When Renewable Energy Group Inc. became an independent company in 2006, it had a single 12 MMgy biorefinery. How much has REG grown in its first 10 years? Now the company often produces and sells a similar volume of biomass-based diesel in a week or less. And today, that 12 MMgy plant is its smallest. In fact, last August REG sold 50 million gallons in a month, not by pipeline or tanker ships, but by railcars and truckloads, one at a time. &ldquo;For the petroleum and ethanol industries, 50 million gallons a month isn&rsquo;t a big deal,&rdquo; says REG CEO Daniel Oh. &ldquo;What made this special is how we did it&mdash;processing more than 11,000 different input and output loads. That shows how much we have grown. Not only our production capacity, but every part of our business.&rdquo; In a year full of challenges in energy markets, REG generated nearly $1.5 billion in revenue and sold 378 million gallons of biomass-based diesel through the third quarter of 2016. Included in the figures are revenue and gallons from REG&rsquo;s expansion into Europe. At press time, the company has more than a 90-percent stake in German biodiesel producer Petrotec. Petrotec&rsquo;s two biorefineries in northern Germany produce biodiesel primarily from used cooking oil. REG expects to assume full control of Petrotec operations in early 2017. When added to REG&rsquo;s 452 million gallons of American production capacity, the two German biorefineries give REG half-a-billion gallons of annual production volume.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &ldquo;We were exploring opportunities in Europe for some time because of an advantage provided by their Renewable Energy Directive,&rdquo; Oh says. &ldquo;Not only do we get credit for producing renewable fuel, we get double credit because we use waste-based feedstock. We have established an international business unit and continue to explore other possibilities there.&rdquo; While REG became an independent company in 2006, its roots actually go back 21 years to 1995, when leaders at West Central Co-Op, now Landus Cooperative, looked for ways to add value to the soybean oil being processed at its Ralston, Iowa, crush facility. The journey from that idea to becoming North America&rsquo;s largest advanced biofuel producer has provided both challenges and opportunities for REG, which Oh says helped make the company durable and disciplined. &ldquo;We were barely a year old as an independent company when the markets crashed in 2007,&rdquo; Oh says. &ldquo;We had made large investments and had to stop construction at two 60 MMgy biorefineries (New Orleans and Emporia, Kansas). We made a lot of hard choices then, and used our experience building and operating plants for other companies to raise additional capital, which we used to acquire other operational plants.&rdquo; Multifeedstock Model Feedstock flexibility is one of the main lessons that enhanced REG&rsquo;s durability and growth. Using its trademarked &ldquo;Food-THEN-Fuel&rdquo; model, REG has invested well over $100 million since 2012, upgrading plants that were single feedstock or processed material with low free fatty acids (FFA) into multifeedstock production capabilities. REG also added distillation to most of its fleet, to improve cold weather performance. &ldquo;These upgrades made business sense because they allowed us to produce more biodiesel from lower-cost feedstocks, while also improving our yield and fuel quality,&rdquo; says Brad Albin, vice president of manufacturing at REG. &ldquo;And with our commitment to continuous improvement, each new upgrade project is an improvement over the last one because we put our lessons-learned to work.&rdquo; The most recent example is the completion of a $34.5 million project at the 45 MMgy REG Danville in eastern Illinois. In addition to distillation and process improvements, REG exponentially increased the plant&rsquo;s storage capacity by purchasing more than 13 million gallons of storage tanks from the adjacent Bunge milling facility. The other advantage REG enjoys through the multifeedstock model is better carbon reduction. &ldquo;REG is dedicated to providing lower-carbon intensity products and services,&rdquo; Oh says. &ldquo;Our high utilization of lower-cost, lower-carbon intensity feedstocks makes us more than just the leading advanced biofuel provider. REG is a leading decarbonization company.&rdquo; From 2010 to 2015, REG-produced biodiesel displaced more than 500 million gallons of petroleum diesel. And, for the first nine months of 2016, REG-produced fuel reduced carbon pollution by 2.2 million tons. REG also continued acquiring other biodiesel plants in 2016. In March, it acquired the former Sanimax Biodiesel facility, a 20 MMgy nameplate biodiesel plant near Madison, Wisconsin. In typical REG style, the day the company held its ribbon-cutting ceremony to formally mark the ownership change, it also broke ground on $5 million in improvements for the biorefinery. Capital improvements are paying off at another of the company&rsquo;s more recent acquisitions. REG Grays Harbor, formerly Imperium Renewables, on the Pacific Coast in Washington State, recently saw its highest production ever, thanks in large part to capital from Umpqua bank. REG secured an additional $5 million credit facility from Umpqua in October for further improvements. Looking Toward the Future So what is next in the wave of REG improvement projects? The company is going back to where it all started. On Nov. 8, Election Day in the U.S., they broke ground for a project that will more than double the capacity of its first biorefinery in Ralston, Iowa, expanding from 12 to 30 MMgy. Ralston is REG&rsquo;s only biorefinery connected to a soy crush operation, now owned and operated by Landus Cooperative. &ldquo;When Landus decided to expand its crush capacity, it made perfect sense,&rdquo; Albin says. &ldquo;With a greater, adjacent feedstock supply and continuous improvements at REG Ralston, this capacity expansion is a logical investment.&rdquo; Good relationships with lenders will continue to help fuel REG&rsquo;s growth. In October, Fifth Third Bank joined Wells Fargo to expand the company&rsquo;s $60 million line of credit to $150 million. Earlier in the year, REG Energy Services secured a $30 million credit facility to expand blended fuel offerings and enhance the company&rsquo;s already-expansive distribution network. One challenge REG has faced before and is doing again is operating without the federal biodiesel tax credit, which lapsed at the end of 2016. The company is doubling down on efforts to promote reinstatement of the credit, while also reforming it into a producer&rsquo;s tax credit. &ldquo;Congress never intended the biodiesel tax credit to incentivize foreign production of fuels, much of which is already subsidized by the countries where it is made,&rdquo; says REG Chief Financial Officer Chad Stone, who also serves on the National Biodiesel Board&rsquo;s executive committee. &ldquo;By reforming the credit to a producer&rsquo;s model, we can keep American tax dollars here that will still be shared with our feedstock providers and customers.&rdquo; With a new administration and one-party rule in Washington, D.C., REG leaders continue to have an optimistic outlook for the renewable fuel standard (RFS). &ldquo;I believe the RFS is one of the best market-oriented programs implemented by the federal government in some time,&rdquo; Oh says. &ldquo;What some policymakers and others don&rsquo;t realize is that we have to earn business every day. We do not have a guaranteed sale on any day of any volume at any price to any customer. That&rsquo;s the way we like it. We have been earning our business for more than 10 years, and we look forward to being a leader in the biomass-based diesel business for years to come.&rdquo; Author: Anthony Hulen Executive Director-Corporate Affairs, Renewable Energy Group Inc. 202-349-2546 <a href="mailto:Anthony.hulen@regi.com" target="_blank">Anthony.hulen@regi.com</a>

After repairs and upgrades, REG's 75 MMgy nameplate renewable hydrocarbon diesel reï¬�nery in Geismar, Louisiana, consistently ran at approximately 95 percent capacity in 2016. 

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REG's growth into Europe includes its majority ownership of two northern German biorefineries. The biodiesel produced from used cooking oil at the plants at Emden (pictured) and Oeding enjoy advantageous treatment under Europe's RED. 

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The U.S.'s largest biodiesel manufacturer, Ames, Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group Inc., matures from its single plant, single feedstock origins to a multifeedstock, multinational business. 

