Operator Chad Blasi checks on the mechanics at the CHS refi nery at Laurel, Mont. While crude oil is further refi ned into gasoline and diesel fuel, byproducts are created. Crude A t the CHS refi nery in Laurel, Mont., Operations Supervisor Darin Foote explains how the materials inside the fl uid catalytic cracker reach temperatures of more than 900 degrees Fahrenheit, causing heat to radiate from the reactor. It’s in this unit that the heavier parts of crude oil start their path to becoming lighter petroleum products, like gasoline and diesel. A quarter-mile away, the product has continued its journey through the refi nery at the coker. Here, the long-chain hydrocarbon molecules in the crude are broken down into short-chain molecules. Operator Chad Blasi sits nearly 200 feet o the ground at the top of the coker, while operator Lexi White uses a front-end loader in the coker pit to separate hot petroleum By Sarah Haugen coke — one of a number of byproducts created when crude is turned into fuel — from water and load it into a railcar loading system. At the two CHS refi neries in McPherson, Kan., and Laurel, scenes like these run around the clock to turn crude oil into diesel fuel for farmers. From planting crops to harvesting and bringing products to market, agriculture relies on diesel engines. That thirst for diesel fuel covers every kind of equipment from the farm to the consumer. More than two-thirds of all farm equipment is powered by diesel engines. Ninety-six percent of the trucks that move agricultural commodities run on diesel. And almost every train and ship that takes crops to market and returns with next season’s inputs depends on diesel power. > Your CHS Connection 7