils and used the palmitic and oleic acids from the tallow to create a transfat-free shortening. Breitenbeck is hoping to attract a Chinese graduate student to LSU to help him translate Chinese research on the tree, and to evaluate and improve the tree. Breitenbeck says that while the Chinese have demonstrated the value-added potential of the tallow tree, he is the first to concentrate on developing it as a biodiesel feedstock. He sees great potential for the tree, but fears that two issues might sink it before he can tap into the possibilities. One is its invasiveness and the other is the potential for its premature commercial development that could result in low-yielding, unproductive plantings. 
 
 Invasive Concerns
 The invasive potential of the Chinese tallow tree is a serious concern that's been raised in the development of bioenergy feedstocks when the attributes that make the plant an ideal bioenergy crop are shared by plants that become invasive. The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology recommends thorough risk evaluations prior to introducing new species, or even new cultivars of native species with traits that may pose problems. CAST, a nonprofit organization of 38 scientific societies and individual members including students, companies and other nonprofits, publishes science-based material for legislators, regulators, policy makers, the media and the private and public sectors. CAST also calls for the establishment of eradication protocols prior to introduction. Invasiveness concerns are also being addressed at the federal level. One example is USDA's Biomass Crop 
 Assistance Program created in the last Farm Bill, which prohibits invasive species from being supported in the program.
 
 Breitenbeck agrees that introducing Chinese tallow into new regions should be done with great care, but in Louisiana and along the coast into Texas, the tree is already a pest, he says. "The first land I want to convert is land already in tallow trees," he says. "I figure we have 100,000 acres in Louisiana alone." Furthermore, cultivating the tree and harvesting the seeds may actually decrease its spread, he says. Breitenbeck says the Chinese tallow tree, commonly referred to as the chicken-foot tree, is reviled by many cattlemen in Louisiana but it doesn't have to be that way. "If the tallow tree establishes itself and is not mowed in the first year, in the second year when you mow it sends out dozens of shoots," he says. "It is easy to control under a reasonable pasture management system, mowing once a year or cultivating once a year." LSU has chemical control trials underway now, using a wick applicator to apply contact herbicides to kill seedlings without killing the pasture grass underneath, he adds. 
 

 Commercialization Potential
 Breitenbeck is excited about the prospect of developing the Chinese tallow trees into an income-producing crop for salt-affected and marginal lands. The coastal plains ecosystem is being impacted by rising sea levels and inundations from storm surges, he says. Hurricanes Rita and Ike carried seawater 50 miles inland, some of which drained within a few days, while some areas where the water was trapped were covered with saltwater for several weeks or even a year. There is hope that the land can be reclaimed to produce sugarcane and rice, he adds, but few crops and many tree species won't grow on salt-affected lands. "I had some jatropha plantings south of New Orleans that didn't survive," Breitenbeck says. "Fortunately, the plant that will survive and contain erosion is the tallow tree." 
 
 In addition to tolerating salt, the tallow tree grows well on marginal soil, tolerates prolonged flooding and occasional freezing temperatures, attracts few insect pests or troublesome diseases, and appears to be a low-input tree. "The tallow tree may be the ideal energy crop for biodiesel production along the Gulf Coast," he says. 
 
 As a biodiesel feedstock, both the outer coating and the kernel of the tallow tree seeds are high in oil content, as the seeds contain 45 percent to 60 percent oil. Commercial plantations in other countries typically contain about 160 trees per acre, which are trimmed low for hand harvesting. Yields average 12,500 pounds of seed per acre, which can produce 2,300 pounds of stillingia oil, 2,500 pounds of vegetable tallow, 1,400 pounds of meal and nearly 5,000 pounds of biomass waste. In China, the meal is used as a high-nitrogen fertilizer. Breitenbeck says commercially produced trees average 645 gallons of oil per acre and some experts cite yields as high as 970 gallons per acre. 
 
 In the U.S., however, wild tallow trees and the ornamental trees grown by many homeowners have wildly variable seed yields and oil composition. Some trees have virtually no seed production, particularly those growing in shaded conditions, Breitenbeck says. "I've looked at thousands of trees and have selected 23, with a couple that are outstanding in every way," he says. Work is progressing on growing the elite trees, and developing a micro propagation technique to aid research and commercialization. Research is needed to learn how much of the oil yield and composition depends upon genetics and how much depends on the environment. 
 
 Other research efforts are focused on developing agronomic management and machine harvesting. The uneven maturity of seeds and their waxy coating presents a challenge for mechanization. Researchers at LSU are experimenting with a harvesting method based on growing the trees in hedge-like rows. A boom-mounted sickle bar is used to prune the new growth branches containing the ripening fruit. The fruit on the young branches matures uniformly within a few days when it's allowed to dry on the ground, and can be harvested using a combine modified to accommodate the wax-covered seed, which is slightly larger than soybean seed. 
 
 In Georgia, where Franklin introduced the tree in the colonial period, retired businessman David Whetsell is taking another approach. In late November, he organized the first harvest of seeds from wild trees, which in Georgia grow 30 to 40 feet tall, using boom trucks and a vacuum collection system. Cooperators at the University of Georgia and Clemson University in South Carolina will be evaluating samples of the oil for use as a biodiesel feedstock and the meal as an animal feed. Whetsell wants researchers to verify the claims he's heard of 70 percent protein levels in the meal. The Chinese steam the tallow, which has a consistency of cocoa butter, off the seed while the kernel oil makes better biodiesel, he says. Whetsell is forming a company called Whetsell Energy to harvest and extract the oil. Investors are interested in developing the production, if this year's harvest and evaluation are positive.
 
 Oil from the Whole Plant
 California-based BioCentric Energy Inc. is taking an entirely different approach to commercializing the tallow tree for biodiesel. Dennis Fisher, chief executive officer, says his friend, Helmut Gass of Houston, Texas, had a tallow tree in his backyard and wondered if there was oil in the tree. "I call him my mad scientist," Fisher says. A series of experiments in Gass's kitchen and more testing in the laboratory established that the entire tree can be ground and the oil extracted. Bench experiments indicated that 38 percent oil can be extracted using a microwave process developed by BioCentric, Fisher says. The company is developing a new microwave technology for oil extraction from algae and bio oil derived from municipal solid waste processing. "We can time the frequency of the microwave so it only releases the hydrocarbon," Fisher explains. Once the oil is extracted from the Chinese tallow, a standard transesterification process makes biodiesel with a cloud point of 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Fisher says the waste biomass, which he calls green charcoal, can be used for heat.

 
 In mid-November, the testing of a 1-ton-per-hour microwave unit was successful, Fisher says. By late 2009, he expects the company to have a facility in operation on a 54-acre site in Orange County, Texas. The goal is to build up to 10 1-ton units at that location. "We thought about the agricultural approach, growing it in rows and every two years shredding the whole thing," Fisher says. "The Texas Department of Agriculture said not to even think about planting this- you'll need a variance." Fisher then turned to the contractors who remove the volunteer tallow trees that grow along highways. "I went to one of the yards where they chop these trees and lay them out on plastic to dry. They had 100 acres of land with piles 6- to 7-feet tall. As it turns out, they're willing to pay me to take it off their hands." BioCentric has contracts in place for a five-year supply of tallow trees, plus an industrial user interested in the green charcoal. 
 
 Susanne Retka Schill is a Biodiesel Magazine staff writer. Reach her at <a href="mailto:sretkaschill@bbiinternational.com">sretkaschill@bbiinternational.com</a> or (701) 738-4922.

The Chinese tallow tree is a potential feedstock for biodiesel, however, it's invasive nature could limit production, especially in areas where it isn't currently growing.

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Both the outer coating and the kernel of the tallow tree seeds are high in oil content.

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Initial analyses show that tallow tree oil can be processed into a quality biodiesel.

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The Chinese tallow tree may rival algae as a promising new biodiesel feedstock, if yield reports of 1,000 gallons of oil per acre are true. Its invasive tendency, however, has raised red flags.

Franklin's Gift

The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association hosted the 2008 Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit Dec. 1-3 at the Hilton Lac-Leamy hotel in Gatineau, Québec-a stone's throw from the nation's capital of Ottawa. Themed Growing Beyond Oil, the event addressed the progress, challenges and opportunities the Canadian biofuels market faced in 2008 and its continued expansion in the years ahead.
 
 The summit opened with the Parliamentarian Reception, where industry representatives gathered to network, create new business relationships and learn about companies and technologies that are dedicated to the development of the ethanol and biodiesel industries. Delegates networked and compared notes on how biofuels are viewed in the marketplace. While new research and developments in second-generation biofuels were of great interest, conversations also turned to corn-based ethanol, which is regarded by many as the backbone of the industry. "Corn ethanol still has a good future," says Paul Wheaton, president of AtlanTec BioEnergy Corp. in Nova Scotia. "Contrary to public opinion, it will continue to be a good bridge fuel for many years and even decades before something takes its place. It not only helps local economies but also moves us away from foreign oil."
 
 A political address by Gerry Ritz, minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and minister for the Canadian Wheat Board opened the second day of sessions, which included discussions of opportunities and challenges for ethanol and biodiesel in 2009.
 
 With the food-versus-fuel issue, the global economy and the current uncertainty in the status of the Canadian government on the forefront of the agenda, this year's speakers presented a wealth of knowledge pertaining to the present biofuels industry. 2008 was one of the most difficult years for the biofuels industry, so the theme of growing beyond oil was particularly relevant.
 
 Indirect Land-Use Issue Looms

 While the opportunities for ethanol and biodiesel continue to be plentiful with the promise of second-generation renewable fuels, speakers such as Bob Dinneen, president and chief executive officer of the Renewable Fuels Association, Joe Jobe, chief executive officer of the National Biodiesel Board, and Don O'Connor, president of (S&T)2 Consultants Inc., informed conference attendees that challenges still lie ahead for the industry. One of these challenges will be facing a new ethical debate. "Last year, food versus fuel [was the issue], next year [the issue] will be indirect land use changes," Dinneen said referring to the perceived notion of using too much land currently planted to food crops, for fuel production. Similar to the food-versus-fuel debate, the arguments do not present all of the facts. "The modeling efforts undertaken to date are woefully inadequate," O'Connor said, adding that idle land and the production of coproducts are often not considered. "We have seen a widening of the gap between developed and developing countries in terms of agricultural productivity and competitiveness," he says. "If we increase agricultural productivity, we don't need more land to produce biofuels." Perhaps one of the biggest challenges of all, according to Dinneen, is complacency within the general public. "I hope that we [can] recognize that our continued reliance on petroleum is perilous," he says. 
 
 Despite these hurdles, Dinneen, Jobe, O'Connor and others believe that 2009 could be a year of reinvention for the industry. For biodiesel producers for example, this year saw the end of the "splash and dash" loophole, which allowed sly exporters to be subsidized once by U.S. taxpayers and once by Europeans. On the ethanol side, General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC have all committed to producing flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs) from 50 percent of their vehicle lines by 2012, which will ensure a greater amount of FFVs on the road and therefore the need for more E85 refueling stations.
 
