Oceanic Institute joins local partners in Biodiesel from Fuel Crops in Hawaii project

Oceanic Institute, an affiliate of Hawai‘i Pacific University, is participating with several local partners to explore the uses of existing crops grown in Hawaii and their possible application for biodiesel.

Funded by a U.S. EPA $100,000 clean-air grant to Honolulu Clean Cities, Oceanic Institute’s role will be to explore the possibilities of converting the byproducts of biofuels production into animal feeds.

“The potential to produce a high value animal feed from the byproducts of biofuels production using local crops is very exciting,” said Bruce Anderson, President of Oceanic Institute. 

“If successful, this research and the development of feeds from biofuels byproducts will add value to any crop grown to produce biodiesel.  Feeds are the largest single cost in most animal production facilities.  If we can use products grown in Hawaii to produce low cost feeds, it may substantially reduce costs to the farmer of importing feeds into Hawaii.  In addition, it will reduce or eliminate the amount of materials that would otherwise go to a landfill or be plowed into fields,” said Anderson.

Under the leadership of the U.S. EPA’s West Coast Collaborative Campaign, Honolulu Clean Cities is directing the “Biodiesel from Fuel Crops in Hawaii” project, which includes Pacific Biodiesel, Aloha Green, University of Hawaii-Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, and Grace Pacific. Oceanic Institute houses the equipment to be used to crush and extrude oils from the seeds, producing what is hoped to be the oils that will used for biodiesel production.  Converting the byproducts into animal feeds will add value and reduce the amount of waste material generated in the process.

Oceanic Institute is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to research, development and transfer of oceanographic, marine environmental, and aquaculture technologies. The largest marine aquaculture research institution in the U.S., Oceanic Institute is a world leader in conducting applied research in aquaculture production and marine resource conservation. Oceanic Institute is affiliated with Hawai‘i Pacific University, Hawai‘i’s largest private university.