How To Make Biodiesel

FedEx delivers the goods at crunch time

admin — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:03:59 +0000

Dec.20–Santa Claus needs all the help he can get, and FedEx is happy to oblige. It’s 6:30 a.m. when the first trucks arrive at the FedEx shipping center in Northeast. Workers walk into the facility, form a circle and begin stretching like players before a game. These are Santa’s helpers, D.C. style. Energized by an early morning breakfast, they start unloading the trucks that have just arrived from Washington Dulles International Airport. This is the company’s biggest week. Officials at FedEx Corp. estimate that nearly 9.8 million packages were handled on Monday, easily besting last year’s 8.9 million mark. The sorters take the packages one by one from their shipping containers and separate them onto six conveyor belts. The belts transport the packages to the other side of the facility, where couriers load them into their trucks for doorstep delivery. The shipping center at 1501 Eckington Place NE was built in 1992 to replace the old distribution center on Jefferson Davis Highway, next to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The current plant has 400 employees, with two sorting floors and one office floor. Chris Ketcham, an operations manager at the plant, stands beside the sorting line sipping a cup of coffee. He’s been up since 3 a.m., but he’s got enough energy to run a marathon. “This weather is great,” said the upbeat Seattle native. It’s 48 degrees outside, unseasonably warm for December in the District. Just about everyone in the facility is thankful for the temperature. Some recall the blizzards of 1996 and 1998, when snow and ice slowed operations at the plant almost to a standstill. “Weather plays a huge role; luckily it hasn’t been a huge issue in our area,” said Mr. Ketcham. “It’s a completely uncontrollable thing, but it can definitely affect us.” FedEx has taken many steps to ensure that deliveries can be made even in the most inclement weather. “We have meteorologists that help determine flight routes for deliveries around the world, and we make sure to precheck our vehicles to make sure they are in good condition,” said Mr. Ketcham. “Weather is the biggest factor we have to deal with,” said Clifton Hawkins, a FedEx courier who just celebrated his 30th year with the company. Over the years, “you really get your ups and downs.” Mr. Hawkins started working for the company in 1976, three years after FedEx delivered its first package. Mr. Hawkins, a Fort Washington resident, said he stuck with the company because “they treat their people well and they really believe in people first, then service.” On its first night of operations in 1973, Federal Express delivered 186 packages to 25 cities using 14 company-owned planes. Currently, FedEx uses more than 670 aircraft and 70,000 vehicles to move shipments throughout 220 countries worldwide. Mr. Hawkins said that over the course of his 30 years he has seen the company evolve and grow. “Back then I was driving a van, now we have these hybrid trucks.” FedEx has been taking progressive steps to change its fuel consumption habits. It has converted its fleet to use recycled diesel/biodiesel fuel, and many of its new trucks are propelled by hybrid diesel/electric power source. The truck engines may be quiet, but the facility is buzzing with noise and energy. “We get really, really busy this time of the year,” said Donald Falwell, a manager at the sorting center. “This station gets the most volume in the area.” The Northeast facility is one of three FedEx centers that sort and distribute the thousands of packages that are delivered to the D.C. area during the holidays. The other two centers are located in Herndon and Rockville. It’s not uncommon for FedEx employees to work 12-hour shifts to deliver the tremendous influx of packages during the holidays. “Usually, we schedule extra people and work longer shifts so we have a buffer in case something breaks down,” said Mr. Falwell. But come Friday — the last day customers have to ship their packages by FedEx Express — “we definitely kick back and celebrate when it’s all done.” Credit: The Washington Times