 The summit's luncheon keynote speaker, Robert Zubrin, author of the book, "Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil," received considerable attention. 
 
 Zubrin illustrated how money spent on fuel, which is now being sent to countries with ties to terrorism, can instead be used to help farmers in North America and abroad. He believes that switching to alcohol-based fuels will help safeguard homeland security and provide solutions for global warming and Third World development. Using a card game, trump suit analogy, Zubrin described the energy industry as a kind of strategy. There are four suits-oil, coal, natural gas and biomass-and right now oil is the trump suit, he says. 
 
 Zubrin made it clear that it is imperative we find a "new energy trump card," and indicated that biofuels could be the answer in our effort to displace our dependence on oil.
 
 Many other suggestions such as implementing a cap-and-trade system were also discussed as options, which speaker Dave McLaughlin, president and chief executive officer of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy believes is the key to the long-term reduction of emissions in North America. Implementing a carbon policy however is still a few years away, and is fully dependent on the Canadian federal government. Currently, the Conservative government supports the development of a cap-and-trade system, which it proposes to implement between 2010 and 2015.
 
 Industry Advancements 
 The promise of new technologies and the production of second-generation biofuels shed light on the expansion of the industry. Enerkem's waste-to-fuel facility in Edmonton, Alberta, is set to revolutionize the industry and urban centers across Canada by creating a link between waste management and renewable fuels. On the economic side, developing the industry from a financial perspective was also discussed to encourage advancements in the renewable fuels sector. "Many people thought that with all the bad press, there was no money available for first-generation technologies, but that is not the case," says Vicky Sharpe, president and chief executive officer of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a federal initiative whose mission is to build a sustainable development technology industry in Canada. According to SDTC, $1.2 billion in public funding has been invested in next-generation technology in the areas of enzymatic hydrolysis, gasification, algae and biobutanol. This is a significant amount of money as next-generation fuels will account for 3.4 percent to 5.5 percent of the market share or global biofuels production by 2014. "More than $200 million in venture capital has been invested in 16 Canadian companies [so far]," Sharpe says.
 

 Five companies were recognized for outstanding achievement in the industry at the Green Fuels Awards Reception and Gala. Esteban Chornet, founder of Enerkem, received an award for outstanding dedication to the advancement of renewable fuels in Canada. GM received the achievement in promoting the use of renewable fuels in Canada award and new producer awards were presented to Integrated Grain Processors Co-op and Terra Grain Fuels, for their efforts in developing the biofuels industry. As the industry continues to wrestle with opponents, it is also developing a strong foundation in policy, marketing, technology, and research and development. "Economists tell us of the future and historians tell us of the past," said Jeff Passmore, incoming chair for the CRFA in his closing remarks. "It's only the present that's confusing." And however true that may be, the overall attitude among delegates at the summit continues to remain positive. "I always look forward to the summit and being around people in the industry," said Gary Malone, general manager of AtlanTec BioEnergy. "It gives me the opportunity to interact with like-minded people who understand the benefits of ethanol." 
 
 Khalila Hammond is the managing editor of Bioenergy Canada. Reach her at <a href="mailto:khammond@bbiinternational.com">khammond@bbiinternational.com</a> or (519) 576-4500. This feature appeared in the January issue of Bioenergy Canada.

"Right now, oil is trump and we are losing because the other side holds all the trumps," Zubrin says. "To win, we need to change the fuel trump."

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Sharpe explains how the NextGen Biofuels Fund will jump-start the development and production of next-generation renewable fuels in Canada.

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This year's fifth annual Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit was packed full of interesting speakers, new ideas and predictions for the biofuels sector. Industry leaders gathered from around the country to discuss policy, marketing and the need to look beyond the traditional notions of our fuel needs in an effort to 'grow beyond oil.'

Growing Beyond Oil: The 2008 Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit

It is hard work getting an industrial plant built. Developers need to find a site with easy access to infrastructure for water, power and transportation yet not too close to residential or commercial areas that may object to noise, traffic, odor or any number of other inconveniences. They must then contend with a thicket of agencies, starting with local zoning boards and state pollution control agencies and sometimes even needing federal approvals before they can start pushing dirt and laying foundations. Even then, community residents and outsiders, who may believe they weren't consulted properly can still swoop in and cause more headaches with lawsuits and media campaigns designed to delay or stop a project.
 
 These problems can be magnified when a project is a "first-of-its-kind" facility for what promises to be a booming industry in the future. Algae production for biofuels, biomass, chemicals and other products faces these challenges. Companies pursuing algae production could learn from previous generations of alternative energy production, says Peter Mostow, a partner with Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, a law firm that works with many clean technology and renewable energy firms.
 
 Mostow says the experience of developing wind power and ocean energy show the importance of siting and permitting in bringing a new industry to commercial-scale production. The two industries started to develop about the same time but, while wind power companies have added thousands of megawatts of capacity in the past two decades, ocean energy has barely gotten out of the starting gate. "Like algae, these were green sources of energy, so you would think they would have the support of environmental regulators," Mostow says. "But what we discovered in getting the first generation of really large-scale wind farms permitted and what we have discovered getting ocean energy projects permitted is that you don't get any breaks just because you're green."
 
 The experience of the first large wind farm in the United States at Altamont Pass, Calif., was important for the future development of wind energy in the U.S. Birds of prey, including eagles and condors were killed in unacceptably large numbers by the whirling windmill blades. Research done at the pass found that taller windmills with larger, therefore slower moving, blades lowered bird mortality significantly. The first of the modern generation of wind turbines were also built largely on private land, allowing them relief from the scrutiny that accompanies projects on government-owned property. "There wasn't all the big-time federal review that has to go on, so people were able to get the local regulators over the unknowns and allow the projects to go forward," Mostow explains. "Altamont Pass was almost like Three Mile Island for the wind industry. But with a combination of good science and some patience, the industry got past the bird kill issue. As a result, we have seen something like 15,000 megawatts of wind energy installed in the past 10 years."
 

 Ocean energy is subject to additional layers of permitting because of the complex and sensitive environment of the oceans, not to mention an additional layer of federal environmental oversight. Study after study has been required to estimate impacts on everything from beaches to marine mammals such as whales and dolphins. "It is completely and unavoidably federal because of the federal control of offshore waters," Mostow says. "You are always going to need an Army Corps of Engineers' 404 permit. You are always going to deal with the Marine Minerals Management Service. You have the Endangered Species Act so you have the National Marine Fisheries Service involved. Their attitude has been that we don't have the science to understand the impacts and nothing will be permitted until we do."
 
 Lessons for Algae
 Research and development in algae production has largely been guided down three tracks­-open and covered ponds, photobioreactors and fermenters-with the first two being the most widely pursued. Mostow says the technology an algae production company develops will have a significant impact on the siting and permitting process. Photobioreactors are more likely to be located in industrial zones and fit into regulator's comfort zone. Therefore, Mostow believes, the permitting for those plants is likely to resemble the process for permitting ethanol or biodiesel plants. While permitting for such plants can sometimes be lengthy, it isn't as complicated as getting permission for more extensive facilities. "Traditional ethanol, for example, just isn't that big a deal because it's just been an industrial building done in an industrially zoned area," Mostow says. "It's almost nothing from a permitting context other than the air permits." 
 
 "Photobioreactors could look a lot like an ethanol plant or industrial-type facility," Mostow says. "They may not have any special permitting issues at all. They'll need water and have wastewater discharge, similar to ethanol or biodiesel. There may be some level of air emissions, but it just won't be anything different."
 
 While growing algae in ponds may not be as technologically challenging as creating a working photobioreactor, siting and permitting a facility that covers hundreds and possibly thousands of acres could give photobioreactors an advantage at least in the short term. Much of the attention given to developing pond-based algae production in the U.S. has been centered in the Desert Southwest because of its open spaces and intense sunshine. However, deserts are far from just being empty space and are home to many rare and endangered plant and animal species. "Several thousands of acres of ponds will raise a number of issues," Mostow says. "You are going to get the wildlife agencies more concerned with attracting wildlife and increasing mortality. What happens if birds drink the water? Will you have to net the ponds? All of these issues have come up with [permitting] power plants."
 
 Additionally, the federal government owns much of the land in these states, including more than 40 percent of New Mexico, 50 percent of Arizona and 80 percent of Nevada. This means a project of any size is likely to require at least some federal acreage. "It's hard to get a large area for a project without needing some federal land," Mostow says.
 
 The ideal location for a pond-flat and sunny-is also an ideal location for thermal solar electricity production. Thermal solar is a more mature industry than algae, Mostow says, and many of the prime locations have already been leased for solar development. "Solar collectors will take one or two square miles and blanket that area with mirrors or collectors," Mostow says. "So a lot of good spots are completely leased. The solar people are also finding that there are permitting issues with those parcels of land even though they look completely barren. They often have endangered tortoises or fringe-toed lizards or that kind of thing. And when you blanket an area with mirrors or ponds you totally change the ecosystem."
 
 Another problem, which has come up in wind and solar energy development, is that local zoning codes don't anticipate the creation of a new industry. "You often get into the issue of whether some designation in the zoning code-food processing or fish hatchery-covers you or whether you need to amend the code to cover your new kind of facility," Mostow says. "That might be a safer process even if it does take a couple of extra months."
 
 Another concern with locating these ventures in the Southwest is the region's history of contentious water issues. Even projects that tap nonpotable saltwater aquifers will have to deal with wastewater treatment and disposal issues in a region where fast-growing cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix keep a watchful eye on any threat to the quantity and quality of water available.

 
 Algae ponds also differ from wind power in that it will totally change the land-use pattern, Mostow says. A wind farm requires only a small percentage of the area leased for the actual towers and support structures, allowing existing landowners to continue using the area for ranching, farming or other activities. As with the solar collectors, the land for algae ponds must be nearly fully dedicated to energy production. The practical effect is that developers need to purchase any private land for their facilities rather than leasing development rights from the current landowner. "You may as well buy the land, because nobody will be doing anything else on it," Mostow says.
 
 Another issue facing the development of open ponds is the use of genetically modified strains of algae designed to produce specific products. There are concerns about such organisms being released into the environment, and these concerns are multiplied for open-pond systems compared with keeping the organism isolated in a closed photobioreactor.
 
 Breaking Barriers
 While siting and permitting concerns are significant for algae development, Mostow doesn't think they are insurmountable. In fact, algae photobioreactors that are collocated with existing power plants as a carbon dioxide source are likely to have a relatively easy permitting process as much of the infrastructure for the facility will already be in place. "For those kinds of facilities I see permitting as a low barrier to entry," Mostow says. "I don't anticipate that permitting will be a real factor in the growth and development of the technology. The real factor will be does it work?"
 
