I think we can all agree the world might be a better place if more biodiesel could be made in a clean, cost-effective manner. Individuals and small groups, by making their own from waste vegetable oil, can keep their own fuel costs low and provide a valuable recycling service at the same time.

However, looking at the big picture, the amount of waste vegetable oil (WVO) is finite. In total, all the available WVO amounts to a very small part of the total fuel required to keep America running. Further, using food such as soy beans to make biodiesel on a large scale is already being revealed as an impractical and inflationary tactic that ripples high prices throughout the economy.

So how can biodiesel become practical on a larger scale? Clearly, costs have to come down, and volume and quality must be improved. For large scale biodiesel production to succeed, it must become profitable.

We recently became aware of a company that is building biodiesel refineries, currently constructing four refineries with a combined capacity of over 110 million gallons. Nova Biosource Fuels is an energy company that synthesizes and distributes renewable fuel products. The company has announced its intention to expand operations to build and operate seven biodiesel refineries ranging from 20 million to 60 million gallons per year (MGY) in production capacity.

Feedstock represents 65-80 percent of biodiesel production costs. To keep costs low, Nova is able to process feedstocks that include refined vegetable oils, animal fats, and reclaimed greases. Other feedstocks may include waste materials, such as specific risk materials (SRMs), from cattle, fats, oils and greases, (FOG) from municipal waste water treatment facilities and trap grease from the food service industry. The use of low cost multiple feedstocks can be the difference between a finished biodiesel cost of $1.50 compared to approximately $2.60 with higher value vegetable oil, such as soybean or canola oil.

According to the company, Nova's production technology produces fuel that exceeds current ASTM 6751 specifications for B100. In addition, the company says their process does not generate toxic or hazardous byproducts. This is important, because nobody wants a huge, polluting refinery in their backyard. Conventional biodiesel technologies use a water wash process to purify the biodiesel. Water washing on a large scale could become a negative environmental factor, and also result in inconsistent fuel quality due to impurities that are unaffected by the water wash process, and the difficulty in removing it completely.  Nova eliminates the water wash purification through a proprietary fractionation process.

In the end, the company projects profitability that is not reliant on government subsidies or tax credits, and expansion is under way.  We'll be watching as things progress. Meanwhile, if you'd like to know more, check www.novabiosource.com