Soy biodiesel gives bigger energy bang than ethanol

Ethanol from corn may get more headlines, but biodiesel from soybean oil may actually give more bang for the buck, say advocates of the biodiesel industry.

Those numbers say that for every unit of energy it takes to make biodiesel, there are 3.4 units of energy produced. The comparable efficiency factor for ethanol is about 1.6; for petroleum, only .88 units of energy come from each unit of energy invested.

Stroburg’s co-op is one of the largest in Iowa. It has 3,500 farmer owners, $400 million in annual sales, and handles 72 million bushels of grain a year. As a value-added venture, it invested in soybean processing facilities several years ago, and now has become the biggest marketer of soy-based biodiesel in the world.

agriculture