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!

Even though the federal government has not approved the biodiesel tax credit extension yet, some states have already been proactive in mandated biodiesel blend policy or state run tax credits. The states that have a mandated blend are: MN,WA,LA,MA,NM,OR & PA. Indiana and Iowa have their own state run tax incentives for biodiesel biofuel producers. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, has said he wants to make the federal credit a priority and thinks it could be passed in February or March. The question is just how long will the biodiesel industry have to wait?

Guidance for Biodiesel Producers and Biodiesel Blenders & Users
Purpose The purpose of this document is to explain and clarify EPA’s regulatory requirements for biodiesel producers and biodiesel blenders.

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.