Increasing Price for Biofuel Waste Vegetable Oil & Producing Camelina Plan
In The States the revival of the bio-diesel blending credit has begun to put life back into the biodiesel business world. In addition to the increased price of fossil based gasoline it’s a perfect storm for biofuels industry. At the time of writing this content the cost of used oils for biofuel production is:
White Grease (cnt/lb) 50.98
Yellow Grease (cnt/lb) 45.00
Tallow (cnt/lb) 49.50
Soybean Oil (cnt/lb) 55.52
These prices tell us the cost per pound in cents. To get the true cost per gallon you will need to multiply the cents price by the number of pounds within a gallon.
With the escalating price of feedstock oil exactly what can you do as a biodiesel producer to manage cost? The resolution is simple, grow your own feedstock. We all know Soybean Oil, Corn Oil & Canola Oil are common food crops and compete for space at our dinner tables, but did you know there is an additional option? Camelina Oil. Exactly what is Camelina you ask?
Camelina has long been grown in Europe for thousands of years for cooking oil. It grows fastest in a cool, arid climate and is well-suited to a small grains rotation crop.
The plant grows 1-3 foot tall and produces pale green foliage and tiny plant seeds. Camelina is cold and drought resistant, needs minimal fertilizer and can be harvested with conventional farming equipment. It is broadcast or drilled at the end of fall, winter or spring, and straight combined in early July. Camelina has a 90day growth cycle and current crop yields range between 500 to 3,000 pounds/acre. The most popular planting methods used are broadcast seeding and direct drilling. Sowing rate with each method is 5 lbs seed/acre.
Camelina is an oilseed crop in several Countries in europe (Austria, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Poland, and the USSR) and a feedstock for biodiesel production.
Pure Camelina is cold-pressed oil derived from Camelina Sativa seeds. It is one of the best sources of omega 3 fatty acids in the market today.
Although Camelina oil has been utilized for thousands of years, it’s just now receiving the notice it is worthy of for its usage as a bio-diesel oil source.
Additionally it is a safer source of omega 3 than fish oils. (Fish oils are at risk of mercury contamination). Pure Camelina oil is better than fish oil.
Camelina is an under-utilized plant and it provides market options for the demanding Biofuels industry. The method of oil extraction is cold pressing. The additional benefit of using Camelina oil is it’s similarity to soybean oil for cold flow properties, which is an important aspect for cold climate biofuel manufacturers. The seeds contain 29-45% oil plus 23- 40% protein and are loaded with omega 3.
Traditional high, water-use crops such as cotton, corn and wheat have to have roughly 30 inches of rain fall or more to generatte acceptable yields. Camelina is a low- water use alternative crop with numerous marketing opportunities.
Therefore the very next time you have a board meeting to talk about increasing price of biodiesel feedstock oil, recommend contract farming of Camelina, your board members and investors will likely be grateful for the idea.
Do you need waste oil ? Here’s a source to add to your list. Find out more about biodiesel production.. Check here for free reprint license: Increasing Price for Biofuel Waste Vegetable Oil & Producing Camelina Plan.
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