Partnership Aims to Produce 1 Million Gallons of Biodiesel

Anthony Fontanelle
February 5, 2007

Following the recently released study by Emerging Markets Online about the major role that biodiesel will play in the future, two companies have formed a partnership to produce a million gallons of biodiesel in Washington State. Imperium Renewables, one of the largest producers of biodiesel has formed a partnership with Natural Selection Farms to produce biodiesel from canola oil which is produced by the agricultural farm. The deal saw the biggest purchase agreement for canola oil produced in the Washington State. The partnership also increased the involvement of the agricultural sector of the state with the increasing market of alternative fuels and biodiesel specifically.

The partnership comes hot on the heels of the release of the case study undertaken by Emerging Markets Online. The study revealed that the US has the fastest growing production and consumption rate of biodiesel. The collaboration between the Natural Selection Farms and the biodiesel producer is one of the reasons why the US market is set to overtake the European Union as the world’s leader in the production of such alternative fuel. As of today, there are seventy major plants that produce biodiesel including those owned by Imperium Renewables. The target 1 million gallons of biodiesel will help increase the number of retail sites which have now tripled from 2005’s numbers.

Imperium Renewables founder and president, John Plaza, stated that the partnership “demonstrates the incredible opportunity for our state’s agricultural industry to benefit from the increasing demand for biodiesel within the state as well as nationally”. He even further adds, “We’ve always said that we’d be the state’s biggest customer for Washington State produced canola oil, and today we are.” The biodiesel producer hopes that the partnership will start the establishment of a new market for the Washington State farmers and the state’s biodiesel consumers. The deal will increase the jobs available and revenues for the state and, at the same time, move the state towards energy independence.

The agricultural sector will greatly benefit from the deal since including canola on the crop base makes perfect sense. Canola can be used as a rotational crop with wheat. The effect of canola on wheat yield is very positive and this is reflected and shown on studies that found out that wheat yields increase when it follows a planting of canola. The plants can be harvested early, meaning that other short-season crops can be planted or the land can be used for livestock grazing which further fertilizes the ground. The plant also requires relatively small amount of water which means that maintaining the crops will not require taking water supply from other crops.

The result of the deal leads to more advances in the development of alternative fuels in the US. The exponential growth of the market for biodiesel is akin to a speeding car equipped with a high-powered diesel engine that will need a lot of stopping power from brake components from EBC Active Brakes Direct. Biodiesel after all has become the fuel of choice for a growing number of diesel engines that are more energy efficient, provides lots of power, and produces lesser emissions and noise. The alternative fuel can be produced from oils derived from farm crops such as canola and can be utilized by a conventional diesel engine. The fuel is clean burning which has a lower emission of carbon dioxide than petroleum-based diesel with a difference of up to 78 percent.

The biodiesel produced by Imperium Renewables can be used either in its pure form or in a blended form where it is mixed with petroleum diesel and meets the ASTM D-6751 specifications.

Source: Amazines.com