Pollution, odor likely to be low at Evansville biodiesel facility
Published Thursday, August 19, 2006

By Gina Duwe
Gazette Staff

EVANSVILLE-The biodiesel production facility in Evansville will be a "very friendly" neighbor, "far more than an ethanol plant," says one analyst.

"When we look at this refinery, it's probably one of the most environmentally friendly neighbors that anyone could want to have," said Bud Gayhart, director of UW-Whitewater's Small Business Development Center.

Water discharge? Slightly gray.

Airborne discharge? Very low.

Smell? Hardly noticeable.

Officials from North Prairie Productions are encouraging residents to attend an open house Wednesday to learn about what kind of neighbor their biodiesel plant will be when its built on Evansville's east side.

Water discharge from a biodiesel plant is called "gray water," which is no different than the water going down your drain after taking a bath or washing dishes, Gayhart said.

"The impact to the water treatment plant is negligible," he said.

Airborne discharges don't even register on the Department of Natural Resources radar screen, he said.

The plant will produce some slight odors because it's soybeans, but it's not a noxious odor, Gayhart said.

Scott Behrens, director of functional products for Stepan Co., which operates a biodiesel facility in Millsdale, Ill., said the smell would have a fruity odor.

"There's got to be," he said. "If they're going to build that plant next to a subdivision, I'd say it's an issue, but if it's a couple miles away, no, they're not going to have an issue."

A biodiesel factory is a good neighbor otherwise, he said.

The Millsdale factory produces about 22 million gallons of biodiesel, but the facility is in the middle of other chemical factories operated by Stepan and also within a large industrial complex.

North Prairie officials said they haven't noticed any odors at any of the biodiesel plants they've visited.

The plant North Prairie is planning to build in Evansville will operate on three shifts, 24 hours a day, Vice President Jeff Pieterick said.

The plant will be able to produce 45 million gallons of biodiesel annually with a chemical reaction between soybean oil and methanol, along with a catalyst. As a result, more than 4 million gallons of glycerin will be produced as a by-product annually, Pieterick said.

The glycerin will be sold to any number of markets.

"Whoever will buy it and take it away," Pieterick joked.

Feedback has been incredibly positive from city officials and residents. The company has yet to hear any major concerns, Pieterick said.

"A lot of it is that we anticipated a lot of whatever the potential concerns might be. We're pretty forthright to anybody who's asked any questions," he said. "We're certainly doing everything we can to limit whatever impacts it might have on the community, rail traffic and truck traffic."

Copyright ©2006 Bliss Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted here with permission.