By JANE HOUIN
Ohio Correspondent

ERIE, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) recently awarded HERO BX with a $1,640,250 grant that will be used to complete an expansion project for the company. As the country’s largest producer of biodiesel, the expansion project will increase HERO BX’s yearly output of low-cost, high-quality biodiesel from 45 million gallons to 55 million gallons. HERO BX will be matching the award amount with its own funds for a total of $3,280,500.

“It is imperative that biofuels companies that are producing fuel today continue to receive financial support,” said Leonard Kosar, chief executive officer of HERO BX. “The state of Pennsylvania is setting a precedent apart from the federal government and many other states – it has recognized the economic, environmental and security value of supporting biofuels companies that are already in production. We cannot and will not be able to produce the next generation of biodiesel and ethanol if we abandon first generation biofuels producers such as HERO BX.”

CFA was established as an independent agency of the Commonwealth to administer Pennsylvania’s economic stimulus packages. CFA holds fiduciary responsibility over the funding of programs and investments in Pennsylvania’s economic growth.

The grant was awarded as part of Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell’s goal to increase alternative energy opportunities within the state. The funds, which will be distributed through Green Energy Works!, is part of the federal funding that the state will receive under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Stimulus Bill).
The program goal is to invest more than $99.6 million of federal funding to supplement the state’s Alternative Energy Investment Fund.

“The green economy, and careers in the industries that drive it, are critical to the commonwealth’s economic recovery and competitiveness in the coming years,” Rendell said.

HERO BX officials say that Pennsylvania has an enormous economic opportunity to produce biofuels. Through their “Sustainable Crops Initiative,” HERO BX is working with agronomists at Pennsylvania State University to pioneer the use of the camelina. Camelina is a Mediterranean native plant whose seeds are 40 percent oil and can be used in manufacturing biodiesel. The annual plant has prolific small, pale- yellow flowers with four petals, attains heights of 1 to 3 feet and has branched stems that become woody at maturity.
Leaves are arrow-shaped, sharp-pointed and about 3 inches long with smooth edges. Seed pods are the size and shape of a small pea.

Camelina only needs a growing season of 85-105 days. When mature, it is harvested with combines when it is mature. The seeds are very small, amounting to about 400,000 seeds per pound, and they are 40 percent oil, compared to 20 percent with soybeans.

Camelina has potential growth as an ideal feedstock because it’s a weed that grows in sub-optimum soil, doesn’t need water or fertilizer and produces seven times more oil than soybeans. In addition, the high Omega-3 by-product has been approved for use in poultry feed. In Pennsylvania, there are 200,000 acres of old strip mines that are ideal for growing the feedstock.

“We anticipate that we’ll be producing 20-25 percent of our biodiesel using the second-generation feedstock, camelina within the next 2-3 years,” said Kosar. “Unlike many other companies that are simply developing technology using second and third generation feedstocks to produce biofuels someday, we are profitably producing biofuels today.”

Formerly known as Lake Erie Biofuels, LLC, HERO BX started operations in 2007 and is Pennsylvania’s first large-scale biodiesel production facility. A fully accredited BQ-9000 producer and marketer of biodiesel, HERO BX is the leading producer of biodiesel in the United States and distributes its fuel around the world.

With the belief that quality biodiesel begins with quality process-technology design, HERO BX, strives to maintain the best technology and onsite laboratory facilities in the industry. In fact, their onsite laboratory for ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 testing guarantees the biodiesel we produce will surpass industry standards.

The company uses Desmet Ballestra-designed continuous-flow technology, which represents the vanguard in industry processing methods. The technology, capable of both transesterification and acid esterification, means the product produced is of the highest standard.

Currently, their multi-feedstock plant continuously produces more than 136,000 gallons of biodiesel per day — or 45 million gallons of biodiesel annually. The approximately $54 million plant was designed to strengthen national energy security and help grow the regional economy. The advantage HERO BX has over other facilities lies in their ability to produce biodiesel using multiple feedstocks, primarily from vegetable oils and waste oils.