Good news for biodiesel means good news for the growers of its main feedstock, soybeans. This article from KTIC says last year’s biodiesel production of 1.36 billion gallons of biodiesel in 2013, 37 percent more than in 2012, means 468 million bushels of U.S. soybeans were squeezed to get that feedstock oil. And that has pushed up soybean prices by …
Grants Support Research on Biodiesel Feedstock
A Canadian researcher has received $2 million in grants to improve a main feedstock for biodiesel. This story from LabCanada.com says University of Guelph scientist Prof. Istvan Rajcan picked up more than $500,000 in the form of a Collaborative Research and Development Grant by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and another $1.4 million Collaborative Research and Development Grant …
Methes Finalizing Deal to Ship Biodiesel to U.S.
Methes Energies International Ltd. will send 40 Railcars of biodiesel per month to the U.S. The company announced the deal to send about 1 million gallons of the green fuel each month from its production facility in Canada. Nicholas Ng, President of Methes Energies, said, “We’re very excited about the opportunity to bring our Sombra facility to full current production …
New Utah Biodiesel Law Met with Tepid Welcome
A new law in Utah to encourage the use of biodiesel is getting a tepid reception from the industry it purports to help. This article from Biodiesel Magazine says H.R. 5 is supposed to support the continued development and implementation of biodiesel in the state, but at least one biodiesel maker is less than enthusiastic about its approval. “It appears …
REG Biodiesel Sales Up But Revenues Down
Sales and production of biodiesel are up for Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group (REG), but revenues have taken quite a hit. The latest information from the biodiesel behemoth shows during the first quarter of 2014 sales were up 22 percent compared to a year earlier, along with a 5 percent increase in production. But REG also reports a revenue drop of …
Nebraska Biodiesel Plant being Retrofitted
A Nebraska biodiesel plant is being retrofitted with new technology and is hoping to be launched by summer 2015. This story from Biodiesel Magazine says Flint Hills Resources is putting Benefuel Inc.’s commercial-scale, innovative biodiesel technology into its Beatrice, Neb., biodiesel plant. Since 2010, Flint Hills Resources has worked with Benefuel to test and validate its innovative, patented and proprietary …
Prairie Horizon to Add Renewable Diesel Facility
Prairie Horizon Agri-Energy is one of only a handful of ethanol plants moving into the production of biodiesel. The biorefinery announced plans to form a partnership with WB Services to add a renewable diesel production facility into the existing ethanol plant. “With this announcement, Prairie Horizon continues to meet its goal of providing leadership in the renewable fuels industry,” said …
Research Finds Real-Time Biodiesel Analysis
New research shows a way to conduct quality analysis in real-time. Biodico’s VP of Research and Development, Trey Teall, presented the results of a five-year research project at the recent American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) Annual Meeting & Expo in San Antonio, Texas that focused on the use of Fourier Transform Near-infrared Spectroscopy (FT-NIRS) to provide real-time in-situ analysis of …
Biodiesel By-Product Innovation Award Announced
Research that looks to overcome roadblocks to innovative uses for the biodiesel by-product, glycerin, has been honored. The National Biodiesel Board and the American Cleaning Institute presented their 2014 Glycerine Innovation Award at the American Oil Chemists’ Society’s annual meeting. The 2014 honoree is Dr. Xiaofei “Philip” Ye, Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee’s Department of Biosystems Engineering & …
Biodiesel Board Praises Denial of RFS Challenge
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) joined the chorus of biofuel groups happy with the decision handed down by the District of Columbia Circuit Court rejecting a petition filed by Monroe Energy, LLC that challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2013 Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS). “The court’s decision today is only the latest in a long series of cases in which …