Iowa celebrates National Biodiesel Day

The Iowa Biodiesel Board is celebrating National Biodiesel Day March 18 to recognize the importance that Iowa agriculture plays in supporting the alternative fuel industry in the state.  

Biodiesel comes from sources like soybean and canola plants that are then processed through rendering and biodiesel manufacturing facilities. As a major agricultural producer in the U.S., the biodiesel industry is big business in Iowa. Biodiesel supports more than 3,000 full-time-equivalent jobs annually in all sectors of the Iowa economy, according to ABF Economics.

“Our biodiesel plants use a lot of Iowa-grown soybeans,” Iowa Biodiesel Board Executive Director Grant Kimberley says. “No matter how you look at biodiesel, it’s good for Iowa—it keeps our economy moving, is a home-grown fuel, and is environmentally friendly.”

Biodiesel is considered one of the greenest fuels available, as it reduces lifecycle carbon dioxide by 78 percent compared to diesel. It also takes fewer resources to produce.

 “Iowa’s 12 biodiesel plants produced more than 300 million gallons of biodiesel in 2017,” Kimberley says. “The production of this advanced biofuel yields 5.5 times more energy than it takes to produce it.”