Beatrice, Nebraska keeps popping up on our blog these days with noteworthy news mentions.

Companies such as Worldlawn Inc. and educational institutions like the Southeast Community College campus make this city (approximately forty miles south of Lincoln, for those in need of a geography brushup) a fantastic place to learn and nurture careers in manufacturing and other STEM-related careers. It’s a smaller city, with a population of about 12,000, but one that is absolutely growing and thriving.

’s report the other day only confirms this recent expansion, with the exciting and innovative addition of a technologically top-of-the line system in Beatrice. On May 7th, announced the very first use on a commercial scale of a brand new biodiesel technology, to be used in the Duonix, LLC. plant in Beatrice. Flint Hills Resources is a subindustry of Koch Industries, Inc. headquartered in Wichita, and is a leading refining, chemicals and biofuels company that produces gasoline, diesel, jetfuel, ethanol, and of course, biodiesel.

Why is biodiesel so important to produce? Well, the clean-burning and renewable diesel replacement will help the United States to reduce dependency on foreign petroleum imports. It’s a relatively new industry, with less than a decade of being produced on a commercial scale. Other benefits of the biodiesel industry include improving the environment through sustainable production practices and creating jobs in environmentally friendly situations.

In Nebraska, that’s one of the benefits of new technology in coordination with Benefuel Inc.: Biodiesel Magazine reports that approximately 45 new jobs will be created in the community due to this new outfit.

In May 2013, Flint Hills Resources introduced a joint venture with Benefuel, Inc., an alternative energy company focused on producing fuels and chemicals from non-food related fats and oils.

“Benefuel’s goal has always been to improve the profitability of biodiesel by reducing the operating costs to produce it,” said Rob Tripp, CEO of Benefuel to Biodiesel Magazine. “For more than six years, we have worked to develop a product we believe will improve the profitability of biodiesel, slow resource consumption and cut waste.”

The Beatrice plant will begin producing biodiesel from the new system in the summer of 2015; Benefuel’s Ensel Technology is unique in that it allows animal tallow, used vegetable oil, or unrefined oil to create extremely high-quality biodiesel. It’s just one step closer to escaping America’s reliance on nonrenewable resources, and this exciting development is continually happening here in Nebraska! Developing new jobs and transitioning to an eco-friendly and renewable resource base for diesel fuel is a great way to spend time and resources in Beatrice and across America.

To learn more about jobs in this exciting industry, of which there are plenty available, check out the page for Flint Hills Resources. Engineering, accounting, operations, logistics, sciences, and more are all potential careers in a dynamic field. Questions? Comments? Want to learn more about the biodiesel industry? Tweet us or reach out to us via our website!

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