Advanced BioFuels USA

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Darling of the mid-2000s, still beloved by its many fans — biodiesel is increasingly a key to delivering advanced biofuels volumes now — and even more so between now and 2022.

Presentations by NBB CEO Joe Jobe and REG CEO Daniel Oh at ABLC 2013 explained the how and why.

In the excitement over cellulosic biofuels and drop-ins, it is easy to forget that the backbone of advanced biofuels in the US and around he world is biodiesel — and not the least of the many services that biodiesel has rendered is enabling the biofuels industry to make up for a shortfall in the production of cellulosic biofuels, by over-delivering on the targets for biomass-based diesel.

While the boom years of biodiesel capacity building are long over, the sector has been going through a renaissance in the past two years, which was plainly in evidence from the bullish outlooks presented at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference by National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe, and Renewable Energy Group CEO Dan Oh.

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He (Joe Jobe)discussed the 5×15 initiative — converting 5 percent of the US diesel market to biodiesel by 2015, and said that the industry was well on the way to delivering on that goal.

The longer-term? The biodiesel industry is aiming for 10×22 — or 10 percent of the US diesel market, just north of 5 billion gallons, by the last year of the current Renewable Fuel Standard. That would deliver nearly 8 billion gallons towards the 2022 RFS obligation, because biodiesel gallons count for 1.5 ethanol-equivalent gallons because of their higher energy density.

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With such a rosy picture of growth — it’s astonishing that in the entire debate on food vs. fuel there is hardly ever a word about biodiesel — and ranchers, poultry farmers and food manufacturers are never seen targeting biodiesel for the kind of all-out assault that is seen with corn ethanol.

Over to REG

The reason was plain from REG CEO Dan Oh’s presentation at ABLC – looking at how biodiesel is highly complimentary to the food and ranching industries — and supports a “food, then fuel” production system.

…In his ABLC presentation, Oh noted that biodiesel is the driver for meat and meal producers to realize higher income off their leftover fats and oils — in turn, encouraging farmers and ranchers to produce more, taking pressure of food prices by assuring them of a secondary market for the byproduct stream.

…According to REG and a December 2010 study by Centrec Consulting, global soybean meal prices could increase by $36 per ton without the biodiesel market — and loss of the biodiesel sector would cost US livestock producers $4.6 billion over a five-year period. Hence the low levels of noise and outrage over biodiesel, compared to the hoo-hah over corn ethanol.

…However, they (the restaurant market) are generally less outraged by the impact of biodiesel — which has almost single-handedly converted restaurant cooking oil from a $25 per store per week liability — and an odious component of landfill — to a $0.30 per pound or higher commodity that relieves environmental impact of restaurants and institutions while contributing to the bottom line.  READ MORE and MORE (Advanced Biofuels USA)  Download “Food THEN Fuel” report