New Feedstock Options and Trends Boost Biodiesel Production

by Brian Levine (Greasezilla/Biofuels Digest) .. While vegetable oils, especially soybean oil, are the primary feedstocks for U.S. biodiesel production, biodiesel can be created from nearly any feedstock that contains free fatty acids (FFA). Since feedstocks can represent up to 80 percent of operational expenses for production, the use of FOG for biodiesel production is rapidly growing in popularity.

FOG, considered a nuisance waste, provides a readily available source for low-cost biofuel feedstock. Companies are adapting pretreatment systems to include waste fats from processing plants and restaurants. These emerging FOG management technologies are helping to address multiple issues concurrently. By utilizing waste instead of farmland, FOG doesn’t compete with food production. FOG does not require the use of arable land, water or labor for agricultural production. Additionally, recovering resources from FOG reduces the impact of landfilling and the use of chemicals traditionally used in FOG disposal.

In particular, an emerging technology that produces a high-quality waste feedstock is Greasezilla, a hydronic thermal FOG separation system, developed by Downey Ridge Environmental Company. The system takes the grease trap waste produced by food service and food manufacturing facilities, and generates a low-moisture, high-FFA brown grease offtake—an ideal feedstock for biodiesel conversion. Instead of purchasing materials needed for the feedstock, biodiesel plants can generate their own. Greasezilla adds additional profitability to biodiesel production facilities by generating the feedstock in-house from materials that haulers will pay to unload.

Expanded to a hub-and-spoke operation, with multiple systems placed strategically across a region, Greasezilla supports regular usage and access to high-quality input. By partnering with Downey Ridge Environmental Company, who will fund the equipment, Greasezilla’s hub-and-spoke model can maximize the recovery of renewable energy resources for biodiesel production and other industries.

The power of public opinion

While the U.S. is far from consensus on the fuel debate, the public is gradually moving toward greater awareness of biofuels and the need for policies and incentives to promote them. As consumers and citizens learn more about biodiesel, public support for these clean initiatives continues to grow.

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) conducts annual surveys to gauge the public’s awareness of biodiesel and attitudes toward policies that promote regulations and subsidies. In NBB’s 2019 survey, 54 percent of the respondents expressed positive impressions of biodiesel, with only three percent reflecting negative impressions and 44 percent having no opinion. Further, the survey also shows that respondents with an awareness of biofuels are more likely to support government programs and regulations promoting the production and use of biodiesel.

Moving toward cleaner fuels

With new waste-to-fuel technologies, government initiatives and public support, the U.S. is realizing a steady growth in biodiesel. The U.S. Energy Information Administrative (EIA) recently reported that the U.S. exported a total of 7,400 barrels of biodiesel per day in 2019—an increase of 10 percent from 2018. READ MORE