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Pastimes : Plastics to Oil - Pyrolysis and Secret Catalysts and Alterna -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: scion who wrote (380)	4/21/2010 12:12:51 PM
From: scion	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 53574

Bioenergy PROFITS Principles: Test and Revise – Changing World Technologies and Dynamic Fuels By Biofuels Digest columnist Dr. Rosalie Lober January 21, 2010 \| Jim Lane \| Comments 1 biofuelsdigest.com It’s a Process….. Bioenergy PROFITS Principle, Test and Revise The good news is, there are choices for deciding which feedstock to use as a potential diesel fuel substitute. The bad news is, there are choices for deciding which feedstock to use as a potential diesel fuel substitute. As a producer, how do you decide which feedstock to commit to? After all, this decision determines the future for your company including partnerships, real estate, suppliers, finances, distribution channels and a host of other aspects that you need to consider for your companies growth potential and profitability. Once the proverbial ball starts rolling, the momentum will take on a life of its own, with you possibly going along for the ride. Make sure the ride is a good one! Choosing a feedstock for renewable diesel and choosing a technology to commit to are major pivotal decisions and require knowledge, forethought and the willingness to continuously test and revise this decision. Many companies have failed because their leaders could not and would not admit their technology was not working for a variety of reasons. Technology is expensive and when problems surfaced the companies that failed viewed themselves too far down the road in a specific direction to modify or scrap what they committed to. Test and Revise is one area where the larger companies, though generally less nimble, invest in the resources to get this best practice correct. Taking the following actions will prevent you from being on the failure statistic list: Avoid “scope creep” Question it all Avoid “scope creep” ‘Scope creep’ arises when we allow distractions to find their way into our strategy. Offenders masquerade as interesting and tempting new projects and possibilities. In a down economy, many companies are tempted to take on projects that may not be congruent with their missions. Large company executives, Test and Revise their strategy, goals and objectives in formal review processes in an effort to sidestep common distractions. Reviews often require a significant investment of time, yet the rewards and damage control they offer pay off richly. “Renewable diesel” can be any of several potential diesel fuel substitutes produced from renewable feedstocks. Chemically, renewable diesels are not esters and are distinct from biodiesel (which are esters). Several technologies are in early stages of commercialization. Some are in the pre-commercialization stage and can produce diesel substitutes from a variety of renewable plant and/or animal feedstocks. Preliminary performance and emissions testing has been performed on renewable diesel fuels and most show favorable results. Independent toxicity and biodegradability data, however, are not generally available. Very few products are registered by the EPA as a fuel or fuel additive, a specific requirement prior to introduction as a commercial product. Additional products will likely be introduced as developing technologies are commercialized. The timeline for deployment of these technologies in the U.S. is open ended. One company is already producing a bio-oil in the U.S. while several other companies have made announcements of their intentions to produce a renewable diesel in the U.S. Changing World Technologies is currently producing a renewable fuel oil substitute at their commercial scale pilot facility in Missouri, with a stated capacity of 10 million gallons/year. Conoco-Philips, in a partnership with Tyson Foods, and began production of renewable diesel fuel in the U.S. in 2007, with the objective of producing up to 175 million gallons of fuel by 2009. Recently, Dynamic Fuels LLC, a joint venture between Tyson Foods and Syntroleum, announced their intention to build a 75 million gallon per year renewable diesel facility with production commencement targeted for 2010. Question it all “Excellence is in the details” is an essential characteristic of successful companies. “Excellence is in the details” means that when your business is profitable and you think you have the answers….that is when you need to test and revise. Though things may be going smoothly on the surface, sometimes we have a nagging suspicion that all is not as well as it appears. This is the time to face the hesitation before it is too late. Possible damage may be at an early stage and still reparable. In last week’s column we discussed some of the renewable diesel technologies Biofuels Digest including hydroprocessing (utilizing animal fats/vegetable oils that are co-processed with petroleum diesel), and syngas using the Fischer-Tropsch, biomass to liquid gasification technologies. Whichever technology you use, you need to dig deep and to test and revise every step of your technology and overall process to be sure it is efficient, cost effective, simple for you and your employees to understand and discuss with other employees, existing customers and potential customers. In the next column we will to into more detail about the technologies and what questions to consider. biofuelsdigest.com