Camelina researchers on cutting edge of biofuel, nutraceutical, livestock possibilities

The four partners of Clearwater Biologicals are working to turn a crop popular in the Bronze Age into a 21st-century source of fuel and nutrients — and they are beginning the process here in the Flathead Valley.

Duane Johnson, Jim Coolidge, Tim Birk and Bob Henneman built the only camelina processing plant in the United States on U.S. 2 a few miles south of Glacier International Airport about a year and a half ago, hoping to turn Montana into a new hotspot for a crop that has long been considered not much more than a weed.

“By fortunate accident, we are the perfect climate for it,” Johnson said of Montana’s prospects for camelina growth. “We had 5,000 acres in production in Minnesota this year, and it was a dismal failure.”

About 3,000 acres of camelina were planted in the valley this year, keeping the Clearwater Biologicals plant running since it opened. Johnson said production will cease at the plant within the next few months, though, until the 2013 summer harvest, as its camelina supply for this year has run out.

The 20,000-square-foot facility operates two presses that can process five tons of seed in 24 hours. This yields 190 gallons of oil per day and six tons of meal.

They would like to have enough camelina to have four employees running the plant, however, Coolidge and Johnson are able to do all the work there currently. The plant has been busy since it opened until things slowed down in September this year. Currently it is only processing specialty orders, mostly for local people buying the meal for livestock.  

Twenty-five percent of the oil extracted from camelina is good for cosmetics, omega-3 food supplements and pet food, Johnson said. The rest of the oil works well as a clean-burning biofuel. The camelina protein meal creates a high grade livestock feed; Johnson said the Food and Drug Administration has approved it for poultry, beef and swine.

While Johnson emphasizes the fuels aspect, Coolidge’s passion is for the health and sustainability benefits that the camelina yields. Its nutraceutical properties are found in the omega-3 extraction, a fatty acid often harvested from coldwater fish for supplements. Coolidge said this is not a sustainable model, as harvesting of the fish and the krill on which whales feed is having an adverse impact on the ocean’s food chain.

“What we have with camelina is a crop that can be planted every year and it can be planted on ground that is not being utilized,” he said. “We can plant it on fallow lands, which brings economic value to the farmer.”

Coolidge also values what camelina could bring to the Montana ranching economy, as the high-quality meal helps livestock better endure Montana’s harsh winters.

Clearwater Biologicals doesn’t have a research and development laboratory at this point. That would come, Johnson said, as it looks to build a much bigger plant at an as-yet undetermined location on the east side of the state. Johnson said the new plant would cost $2 million to $2.5 million; the investment in the current plant was about $500,000.

With a larger processing facility, Clearwater Biologicals could do things such as fill military contracts for biofuel. Johnson said the planned plant would process 30 tons per day. They’ll need at least 20,000 acres in camelina production in the state to keep the presses running.

Johnson said there are good reasons Montana farmers should consider converting some of their land to camelina production. Montana’s climate, especially on the east side of the state, is good for the crop, which doesn’t like too much rain but thrives in summers that are not too hot.

“It doesn’t seem to care about the soil it grows on,” he said. “The only diseases it gets are with high moisture conditions. Eastern Montana is generally not in that category; you rarely see disease there.”

Though the money a farmer receives per bushel might not compare to wheat, Johnson said that is misleading.

“It costs three times as much to grow wheat as it does camelina,” he said. “The seed is cheaper, you use one third of the fertilizer and you don’t need insecticides. The deer and insects won’t eat it, they don’t like the taste of it. And there’s no irrigation required.”

With enough acreage in production, Johnson said the plant could guarantee enough production to fill military contracts.

“We are just getting our feet wet in marketing to the military,” he said. “They’re very excited about our product.”

Johnson was recently in Washington, D.C., where he met with Navy and Air Force representatives. The Air Force was impressed by the fact that the camelina biofuel is 7 percent lighter in weight than conventional jet fuel. Studies have shown camelina-based jet fuel reduces net carbon emissions by about 80 percent. Also, camelina biofuel flames coming from the afterburners are blue rather than orange, which means that the engine is running cooler.

“That can extend the life of an engine by 20 percent,” Johnson said.

Johnson said interest in camelina as a biofuel is growing worldwide, with interests in Russia, China and Australia taking it seriously as a future fuel source. He is part of a coalition promoting biofuels in Washington, D.C., among whom there is concern that America’s Renewable Fuel Standard will be eliminated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  

Even so, Coolidge believes camelina presents other options for economic success.

“I am confident this will be a viable industry if any of the prongs of the fork work ... omega-3s, fuel, meal for animals,” he said. “There are any number of things that can be done.

“The products of the seed can go in many different directions, which I’d love to see stay here in Montana. At my age I probably won’t see long-term benefits, but my children and grandchildren will.”

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.