Camelina Given Advanced Biofuel Nod

WASHINGTON - Feb 26/13 - SNS -- Camelina has been approved as an advanced biofuel feedstock by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which administers the country's biofuel usage mandates.

Commenting on the decision, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) vice president Anne Steckel said, "This decision adds to the growing list of biodiesel feedstocks that meet the EPA's standards for Advanced Biofuel and gives us yet another option for producing sustainable, domestic biodiesel."

The RFS requires a 50% greenhouse-gas emissions reduction for qualifying Biomass-based Diesel or Advanced Biofuel. Assessing whether a fuel pathway meets that threshold requires a comprehensive evaluation of the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of the renewable fuel as compared to the lifecycle emissions of the gasoline or diesel fuel that it replaces. Already, a handful of biodiesel feedstocks such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats qualify as Advanced under the program.

The EPA rule on camelina, released Friday, can be found on EPA's website: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/regulations.htm

Made from an increasingly diverse mix of agricultural oils, animal fats and recycled cooking oil, biodiesel is the first and only commercial-scale fuel produced across the country to meet the EPA's definition as an Advanced Biofuel - meaning the agency has determined it reduces greenhouse gases by at least 50% compared with the petroleum alternative.

The EPA has ruled that biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 57% to 86%, depending on the feedstock used. It is produced in nearly every state in the country and supported more than 64,000 jobs nationwide in 2012, according to a recent economic study. It is a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement that meets a strict fuel specification and can be used in existing diesel engines without modification.