REG Marks 10 Years of Growth, Success & Continuous Improvement

Whether a commercial biodiesel production facility is scaled at 5 MMgy or 90 MMgy, and irrespective of what pretreatment, reaction and purification techniques are employed, their utilization, selection and positioning of key equipment are critical to smooth, efficient operations. These items are paramount to manufacturing but often ignored in the press. Automation, PCS To realize how important automation is to biodiesel manufacturing, the lay person can think of a washing machine. Imagine manually initiating every stage&mdash;powering on, opening and shutting the water valve, adding soap, triggering the agitator, opening the drain valve, spinning and repeating. Russ Teall, president of Biodico, says this would be akin to lab-testing incoming feedstock and coming up with formulations based on previous reactions, running mini batches to corroborate chemistry, and then running it. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not an automated system,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;If your system is sensing exactly what the composition of the feedstock is, in terms of free fatty acids, moisture content, hydrocarbon chain length, and then based on a library determines what the most efficient reaction will be and then executes it through a programmable logic controller (PLC), that&rsquo;s an automated system. That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re in the process of doing&mdash;building a data library to do that, and doing it at multiple facilities using high-grade equipment so the results are replicable.&rdquo; The more history, the better the data. &ldquo;You can predict the shape of a curve with three points, but if you use 10, or 100, or 1,000 points, it becomes more accurate,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re eliminating statistical anomalies. And then you corroborate those in the lab with machines like FTIR spectrometers that need to be taught what they&rsquo;re seeing. The library&mdash;that&rsquo;s what leads to the ability to do process controls.&rdquo; Only then can real-time sensing and adjustment of feedstock, temperatures, pressures, catalyst dosage, reaction kinetics and purification be achieved. This is the end game&mdash;automated biodiesel production using a data-rich library of historical information to impart process control systems with knowledge of what to do in any given circumstance to optimize and speed production. Pumps and Motors Pumps are the prime mover of liquid products in the plant whose power comes from electric motors. Some common, popular pump designs include centrifugal pumps, which impart energy to a liquid using centrifugal force and throw the liquid out, and positive displacement pumps, which continuously create voids that pull into the pump and then close, displacing liquid with every rotation, according to John Hall, senior product manager with Viking Pump. &ldquo;Our most popular are our universal seal pumps,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;They are internal gear pumps. The technology, our flagship product, allows us to customize pumps for different applications, where incoming feedstock may vary, for instance.&rdquo; Hall says adoption of variable speed drives applied to pumps has been important. &ldquo;With rotary positive displacement, the flow rate is directly proportionate to the speed, so they last. They&rsquo;ve become more accepted than ever before,&rdquo; he says. Motors have become subject to new NEMA-premium efficiency standards. Beginning June 1, 2016, an updated standard established by U.S. DOE in 2014 broadened the minimum efficiency of a variety of new motors sized at 1 horsepower and up. &ldquo;When regulations first moved to NEMA-premium, there were exceptions that didn&rsquo;t necessarily make sense,&rdquo; says Dale Basso, NEMA vice chairman and WEG Electric Corp.&rsquo;s low-voltage motors product manager. When Round 2 (aka Integral Horsepower Rule) changes came into effect this June, it included motors sized as low as 1 horsepower and incorporated &ldquo;almost everything except things like special shafts,&rdquo; Basso says. A NEMA-premium rating is two efficiency bands above a high-efficiency rating. The difference between each efficiency band, which is a fixed, nameplate assignment, is 10 percent loss. Heat Exchangers They play an essential role in the operational efficiency and effectiveness at every processing facility in which heat is essential, and as energy efficiency importance grows, the role of heat exchangers will become greater. Heat exchangers come in all shapes and sizes for a variety of mediums. Some recycle hot air from the boiler and help preheat fluid, whether it&rsquo;s boiler feedwater or feedstock. Others transfer heat between two liquids. Wes Crozier, a product manager with Alfa Laval, says plate heat exchangers (PHEs) are designed to optimize heat transfer. &ldquo;PHEs can have a heat transfer coefficient up to four times greater than that of a shell-and-tube one,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;This, along with the construction of a PHE, means that the footprint can be as little as 20 percent of the physical space needed for a shell and tube. This size advantage is especially valuable where plant real estate is scarce, or higher-alloy metals must be used.&rdquo; The size advantage is achieved through embossing plates with carefully designed&mdash;often patented&mdash;patterns. &ldquo;This embossing creates channels for the fluids to ensure maximum turbulence,&rdquo; Crozier says. &ldquo;This results in maximum efficiency in transferring heat from one medium to the other. In addition, many of our designs are fully countercurrent, which allow temperature crosses where the outlet temperature of the hot side can be cooler than the outlet temperature of the cold side&mdash;very difficult to do with other types of heat exchangers. The efficiency of the PHE also allows very tight temperature approaches, on the order of a couple of degrees, thus achieving the maximum energy transfer possible without physically mixing the fluids.&rdquo; Alfa Laval supplies a number of plate and frame heat exchangers to the biodiesel industry, both fully welded and gasketed. &ldquo;Solvent recovery is one area that our welded plate range fits very well,&rdquo; Crozier says, &ldquo;and our gasketed range fits well in most energy recovery applications, and they are used in the biodiesel production process in a number of positions. Glycerin evaporation is one area where we have applied our gasketed rising film plate evaporator as well.&rdquo; Author: Ron Kotrba Editor, Biodiesel Magazine 218-745-8347 <a href="mailto:rkotrba@bbiinternational.com" target="_blank">rkotrba@bbiinternational.com</a>

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No matter a biodiesel plant's scale and irrespective of what pretreatment, reaction and purification techniques are employed, the utilization, selection and positioning of key equipment—often ignored in the press—are critical to efficient operations.

