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Posts Tagged ‘Feedstocks’

Biofuels digest just published a story entitled “The U.S. Biodiesel Revival”.

It speaks of the re-birth of the American Biodiesel industry. It also revisits Impurium biofuels one of our nations leading biodiesel producers. The section regarding  Optimism Revives with RFS2 depicting how  EPA finally issued rules for the revised Renewable Fuel Standard, which called for a rapid expansion in biodiesel blending, and also qualified biodiesel as an advanced biomass fuel.

As we have seen it is not really a tax credit issue that has killed biodiesel, it is a “CHEAP FEEDSTOCK” solution that has hurt the industry the most. This story also talks about the utilization of less popular feedstocks that actually work and are very cheap to obtain.

What’s the bottom line? Biodiesel is finally on the rebound and it’s what we all have been waiting for. Check out the full story for yourself here: http://tinyurl.com/2e5nsg9

Do not forget!   Please sign our bio-diesel mandate petition here:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/mandated-biodiesel-blend.html

Stay Green!

The $1-a-gallon tax credit that keeps the industry afloat is due to expire Dec. 31, and lobbyists for biodiesel producers and soybean growers are scrambling to get Congress to enact an extension before lawmakers leave town for the holidays.

The House included an extension of the subsidy in a package of extensions for other business tax credits. However, the Senate has so far failed to act on the issue.

A House Democratic aide said Wednesday that there have been a “number of conversations” with Senate leaders about the issue, but that the Senate only has time to deal with health care and a defense bill. Press representatives for Senate leaders had no immediate comment on the issue.
Were the tax credit to lapse, “it would be a devastating blow to the industry,” said Michael Frohlich, a spokesman for the National Biodiesel Board.

Biodiesel plants could shut down or reduce production if the tax credit lapses, said Daniel Oh, president and chief operating officer of the Ames-based Renewable Energy Group Inc., which operates biodiesel plants in Iowa and other states.

If biodiesel production is limited, it could have a detrimental effect on the price of soybeans and other feedstocks utilized to produce biodiesel,” he said.
Biodiesel producers have been struggling to stay in business for some time because of the relatively high prices of their main feedstock, soybean oil, and the global recession, which has dampened fuel demand. They were dealt another blow early this year when the European Union imposed tariffs on imports of the U.S. product to offset the value of the tax subsidy.

U.S. biodiesel production is down 30 percent this year from 2008, and the industry is operating at about 15 percent of its production capacity.
A recent study by industry consultant John Urbanchuk warned that the “biodiesel industry could be expected to collapse” if the tax credit is removed.

With the tax credit, producers earned about 26 cents a gallon over their production costs in November.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Ia., said the uncertainty about the tax credit raised questions about the commitment of Democratic leaders to alternative fuels.

“This lack of action so far is especially inexcusable, considering the House and Senate have been in session nearly continuously for months,” he said.
John Hoffman of Waterloo, a former president of the American Soybean Association, said the tax credit is “essential to the continuation of the biodiesel industry.”

Size and feedstock are probably the two largest issues with biodiesel producers currently. Large plants aren’t doing well and small plants don’t make very much fuel. No matter what feedstock you choose it seems like the price is always going up. Versatility has become the name of the game and many Large traditional biodiesel facilities just do not make sense anymore. There are plenty of 100 MMgy biodiesel plants in the U.S. Mid-West; the majority are inactive right now because they’re not producing. There are not many places in the world left for a 100 MMgy plant, the majority of Large plants in the United States are just sitting dormant rusting, there’s not enough feedstock to support them currently.

Manufacturers of modular biodiesel production units believe they might have the answer. Their products are smaller and can be scaled up to various sizes when needed, plus they usually can be co-located with the feedstock source. They’re less of an investment than a larger facility, obviously, and many are capable of running multiple feedstocks right out of the box.

The fundamentals of modular production units are universal. Each unit is built at a manufacturing facility before being skid-mounted and delivered to its destination. Most, containerized units range in capacity from 1 MMgy to 5 Mmgy and can be linked together from the start to increase overall capacity although the general idea is to start small and expand as needed. Typically the feedstock supply will determine the facility size, making modular biodiesel plants an ideal choice.

You can purchase a small commercial biodiesel plant that produces 2.3 gallons per year for $50,000 from companies like Biodiesel-Equipment.com and monitor their production. The thought process is if you need to Increase or reduce production you can easily when market condition dictate action because of the small size of the plants. Smaller costs to maintain modular biodiesel production plants while keeping up with production needs & market conditions is the future of the Biodiesel Industry.