Divergent feedstocks show promise for biodiesel

Originally published in the November 27, 2009, print edition.

By Dick Hagen The Land Staff Writer

The Land — According to University of Minnesota Center for Diesel Research scientist Kelly Strebig, Minnesota has more than enough biodiesel production capacity to meet the state’s 5 percent biodiesel requirement.

“We use about 800 million gallons of diesel fuel and we currently have some 60 million gallons of biodiesel capacity,” but with fuel prices down considerably from 2008, it’s tough to make money on $2.50 per gallon biodiesel made from soybean oil.

Despite new ideas and new fuels being introduced into the market Strebig sees petroleum diesel as a long-term fuel, but the feedstocks for biodiesel may come from different sources.

“Algae oil will be a factor,” he said, “and there may be other oil seed crops even more suitable than soybeans. It all comes down to economics. So if/when someone comes with a feedstock that provides oil at a lower cost for biodiesel, then follow that trail.”

In Europe for example, rapeseed oil is common for biodiesel. “In the U.S., soybean oil and used cooking oil are the cheapest sources,” he said. “Canola works too, but at a higher cost. In Indonesia palm kernel oil is the primary feedstock.”

But Strebig emphasized that biodiesel is the only certified biofuel for use in diesel engines. Used cooking oil or straight vegetable oil as a fuel or fuel extender doesn’t work. “It increases the emissions,” he said. “All these people who think cooking oil or straight vegetable oil is a ‘green’ fuel are totally wrong. Also these conversion kits being touted for vegetable oil as a petroleum diesel fuel are illegal for highway usage. The kits are also illegal for use in off-road emission certified engines.”

Biodiesel plants are not extremely complex, but bottom-line economics will be driving this business. If diesel fuel, for example, increased to the $4 to $8 range, then the industry would grow, Strebig said. He stressed that diesel fuels should be priced below gasoline simply because it’s easier to produce diesel fuel from crude oil than gasoline.

Minnesota in 2004 launched B2, a state-wide program requiring 2 percent biodiesel in all diesel fuels. Several states have now moved into mandating biodiesel fuels as part of their overall renewable energy-reduced emissions programs.

Mike Youngerberg, director of field services for the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, said Louisiana, Oregon, Washington and Massachusetts (on both diesel fuel and home heating oil, called bioheat) have biodiesel mandates now. Pennsylvania and New Mexico will be implementing mandates in 2010, and Iowa is working on B5 requirements. Minnesota intends to move from the current B5 to B10 in 2012, and B20 in 2015. When the SoyMor facility in Glenville gets back online, installed biodiesel production in Minnesota will be 66 million to 67 million gallons per year.

Meanwhile a new biofuels plant, Ever Cat Fuels in Isanti, celebrated their grand opening Sept. 28 and intends to be producing 10,000 gallons of biodiesel per day from a variety of low-cost feedstock materials. Because of favorable costs, waste vegetable oils are currently its primary feedstock, said Clayton McNeff, chief science officer of this new facility which also utilizes a revolutionary new production technology known as the Mcgyan process.

“The process consists of a 6-foot tall stainless steel ‘reactor’ tube 6 inches in diameter containing a metal-oxide catalyst,” McNeff said in an Oct. 1 telephone interview with The Land. “A solution of heated feedstocks and alcohol runs through the reactor tube producing a continuous, almost instantaneous flow of biodiesel fuel.”

The process uses no water, no chemicals, and generates no wastes. Ever Cat Fuels will be selling their biofuel to petroleum blenders such as Marathon Oil and Flint Hills. To encourage development of the biodiesel industry, the government initiated a blenders credit of $1 per gallon of diesel fuel (45 cents per gallon for ethanol). McNeff indicated Ever Cat Fuels would begin offering their premium quality product for $3 per gallon, with the first truckload being loaded out Oct. 6-7. Using waste vegetable oil production as its feedstock, production costs for Ever Cat Fuels are currently about $1 per gallon.

McNeff said response to their new facility has been overwhelming. The Mcgyan process holds nine patents and, because of the relatively low cost of getting into production with this system, he anticipated the firm will be licensing the process to companies nationwide and overseas, especially if they are convenient to a reliable source of waste vegetable oil.

Ever Cat Fuels is a member of the Minnesota Biodiesel Council and the National Biodiesel Board. McNeff said his firm intends to collaborate with the entire biofuels industry to continue to move the United States away from imported petroleum. This 4-million gallon, $9-million pilot plant already has expansion plans to 10 million gallons per year.

Youngerberg said that early legislation initiating the Minnesota biodiesel industry promoted biodiesel as a multi-feedstock product. He said this new Mcgyan process appears to be an excellent method for processing recycled oil products without competing against the Minnesota soybean industry.

“Getting biodiesel out of these tough-to-recycle ‘waste’ products adds to the total fuel pool here in America. So I see Ever Cat Fuels as a unique new facility with a process technology that simply expands the total fuel industry,” Youngerberg said.