Benefuel -- October 10, 2007 – Chicago and Seymour, Ind. – Benefuel, Inc., a new-generation Biodiesel refining and distribution company, announced today that it will build the world’s first industrial-scale Biodiesel refinery leveraging a novel solid catalyst that converts low-grade fats and vegetable oils into Biodiesel.  The process eliminates the need for water in the refining process, produces a market-ready glycerin by-product, and a nearly 100% free ester Biodiesel.

Benefuel, a Chicago-based manufacturer of the industry’s most advanced Biodiesel refinery, in partnership with Seymour Biofuels LLC, based in Indiana, plans to construct a 10-million gallon Biodiesel plant that uses Benefuel’s solid, acid catalyst.  The catalyst, developed in collaboration with leading chemical engineers from India’s prestigious National Chemical Laboratory, can turn virtually any vegetable oil or high free fatty acid (FFA) animal fat directly into Biodiesel without the need for costly pre-processing.

The economic benefits of a solid catalyst refinery far exceed those of conventional refineries, dramatically increasing operating margins to create a major shift in how the world produces Biodiesel.”

Key Benefits:      

1.  Ability to process the broadest range of feedstocks with no pre-processing       
2.  No fuel washing or caustic removal.       
3.  98% or higher glycerin purity.       
4.  Modular, portable and rapidly deployable.       
5.  Continuous inline testing & remote management. 

Traditional Biodiesel “catalysts” are better described as chemical “reactants,” rather than “catalysts,” because they are destroyed during the refining process.  Sodium and potassium hydroxides – the most common substances used to transesterify oils and fats into methyl esters - are consumed during production and must be washed out of the Biodiesel crude. 

In addition to being discarded after each batch, caustic reagents must be neutralized with acid before the Biodiesel can be recovered and then contaminate the glycerin byproduct with waste salts, which dramatically degrades its commercial value, as well as add costs to the Biodiesel process.

Benefuel’s unique dual metal catalyst (DMC) solves the problem of reactant waste and glycerin contamination.  The solid catalyst is not consumed during transesterification, eliminating the need for fuel washing – and making Benefuel the first Biodiesel company in the world that places no demand on limited water supplies.  Typical Biodiesel refineries can require up to five gallons of water per gallon of oil feedstock to wash out spent reactant.  A Benefuel refinery requires no process water at all.

Continuous Flow, Fixed Bed Reactor

The DMC changes the fundamentals of the Biodiesel refining equation, enabling a continuous flow fuel-processing model that is not possible in traditional stirred tank reactors (STRs).  STRs convert feedstocks to methyl esters in “batches,” requiring significant labor inputs and stop-and-go production. 

The continuous flow model streamlines the production process and allows for constant output. Because of this, a Benefuel refinery does not require manual batch testing for quality assurance.  Each Benefuel refinery is continuously monitored cutting labor costs and eliminating down time.Thanks to the unique nature of the Benefuel catalyst, the operators of the new Seymour plant will realize significant production savings through the purchase of the lowest-cost feedstock.  As an added economic benefit, the glycerin by-product of the Seymour refinery will have an initial purity of more than 98%, making it market-ready for use in other applications.

Production to begin later in 2008.

http://www.benefuel.net/