SeQuential Biofuels

Expanded SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel facility is online

2008-11-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

After a years work, the newly expanded SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel facility has turned on and has started producing biodiesel. The facility has some major improvements in efficiency and production processes - making biodiesel even more sustainable.

The Statesman Journal did an interview with Plant Manager Tyson Keever - check it out:
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20081110/NEWS/811100329/1001/NEWS

Lots of new FlexFuels in 2009

2008-10-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

I was just checking out the list of FlexFuel Vehicles (FFV) for model year 2009 and I have to give some big kudos to Chevy. Out of the 16 engine options they are offering, 13 are FFVs.

Vehicles that have FFV engines can use any ethanol blend of up to 85% ethanol, automatically adjusting engine timing to accomodate the fuel blend. Ethanol is much cleaner burning; a car running on E85 will decrease its Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions by about 41%. (This number takes into account the fact that there is less energy in a gallon of ethanol than in a gallon of pure gasoline, meaning you will use more ethanol to go the same distance.) 85% Ethanol is generally the cheapest fuel around; if you are an Oregon resident, you also qualify for a $0.50 / gallon tax credit!

Historically, most FFVs have not been labeled as such - especially if you drive an American made vehicle, you might have an FFV and not even know it. Check out a list of all FlexFuel Vehicles at http://www.e85fuel.com/e85101/flexfuelvehicles.php.

A list of all SeQuential E85 Ethanol pumps: http://www.sqbiofuels.com/locations.htm

More info on the Oregon Tax credit: http://www.sqbiofuels.com/tax_credit.html

High blends of biodiesel in newer vehicles

2008-10-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Concerns have been raised about using B99 Biodiesel in cars model years 2007 and beyond. SeQuential is researching these concerns and will update you as we learn more. In the mean time, if you are uncomfortable using a high-blend biodiesel, consider using a lower blend of biodiesel such as B5 or B20.

Cold weather is here: keep your vehicle on line!

2008-10-09T13:10:00.001-07:00

It is time, once more, to switch to a lower blend of biodiesel.

For those of us who have been running B99 biodiesel thru the warmer months, now is the time to add some petroleum diesel to our fuel tanks to make sure there are no gelling problems.

Pure biodiesel will gel at colder temperatures; if you are having trouble starting your car in the morning, add some petroleum diesel to your fuel tank and let it mix in there. At the warmest part of the day, start up your car and then let it idle for a while.

SeQuential's recommendations are as follows:

45˚F, start blending with petroleum diesel

By the time temperatures reach 32F, you should be using 50% BIODIESEL and 50% diesel #2.

When temperatures get to 20F, you should be using 20% BIODIESEL and 80% diesel #2.

20% ethanol for every gas car?

2008-10-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

The Department of Energy released a report today with their initial findings on a project to identify the effects of higher blends of ethanol in engines not designed for the fuel.

Vehicle results include the following when E15 and E20 were compared with traditional gasoline:

Tailpipe emissions were similar;
Under normal operations, catalyst temperatures in the 13 cars were largely unchanged;
When tested under full-throttle conditions, about half of the cars exhibited slightly increased catalyst temperatures with E15 and E20, compared to traditional gasoline; and,
Based on informal observations during testing, drivability was unchanged.

It is a little confusing that tailpipe emissions were similar. From research I've seen, 10% Ethanol blended in with gasoline decrease carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by about 5%. E85 Flex Fuel (85% ethanol) decreases CO2 by about 41%.

It will be interesting to see where this research leads - bringing more ethanol into the fuel supply would decrease overall mileage, but it would decrease dependence on foreign oil as well.

Camelina approved for feed in Oregon

2008-10-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

Good news on the better fuel front: the Oregon Department of Agriculture approved Camelina meal for cattle and hog feed. This opens the door for Camelina, an oilseed that grows with little to no water or fertilizer in poor soil, to be produced more widely for biodiesel production in Oregon.

Camelina meal is what is left over after seeds are crushed for oil; the ODA ruling means that now farmers can sell all parts of the seeds, making it worthwhile for them to grow on their marginal lands.

New oil dropoff sites for the public

2008-09-18T11:31:00.001-07:00

Do you have 10 gallons of oil you used to deep fry your turkey? Expired olive oil or salad dressing?