Behind the Scenes

In September, dozens of biodiesel producers from around the world gathered in Vienna, Austria, not for a conference or exhibition, but to celebrate the milestone occasion of one company, a pioneer whose engineering and technological achievements forever changed the path of this industry. BDI-BioEnergy International AG, the renowned biodiesel process technology provider based in Styria, Austria, has grown from a team of five in its first days to employing 125 staff and engineers. The company has built 30 new biodiesel plants across the globe in the past 20 years, mostly multifeedstock, while retrofitting many others. Its influence spans several continents, including Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. &ldquo;From waste to value&rdquo; has long been BDI&rsquo;s philosophy, and its benchmark technology paved the way for multifeedstock processing and use of low-cost, problematic material. &ldquo;In 1996, no &lsquo;food vs. fuel&rsquo; discussion existed yet,&rdquo; says Wilhelm Hammer, the founder of BDI, &ldquo;but I was already focusing on used cooking oil (UCO) and animal fat from the rendering industry. Any fresh vegetable oil was very costly and the biodiesel produced out of it was by no means able to compete with mineral diesel.&rdquo; Hammer says when biodiesel first took off in Europe, there were many&mdash;too many&mdash;very simple production technologies offered. &ldquo;These technology providers often had no serious background and were promising a lot, but in the end not fulfilling the required biodiesel standards,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Looking back, these competitors harmed development of biodiesel and made it difficult for serious companies like BDI to develop the market. Malfunctioning biodiesel plants certainly had a bad influence on the reputation of this upcoming technology, and customers often were left alone with their problems in operation.&rdquo; Origins BDI was born from Vogel &amp; Noot&rsquo;s biodiesel division, one man&rsquo;s vision and a resolute partnership with key individuals. Hammer joined Vogel &amp; Noot in 1995 to help develop the biodiesel market. Helmut Gossler, another founder of BDI, was a technician at Vogel &amp; Noot and participated in the construction of two big plants. &ldquo;Helmut had a very practical view on things,&rdquo; Hammer says. &ldquo;He took me&mdash;a technical greenhorn&mdash;under his wing and tried to make me understand what I was supposed to be selling. He supported me right from the very first day and as time passed, we step-by-step complemented each other as a matter of course.&rdquo; Hammer diligently tried convincing the board that the future of biodiesel technology was the ability to process waste feedstock. &ldquo;To their own regret, they did not follow my vision,&rdquo; he tells Biodiesel Magazine. &ldquo;For them, the biodiesel business had no real future. But, right away they offered me a chance to buy the company. Completely surprised, I asked for a day off to reflect on and digest their proposal. I immediately realized to have a realistic chance of eventually getting my investment back, I needed support from Helmut, Michael Koncar, the founder and head of our longtime partner company VTU, and Martin Mittelbach from University of Graz, the &lsquo;father&rsquo; of Vogel &amp; Noot&rsquo;s biodiesel technology. They all immediately agreed. Helmut and Michael even went a step further and agreed without hesitating to become my partners if I set up a new company. So in the end, it took me about a half-hour to accept the offer. I bought the company including all rights and patents.&rdquo; On Sept. 12, 1996, BDI-BioDiesel International GesmbH was established with Gossler and VTU as partner and shareholder. A Different Approach Realizing the waste-to-value concept drove BDI from the start. A handful of biodiesel plants was established under Vogel &amp; Noot&rsquo;s commission, including what Hammer says was the world&rsquo;s first UCO biodiesel plant, a revamping of an existing rapeseed oil biodiesel facility in Mureck, Austria, from 1994-&rsquo;96, still producing today. &ldquo;Especially in the aftermath of the food vs. fuel discussion, the biodiesel industry is still alive because of its waste disposal capabilities for high-risk material,&rdquo; Hammer says. &ldquo;Our most successful customers handle hazardous waste material&mdash;for example Category 1 fats&mdash;by producing hygienically, absolutely safe and environmentally friendly biodiesel. This hygienic service still has potential to grow globally.&rdquo; BDI&rsquo;s first contract was in the U.S., at Griffin Industries, a rendering company now merged into <a href="https://www.darpro-solutions.com/about-dar-pro-solutions/">Dar Pro Solutions</a> &ldquo;with a very challenging quality of fat,&rdquo; Hammer says. After arranging a breakfast meeting with Dennis Griffin in Cincinnati at the airport Holiday Inn, Hammer asked for a visit to the rendering plant. &ldquo;He refused by uttering a simple but convincing &lsquo;no,&rsquo;&rdquo; Hammer says. Upon leaving, Griffin told Hammer he&rsquo;d hear from them soon, and a week later, Brad Albin, now vice president of manufacturing for Renewable Energy Group Inc. but then with Griffin Industries, telephoned BDI. A few months later BDI&rsquo;s first contract was signed for what became the world&rsquo;s first animal fat biodiesel plant. From the beginning, BDI&rsquo;s services included feedstock evaluation, economic feasibility, authority/basic/detailed engineering, purchasing, process control systems (PCS), supervision of construction and start-up. Over the years, BDI developed the capabilities to act as an EPC contractor, and more and more supported its customers in the project development phase. Technology Accomplishments Together with its partner company M&amp;R, BDI developed a tailor-made process control system&mdash;Automation X&mdash;for biodiesel plant control. In the late 1990s, this system was superior to other traditional systems, Hammer says, especially regarding batch reactor control and visualization. &ldquo;Certainly, over the past decades other PCS have caught up,&rdquo; Hammer says. &ldquo;Nevertheless, our customers are still very fond of the system, due to its flexibility&mdash;the easy integration of existing software or other PCS, which can be important for retrofit projects&mdash;reliability and simplicity, when it comes to changes or updates.&rdquo; Hammer tells Biodiesel Magazine that process controls are the heart of BDI&rsquo;s technology. Markus Dielacher, BDI&rsquo;s chief technology officer, says BDI&rsquo;s plants are largely automated, so the operator&rsquo;s main job is to monitor the entire process and intervene only in case a deviation occurs. &ldquo;We use a so-called soft process logic controller instead of a hard process logic controller,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;In other words, this electronic item is integrated in our software. We just have one server, less interfaces and therefore less problems. To make the system operationally reliable, we use a second server in redundancy.&rdquo; The software is especially designed for batch units and tracking each individual batch in the system. &ldquo;This is not standard in other process control systems,&rdquo; Dielacher says. &ldquo;This gives the operator the opportunity not only to warrant safe operation of the plant but also the security of being able to follow product quality.&rdquo; Trending tools, such as temperature or pressure, are standard at a BDI plant, &ldquo;not an option like with other systems,&rdquo; Dielacher adds. &ldquo;Trending tools are a big help in case of error diagnostics.&rdquo; Edgar Ahn performed doctoral work at Vogel &amp; Noot in biodiesel scale-up and joined BDI in 1997 as being responsible for R&amp;D. After Gossler and Hammer retired, Ahn became chief sales officer and a member of BDI&rsquo;s management board in 2011. Today Ahn is responsible for R&amp;D, sales and marketing, and innovation management. In its mission to create value from waste, unwanted side reactions from the presence of soluble, unwanted impurities and components in low-cost feedstock had to be understood and dealt with. &ldquo;With our deep understanding regarding the complex reaction system including unwanted side reactions, BDI was able to develop and integrate the right counter measurements within its process concept,&rdquo; Ahn says. &ldquo;The wider the variety of feedstock&mdash;and its unwanted components&mdash;got over the years at our customers&rsquo; projects, the more our R&amp;D had to deal with it. Therefore, BDI accumulated a huge data bank about all different kinds of vegetable- and animal fat-based feedstock, and how to cost-effectively turn them into high-quality biodiesel.&rdquo; As quality standards tightened, the number of necessary purification steps grew within the BDI production concept, Ahn says. &ldquo;It was also necessary to find the right interaction between the chemical reaction steps&mdash;esterification and transesterification&mdash;and the subsequent purification steps, especially with the BDI-patented concept of recycling fatty acid streams from the glycerin purification steps back into the reaction steps,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;So the overall system got more and more complex.&rdquo;&nbsp; BDI sought development of a system in which the catalyst (potassium-based) is recyclable and doesn&rsquo;t end up in glycerin, leading to cumbersome glycerin purification steps. &ldquo;Here, the development of the RepCat system certainly marked a milestone in the R&amp;D history of BDI,&rdquo; Ahn says. Today BDI proudly focuses its biodiesel efforts on its multifeedstock technology for complete turnkey solutions and its retrofit program to improve existing plants mainly built by competitors. Retrofitting involves a thorough analysis of the existing system, developing an upgraded system by, as Ahn puts it, &ldquo;changing recipes, introducing superior process steps and units, or adaptations to existing equipment,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always a tailor-made solution, within the given boundaries.&rdquo; BDI&rsquo;s multifeedstock development concept began in the early 1990s at Vogel &amp; Noot in the design of the Mureck UCO plant. &ldquo;The BDI team got addicted to looking for even cheaper feedstock, and to adopt our technology concept to be able to convert them into biodiesel according to the strictest biodiesel standards,&rdquo; Ahn says. BDI&rsquo;s feedstock pretreatment is a combination of mechanical separation steps and washing steps combined with chemical reactions. &ldquo;The way of combining these steps depends on the type and quality of feedstock,&rdquo; Ahn says. &ldquo;Certainly all insoluble impurities must be separated first. Sometimes a chemical &lsquo;attack&rsquo; or preconditioning is necessary to increase the efficiency of the subsequent washing steps. I think this particular know-how is part of what makes BDI technology the benchmark technology in multifeedstock biodiesel production.&rdquo; BDI&rsquo;s process utilizes sulfuric acid in esterification. &ldquo;For higher FFA-containing feedstock, we recommend a high-pressure esterification unit,&rdquo; Ahn says, adding this can be part of a retrofit program as well. For the main reaction, BDI uses continuous flow in the few pure vegetable oil plants it has built so far, but for its specialty in multifeedstock design, BDI relies on its optimized batch. &ldquo;We need the flexibility to adapt&mdash;from batch to batch&mdash;to changing compositions in the feedstock and to be able to react with appropriate changes in the necessary recipes, which will be done automatically by our PCS system,&rdquo; Ahn says. &ldquo;Our alkaline catalyst-based transesterification is carried out in two, optimized concerted stages.&rdquo; Finally, for fuel purification, BDI&rsquo;s standard multifeedstock concept employs a concerted combination of washing steps and biodiesel distillation. &ldquo;Our evaluation of ion exchange or resin purification steps showed many disadvantages when it comes to handling low-quality feedstock, and are economically not as feasible as our proven systems,&rdquo; Ahn says. Ahn says landmark inventions BDI researchers provided to the biodiesel industry are its post-esterification and recycling of fatty acid phase to the esterification/transesterification process, increasing yield tremendously and &ldquo;often copied by competitors, but never reached;&rdquo; its optimized biodiesel distillation system, guaranteeing the lowest yield losses; RepCat, the biodiesel production system for high-FFA, low-quality feedstock with recyclable catalyst and &ldquo;unsurpassed simple operability;&rdquo; and many more process optimization steps, including algae production through its spinoff company BDI Biolife Science, and a new production and purification system for handling high-sulfur feedstock such as brown grease. The Future BDI continues to influence biodiesel production efficiencies worldwide, as evidenced by its ongoing project at Argent Energy in the U.K. and its recently completed expansion and upgrade&mdash;part of its retrofit program&mdash;at Crimson Renewable Energy LP in Bakersfield, California. Originally named BDI-BioDiesel International, the company changed its name a few years ago to reflect its broader capabilities when it got into the biogas market. The company went public 10 years ago but it plans to delist since trading in BDI shares is &ldquo;very illiquid,&rdquo; says Andreas Erhart, BDI&rsquo;s chief financial officer. As such, wild swings in stock prices unlinked to BDI&rsquo;s financial situation plus high administrative and other related costs cannot be justified, Erhart says. Furthermore, the required transparency jeopardizes otherwise confidential information. Erhart says the operational activities of BDI will not be affected by delisting. Ahn says BDI will continue adapting its multifeedstock process to take in even more difficult feedstock, such as black grease from wastewater treatment plants, adding that a patent has been filed on treatment of high-sulfur material. BDI also holds strong hope for its BioCrack process, a second-generation effort to coprocess lignocellulosic feedstock into renewable diesel at existing oil refineries. He says growth in waste-based biodiesel opportunities abound in Asia and the U.S. &ldquo;In the U.S. we have seen in recent months a growing interest in retrofitting biodiesel plants and there is even project development for new plants going on,&rdquo; Ahn says. &ldquo;But nobody can predict what influence the election of Donald Trump will have on the currently slightly growing biofuel industry in the U.S.&rdquo; While Hammer and Gossler are now retired as CEO and chief technology officer, respectively, they remain major shareholders and stay active in the company. &ldquo;We regularly have a working lunch with our board members or supervisory board to exchange ideas,&rdquo; Hammer says. &ldquo;Even though we are the major shareholders, we do not want to interfere in the daily business operations.&rdquo; At BDI&rsquo;s gala 20-year anniversary celebration in Vienna, Hammer thanked his customers, many of whom were in the room, for giving him their trust and time to solve problems. He tells Biodiesel Magazine BDI has a good team that knows what to do, and knows these very simple rules: &ldquo;Cheap can be very expensive in the end,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;This is not only valid for us when specifying equipment for a plant, but also for the customer. And do not believe in miracles when you do not follow this simple procedure. And finally, carefully check the people and company you are going to work with.&rdquo; Author: Ron Kotrba Editor, Biodiesel Magazine 218-745-8347 <a href="mailto:rkotrba@bbiinternational.com" target="_blank">rkotrba@bbiinternational.com</a>

BioDiesel Vienna GmbH contracted BDI in 2007 to expand biodiesel production from 95,000 to 140,000 tons per year. This is just one of dozens of biodiesel plants spanning Europe and the world built, expanded or retrofitted by BDI. 

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 In September 2016, BDI hosted a gala anniversary celebration in Vienna, and invited guests included biodiesel customers and friends alike. Pictured here (from left) are Erhart, Ahn, Hammer, Biodiesel Magazine Editor Ron Kotrba, Gossler and Dielacher

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On BDI-BioEnergy International's 20-year anniversary, Biodiesel Magazine takes a look back at the company's beginnings, accomplishments and biodiesel production technology. 