 Permitting will be a more substantial issue for open-pond facilities. Mostow thinks that the permitting issues for large-scale ponds will be as significant as those for solar thermal collectors and possibly as limiting as ocean energy if federal lands are needed for the project. "Solar thermal is not growing at the same rate that wind energy has," Mostow says. "Part of this is absolutely that there are greater permitting challenges and a lot more of it is on federal land. It is a guess because there isn't an algae industry yet, but I think it will be more in that camp. I would say that is a middle area of permitting difficulty, compared with ocean energy, which has been completely stymied by permitting and federal jurisdiction issues. I don't think algae will have that big of a roadblock."
 
 A final key to keeping permitting problems to a manageable level is working with area residents, communities and decision makers to increase their comfort level with algae development. "There are two things budding algae producers can do, and it is the recipe the wind industry used," Mostow says. "First, understand what the most significant issues will be both in the minds of regulators and citizens in that community. You need to know if you have adequate science to address those issues and understand if they are real or not and act accordingly."
 
 Mostow says the wind industry knew that bird mortality would be the biggest issue and developed new projects and technology to minimize that factor. They also did the science that was necessary to show regulators and the public that the changes they implemented worked.
 
 "No. 2, is practicing engagement with communities early," Mostow says. "I think you can trade on the 'green' aspect, the positive karma if you will, of these projects. But you can only do that if you are out in front of the issue and being proactive. If something comes up that makes it seem like you don't care about it or address it then no one cares if you are a renewable energy source or clean fuel or anything like that. They'll just think you don't care about the environment and then you have lost that chip." 
 

 Jerry W. Kram is a Biodiesel Magazine staff writer. Reach him at <a href="mailto:jkram@bbiinternational.com">jkram@bbiinternational.com</a> or (701) 738-4920.

The illustration shows a future algae farm surrounding an integrated fossil carbon input plant and an algal biomass conversion plant.

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While photobioreactors such as this one being developed by Valcent Products Inc. are much more technologically complex than open ponds, they may face fewer permitting challenges as the algae industry becomes established.

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Algae developers are riding a wave of interest due to the single-celled plant's ability to grow rapidly and produce valuable products that can be used to make biodiesel. How industrial algae plants will be configured is yet unknown, but producers will face the same problems as other alternative energy producers-where to put the facility and how to get 
government permission to build it.

Permitted Ponds-Siting Hurdles for Algae Development

In the search for new biodiesel feedstocks, a big part of the success for oilseeds is how the meal stacks up compared with the gold standard of protein supplements-soybean meal. Soybean meal is a dominant protein supplement globally and the soybean crush is primarily driven by demand in the feed market. That's probably a good thing, as soybeans contain about 80 percent meal and 20 percent oil. Even with a ratio that favors meal, the U.S. biodiesel industry got its start when the soybean industry was looking for alternative uses for their oil surplus. Soybean oil stocks are still plentiful, even with increased biofuels use, but the recent run up in commodity prices has biodiesel producers looking to diversify their feedstock base. The search is not only driven by the quest for economical feedstocks, but also with one eye on the food-versus-fuel debate. Preference will be given to new feedstocks that do not displace food crops.
 
 Camelina Meal Niche
 Camelina could be the first of the new oilseed feedstocks to approach commercialization (see "Oilseed Comes of Age" in the November 2008 issue). In the arid West, camelina may diversify the typical wheat-fallow rotation as it would have a minimal impact on wheat production. Several biodiesel producers are promoting the crop in Montana and neighboring states and Canadian provinces. A number of trials are just getting started to evaluate its performance in other regions. 
 
 Camelina yields can be as high as 2,000 pounds per acre and the seeds produce about 40 percent oil, leaving about 60 percent meal. Although the meal and oil content make camelina a promising feedstock for biodiesel, the meal can't be used as a feed supplement for animal production that eventually becomes human food without the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That has prompted the two main competing camelina promoters-Great Plains-the Camelina Co. and Sustainable Oils Inc.-and others to work together to get FDA approval. The camelina consortium is seeking FDA's generally regarded as safe (GRAS) rating. The cost to run tests on all the target species of animals, including poultry, fish, swine and beef could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars-hence the cooperation among competitors. 
 
 While older crops weren't put through this level of scrutiny, new crops such as camelina, field pennycress, algae, seashore mallow, moringa, Chinese tallow and others in development need the GRAS designation before the meal can be fed. Eric Murphy, an associate professor in the department of pharmacology, physiology and therapeutics in the University of North Dakota's school of medicine argues that camelina is not a new crop. He is working with Great Plain's founder, Sam Huttenbauer, on camelina's FDA application. Camelina has been grown in Europe for centuries and is used in Finland as a salad oil. The oil also has an excellent shelf life. The meal, however, is not considered safe by the European food safety agency, Murphy says, which is partly a result of the continent's efforts to protect its dominant oilseed crop-rapeseed. Europe's treatment of camelina impacts the FDA's attitude toward the oilseed crop, he says.
 
 Camelina's glucosinolate content is the main concern in feeding the meal. Glucosinolates are the compounds that give mustards their kick, and renders mustard meal unpalatable for feed. Camelina actually has lower glucosinolate content than canola, but because data is scarce on the new crop, the FDA won't accept that argument, Murphy says. Also, the glucosinolate found in the oilseed crop is unique to camelina, he adds. Besides its unpalatability, glucosinolates affect thyroid function, which in animals can result in a failure to thrive or put on weight. Because poultry are the most sensitive to the compound, the first feed trials are being conducted on laying hens. The FDA needs to determine if the glucosinolates will pass through the feed, into the eggs and potentially cause thyroid problems in children who eat those eggs. Although FDA doesn't conduct the tests, it has to approve the researchers contracted to conduct the trials and the research plan. 
 
 A successful outcome in the poultry trials could be a boost for camelina meal. In addition to addressing the FDA concerns, the trials will evaluate how feeding camelina meal 

 impacts egg production and quality, and to determine if its high Omega 3 content will pass through to the eggs. If those tests are positive, camelina could become a high-value feed supplement for poultry, which are the largest consumers of soybean meal. Furthermore, Omega 3-rich eggs command a premium price among health-conscious consumers. 
 
 The FDA poultry ruling is expected early in 2009. An FDA-approved cattle trial is set to begin in the summer, Huttenbauer adds, and future trials will cover broiler hens, swine, dairy cattle and fish. Camelina has received a waiver for limited feeding in Montana, where up to 2 percent is allowed in beef cattle rations. "The problem is that putting only 2 percent in a ration doesn't seem worthwhile to manufacture the feed," Huttenbauer says. 
 
 Measuring Up to Soy Meal
 Completing the feed trials and securing FDA's GRAS designation are the first steps in moving camelina meal into the animal feed market. The next is getting animal feeders, who will measure its performance against soybean meal, to accept the camelina meal. Animal feeders prefer soybean meal because it complements corn nicely in a feed ration, says Greg Lardy, a beef nutritionist at North Dakota State University. Last year, he wrote a paper titled "Biodiesel Benefits for Cattle Producers: Feeding Byproducts of Biodiesel Production" for the Western Organization of Resource Councils, many of whose members are interested in farm-based crushing and biodiesel production. "A lot of people were interested in biodiesel when diesel prices went up," Lardy says. With oilseeds yielding between 20 percent and 40 percent oil, that requires finding a use for the remaining 60 percent to 80 percent. "For on-farm processing, farmers will have to make the linkage with a meal market," he says. 
 
 Lardy reviewed various oilseed feedstocks and compiled data comparing the oil yields and the nutrient composition of several whole oilseeds and the nutrient content of the meal (see Meal Comparison chart). He also determined the nutrient content of the various meals using different extraction methods. Unlike large industrial crushers who typically use hexane extraction because it removes nearly all of the oil from the seeds, smaller crushers generally use expeller extraction, which leaves more residual oil in the meal. The residual oil becomes a positive in cattle feed rations, Lardy says. "It gives a substantial increase in energy so you don't need as much energy from the other grains used," he says. 
 
 All meals are compared with soybean meal, which is highly digestible, low in fiber, high in protein and has an excellent amino acid profile. Soybean meal's performance has made it the preferred protein source in most swine and poultry diets, two of the largest markets for protein meal in the US. 
 
 <center><img src="/images/upload/20090116123751.jpg" alt="" /></center>
 SOURCE: GREG LARDY, NDSU, FOR WORC
 
 Camelina has a crude protein content of 27 percent, which jumps to 36.5 percent in meal that's been mechanically extracted. Huttenbauer expects most camelina will be cold pressed, which leaves some oil in the meal and drops the protein proportion. (That effect can be seen in the Meal Comparison chart, where the solvent extraction method produces the highest percentage of protein. Protein levels decrease using mechanical extraction and decrease more using a less efficient on-farm press.) Huttenbauer sees residual oil content as an advantage, however, as oil is often added back into rations produced using the hexane-extracted meal. 

 
 Among the alternative oilseeds being considered to supplement soy oil, canola has been around for a long time and canola meal has found its niche in the dairy industry. California dairies, in particular, buy canola meal from the Northern Plains, partly because it is closer for shipping purposes than Midwest-produced soybean meal. At better than 40 percent protein, the meal has a lower protein content than soybean meal's 50 percent protein. Canola could serve as an alternative oilseed in southern regions of the U.S., where winter canola can provide a cover crop with good yield potential and minimal inputs. A winter canola crop could provide another revenue stream for farmers, and not compete with summer crops planted after the canola is harvested in the spring.
 
 <center><img src="/images/upload/20090116123756.jpg" alt="" /></center>
 SOURCE: GREG LARDY, NDSU, FOR WORC
 
 Canola is also being considered for remediation of selenium-impacted soils in California. Gary Banuelos, an animal scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Parlier, Calif., is growing canola on high selenium soils, and testing the meal for feed while the oil is used for biodiesel production. The canola was grown on land where the soil and water are too high in selenium to grow food crops. The selenium-rich canola meal is being fed to dairy cows in another area where the micronutrient doesn't occur naturally in the soil and has to be added to feed rations. If successful, it would create a new use for canola in soil 
 remediation and new markets for the enriched meal.
 
 Oil crops without feed applications also have potential uses. Jatropha developers, for instance, say the meal can be used as a natural fertilizer to grow the small trees. Scientists involved in field pennycress evaluations have explored the meal's potential as a natural soil fumigant. Last on the list is to use the meal as a feedstock for biomass power and heat. While that is often considered the lowest value application, the high energy costs experienced in 2008 may just move the value of the meal to produce bioenergy closer to its value as feed-leveling the playing field for new alternative oilseed crops. 
 
 Susanne Retka Schill is a Biodiesel Magazine staff writer. Reach her at <a href="mailto:sretkaschill@bbiinternational.com">sretkaschill@bbiinternational.com</a> or (701) 738-4922.

As new alternative oilseeds are considered for biodiesel production, a big consideration is whether there will be a viable market for the meal.

