I'm currently writing a post- zombie-apocalypse story, where Average Joe and his group have outlived the zombies, and wants to be a large settlement. They quickly agree to be industrial and manufacturer a product to use, and trade with other camps/settlements, around the Midwest. Joe, being the smart guy he is, has thought about turning soybeans into bio-diesel, to be used in generators, cars, trucks, ships and maybe even trains and jet-planes.
They have planned to make 100,000 gallons of bio-diesel per year, but does he (and his group) have the capability to do so? and if not, what then? Here thinking about other alternatives or a smaller amount of bio-diesel.
Some information on the different things:
Joe's group are a large mix-mash of different people, approximately 100 people, including approximately 25 farmers.
Joe and his group can build a facility, that doesn't required advance manufacturing/wielding skills.
They have access to a public library, stocked with books.
They are located in Ohio, U.S., to be more precise, the city of Defiance.
It has been 1-2 years since the zombie outbreak. I haven't decided precisely when, but it is around that time.