EPA approves use of camelina oil as biodiesel feedstock under RFS
Houston (Platts)--25Feb2013/450 pm EST/2150 GMT
Biodiesel producer sources applauded the US Environmental Protection
Agency Monday after the EPA finalized its rule to approve camelina oil
as a low-carbon feedstock under the Renewable Fuel Standard.
"This decision adds to the growing list of biodiesel feedstocks that
meet the EPA's standards for Advanced Biofuel and gives us yet another
option for producing sustainable, domestic biodiesel that displaces
imported oil," said Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs for
the National Biodiesel Board, in a statement. "This is important for our
energy security, for our economy and for addressing climate change, and
we thank the EPA for conducting a thorough and fair review."
The RFS requires a 50% greenhouse-gas emissions reduction for qualifying
biomass-based diesel or advanced biofuel. The rule addition -- published
on the EPA's website Monday -- adds camelina oil as a new feedstock for
biodiesel and renewable diesel blending, which includes jet fuel and
heating oil.
Multiple biodiesel producer sources agreed Monday that the new addition
would allow for more possibilities of domestic feedstock blending.
"The more domestic options we have for biodiesel, the stronger the
market will be," a source at a major Midwest production facility said.
"More options help stabilize the price of SME (soy methyl ester) and
FAME (fatty acid methyl ester)."
The producer source said his facility has worked with camelina oil as a
possibility. Camelina oil comes from the flowering plant camelina sativa
and has been studied extensively as a biofuels blendstock in recent
years by the US military.
"It didn't make sense for any large-scale production until it got this
approval," the producer source said. "It all depends on the economics,
but quality-wise, it works well as a biodiesel. We'd have to run some
more additive tests to determine exactly how well."
Soybean oil is the most commonly used feedstock in the US, accounting
for about 90% of all biodiesel fuel stocks. Recycled cooking oil and
animal fats -- among other biodiesel feedstocks -- also qualify as
advanced biofuels under the RFS.
--Jordan Godwin, jordan_godwin@platts.com --Edited by Richard Rubin,
richard_rubin@platts.com
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