Meal: More Than Just Chicken Feed

Biodiesel as an alternative energy source is not a new concept. In fact, Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine, explored the use of vegetable oils as engine fuel more than 100 years ago. Today, thanks to high energy prices, the need to reduce dependence on foreign oil and heightened concern regarding the environmental impact of fossil fuels, biodiesel is a viable, cleaner alternative to traditional diesel fuel. 

 
 In the heart of the mid-American grain belt, one company is doing its part to make biodiesel more readily accessible to consumers. In 1996, West Central Co-op built its first biodiesel plant in Ralston, Iowa. The co-op was interested in bringing a new product to market using the oil byproduct of meal, one of its existing soybean products. The offering tapped into a new market of alternative fuel for mobile diesel engines, mostly for farming, industrial and fleet industries.
 
 Due to the high demand for its biodiesel product, West Central Co-op began marketing premium biodiesel fuel in 1998. By 2002, the co-op operated a 12 MMgy production facility in Ralston-one of the world's most sophisticated continuous flow processing plants for turning soybean oil into premium biodiesel fuel. Now known as Renewable Energy Group Inc., the company's network has seven operational biodiesel plants that each produce 30 MMgy to 60 MMgy of biodiesel. In addition, the company will own or operate three more plants that are either under construction or in preconstruction stages. Today, their production capacity is more than 300 MMgy.
 
 The Challenge
 In 2002, when the co-op was operating as a single, multi-product plant in Ralston, REG automated most of its biodiesel-making process using a programmable controller. Pulling real-time data from a programmable controller and human-machine interface, the co-op used a basic reporting system that allowed the press plant to buy beans from the elevator in real time, while calculating the yield of oil meal-to-bushels used. However, the plant was producing biodiesel one batch at a time, which resulted in down time that required operators to wait for tanks to be emptied before continuing production. In addition, some steps of the process were performed manually, such as adding bags of catalyst chemicals to initiate the biodiesel-making process or moving hand valves to route each batch to the next tank during production.
 
 Though it was feasible to process oil into biodiesel using this simpler automated batch system at the original Ralston facility, REG knew that as it expanded, additional automation would be necessary to keep costs reasonable and to produce biodiesel at an efficient rate. To meet this need, the company wanted to standardize on a process control system across its existing and future biodiesel plants. This standard system also would help simplify troubleshooting, maintenance and training, regardless of plant location.
 
 The Solutions
 REG turned to its trusted systems integrator, Interstates Control Systems, a Rockwell Automation solution provider, for assistance in choosing a control platform and equipment for its existing biodiesel plant that would also serve as the standard for future production sites.
 
 REG needed to increase operational efficiency, monitor the quality of glycerin from the biodiesel production process, and make sure the biodiesel it produced exceeded current industry standards. ASTM International standard D 6751 specifies use guidelines for blending biodiesel with petroleum diesel, as well as the maximum allowable levels of impurities in the finished biodiesel product. In addition, regardless of where the crude oil originated, the biodiesel needed to be of the same quality and consistency. To help meet these goals, it sought an automated process control platform to produce biodiesel with system monitoring. 

 
 Confident in Interstates Control Systems' 10-year successful relationship and familiarity with Rockwell Automation, REG installed two Allen-Bradley ControlLogix programmable automation controllers, based on the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture, to run each plant. Unlike REG's previous controller, the ControlLogix programmable automation controller is multidisciplined, meaning that it can manage discrete, batch, process, motion, safety and drive capabilities on a single platform. One controller runs the pretreatment section of the plant, where crude feedstock oil is cleaned and impurities are removed. The other controller runs the processing plant, where the clean oil is converted into biodiesel.
 
 The Rockwell Automation relationship with process instrumentation provider Endress+Hauser made the solution even more effective and easier to implement. With preferred integration between Endress+Hauser process instruments and the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture, REG can help protect its investment with assured interoperability. 
 
 The relationship provides a wide range of preintegrated, pretested, standards-based measurement, automation and information solutions.
 
 Since Endress+Hauser equipment is designed for easy integration with Rockwell Automation parts and systems, it was an easy decision to use Endress+Hauser flow, level and pressure gauges. In addition, Endress+Hauser products stand up to the demands of the biofuel process. For example, the company's glass pH probes have a chemical resistance and can withstand high temperatures and pH extremes, while its ion-selective field effect transistor probes can withstand high alcohol content and non-aqueous applications. 
 
 Custom-enclosed Allen-Bradley PowerFlex AC drives connected to the ControlLogix controllers via DeviceNet help manage flow rates throughout the refining process, helping to maintain the proper tank levels during each step of the process. 
 
 The controller is also connected to an intrinsically safe Allen-Bradley FlexEx input/output module via ControlNet, allowing biodiesel processing data to be collected from inside hazardous areas of the process plant and monitored remotely. The FlexEx module provides a single connection from the ControlLogix controller to the nonhazardous area, helping to reduce wiring and electrical labor and lower safety risks in an environment where highly flammable catalyst and reactor chemicals are used.
 
 The data collected from the FlexEx input/output module, ControlLogix input/output modules and PowerFlex drives during the biodiesel production process includes metrics on flow, temperature, pressure, pH levels and tank levels throughout the plant. If any of the elements are outside of the allowable ranges, the quality of the biodiesel is adversely affected and may not pass the 14 to 15 tests that check characteristics such as moisture level, total acid number, sediment and flash point. For example, if the temperature in the tank where crude oil is mixed with the alcohol and catalyst to start the biodiesel process is too high or low, the mixture results in too much glycerin and reduced biodiesel output.
 
 Human-machine interface terminals running FactoryTalk View SE human-machine interface software help operators respond remotely to fault trips and system alarms. If an element in the production process is out of its permissible parameters and cannot be automatically adjusted, operations in that specific step of the process will cease until a plant operator can make manual adjustments. The automatic system shutdown confirms that below-optimum biodiesel is not produced.
 

 Quality Results
 By establishing a standard control system that acts as a model template for all of its existing and upcoming biodiesel plants, REG has reduced its design, installation and training costs. In addition, start-up and troubleshooting time has been reduced, allowing the company to get biodiesel to market faster. 
 
 Preintegrated Endress+
 Hauser field instrumentation allowed for a reduction in integration costs, and improved operational and maintenance efficiency, helping to optimize REG assets. 
 
 Perhaps most significant are the savings in labor costs. The automated control systems in place at the smaller, existing plants process as much biodiesel in one day as it would take 30 workers to do during multiple shifts using batch production.
 
 Training for plant operators also has been simplified, thanks to the identical plant designs. A portable training module using FactoryTalk View SE human-machine interface software (with an all-simulation model connected to a ControlLogix controller) allows training to take place in any office. Using the training module, operators can experience exactly what disturbances would look like in any plant and learn to react effectively.
 
 According to Myron Danzer, REG's vice president of customer and technical service, the experience REG has had with the process solution from Rockwell Automation has been more than satisfactory, especially as more plants are built. The plant managers at REG have increased operational efficiency, more easily monitored product quality, and are meeting current industry standards.
 
 "Rockwell Automation has exactly what we need so we don't have to look for exotic, custom-designed equipment," Danzer says. "The support that's behind it is always there and we have local distributors that can help wherever we go." 
 
 Alicia Clancy is a communications specialist for REG Inc. Reach her at <a href="mailto:alicia.clancy@regfuel.com">alicia.clancy@regfuel.com</a> or (515) 239-8118.

Central Iowa Energy in Newton, Iowa, began production in the spring of 2007.

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REG's New Orleans biodiesel production facility is shown under construction.

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The Central Iowa Energy plant includes a variety of process control equipment.

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An industry leader, Renewable Energy Group Inc., relies on automation equipment to boost efficiency and control costs while expanding from humble beginnings.

Alternative Energy, Standardized Processes

Achieving energy independence is a top initiative for the Barack Obama administration, and biodiesel appears to be part of the solution. In an Aug. 4, 2008, campaign speech in Lansing, Mich., Obama committed to "invest federal resources, including tax incentives and government contracts, into developing next-generation biofuels." He also specifically mentioned biodiesel as a solution in speeches and debates throughout the presidential campaign. He even visited a biodiesel plant in Pennsylvania one day after being confirmed as the Democratic party's presidential candidate. 

 
 Obama is clearly a fan of biodiesel, but not at the expense of the environment. His official "New Energy for America" plan contains a sustainability provision to "ensure that increased biofuels production does not come at the expense of environmental conservation."
 
 In the past year, sustainable energy sources have taken center stage around the world and will become even more important as part of the energy solution in the new administration. What does sustainability mean for the biodiesel industry? It can mean locally grown feedstocks, local and regional distribution, and environmentally friendly biodiesel production.
 
 A Sustainable Enterprise
 SunPower BioDiesel of Cumberland, Wis., could be the poster child for sustainable practices. Owned by Ron and Mark Ruppel and operated by Rick Wuorenma, SunPower's mission is to serve the local community by providing jobs, creating a market for oilseed crops, and supplying renewable, sustainable fuel to local markets. "The owners of SunPower 
 BioDiesel have been in Cumberland for generations," Wuorenma says. "In addition to the biodiesel plant, the Ruppels are local farmers and manufacturers of durable goods. In each of their businesses, they look for ways to utilize environmentally friendly practices, such as factory heating stoves that burn cherry pits and waste corn collected from cleaning silos." 
 
 With a 3 MMgy capacity, the SunPower plant utilizes mostly locally grown canola and sunflower oil. Canola works well in Wisconsin because it thrives as a cold weather crop and the resulting biodiesel has higher cold-flow properties. Distribution of the finished product is limited to a 200-mile radius, which includes nearby Minnesota. SunPower benefits from the 2 percent mandate in that state and Minnesota benefits from having another ASTM-quality biodiesel supplier nearby. 
 
 State mandates and federal tax incentives have fueled growth of the biodiesel industry from 5 million gallons sold in the U.S. in 2001 to 250 million in 2006, a 4,900 percent increase in five years. According to an Oil Price Information Service article titled "Biofuels See 'Win-Win' Under Obama, Democratic Victory," Obama supports continuing federal tax incentives for renewable energy and keeping or increasing the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act Renewable Fuels Standard quotas. The RFS requires U.S. fuel producers to blend renewable fuels into petroleum-based transportation fuel and heating oil. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, then-U.S. Sen. Obama stated his support for expanding the RFS just before the EISA was passed in December 2007. Other industry analysts also recognize the strength that Obama and the new Congress will have in continuing RFS support. 
 
 In the OPIS article an analyst from The Stanford Group was quoted as saying "President-Elect Obama and strengthened Democratic Party majorities in Congress is a win-win for ethanol and the biofuels industry. The push-back against the renewable fuels standard and other support mechanisms has come mainly from Republicans in Congress...." Biodiesel benefits from quieting the critics of RFS even though most of the push-back pertains to ethanol, which makes up the majority of the 15 billion gallons of renewable fuel mandated in 2012, ramping up to 36 billion by 2022. As far as biodiesel's portion of the mandate goes, the RFS requires U.S. fuel producers to use at least 500 million gallons of biomass-based diesel in 2009, increasing to 1 billion gallons by 2012. 
 