A Proven Biodiesel Process Technology Track Record

A friend of mine turned me on to a great Bobby Pinson song called Don&rsquo;t Ask Me How I Know. He said he thought I would understand why he suggested it. The song is a series of simple, unrelated phrases that just about anyone can relate to. But if you&rsquo;re in the biodiesel business, the phrases sound like a metaphor about learning lessons the hard way. Trying to make a living in biodiesel for two decades now, the hard way is about the only way it happens. The song starts out, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t ride your bike off a ramp that&rsquo;s more than three bricks high &hellip; Don&rsquo;t take the candy from the store if you don&rsquo;t have the dime &hellip; And don&rsquo;t sneak out of a two story house using bed sheets for a rope &hellip; Don&rsquo;t ask me how I know.&rdquo; The song is about the lessons taken from experiences that worked out very differently than planned. 2016 was a breakthrough year for the biodiesel industry, and for World Energy. We brought our third and fourth biodiesel plants online to become the second largest producer in the U.S. with 230 MMgy of capacity. The year also marked my 20th anniversary working in the biodiesel industry. I was honored to be invited to contribute to this issue of Biodiesel Magazine to provide some insights on World Energy&rsquo;s 20 years of overnight success. Ours is a story of survival, determination, adversity, failure, setbacks, lessons learned the hard way, and progress. In 1994, while serving as an economic development official in Massachusetts, I helped structure a deal for a visionary entrepreneur to purchase a Procter &amp; Gamble soap production plant in Quincy, Massachusetts, where he intended to make and market a brand new product. It was the first time I had heard that word, &ldquo;biodiesel.&rdquo;&nbsp; I had been interested in alternative fuels all my life. Even as a kid growing up in Toledo, Ohio, I had done my seventh-grade science fair project on the then new gasoline made from corn called gasohol. Then in eighth grade, my project was on electric cars. I even went so far as to build a very crude electric vehicle fashioned from lantern flashlight batteries, leftover wood and random parts strewn around my dad&rsquo;s basement work bench. The Good &ldquo;Biodiesel&rdquo;&mdash;I was fascinated from the first time I heard the word. It just made sense. If gasoline has ethanol, shouldn&rsquo;t diesel have something too? In the wake of Desert Storm I was convinced that Americans were finally really ready to press for alternatives to fossil fuels. In 1996, I finished graduate school knowing there was one place I wanted to work, and soon I joined the fledgling team at Twin Rivers Technologies, the first standalone biodiesel business in the U.S.
Within days of starting at TRT, I attended the July 1996 meeting of my new industry&rsquo;s new trade group&mdash;the National Biodiesel Board&mdash;led by America&rsquo;s soybean farmers and funded by the soybean checkoff.&nbsp; It was clear from the beginning that biodiesel would require public policy support to succeed and that NBB would have to be the vehicle to mobilize farm leadership support. Before long I would meet a young NBB staffer named Joe Jobe who would go on to lead the NBB for the subsequent two decades. Working closely with Joe, the NBB team and the American Soybean Association, we slowly started to make some progress. In 1998, the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) amendments were passed, which opened the first market opportunity for biodiesel-blended fuel in public fleets. That year I bought Twin Rivers&rsquo; biodiesel business on maxed-out credit cards and started World Energy specifically to open EPAct-enabled markets. At that time a close pal was one of the originals at Boston Beer, the company known for making Sam Adams. On long weekend drives to go skiing we would talk about the work we were both doing. He explained that Sam Adams was taking a brand new approach to beer. They were focused like a laser on selling a better beer, he would say&mdash;not making one. The trick he said was selling and supplying the stuff. There were others out there who would gladly brew whatever they could sell.&nbsp; That sounded familiar and World Energy was founded on the Sam Adams business model. Just like Sam Adams, World Energy would focus everything we had on amassing a customer base and getting our product to market. Like them, World Energy would contract for manufacturing rather than &ldquo;brewing&rdquo; our own. The approach gave us the freedom to be relentlessly focused on our target customers: EPAct-regulated fleet managers. We hounded those poor people. That year crude oil bottomed out at $10 per barrel and diesel fuel was under $1 per gallon, but we persisted. Biodiesel was a specialty fuel that sold for many times the price of diesel so it was difficult to educate fleet managers about how the new, special biodiesel provisions of EPAct made the use of biodiesel fuel in existing diesel engines the most cost-effective way to comply with their alternative vehicle purchase requirements. Still, we kept pushing. We called and called and visited with virtually every one of them at least once. We heard the word &ldquo;no&rdquo; so often it started to sound like the annoying chirp from a broken office fan. Then, finally, probably because some of those tired souls wanted to get us off their backs, we started to hear a few &ldquo;maybes,&rdquo; then &ldquo;yeses&rdquo; and we began to break through. By 2001, we had become a licensed fuel distributor in 40 states selling B20 blends directly to fleets in every corner of the country. By establishing and aggregating demand, we were able to work backwards to supply when everyone else was doing the opposite. Sales were still small, but we were growing and making payroll. We went on to source production from Germany, Italy and Indonesia, as well as the few U.S. plants that could produce quality fuel here at that time.&nbsp; By 2003 we were growing steadily. We bought our first plant in Lakeland, Florida, but continued to rely mostly on contract manufacturing to supply nearly every corner of the developing U.S. market. In late 2004, NBB and our soybean and industry allies were successful in getting the biodiesel tax credit passed. In 2005, World Energy initiated the first U.S. biodiesel exports to the U.K. and then expanded further to continental Europe. By 2006, the company was importing material to fill much of the business&rsquo; domestic sales and using nearly all the domestic production we could get to continue to grow the export business. That year we ended our first decade in business with more than 50 percent market share, having grown by 50 percent or more each year of our existence, and ending each of our first 10 years in the black. The Bad In 2008, the company passed the $600 million revenue mark and had its most successful year to date&mdash;but all was not well. Big changes were afoot and it was clear that biodiesel&rsquo;s first act would soon be coming to a close.&nbsp; The U.S. economy collapsed, working capital lines dried up, crude oil fell from its highest level at $147 per barrel to hover at $30. A trade case by the European Commission followed, which imposed duties on U.S. product effectively closing U.S. export markets to Europe. World Energy shed almost everything including 90 percent of our work force, the Florida plant, the international offices, the 260-railcar fleet, tank storage positions in six states and three countries, the barge fleet, even the office space in Boston. In the song, Don&rsquo;t Ask Me How I Know, the refrain goes &ldquo;Sell your truck while it&rsquo;s still running&mdash;save the Jesus off the dash.&rdquo; Yeah, it was like that. We were going to need that dashboard Jesus. But, the makings of the second act were already visible, even if faintly so. The Transformed The renewable fuel standard (RFS) had passed in December 2007. It would be years before regulations would be promulgated and even longer before the RFS would start creating meaningful demand. But even then it was clear that for the first time American biodiesel manufacturing would one day have a sustainable future. We used that time to reposition World Energy for a completely different market&mdash;one that would be all about low-cost production at scale and efficient domestic distribution. In the ensuing years it became clear that the RFS would not only reshape the biofuels industry in the U.S., but it would also have significant consequences for both the fossil fuels and agricultural sectors globally. The RFS would be the new market. There would be a future for biodiesel, but building it wasn&rsquo;t going to be any easier than it had been the first time around. We started into the RFS era by entering into management contracts to help manage distressed assets. In 2011, we bought a longtime supplier based in Rome, Georgia. In 2012, we entered into a deal to take over operations of a plant in Natchez, Mississippi. In 2013, we bought a mothballed plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In 2014, we extended the Mississippi deal, then expanded it again in 2015 and, finally, last year, we bought that plant too. We also forged a partnership mid-2016 with Canadian industry pioneer, Biox, to buy, refurbish and start up a 90 MMgy plant on the ship channel in Houston. As part of that deal, we established the adjacent World Energy Biox Houston Hub distribution center in Galena Park, designed to facilitate large-scale pipeline shipments to points throughout the U.S. Pipeline distribution stands now to revolutionize biofuel distribution. The project established a 360,000-barrel multimodal (truck, rail, barge, ship, pipe) distribution hub in the heart of the nation&rsquo;s petroleum system. Our Texas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Georgia plants are now all running well and we are heading into 2017 focused on expansion and optimization at each of them. Lessons Hard Learned So here we are, 20 years in, and I have been asked to reflect on the lessons taken from World Energy&rsquo;s journey. And just like in the song, I can only pass along what I&rsquo;ve taken from experience. I&rsquo;m no Bobby Pinson and I&rsquo;ve never used a bed sheet to get out of a second-story window, but here are my truths. First, whether it&rsquo;s in beer or biodiesel, excellent suppliers improve upon the status quo even before the need to do so becomes obvious. A producer tends to be focused on his own work, and a good supplier works to know the customer&rsquo;s needs&mdash;often before the customer even knows he has them. Obligated parties need scale, reliability and delivered efficiency. Just like with EPAct fleet managers long ago, we need to help obligated parties improve how they do what they currently do. Second, we are drawn to this work not because it&rsquo;s easy, but because it&rsquo;s hard. We can&rsquo;t shy away from complexity and we can never get complacent. We need to constantly be striving for what&rsquo;s next, whether that is in the public policy realm or in finding new ways to move product more efficiently. The chirping fan of &ldquo;no&rdquo; cannot be allowed to stop us from making progress. Third, nobody goes it alone and succeeds. Success in biodiesel is an exercise in collaboration. From our 20 years of work with NBB to the deal we put together just this year with Biox, we are only as good as our partnerships. We have been blessed to have great partners in all areas of our business and we have to continue to work to build value with our partners every day. Just like every bottle of Sam Adams is the result of an array of companies working seamlessly together, commercializing a new fuel is truly a team effort.&nbsp; Today&rsquo;s biodiesel challenges are opportunities too. Every major centrally fueled fleet in America should be using biodiesel blends up to B20. But many aren&rsquo;t. We can save up to 90 percent of distribution costs by getting biodiesel into pipelines everywhere. Today, that is not the norm. U.S. biodiesel demand is growing each year thanks to the hard work of people across the country, but subsidized imports are growing at an even greater rate, depriving American workers of their full return on our biodiesel investments. A producer tax credit will fix that. Work remains, but the RFS is on track for the first time ever at large scale. Now with conventional biofuels reaching their statutory maximum, all future RFS growth is targeted at advance biofuels. Twenty years on, our time has come.
That friend, the one who told me about the Bobby Pinson song, well that was Joe Jobe. The lamenting lyrics in the song conjure up the age-old notion that those of us who have been on this 20-year odyssey together can relate to&mdash;if I only knew then what I know now. The last line of the song goes, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t go to Vegas with your heart broke, don&rsquo;t bum your cousin for that first smoke, don&rsquo;t drink the water in Mexico. Don&rsquo;t ask me how I know &hellip; I just know.&rdquo;&nbsp; Having been through the enormous joys and gut-wrenching challenges of the past two decades, those of us who have survived are wiser. We will continue to learn our lessons the hard way&mdash;it&rsquo;s the only way we know. But the industry&rsquo;s future has never been brighter, and we have never been better-positioned to seize the opportunities before us. Don&rsquo;t ask me how I know. I just know. Author: Gene Gebolys President, World Energy 617-889-7300 <a href="mailto:ggebolys@worldenergy.net" target="_blank">ggebolys@worldenergy.net</a>

Several years after taking over operations at Elevance Renewablesâ€™ 72 MMgy biodiesel plant in Natchez, Mississippi, World Energy closed an acquisition deal for the plant in the summer of 2016.

