The farmers who formed the board of Minnesota Soybean Processors (MnSP) in Brewster in 1999 immediately joined an effort to convince the Minnesota legislature to support a new, greener form of fuel called biodiesel. It’s now a 63-million gallon a year industry in the state.
MnSP is a cooperative owned by 2,400 farmer-members. It has the capacity to crush more than 100,000 bushels of soybeans and produce 100,000 gallons of biodiesel each day.
In addition to AURI’s initial work with MnSP on biodiesel, AURI recently performed a feasibility study looking at a potential glycerin refinery for the co-op. Currently the MnSP sells its crude glycerin, a byproduct of biodiesel production, as an animal feed additive, or ships it to refineries in Chicago to process it for use in dozens of products.
