Animal by products such as residual animal fat and oil often pose problems in effective disposal.Now a US based meat processing company has plans to convert this waste fat to commercial grade biofuel.Arkansas based Tyson Foods provides nearly 25% of the total US meat supply,and produces an estimated 300 million gallons of animal fat annually.Bob Ames senior director Tyson Renewable Energy plans to use advance refining technology to convert this substantial quantity of waste into biofuel.Tyson has entered into an agreement with Syntroleum Corporation of Tulsa, Oklahoma to form a joint venture - Dynamic Fuels.Under terms of agreement Tyson will supply animal fats and agricultural byproducts and Synroteleum will convert it into biodiseal and even plans to produce jet fuel.Dynamic Fuels is expected to yield 75 million gallons of biodiseal annually and production is targeted by 2010.
Availability of raw materials and proven technology provides Dynamic Fuels a high degree of profitability in the long run.Adds Allan Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF),"When two operations can coexist and harmonize together, that’s powerful. Tyson is a leader in meat processing, and it generates waste by-products. Meanwhile, the US needs to reduce its dependence on foreign oil and move toward renewable energy. There is a natural synergy here. This is not unlike asphalt plants and others that take waste products and turn them into useable products".Schaeffer further says,"The company is much better positioned than the average mid-western farmer out there squashing soybeans."
