Calumet receives 1st batch of canola oil feedstock in Great Falls, Montana

Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 19 in at the company’s refinery in Great Falls to celebrate the first delivery of feedstock, signifying the launch of a new era of renewable diesel production at the site soon to come.

The company is planning to convert part of the oil refinery to initially produce up to 77 million gallons a year of renewable diesel by the second quarter of next year. Calumet also has plans to expand beyond that, as well as to install a feedstock pretreatment unit to allow greater flexibility in which feedstock the biorefinery can process.

The company’s press release did not specify which feedstock the plant received, but a representative of Calumet told Biobased Diesel Daily that one railcar of canola oil from Montana Specialty Mills was delivered and will be used for testing.

“We do not yet have long-term feedstock agreements in place but that is something we are working on presently,” the representative said.