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Independent regional fuel distributor and specialty refiner Direct Fuels has opened a biodiesel facility at its Euliss refinery in North Texas.

This Direct Fuels press release says it will be only the second biodiesel producer in North Texas and the only one at a fuel terminal where biodiesel can be blended directly into petroleum diesel:

“The opening of our biodiesel facility is very timely, as petroleum-based diesel prices soar to record highs,” said Warren Bonham, president of Direct Fuels. “The plant is centrally located in the DFW Metroplex, and offers diesel retailers and distributors easy and convenient access to both alternative fuels, as well as petroleum fuels. With our fully operational biodiesel and ethanol operations, combined with our existing transmix operations, we expect more than 40 percent of our 2008 revenue to be generated from renewable and recycled fuel.”

Direct Fuels has also started the process of obtaining BQ-9000 accreditation from the National Biodiesel Accreditation Program, which means they are undergoing a rigorous assessment of their biodiesel facilities to make sure they meet the highest quality production, storage, manufacturing, shipping and distribution practices. The company expects to complete the process by the end of the year.

This facility joins Direct Fuels’ Euliss, Texas 11-acre ethanol facility, making the company a major biofuel producer near the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Biofuel maker Nova Biosource Fuels, Inc. has updated the progress on its Seneca, Illinois biodiesel plant.

According to this company press release, Nova Biosource is producing biodiesel from low free fatty acid animal fats and vegetable oils with the plant right now at about 75 percent capacity:

Nova anticipates gradually changing the mix of feedstock to incorporate lower cost, higher free fatty acid content feedstocks through the remaining
commissioning process and then begin commissioning the remaining 20 million gallon per year trains. At the 20 million gallon per year biodiesel refinery built for Scott Petroleum Corporation in Greenville, Mississippi, a mechanical pump failure resulted in damage to the refinery. The refinery had previously been operated at full capacity. For example, during its performance test run in February, the refinery processed variable free fatty acid feedstock (primarily choice white grease with some poultry fat and fish oil with an average free fatty acid level of 4 to 5%) and the output of finished ASTM D 6751 quality biodiesel was measured in excess of 2,400 gallons per hour, or about 100%+ of rated nameplate throughput. The owner has commenced cleanup and repairs and a Nova engineering team is on site to consult with the owner to assess the situation and further develop the repair plan.

“We are pleased with the progress at the Seneca refinery,” said Kenneth T. Hern, Chairman and CEO of Nova. “Our commissioning team is doing a fantastic job of producing biodiesel that exceeds the ASTM standards. We are disappointed with the pump failure at the Scott biodiesel refinery and hope that repairs to the facility will be completed to bring it back to nameplate capacity as quickly as possible.”

When the facility is fully operational, the plant will produce 60 million gallons of biodiesel a year.

A commercial launch company in Massachusetts will run some of its boats this summer on biodiesel.

This story in the Salem News (Beverly, Mass.) says that after testing biodiesel on a partner company’s research boat, Mid-Harbor Launch Service will run a few of its boats vessel on the green fuel to test the viability of the product:

Mid-Harbor Launch plans to begin using a mixture called B20, and possibly higher mixes, on three or four of its new launches for the upcoming boating season.

Upon delivery, it will be the first commercial marine use on the North Shore, according to Ed Burke, chairman of the board at Dennis K. Burke Inc., the first major fuel distributor in the Boston area to offer B20 and B5 biodiesel blends.

While the biodiesel will yield obvious environmental benefits, there are some drawbacks that need to be overcome. It can degrade natural rubber in older engines, and sometimes, the cleaning nature of biodiesel can knock loose sediment that has built up in engines, possibly clogging fuel filters. Most truck operators have run into similar problems, and usually, they just keep extra filters on hand.

A $50 million project could help one of Canada’s biggest biofuels producers build the largest biofuels facility north of the border.

Biomass Magazine reports that Canadian Green Fuels Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mike Shenher recently announced the investment that includes building a new plant and upgrading the current Canadian Green Fuels plant in Regina, Saskatchewan:

“We expect these plants to have the capacity to produce 240 million liters (63 MMgy) of biofuel products a year and be considered a “green” plant, as all aspects of the plant and waste products are used to create revenue,” Shenher said, adding total revenue from the two plants could bring potential revenues of approximately $300 million per year.

The new plant, which is expected to produce approximately 52 MMgy (200 million liters), will run on energy it creates and is expected to produce biodiesel, biofuels, bio-oil, and bio-additives. The plant will crush 1,200 metric tons daily, and operate equipment that can crush any oil seed.

Shenher adds that putting together Canada’s largest oil seed crushing facilities with the biggest biofuel processing and production system will make it a world-class facility.

Biodiesel made from algae is proving it can stand up to the cold weather… a key to wider acceptance of the REALLY green fuel.

This story from Emerging Energy News says that Soladiesel, made by Solazyme, was tested at the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), requested by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD):

“The DoD’s requested testing of the Soladiesel fuel showed superior performance especially in terms of its cold temperature properties,” said Solazyme Inc.’s CEO Jonathan Wolfson.

R. James Woolsey, former director of central Intelligence and under -secretary of the navy, claimed the test drive showed algae can be tapped to enable the U.S. to grow its own military fuels in the country.