Asia Global Energy International News Scam Ridden US Biofuel
Filling up with Biodiesel in 2007. Photo source: Tom Konrad
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 [NASD:REGI] CEO Dan Oh.
Meeting RFS2 targets
He 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.
Were US biobutanol production able to reach its current blend wall in the same period through conversion of the ethanol fleet — replacing 16 percent of the US gasoline market, or roughly 18 billion gallons of projected 2022 demand — that would total 23.4 billion ethanol-equivalent gallons, and between this total and biodiesel, the US would need just 4.6 billion gallons of ethanol-equivalent drop-in fuels to meet its 2022 obligation. Without requiring E15 ethanol blending or putting additional infrastructure requirements on auto manufacturers or the supply system.
That 4.6 billion gallons of ethanol-equivalent fuel would translate to 2,8 billion gallons of actual operating drop-in fuel capacity — and global capacity is over 21 billion gallons today. In short, RFS2 presents reachable targets — but biodiesel is key to accomplishing them.
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.
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