Cetane Energy

Fat chance┬áCetane Energy is poised to throw the switch and begin production of renewable diesel in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Gay Sutton speaks to CEO Richard Aves about his journey from research to production and his plans for future innovation. What could be more attractive, from a commercial and environmental perspective, than producing a high-quality diesel fuel from a material that is essentially a waste product?The cost of fuel is an emotional topic, but in spite of the need for new sources of energy, much has been said over the last few years about the dangers of dedicating vast amounts of farming land to growing vegetable crops for fuel production. The resultant rising food prices lead to considerable hardship, particularly in the developing nations of the world.┬á Not only that, but traditional crop-grown biodiesels are monoesters and have a completely different chemical structure from petroleum diesels, which means they present challenges when blended with petroleum diesel. Diesels derived from animal fat diesels, otherwise known as renewable diesels, are alkane hydrocarbons. They can be mixed with diesel in any proportion, can be used without any adaption of the delivery system or engine, and have the same energy content. Consequently, they can be used as a direct replacement.Back in 2006, Richard Aves, a chemical engineer working in the oil industry, began to consider the refining processes involved in producing renewable diesels. And his attention was captured through lucky coincidence.┬á ÔÇ£My father-in-law started talking to me about things he was reading in magazines about biodiesel and ethanol,ÔÇØ Aves says, and this got him thinking. ÔÇ£So in my spare time I started to look into it.ÔÇØ A considerable amount of research had already been done on the subject of refining animal fats, and Aves began to apply his knowledge and experience to solving some problems that researchers had been experiencing in one of the key processes in the refining processÔÇöhydrotreating. The hydrotreater uses a catalyst to remove various contaminants such as sulfur and nitrogen from the diesel oil. Not only is it essential for the production of green fuels, but it is also required by legislation.He linked up with fellow chemical engineer Jason Smith, and they worked in collaboration with catalyst manufacturer Haldor Topsoe to develop a solution to the problem. From there the next logical step was to begin designing a refinery and commercializing the process.ÔÇ£At this stage, we already had a location in mind,ÔÇØ Aves says. ÔÇ£While doing the research, we had come across an old ammonium plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico, that had the necessary infrastructure in place.ÔÇØ It was therefore just a matter of signing contracts and beginning work. However, to go ahead with his plan, he had to have financial backing.The arguments for financial viability were convincing. There was a readily available local supply of animal fat. ÔÇ£ThereÔÇÖs a large contingency of animal fat rendering plants in Texas, which is only 150 to 200 miles east of us. A lot of beef is slaughtered there on a daily basis, so we have that trucked to us. ThereÔÇÖs also a lot of waste restaurant grease coming from metropolitan areas like Dallas and El Paso, and weÔÇÖre looking at the possibility of tapping into that resource too.ÔÇØ┬á There was also a very thirsty market for the renewable diesel in the Carlsbad area. ÔÇ£In our part of the country, diesel is used extensively in farm, railroad and mining equipment. WeÔÇÖll be selling to our local wholesalers and will be able to produce around one-third of their requirements.ÔÇØ Since the plant is local, the wholesalers will be making considerable savings by cutting back on transportation costs.Once the due diligence had been completed, AvesÔÇÖ in-laws, who had a strong farming background and could bring considerable knowledge to the partnership, agreed to put up the financial backing, and Cetane Energy was formed.Building and equipping the $2.5 million Carlsbad plant began in May 2008. While much of the equipment that has been installed is industry standard, the company has had a specialized hydrogen compressor built specifically for the new process. Cetane Energy is now poised to flick the switch and begin production, and Aves expects to process around 200 barrels of animal fat a day into renewable diesel. There is storage capacity for around two weeks of animal fat on site and also for the same amount of renewable diesel product. Being chemical engineers, itÔÇÖs inevitable that Aves and Smith will continue to explore new ideas and develop the business. TheyÔÇÖve been heavily engaged in experimental work in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratories, a leading researcher into the use of algae for fuel, which is based in Carlsbad. In April the company received a $1.1 million grant from the City of Carlsbad to work on the commercialization of algal oil and integrating the technology into the plantÔÇÖs current processes.New MexicoÔÇÖs hot climate and long hours of sunshine make it an ideal environment for growing algae for fuel. So perhaps the future may see some of the 900 acres at the Carlsbad site handed over to farming algae. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve tried playing around with growing it,ÔÇØ Aves admits. ÔÇ£But the technology is still probably one and a half to two years away. Unfortunately, thereÔÇÖs only so much time in the day, and weÔÇÖve focused more on running our plant than we have trying to grow algae.ÔÇØAnother area where Aves can see possible growth at Carlsbad is through harvesting and selling the propane that is a by-product of the refining process. At the moment itÔÇÖs simply burned off.Aves is looking to the future with relish. ÔÇ£Our business model is to build more of these facilities throughout the US, locating them next to large rendering plants where the pipeline of the feedstock is next door. Perhaps weÔÇÖll focus on Kentucky next.ÔÇØ With oil prices still high and likely to remain that way, he believes growth in the renewable diesel industry is likely to be fast and aggressive, and heÔÇÖs looking for financial backing to position Cetane Energy at the forefront of that expansion. ÔÇô Editorial research by Sam Howard┬á