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259 comments on DrumBeat: April 16, 2007

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ericy on April 16, 2007 - 9:02am Permalink | Subthread | Comments top

I heard a story on CNN this morning about a collaboration between Tyson Foods and Conoco-Phillips. Essentially a method to convert animal fat into synthetic diesel that can be refined and shipped via pipeline.

They mentioned that there was something like 300 million (pounds??) of animal fat per year in the U.S., and that some fraction of this would be refined.

I was half asleep when the story was on, so the details may be a little off. I tried going to Conoco's and Tyson's website to look for press releases, but came up empty. I don't know the original source for the story, but I will look around some more to see if I can find it.

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RickD on April 16, 2007 - 9:12am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news...

ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods Announce Strategic Alliance To Produce Next Generation Renewable Diesel Fuel

"much as 175 million gallons per year of renewable diesel"

Rick

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eric blair on April 16, 2007 - 11:53am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

And from another source:
http://blogs.dmregister.com/?p=5302#comment-67181
This week’s announcement by ConocoPhillips of a $22.5 M contract with Iowa State is significicant not only because of the magnitude of the grant, but also because of the company’s statement that it is interested in pursuing pyrolysis as a biomass conversion technology. To date, most of the action and attention in the biofuel world has been focused on the enzymatic breakdown of cellulosics to sugars that are then fermented into alcohol. Although much progress has been made over the years, the “sugar platform” remains costly and still has some technical barriers to overcome before it will become economically feasible. Pyrolysis offers another alternative that has several advantages.

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Syntec on April 16, 2007 - 5:39pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hmm... I wonder where they got this idea from =]

Nice catch Eric - good to see you're still around.

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ericy on April 16, 2007 - 9:14am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Ahh, here it is:

http://www.conocophillips.com/newsroom/news_releases/2007+News+Releases/...

HOUSTON and SPRINGDALE, Ark., April 16, 2007 --- ConocoPhillips [NYSE:COP] and Tyson Foods, Inc. [NYSE:TSN] will announce a strategic alliance at 12 p.m. CDT today to produce and market the next generation of renewable diesel fuel, which will help supplement the traditional petroleum-based diesel fuel supply. The alliance plans to use beef, pork and poultry by-prodBenefits of Renewable Dieseluct fat to create a transportation fuel. This fuel will contribute to America’s energy security and help to address climate change concerns.

Over the last year, the companies have been collaborating on ways to leverage Tyson’s advanced knowledge in protein chemistry and production with ConocoPhillips’ processing and marketing expertise to introduce a renewable diesel to the United States. Tyson will make capital improvements this summer in order to begin pre-processing animal fat from some of its North American rendering facilities later in the year. ConocoPhillips also will begin the necessary capital expenditures to enable it to produce the fuel in several of its refineries. The finished product will be renewable diesel fuel mixtures that meet all federal standards for ultra-low-sulfur diesel. Production is expected to ramp up over time to as much as 175 million gallons per year of renewable diesel.

“We are firmly committed to leveraging our leadership position in the food industry to identify and commercialize renewable energy opportunities,” said Richard L. Bond, Tyson president and chief executive officer. “This strategic alliance is a big win for the entire agricultural sector because it paves the way for greater participation of fats and oils in renewable fuels.”

“ConocoPhillips believes the key to a secure energy future is the development and efficient use of diverse energy sources,” said Jim Mulva, ConocoPhillips chairman and chief executive officer. “This alliance will provide a new and significant contribution to our nation’s domestic renewable fuel supply. It also offers an excellent opportunity to use our company’s manufacturing expertise and advanced technology to help increase the supply of renewable fuels and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Using a proprietary thermal depolymerization production technology, the animal fats will be processed with hydrocarbon feedstocks to produce a high-quality diesel fuel that meets all federal standards for ultra-low-sulfur diesel. The addition of animal fat also improves the fuel’s ignition properties, while the processing step improves its storage stability and handling characteristics.

Investments made by ConocoPhillips and Tyson will allow for the processing and handling of fat and enhance the ability of the United States to produce energy from a variety of sources, including domestically-produced vegetable oils.

The processing technology was developed at ConocoPhillips, culminating in a successful test at the company’s Whitegate Refinery in Cork, Ireland. ConocoPhillips began commercial production of renewable diesel using soybean oil in Ireland late last year.

This alliance is expected to be a positive step for Tyson’s long term financial performance. “Production is expected to begin in late calendar year 2007, ramping up through spring 2009,” Bond said. “Once at full production, we currently project between $0.04 and $0.16 cents per share in additional annual earnings. However, this will be driven by factors such as the prices of wholesale diesel and animal fat."

Ugh. They just *had* to say thermal depolymerization, didn't they. Here we go again :-)....

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thomas deplume on April 16, 2007 - 9:42am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

A big difference is these are not a couple of start-ups. These are large corporations with expertise in the entire process. This joint venture also has a big customer locked in which already has a large distribution system. It is very good that one of the major oil companies is looking at feedstocks other than fossils.

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Swede on April 16, 2007 - 9:37am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

What about human fat? You seem to have plenty of it in USA.

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PeakTO on April 16, 2007 - 10:00am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hehe...

I think someone else already mentioned something similar -

Soylent Diesel.

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tstreet on April 16, 2007 - 10:21am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Yes, until we experience peak fat, we should not be worrying.

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cynus on April 16, 2007 - 11:35am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Coming soon: Soylent Diesel.

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abelardlindsay on April 16, 2007 - 12:35pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Someone should remake Soylent green and replace everything that had to do with food in the movie with its petroleum equivalent. It would seem a little too plausible.

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nelsone on April 16, 2007 - 1:54pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hey! I coined it here a few days ago - Soylent Sour. You have to deal with the sulfur in cystine/cysteine, after all.

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Sunspot on April 16, 2007 - 2:48pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I like Jon Stewart's idea a while ago when he had Al Gore on his show. He said we should just hook up a hose from our stomachs to the engine and drive around on our own fat. Stop by for a few drive-through donuts and Happy Motoring!

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Richard on April 16, 2007 - 10:27pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Skinny Americans: now that would be a real change ...
;-)

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elwoodelmore on April 17, 2007 - 6:45am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

lipodiesel ?

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tstreet on April 16, 2007 - 10:20am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The animal fat we should be converting typically rides in an SUV to the drugstore that is half a mile away.

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Swede on April 16, 2007 - 11:15am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Yeah the comment i made up the tread was too easy, i simply could´nt resist it though it was a little mean to the US population.
BTW the nazis made soap from koncentrationcamp prisoners fat.

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Hurin on April 16, 2007 - 11:31am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The nazis did a lot of things, but this particular one is an urban legend.

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Swede on April 16, 2007 - 11:52am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Yes i know, but why spoil a good urban legend??

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jrc9596 on April 16, 2007 - 5:10pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

"The nazis did a lot of things, but this particular one is an urban legend."

If you've ever been served in Germany, you know that the old Nazi military compounds were reused by us Americans. Sorry fellas, its not an urban legend, this stuff is still floating around.

It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier. - Heinlein
To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth - Col Cooper

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Yosemite Sam on April 16, 2007 - 5:42pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Looks like the urban legend explanation wins.

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Richard on April 16, 2007 - 10:29pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

not true.

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