Dickinson Oil Refinery Converted To Renewable Diesel Plant -- Bismarck Tribune -- July 22, 2021

I can't recall if I posted this story earlier.

Marathon Petroleum has converted its Dickinson Refinery into a plant that turns soybean and corn oil into renewable diesel, and soon the facility will run in part on wind power.

Plans to convert the refinery west of Dickinson have been in the works for years after it opened in 2015 and struggled financially. The facility stopped processing oil in April 2020. The transition took place a few months earlier than planned after the coronavirus pandemic hit and caused demand to fall for motor fuels made at the refinery.

Heat and hydrogen are used to process soybean and corn oil into renewable diesel. The fuel differs from biodiesel, which usually made from vegetable oils but is blended into petroleum diesel for use in certain vehicles. Biodiesel can gel up inside a vehicle when the temperature drops in winter, so it tends to make up a smaller fraction of the fuel into which it’s blended.

Renewable diesel, on the other hand, flows well even when it’s cold and can be used alone in diesel engines, though it too is often blended.

The Dickinson plant began producing renewable diesel late last year and has ramped up to its full capacity in recent weeks. It has the ability to produce 12,000 barrels per day of the biofuel.

California is the primary consumer of renewable diesel in the United States. To get its oil there, Marathon is shipping fuel from the Dickinson facility to the West Coast via train. It’s then loaded onto ships that take it south.

Much more at the link. Incredible photo at the link. Original article by Amy R. Sisk, May 18, 2021.

This refinery conversion was also mentioned in US News back on August 27, 2020.

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