To have a profitable business you need to operate safely while producing a high quality product. You can produce a high quality product but if your employees are getting hurt while you’re doing this, you’re not going to be in business long. So it’s important that you engage your employees into your safety program from top to bottom. And that’s …
REG Albert Lea Biodiesel Plant Officially Opens
The Renewable Energy Group (REG) celebrated the official opening of the REG Albert Lea biodiesel plant in Minnesota on Monday, with representatives of the state and local community and agriculture industry. REG President and COO Dan Oh says they were involved in the construction and operations of the plant when it originally was built and opened by SoyMor. “We have …
Minnesota Biodiesel Plant Will Celebrate Re-Opening
The Renewable Energy Group (REG) will be celebrating the grand re-opening Monday of a Minnesota biodiesel plant that was shut down for three years. REG acquired the former SoyMor production facility earlier this year, which is now known as REG Albert Lea, LLC. The company will be celebrating the grand re-opening of the plant with members of the Minnesota Soybean …
Tips For Methanol Safe Handling
Chemicals are an everyday part of operating a biorefinery facility as we learned in Part 1 of Biorefinery Safety Series. Chemicals are also an integral part of biodiesel production. Therefore, it is vitally important that all employees at a biodiesel facility, whether a large operation on a small backyard operation, learn, practice and live safe methanol handling techniques. So today, …
Renewable Fuels Month Proclaimed in Nebraska
September is officially Renewable Fuels Month in Nebraska now after a proclamation signing by the governor today at Husker Harvest Days. Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman joined state soybean board chair Lisa Lunz, NASCAR Nationwide driver Kenny Wallace and Alan Tiemann, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board, in making the declaration. “Nebraska’s renewable fuels sector contributes to local communities by providing …
How to Properly Handle Chemicals in a Biorefinery
I’ve spent the last few weeks speaking with people in the biorefining industry in an effort to learn more about safety issues and best practices. The result is a series on Biorefinery Plant Safety and part one focuses on chemical safety. Chemicals are a necessary component of producing ethanol or biodiesel. On the ethanol side, some plants use chlorine dioxide …
Embraer & GE Test BioJet Fuel
It seems like it won’t be long before aircraft flying with biofuels is an everyday occurrence. The latest test flights were conducted by Embraer and GE flying a EMBRAER 170 jet from the Company’s Gavião Peixoto facilities. The purpose of the tests were to benchmark the operational characteristics of the airplane and its GE CF34-8 engines when flying with a …
President Mentions Advanced Biofuels in Jobs Speech
President Obama reaffirmed the importance of domestically produced fuels in his address to Congress on jobs Thursday night. “If we provide the right incentives, the right support — and if we make sure our trading partners play by the rules — we can be the ones to build everything from fuel-efficient cars to advanced biofuels to semiconductors that we sell …
Blue Angels Perform With Biofuels
The Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, performed over the Labor Day weekend using a biofuel blend at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River Air Expo. All six F/A-18 legacy Hornets were powered with a 50-50 blend of conventional JP-5 jet fuel and a camelina-based biofuel. “Changing the kinds of fuels we use and the way we …
Students Launch Facebook Campaign to Raise Cash for Biodiesel Program
Rockwood Summit High School located in Fenton, Missouri is on the hunt for dollars to help expand their biodiesel project. But they are not selling candy bars or giving car washes on a Saturday afternoon. They have taken to Facebook to promote their fundraising campaign. The fundraising campaign is not limited to Rockwood Summit High School. Famous Footwear and Converse …