GS Cleantech Inks Poultry Fat for Biodiesel Agreement
17 July 2006
GS CleanTech Corporation, formerly named Veridium, has executed an agreement with an Arkansas-based poultry processing facility to extract more than one million pounds per year of poultry fat from the facility’s waste streams for conversion into a biodiesel feedstock using GS CleanTech’s proprietary animal fat recycling and conversion technologies. (Earlier post.)
GS CleanTech provides turn-key systems for no up-front cost in return for long-term agreements to purchase the converted animal fat based on a fixed discount to prevailing fuel prices.
Under the terms of this agreement, GS CleanTech expects to generate an estimated $1.2 million to $1.8 million in annualized revenues by purchasing and selling the Arkansas facility’s converted poultry fat as a biodiesel feedstock.
GS CleanTech is majority-owned by GreenShift Corporation.
Interesting business model, should be a no-brainer for meat processing plants. The market is anyhow demanding leaner cuts of meat, so the fat trimmings are a waste stream that would otherwise prove increasingly difficult to get rid of (risk of viruses etc.)
Posted by: Rafael Seidl | 17 July 2006 at 09:30 AM
Then there are the waste from processing other meats like beef and pork too. This is just one part of a possible biodiesel dominated future. With existing diesel engines in the 40%+ efficiency range, and HCCI (and other) tech on the horizon, compression ignition engines are likely to dominate. Add the lubricating and energy superiority of biodiesel vs ethanol, the outlook looks bright if a clean, abundant, and reliable source could be had.
Posted by: allen Z | 17 July 2006 at 10:44 AM
Allen:
Modern recycling of animal wastes is well-developed and widespread service, achieving near 100% recycling efficiency:
http://www.wcrl.com/products/biodiesel/default.htm
Refined fats are usually used as feed supplements to livestock. I doubt that conversion of highly prized animal fat to biodiesel will prove itself as economically competitive. But time will tell. Any way, quantities of waste fat are not nearly enough to make real dent in mineral diesel fuel bulk.
Posted by: Andrey | 17 July 2006 at 03:34 PM
Don't animal fats have a rather high gel point?
Posted by: Cervus | 17 July 2006 at 03:47 PM
They can make semi solid palm oil into biodiesel so should we have any problem with chicken/pork oil?
Posted by: rexis | 17 July 2006 at 06:07 PM
looking for a source of afordable feedstock for a biodiesel plant .
Posted by: JIM WEST | 29 March 2007 at 02:49 PM