May 2, 2008

Seaboard uses pork fat for biodiesel production
 

High Plains Bioenergy, a joint venture between Seaboard Foods and Musket Corporation, is using pork fat to produce biodiesel at its newly opened plant at Guymon, Oklahoma.

Pork fat, a low-value byproduct of Seaboard's Guymon processing facility, is efficient as a biodiesel source as one gallon of pork fat is able to produce an equivalent amount of biodiesel, according to High Plains.

The US$40 million Guymon biodiesel plant is the result of a Seaboard experiment of adding value to pork fat, said Rod Brenneman, president of Seaboard Foods.

Brenneman added that the partnership with Musket Corporation is necessary as they lack experience in marketing and distribution, whereas Musket is successful at those areas.

Seaboard Foods is a subsidiary of Seaboard Corporation, a diversified conglomerate that operates a number of agriculture and ocean transport business worldwide, though it concentrates on pork production and processing in the US.

High Plains Bioenergy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Seaboard Foods, creates sustainable energy solutions by developing renewable energy from the Seaboard Foods integrated system.