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From the Winter 2017 print edition of Biodiesel Magazine, Gene Gebolys, the founder and president of World Energy, takes us on his and World Energy's fantastic journey through the ups and downs of biodiesel over the past 20 years.  

A 20-Year-Old Startup

While the majority of U.S. biodiesel is still produced from soybean and canola oil, the role of alternative feedstock has increased steadily over the past decade. The lower production costs they afford have had a significant effect on economic viability as the industry undergoes consolidation and weathers the political storms of tax credits and renewable fuel standard (RFS) volume revisions. Here we will take a look back at the past several years and examine trends in alternative feedstock usage from a technical perspective, and review technologies that have found commercial use in processing these feedstocks. The term &ldquo;alternative feedstock&rdquo; used in this article will include waste oils such as yellow and brown greases, crude corn oil from ethanol production, and fats derived from animal byproduct rendering.&nbsp; The U.S. Energy Information Administration has tracked the source of biodiesel inputs since 2010 and posts monthly consumption and production figures. Figure 1 uses EIA data to illustrate the amount of each alternative feedstock used over the past six years, as a percentage of the total feedstock inputs in U.S. biodiesel production. As a percentage of the total feedstock pool, alternative feedstock represent on average 39 percent of the feedstock used in U.S. biodiesel production from 2010-&rsquo;16. The accompanying chart illustrates how yellow grease (YG) and crude corn oil (CCO) have emerged as the clear leaders in alternative feedstock use, with their volumes increasing significantly since 2011. While both feedstock have their own processing challenges, they have two things in common catapulting them to the front of the pack. Both YG and CCO are readily available in large quantities, and they represent feedstock with low carbon intensity, meaning there is less carbon dioxide emitted in producing the fuel compared to other feedstock sources. YG has been the most common alternative feedstock going back to the beginning of the industry in the late 1990s. In 2015, biodiesel production accounted for 62 percent of all YG produced in the U.S., according to EIA consumption data and National Rendering Association production data. The processing issues associated with yellow grease, including high levels of free fatty acids (FFA) and water/solids contamination have been known for many years, and a great number of producers have adapted to these characteristics. However, the biggest driver in recent years has been the favorable carbon intensity value assigned to YG biodiesel in California&rsquo;s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS), which has created additional revenue for producers able to reach that market. The amount of biodiesel produced from CCO extracted from ethanol plant stillage has increased nine-fold since 2010, to a little more than 1 billion pounds in 2015. The first extraction processes were brought online in the mid-2000s with ethanol producers quickly realizing the value of corn oil as a coproduct. ICM Inc. of Colwich, Kansas, is one of the leading providers of corn oil extraction systems and has installed more than 50 oil recovery systems in ethanol plants nationwide. Aaron Williamson, ICM product manager, estimates there are less than 10 percent of ethanol plants in operation that do not employ corn oil extraction. ICM has also worked extensively on improving the efficiency of the process, with yields of corn oil up to 100 percent higher than some early installations. In addition to being readily available with consistent quality and in large volumes, CCO has been assigned a very low carbon intensity value in California&rsquo;s LCFS, making it very desirable. With FFA in the range of 10 to 20 percent, a majority of biodiesel pretreatment technologies can process crude corn oil, although the presence of waxes and other contaminants can require more substantial processing to meet cold soak filtration standards.&nbsp; Animal fats, preferred by some producers for their typically low FFA levels, have not grown significantly and, in some cases, have declined in use over the past six years, with the biggest challenge to widespread adoption being poor cold temperature properties of the finished fuel. However, the advent of renewable diesel technology has renewed interest in these feedstocks, as their saturated fats require less hydrogen to convert to hydrocarbons and there is typically less metal contamination than other low-cost feedstock like YG. &nbsp; In the late 2000s, a handful of companies seemed close to commercializing biodiesel from 100 percent brown grease&mdash;the holy grail of low-cost feedstock. At half the price of YG, brown grease has always drawn a lot of attention. Presently, however, no dedicated facilities exist in the U.S. utilizing 100 percent brown grease. Substantial contamination issues, especially sulfur and polymers, have meant high capital costs for dedicated brown grease facilities. One method of dealing with these problems has been blending brown grease with other feedstock such as YG. Pacific Biodiesel&rsquo;s Big Island Biodiesel plant is one facility making use of this blended feedstock approach, with the capability to use up to 50 percent brown grease in its feedstock mix. The blending approach results in lower operating costs while addressing the other major problem of brown grease: its relatively dispersed and low-volume availability.&nbsp; Brown grease is derived mainly from grease trap waste, which contains up to 90 percent water. Obtaining brown grease in substantial quantity means first setting up dewatering and wastewater treatment facilities for recovering the grease. While several dozen of these dewatering plants exist in the U.S., low feedstock prices have made it challenging for these processors. Additionally, there has been some competition for the grease trap waste from anaerobic digestion facilities, especially in the western U.S. Despite these challenges, tightening laws for disposal of grease trap waste in Florida, Michigan and elsewhere have spurred new interest in brown grease recovery. With further consolidation of production and a continued move within the industry toward biodiesel distillation, it is likely that we will continue to see brown grease as a small but growing piece of the feedstock market. Pretreatment Technologies Over the past 15 years, the technology required for pretreatment of high-FFA feedstock has been a major source of debate in the biodiesel production community. Many technologies have been proposed, and some such as enzymatic esterification and solid catalyst processes appear to hold promise, however, acid catalyzed esterification, fatty acid stripping, and glycerin esterification have emerged as the most popular techniques used at commercial scale.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Acid catalyzed esterification, specifically homogenous acid esterification using sulfuric or sulfonic acid, is the preferred method of pretreatment for plants in the small-to-medium-size range across the industry. The equipment is straightforward&nbsp; to install and can handle moderate amounts of FFA, typically up to 20 percent. The downside of acid esterification is the need to recycle wet methanol, which typically means expanding or adding new methanol rectification equipment at the plant.&nbsp; Fatty acid stripping&mdash;the process of removing FFAs by vacuum distillation&mdash;has found favor with larger producers and is well-suited for medium- to large-scale facilities. Crown Iron Works, a provider of oleochemical and biodiesel process technology, has supplied 12 fatty acid stripping systems in capacities from 30 to 60 MMgy. Renewable Energy Group Inc., the nation&rsquo;s largest producer of biodiesel, makes use of fatty acid stripping to handle high-FFA feedstock in their facilities. Though it is more capital intensive than acid esterification, fatty acid stripping is capable of achieving extremely low FFA levels, and in the end is less energy intensive to operate than many acid esterification systems, when the energy costs of recycling the wet methanol are considered. Glycerin esterification, or glycerolysis, is another FFA pretreatment method that is used at commercial scale in the U.S. By esterifying the high-FFA feedstock with glycerin at high temperature, the FFA are converted to mono- and diglycerides, which are subsequently processed using traditional transesterification techniques. Employed for many decades in the oleochemical industry, the process is installed at the facilities originally designed and constructed by Nova Biosource. All of these facilities are still in operation, and represent 100 MMgy of production capacity.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Post-treatment Technologies In addition to pretreatment to reduce FFA levels, most alternative feedstocks possess some level of contamination that requires processing beyond traditional water washing or resin adsorption to remove. Two technologies that have emerged as clear leaders in this area are cold filtration and biodiesel distillation.&nbsp; Cold filtration is a technique that is used to remove contaminants such as waxes, sterol glucosides, residual soaps, proteins and other unsaponifiable matter that contribute to cold soak filtration issues. The technique is modeled to some degree on the cold soak filtration test itself. It involves mixing a filter aid, typically diatomaceous earth or magnesium silicate, with the methyl ester stream, then cooling the mixture to a point just above the cloud point of the methyl ester. The contaminants with higher melting points precipitate out of solution and are removed in a filter press or pressure leaf filter. When compared to alternatives such as ester distillation, cold filtration is inexpensive to install and operate, and results in minimal yield loss. Cold filtration does produce a solid waste byproduct in the form of the filter cake, but this is a very small stream, typically less than 0.5 percent by weight of the plant throughput.&nbsp;&nbsp; Biodiesel distillation has grown from being relatively rare to a process that is now installed in more than 350 MMgy of U.S. plant capacity. Once relegated to use on feedstock with high levels of sulfur or other difficult-to-remove contaminants, biodiesel distillation is now finding favor with producers meeting customer needs for very low levels of monoglycerides, exceptional cold soak filtration times, and consistent color. The high capital costs of biodiesel distillation make it more suited to larger facilities, but it has been installed at plants with throughputs as low as 5 MMgy where it is needed to handle very low-grade feedstock. The drawbacks to distillation, including yield loss and energy consumption, are often offset by the ability to process blends of very low-cost feedstock, including CCO and the previously mentioned brown grease blending scenario.&nbsp;&nbsp; Renewable Diesel&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No discussion of process technology would be complete without also addressing renewable diesel, which has emerged as a competitive technology to ester-based biodiesel. Renewable diesel is produced by hydrotreating and isomerizing vegetable oils and fats, followed by distillation to recover fuel gas, naptha and diesel fractions. The technology can also be adapted to produce renewable jet fuel. The technology is capable of using a wide variety of feedstock with elevated FFA levels, but requires extensive pretreatment to prevent trace metals in the feedstock from deactivating the hydotreating catalysts. The diesel fuel fraction produced by hydrotreating has high renewable content, and is virtually identical to traditional petroleum diesel, with no vehicle manufacturer restrictions on high blends or cold weather blending issues. Capital costs for renewable diesel facilities are significantly higher than traditional biodiesel processes, with renewable diesel plants typically being large to take advantage of economies of scale. The largest renewable diesel plant in the U.S., Diamond Green Diesel, was completed in 2013 and uses UOP Honeywell technology. Diamond Green Diesel recently announced an expansion from 160 to 275 MMgy. REG purchased the former 75 MMgy Dynamic Fuels renewable diesel plant in 2015. Several smaller facilities in the 3 to 30 MMgy range are also nearing commercial production. Many eyes are watching these projects to see how they fare in the marketplace, and what success could mean for ester-based biodiesel going forward. &nbsp; The wild markets of the past several years have weeded out a significant number of business models and technologies unable to make it through the leaner times. The technology required to process alternative feedstock has become more mature, with plants now much more efficient and producing higher-quality products and coproducts. The industry today is more competitive and producing more low carbon fuel than ever, and with RFS biomass-based diesel volumes continuing to trend upward, the increased use of less-expensive and low-carbon feedstock of all types will continue. Author: Will Smith Owner, Springhouse Consulting 540-605-9716 <a href="mailto:wsmith@springhouseconsult.com" target="_blank">wsmith@springhouseconsult.com</a>

The drawbacks to distillation, such as the distillation and methanol recovery system from Big Island Biodiesel shown here, include yield loss and energy consumption. But these are often offset by the ability to process blends of low-cost feedstock. 