Now you can dispose of your vegetable oil responsibly, knowing that it will be turned into cleaner burning fuel!

Please call dropoff sites ahead of time for their hours:

Encore Oils: 503.954.2154
10111 NE 6th Dr, Portland

Salem Keizer Recycling & Transfer Station: 503.588.5169
3250 Deer Park Dr. SE, Salem

North Marion Recycling & Transfer Station: 503.588.5169
17827 Whitney Lane NE, Woodburn

SeQuential Retail: 541.736.5864
86714 McVay Hwy, Eugene

If you are a restaurant or a processing facility and have commercial levels of used cooking oil, Encore Oils will buy your oil from you! Call 503.954.2154 for more information.

Biofuels Northwest - City Club of Eugene 9/8/08

2008-09-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

City Club of Eugene 9/8/08 Friday Forum.

Ian Hill of SeQuential & Mark Kendall with the Oregon Department of Energy discuss biofuels in the Northwest. Download from KLCC here.

Ford: Americans don't want fuel efficient cars

2008-09-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I tabled at the Muddy Boot Festival in Portland and encountered the same supportive message that I've been hearing on a day to day basis for the four years I've been with SeQuential: "Biodiesel is a great idea, but I don't have a diesel car!"

I thought it fitting, with that in mind, when I read this article from Grist: Ford's Fiesta ECOnetic, which gets 65 mpg with a diesel engine, won't be sold in America. According to Ford America President Mark Fields, "We just don't think North and South America would buy that many diesel cars".

Now granted I know that the people I've talked to (from both sides of the isle) across little old Oregon don't represent the majority of the people in the US, but I don't understand why US automakers are so hesitant to offer reliable, long lasting, fuel efficient, diesel vehicles. Pass by any auto dealership and you'll see advertisements promoting "30+ MPG!", as if this is impressive and notable. If people are making purchase decisions based on mileage, which you would assume they are with the recent higher gas prices, why not offer US consumers the same car that is already in production elsewhere in the world?

All conspiracy theories aside, I'm baffled - the market is ripe for high mileage cars, especially diesel. Just look at the market for used Volkswagen TDIs - they consistently sell above their blue book values, especially older models that have smaller engines (and better mileage).

Grand opening of the new SeQuential-Pacific facility

2008-09-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

The newly expanded SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel (SQPB) facility in Salem opened its doors on August 29th. The grand opening ceremony had SQPB investor Willie Nelson on hand and many local business partners like Kettle Foods, Tyree Oil, DeSantis Landscapes, Burgerville, Portland Greenheat, Star Oilco and Cherriots.

The new facility is a major step forward for biodiesel in Oregon - its capacity is five million gallons a year (up from one million) and uses a new technology to produce biodiesel. Traditional biodiesel production uses water during a cleaning process to "wash" the fuel, resulting in wastewater.

The new SQPB facility uses technology developed in-house based on silica; the only byproducts of our biodiesel production are now fertilizer and animal feed! Coupled with the fact that about 90% of our biodiesel comes from locally collected Used Cooking Oil, and you've got one of the most sustainable biodiesel facilities in the world!

Photos: Karen Rippey

Where does your gas money go?

2008-07-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

This chart shows where the cost of gasoline at the pump comes from as a percentage. This is not based on biofuel cost, but odds are that it would look fairly similar, since most costs are fixed. A fixed cost doesn't change when the price of fuel changes. Taxes, production, gas station and distribution costs are all generally fixed numbers. For example:

In Oregon, every gallon of fuel has $0.484 of State and Federal Road Tax on it, regardless of price.

When the price of fuel at the pump is high, credit card fees and crude prices take a larger slice of the pie.

Not shown: where geographically gas money goes. Oregon has zero oil refineries, but several biofuel production plants. It is very difficult (if not impossible) to track where individual gallons of petrol come from - it all gets pooled together in giant tanks before being distributed. That said, according the the Energy Information Administration, the US imports 55% of all petroleum it uses.

What irrigated crop takes up three times more US landmass than corn?

2008-07-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

What irrigated crop takes up three times more US landmass than corn?
Look no farther than your front lawn.

This is a story that was released a few years ago, but is still very relevant: people's lawns are slurping up a huge amount of water, fertilizer and herbicides, but giving very little back.

I'm going to try to keep this post from going too much into the benefits of urban gardens, and I know it leaves out those who live in apartments, but the impact of your (or your landlord's) lawn is something you should consider:

If you water your lawn, what time of day is it - think of evaporation.
If you water your lawn, is there runoff onto your driveway or sidewalk?
Could your lawn be doing more? Food, flowers and grass alternatives all make more of a positive impact than a lawn.

This is not to say that you should not have a lawn altogether - it is a very nice luxury - but think about how much water you use (dried out grass doesn't need to be mowed!) and if there are any areas in your yard that would work for flowers, bushes, vegetables or berries.

The world is facing many macro issues and quite honestly sometimes it makes you feel a bit helpless. But, as they say, change starts at home, and your personal water / land usage can make a positive impact on the world.

Other tips for saving water:

Turn off the faucet while shaving or brushing your teeth
Wash only full loads of dishes and laundry
Fix dripping and leaking faucets and toilets
Take shorter showers
Wash cars less frequently
Water lawns and gardens on alternate evenings, not every day
Raise your lawn mower blade height; longer grass needs less water

Get involved: Growing Gardens Portland
Bonus further reading: Sowing the Seeds of Urban Farming.

Encore Oils

2008-07-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

Encore Oils
SeQuential is proud to announce the startup of Encore Oils, a subsidiary of SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel. Encore Oils collects used cooking oil, serving restaurants and businesses in the Pacific Northwest.

Restaurants used to have to pay to get rid of their used cooking oil – now Encore Oils will buy it by the gallon! All collected oil will be taken to Salem to be processed into high quality Oregon-Made Biodiesel. For more information: www.EncoreOils.com.

US Department of Energy: Biofuels Lower Gas Prices

2008-06-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

The US DOE went on the defense for biofuels in a press release last week. They tackled one of the hottest topics of today - price - but from a different perspective, the effect of biofuels on the price of petroleum. You can read the whole release here.

The release states that in the US for 2008, biofuels will have displaced the use of 5% of all petroleum.
This 5% decrease in demand amounts to a $0.20 to $0.35 reduction in price at the pump for petroleum products.

The report also stresses that this is the impact of "first generation" biofuels. Second generation technologies, like cellulosic-ethanol and algae-biodiesel, are much more energy efficient, which translates to increased volume at lower costs.

Other good quotes from the release:

Today’s Biofuels Account for Only a Small Percentage of the Increase in Global Food Prices.
Higher oil and gas prices leading to increased costs of fertilizer, harvest, and transportation
Increased demand as developing countries grow and people improve their diets
Two years of bad weather and drought leading to poor harvests in parts of the world
Export restrictions imposed by some countries

Bike Day at the Science Factory

2008-06-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

It feels like I've been talking about food vs fuel and high prices for quite a while now on the blog.
While these issues are still at the forefront of everyone's minds, tackling them is not the sole source of activity at SeQuential.

On Saturday I was at a booth at the Bike Day celebration at the Eugene Science Factory. The sun managed to peek through the clouds (much to everyone's joy) and it was fun talking with so many people about biofuels.

Besides showing our support for bicycles (and the Science Factory!) the main reason we go to events are to answer questions about biofuels. A person's car is one of their most valuable possessions (ignoring the intangibles, love and health) and people generally have a few questions before they start using biofuels.

The questions range from the simple, "Do I need a conversion to use biofuels?" (NO!), to the complex, "What are long-range sustainable fueling options for the world?", to questions on food vs fuel and price.

SeQuential is also working on the Sunflower Project, which is an educational program in partnership with Eugene schools and community gardens. The Sunflower Project's goal is to educate children on the lifecycle of plants and how you can create fuel in your own backyard. There is an initial planting of the sunflowers; then when the plants are grown and create seeds, SeQuential will help the children harvest, crush the seeds for oil and convert the oil into cleaner burning fuel!

Also as a bonus, here is a picture of the Eugene SeQuential team from the team meeting on Sunday.

High Prices are Bad for Business

2008-05-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

As all of you know, the price of biodiesel at the pump has hit record highs. Over the past few months by phone, email, blog responses, and in person, most people have been asking me "why?"

It is a complicated issue - take a look at previous posts - but there is one large piece that I've been leaving out: the impact high prices have had on SeQuential.

On the financial side of things,we have lost volume and customers. Some people are driving less and others have gone back to petroleum fuels. The price increases have reflected the rising cost of biodiesel - not rising profit margins. The lost volume means SeQuential is struggling .

On the other side of things, I have heard disbelief at the speed and intensity of price increases; questions on price gouging and comparisons to big oil have been made. This stings - SeQuential is a very small company (there are six of us in full-time administrative positions); both as a company and as individuals, we are committed to making cleaner burning, renewable fuels available. This is not an easy task given who and what we are up against and the only way we can do this is with help from our customers.

We are in business to make a difference: to move towards energy independence, to clean up the air, to give people a choice when they fuel their cars. Stay with the right biofuels. When you fuel up with SeQuential, you are supporting a different kind of fuel and a different kind of fuel company: local, cleaner, better.

Fuel Prices

2008-04-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

I've gotten many questions on what goes into the price - as you all know, the price of both petroleum fuel and biofuel has been going up and up. (While writing this article, the price of a barrel of crude oil has hit $118.28, a price far higher than forecasted.)

SeQuential has received numerous inquiries to why this is happening, and like everything in the world, there are many factors that go into the equation. This is not meant to be a complete list, but an overview of some of the key influencers. Feel free to post any comments or questions!

Limited Supply
Without getting into a discussion on how much oil is left underground, there is a very real constraint on oil output: refinery capacity. Since 2004, refinery output worldwide has not increased.

Demand from Developing Countries
The demand for petroleum by developing countries, mainly China and India, has put a strain on the already limited supply of petroleum. Classic economics shows that when there is a supply-demand imbalance, prices raise.

Weak US Dollar
The US Dollar has been loosing value as compared to other world currencies. Since the US imports about 60% of its petroleum, the dollar is not able to buy as much petroleum as it used to.

Effect on Biofuel
Like it or not, the price of petroleum has an effect on absolutely everything in our lives, even the price of locally produced biofuel. Every day in Oregon, only 0.7% (0.007) of the total fuel used is biofuel. SeQuential sources products from companies that use biofuels as much as possible, but the reality is that most companies use petroleum fuel, tying us and our prices to the rises in the price of petroleum.

Effect on Food Prices
There have been many articles in the news as of late on how the growing use of biofuel has impacted the price of food worldwide. This is an issue that SeQuential takes very seriously; there is a wrong way and a right way to produce biofuels. Wherever possible, SeQuential uses recycled or locally grown products and the most efficient processes for fuel production.

Our sourcing principle:

Best – regionally-produced from regionally-available feedstocks. Emphasis on waste products and recycled products.
Better – regionally produced from domestically sourced feedstocks.
Good – domestically produced from domestically sourced feedstocks.
Unacceptable – biofuels that have a negative energy balance or are produced from imported feedstocks. (Brazilian soy or Malaysian palm oil.)

The effect of petroleum prices, currency imbalances, worldwide crop failures and growing demand of developing nations for meat (which requires large amounts of corn and other grains) has been largely overlooked. Given the relative small size of the biofuel industry, these other macroeconomic factors have a much larger influence. For more reading: NY Times.

SeQuential is committed to finding ways to avoid competing with food crops, such as using Used Cooking Oil or Canola and Camelina grown regionally in rotation with grass seed and other crops.

SeQuential Carbon Challenge: Earth Month 2008

2008-04-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Earth Month (Earth Day is not enough!), SeQuential, along with local businesses, organizations, and the Mayor of Eugene Kitty Piercy, is issuing the first annual Carbon Challenge to the City of Eugene:

Cut carbon dioxide emissions by 1,000,000 pounds during April

This is an ambitious goal , but with everyone pulling together, we can make a huge difference!

Participating in the Carbon Challenge is easy - simply go to any of the following locations and fill out an entry form that describes how you are (or will) walk, bike, bus or use biofuels instead of driving on petroleum fuels, thereby cutting your carbon footprint.

Bike Friday
Hutch's Cycles
Revolution Cycles
Down to Earth Home & Garden
SeQuential Fuel Station Eugene

You can enter once per visit for the end of month raffle. The prizes are:

A Tikit folding bicycle from Bike Friday and Hutch’s Cycles
A commuter bike from Revolution Cycles
One of three $50 fuel gift cards from SeQuential
One of five one-month bus passes from Lane Transit District
A vine maple sapling from Down to Earth Home & Garden.

We are using how much fuel?!

2008-03-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

I was going to do a different sort of analysis about this... but the scale of these numbers just wowed me so I'll let them speak for themselves.

Oregon's 2006 consumption of petroleum fuel:
4,314,400 gallons per day of gasoline (source)
2,266,600 gallons per day of diesel (source)

Oregon's 2006 consumption of biofuel:
38,356 gallons per day of ethanol (source)
10,959 gallons per day of biodiesel (source, which is a estimate)

Now with that in mind, how much of this is actually being produced in Oregon?

Oregon's 2006 production of petroleum fuel:
121 gallons per day of production capacity (source, I don't know if this is actually being produced)

Oregon's 2008 production of biofuel:
405,479 gallons per day of ethanol (source)
7,547 gallons per day of biodiesel (source)

So... what is the take away message here? Only a fraction of the fuel we use in Oregon is made from biofuel, but the impact has been huge:

Bringing fuel production back in state
Giving farmers access to a new market
Decreasing carbon dioxide emissions
Proving that not only is there an alternative to petroleum fuel, there are thousands of people who want this alternative

Everyone who has chosen to fuel up with biofuel is part of this change; we are still at the beginnings of it, but there is nowhere to go but up from here!

Thought leaders piece; Where gas money goes

2008-03-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

C3 Press [Carbon Constrained Communications] recently released their first issue of "Thought Leaders of the New Energy Economy", which included a piece by SeQuential CEO Dave Garten, as well as by leaders in other industries. Check it out here (255k pdf).

-----------------------

The latest NACS (a gas station / convenience store association) magazine published some interesting facts regarding where money goes on a gallon of gas, using 2007 average prices.

58%: Crude Oil
17%: Refining
15%: Taxes
9%: Distribution and Retail (20% of which goes to credit card companies)
1%: store income

This is slightly misleading though, since taxes ($0.484 is Oregon + Federal tax), distribution and retail (a set few cents per gallon), and store income (a set few cents per gallon) are all fixed numbers that don't change with gas prices. Simply put, when you read of crude oil prices hitting all time highs, gas stations aren't making any more money, the people pulling oil out of the ground are.

For users of pure biofuel, the taxes, distribution and retail, and store income would all be about the same. I'm not sure how the rest of it goes, but my guess is that the raw materials (raw oil and other production inputs) would make up by far the largest percentage.

Follow-up on food prices

2008-03-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

The New York Times published an interesting (and albeit disturbing) article about food prices and how they are going up because of demand and worldwide crop shortages. One quote pretty much sums it all up:

“Everyone wants to eat like an American on this globe."

As the lives of people in developing nations stabilize, they move away from "traditional" crops and import more food. Supply and high demand at work, plus a little drought and failed crops equals higher prices. America's high production and the weak dollar are also at play.

[As an aside, I just have to mention that biofuels were not once mentioned in this article.]

What is really disturbing, something that I haven't been able to internalize yet, are the comments about how cheap food is not going to be reality for much longer. As a child of the 80's, I've never seen high commodity food prices, and I know that I've been taking this for granted.

Beans and rice have always been cheap, because they are beans and rice...

If these basic commodity prices go up, what happens to everyone who is depending on cheap food to feed their families? What happens to people who gave up farming because they can import cheaper grains?

This really is one more argument for local: take control of your food and take control of your fuel by sourcing from your region. When you need to augment your supply, import.

The search for better fuel starts with better plants

2008-03-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

There is a new player on the local scene for biofuels - a plant called camelina. Camelina is part of the brassicaceae family along with canola, whose oil SeQuential uses in biodiesel production. Other more familiar brassicaceae are cabbage and turnips.

Camelina has been more or less overlooked in this region (with the exception of Montana) but its value as a rotational crop is starting to be realized. Rotational crops are used to break pest cycles and to revitalize soil that has only seen one crop grown on it season after season. Breaking pest cycles means that fewer pesticides have to be used, which is better for the health of farmers, laborers and the rest of us. This also decreases costs, as taken from the Eastern Oregonian:

... research shows [camelina] is well suited to conditions in the Pacific Northwest, requires low inputs of water and nutrients, and reduces disease, insect and weed pressure in wheat fields planted the following year.

"We are all painfully aware of the recent cost increases of inputs to grow conventional crops," he said, noting the cost of glyphosate, the main ingredient in products such as Round-Up, for example, increased significantly recently.

"If you are concerned about these costs, you should look at a crop like camelina," Johnson said. 'It can provide a net return equal to spring wheat without the high initial outlay of pesticides and a far lower need for nitrogen and we can harvest in July."

Camelina, just like canola, produces seeds that have a high oil content. These seeds get crushed by a crusher (Willamette Biomass Processors for example) that squeezes out the oil, which is turned into cleaner-burning biodiesel. The leftover crushed seed is a meal that goes to livestock as feed. I don't know what livestock think about camelina meal, but I know cows love canola meal - it was once described to me as 'cattle crack'.

So why am I excited about camelina? Both camelina and canola are rotational oilseed crops that don't require much water or fertilizer and canola actually has a higher output of oil per acre. More oil = more biodiesel, but because camelina is better on the land and can be grown on marginal soil, it pulls ahead as a better choice in my book.

The price of biodiesel

2008-02-28T16:06:00.000-08:00

Fellow Biodiesel Drivers ::

We have all noticed the increase in fuel prices over the last six months. During this period, SeQuential and our network of distributors have not changed margins on biodiesel, meaning that these price increases are from the increased costs for producing biodiesel.

About 40% of the biodiesel SeQuential distributes comes from recycled cooking oil and most of the rest comes from soybean oil grown in the Midwest. This will continue to be the case in the short term, as local production from recycled oil increases; as Oregon production of oilseed crops increases (currently about 10% of our supply); and as technology companies develop alternative feedstocks, such as algae. As demand for soybean oil has increased of late, so has the price. In addition, a major ingredient in biodiesel production is methanol, which increased in price by about 300% since September 2007. We will do everything we can to get price relief.

We understand that these price increases are hard on your wallet, so we want to take a moment to say that we appreciate your dedication to and support of biofuels. We are all in this together, and together, we are growing a renewable fuels industry and bringing better fuel options to Oregon.

Register Guard Opinion Piece

2008-02-26T16:08:00.000-08:00

The Register Guard just published an opinion piece by Ian Hill, a co-founder of SeQuential, in regards to recent articles about biofuels:

Oregon’s lower carbon biofuel industry

by Ian Hill

In response to recent articles claiming that the use of biofuel leads to increases in global warming, we would like to point out that not all biofuels are crated equal. The biodiesel and ethanol sold through our SeQuential retail station here in Eugene is some of the most sustainably-produced fuel currently available in the country.

The SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel (SQPB) production plant in Salem uses recycled cooking oil from sources such as Kettle Foods, Burgerville etc. A small but growing percentage of the SQPB facility uses Oregon-grown canola oil that is grown as a rotational crop with wheat. Canola is typically grown one year in four to enhance soil quality, breaks up pest cycles and increases wheat yields. Other oilseed crops that can be grown on land not suitable for food production or in rotation with food crops are being currently researched by OSU.

It is important to note that the SQPB facility’s technology can efficiently produce quality biodiesel from a wide range of vegetable oils. This gives SQPB the ability to adapt to new sources of oil as they develop, such as certain types of algae which are the most efficient photo-synthetic producer of oil on the planet and can be grown using agricultural & municipal waste streams.

The majority of the ethanol that is sold through our retail station is sourced from Pacific Ethanol’s facility located in Boardman OR. This facility does use corn as its primary feedstock for producing ethanol. What makes this facility different is that they use ~30% less energy then most contemporary ethanol production facilities. They do this by selling most of their wet distiller grains (or WDGS the main by product of ethanol production) directly into a local livestock feed market.

Another item of interest about Pacific’s Boardman facility is that they recently received a Federal Department of Energy grant to build a pilot scale cellulose to ethanol production facility. This facility will focus on technology allowing the production of ethanol from local feed stocks such as wheat straw, corn stover & wood chips.

On a County level, there are a number of research projects underway that are looking at a variety of renewable energy sources. Such as anaerobic digestion utilizing food waste for energy production and pyrolysis technology for converting carbon based waste material into different forms of usable energy including liquid forms like butanol (a gasoline replacement).

