The Owner Of Marathon Gas Stations Is Making Diesel From Soybeans

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The Owner Of Marathon Gas Stations Is Making Diesel From Soybeans

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The Owner Of Marathon Gas Stations Is Making Diesel From Soybeans

By Charles Krome

June 20, 2026 11:25 am EST

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Diesel engines continue to dominate the heavy-duty truck segment, but the fuel itself is not without its drawbacks – including higher prices than gasoline and higher emissions to boot. The good news is that diesel engines can operate on other fuels that come from non-petroleum sources, which can conceivably address both of those problems. That's the thinking behind the Marathon Petroleum Company's efforts to make biodiesel from soybean oil.

The strategy really took off in 2023, when Marathon Petroleum Corporation, owner of Marathon gas stations, teamed up with ADM — formerly Archer Daniels Midland and still a major player in the global agribusiness market. The result was the Green Bison Soybean Processing complex in Spiritwood, North Dakota, capable of handling 150,000 bushels of soybeans daily and delivering 600 million pounds of soybean oil each year. That's enough to create 75 million gallons of clean and renewable bio-diesel per year.

It's also worth noting that, overall, making soybean-based biodiesel comes with a positive energy balance: According to the Department of Energy's Alternative Fuel Data Center, each unit of petroleum energy used in the process provides 4.56 units of energy from the resulting soybean counterpart. As we'll discuss next, soybean-based diesel also greatly reduces most emissions compared to petroleum diesel, even as it provides nearly the same performance. It's no wonder soybeans are the No. 2 feedstock used for biofuel production in the United States, trailing only corn — although by a significant amount.

The pros and cons of soybean-based diesel

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Perhaps the biggest benefit of using diesel fuel made from soybean oil is that it burns much cleaner than the regular stuff. Looking at the big picture, a vehicle running on pure soybean diesel requires 95% less petroleum during its full life cycle while producing approximately 74% fewer overall emissions. And since soybeans are a renewable resource that can be grown here in the U.S., they help boost the country's energy security.

In terms of muscle and efficiency, well, biodiesels aren't quite as energy-dense as the real thing. A gallon has roughly 93% of the energy in a gallon of regular diesel, for example. That's not bad, but according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, there are further sources of biofuel worth exploring for yet more advantages. Consider cetane numbers, which are defined as "the fuel's propensity to auto-ignite predictably in a compression-ignition engine." The EIA says higher numbers are associated with better performance and fewer emissions, but soybean oil has the lowest cetane number of any biofuel source they have listed.

Moreover, some people believe that any benefits of green biofuels are countered by the risk of a global food crisis since land and food that could otherwise go to preventing world hunger go to making fuel instead. The Clean Fuels Alliance of America, though, relying on research from Purdue University, says this isn't a concern with soybeans. According to the organization, growing more soybeans for oil leaves more soy protein left over for farm animals, lowering the cost to feed them — and ultimately lowering many grocery costs as a result. Now, you have to consider the source here, but this does at least provide some food for thought.

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