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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Biofuels Processing Technicians?
Task-level automation exposure for Biofuels Processing Technicians: 19 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
28%
weighted task index
19 of 19 tasks scored
Median Salary
$62,470 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
14,080 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+2.3%
employment change
1,200 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 45 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$38,850 – $120,660
Highest medians
Massachusetts $120,660
Washington $88,730
Minnesota $88,290
Maryland $81,890
Montana $81,340
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $38,850
Georgia $44,670
Arkansas $46,020
Nebraska $48,220
Texas $50,820
State figures come from the 51-8099 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 28%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 57%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 20%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 17%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 52/100
High
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
19 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 12%
2 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 22%
4 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 66%
13 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#17830 · Core · 38% automatable
Monitor batch, continuous flow, or hybrid biofuels production processes.
data analysis — Process data monitoring aided, but plant oversight is human
Monitor biofuel production operations.
#17821 · Core · 17% automatable
Operate valves, pumps, engines, or generators to control and adjust biofuels production.
physical manipulation — Hands-on biofuel plant equipment operation
Operate pumping systems or equipment. Operate biomass or biofuel production equipment.
#17828 · Core · 60% automatable
Monitor and record biofuels processing data.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Monitor biofuel production operations. Record operational or production data.
#17825 · Core · 27% automatable
Collect biofuels samples and perform routine laboratory tests or analyses to assess biofuels quality.
visual inspection — Material quality often needs hands-on or visual inspection
Evaluate quality of materials or products. Collect samples of materials or products for testing.
#17820 · Core · 18% automatable
Operate equipment, such as a centrifuge, to extract biofuels products and secondary by-products or reusable fractions.
physical manipulation — Hands-on biofuel plant equipment operation
Operate biomass or biofuel production equipment.
#17822 · Core · 8% automatable
Process refined feedstock with additives in fermentation or reaction process vessels.
physical manipulation — Hands-on handling of biological feedstock, unpredictable materials
Prepare biological feedstock for physical, chemical, or biological processing.
#17819 · Core · 18% automatable
Operate chemical processing equipment for the production of biofuels.
physical manipulation — Hands-on biofuel plant equipment operation
Operate biomass or biofuel production equipment.
#17829 · Core · 60% automatable
Monitor and record flow meter performance.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Monitor biofuel production operations. Record operational or production data.
#17826 · Core · 54% automatable
Inspect biofuels plant or processing equipment regularly, recording or reporting damage and mechanical problems.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Inspect sustainable energy production facilities or equipment. Record operational or production data. Notify others of equipment repair or maintenance needs.
#17827 · Core · 22% automatable
Measure and monitor raw biofuels feedstock.
physical manipulation — Physical tank/level gauging in plant
Measure stock or liquid levels in sustainable fuel production systems.
#17832 · Core · 8% automatable
Preprocess feedstock in preparation for physical, chemical, or biological fuel production processes.
physical manipulation — Hands-on handling of biological feedstock, unpredictable materials
Prepare biological feedstock for physical, chemical, or biological processing.
#17818 · Core · 31% automatable
Calculate, measure, load, or mix refined feedstock used in biofuels production.
data analysis — Production requirement calc; human validates inputs
Measure ingredients or substances to be used in production processes. Calculate specific material, equipment, or labor requirements for production. Load materials into production equipment.
#17831 · Core · 38% automatable
Monitor stored biofuels products or secondary by-products until reused or transferred to users.
data analysis — Process data monitoring aided, but plant oversight is human
Monitor biofuel production operations.
#17823 · Core · 45% automatable
Assess the quality of biofuels additives for reprocessing.
visual inspection — Material quality often needs hands-on or visual inspection
Evaluate quality of materials or products.
#17833 · Core · 5% automatable
Clean biofuels processing work area, ensuring compliance with safety regulations.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of work areas
Clean work areas.
#17835 · Core · 8% automatable
Perform routine maintenance on mechanical, electrical, or electronic equipment or instruments used in the processing of biofuels.
physical manipulation — Hands-on sustainable energy equipment maintenance
Maintain sustainable energy production equipment.
#17824 · Core · 15% automatable
Calibrate liquid flow devices and meters, including fuel, chemical, and water meters.
physical manipulation — Hands-on adjustment of liquid flow controls
Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of water, cleaning solutions, or other liquids.
#17836 · Core · 9% automatable
Rebuild, repair, or replace biofuels processing equipment components.
physical manipulation — Hands-on removal and fitting of worn components
Replace worn equipment components. Maintain sustainable energy production equipment.
#17834 · Supplemental · 30% automatable
Coordinate raw product sourcing or collection.
interpersonal — Directing production operations is human supervisory authority
Direct operational or production activities.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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