US biodiesel production down 4M gallons in September, white grease consumption soars

U.S. biodiesel production topped off at 159 million gallons in September, down 4 million gallons from August, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Midwestern production accounted for 72 percent of the U.S. total. Eighty-eight biodiesel plants with a total annual productive capacity of 2.5 billion gallons were responsible for the September volumes, according to EIA.

Producer sales of biodiesel in September included 69 million gallons sold as B100 and another 96 million gallons of B100 sold in blends with petroleum diesel fuel.

Slightly more than 1.2 billion pounds of feedstocks were consumed for U.S. biodiesel production in September, including 737 million pounds of soybean oil (61 percent), down from 745 million pounds last month; 136 million pounds of distillers corn oil (11 percent), down from 148 million pounds in August; 27 million pounds of tallow (2 percent), down from 44 million pounds in August and 54 million pounds in July; 73 million pounds of white grease (6 percent), up from 55 million pounds in August and the largest amount consumed in U.S. biodiesel manufacturing in years; and 85 million pounds of yellow grease (7 percent), the highest amount consumed for biodiesel since March, when U.S. restaurants began closing indoor dining due to the coronavirus pandemic.