Supply and demand is set to see biofuel feedstock prices climb dramatically if oil prices top the records seen in 2006. At $80 a barrel, the ethanol could bid $5 a bushel for corn, diverting the crops production away from food consumption to powering our vehicles. The same holds true for biodiesel with high oil prices resulting in high soy prices. But soy is hardly the only biodiesel feedstock as we've seen recently, and wholesaling for 60 percent of crude soy oil, tallow and rendered chicken fat could be the new game in town.

Estimates put total U.S. biodiesel production in excess of one billion gallons / 3.79 billion litres by 2012. And biodiesel produced from animal fat could account for as much as half of that. That's a whole lot of chickens.

But that's ok, because companies like Tyson Foods, which has recently announced that they will establish a renewable energy division, produces more than 2.3 billion pounds of chicken fat annually. Using current technology, this should be enough to produce around 300 million gallons / 1.14 billion litres of biodiesel. Taking advantage of this booming interest in biodiesel are groups like the Dutch company, BioKing, which is producing 25 farm-sized biodiesel manufacturing units a week from its factory in Gravenpolder, Holland, for sale throughout the European Union. BioKing plans to sell the same to North America.

Analysis: Oil prices are down, but biofuels are still up, up, up and companies like BioKing are cashing in. At the same time though, the commercial realities mean that rendered animal fats were bound to eventually be put under the microscope because they enjoy such a massive price advantage over soy oil. In Australia, canola oil can barely get a look in because tallow is so much cheaper.

Related:

• Minnesota bio-researcher calls for many alternative-fuel solutions
• ABG POLL: Biodiesel Feedstock
• Cargill profit jumps 34 percent on back of biofuels surge

[Source: Cattle Network]

Recently it seems that a lot of people have found that you can make biofuels out of just about anything in the world. We've reported on algae, chicken fat and even human fat being turned into biofuels and it looks like the list of organic substances that we're willing to consider for our transport needs is only going to get longer.

Taiwan is set to become the world's first country to produce ethanol fuel from yams, it has just been announced by the Taiwanese Council of Agriculture (COA). The ethanol will be blended with petrol in an attempt to reduce the level of petroleum imports which currently stands at 98 percent. Taiwan has around 220,000 hectares / 54,360 acres of uncultivated farmland which will be considered for biofuel production, according to the COA which also produces biofuel from soybeans, sunflowers, and rape blossoms.

At the same time, biomethane produced from waste, is being considered as a viable renewable fuel. Being able to produce a biofuel without diverting crops from food use is seen as a distinct advantage in Europe where it is fast proving itself. Another advantage is that the production costs of biomethane are not affected by world energy market swings. Its uses include injecting it into existing natural gas pipelines, use in vehicles as a natural gas, processed into compressed natural gas (CNG) or the more energy-dense liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Related:

• Leftover chicken fat may become biodiesel instead of soap
• Solix and Colorado State University team to commercialize algae to biodiesel process

[Source: China Post]

The University of Georgia has been quite busy finding new ways to develop alternative fuel. We've already seen an effort to turn watermelons into biomass. Now UGA scientists are studying the possibility that poultry litter can be converted into a bio-fuel.

Poultry litter is mostly manure mixed with bedding materials such as wood shavings. Each chicken at the state's poultry farms, which make up a $4 billion business in Georgia, leaves about 2.5 pounds of litter. By separating the poultry litter into fine and course materials, different agriculture needs can be met. The fine litter is turned into fertilizer while the course, energy-rich materials are heated to created char and bio-oil. The latter can be further refined into a diesel-like fuel to power farm equipment.

Experts say the chicken-litter fuel could save 283 million gallons of fossil fuel.

Related:

• Local alternative fuel groups, shameless plug division

[Source: Southeast Farm Press]

Related:
Biodiesel, ethanol, SVO and chicken droppings

You’ve debated getting an E85 FFV and read up on what it would take to convert that old diesel into a SVO vehicle, but have you every considered scooping chicken poop into your car? Harold Bate did, in the 1970s, and there’s quite a few good Internet resources telling his tale. One is at Journey to Forever, and it starts with the text of an article from Britain’s the Enquirer newspaper. Apparently, there is also a movie about Bate, but it's difficult to find.
The basic gist of the Enquirer article is that it is possible to use the methane from chicken feces to power an automobile, although 30 years ago the British Ministry of Transport said there wasn’t enough supply for everyone to drive a chicken-powered car. Nonetheless, Bate’s idea – taking a waste material and turning it into energy – is very much in line with hybrids (taking braking power and turning it into electrical energy) and homemade biodiesel and SVO (often taking used restaurant oil and using it to run a motor).