 Increasing usage of renewable fuels in the U.S. will also decrease greenhouse gas emissions including carbon dioxide fossil fuel emissions that the U.S. EPA links to climate change. Obama's nomination for Energy Secretary, physicist and Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu, clearly demonstrates his belief that climate change poses a major threat. As director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2004, Chu has pushed for research for alternative energy as a way to combat global warming. In addition, Obama's energy plan calls for "an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050." His program rewards companies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by allowing them to sell emissions credits, measured in tons, to industries that do not. 

 	
 Green Goals, Community Focus
 Another goal of the new administration is to provide green jobs.Community-based biodiesel producers such as SunPower will provide many of those jobs across the U.S. "Even though SunPower Biodiesel is small, it provides nine career-challenging engineering and manufacturing jobs in a rural area," Wuorenma says. "Cumberland is the land of opportunity for small-scale farming, small businesses and tourism. Our employees are able to stay connected to what rural America is all about and pursue careers in the new green economy."
 
 Reducing the environmental impact of biodiesel production is also important to SunPower. The Ruppels and Wuorenma chose a waterless biodiesel process. The environmentally friendly nature of the waterless biodiesel process means no toxic waste is produced and no water is used in the polishing stage. Some biodiesel processes require up to one gallon of water to polish every gallon of biodiesel. With biodiesel production equipment and waterless technology provided by Larkspur, Calif.-based Greenline Industries, SunPower uses a resin-based polishing system. The Greenline biodiesel platform also allows SunPower to produce biodiesel in smaller quantities and run at half or full capacity as market-demand increases or decreases. "Ron and Mark Ruppel represent the new generation of entrepreneurs who take into account renewable energy solutions for sustainability of their own businesses and the community surrounding them," says Greenline Chairman Michael Brown.
 
 Entrepreneurs such as the Ruppels will help the Obama administration meet policy goals of producing sustainable, renewable energy in the U.S. Benefits of Obama's green policies include new jobs, new markets for oilseed crops, and clean burning, sustainable biodiesel for use as heating oil and in our nation's trucks, fleets and farming equipment. In his Lansing, Mich., speech, dubbed the "Obama Energy Speech," Obama went on to challenge the audience, "We can keep making small, piece-meal investments in renewable energy and keep sending billions of our hard-earned dollars to oil company executives and Middle Eastern dictators… We can watch other countries create the industries and the jobs that will fuel our future, and leave our children a planet that grows more dangerous and unlivable by the day. Or we can choose another future." 
 With sustainable feedstocks, manufacturing processes and distribution methods, biodiesel is poised and ready to be part of that future. 
 
 Sharon Bell is a public relations professional representing clients in the biodiesel industry. Reach her at <a href="mailto:sharonb@shriverproductions.com">sharonb@shriverproductions.com</a> or (972) 352-8698.

SunPower BioDiesel is located in Cumberland, Wis.

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A SunPower BioDiesel employee inspects tanks.

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A SunPower BioDiesel employee checks inventory at the Cumberland, Wis.-based plant.

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A pressure gauge at SunPower BioDiesel's Cumberland, Wis., facility

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Biodiesel appears to have a secure place in President Barack Obama's energy policy. However, sustainable production practices will remain the key to consumer acceptance.

Gearing Up for Sustainable Practices in the New Administration

The importance placed on fuel quality in the biofuels industry is intended to assure producers, distributors and end users that biodiesel will meet the expectation of trouble-free performance. The advocacy for a standard measure of quality increases the industry's protection against the risk of introducing unacceptable product into the market. Actualization of this risk management philosophy reduces the potential of costly liability assigned to those responsible for production and distribution.
 
 Significant effort by committee members of ASTM International provides the basis for our confidence. Committee members work to develop effective standard methods legally recognized as the universal measure for product quality. Standard methods, such as those specified in ASTM D 6751 Standard Specification for Biodiesel Fuel Blend Stock (B100) for Middle Distillate Fuels, are utilized by scientists and laboratory staff to direct a reproducible, systematic approach to the instrumental analysis of biodiesel. The potential for erroneous analytical determinations, however, is significant when considering the challenge presented by systematic and random error inherent in the analytical process. 

 
 Representative samples, calibrated instrumentation, correct sample preparation, proper data interpretation and accurate reporting must successfully merge to achieve the intent of standard methods. Experienced instrumental analysts therefore invest considerable time and effort to perform quality control tests that offer quality assurance.
 
 For perspective, a professor colleague once shared the fundamental question, "How do you know that your instrument is telling the truth?" Perhaps the more poignant question is how does a producer, distributor or consumer of biodiesel know the analytical results stated as a declaration of quality on a certificate of analysis are correct?
 
 Standard methods are only effective if those responsible for conducting the analysis perform the analysis well. The result must be accurate. Particularly, if the tests to confirm fuel quality are performed well and accurate results are generated, our confidence increases.
 
 How does one know if the test is performed well? How do producers, distributors or consumers know if laboratories are generating and propagating accurate results? Professional laboratories that value the need to produce credible analytical results accept the challenge to voluntarily participate in the ASTM Interlaboratory Crosscheck Program. The ILCP tests a laboratory's proficiency for a particular analytical capability. An identical sample is provided to each participating laboratory and the test results are subsequently collated to statistically assess each participant's performance.
 
 Is the laboratory you trust routinely participating in the ASTM ILCP performance assessment? If so, how do you know if the laboratory is doing well? Fortunately, there is a useful indicator that can be evaluated to assess analytical performance.
 	
 Z-Score: A Laboratory Performance Index
 As with the need to assess performance in other industries, a statistical index or performance indicator exists to assess laboratory performance such as the Dow index used for financial performance or the consumer price index used to measure inflation. This laboratory performance index is known as the z-score and is computed for each test result submitted by a laboratory participating in an ASTM ILCP. The z-score enables a reviewer to consistently evaluate and compare the analytical performance of participating laboratories. 
 
 To calculate this index, the ASTM committee responsible for administering the ILCP collects, analyzes, interprets and presents the data of those who participate in the proficiency test. During this process, a robust statistical evaluation of the data set is performed to identify outliers and to calculate a robust mean value and robust standard deviation. An explanation of robust statistics is beyond the scope of this article. However, the calculations and theory of robust statistics can be better understood through review of the journal article titled "Robust Statistics-How Not to Reject Outliers," by the Analytical Methods Committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the December 1989 issue of Analyst.
 

 The z-score index is the ratio of the laboratory's deviation from the robust mean value of the data set over the standard deviation within the data set. The closer the z-score value is to zero the greater the confidence that the laboratory can determine the correct result. A z-score of zero indicates there is no deviation between the statistical true value and the laboratory's result and validates that the laboratory is capable of performing the test well enough to generate accurate results. 
 
 A z-score greater than two or less than negative two should cause a laboratory to review their test data for any possible systematic error. Z-scores outside this range should occur only one time in 20 if a laboratory has average capability running the method. A z-score calculation equal to or greater than the range plus or minus three is rejected. Z-scores within the range plus or minus 1 demonstrate exceptional performance. Laboratories should strive to obtain z-score values close to zero.
 
 For an example calculation, consider a data set of 54 results for the measurement of flash point by standard method ASTM D 93, whereby the calculated robust mean regarded as the true value is equal to 157.12 and the robust standard deviation is equal to 3.83. If a laboratory's independent result is equal to 155.5, their deviation from the mean is equal to minus-1.62 (i.e. 155.5 minus 157.12 equals minus-1.62). The z-score for this laboratory's performance is therefore calculated by dividing its deviation from the mean by the robust standard deviation (i.e., minus-1.62 divided by 3.83 equals minus-0.4). A z-score of minus-0.4 is within the range plus or minus 1 and would be regarded as a desirable outcome.
 
 Improving the Z-Score
 A z-score close to zero reflects a successful quality assurance program and demonstrates the ability to report accurate results. Accuracy is a measure of precision and bias. To improve or maintain accuracy and subsequently improve the z-score, a laboratory must sustain systems for the evaluation of precision and bias in their analytical technique. 
 
 To monitor precision, particularly the ability to replicate a measured value, replicate samples are analyzed on a routine basis according to the standard method. The agreement between the replicate results is calculated and expressed as either a percent difference in the case of duplicate analyses or as a relative standard deviation in the case of three or more replicate analyses.
 
 To monitor for bias, a standard reference material such as a National Institute of Standards and Technology traceable standard with a certified known value is measured to determine if the correct value can be achieved. The agreement between the measured value and the certified known value is also expressed as a percent difference or as a percent recovery. The analysis of a standard reference material will reveal the possibility of a systematic error that shifts the measured value away from the certified known value. Additional performance of these tests occasionally using a second source of similar standard reference material improves the likelihood that systematic bias, if present, is discovered and addressed.
 
 Maintaining quality control charts for precision and bias data enable analysts to discover performance perturbations that if not otherwise addressed pose the risk of reporting incorrect values. These observation techniques and activities help to fulfill requirements for quality. When combined with participation in the ASTM ILCP, the fundamentals of a quality assurance program are practiced.
 
 If those engaged in the industry become familiar with indices used to assess quality performance, such as the z-score, the efficacy of a risk management philosophy rooted in the advocacy of a standard measure of quality is achieved. If we work as partners to add the discussion of z-score to our lexicon, we demonstrate an understanding of what quality can look like. The success of our partnership to promote accurate analytical work builds confidence for others.

 
 Ultimately, a laboratory's proficiency can be assessed by checking their z-score. Currently, the ASTM committee administers the ILCP three times per year for the biodiesel industry. If you are assessing your own laboratory's performance, seeking independent third-party analytical support, or measuring confidence in existing certificates of analysis, ask to check the index. Check the Z. 
 
 Jeff Fetkenhour is the president and founder of Gorge Analytical LLC. Reach him at <a href="mailto:gorgeanalytical@embarqmail.com">gorgeanalytical@embarqmail.com</a> or (541) 980-7168.

Consumer confidence is vital to biodiesel's image in the marketplace. Therefore, laboratories testing the fuel must remain consistent and accurate. Performance indicators are available to assess laboratory performance.

Check the Z: Assuring Accuracy in Laboratory Tests

Algae have been providing energy for as long as it has existed. Animals have always eaten it. It's what gives fish omega 3 fatty acids and other beneficial characteristics that make fish oil so popular to the nutracteutical market. Some nutraceutical brands even produce omega 3 acids directly from the algae, which is more environmentally sustainable and safer in regard to mercury content.
 
 It's possible for certain types of algae, such as Nannochloropsis and Chlorella Vulgaris, to have a complete branch chain amino acid profile. These high-value products can be extracted from the algae and taken to market. Chlorella Vulgaris has been proven in clinical studies to reduce, and in some cases prevent, the side effects from chemotherapy treatments. It has also been proven to reduce the risk of getting cancer as it contains the highest known source of chlorophyll content.
 
