GRAYS HARBOR, WA (N3) - The biggest biodiesel refinery in the West will ease back into production this week. Workers at the Grays Harbor plant have repaired the damage from an explosion in December. KPLU's Tom Banse reports the economics for the alternative fuel are looking up too. Full story Luckily, no one was injured three months ago when an over-pressurized tank of glycerin exploded at the Imperium Renewables refinery. Insurance covered the repairs. But another crucial factor for resumed production is a revival in demand. Company CEO John Plaza says Washington's neighbors to the north and south just started requiring a small percentage of biodiesel be blended into regular diesel fuel.
Biodiesel is making it where the old saying goes, “Will it play in Peoria?” That certainly is the case for the Illinois town’s transit system, CityLink.
This story from the Peoria Journal Star says the city has been so pleased with the past performance of lower biodiesel blends, they decided to become the first fleet in the state to go to B20 to help extend the life of their aging buses:
“Biodiesel has been good for us. The engine makes more power (using biodiesel) and there’s less smoke out of the exhaust,” said CityLink maintenance director John Anderson of a B-20 program that involves 58 buses and 21 paratransit vehicles.
Peoria’s transit district ran buses on B-11, an 11 percent biodiesel blend, in 2007 and 2008 but decided last year to increase the amount of vegetable oil in their fuel as part of “a green mandate,” said Anderson.
“(Assistant manager) Rick Tieken and I sat down last year to see what we could do. We’ve gone green as a facility on just about everything,” he said, referring to environmentally friendly products such as degreasers and soaps now used by CityLink.
Peoria is even buying the soybean-based biodiesel from a local supplier to help keep the money close to home.
Photo from: http://www.diytrade.com/china/4/products/1773952/7_000T_Biodiesel_Plant.html
A new biodiesel project, Golden State Biofuel, is under development in southern California. Located in Indio, Calif., Golden State Biofuel is finalizing the permitting phase for its 1 MMgy biodiesel refinery being positioned in a preexisting Indio building. Randall Lichner, chief operating officer for Hawaii Bioenergy—the parent company of Golden State Biofuel and Rocky Mountain Biodiesel in Parker, Colo.—said once permits are fully secured, the company will begin moving in its process equipment. Lichner said he anticipates the biodiesel plant to be fully operational by the middle of summer. The Indio plant will employ continuous batch processing and be multifeedstock, even though Lichner added that used cooking oils will be the primary feedstock used. Lichner also said the tax incentives available to biodiesel producers in California were a deciding factor in locating the project there, especially in an Enterprise Zone such as the one Golden State Biofuel is located in. Gross tax liability reductions, low interest loans and rebates on excise taxes are some of the incentives Lichner mentioned his project is taking advantage of.
Used cooking oil will start this plant off on a good footing, although they are prepared to use any other feedstock. Is there any more versatile fuel than biodiesel?
Figures 4a & b: Pilot biodiesel production plant at the UNALM (Photo: PA/UNALM) Photo from: http://www.hedon.info/BP56:SmallScaleBiodieselProductionInAmazonia
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is holding a one-day event, called the Pennsylvania Biofuel Development Conference, on April 20. The purpose of the conference will be to provide information to biodiesel producers on what should be expected when the state’s B2 mandate goes into effect May 1. The mandate is based on trigger points, so when instate production—not installed capacity but actual production volumes—reaches 100 MMgy, the Pennsylvania biodiesel standard will move from B2 to B5. Keystone Biofuels’ Ben Wootten, also president of the Pennsylvania Biodiesel Producers Group, said installed biodiesel production capacity in Pennsylvania is currently 114 MMgy. The B2 mandate is for on-road diesel fuel only, but Wootten, who just accepted the position of regulatory chair for the National Biodiesel Board, said Bioheat legislation was just recently proposed, Senate Bill 1282, which would seek a B5 mandate for all heating oil sold in Pennsylvania beginning May 2011. Justin Fleming, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, told Biodiesel Magazine that the April 20 event will host sessions focusing on statewide biodiesel distribution systems, best practices to ensure fuel quality, testing methods and more. The conference will be held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Pennsylvania’s capital city of Harrisburg. To register for the show, or for more information, contact Michael Radar at (717) 787-9089.