Szady is the commercial development manager for Dow Haltermann Custom Processing, a Dow Chemical subsidiary in Houston that manufactures biodiesel. He was among 2,000 attendees at the recent 2006 Biodiesel Conference at the San Diego Convention Center.
Like Szady, most of the chemists, engineers, farmers, government officials and entrepreneurs attending the conference were buzzing with excitement only a week after President Bush set a goal of replacing 75 percent of U.S. oil imports with alternative fuels by 2025.
They regard biodiesel as a highly attractive alternative fuel, and even though their industry is in its infancy they expect the fuel to play a key role in the years ahead.
Stephen Johnson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, praised the importance of biodiesel.
"Renewable fuels like biodiesel are the next step in our steady march toward cleaner, healthier air," he said. "President Bush and the EPA are encouraging investments in the technology that are powering the nation's economy and driving our environmental successes."
Biodiesel fuel, which can be made from vegetable oil or animal fat, can burn in any diesel engine, reducing most emissions depending on the fuel mix. Because it burns purer, less fuel has to be used to run diesel engines.
Today about 90 percent of biodiesel in the country is made from soybean oil, according to the National Biodiesel Board, a trade association.
But as excited as biodiesel pioneers may be, they have a steep road ahead.
There were only about 75 million gallons of biodiesel produced last year in the United States, just a tiny fraction of the 38 billion gallons of diesel produced. Still, that was three times the biodiesel produced in 2004 and the production is expected to at least double again this year.
"The potential for growth is spectacular," Szady said. "This is the ground floor. You don't see many business opportunities like this today.
"But biodiesel's growth is tied to the price of oil. If oil is $60 or $70 a barrel, we'll probably be producing about 600 million gallons of biodiesel in five years. If it goes down to $40 a barrel, we'll probably produce 400 million."
Robert Strobaugh, an Arkansas soybean farmer, said he has been eagerly waiting for biodiesel to take off for several years.
Strobaugh said he has had to import biodiesel from Iowa to run his farm equipment because until last May there was no plant capable of producing biodiesel in his state.
"I was paying money to ship the biodiesel to me so I could use it to help raise the soybeans that could be used to make biodiesel," he said. "It made no sense."
About two-thirds of his 6,000-acre farm is devoted to soybeans and Strobaugh said he hopes to be able to sell some for biodiesel production.
Though biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine, its growth is expected to be triggered by movements among large truck fleet operators and diesel autos sold to consumers.
Max Gates, manager of safety and environmental communications for DaimlerChrysler, said that biodiesel is 30 percent more fuel efficient than gasoline, and that will push consumers to buy diesel vehicles in the years ahead.
"Soybeans are a surplus crop so the supply of soybean oil is abundant and the price good," he said. "I think you're going to see a big increase in the use of biodiesel coming."
© Copley News Service
