BioCat Fuels
16300 Valley Drive
Andover, MN 55304
763- 331-0958

What is BioCat Fuels?  Why was it formed?

BioCat Fuels was organized in May 2008 to build biodiesel production plants using the Mcgyan process, a highly flexible, innovative technology developed by a group of Minnesota scientists. The process allows BioCat to turn a variety of non-food plant and animal oils into biodiesel. McNeff Research Consultants (MRC) has licensed this technology to BioCat Fuels for use in new biodiesel production plants.

BioCat’s president/CEO, Ric Larson, was a banker for 24 years prior to founding BioCat Fuels. Larson’s expertise in business and finance combined with MRC’s expertise in biodiesel technology gives the new company a firm foundation to grow quickly and to contribute to America’s energy independence.

How are the BioCat plants being financed?

Capital Strategy: BioCat intends to build its initial plants using a combination of debt and equity. There may be a point in BioCat's future where taking the company public is a preferable option, although there is no guarantee that this will occur.

Are there investment opportunities for me?

There should be opportunities for BioCat’s initial plants. Offerings will be published when BioCat determines the need for funds.

Will you ever go public?

BioCat is open to that possibility, however that decision would likely not be made until we have several plants operating successfully and profitably.

What is biodiesel?  How is it used?

Biodiesel is a clean burning fuel made from renewable feedstocks -- fat or vegetable oil, not petroleum. It can be mixed with petroleum diesel to create a blend that works in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. It is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.

Is biodiesel energy efficient?

• Has the highest energy content of any alternative fuel.
• Creates 3.2 times the energy needed to collect and make it, while petroleum
• diesel fuel creates less energy than it takes to process it.
• Is the safest fuel to use, handle and store. It’s bio-degradable if spilled on the
  ground and can be used for a parts or hand cleaner to remove oils.
• Operates in conventional engines.
• Does not require special storage.
• Cuts emissions and burns cleaner in diesel fleets.
• Has less offensive exhaust than diesel.
• Has similar fuel economy, horsepower and torque to petroleum diesel.
• Reduces compounds linked to cancer by 80-90 percent.
• Only alternative fuel to fully complete health effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act.
• Has a full ASTM standard (American Society of Testing and Materials) to protect consumers.
• Ranks well in terms of the cost of other alternative fuels.
• Improves domestic energy security.
• Is available nationwide.

Source: National Biodiesel Board, U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Is biodiesel driving up the cost of my food?

The BioCat plants will use byproducts of other processes and products that are not used as foods. (See feedstock list.) BioCat is committed to energy independence through the use of non-food grade feedstocks.

What is the Mcgyan process?  Why is it different from other biodiesel production processes?

The Mcgyan process is a continuous catalytic process that takes only seconds to convert oil to biodiesel.  It has no waste byproducts and is a closed system with no emissions.  

The Mcgyan Process, named for its inventors (Clayton McNeff, Arlin Gyberg and Bingwen Yan), turns triglycerides and free fatty acids into biodiesel. It all started in 2006 when Augsburg College student, Brian Krohn, wanted to research making biodiesel from waste cooking oil. After Krohn’s initial research failed, he and his advisor, Arlin Gyberg, met with Clayton McNeff (HOT LINK), vice president of research at SarTec and one of the world’s experts on zirconia, the metal oxide of zirconium. McNeff calls zirconium “a catalyst that can speed up chemical processes by thousands of times.” Krohn, Gyberg, McNeff and SarTec scientist Bingwen Yan collaborated to develop the fast, flexible and efficient biodiesel production process now known as the Mcgyan process. It will be used for large scale production for the first time when the Ever Cat plant in Isanti, Minnesota, is operational in Fall 2008.

The Mcgyan Process is BETTER than current biodiesel production technologies because Mcgyan….

• Does not consume the catalyst, reducing the high cost of replacement.
• Does not use large amounts of water. Traditional biodiesel processes use huge amounts of water.
  Does not produce the waste products that traditional biodiesel plants have.
• Reactors and related equipment are smaller small and simpler than traditional biodiesel,
  requiring requires much less space.
• Does not use large quantities of strong acids or bases. Traditional plants must use these to
  neutralize their batch processes.
  Is not affected by water, while the traditional biodiesel process must remove all water.
• Can use 100 percent fatty acids while traditional plants (without expensive pre-processing
  equipment) cannot process oils with much more than 1- 2 percent fatty acid. 
  Almost all of the oils on the feedstock list have fatty acid contents well above two percent.
• Converts free fatty acids to biodiesel.
• Allows faster conversion – minutes rather than hours. The traditional biodiesel process
  is a batch process which requires hours of processing per batch.

What will BioCat’s biodiesel be made from?

What is the demand for biodiesel in relation to the supply?

In 2008 there were well over 400 million gallons of biodiesel produced the U.S. With increased costs of traditional feedstocks like soy oil and poultry fat, over 100 biodiesel plants have closed their doors, these range from small 3 million gallon per year plants to 100 million gallon plants. 2009 production will be greatly reduced but the demand is still there and growing. As stated in the news release, states are increasing and adding mandates for biodiesel usage to the point if you add up the mandates and incentives like Illinois, the demand will be greater than the supply for the foreseeable future. For additional support, the federal government issues a Renewable Fuels Standard for biodiesel that mandates usage in future years. It is estimated that the mandate for 2010 will be much more than actual production. This means that oil refiners, distributors, and blenders must purchase an allocation of biodiesel or biodiesel credits. This creates even more demand for what will be a limited supply.

How can I keep updated about BioCat and its progress?

Sign up for the BioCat e-newsletter by (click here).