Germany’s struggling biodiesel producers blame taxes

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:04:05 +0000

As the European Union considers raising biofuel blending levels to reduce carbon dioxide pollution, Germany’s biodiesel industry are toiling to come from under the weight of taxes implemented last summer. About 30 companies were reported to be considering taking the government to court with claims that biofuels taxes were putting them out of business. The companies, ranging from biodiesel makers to vegetable oil mills to trucking firms, were preparing to lodge a complaint with the constitutional court in April. “Many German biodiesel producers are only working at three-quarters of their production capacity,” Martin Tauschke, chief executive of German renewable fuels industry association BBK told Reuters. “We need to operate at 90% capacity just to cover our costs.” Germany’s tax on biodiesel of [euro]0.09 per liter was implemented in August 2006. The intent was to raise the tax in stages to [euro]0.45 per liter by 2012. Some say the higher vehicle maintenance costs and lower energy content of biodiesel mean that it needs to be at least [euro]0.10 cheaper than fossil diesel to compete. Germany’s biodiesel sales at fuel stations fell from 520,000 tons in 2005, to 476,000 tons in 2006, according to biodiesel association AGQM. Meanwhile, the oilseed analysts of Hamburg-based Oil World, an independent forecasting service, expect that that total German usage of biodiesel would decline by 18% to around 2.2 million tons in 2007. The service also said Germany would likely start exporting biodiesel. “We are already getting reports that thousands of German trucks are filling up with biodiesel in Denmark every day because prices there are cheaper,” Tauschke said. As a result, Junior Agriculture Minister Gerd Mueller made a statement Mar. 7 saying that the “re-examination and adjustment of biofuels taxes is needed. Falling fossil prices in past months have led to a fall in biofuels sales. We must react to this fall so that biofuels do not lose their attractiveness to customers.” Despite the gloom, another Reuters story reported that German biodiesel producer BKN Biokratstoff Nord AG has completed a share issue to aid in their expansion plans. They want to increase annual production capacity to 500,000 tons in three years through a plant expansion. Their plant at Sprakhensehl in north Germany is gradually increasing its capacity, from 35,000 tons a year at the end of 2006, to 50,000 tons presently, to 70,000 tons in the summer of 2007. The company also wants to construct an additional plant that would produce an additional 150,000 tons. BKN Biokratstoff expects a boost in revenue from oil refineries and the blending sector, not the petrol station. “The major oil companies will be our customers,” said the company’s chief executive officer Ulrich Wogart in a Feb. 5 Reuters report.

Gasoline Gulf CoastGasoline Gulf CoastGasoline Gulf CoastGasoline Gulf CoastGasoline Gulf Coast Spot ($/gal) [Derived headline]

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:04:01 +0000

[Table] Gasoline Gulf Coast Gasoline Gulf Coast Gasoline Gulf Coast Gasoline Gulf Coast Gasoline Gulf Coast Spot ($/gal) 03/08/07 03/01/07 Change Regular: 1.8985 1.8640 0.0345 Midgrade : 1.9345 1.9124 0.0221 Premium: 1.9885 1.9850 0.0035 Source: Oil Price Information Service