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As demonstrated in this chart, which displays alternative feedstock as a percentage of total feedstock consumption, CCO and YG have significantly increased their presence in the U.S. biodiesel feedstock pool over the past six years. 

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 ICM has installed more than 50 corn oil recovery systems at ethanol plants throughout the U.S., and yield gains from these systems have increased significantly over time.  

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A grease rendering tank at SeQuential-Pacificâ€™s biodiesel plant in Salem, Oregon, holds yellow grease, the biodiesel industryâ€™s most common alternative feedstock since the 1990s. 

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From the Winter 2017 print edition of Biodiesel Magazine, Will Smith, the owner of Springhouse Consulting, reviews available lower-quality biodiesel feedstocks and the commercial processes employed for successful biodiesel conversion. 

Alternative Feedstock & Process Technology Overview

Russell Leighton, plant manager at the 50 MMgy Duonix biodiesel plant in Beatrice, Nebraska, stands outside the recently completed plant. The retrofit overhaul took Flint Hills Resources and Benfuel Inc. years to finish. 

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Evonik expanded sodium methylate production in Mobile, Alabama, to help support the demand for catalyst as the U.S. biodiesel industry grows. 

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AGPâ€™s Sergeant Bluff facility, the U.S.â€™s first commercial biodiesel plant, is undergoing an expansion that will double capacity to 60 MMgy. 

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From the Winter 2017 print edition of Biodiesel Magazine, this cover article dives into the past year's resurgence in U.S. biodiesel project expansions, upgrades, imports and M&As. It was a time unlike any in recent history. But what will 2017 bring?

Biodiesel Renaissance

Kirk Leeds, CEO, Iowa Soybean Association, Ankeny, Iowa &ldquo;As NBB gets ready to celebrate its 25th anniversary, what a great time to step back and consider how far NBB and the entire industry has come. From its earliest days, the founders brought energy and determination to an industry that did not yet exist. With a focus on getting excess soybean oil off the market, soybean farmers began to invest farmer checkoff dollars in basic performance research and demonstration projects. Industry investments followed, and today NBB is recognized as a results-focused organization with outstanding staff that brings together all facets of the growing biodiesel industry. The future of the industry is bright and a big reason is due to the unified approach NBB has taken from its earliest days.&rdquo; Curtis Wright, Division Manager, Imperial Western Products, Coachella, California &ldquo;The National Biodiesel Board has been invaluable to our business over the years. As a biodiesel producer in California, we are faced with the strictest regulations in the world. NBB has been with us all the way, fighting for biodiesel&rsquo;s place in the fuel supply in California. As past chairman of the California Biodiesel Alliance, NBB was a crucial partner in helping us in Sacramento on the regulatory, technical and policy fronts. NBB continues to work with CBA to help solve barriers to biodiesel&rsquo;s widespread use in California. Thank you NBB.&rdquo; Jason Lawrence Vice President of Operations and Procurement, Amerigreen Energy, Lancaster, Pennsylvania &ldquo;Amerigreen&rsquo;s mission is to work every day to improve America&rsquo;s energy freedom and sustainability for today and future generations. The National Biodiesel Board&rsquo;s partnership with our organization is strategic and mutually beneficial. We align ourselves with the tenets of the NBB, continually supporting a strong RFS, as well as promoting a domestic producer&rsquo;s tax credit for American-made biodiesel. We are actively engaged with policy discussions, marketing strategy, and outreach to further the advancement of biodiesel usage nationwide. As a marketer, it is important for us to stay current with our industry&rsquo;s environment, and the NBB provides us with a platform to do just that. The daily communications, emails and alerts are essential for Amerigreen to maintain an accurate representation in the marketplace about the future of biodiesel. We look forward to our continued work together in the development of America&rsquo;s leading advanced biofuel.&rdquo;

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NBB Membership Testimonials

Based in Jefferson City, Missouri, the National Biodiesel Board is the nonprofit trade association dedicated to coordinating the biodiesel industry and educating the public about the fuel. State soybean commodity groups, which funded several biodiesel research and development programs with checkoff dollars, founded the National Soy Diesel Development Board in 1992. The board changed its name to the National Biodiesel Board in 1994 to reflect the need for all feedstock sources. NBB membership is comprised of state, national and international feedstock and processor organizations, biodiesel suppliers, fuel marketers, distributors and technology providers. Membership of the National Biodiesel Board has grown significantly since it&rsquo;s inception. Starting with seven members in 1992, NBB now counts more than 170 companies as members. Our diverse membership provides a strong base for the industry to solicit and gain the support of Congress with member companies from coast-to-coast, representing nearly all 50 states.

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History of NBB

Each year the National Biodiesel Board secures more than $8 million dollars of funding outside of dues dollars to support research, testing and promotion of biodiesel to advance the industry. Efforts span technical, sustainability, communications, feedstock development and other areas. This allows member dues dollars to be used for critical regulatory and advocacy efforts at the federal and state levels. State Biodiesel Markets Driving a Billion Gallons While federal policies like the renewable fuel standard (RFS) and the biodiesel tax incentive continue to be the biggest drivers of biodiesel industry growth, state and regional markets are becoming increasingly impactful. For the first year ever, state biodiesel markets will exceed 1 billion gallons in total volume through various policies such as statewide requirements, consumption incentives and low carbon fuel standards. Implementation of California&rsquo;s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) is expected to increase the biodiesel and renewable diesel volumes in that state to 800 million gallons by 2022. Oregon has a similar policy in place that should create a 100-million-gallon market by 2023. And Minnesota&rsquo;s landmark statewide requirement is scheduled to go from B10 to B20 in 2018, resulting in 80 million gallons of total annual demand. These are just a few examples of the exciting things that NBB and its members have accomplished as a collective through state policy efforts. Biodiesel&rsquo;s Sustainability Profile Continues to Improve Carbon emissions from biofuels continue to decline relative to petroleum, and confidence in these results grows with additional study. A consensus report from the Coordinating Research Council is the latest evidence in support of biodiesel as a low carbon fuel and supports the conclusions of noteworthy analysis conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, U.S. EPA, USDA, and the California Air Resources Board. Each of these institutions has affirmed that U.S. biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 50 percent, and often as much as 85 percent, compared to petroleum diesel fuel. This assurance has helped lead biodiesel&rsquo;s growth at the state, regional and national policy level, and NBB programs have been an integral part in developing the data necessary to quantify biodiesel&rsquo;s sustainability profile. &nbsp; Communications Efforts Influence Public Opinion NBB&rsquo;s communications efforts help amplify the biodiesel story, supporting market growth and maintaining a shared voice among fuel users, consumers and key targets. NBB&rsquo;s role as the single voice for a diverse membership base is at the heart of the organization&rsquo;s mission. Communications is the foundation that allows for favorable outcomes in every facet of America&rsquo;s advanced biofuel&rsquo;s growth and effort. It is central to biodiesel opportunity.&nbsp; NBB works to tell the industry&rsquo;s story in a way that would be impossible without a collective effort. A small snapshot of the annual efforts includes managing 1,000-plus requests for information, distribution of 30-plus news releases, monitoring thousands of biodiesel news stories and articles, and maintaining the most comprehensive and reliable biodiesel data source online with flagship websites (www.biodiesel.org and www.nbb.org) generating more than 660,000 unique visitors and 15 million page views annually. Each of these and many other tasks work to support biodiesel&rsquo;s strength in the marketplace and hold down negative opinion and misinformation, allowing the industry to do what it does best&mdash;produce and sell biodiesel. Technical Programs Clear Hurdles The NBB technical program is designed to clear hurdles in the marketplace that would limit biodiesel growth with two key audiences in mind&mdash;original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the EPA.
NBB continues to press remaining OEMs toward B20 approval with a big success last year as PACCAR announced B20 approval in all of its Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks, including legacy vehicles. NBB directed extensive testing that showed current stability levels for biodiesel are adequate for real-world users. And with pipeline projects recently completed, blends of B5 will soon see commercial shipments on multiproduct pipelines carrying jet fuel. The ASTM biodiesel specifications continue to be touted as the model for new fuels wanting further access into the marketplace. Many OEMs and biodiesel blenders are publicly stating that the quality of biodiesel in the marketplace has never been better. These are just a few key results of recent efforts, building on more than 20 years of technical work to ensure biodiesel&rsquo;s seamless use once it hits the marketplace.

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From the Winter 2017 print edition of Biodiesel Magazine, this article from the National Biodiesel Board discusses how the organization uses its funding to strengthen biodiesel's position in the U.S. market through a variety of programs. 

