Billy Whitlock

Senior Manager of Technical Service Biofuels (Novozymes)

Topic: Distillers Corn Oil for Renewable Diesel

Summary:

A growing renewable diesel (RD) industry is contributing to a steady rise in vegetable oil prices due to increased feedstock demand. While distillers corn oil (DCO) has benefited indirectly from this trend, most DCO is not ideal for RD production as the metals content interferes with the production process. What will it take for DCO to become a more desirable feedstock for the RD industry? This presentation will cover basics of RD processing and explore factors that make an oil feedstock more technically, environmentally, and economically desirable for RD.  Additionally, it will detail common impurities in DCO, current methods to address them, and analytical methods used to assess and monitor the quality of DCO. Finally, information on a new enzyme application for reducing impurities in DCO will be presented.

Bio: Billy Whitlock is a Senior Technical Service Manager at Novozymes.  He obtained a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan in 2005 and started his career in biofuels at the National Corn to Ethanol Research Center.  Billy joined Novozymes in 2006 where he has worked as a technical service representative for ethanol producers across the US and as a scientist in R&D product development focusing on the application of new liquefaction enzyme products.  He is currently a manager of the Novozymes Technical Service Biofuels team.   Billy is passionate about biofuels and renewable energy and hopes to someday make good on his younger self’s goal to “save the planet”.    He lives with his wife, daughter, and dog near Denver, Colorado.