First-ever certification for a NOx-reducing biodiesel additive is granted

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:05:12 +0000

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has officially verified that a specially-additized blend of 20% biodiesel in regular U.S. EPA ULSD fuel can meet the nitrogen oxides reduction requirements for Texas Low Emissions Diesel (Tx-LED) as required in most of Texas. Key to the verification: Oryxe “OR-LED2″ additive, which earlier won TCEQ Tx-LED verification for non-biodiesel blend. The only difference between Tx-LED additized regular diesel fuel and Tx-LED additized B20 blend is that a higher dosage of “OR-LED2″ is required for the B20 Tx-LED blend, as Oryxe CEO Jim Cleary told Diesel Fuel News in an interview. The OR-LED2 dosage for “Tx-LED” B20 blend is at least 20 milliliters per gallon, or about 1 tablespoon. Winning the latest TCEQ approval required rigorous testing at the U.S. EPA-recognized emissions test labs at West Virginia University, under a standard test protocol mandated by TCEQ. The verification means that refiners, terminal operators and fuel blenders only need to follow the specific dosage blending instructions as specified in the TCEQ verification. Both truck splash-blending or terminal rack metering are possible. Since the same OR-LED2 additive can be used for either non-biodiesel or B20 blend, there’s no extra infrastructure cost for making a B20 version of Tx-LED diesel fuel. Tx-LED is mandatory in 110 east Texas counties including major metro areas, and is similar to the low-aromatics, high-cetane California Air Resources Board “CARB diesel.” Some Texas refiners qualify via additization while others use refining schemes. Oryxe hopes that the TCEQ OR-LED2 verifications will support marketing efforts in other states that face ozone-reduction deadlines from U.S. EPA, as well as states that are keen on biodiesel. Missouri, for example, is the U.S.’s biggest biodiesel producer. “Having TCEQ certification allows us to talk to [air pollution] regulators in other states,” Cleary explains. “This helps them to recognize there’s a cost-effective solution to the NOx bump” with B-20 blends. While Cleary wouldn’t specify a precise per-gallon cost of OR-LED2 necessary to overcome the B-20 NOx bump, he said it’s “pennies per gallon.” Meantime, Oryxe is “75% of the way to complete what we need to do for CARB verification” to qualify as “CARB diesel,” a blend of ordinary EPA ULSD fuel mixed with the OR-LED additive. Such verification eventually could open the door to more CARB diesel supplies in a California diesel market that’s chronically tight. Eventually, Oryxe might seek CARB verification of an additized low-NOx biodiesel blend as well. But that depends upon CARB coming up with a new regulatory scheme to ensure biodiesel meets emissions performance requirements. Scoping data that Oryxe earlier presented to CARB indicates that a properly-additized B20 blend probably could overcome the typical NOx increase problem with biodiesel blend.

Biodiesel plant planned for Butler: Proposal includes filling station with alternative fuels

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:03:56 +0000

Dec. 21–Plans have been announced for the Milwaukee area’s first biodiesel refinery as interest heats up for renewable energy.The refinery, planned for the Village of Butler, also could result in the area’s first fueling station that specializes in home-grown fuels such as biodiesel and E85 ethanol.The station would be built on the same 3 acres as the refinery. Construction of the $4.4 million refinery is scheduled to begin in February with completion in July. It is being built by a group of five local investors that includes an environmental engineer.Fuel production could begin next summer at the rate of about 5 million gallons a year, with the capacity to expand to 35 million gallons. Initially, the plant will employ about 10 people.Soybean oil from Illinois or Iowa will be used as the plant’s feedstock, even though soybeans are one of Wisconsin’s largest crops.”We need to get our soybean oil from a large processing facility, and for us the nearest two are in Illinois and Iowa,” said Richard Sawall, president and founder of North American Biodiesel LLC, the investment group formed to build the plant.Sawall has worked as an environmental consultant and has a master’s degree in geological engineering. He and his business partners have been planning the refinery for about a year.They wanted to build a plant in Butler in Waukesha County because the village is close to petroleum distributors and has railroad service for bringing in tankers of soybean oil.The plant’s investors are negotiating with a Calgary, Canada, firm to distribute the fuel that’s made here.”Our hope is to sell most of it locally,” Sawall said. “Now the fuel has to come from Minnesota or Iowa, and transportation costs add about 15 cents per gallon to the price.”Nationwide, there are 87 biodiesel refineries in operation and at least 65 more under construction. Wisconsin has three plants, and two more are under construction in Dane and Rock counties.The Rock County plant is scheduled for completion late next year and would be the state’s largest — producing 45 million gallons of fuel a year. That would be more than double the capacity of the state’s first large-scale biodiesel plant, which is scheduled to open early in 2007 in Dane County.The industry is growing as more states mandate the use of renewable energy or at least provide incentives for it.Texas and Iowa are nearly tied for producing the most biodiesel, said Amber Thurlo Pearson, spokeswoman for the National Biodiesel Board, a trade association in Missouri.It could be years before the market becomes saturated with refineries making alternative fuels, Pearson said.Wisconsin wants to jump-start additional investments in biodiesel, ethanol and other renewable energy under a $1 million grant program.Former Gov. Tommy Thompson is one of the business partners behind plans to build a $195 million ethanol plant in Walworth County, and at least five more ethanol plants are on the drawing board here.Alternative fuels receive government subsidies, partly so they can remain affordable. Also, having local refineries could help reduce fuel prices for consumers by lowering delivery costs, according to Sawall.”In the fuel industry, it all comes down to price,” he said.Across the Midwest, farmers are selling more corn and soybeans to ethanol and biodiesel plants. It has helped tighten corn and soybean supplies and lift crop prices, according to agricultural economists, and the trend doesn’t show any signs of slowing.The proliferation of alternative- energy plants will likely continue as long as Congress subsidizes fuel additives. Wall Street is getting in on ethanol production, further fueling its development.But, eventually, backers of the plants will have to scale back their investments or risk losing money in an overbuilt industry.If biofuels had to stand on their own, without government subsidies, it’s doubtful there would be such a booming industry, said Mike Davis, an economist with the Maguire Energy Institute in Dallas. Credit: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Bid talk surrounds Cardpoint; [LONDON 1ST EDITION]

