Growing the biorefining base
I’ve been in Orlando since Saturday for the 2012 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo. If there’s any readers who don't know, I’ve not only been the editor of Biorefining Magazine since the fall of 2010, and its biannual supplement Algae Technology & Business launched in spring 2011, but I’ve also been editor of Biodiesel Magazine since 2009 and writing for Biodiesel Magazine since 2005.
Days before coming down to Orlando I realized I was out of my Biodiesel Magazine business cards, so I brought a stack of Biorefining Magazine business cards. I wasn’t too worried, considering this was the 7th National Biodiesel Conference in a row that I've been to, and many people at the conference affiliate me with our biodiesel product line.
What pleasantly surprised me was, as I passed out Biorefining Magazine business cards to biodiesel acquaintances and new faces, how many people were familiar with Biorefining Magazine and subscribe to it regularly, or read it online and receive our weekly newsletter. I thought I would have to explain to everyone what it is and why my business card didn’t say Biodiesel Magazine on it, but that, thankfully, wasn’t the case.
While the ethanol and biodiesel industries have little in common other than both being renewable fuels, that’s not the case with biodiesel and advanced biofuels and biobased chemicals. After all, biodiesel is the U.S.’s first commercially available advanced biofuel. The coproduct from biodiesel production is glycerin, which many biorefining firms such as GlycosBio are using to produce biobased chemicals.
These are just a few of the many items that the biodiesel and biorefining space have in common. Here at the conference I asked a few representatives of one of the big chemical companies that supplies sodium methylate catalyst to biodiesel producers if they’re keeping an eye on the biobased chemical markets. I asked because I have not heard of any news from this company about them getting into the market, as many other chemical companies are. Their response was, they can’t afford not to.
2 Responses
Roman - rwolff@enhancedbiofuels.com
2012-02-10
1The Ethanol and Biodiesel industries are closer than they appear. Within a year, DDG oil (a byproduct form the production of ethanol) will likely be one of the top 3 feedstock sources for the biodiesel industry. After soybean oil and maybe tied with yellow grease and other recycled oils. This sopurce of economic feedstock will allow the biodiesel industry to meet its RFS-2 requirements to obligated parties. Good seeing you at the conference...
Ron Kotrba
2012-02-10
2It was good seeing you too, Roman, for sure. And clearly corn oil from distillers grains is a growing feedstock for biodiesel. And yes ethanol can be used to make ethyl esters. But this doesn't mean ethanol and biodiesel have much in common. This reminds me of sitting in on the petroleum downstream session at the National Biodiesel Conference. Presenters discussed biofuel pumps and storage, mostly biodiesel. But afterwards, Paul Nazzaro stood up and on the microphone to the audience and presenters he said something to the effect that he doesn't even want ethanol and biodiesel mentioned in the same context, other than being rotational crops, because ethanol has only 2/3 the Btu value of gas whereas biodiesel has equivalent Btu to diesel fuel, and "biodiesel won't separate out of solution and chase the water." Also, you'll remember the sentiment at the general session where the obligated parties said it's not biodiesel they have a problem with.
Leave a Reply
Comments are closed