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Nebraska biodiesel plant to open later this year

The owners of a biodiesel plant in Beatrice, Nebraska say they will begin producing fuel later this year following a major retrofitting of the plant.

Duonix Beatrice is a joint venture between Flint Hills Resources, a subsidiary of Koch (coke) Industries, and Benefuel. They purchased the plant in 2011 and have spent the past two years retrofitting it to be feedstock-flexible and to use ENSEL technology.

Officials say the ENSEL process will streamline production, eliminate waste and by-products, and expand product capabilities to produce a biodiesel with enhanced cold-weather properties.  It also allows the use of cheaper feed stocks high in free fatty acids, such as distillers corn oil from ethanol refining, waste vegetable oils, animal fats and unrefined oils.

Once operational, the facility will produce 50 million gallons of biodiesel annually and provide nearly 50 full-time jobs.