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:04:21 +0000

Cardpoint, the cash machine operator, closed 1 per cent lower at 91p in spite of fresh rumours that it is being stalked by a potential buyer. Cardpoint chairman Bob Thian has said for months that shareholders would probably accept a 125p-a- share offer and added that several parties, including private equity firms, were considering bids. However, no suitor has publicly appeared since the company rejected a 100p-per-share bid in November. Accident Exchange, the car rental group, soared 20 per cent to 135p after it announced new credit facilities of up to Pounds 45m from Morgan Stanley. The loan was seen as a much-needed vote of confidence in the company, which in April issued a profit warning. Numis Securities increased its price target from 100p to 130p, saying the loan would support the company’s growth ambitions. Ultimate Leisure, the Newcastle-based night club operator, rose 6.5 per cent to 238p amid talk of a takeover approach. Sanctuary Group rose 12.7 per cent to 20p after it agreed a Pounds 44.5m, 20p-a-share takeover offer from Centenary Music, a unit ofVivendi-owned Universal Music. Traders believe a counterbid could emerge for the music company. Urals Energy added 2.3 per cent to 380p after it signed an agreement with Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly, to develop Urals’ gas assets in Siberia. Shares in biodiesel producer D1 Oils rose 8.2 per cent to 216 1/ 2p after it revealed it was in advanced talks with an unnamed party about a strategic collaboration. The market was abuzz with talk of BP building a stake in D1. Insurer Domestic & General dropped 12.1 per cent to Pounds 11.52 on fears that takeover talks with rival Homeserve, up 0.9 per cent at Pounds 18.88, had stalled. The two companies have been in discussions for almost a month. However, traders believe the fall was triggered by small-cap funds selling D&G shares ahead of its promotion to the FTSE 250 on Monday.

County looks to biofuels: Wilkinson officially welcomes alternative energy company

