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Researchers at the University of Florida are looking into the feasibility of using the jatropha tree as a source for biodiesel.

This story from the University’s web site, says the plant is a native of Mexico and produces an oil that is ideal for biodiesel:

“For maybe a year and a half now, I have been working on an idea that here in deep South Florida we can grow a biodiesel crop that does not conflict with food and that we have a comparative advantage in growing,” said Roy Beckford, a Lee County extension agent who specializes in sustainable farm development.

Beckford, who works for the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, has been pushing Jatropha as an alternate crop to South Florida farmers the past couple years through IFAS newsletters.

The hardy trees can live for 50 years and can be ready for twice-a-year harvests just 18 months after planting. Each acre can produce 600 to 1,000 gallons of oil a year… although researchers are working on even more productive varieties. It even grows in land not suitable for other types of agriculture.

Just recently, 1,500 Jatropha seedlings were donated to Lee County by a company called Dream Fuels in hopes of getting the plant established as a biodiesel feedstock in Florida.

Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group is one of just three companies in the country to earn both BQ-9000 certified statuses from National Biodiesel Accreditation Committee (NBAC). It’s a quality assurance program for the production nd marketing of biodiesel.

REG has now earned the Certified Marketer status. This press release from the National Biodiesel Board says its certification is a standard the group hopes all producers and marketers try to obtain:

The voluntary program couples universally accepted quality management systems with the biodiesel product specification ASTM D-6751. The program covers storage, sampling, testing, blending, shipping, distribution and fuel management practices to help ensure quality biodiesel throughout the supply chain.

“With the addition of the BQ-9000 Certified Marketer status, REG can provide added confidence to our customers through our extensive biodiesel handling, storage, transportation and testing methods,” said REG chief executive officer Jeff Stroburg. “We want to ensure that every gallon of high quality biodiesel that leaves one of our production facilities is handled properly all the way to the fuel tank of a school bus, commercial truck, tractor or diesel vehicle.”

REG was already a BQ-9000 Accredited Producer. The other two companies with both certifications are Peter Cremer North America and FUMPA Biofuels.

Owensboro Grain is the latest company to join the ranks of biodiesel producers with the opening of its 50-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant.

This article on Grainnet.com says the biodiesel operation is a natural progression for the 101-year-old company that started out as a small grain merchant:

The company started out shipping corn on barges, according to John Wright, vice president of strategic planning and development, and a fourth-generation family operator of Owensboro Grain.

“I believe my great-grandfather and grandfather would be extremely proud.”

The company produces 75 million gallons of soybean oil a year, so its feedstock supply seems to be in good shape right now.

The National Biodiesel Board says there are now 151 biodiesel plants across the country pumping $24 million into the U.S. economy.

A biodiesel start-up in Southern California is getting $8 million in low-cost funding from the State of California. American Biodiesel, Inc. started building a plant at the Port of Stockton in April and will be doing business as a company called Community Fuels.

This article in the Los Angeles Times says the biodiesel will be sold to wholesalers, including some that deal with retailers in Northern California:

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer lauded the state’s move to assist the renewable fuel company.

She expects annual production to double to 15 million gallons after the first year, with further expansion to follow if warranted.

Midwestern soybean oil will be used to start, and officials hope to go to a locally-grown source such as mustard seed oil or canola oil.

Most people would agree, one of the smartest places in the country (and on the Earth, for that matter) is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology… better known as MIT. Well, the school is more than just smart… it’s green!

A story in MIT’s online newspaper, The Tech, says the school is already running its shuttle buses on ultra-low sulfur diesel and is now looking at switching to biodiesel:

In April, the Biodiesel@MIT student group won a $25,000 grant through the Ecomagination Challenge sponsored my mtvU and GE, allowing them to purchase a biodiesel processor. The processor will convert used vegetable oil from dining halls into biodiesel fuel that eliminates sulfur dioxide emissions and produces 68 percent less carbon dioxide than petroleum-based alternatives, according to the group’s Ecomagination proposal.

According to Sara A. Barnowski ’10 who worked on the biodiesel project as part of a summer UROP, the program is trying to find space on campus for the fuel processor. “We’re still hoping to get the biodiesel processor installed by the end of IAP,” she said. The current MIT shuttles will not require any modifications to run on biodiesel, Barnowski said.

Organizers had hoped to have the filling station up and running by the beginning of this school year, but red tape has delayed it a bit. They expect it will become a reality in the near future.