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Biodiesel Production Envisioned for Valley

Posted on: Friday, 14 October 2005, 00:00 CDT

By Chris Woodka, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

Oct. 13--ROCKY FORD -- Biodiesel production could create a new agricultural market in the Lower Arkansas Valley while providing a way to keep water in the area, officials learned Wednesday.

The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District heard detailed information about the kinds of crops needed, costs and feasibility of biodiesel fuel production from Ben Doon. Doon has been working for two years to set up a demonstration biodiesel project in Costilla County, and said the Lower Arkansas Valley could benefit from a similar project.

"When we started, fuel prices were lower," Doon said. "We never thought that fuel prices would get this high, this fast."

Doon's presentation was met with enthusiasm by board members and staff of the Lower Ark District.

"Alternative fuels are a wave we have to look at. We started looking at it before $3 a gallon fuel," said John Singletary, chairman of the Lower Ark board. "It will help the valley stay alive economically."

Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera told the district in September that it would be a potential customer for biodiesel fuel produced in the valley. Singletary said Pueblo might also provide a market.

Doon's comprehensive study will be a valuable tool for the district, added General Manager Jay Winner.

"This allows us to apply for grants," Winner said. "We will also open it up for anyone in the valley. They can get a copy of the study and apply for grants."

Doon said the advantage of biodiesel fuel is that it can be produced on a small scale with a variety of crops. Oil is obtained from crushing seeds of certain crops.

"We make it in a glorified blender," he said.

The most promising for the Arkansas Valley are winter canola, soybeans and sunflowers.

"If a biodiesel plant opens, you would always have a market for crops and a way to keep water on the land," Doon said.

Crushing seeds also produces a marketable by-product, feed for livestock.

While soybeans produce less oil than canola or sunflowers, they produce more feed and have the highest nutritional value, he said. In fact, Minnesota and Iowa, two leading soybean growing states, are also pioneers in the production and use of biodiesel fuels.

Although soybeans are not commonly grown in the valley, the Colorado State University agricultural research center has been researching varieties that grow best, Doon said. Soybeans also can be double-cropped with canola.

The cost of fuel varies with several factors, including how much feed can be sold for, the competitive price of vegetable oil and higher labor costs at a small-scale plant.

Using a variety of models, Doon showed the cost of producing fuel on average would be $2 or less per gallon for winter canola and soybeans, and about 50 cents higher for sunflowers, because of demand for sunflower seed oil.

Building a relatively small plant to produce about 135,000 gallons per year would cost between $200,000 to $500,000, including storage facilities for grain and feed, and use about 3 million pounds of crops. The lower cost would require assembling more parts or finding used agricultural equipment, while the higher figure reflects a turnkey installation.

Water use, for cleaning, would be relatively small, about a gallon to each gallon produced, Doon said.

"When you come upon a biodiesel plant, it's usually a big steel shed with a lot of pipes," Doon said. "There are no smokestacks."

Besides the vegetable oil, alcohol and catalysts are used in production of biodiesel, producing another by-product: glycerin.

Glycerin can be used as a heating fuel, for dust abatement or as an insect dip for livestock, Doon said.

"The highest value for it is to make bar soap," Doon said. "In some plants, they reuse it as a hand cleaner. It's a great de-greaser."

Biodiesel can be used in any concentration as fuel, blending easily with petroleum-derived diesel. Biodiesel reduces sulfur emissions and other forms of pollution, while providing lubrication for engines, Doon said.

He said diesel fuel will always be in high demand.

"The diesel market is so huge, that we are just going to scratch the surface," Doon said. "I see the real competition for crops and the raw materials."

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

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Source: The Pueblo Chieftain

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