Madison, Wis.-based Best Energies Inc. is the parent company for Best BioDiesel, which is developing the Cashton project. Best Energies also includes Best Pyrolysis Inc., Best BioEnergy Products LLC and Best Energies Australia.
Janowiec said the building for the Cashton plant is expected to be complete by April. Site preparation is finished and the tank farm pad was poured in January, he said.
Processing equipment will be installed and operational by July, Janowiec told BiodieselMagazine.com. The plant will be capable of processing multiple feedstocks, but initially start-up with soy oil.
The plant, considered Best BioDiesel Inc.’s showcase facility, is located in the Cashton Greens Energy Park. Organic Valley, an organic farmers cooperative, is building a national distribution center in the 120-acre park, Janowiec said. The company will use Best BioDiesel’s fuel in its distribution trucks.
Best BioDiesel Inc. plans on developing several other biodiesel projects, according to Janowiec. “We intend to build five more over three years,” he said.
Janowiec said the company is focused on a distributed energy model, which includes widely distributed small-scale facilities. He said attractive sites include ethanol plants and specialty chemical producers. “Putting our reactors in their template can be an efficient way to get into the [biodiesel] game,” he said.
On its Web site, the company said its skid-mounted units feature proprietary technology that “allows for negligible inputs of catalysts, eliminating much of the downstream efforts for polishing steps to recover catalyst and remove water contaminants.”
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Janowiec said Best Biodiesel offers plant designs in size of 5 MMgy, 10 MMgy and 20 MMgy. “They all fit into the minor source emission status with the EPA,” he said.
Best Energies has a joint venture with Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center to develop biodiesel technology, Janowiec said.
Dave Nilles is Online Editor for Biodiesel Magazine. Reach him at dnilles@bbibiofuels.com or (701) 373-0636.
Posted: 9:43 a.m. CST Friday, February 2, 2007