 Spirulina is another popular algae strain that is used as a protein supplement in diets of the health-conscious.
 
 Now that many companies are trying to commercialize the production of algae lipid oil for biodiesel production there will likely be a large influx of algae biomass into a variety of market avenues. The current wholesale price for a metric ton of Nannochloropsis for an aquaculture facility is $18,000. Chlorella Vulgaris has a retail value of $36,000 per metric ton. These prices should drop once commercial-scale algae farms for lipid oil production facilities begin coming on line. Algae biomass can be dried and processed into a powder similar to whey or soy protein that can be used for protein supplements. It may also be added to different types of foods for protein content an vitamin enrichment.
 
 Proteins, Vitamins and Minerals

 The further development of a large-scale algae protein market will be the driving force to making algae oil a reality for biodiesel production. The path forward is awaiting, but more marketing and penetration into existing food sectors is needed. The sports nutrition market is worth more than $27 billion per year and has a great potential as an algae protein market.
 
 Algae, of course, are a fish food, used for many common species including tilapia. The demand for more fish meal will increase as the demand for fish farms being utilized for human consumption grows due to the environmental effects over open ocean fishing. Algae are also used to feed the brine shrimp used to feed other species of farm-raised fish such as salmon. Regardless, algae are in high demand for fish food in the aquaculture market and provide a great revenue stream for the algae industry. 
 
 The vitamins and minerals within algae may be fractionated from the biomass. This application has been used for years for a wide array of products in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. After the algal biomass is fractionated, the remaining cellulosic material and sugars make a great feedstock whole, or blended with other feedstocks, for the production of cellulosic ethanol.
 
 As these potential new markets open, and due to the high value of biomass, algae lipid oil will become a reality as a feedstock for biodiesel production. These are some of the factors that need to be considered in order to make an algae farm for lipid oil profitable and provide an inexpensive high-grade feedstock for biodiesel production.
 
 Production Optimization Ahead
 Algae farm production optimization is a key factor to the profitability of the facility. Using raceway ponds is not economically feasible given the current state of technology for commercial production of algae. Raceway ponds are profitable in the nutrition market but not as lipid oil production for biodiesel. Producers can not make enough highly dense biomass with normal photosynthetic conditions.
 
 Photobioreactors are the answer to breaking through the theoretical limits of normal solar photosynthesis for algae biomass production. Studies have shown the ability to raise algae culture densities to 24 grams per liter on a dry weight basis. The production rate in photobioreactors has achieved high production rates up to 242 percent of the total capacity of the photobioreactor in a 24-hour period using artificial light that was of a specific light spectrum enabling the optimization of the cell reproduction process. Reaching these figures on a commercial-scale has yet to be proven, but so was the turbine engine before it was made on a mass scale.
 
 A wide array of algae production systems are being marketed. The BioFence photobioreactor is an efficient and reliable method for producing high density monocultures of marine and freshwater algae. The BioFence has been in production for these markets for the past five years, where it has yielded up to 140 grams per day in a 200-liter system. This output is much higher than a raceway pond or bag-type reactor. All parameters of the photosynthetic process-temperature, light, nutrients and carbon dioxide-are controlled in order to increase production rates. These figures would make the algae farm profitable and give it the ability to provide enough extra revenue to cover the expenses of an indoor environmentally controlled facility.
 
 A hybrid system is another option for the mass production of algal biomass. This system would employ both a raceway pond and photobioreactors. The photobioreactor would provide a continuous supply of high-density monoculture algae for further propagation and lipid oil production. The major advantage to a hybrid system is that it reduces a large amount of the capital expense for installation.

 
 Culturing Solutions has developed a low kilowatt consumption process to extract algae from the oil. It utilizes the remaining water in the algae slurry as a solvent along with a reactor to rupture the cell walls releasing the lipids. The downstream process further separates the remaining biomass, algae oil and water. From that point the oil may be dehydrated for transesterification.
 
 Whatever the specific technology, algal oil production is certain to increase in the next few years. Nutraceutical markets demand it, and soon so will the biodiesel industry. The primary question remaining is how soon commercial-scale production will become profitable. 
 
 Dean Tsoupeis is chief executive officer for Culturing Solutions Inc. Reach him at <a href="mailto:dean@culturingsolutions.com">dean@culturingsolutions.com</a> or (727) 686-5291.

A twin photobioreactor and lighting array is used to produce algae.

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Photobioreactors have been shown to produce consistently high amounts of algae.

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Salmon raised on fish farms are often fed brine shrimp raised on algae.

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The growing use of algae biomass for nutraceutical purposes is expected to provide an attractive revenue stream for those using algae oil for biodiesel.

Algae's Impact on the Food-Versus-Fuel Debate

Some biodiesel manufacturers have resorted to Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to attempt to reorganize their finances in order to stay in business and preserve value. 
 
 This article discusses some of the key events that happen once you've decided to seek Chapter 11 protection.
 
 The purpose of Chapter 11 is to keep the dogs at bay while you negotiate the resolution of your financial difficulties and stay in business. The Chapter 11 process may allow you to reject certain contracts and give you time to renegotiate others. Your bankruptcy lawyer will prepare and file the bankruptcy petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the district where your assets or your principal place of business is located. 
 
 Once the petition is filed, the automatic stay immediately kicks in. The automatic stay means that all of the creditors must immediately cease collection efforts, actions to obtain judgments and foreclosure activities pending the procedures of the court and the protective provisions of the bankruptcy laws. Creditors may obtain relief from the automatic stay in certain circumstances. If the court grants relief from stay, the creditor is permitted to foreclose on their collateral, sell the property and apply the proceeds to their debt. The court may grant creditors relief if there is a lack of adequate protection or if the debtor has no equity in the property, and the property is not necessary for the debtor to effectively reorganize. The creditor seeking relief must file a motion with the court requesting relief from the stay. A hearing is held if the biodiesel producer resists the motion. 
 

 Upon the filing or the bankruptcy petition, your company, the debtor, immediately becomes the debtor-in-possession of the assets of the bankruptcy estate. The assets in the bankruptcy estate are all of the debtor's assets wherever they are, including product that is in transit and the cash proceeds of sales still in the possession of the buyer or the marketing agent. These cash proceeds are typically known as cash collateral. It is collateral because virtually all biodiesel manufacturers have bank loans that grant security interests to those lenders in cash proceeds. Access to the cash collateral is often critical to a successful reorganization in order to make necessary payments to run your business. 
 
 To use cash collateral you will have to get the consent of the secured creditors or an order from the court. This process will run more smoothly if you can negotiate with the secured creditors for their agreement, but that is not absolutely necessary provided that the secured creditors have adequate protection of getting paid. These creditors will have adequate protection if they have enough security in other assets or if they are provided with additional protections. Obtaining permission to use cash collateral will require a detailed budget or plan for the use of the cash collateral in the event the creditor is secured in inventories and cash proceeds. This budget should dovetail to the greater plan of reorganization that you will have to propose to creditors and ultimately seek to have approved by the court. In addition to using cash collateral, your company may need additional operating capital to stay in business. Bankruptcy laws may allow you to give a lender a superpriority over other unsecured creditors in order to assist you in obtaining the capital you require.
 
 The purpose of Chapter 11 is to allow you to obtain a debt repayment plan funded primarily from future income. Operation of the automatic stay and the use of cash collateral are key to the success of that plan. Ultimately, the court will only confirm your plan to stay in business if your assumptions about your operations are likely to yield a glide path toward solvency given a fair and reasonable adjustment of your debts. 
 
 Bill Hanigan and Miranda Hughes are corporate financing and debt restructuring attorneys with BrownWinick, a Des Moines, Iowa-based law firm serving the renewable fuels industry. Reach Hanigan at <a href="mailto:hanigan@brownwinick.com">hanigan@brownwinick.com</a> or (515) 242-2473. Reach Hughes at <a href="mailto:hughes@brownwinick.com">hughes@brownwinick.com</a> or (515) 242-2477.

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Using Chapter 11 to Stay In Business

Diesel fuel is marketed on its fuel attributes. No. 1, No. 2, ASTM D 975: These terms, not the source of the fuel's crude oil, determine pricing and handling of distillate fuel. 
 
 Taking the lead from our petroleum partners, Renewable Energy Group is marketing biodiesel on finished fuel attributes, not feedstock sources. 
 

 In the late 1990s, when REG began biodiesel production, American soybean producers strongly supported soy biodiesel. Their vision for value-added agriculture flourished. With exponential biodiesel industry growth, the economics of soybean oil shifted. REG acted on the need to diversify our feedstock portfolio to economically provide large volumes of high quality biodiesel in order to meet blending demands within the 60-plus billion gallon diesel fuel market. Our production technology shifted in accordance and REG began building high free fatty acid-capable production plants. In 2006, REG's first multi-feedstock biodiesel production facility, Western Iowa Energy LLC, produced biodiesel made from corn oil and animal fats that exceeded ASTM D 6751 specifications. 
 
 This cutting-edge production success provided an immediate opportunity for REG to begin marketing different biodiesel products. This created a marketing challenge: How do you move from a strong soy-only brand to an even stronger multi-feedstock marketing approach? In April 2008, we launched our answer: the trademarked REG-9000 product line. 
 
 This fuel attribute-based marketing approach mirrors the way diesel fuel is sold in the U.S. Much like No. 1 or No. 2 diesel, REG-9000 products are marketed on finished fuel attributes: cloud point, oxidative stability and cetane number. 
 
 REG-9000-1 has a cloud point ranging from 0-2 degrees Celsius and a cetane level from 47-50. REG-9000-5 has a cloud point ranging from 3-7 degrees Celsius and a cetane level from 50-53. REG-9000-10 has a cloud point ranging from 8-12 degrees Celsius and a cetane level from 53-59. All three products offer improved oxidative stability. 
 
 As part of the product launch, REG announced a guarantee that all REG-9000 biodiesel exceeds ASTM specifications, regardless of feedstock. Production technology and experience, not the feedstock, determines biodiesel quality. Consumer confidence in that biodiesel quality is the key to marketing on fuel attributes. 
 
 From a producer and marketer's standpoint, the greatest advantage of marketing biodiesel based on fuel attributes versus feedstock is flexibility. As new feedstocks come on line, the B100 can be placed in the marketing matrix based on its fuel attributes without creating confusion over the feedstock itself. 
 
 This marketing matrix allows customers to purchase the REG-9000 (10 degrees Celsius) product at a discount from the REG-9000-1 (1 degree Celsius), just as No. 2 diesel is discounted from No. 1 diesel. This is important, as the Federal Blenders Tax Credit now allows yellow grease to earn the $1 per gallon credit along with soybean, canola and other oils and fats. With the right production technology, this opens the marketplace for yet another feedstock that can add value for petroleum customers who are purchasing on price point. 
 