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:04:15 +0000

Dec. 22–As Wilkinson County moves further away from its past with the decline of the kaolin industry, it hopes that alternative fuels will help make up its future. The county officially welcomed Alterra Bioenergy in a ceremony Thursday morning at the company’s new plant in Gordon. Alterra Bioenergy is renovating a building at 200 Tremon St., and the company should be ready to distribute biodiesel fuel by March. “It looks a lot different than it did two weeks ago,” Wilkinson County Economic Development Director Farrah Senn said of the renovations. “By March, they should be ready to distribute fuel, and they should be in full production by September.” Senn said Alterra will employee 10 people in its first phase and up to 25 when it starts producing its own biodiesel. The plant will be capable of producing some 6 million gallons of B-100 biodiesel and distributing 30 million gallons of B-20 blended biodiesel. Alterra Bioenergy was founded by Macon native Wayne Johnson, who has spent more than 20 years in the alternative fuel industry. His ventures over that time have created more than 1,000 jobs, a release from the development authority said. “We are so proud to have them here,” Senn said. “When we were first approached by Wayne Johnson, we knew right from the start he was going to be a great part of our community.” Both the city of Gordon and the county have been looking for ways to augment the local economy with the decline of the kaolin industry in recent years. Kaolin-related industries have made up about 50 percent of the tax base for the city and county. In Georgia, kaolin industry jobs had fallen to less than 2,500 in 2005, down from a peak of 4,500 in 1996, according to the China Clay Producers Association. “Four or five years ago, we started to develop an economic strategy,” said Gordon Mayor Kenneth Turner, who was part of Thursday’s event. “We recognized the decline of the kaolin industry. … One of the areas we had an interest in was biofuel projects in general. “We’ve lost 20 percent of our tax base; we’re more hungry than some other areas are. … When (Johnson) said he wanted to locate here, we were all enthused.” Tremon Street, the location of the new plant, was recently highlighted in Georgia Trend magazine with Wilkinson winning a “County of Excellence” award. The county was facing a $2.6 million tax lien from the Environmental Protection Division in 1997 from environmental damage caused by a railroad car paint and repair facility. The county tore down old buildings at the site and began renovations to use for commercial development. Turner said that a couple of industrial sites located at the edge of town also were in the works. Getting Alterra Energy was a major step in the county’s economic development. “We’re happy the company chose to locate here,” he said. “It’s product is environmentally friendly; from that standpoint, we’re happy to have that in town. And we were desperate to replace some jobs. So we are welcoming them with open arms.” To contact Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334 or e-mail pramati@macontel.com [mailto:pramati@macontel.com]. Credit: The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

Ethanol prices continue up in latest week

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:04:18 +0000

Spot ethanol markets were slow to respond to weaker oil and RBOB prices last week, with traders saying that supplies were tight in many parts of the nation. Spot sales of pre-blended ethanol gained roughly a dime nationally, landing at $2.38/gal on Thursday, according to surveys conducted by Ethanol & Biodiesel News . Prices have run up considerably this month with market sources pointing to February’s bout of frigid temperatures in the Midwest and Northeast impinging timely shipments of contracted deliveries. Another significant factor is that blenders are restocking up on ethanol after winding down oxygenated winter RFG inventories - a common practice in March, as refineries run down existing supply while preparing to switch over to production of cleaner-burning blends of gas used during the summer. A plausible view on the medium term trend is that ethanol prices are moving to a level high enough to support a new floor in the price of corn, which has nearly doubled since 2005 when a bushel of corn averaged around $2. Though U.S. farmers are expected to grow a record 12.2 billion bushels of corn in 2007, ethanol will consume 50% more corn this year than in 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week.

Houston Biodiesel Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for Seabrook, Texas Biodiesel Plant, an Industrial Info News Alert

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:04:25 +0000

Industrial Info Resources, Sugar Land Joe Govreau, 713-783-5147 Logo: http://www.industrialinfo.com/ Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Houston Biodiesel, LLC and partners TexCom Resources, Incorporated (Pinksheets:TEXC) and US Renewables Group held a silver shovel groundbreaking ceremony yesterday to commemorate the beginning of construction on a new biodiesel plant located within LBC Houston’s Bayport Industrial Complex. For details, view the entire article at http://www.industrialinfo.com/showNews.jsp?newsitemID=105594, or browse other breaking industrial news stories at www.industrialinfo.com. Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a Marketing Information Service company that has been doing business for over 23 years. IIR is respected as the leader in providing comprehensive market intelligence pertaining to the industrial processing, heavy manufacturing, and energy-related industries throughout the world. For more information send inquiries to alternativefuelsgroup@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at www.industrialinfo.com

Cash Grain Prices ($/bu) [Derived headline]

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:04:04 +0000

[Table] Cash Grain Prices ($/ bu ) 03/08/07 03/01/07 Change CORN: Kansas City 3.9700 4.0000 -0.0300 Chicago 3.9950 4.0400 -0.0450 SORGHUM ( milo ): Kansas City 3.6848 3.7156 -0.0308 CORN FUTURES: Mar 4.0820 4.1100 -0.0280 May 4.1740 4.2100 -0.0360 Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture