Biodiesel is a Reliable Component of Our Fuel Supply
February 26, 2024
Written By James Greer
In 1993, MFA Oil became the first fuel marketer to distribute biodiesel in the country. While the performance of the biodiesel was a success, the price of the biodiesel did not allow the program to continue.
In the latter half of the 1990s, numerous soy-based biodiesel plants were constructed across the Midwest. Many plants were built in partnerships between corporations and Midwest farmers called new-generation cooperatives. MFA Oil invested in one such plant with farmers to form Mid-America Biofuels in Mexico, Mo., which is 51% farmer- or cooperative-owned, to create additional local demand for soybeans.
MFA Oil began working to add soy-based biodiesel to our bulk plants in the early 2000s. We received biodiesel deliveries by rail at our warehouse in California, Mo., and transported the fuel to strategic locations to meet farmers’ demands. Most of the off-road diesel we sold contained a B2 blend (98% conventional diesel and 2% biodiesel). Farmers began to ask for higher blends, which we mixed at our bulk plants.
Around the same time, the industry developed alternative feedstocks and methods to produce biodiesel. In some cases, these new methods and feedstocks produced a less reliable biodiesel, giving the growing industry a black eye. The poor-quality product and poor biodiesel versus conventional diesel economics sent the biodiesel industry backward.
Even though biodiesel sales dipped, MFA Oil stayed the course. We built a biodiesel blending facility in Carrollton, Mo. We also partnered with other distributors to expand biodiesel availability throughout Missouri in Palmyra, Columbia, Jasper, Kansas City and Springfield while continuing to sell proven soy-based biodiesel.
The industry remained relatively stagnant in the Midwest until nine years ago when Gary Wheeler, executive director of Missouri Soybeans, brought together a group representing all facets of soy-based biodiesel to form the Biodiesel Working Group. Now known as the Biodiesel Coalition of Missouri, of which MFA Oil is a member, the organization works to educate residents and promote the success of biodiesel in Missouri. Kansas and Iowa have similar organizations working to promote biodiesel.
Today, the biodiesel industry is growing because of the commitment of many organizations, such as MFA Oil and other fuel distributors, the Biodiesel Coalition of Missouri, the Missouri Soybean Association, the Kansas Soybean Commission, and the Iowa Biodiesel Board. The Missouri Department of Transportation uses a B20 blend from April to September, and many farmers use blends from 5% to 50% of soy-based biodiesel. The support has prompted biodiesel producers to invest in production capacity upgrades and construction of new Missouri blending facilities in Scott City, Kansas City and Springfield.
Despite the proven performance of soy-based biodiesel, some common misconceptions persist about blending, quality and winter operability. From a quality perspective, biodiesel offers excellent lubricity compared to conventional diesel fuel. When the EPA enacted rules to reduce the sulfur content in diesel in 2006, lubricity additives were needed at the loading rack. Biodiesel outperforms these lubricity additives with blends as low as B2. Biodiesel also acts as a paraffin enhancer, increasing the cetane of diesel fuel and adding horsepower.
Biodiesel blends have consistently performed well during winters in several cold-weather states. MFA Oil sold a B5 blend at two Break Time stores in northern Missouri for an entire winter season and experienced zero issues. Today, there are two fuel terminals in Kansas, two in Missouri, one in Arkansas and one in Tennessee, where a B5 biodiesel blend is the standard fuel year-round. At four of these six terminals, getting B0 (100%
conventional diesel) is not an option. Also, Minnesota has a year-round biodiesel mandate where B5 is the diesel fuel used in winter. Higher blends are available in the summer.
MFA Oil continues to work toward having a supply of biodiesel in our market area for the benefit of our owner-members. You grow it, and it makes sense for you to use what you grow. Biodiesel is back as a part of our daily fuel usage, and together, we can keep it growing.