 With almost one year of fuel attribute-based marketing under our belt, REG has met several marketing challenges head on. First, petroleum customers appreciate pricing options which fit within their current options. Long- and short-term contracts, and index and spot pricing for the product lineup have been well received. Second, making biodiesel available year-round and offering the expertise to manage multiple cloud points with proper handling guidance have allowed REG to merge our customer service world with our product lineup. 
 
 Finally, quality is king. If you can provide your customer with a certificate of analysis for every lot of biodiesel from every feedstock, you can win their business and loyalty. 

 
 That's not to say that finished fuel attribute-based biodiesel marketing has overcome every challenge. The education process continues with some of our petroleum partners who are entering the biodiesel market for the first time. We must work with new feedstock providers in the yellow grease, algae oil and other emerging feedstock oil markets to better understand what the attributes of their B100 can offer to the petroleum industry. We must continue to improve quality on every single gallon of biodiesel from every single feedstock. Biodiesel must perform to the petroleum industry's value and operational expectations or their confidence will be lost.
 
 Nile Ramsbottom is the president of Renewable Energy Group. Reach him at <a href="mailto:nile.ramsbottom@regfuel.com">nile.ramsbottom@regfuel.com</a> or (515) 239-8000.

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Marketing Biodiesel on Fuel Attributes, Not Feedstocks

Web exclusive posted Jan. 15, 2009, at 2:01 p.m. CST 
 
 Heather Heath and Adam Liegner have joined Los Angeles-based algae oil technology developer <a href="http://www.originoil.com/originoil/originoil-home.html ">OriginOil Inc.</a> to help the company commercialize its algae-to-oil technology into the mainstream market.
 
 Heath joins the company as a biochemist who will be developing and managing growth protocols. She comes to OriginOil with an extensive laboratory and molecular biology experience that includes measuring enzymatic activities, measuring the concentration of substances in biological liquids, DNA amplification via polymerase chain reaction or recombinant DNA techniques, Gravimetric Analysis, Petentiometric and pH Titration measurement. 
 
 Prior to joining OriginOil, Heath served as a biochemist and research associate at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, one of the largest clinical diagnostics companies in the world, where she was involved with experimental preparation and investigation, as well as data preparation. 

 
 Liegner joins OriginOil as a research engineer. He will be in charge of process engineering of the prototypes and new designs. Previously, Liegner was an independent research engineer for Quality Filtration Ltd., a company that designs, develops and manufactures filtration products used in the industrial and hydraulic market. 
 
 "Adding Heather and Adam to our already robust research and development department will enable us to accelerate the commercial viability of our algae-to-oil technology and pave the way for new technological breakthroughs," said Riggs Eckelberry, president and chief executive officer of OriginOil.

Heath, Liegner join OriginOil research team

Web exclusive posted Jan. 16, 2009, at 3:20 p.m. CST 
 
 The National Biodiesel Conference and Expo, which is hosted by the National Biodiesel Board, will be held at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco on Feb. 1-4, and for the first time in the event's history, members of the public can attend part of the conference. 
 
 The conference's theme is Leading Change Now. It will offer a mix of educational and networking opportunities designed to inform and educate attendees on the latest advancements in the industry and share best practices. Educational sessions focus on sustainability, fuel production, technical updates, fuel distribution, policy/regulations and markets and users. 
 
 Community members will be granted free admission to the conference Feb. 4. "San Francisco is a city that has shown a lot of support for biodiesel," said Jenna Higgins, the NBB's director of communications. "We thought this was a good way to involve a lot of biodiesel supporters who otherwise might not be able to attend the conference. We thought it would be a nice thing to do – to give something back to the people who have made biodiesel so successful in San Francisco."
 
 Members of the public wishing to attend the conference Feb. 4 don't need to pre-register. Registration will be completed on-site. Higgins recommends interested individuals arrive at the convention center by 8:30 a.m.
 

 The general session on Feb. 4 will feature skippers Pete Bethune and Bryan Peterson. Bethune's biodiesel-powered speedboat, Earthrace, shattered the world record for circumnavigating the globe in 2008. Peterson traveled the world in Sunrider, an inflatable boat, in 1994. Both Bethune and Peterson will share adventures they each faced during their missions to promote biodiesel. 
 
 Attendees can also attend one of five educational sessions that day. These sessions include:
 <ul>	<li>Sustainable Biodiesel Production Strategies</li>
 	<li>Biodiesel and Engine Oil</li>
 	<li>Improving Biodiesel Performance through Fuel Additive Application</li>
 	<li>Implementation of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2)</li>
 	<li>Carbon: Cap it, Capture it, or Trade it?</li></ul>

 For more information, please visit the <a href="http://www.biodieselconference.org/2009/default.asp">National Biodiesel Conference and Expo Web site</a>.

NBB to hold first-ever public day at conference

Web exclusive posted Jan. 16, 2009, at 3:33 p.m. CST 
 
 Biomass and renewable fuel veteran John Sheehan is joining the <a href="http://environment.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment</a>, a program which includes two sectors designed to research global land use and biofuels.
 
 Sheehan will serve as the scientific program coordinator for biofuels and the global environment, focusing in particular on direct and indirect consequences of biofuel production on land use across the world.
 
 Sheehan's experience in renewable energy development is vast. Possessing a bachelor's degree and master's degree in biochemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and Lehigh University, he began his career as a biochemical engineer at W.R. Grace and Co. and Merck Pharmaceutical.
 
 Sheehan spent nearly 20 years with the U.S. DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, conducting work on system dynamic models for strategic and policy decision-making related to biodiesel and ethanol. His work ranged from leading the DOE's assessment of its energy efficient and renewable energy technology portfolio to conducting studies of energy, air quality, greenhouse gas and soil impacts of corn stover-based ethanol production. He was also the project manager for the DOE's Biodiesel from Algae Program for five years, and from 2002 to 2007, he led strategic planning and analysis activities for the DOE's biomass program.
 
 Most recently, Sheehan served as vice president of strategy and sustainable development at LiveFuels Inc., a national alliance of labs and scientists dedicated to transforming algae into fuel by 2010. 

 
 In addition, he has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on a variety of energy and environmental topics.
 
 At the University of Minnesota, Sheehan will work with two Institute on the Environment programs – the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment, and the Global Landscapes Initiative.
 
 Sheehan said the high points of his career were when he was able to tackle some of the thorniest questions about the sustainability of biofuels. "I love the interdisciplinary nature of these questions," he said. "Coming to Minnesota is the ultimate opportunity for me to work with a talented and interdisciplinary team on the most urgent questions facing biofuels."

Sheehan joins University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment

Web exclusive posted Jan. 16, 2009, at 4:24 p.m. CST 
 
 A recent study has found that global yields of most biofuels crops have been overestimated by 100 to 150 percent or more, suggesting that many countries need to reset their expectations of agricultural biofuels to a more realistic level. The study was led by Matt Johnston and Tracey Holloway with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and Jon Foley with the University of Minnesota. Agricultural data from nearly 240 countries was used to calculate the potential yields of 20 different biofuels feedstocks, including barley, cassava, maize, potato, price, sorghum, sugarbeet, sugarcane, sweet potato, wheat, castor, coconut, cotton, mustard, oil palm, peanut, rapeseed, sesame, soybean and sunflower. 
 
 The study indicated that the potential for biofuels production in both developing and developed countries has often been exaggerated because current yield estimates are generally based on data sourced from the United States and Europe, which doesn't account for local differences in climate, soils, technology and other factors that can influence agricultural yields. 
 
 By offering an analysis of detailed, regional yield data that encompasses this variability, the researchers hope to empower countries to make wiser choices on whether to invest in ethanol or biodiesel, which crops to plant, and how to make the best use of exiting farmland. In the past, Johnston said, policymakers, companies and farmers have partially based decisions about biofuels on yield tables, which make simple side-by-side comparisons of the fuel yield per unit of land for various crops. For example, a yield table might compare the amount of ethanol one hectare of sugarcane can generate, compared to one hectare of corn. He said the problem with yield tables is they often reflect the best case scenario. "They might pick Brazilian sugarcane, versus rapeseed from France, versus maize from the United States," Johnston said. "Those aren't really fair comparisons because you are really cherry picking the best information from the best results from everywhere in the world, and putting them side by side. That's not very realistic for most people or places in the world."
 
 To get a more realistic picture of the potential yields of these crops, the researchers used a global agricultural database, which was developed at the UW-Madison's Nelson Institute Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE). The database, referred to as the M3 database, provides actual yields for 175 crops, circa the year 2000, at a resolution of roughly five miles by five miles across the entire globe. According to Johnston, the M3 database contains more than 22,000 unique census information datapoints from around the world that was sourced from the USDA and similar organization from around the world. "Basically, it's a compilation of agricultural census information from around the world," he said. 
 

 Johnston sourced data from the M3 database on the 20 biofuels crops he's studying to calculate and map the amount of biofuel that could be produced per hectare in every possible country by crop combination. He then computed a global average yield for each of the 20 feedstocks, as well as the average yield of each in both developed and developing nations as a whole. 
 
 "What we wanted to do was calculate yield potential," Johnston said. You can't say that just because you get a certain corn yield in Iowa that you can realize that yield everywhere else in the world, added. "That's just not true. Crops grow better in certain regions because of climate or water or soil conditions," Johnston said.
 
 The next step is to compare the yields of biofuel feedstocks in areas with similar climates, and then study how differences in management practices may be contributing to production gaps. The goal is to help supply countries and farmers with the best data possible so they can make the most of existing farmland and better balance the investment in biofuels against other needs. 
 
 The basic idea will be to compare apples to apples. "We group all the points in the world that have similar water, soil, and climate suitability," Johnston said. These points are divided into 100 unique bins, or unique groups, with each one being considered a different agricultural suitability. "The idea is you can compare different places around the world that share similar climate conditions, and then compare the yields," he said. "Then you can say within this bin, we should be able to achieve what some of the top countries are – what some of the top plots are." The research should give farmers around the world a tool to help compare their plots of land with other plots of land around the globe that share similar climate, soil and water conditions. "Yield potential is what we are trying to calculate," Johnston said. "We can use this tool and the result of this study to optimize efforts [to improve yields]."
 
 The results of the research have been published in an open access journal, called Environmental Research Letters. The full research article, titled "Resetting global expectations from agricultural biofuels," can be accessed on the <a href="http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/1748-9326/4/1/014004/">Environmental Research Letters Web site</a>. In addition, supplemental materials and access to data used to complete the research is available on the <a href="http://www.sage.wisc.edu/energy/index.html">SAGE Web site</a>.

Study: Global feedstock yields are overestimated

Web exclusive posted Jan. 19, 2009, at 3:33 p.m. CST 
 
 Only a handful of companies have met the goals of the United Kingdom's Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation as of the first half of the reporting year, according to the U.K.'s Renewable Fuels Agency. The Renewable Fuels Agency was established in 2007 when the RTFO order was enacted to administrate the legislation.

