Adkins Energy gets $500,000 grant to build its biodiesel plant

In Illinois, Adkins Energy LLC has been awarded a $500,000 Rural Energy for America Program grant to begin construction on a $4.5 million biodiesel plant on the east side of its Lena, Ill., campus. The 2 MMgy facility is expected to begin production in spring 2014.

Adkins Ethanol currently produces about 1.5 million gallons of distillers corn oil a year, which is sold either into the biodiesel production market or as a supplement to the animal feed market. Adkins will use this feedstock to produce the biodiesel in its facility, a process that will be fully integrated into existing ethanol operations, creating significant operating efficiencies in the production of biodiesel. WB Services of Kansas is partnering with Adkins to create this first-of-its-kind integrative project.