Camelina sativa: For Biofuels and Bioproducts - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 166

Market Challenges/Barriers to Commercialization/
Opportunities
Barriers to the wide-scale adoption of camelina as a biofuel feedstock come from a
variety of factors. Camelina sativa is related to weedy species that are recognizable
to farmers. This might contribute to their reluctance towards planting large swaths
of land with camelina. This can be overcome through education and awareness, as
camelina is not very competitive as a weed species and volunteer camelina can be
easily controlled with available herbicides.
The lack of an open market for camelina may dissuade some potential producers.
Farmers operating outside of certain areas where contract camelina growing oper-
ations exist may have trouble selling excess product, as it is not certified for human
consumption.
The main opportunity for camelina production exists in the on-farm production of
biofuels. This eliminates the need for an open market, as local consumption is not
subject to certification in the same way as biodiesel producers looking to sell to large
blenders. Local camelina production is an opportunity for farmers to offset their costs
in two ways. The first is through the utilization of the camelina oil as a diesel
substitute that will offset the annual consumption of diesel fuel. The second is by
utilization of leftover seed meal, or press cake, to offset consumption of animal feed.
Camelina-derived diesel fuel can be utilized directly without any fuel processing.
This is known as straight vegetable oil (SVO). The SVO can be directly burned in an
engine that has been modified with tank heaters to increase the viscosity of the fuel, or
else, it can be blended with diesel fuel and used in an unmodified engine.
Local production of camelina is dependent on collaboration between producers.
A possible model for the production of camelina-based fuel involves a community-
funded crushing facility that is shared between several producers. The meal and
camelina oil can be distributed among the producers along with the costs. Currently,
there are locally sourced crushing facilities in three locations in Colorado. These are
in Rocky Ford, Burlington, and Costilla County, Colorado [ 32 ].
More advanced producers will take advantage of the specialized oil profile of
camelina and produce with the intention of selling the components of the oil such as
linolenic and linoleic fatty acids, which has a higher value than vegetable oil for use as
diesel fuel alternatives. Selling the components of the camelina oil is a way to increase
production when fuel prices are low and ensure profits during low yielding years.
References
1. Zubr J. Oil-seed crop: Camelina sativa . Ind Crops Prod. 1997;6(2):113-9.
2. Frohlich A, Rice B. Evaluation of Camelina sativa oil as a feedstock for biodiesel production.
Ind Crops Prod. 2005;21:25-31.
3. Enjalbert JN, Johnson JJ. Guide for producing dryland camelina in Eastern Colorado. Colorado
State University extension factsheet no. 0.709. 2011. http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/crops/
00709.pdf . Accessed 26 June 2013.