First renewable diesel plant in Iowa; 34 mgpy of renewable diesel and naphtha
24 February 2019
The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board awarded tax benefits to ReadiFuels-Iowa, LLC—a newly created entity started by Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) and C&N Biofuels, LLC. The company will utilize a variety of feedstocks to produce approximately 34 million gallons of renewable diesel and renewable naphtha annually—the first facility of its kind in the state.
ReadiFuels-Iowa plans to construct a new production facility utilizing existing infrastructure at a partially abandoned property near Hull in Sioux County.
The board awarded the company tax benefits from the High Qaulity Jobs (HQJ) program for this $58.7-million capital investment. The project is expected to create 31 jobs, of which 27 are incented at a qualifying wage of at least $20.47 per hour.
Biodiesel is old news but "renewable naptha" is a head-scratcher. I searched on both "ReadiFuels-Iowa, LLC" and "C&N Biofuels, LLC" and found nothing on their technologies or feedstocks.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 24 February 2019 at 05:48 AM
Ah, found something:
So they're making hydrocarbons and not e.g. fatty acid methyl esters. This has to mean that it's a Neste-style plant that does hydrodeoxygenation, and will probably produce propane as a byproduct. Since propane is not named as a product, it is probably intended to use it as feedstock for making the required hydrogen.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 24 February 2019 at 06:23 AM