NBB Programs Lay Foundation for Industry Growth

The National Biodiesel Board is a member organization that works for, and with, its members on a daily basis to advance the interests of the biodiesel industry. Everything the organization does is at the direction of members. Fifteen representatives from member companies are elected by the membership to sit on the board for two-year terms and have historically represented all aspects of the industry. Members guide the daily activities of staff through involvement on the board, in standing committees, strategic planning, the program development process, membership surveys, regional and national member meetings, daily conversations with staff, and more. Representation&mdash;Your NBB Governing Board Each November, members vote to fill half of the positions on the governing board. In 2016, members elected to begin their two-year term include Greg Anderson, Nebraska Soybean Board; Jennifer Case, New Leaf Biofuel LLC; Mike Cunningham, American Soybean Association; Tim Keaveney, Hero BX; Steven J. Levy, Sprague Operating Resources; Mike Rath, Darling Ingredients Inc.; and Ben Wootton, World Energy. Governing board members who are serving the second year of their term in 2017 include Kent Engelbrecht, Archer Daniels Midland Co.; Ron Heck, Iowa Soybean Association; Ed Hegland, Minnesota Soybean Research &amp; Promotion Council; Ron Marr, Minnesota Soybean Processors; Steve Nogel, Ag Environmental Products; Amy Sigg Davis, Ohio Soybean Council; Robert Stobaugh, Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board; and Chad Stone, Renewable Energy Group Inc. Each year the new governing board elects officers with Kent Engelbrecht serving as the new chairman, Mike Cunningham as vice chairman, Greg Anderson as treasurer, and Chad Stone as secretary. &ldquo;The biodiesel industry is fortunate to have a strong team of leaders from all sectors of the industry,&rdquo; said NBB CEO Donnell Rehagen. &ldquo;The membership is united, optimistic, and will continue to grow into the future under the direction of the board.&rdquo; Collaboration&mdash;Development of Program Plan One of the greatest values of NBB membership is the ability of the organization to leverage membership dues dollars with outside funding resources. Less than a third of NBB&rsquo;s total revenue last year came from member dues dollars because of NBB&rsquo;s ability to secure outside funding. But the real value lies in the ability of members to direct where those resources can be most impactful in moving the industry forward. &ldquo;Gathering resources from all sectors of the industry and beyond, and pooling them in one place where they can be strategically focused on the top priorities of our industry, is just sound business,&rdquo; said NBB Director of Operations and Membership Doug Whitehead. &ldquo;Being able to come together, identify our strengths and weaknesses, and then go out and execute in the areas that will help us the most is one of the biggest advantages we have as an industry.&rdquo; Members provide their input on industry priorities through a number of avenues including biodiesel technical workshops, the fall NBB membership meeting, NBB standing committee discussions including regulatory, trade, technical and marketing committees, and an extensive online survey. All of this input comes together and defines where staff will spend time and resources during the year. NBB&mdash;Your Membership Organization The biodiesel industry has achieved much in its relatively short existence through strong leadership and a determined, unified commitment to purpose. Engaged participation is crucial to ensure that momentum continues. NBB member companies vary from Fortune 100 companies to small, family-owned businesses. This diverse membership base has provided a strong foundation for industry growth with member companies in 44 of the 50 states. No matter your involvement in the industry, NBB has a lot to offer.

Fifteen representatives from member companies are elected by the membership to represent all segments of the biodiesel industry.

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The NBB governing board elected Kent Engelbrecht, ADM, as 2017 chairman.

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NBB Members Set Direction of Industry through Representation, Collaboration

The U.S. biodiesel industry is on a path for growth that continues to make it America&rsquo;s most widely available advanced biofuel in the country. That growth can largely be attributed to members of the industry coming together under the umbrella of the National Biodiesel Board, where as a collective we are able to achieve more than any individual effort could. Although we continue to face many challenges, 2016 saw continued bipartisan support for biodiesel in Congress; science again affirmed biodiesel as a significant option for reducing harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and state and local policies were expanded and upheld, which will continue to drive demand. Policy stability is a major driving force for our industry and the end of 2016 brought good and bad in the finalization of the 2017 renewable fuel standard (RFS) volumes and another lapse of the biodiesel tax incentive. The U.S. EPA&rsquo;s action to finalize volumes ahead of the statutory deadline for 2017 RFS volumes and 2018 biomass-based diesel volumes in and of itself helps provide stability within our industry. Beyond that, growth in the total renewable fuels and advanced biofuels categories above the volumes originally proposed in spring were a welcomed sign. Combined with a 2-billion-gallon volume for biomass-based diesel in 2017, we are likely to see volumes of biodiesel and renewable hydrocarbon diesel approach 3 billion gallons in the marketplace this year&mdash;a record year for our industry. A key factor in reaching that 3-billion-gallon market potential is the state of the biodiesel tax incentive. Allowed to lapse again Dec. 31, NBB and its members worked exceptionally hard to secure a seamless transition. While we weren&rsquo;t successful in doing so, with the help of our champions in Congress, we laid the groundwork for enacting legislation to extend the incentive through 2019 and to provide a key reform to a domestic production credit vs. a blenders credit. Under the new Congress we anticipate tax reform talks to heat up once again early this year. And NBB and its members will be deeply involved in those discussions. While policy stability continues to be a driving force, other efforts at NBB build the foundation needed to convince policymakers that biodiesel deserves their support. This includes market development, OEM outreach, technical support, the BQ-9000 fuel quality program, our environmental and sustainability education, advertising and communication efforts, feedstock programs, and more. With efforts from NBB and our members, state and regional markets continue to increase demand as they embrace biodiesel. Mandates have grown in Minnesota from 2 to 10 percent. Illinois has reauthorized its tax incentive for biodiesel blends above 10 percent, creating the largest demand for biodiesel of any state in the nation. Couple this with the various biodiesel and Bioheat mandates around the country, and the low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) requirements on the West Coast, and we now enjoy nearly a billion gallons of state-legislated or state-incentivized demand.&nbsp; In 2016, the U.S. saw more than 2.5 billion gallons of biodiesel and renewable hydrocarbon diesel cut GHG emissions by more than 18 million tons, or the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions of 3.8 million cars. This market supports some $8.4 billion in economic impact, nearly 48,000 jobs, and $1.9 billion in wages paid. However, at slightly more than 5 percent of the on-road diesel pool, there is significant room for growth. NBB is here to help make that industry growth a reality. NBB should be looked at as your business partner, helping to make your organization more successful. We are your team, and one of our greatest assets is each of our individual members pulling collectively forward to advance the industry. When we do that, our track record for success is proven as our market has grown from 250 million gallons to more than 2.5 billion gallons over the past decade. I urge the entire industry to come together, and stay together, as we grow into the future. Donnell Rehagen CEO National Biodiesel Board

Donnell Rehagen, CEO, National Biodiesel Board 

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The newly appointed CEO of the National Biodiesel Board Donnell Rehagen provides his perspective on what 2016 meant for the U.S. biodiesel sector, where 2017 may take it, and how the organization is helping accomplish the industry's goals. 

Biodiesel Industry Continues Growth through Unified Efforts, Challenges Remain

The U.S. EPA&rsquo;s proposed Renewables Enhancement and Growth Support rule, published in the federal register Nov. 16, proposes a wide-range of regulatory and compliance changes that affect the renewable fuel standard (RFS) and the entire range of renewable fuel types. Most notably, EPA has proposed additional registration and compliance regulations around &ldquo;biointermediate&rdquo; feedstocks that will have far-reaching impacts on feedstock suppliers and the biodiesel industry as a whole. What Is a Biointermediate Feedstock? REGS states that a biointermediate feedstock is an approved feedstock (such as soybean oil, canola oil, waste oils/fats/grease, etc.) that is processed in such a way that it is &ldquo;substantially altered&rdquo; at a different location than the biofuel plant where it is ultimately processed into renewable fuel. EPA provides an example where cellulosic biomass (such as woody material) is converted into pyrolysis oil at one facility and then transferred to the biofuel facility for final processing into a renewable fuel. The conversion of woody material into a pyrolysis oil constitutes a &ldquo;substantial alteration&rdquo; and, since this conversion occurs upstream from the renewable fuel facility, it is considered to be a biointermediate feedstock. Processing the woody material into pyrolysis oil at the biofuel facility would not make the oil a biointermediate feedstock. What Isn&rsquo;t in the Definition? While REGS states that a mere &ldquo;form change&rdquo; to renewable biomass is not considered to be a &ldquo;substantial alteration&rdquo; and does not create a biointermediate, the list of approved types of form changes is limited and does not encompass all feedstock industry processing activities. Approved processing methods listed in the REGS rule include chopping, pressing, grinding, filtering, degumming, drying and adding water. Omissions to this list include heating, solvent extraction, bleaching and deodorizing. Early in 2016, EPA contacted key industry stakeholders, including EcoEngineers, to weigh in on the draft REGS rulemaking. During these conversations, EPA had indicated that any chemical processing activities&mdash;including heating, solvent extraction, bleaching and deodorizing&mdash;would be treated as a substantial alteration and would result in a biointermediate feedstock. It is interesting to note that these discussions about chemical vs. physical processing are not included in the proposed REGS rule and examples of chemical processing were omitted from the approved form change list. &nbsp; Potential Impact on Feedstock Suppliers, Biodiesel Producers The final definition of biointermediate feedstock will have a significant impact on the feedstock supplier and biodiesel production industry. Soybean and canola oils undergo refining with chemicals to create a refined, bleached, and deodorized (RBD) oil prior to entering a biodiesel plant. Used cooking oil (UCO) and tallow suppliers often heat the feedstock in order to remove impurities to produce a refined used cooking oil or choice white grease for sale to a biodiesel plant. Since EPA omitted discussion of these types of processing activities in the REGS rule, it is unclear whether these feedstocks classify as a biointermediate. This distinction is important to biodiesel producers since processing biointermediate feedstocks is prohibited under current regulation and could result in invalid RINs. Under the proposed REGS rule, each biointermediate feedstock supplier must register their facility with EPA, maintain product transfer documents and batch-specific recordkeeping, and participate in a mandatory Quality Assurance Program during the interim period immediately following the final rulemaking. Depending on the definition of biointermediate in the final rule, biodiesel feedstock suppliers, including soybean and canola crush plants, UCO aggregators and animal tallow processors may find themselves subject to these additional compliance requirements if they want their feedstock to be used to produce RIN-generating biodiesel.&nbsp; More clarity is needed in this regulation in order for the biodiesel industry to feel secure about its regulatory compliance. While it is unlikely that EPA&rsquo;s intent is to regulate the entire biodiesel feedstock industry through REGS, the omission of key types of established industry processing from the proposed rulemaking is concerning. EPA is seeking industry comment on this proposal through Feb. 16. The biodiesel industry should support current feedstock processing practices through their comments to this proposal. You can submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA&ndash;HQ&ndash; OAR&ndash;2016&ndash;0041, at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Author: Karyn Jones Senior Regulatory Consultant, EcoEngineers 515-985-1268 <a href="mailto:kjones@ecoengineers.us" target="_blank">kjones@ecoengineers.us </a>

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The issuance of U.S. EPA's proposed REGS rule has spurred many questions about what the final rule will look like, and what it will mean for the biodiesel industry. The final definition of biointermediate feedstock will have a significant impact. 

