The multi-billion dollar global biodiesel industry is recovering after the recession with increased demand driven by increases in mandated biodiesel-diesel blends. However, biodiesel producers face a number of issues, namely: rudimentary reactor technology that often fails to ensure quality in commercial applications; feedstock cost and availability concerns; weak process economics; and tight credit markets. Existing conventional technologies make it difficult for the industry to meet increasingly more stringent quality specifications without incurring significant extra capital and operating costs.
BDR’s novel membrane reactor technology overcomes both the issues of quality and weak economics that make plants unprofitable. BDR’s initial target; the 2/3 of existing plants that are financially vulnerable to more stringent product specifications and the remaining who cannot compete because of high costs. Over $11B ($3B in US) has been invested in global plant capacity to date.