National Biodiesel Board 

605 Clark Avenue 

P O Box 104898 

Jefferson City, MO 65110-4898 

(573) 635-3893 phone 

(800) 841-5849 

(573) 635-7913 fax 

www.biodiesel.org

Comprehensive Survey on Energy Use for Biodiesel Production 

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has conducted the most comprehensive survey of the actual energy 

used by commercial biodiesel production plants in the world and is releasing the data for public use. 

These numbers represent the most accurate depiction of the energy used to produce biodiesel. This data 

should replace all existing data in lifecycle energy and greenhouse gas models for better simulating the 

lifecycle analysis of biodiesel, including those used by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the 

California Air Resources Board for the recently released rulemakings. These numbers represent total 

energy used at biodiesel production plants. No subtraction from total energy use has been made for coproduct generation, such as glycerin. 

The average energy used to produce a gallon of biodiesel from virgin vegetable oils is 3,184 BTUs. 

Energy use among plants that use blends of virgin oil and recycled or reclaimed fats and oils varies, as 

does the composition of these feedstocks. Taking into account all of these variations, the overall industry 

average for all feedstocks and all production technologies is 4,192 BTUs per gallon of biodiesel. 

 

 Virgin Oils Industry Average 

 

(Soy & 

Canola) (including all feedstocks) 

Inputs per gal biodiesel Units 

Electricity 0.12 0.19 KWh (3,413 BTU/KWh) 

Natural Gas 2.69 3.45 SCF (1,027 BTU/SCF) 

total energy 3,184 4,192 BTU/gal 

The NBB is the trade association for the US biodiesel industry. Responding to requests for this data from 

academic institutions and government agencies, such as the US Department of Agriculture, NBB 

developed a survey that was sent to NBB’s entire membership, including 230 biodiesel producing 

companies. To design a survey instrument capable of accurately capturing the most relevant data, NBB 

sought input from organizations such as Argonne National Laboratories, developer of the GREET 

lifecycle analysis model. 

The survey form used to collect this data is provided at the end of this document. Survey data was 

returned to NBB on the attached form via email. Each survey was reviewed by NBB’s Professional 

Engineer. When necessary, clarifying questions were asked of the producers via phone or email to verify 

that all the data was reported consistently, and that the data accurately represent the actual energy used to 

produce the reported volume for each plant. 

The data reported here were weighted against actual 2008 production volumes. Maximum plant capacity 

remains larger than current production rates. When weighted against plant capacity rather than actual 

production, the weighted averages were not statistically different. Weighting by actual plant production 

provides the most accurate representation of real-world production and provides a realistic estimate of 

energy use that can be expected as existing plants increase production volume. New plants and new 

technology implemented at existing plants can be expected to improve energy efficiency, just as has been 

demonstrated in recent years. No estimates for future energy improvements are included in this analysis. 

 

2008 was a record year for the volume of biodiesel production in the US, reaching nearly 700 million 

gallons. The survey data returned by US producers represents 37% of that record volume. This is the 
first survey of actual data ever representing such a substantial volume of biodiesel production. This data 

represent an excellent cross section of biodiesel plant size, biodiesel production technologies, and 

biodiesel feedstocks. Equal portions of the survey pool use multi-feedstocks as the number of plants 

dedicated to virgin oil or recycled oil and animal fat. 

Data was analyzed within the general categories reported here to determine whether correlations could be 

made between individual feedstock types and energy use. Very little variation was found between plants 

that used virgin oils. Canola and soybean oil required similar energy inputs. Only slight differences in 

overall averages were noted between crude, degummed, or refined vegetable oils. More variation was 

noted among producers using animal fats and recycled oils. 

Most biodiesel producers use a combination of electricity and natural gas. Some small producers use only 

electricity, and several producers reported using alternative sources of energy such as used motor oil or 

biodiesel. When converted to common units of energy, such a British Thermal Units (BTU), these 

producers using alternate sources consumed similar amounts of total energy as the industry average. 

