After Rudolf Diesel debuted his peanut oil engine at the World’s Fair in 1900, it wasn’t uncommon to see hemp, tallow, and corn oil used for energy. But when fossil fuel prices dropped in the 1940s, biodiesel—a renewable fuel source made by separating methyl esters from glycerin in vegetable oil—fell into obscurity, and petroleum diesel became the norm.
As social pressures mount in favor of moving beyond a fossil fuel economy, and already high gas prices continue to climb, it’s perhaps no surprise that biodiesel production is on a 10-year upswing. As a testament to the field’s growth, the fuel was spotlighted at the 32nd Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals held last April in Clearwater Beach, Fla. And taking center stage—projects that transform a sticky biodiesel waste product into a valuable commodity.
For every 100 kilograms of biodiesel produced, 10 kilograms ...
