As a guy who is from the Upper Midwest, I can tell you that the kind of cold that the Dakotas, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota have experienced the last couple of weeks was a “special” kind of cold. Forty or 50 below zero is Jack-London-Call-of-the-Wild-spit-freezin’-in-mid-air kind of cold. So, it’s no wonder that the cold has put Minnesota’s 5 percent …
Investigators Find Cause of Biodiesel Plant Explosion
Company investigators say they have found the cause of the explosion last month at the Imperium Renewables biodiesel plant near Grays Harbor, Washington state. The DailyWorld.com reports a 10,000-gallon glycerin neutralization tank became over-pressurized to the point of an explosion when sulfuric acid caused an unexpected exothermic reaction: “Personnel were unaware of the potential for such a reaction,” spokesman John …
Biodiesel Conference Place to Discuss RFS-2
As the EPA gets closer to implementing the new Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS-2), those attending this year’s National Biodiesel Conference and Expo, Feb. 7-10 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas will have the chance to talk about and prepare for RFS-2: This year’s implementation of the RFS-2 will be the single largest factor in biodiesel …
Lee: Time to Build, Buy Biodiesel
While 2009 is a year that most of the biodiesel market would most likely want to forget, at least one consultant is saying this year is the one for builders to build and buyers to buy biodiesel. Wayne Lee, the CEO of the biodiesel consulting group, Lee Enterprises, says his advice is build or buy now: “Because oil is a …
Report: Enough Corn, Soybeans for Ethanol, Biodiesel
A new report indicates there will be enough corn and soybeans for ethanol and biodiesel production, as well as the feed, food and export uses those crops are tasked with. But the evaluation from the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center‘s Robert Wisner, Professor of Economics and Energy Economist, says things could get tight if next year’s crop is hit with bad …
Auto Execs Rate Hybrids First, Biodiesel Last in Alt Fuels
Car makers put more stock in hybrid systems than biodiesel. This post from CNET News says a survey conducted by KPMG asked 200 senior auto executives to rate the most important alternative fuel technologies to their industry over the next five years: When asked to rate which were the most important alternative fuel technologies to the auto industry over the …
Japanese Whalers Sink Biodiesel Boat
A biodiesel-fueled boat that set the world record for circumnavigating the globe (see my post from June 27, 2008) has been sunk by a vessel accompanying Japanese whaling ships. According to WCJB World News, the Earthrace (now owned by the environmental organization Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and renamed the Ady Gil), a 79-foot “batmobile-looking” trimaran, was sunk by Japanese sailors …
Biodiesel Board Disputes Media’s Production Estimate
Ben Franklin said, “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.” That saying could apply to the latest dispute between some of the media and the National Biodiesel Board and biodiesel production levels for 2009. While some major news outlets ran a story that put the number at 350 million gallons for the past year (a …