Successful demonstration of bio-crude production capability in Texas; test results awaited from algae-to-crude test

In Texas, US Sustainable Energy conducted a successful demonstration of its soybean-to-crude oil production capabilities at its Baytown, TX facility. The biocrude producer is also awaiting lab results from a test of biocrude production using 20 pounds of algae as a feedstock.

The company recently installed a new production line at its Baytown facility, and has been successfully testing up to 1,000 gallons per day of soybean-based bio-crude production.

The company’s “Rivera” process, which is closely held as a trade secret, will produce fuels that will be certified at an on-site facility by Amspec. Amspec Senior VP Jim Ford, who serves on the board of the Americas Committee of the International Federation of Inspection Agencies, has recently joined the board of Sustainable Power, a related company that has licensed the Rivera process.

According to US Sustainable Energy CEO John Rivera, following Amspec’s certification of each batch of biocrude, the company will transfer the certified oil to an onsite, Aspec-controlled storage facility. The certified biocrude will be then be sold to George E. Warren Co., a major wholesale petroleum distributor, which will have the option of distribution via pipeline or barge.

The initial production line has a capacity of 3 million gallons per year, and the company has plans in place to add additional lines, with potential maximum capacity of more than 1 million gallons per day at its 500-acre Baytown plant.

On Friday, the company ran its initial test of 20 pounds of 5% oil-content algae feedstock with 40 percent water content, and resulted in an ignitable oil product.

The algae was supplied by Green Star Products, which is negotiating with US Sustainable Energy to install a series of algae bioreactors at the Baytown facility, should test results be favorable.

Biocrude, as compared to biodiesel or ethanol, can be distributed using existing infrastructure, and when refined into gasoline or diesel fuel has the same performance and engine-wear characteristics as the corresponding fossil fuels it replaces. Derived from a sustainable feedstock that can be produced in large quantities with negigible environmental impact, biocrude (and synthetic crude oils as a category) have been one of the most elusive yet valuable prizes in the quest for a global energy solution.

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