 
 The RTFO has set targets of 30 percent of biofuels meeting environmental sustainability standards, achieving greenhouse gas (GHG) savings of 40 percent and report more than 50 percent of the data asked for by the Renewable Fuels Agency.
 
 In its first mid-year report, the agency said three companies obligated to report were above all three of the 2008-'09 targets, ConocoPhillips Co., Greenergy International Ltd. and Mabanaft Ltd. Another five companies failed to supply any fuel meeting sustainability standards. Those included: Chevron Corp., Esso, Murco Ltd., Prax Petroleum and Topaz. Overall, 20 percent of the biofuels supplied to the U.K. market met environmental sustainability standards, well below the 30 percent goal.
 
 "We believe that biofuels should be sustainable," said Renewable Fuels Agency Chief Executive Officer Nick Goodall. "The first-half year's experience of the RTFO in the U.K. and the good performance of several companies are demonstrating that the biofuels industry can meet sustainability standards. The challenge for us now is to raise performance across the board."
 
 During the reporting period, Greenergy imported the first Brazilian sugarcane-based ethanol to meet the RTFO sustainability criteria. The sustainable biodiesel reported to the Renewable Fuels Agency was sourced from U.K. rapeseed production, as well as Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil audited against the criteria developed by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil. All tallow and waste vegetable oil-based biodiesel are considered sustainable as waste-based feedstocks.
 
 The RTFO is using the established British standard for sustainable crop production, the Assured Combinable Crops Scheme. The ACCS standards protect carbon stocks and biodiversity and ensure that air, water and soil quality are not degraded. The RTFO issues certificates that are fully tradable. An obligated company can meet its obligation by supply biofuel itself, purchasing certificates from other suppliers, or paying a 15 pence-per-liter buyout price (83 cents-per-gallon). The RTFO obligates refiners, importers and other suppliers handling more than 450,000 liters (just under 120,000 gallons) of fossil fuels to meet the government targets. Smaller biofuel companies that supply little or no fossil fuel can also claim RTFO certificates. Nearly all of these companies met all three targets, according to the Renewable Fuels Agency.

Three oil companies meet UK biofuels standard

Web exclusive posted Jan. 19, 2009, at 3:43 p.m. CST 
 
 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.greenlineindustries.com/">Greenline Industries</a>, a biodiesel process technology provider, is developing a new process to esterify free fatty acids without using acid catalysts, according to the company's Senior Process Engineer Gaurav Shah. He couldn't give details on exactly what approach Greenline Industries' new esterification process will use, but said in a couple of months, once patent protection is in place, the company will provide more details. 
 
 Some biodiesel feedstocks, such as yellow grease and brown grease, contain high amounts of FFAs. If a biodiesel refinery's business plan includes conversion of those FFAs to biodiesel, the conventional approach is to esterify the FFAs into biodiesel using an acid catalyst, such as sulfuric or hydrochloric acid and methanol, then turning the rest of the feedstock – the triglycerides – to methyl esters through conventional base transesterification. 

 
 "Greenline has always had the philosophy of being a chemical and acid-free facility – besides sodium methylate and methanol," Shah told Biodiesel Magazine. "The reason for maintaining this philosophy of being green without using unnecessary chemicals or acids is twofold. First, permitting acids is not an easy task in the U.S., especially when environmental laws are getting tougher. Secondly, acids and their toxic disposals counter our green approach."

Greenline Industries develops esterification process

Web exclusive posted Jan. 20, 2009, at 3:59 p.m. CST 
 
 The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.neded.org/content/view/373/552/">Nebraska Rural Development Commission</a> of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development has awarded $83,000 in Value-Added Agriculture fund grants for two biodiesel-related projects.
 
 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nerenew.com">Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems</a> in Oakland, Neb., in partnership with <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wsc.edu/">Wayne State College</a> in Wayne, Neb., has been awarded $8,000 to purchase technical reference materials and market the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nerenew.com/internships.html">Renewable Energy Training & Workshop Program</a>. The program provides college students the opportunity to receive hands-on training with renewable energy production systems at the NRES Energy Farm in Lyons, Neb., and to conduct workshops and training seminars for agricultural producers and the general public.

 
 "The students come out and spend a summer in Nebraska, live off-grid, and learn the technologies," said Robert Byrnes, president of NRES. "The model that we will use this summer is to give them that immersion while on the off-grid farm, and then we're going to set up workshops and seminars all over the state during the second half of the summer, going to county fairs, doing displays and public awareness." Byrnes said nominal admission fees to the workshops and seminars help to fund the internships.
 
 NRES interns will have the opportunity this summer to learn from another project that received a Value-Added Agriculture fund grant. Byrnes is a partner with Springfield, Neb.-based Tighe Biodiesel, which received $75,000 to build a farm-scale biorefinery in Springfield that will produce biodiesel from waste vegetable oils and virgin oils produced using an on-site oilseed press. "I can see us getting, way down the road, to 1 MMgy," Byrnes said, "but we'll start up much smaller than that."
 
 The biorefinery, which will be owned by a cooperative, will produce both ethanol and biodiesel for use by cooperative members, Byrnes said. The biorefinery's distillation system was purchased at auction from the <a target="_blank" href="http://ardc.unl.edu/">University of Nebraska-Lincoln Agricultural Research & Development Center</a>. "We were able to get a set of distillation columns out of the university research center at auction for a song," Byrnes said. "They were making sweet sorghum ethanol 25 years ago in this research center. They did all of this groundbreaking research and then the energy crisis went away and the thing has been locked up for 25 years collecting dust."
 
 Byrnes said the biorefinery will produce biogas in addition to biofuels. "An anaerobic digester is an integral part of the farm energy loop that we're working on up there," he said, "because, especially with on-farm biodiesel or ethanol, you have a wash-a water stream-that needs to be dealt with. What do you do with [that] on the farm? Well, with the digester it's a feedstock now-that is your water treatment. Let the bugs sort it out (and) recover that energy."
 
 Byrnes said the anaerobic digester is based on a no-power, two-stage farm-scale design by Ram Bux Singh from the Gobar Gas Institute in India. "I go to India quite a bit for renewable energy equipment, oilseed presses, and stuff like that," Byrnes said. "They have a lot of experience and for our small-farm energy efforts, the Indian model is very good. There are a lot of resources there because they have always been small and decentralized."
 
 Byrnes was previously involved in the design of the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.biodieselnebraska.com">Northeast Nebraska Biodiesel LLC</a> 5 MMgy plant in Scribner, Neb., which is set up to crush soybeans and produce soybean meal, soybean oil and biodiesel. Byrnes is also a partner in the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nebraskagreenfuels.com/">Nebraska Green Fuels Co-op.</a> in Lyons, Neb., a renewable fuels station that sells biodiesel and E85 and offers an E85 vehicle conversion service. Byrnes said the Springfield biorefinery will someday offer a Nebraska Green Fuels branch fueling station. "The vision is to be able to have a car drive up and get fuel off the farm," he said.

Two biodiesel projects receive Nebraska funding

Web exclusive posted Jan. 21, 2009, at 10:33 a.m. CST 

 
 Carlsbad, Calif.-based <a target="_blank" href="http://www.flometrics.com/">Flometrics Inc.</a>, an aerospace, medical, and consumer products engineering company, plans to launch a biodiesel-powered unmanned rocket from the Mojave Desert in California later this winter. The company recently tested B100, obtained from a local retail fuel pump, in a RocketDyne LR-101 rocket engine and found the performance of biodiesel to be within 4 percent of RP-1 kerosene rocket fuel, the propellant that the rocket engine originally was designed for, according to Steve Harrington, chief executive officer of Flometrics.
 
 "It worked pretty well," Harrington said. "We didn't have a chance to do any fancy testing," he said, but Flometrics did test the most important aspect of rocket fuel: fuel economy. "With rockets, most of the weight you're lifting when you're trying to get into orbit is the fuel," Harrington said, "and the biodiesel was about 4 percent lower than the RP-1 that the U.S. Air Force uses, and so it's pretty close." He said further testing could involve changing the oxygen-biodiesel mixture ratio during the burn. "Biodiesel has oxygen in it and normal kerosene doesn't," he said, "and so we might be able to get slightly better performance (from the biodiesel)."
 
 Harrington said if biodiesel can prove to be a viable rocket fuel, "it might be attractive to people in the Air Force and NASA and so on…because it can be more dense than normal kerosene. If you can put more weight of fuel in a given-size tank, that's a good thing. (Even) if the specific impulse (of biodiesel) is slightly less than the kerosene-but if the density is higher-then it still might be a viable fuel." According to Wikipedia, specific impulse (Isp) is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines, representing the impulse (change in momentum) per unit of propellant. Harrington is interested to know which feedstocks produce the densest biodiesel, which would help to determine the most efficient feedstock for producing biodiesel rocket fuel.
 
 "And the nice thing about [biodiesel] is that it's renewable," Harrington said. "There are people who are thinking about trying to grow things on Mars and the whole idea is that if you could have a fuel that you could grow, that would be something useful."
 
 The rocket engine test burn lasted approximately six seconds and consumed approximately three gallons of biodiesel, Harrington said, "just long enough to see what the performance was and then we shut it down." He said the planned rocket launch will consume a similar amount of biodiesel to carry the rocket-which is 20 feet tall, one foot in diameter, and 150 pounds-to 23,000 feet. The engine is expected to run out of fuel at 10,000 feet.
 
 Launching a rocket using biodiesel merges two areas of development for Flometrics, Harrington said. "It just so happens that we do consulting for the biofuels industry and the aerospace industry," he said. The launch is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 7, "but we have to order parachutes and get them installed," he said. "We're not on too tight of a schedule." 
 
 Harrington is also a coordinator for the <a target="_blank" href="http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~sharring/sdsurocket.html">San Diego State University Rocket Project</a>, which helps students to design, build, and fly rockets within two or three semesters.

February 2009

Business Briefs

Business Briefs

Columns

Welcome to the National Biodiesel Conference

letter to the editor

Miners for a Fuel of Gold in San Francisco

Marketing Biodiesel on Fuel Attributes, Not Feedstocks

Featured

Biodiesel in the Golden Gate City

Entrée into the Majors

Franklin's Gift

Growing Beyond Oil: The 2008 Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit

Permitted Ponds-Siting Hurdles for Algae Development

Meal: More Than Just Chicken Feed

February 2009.css-7jxktu{position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;right:0px;height:3px;border-radius:3px;background-color:var(--chakra-colors-brandBlack);}

Business Briefs

Business Briefs

Columns

Welcome to the National Biodiesel Conference

letter to the editor

Miners for a Fuel of Gold in San Francisco

Marketing Biodiesel on Fuel Attributes, Not Feedstocks

Featured

Biodiesel in the Golden Gate City

Entrée into the Majors

Franklin's Gift

Growing Beyond Oil: The 2008 Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit

Permitted Ponds-Siting Hurdles for Algae Development

Meal: More Than Just Chicken Feed

February 2009