Arkansas Blog

I think you misquoted the WSJ article. It compares the production of biodiesel to winemaking while the "renewable" diesel made from animal fat is said to be similar to conventional diesel production.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Right you are. Aren't you glad I posted the article?

Isn't renewable energy great. Tasty grub as a byproduct of energy production. We can start breeding animals that have a higher fat content to produce a more efficient source of fuel.

Guess the environmentalists will have to refine their messaging to mean renewable plant based energy.

I support all renewable fuels, id fill my vehicle full of politicians piss if it would power it and help keep the environment clean as well as money away from Exxon Mobile!

>id fill my vehicle full of politicians piss<

First you would need to make a contribution to their pac.

I have no idea why surplus animal fat has not been used to generate electricity using a Stirling engine?

For a relatively small investment Tyson or other meat producers could be cranking out 10,000 kw daily.

"two steers, or 16 hogs"

I'd have thought that hogs would be more equivalent to cows in fat content. They must not be using Arkansas' hogs.

"two steers, or 16 hogs"
They must not be using Arkansas' hogs.<

Steers are mucho larger than they once were. In the 80s a lean steer would bring a premium, now fat ones do as consumer tastes have shifted to more fat.
_

And now...the rest of the story. Conoco is using a process called thermal depolymerization. It mimics Mother Nature; the organic waste is converted via high pressure and heat to crude oil, just like the natural process. I haven't figured whether fat is integral to it, as it is to biodiesel production. I think not; you just need something hydrogen and carbon based to turn into short chain hydrocarbons. Fat is what's available in abundance as a waste product. Biodiesel is produced via transesterification, a chemical process in which an oil, alcohol and an enzyme produce an ester (biodiesel from soyoil is "soy methyl ester") and a small amount of glycerine. The National Biodiesel Board is unhappy about all this; the Treasury Department was just "persuaded" a couple of weeks ago to make TDP derived diesel eligible for the $1/gallon biodiesel tax break. They say Conoco is not going to produce any more fuel using this method, and it therefore does not achieve the subsidy's goal. Another fun fact--Conoco just gave $22.5 million to Iowa State to research biofuels. Ruth Harkin, who is Senate Ag Cmte. Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA)'s wife, had a lot to do with it; she sits on both the ISU Board of Regents and the Conoco Phillips board.