Electricity use for blended feedstocks reached as high as 0.9 kilowatt-hours per gallon of biodiesel for a 

single producer. Natural gas usage for recycled oil reached as high as 12 standard cubic feet per gallon of 

biodiesel for a single producer. These extreme examples represent the maximum energy use reported in 

the survey, and do not represent typical production. 

One obstacle to acquiring this type of process-specific data is the reluctance of private companies to 

reveal trade secrets in a highly competitive market. Previous estimates of the energy used during biodiesel 

production had to rely on process modeling and data from a very small number of plants using older 

technology. The results reported from this survey include no modeling. The results provided here 

represent actual energy consumption measured at operating biodiesel facilities. 

In addition to raw energy consumption data, NBB requested information on the quantity of material 

inputs and outputs, so that data would be available for complete lifecycle analysis. The table below 

summarizes the industry averages per gallon of biodiesel. 

 Virgin Oils Industry Average 

Inputs per gal biodiesel (Soy & Canola) (including all feedstocks) 

 Units 

Feedstock 7.3285 7.7834 Lbs 

Methanol 0.6735 0.7208 Lbs 

Sodium Methylate 0.1712 0.1832 Lbs 

Sodium Hydroxide 0.0072 0.0073 Lbs 

Potassium Hydroxide 0.0000 0.0005 Lbs 

Hydrochloric Acid 0.3214 0.2088 Lbs 

Sulfuric Acid 0.0000 0.0010 Lbs 

Phosphoric Acid 0.0047 0.0025 Lbs 

Citric Acid 0.0054 0.0027 Lbs 

Outputs 

Glycerin 0.8881 0.9075 Lbs 

Fatty Acids 0.0153 0.0340 Lbs 

June 20, 2009 

Sample Survey Sent to NBB Members 
A life cycle assessment addresses the environmental aspects and potential environmental 

impacts throughout a product’s life cycle from raw material acquisition through production, use, 

end-of-life-treatment, recycling and disposal. A life cycle assessment is also often referred to as 

a cradle-to-grave analysis. It is a process by which the greenhouse gas potential, emissions and 

energy consumption of product inputs and production processes are weighed against the 

greenhouse gas, emissions and energy consumption benefits of the finished products. 

Life Cycle Stages 

Raw Materials Acquisition

Manufacturing, Processing, 

and Formulation

Distribution and 

Transportation

Use/Re-use/Maintenance

Recycle

Waste Management

Energy

Raw Materials

Water 

Effluents

Airborne 

Emissions

Solid 

Wastes

Other 

Environmental 

Release

Other 

Systems

Product

Flow

Other 

Systems

Product

Flow

System Boundaries

Raw Materials Acquisition

Manufacturing, Processing, 

and Formulation

Distribution and 

Transportation

Use/Re-use/Maintenance

Recycle

Waste Management

Energy

Raw Materials

Water 

Effluents

Airborne 

Emissions

Solid 

Wastes

Other 

Environmental 

Release

Other 

Systems

Product

Flow

Other 

Systems

Product

Flow

System Boundaries
Notes 

Total Production Quantity Gallons/Year 

 

Feedstock 

 

Inputs 

Quantity 

Used/Gallon of 

Biodiesel Units 

Feedstock Pounds 

Methanol Pounds 

Ethanol Pounds 

Sodium Methylate Pounds 

Other: Pounds 

Other: Pounds 

 

Sodium Hydroxide Pounds 

Potassium Hydroxide Pounds 

Other: Pounds 

Other: Pounds 

Hydrochloric Acid Pounds 

Sulfuric Acid Pounds 

Phosphoric Acid Pounds 

Citric Acid Pounds 

Other: Pounds 

Other: Pounds 

Purchased Energy 

Electricity Kwh 

Coal Pounds 

Natural gas SCF 

Diesel Gallons 

Fuel Oil Gallons 

Other: 

Other: 

Water Usage Gallons 

Other Outputs 

Glycerin 

Quantity 

Produced/Gallon of 

Biodiesel Units 

Fatty Acids Pounds 

Other: Pounds 

Other: 

Waste water discharge 

 

 Gallons