Increasing Expense with Biodiesel Feedstock Oil & Growing Camelina Alternative

March 28th, 2011 |

In America the renewal of the bio-diesel blending credit has started to put life back into the biodiesel industry. Along with the elevated price of fossil based fuels it’s actually a perfect storm for bio-fuels industry. At the time of writing this content the cost of used cooking oils for biodiesel 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 specify the price per pound in cents. To uncover the true cost per gallon you 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 European countries for thousands of years for cooking oil. It grows fastest in a cool, arid environment and is well-suited to a small grains rotation crop.

The plant will grow 1-3 ft tall and yields pale green leaves and tiny seeds. Camelina is cold temperature and drought tolerant, needs little fertilizer and can be produced with standard equipment. It can be broadcast or drilled at the end of fall, winter or spring, and straight combined in early July. Camelina has a 90-day growth cycle and current crop yields range between 500 to 3,000 lbs/acre. The two planting methods used are broadcast seeding or direct drilling. Sowing rate with each method is 5 lbs seed/acre.

Camelina is an oilseed crop in a number of 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.

It is also 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 go over ever rising cost of biodiesel feedstock oil, advocate farming of Camelina, your board members and investors will most likely be grateful for the suggestion.

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