Is BioDiseal A Commercially Viable Solution

In its monthly crop report released Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said escalating prices have crimped the profitability of some biodiesel plants. At many plants, soybean oil accounts for as much as 80 percent of the operating cost.

Industry experts say biodiesel plants make a profit if soybean oil prices are 34 cents per pound or less.

On Monday, soybean oil for July delivery was trading at nearly 35.5 cents per pound on the Chicago Board of Trade. The market was anticipating prices to rise, said Fred Seamon, a Board of Trade agriculture analyst.

Soybean oil for December 2008 delivery was trading at just under 38 cents a pound, he said.

Seamon said the demand for edible oils in China and India is expected to continue to increase, and the increasing demand from the biodiesel industries in the European Union and the United States for soybean oils is expected to continue to pressure world stockpiles.
-Sioux City Journal

Experts have discovered a crop that can produce diesel fuel... at the same price as regular diesel fuel. Sounds unbelievable, huh? Just think about that for a moment. This plant is going to revolutionize transportation...

- This fuel produces 78% less carbon emissions than regular diesel, so it's popular with the renewable-energy crowd.

- This plant grows anywhere, like a weed, including deserts. Proof: The Saudis are building a plantation on 100,000 hectares of desert right now. In contrast, palm oil is the current choice for biodiesel production in most of the world... but growers must clear massive swathes of rainforest to plant it.

- This plant cannot be eaten by humans. It does not compete with food demand, therefore it is much cheaper than corn or soybeans.

- This plant cannot be eaten by humans, therefore you can irrigate it with any water you want. It doesn't have to be clean water. Water it with water from the nuclear-waste processing facility if you want.

- This plant yields four times as much oil as soybeans, but costs half as much to produce. Soybeans are the cash crop of choice in the U.S. to make biodiesel today.

Basically, this is the perfect plant for making biodiesel... and that's very important.

The world is crazy for renewable energy... crazy enough to put up $19 billion just looking for renewable energy investments. The European Union has mandated that all cars must run on 20% biodiesel by 2020... the UK is introducing similar legislation right now.

India imports 70% of its fuel for transportation. Other Third World countries find themselves in similar situations. In India, there's a strong movement to use biofuels. It's a very fertile country, with more arable land than any other country on earth, including Brazil. India thinks it can grow its diesel cheaper than importing it.

This isn't pie-in-the-sky stuff. Big Oil and big government are getting interested in the plant known as... jatropha.

The government-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) is planning to have 80,000 acres of jatropha in Sichuan Province alone by 2010.

Renova Biodiesel of Brazil is expected to plant 60,000 acres of jatropha, and reports suggest that other oil companies are considering planting nearly 500,000 acres in the next four years.

D1 Oils, a British company considered by many to be the leader in cultivation, has plantations from Swaziland to Indonesia and hopes to nearly double its 385,000 acres of jatropha worldwide by the end of 2008.

The Philippine National Oil Co. recently earmarked $14 million for jatropha planting and production, while Indonesia plans to set up 52 biodiesel plants across the country at a cost of $7.3 million.

- Tom Dyson