These examples of Oregon-made biofuels are derived from raw materials that do not compete with food-producing acres. As a result, these biofuels reduce life cycle carbon emissions by 40 to 80 percent compared to standard petroleum-based fuels.

Oregon (and the Pacific Northwest) leads the nation with our use of high blends of biodiesel, specifically B99 (99.9% biodiesel). Oregon & Washington have the largest markets in the country for retail biodiesel. Government & business fleets in Oregon such as the City of Eugene, the City of Portland, Rexius, Sanipac, LTD and Tri-Met to name a few have proven that they are willing to vote with their fuel budgets to support Oregon made biofuel. This kind of support is critical to building a better, localized biofuel industry. From our municipal governments, to businesses with fleets, to the individual consumer the Northwest is leading the way in the development of a localized biofuel industry.

The work to build a localized, cleaner, sustainable energy economy is an important incremental step, not an overnight miracle. Our company is named SeQuential for this very reason. There is no single panacea to our current energy crisis. Rather we are faced with a diversity of solutions that must be pursued simultaneously. Conservation taking the form of higher efficiency diesel & gasoline vehicles, increasing the use of electric vehicles, greater use of public transit systems, riding bikes and walking are all solutions that must also be employed.

As a company we are committed to helping build an Oregon based, lower carbon biofuel industry that is cleaner burning and that supports our local economy. SeQuential can only do this in partnership with our customers.

Ian Hill is a Co-Founder of SeQuential Biofuels, an Oregon-based retail biofuels company that provides biofuel blends for every vehicle.

The daily commute

2008-02-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

We all have to work, be it in an office, a service job, or caring for the family and getting around requires some sort of transportation. There are many ways to get around; driving, biking, busing, etc., all of which have their own trade offs in terms of convenience and emissions.

Driving can be the most convenient way of getting around (baring traffic jams), but out of all of the alternatives, driving weighs in at the high end of emissions. There are, of course, many jobs and situations where driving is essential, so it is fortunate that cleaner-burning biofuel is available!

On a per-person basis, the more people you can get into a car, the better. The average car, over the course of a year, emits about 12,100 pounds of carbon dioxide (calculate your CO2 emissions here - for gas burning cars using petroleum only). Carpooling can cut this number down significantly - one person per car emits 12,100 pounds of CO2 per person. Four people in that car would only emit about 3,025 pounds of CO2 per person. Talk to your co-workers and see if you can organize a carpool!

Speaking of emissions per person, riding the bus (or light rail) is another great option with most buses fitting 40+ people on board. The tradeoff is that buses are on a fixed schedule and have fixed routes. That said, bus routes go along major arterials and chances are that there is a bus heading to where you need to go. If you factor in the time it takes to find a parking spot, buses can be faster than driving. Plus, most public buses use biofuels!

I am an avid bicyclist, so I love having the opportunity to ride into work. Having put in substantial hours driving for work in the past (pizza delivery), I realize how lucky I am to live close to work (4 miles) and to drive so infrequently. Riding a bike is a non-polluting way to get around and is good exercise to boot! Biking is slower than any of the other options (and there is always the chance of getting caught out in the rain), but since it is so clean, it is a winner in my book.

Carshares like Zipcar (who recently acquired Flexcar) are another great option - even if you mainly use an alternative to driving, there are sometimes where you just need a car. Being able to rent a car for a few hours works great for a lot of people, but it does require some planning for your reservation.

Here at SeQuential, almost all of us own cars, but we don't always use them. Having our office be in downtown Portland means there are lots of transportation alternatives that we are very lucky to have. On the average day, these are the main ways SeQuential's administrative staff get to work:

Alan, retail manager: biodiesel car
Bo, development: bus, bike
Ciara, retail manager: biodiesel car
Carrie, accounting: bus, bike
Dave, CEO: bike, running
Gavin, sales: bus, biodiesel car
Gloria, accounting: walking, ethanol car
Ian, founder: bus, walking, biodiesel car
Sasha, marketing: bike
Sue, marketing: bike
Tomas, founder: bus, biodiesel car
Tyson, founder: bus, biodiesel car
Will, marketing: bus