Fixing the Biodiesel Disconnect

What if we lived in a world that depended on the use of a finite, costly fuel source buried in the ground in places that were governed by people who thought we were bad people? What if, after convincing the owners of this fuel that it was a good idea to sell the fuel to us for a princely sum, we used the fuel to expand our economy but knew that the fuel was dirty, and was in fact polluting our country? What if there were alternatives available within our country that cost less, were not finite and created significantly less pollution? Finally, what if no one cared?

The answer is that you might wake up working in a biodiesel company.

This morning, with oil cresting above $72/barrel, a colleague emailed me the attached story (http://www.waaytv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10451673). It succinctly points out that the biodiesel industry is in trouble. Everywhere the signs are disheartening. Producers are going out of business, and total output for 2009 is now projected to be half of what it was last year - this despite our recent history with oil: $147/barrel, $30/barrel, $73/barrel - within 12 months.

Why?

Biodiesel represents a tremendously beneficial fuel alternative that is available today. Biodiesel is substantially cleaner than petroleum-based diesel and is cheaper to make than diesel (in a BioPro™). Alternative energy policy is one of the 3 policy stools of the new government, and literally hundreds of millions of dollars have been pledged to developing a green energy economy. Why, then, does the biodiesel industry seem marginalized?

Well, sure the car manufacturers - under the disingenuous guise of "next generation emissions control systems" - are blatantly reducing the overall market for biodiesel (http://biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=1247). And, of course, the oil companies continue to contend that the world will "have" to depend on petroleum through this century. And let's not forget the current economy, which is a friend of no man. Yet, despite these substantial impediments, I keep waiting for the world to wake up and support biodiesel.

I don’t have a solution that will stem the losses in the industry and transform biodiesel into the alternative energy darling, but I do believe that education and dollars are the only levers we have to create a sustainable biodiesel infrastructure here. With that in mind, here are a few facts from Springboard Biodiesel's recent history:

In 2008, Springboard Biodiesel shipped almost 4 million gallons of "gross biodiesel production capacity". To be conservative, let's assume that each machine is used at 50% of its capacity over the next 12 months. What happens when you supplant 2,000,000 gallons of diesel #2 with 2,000,000 gallons of ASTM-grade biodiesel?

1. You save money because making biodiesel in a Springboard Biodiesel BioPro™ costs less than buying diesel at the pump.
2. You reduce your carbon footprint substantially: 26,000,000 pounds of CO2 are kept OUT of the atmosphere. That's equivalent to removing more than 3,400 diesel cars from the road.
3. Diesel emissions - the particle matter or soot that flood out of diesel-fueled tailpipes - are the most carcinogenic airborne pollutants in our environment. One study showed that they are 10 times as carcinogenic as all other airborne pollutants combined! (http://www.scorecard.org/env-releases/def/hap_diesel.html). B-100 has 47% less particulate matter than diesel, 48% less carbon monoxide and 100% less sulphates.
4. Recycled vegetable oil has a tremendous energy conversion profile - basically turning a waste product into a replacement fuel product - and it costs significantly less than soybean or canola oil.
5. Grease is renewable - it's produced in millions of restaurants, cafeterias and kitchens throughout the US every year - approximately 3 billion pounds in 2008.

To me, these facts are compelling. It would seem that this country would be better off, if the biodiesel industry were bigger, not marginalized.... So share the facts, vote with your wallet and hope that the better way becomes the preferred way.

MJR