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Biggest U.S. Biodiesel Refinery Goes Live

The largest biodeisel refinery in the United States started production today. The new refinery, owned and operated by GreenHunter Energy, will produce 105 million gallons per year (mgpy) of biodiesel, which is about five gallons more than the Imperium Renewables biodiesel refinery in Washington.

The Houston biorefinery features 700,000 barrels of storage capacity, a methanol distillation system that is five times larger than needed, and a system to neutralize the crude glycerin byproduct, making it a more valuable product.

In 2007, the entire U.S. production capacity for biodiesel was roughly 2,200 mgpy, according to the National Biodiesel Board. Despite this capacity, producers used less than a fifth of that capacity — about 450 million gallons. GreenHunter Energy, which purchased the refinery last year from Channel Refining Corporation which had previously used the facility to recycle waste oil, plans to produce biodiesel from animal fats, vegetable oils, or a blend of the two.