Far-reaching Impacts of Biointermediate Feedstocks on the Biodiesel Industry

Breakthrough technologies with promising commercial potential must be patent protected using a comprehensive and robust approach. Often, multiple patent families, each based on certain inventive aspects of the technology that are described in a single patent application, are pursued by filing corresponding family member patent applications in countries of greatest strategic interest. The total number of patent applications and patents in a technology portfolio, essentially the product of the number of families and number of countries for each family, can easily grow into the hundreds. An important, emerging biofuel production process is the IH2 Process, which has been developed by Gas Technology Institute in Des Plaines, Illinois. This technology is currently licensed worldwide by CRI Catalyst Co., which is part of CRI/Criterion Inc., the global catalyst technology company of the Shell Group. The IH2 Process can achieve essentially complete deoxygenation of biomass, including plant-based (lignocellulosic) feedstocks, rendering diesel boiling-range and other hydrocarbons that are indistinguishable from their petroleum-derived counterparts. The prevalence of suitable starting materials has been a factor in the decision to maintain a broad-based patenting strategy for the IH2 process, which is protected by patent families having, as exemplary domestic patent family members, U.S. Patent Nos. 8,492,600; 8,841,495; 8,859,831; 8,915,981; 9,447,328; and 9,512,364, as well as a number of U.S. pending applications. Ongoing Input Delays between the filing of family member patent applications and the time they are first examined by patent offices of the various countries are often more than a year. During this time, a contemplated commercial technology undergoing development can evolve significantly. Also, further information regarding competitor activities will become available. Consultation with technical experts is required to understand and consider these factors, which can critically impact the process of negotiating the scope of the patent owner&rsquo;s rights. This process frequently involves amending the patent claims that define the scope of these rights to overcome initial rejections. Even if claim amendments are deemed to sufficiently distinguish an inventive process over the prior art, the resulting claims may nonetheless (i) fail to read on the contemplated commercial design or otherwise (ii) be easily avoided (i.e., designed around). In either scenario, the value of the resulting patents in a patent family is severely compromised. Technical experts are also most familiar with the story behind their inventive activities, which led to the substantial investment in seeking broad-based patent protection in the first place. Patent examiners in the biodiesel area, by virtue of their scientific&mdash;typically chemical engineering&mdash;backgrounds, are generally receptive to in-depth technical arguments as to why the inventor&rsquo;s solution would not have been obvious in view of the existing knowledge in the field. Having an inventor present in an examiner interview at the U.S. patent office, for example, can lead to a deeper appreciation of what might otherwise be dismissed as &ldquo;attorney argument.&rdquo; Alignment with Business Objectives As with technical developments, business objectives may change over time. Certain starting materials (lignocellulose, algae), end product properties (sulfur content, cetane number), byproducts (methane, char, CO2) and their uses, and process flow schemes, may become more or less economically attractive or significant in terms of customer requirements. As new patent applications are added to a developing portfolio, they should include updated information, for example by expanding the feedstock definition or description of how the technology might be integrated with conventional refining processes. Patent claims can be directed only to the subject matter that is described in the application as originally filed. Adding to and updating what is normally considered boilerplate information increases flexibility in how an invention can be defined. Mining Relevant Property The initial set of claims drafted for a patent family might not cover all patentable concepts described in the application. Otherwise, multiple claim formats may be presented but regarded under the laws of the local patent office to cover multiple inventions, from which one must be selected. In either situation, more than a single patent application could be required to realize the full value of the inventors&rsquo; contribution to the state of the art. For example, a parent application of a family might present claims directed to unique and advantageous operating conditions, such as those used for generating sufficient hydrogen from biomass to sustain the claimed process. However, a continuation or divisional&mdash;with the designation often depending on the particular country&mdash;might be necessary to protect important properties of the resulting diesel boiling-range hydrocarbons, such as their low oxygen content. Any subject matter that is disclosed in a patent application, but not ultimately claimed, becomes dedicated to the public. For this reason, the potential for filing further applications in a patent family should always be evaluated. Overall, effective, global patent protection requires developing a portfolio with an understanding of not only the technology itself, but also the inevitable, ongoing refinements in its envisioned design and implementation. Such refinements arise from both technical and business considerations.&nbsp; Author: Benjamin C. Spehlmann Attorney, Banner &amp; Witcoff Ltd. 202-824-3000 <a href="mailto:bspehlmann@bannerwitcoff.com" target="_blank">bspehlmann@bannerwitcoff.com</a>

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From the Winter 2017 print edition of Biodiesel Magazine, Banner & Witcoff attorney Benjamin C. Spehlmann provides his legal perspective on the complex but important topic of patent protection in the area of biodiesel technology. 

Maintaining Effective Patent  Portfolios in the Biodiesel Industry

In late December 2015, I predicted in our 2016 issue of Biodiesel Magazine that the U.S. industry was poised for a major comeback.&nbsp; And, boy, was I right. Six days into the new year, Kolmar Americas bought Greenleaf Fuels, and so began a year of M&amp;As, plant expansions, upgrades, and project completions. It seemed as if every week a new project, plant purchase or opening was announced. This lasted all year, straight through until just days before press time when the idled 40 MMgy Delta American Fuel plant in Helena, Arkansas, was acquired by a Singapore-based joint venture. The big unknown now is how the new Republican Trump administration coupled with a Republican-controlled Congress will treat biodiesel and affect markets. For more industry activity over the past year and perspectives on what 2017 will bring, be sure to read my article on page 14, titled, &ldquo;Biodiesel Renaissance.&rdquo; Two big-name companies&mdash;the U.S.&rsquo;s largest producer and a globally renowned process technology provider&mdash;celebrated major anniversaries in 2016. Renewable Energy Group Inc. hit the 10-year milestone as an independent company. REG holds the single-greatest number of biodiesel plants in the U.S., including a large renewable diesel facility and a biochemical plant, and nearly a half-billion gallons of biomass-based diesel production. REG owns production assets in Germany too. Read more about the biodiesel powerhouse on page 34 in Anthony Hulen&rsquo;s article, &ldquo;REG Marks 10 Years of Growth, Success &amp; Continuous Improvement.&rdquo; I was fortunate to celebrate BDI-BioEnergy International AG&rsquo;s 20th anniversary with the company, its international customer-producers and partners in Vienna this September. After covering BDI developments for 12 years at Biodiesel Magazine, it was great to learn more about the company from an even more personal level. For my profile article on BDI, &ldquo;A Proven Biodiesel Process Technology Track Record,&rdquo; turn to page 38. In addition, Gene Gebolys, the founder of World Energy, a company making plenty of news this year with two significant acquisitions, celebrated his 20th year in the industry. To learn about the company&rsquo;s beginnings, changes in direction and rise to become a major biodiesel producer, read Gene Gebolys&rsquo; article on page 30, &ldquo;A 20-Year-Old Startup.&rdquo; Finally, I am happy to announce that the industry turnaround is prompting Biodiesel Magazine&rsquo;s publisher, BBI International, to print a second issue this year to be released in time for the Fuel Ethanol Workshop &amp; Expo in Minneapolis this June co-located with the National Advanced Biofuels Conference &amp; Expo. Biodiesel producers can get two free passes, so I hope to see many of you there!
Ron Kotrba Editor Biodiesel Magazine <a href="mailto:rkotrba@bbiinternational.com" target="_blank">rkotrba@bbiinternational.com</a>

2017 Winter Issue

Columns

Behind the Scenes

Biodiesel Industry Continues Growth through Unified Efforts, Challenges Remain

Far-reaching Impacts of Biointermediate Feedstocks on the Biodiesel Industry

Maintaining Effective Patent Portfolios in the Biodiesel Industry

Industry Revival

Featured

REG Marks 10 Years of Growth, Success & Continuous Improvement

A Proven Biodiesel Process Technology Track Record

A 20-Year-Old Startup

Alternative Feedstock & Process Technology Overview

Biodiesel Renaissance

2017 Winter Issue.css-7jxktu{position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;right:0px;height:3px;border-radius:3px;background-color:var(--chakra-colors-brandBlack);}

Columns

Behind the Scenes

Biodiesel Industry Continues Growth through Unified Efforts, Challenges Remain

Far-reaching Impacts of Biointermediate Feedstocks on the Biodiesel Industry

Maintaining Effective Patent Portfolios in the Biodiesel Industry

Industry Revival

Featured

REG Marks 10 Years of Growth, Success & Continuous Improvement

A Proven Biodiesel Process Technology Track Record

A 20-Year-Old Startup

Alternative Feedstock & Process Technology Overview

Biodiesel Renaissance

2017 Winter Issue