Biodiesel: or Your fries

give me gas
Who are we?
Jill Parlee
Handel Callender
Objectives of this
workshop
What is biodiesel
The components of biodiesel production
What equipment is required
Fitting it all together
Operating the business
How it is done in Barbados
Discover the feasibility of a business in Dominica
Some of the social, economic and environmental benefits
What is Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is fuel from
vegetable oil
The diesel engine was
invented in 1895, and ran
on peanut oil for 10 years
Biodiesel can be made
from either new oil or
used (waste cooking oil)
Sources of feedstock
Restaurants
Hotels
Snackettes
School cafeterias
Cruiseships
You can also grow your
own fuel.
Dominica has a range of
oil crops, coconut being
the most popular
Coconut yields 2,260 kg
oil/hectare
Jatropha yields 1,590 kg
oil/hectare
Castor bean yields 1188
kg oil/hectare
Raw materials needed
Vegetable oil (feedstock)
Methanol
Potassium Hydroxide or Sodium Hydroxide

Safety precautions:
Methanol is a highly toxic and flammable alcohol. Gloves,
masks, long sleeved work clothes and a well ventilated
area should be all accessible when working with it
Sodium Hydroxide is highly alkaline and will produce
severe burns when in contact with skin
The chemistry of biodiesel
Vegetable oil + Methanol + Potassium Hydroxide =
Methylester (biodiesel)

TRIGLYCERIDE MOLECULE (VEGE OIL)
Whats the equipment you need?
(piecing it together)
Requirement Description
Feedstock storage To hold all vegetable oil collected or produced
Biodiesel reactor For mixing oil and chemicals
Byproduct storage To hold glycerin byproduct
Water storage Rain or river water
Biodiesel wash system Cleaning the crude biodiesel before placing in
vehicles
Waste water treatment and storage Cleaning up the water used to wash biodiesel
Biodiesel storage
Distribution Pumps or fuel containers to deliver fuel to
vehicle tank
A small room for a lab Fuel quality testing and chemical prep
Stage 1: Feedstock storage and pretreatment
You may need:
55 gallon metal drums
1000 litre containers
Water tanks
Large metal storage tanks

Some basic requirements for feedstock
storage:
Ideally it should have a cone shaped
bottom
It should be able to take some heat
(up to70 Celsius)
It should have fittings to easily connect
plumbing
It should be easily and safely filled

Additional components for feedstock storage:
A pump and plumbing fittings are needed to
transfer prepared oil to reactor
Stage 2: The Reactor
You may need:
55 gallon metal drum
HDPE prefabricated plastic container
Stainless steel vessel

Some basic requirements for biodiesel
reactor
It should be sealed or have a cover to
prevent fume leaks
Ideally it should have a cone shaped
bottom
It must have a pump or a high to
medium speed mixer of some kind


The Reactor cont.
It should be able to take heat.
The reaction temp is optimal at
around 55 Celsius
It should have fittings to easily
connect plumbing
It should be easily and safely
filled
Some welding may be required
Plumbing will be needed to
transfer crude biodiesel to the
wash stage



The biodiesel reaction
Oil and methanol are
mixed in the presence of
a catalyst NaOH or KOH.
100 Gallons of oil
produces 80 gallons of
biodiesel and 25 gallons
of glycerin.
Glycerin can be disposed
of as biodegradable
waste, used as soap, or
refined into pure
glycerin.

The biodiesel reaction
Stage 3: Washing and drying the Biodiesel
Washing biodiesel involves the
removal of chemical impurities and
soaps created in the production
process, that would cause harm to a
vehicle engine. Washing involves
mixing water with the crude
biodiesel

Drying biodiesel requires the
removal of water, via heat or
settling, from the biodiesel after it
has been washed.

There is new technology now, that
does allow for cleaning biodiesel
without the use of water.
Stage 3: Washing and drying the biodiesel cont.
Stage 3: Washing and drying the biodiesel cont.
You will need:
Thorough mixing of
biodiesel and water via
pumps or mixers
Application of heat for
drying, to remove moisture
from biodiesel after
washing
Good drainage
Plumbing to transfer from
washing to storage


Treating the wash
water
The water after washing, may contain traces of
methanol, NaOH or KOH and some soaps.
Solar distillation seems to be an effective way to
clean up water before disposal
Alternatively, investing in zero water technology may
be possible with funding.
Stage 4: Biodiesel storage and distribution
You will need:
Tanks
Pump fed or gravity fed
nozzles
Metering devices
Economics of biodiesel
Inputs
Supply
Demand
Niche Market
Expenses
Revenues
Pricing structure
Business structure
Funding

Raw material inputs
Securing raw materials
Vege oil collection
Free?
Shared?
Strategic
partnerships with
suppliers? Friends?
Communities?
Chemical importation
costs
Shared?
Bulk?
Alternatives?
Concessions and
incentives from Gov.



Your market
Regular users
Power Generation
Public transport
Fishing industry
Private houses
High end users (yachts, etc.)
Supply to state controlled distributor
Your expenses
Electricity
Used mainly to heat oil and biodiesel, and power pumps
Conventional?
Alternatives?
Water
Mainly for cleaning up biodiesel
Cleaning your water is a huge plus, even if it was originally free.
Human labour
Collecting oil
Processing biodiesel
Sales and marketing
Admin.
Fuel
Energy is also used in the vehicle to collect oil and drop off biodiesel
Where can you save?



Your revenues
Developing the byproduct, glycerin
Unique opportunities exist in Dominica to
develop assisting technologies
Coconut drying technology
Water harvesters
Coconut oil businesses specifically for biodiesel
How you generate income can influence your
pricing structure, how you promote the fuel and
your business philosophy.
Business structure
Centralised Decentralised
Pros Cons Pros Cons
Relatively easily
managed
High capital investment Significant job creation More training
Rapid accountability Expensive training Community cohesiveness Red tape due to
regulatory bodies
A consolidated
operation
Expensive overheads Low capital investment
costs
Lack of control over
production supplies
(strike potential)
A singular vision and
goal
High maintenance costs Better funding potential
from non traditional,
community supportive
entities (undp)
Potential conflict in goal
and visions
Quality control More efficient access to
used cooking oil
Challenges in monitoring
High fire, natural disaster
risk due to consolidated
nature
Increased likelihood of
Dominican users
receiving required
volumes
High risk due to storage of
chemicals
A central controlling
interest in lessened
Inflexibility when faced
with upheavals
Broad education
potential
Higher marketing / public
education costs
Less likelihood of
complete shutdown of
supply if one plant is
down
Significantly reduced
overheads
Significantly lower
maintenance costs
Greater business-to-
business support
Why support biodiesel?
Biodiesel is produced primarily with local materials, significantly
reducing foreign exchange expenditure
Reduced vulnerability to external fluctuations in fuel prices.
Improves Barbados image as an eco destination.
Provides a solution to current waste disposal problems and reduces
costs incurred through disposal.
Health/environmental benefits due to use of the fuel.
Significant savings in health care costs
Job creation.
Establishes linkages to agriculture that might help solidify new
avenues for the sector
Can take Barbados steps ahead to true sustainable development

Benefits of biodiesel
Health/Environment
Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) by 100%
Reduction of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions by 100%
Reduction of soot emissions by 40-60%
Reduction of carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by 10-50%
Reduction of hydrocarbon (HC) emissions by 10-50%
Reduction of all polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and specifically
the reduction of the following carcinogenic PAHs:
Reduction of phenanthren by 97%
Reduction of benzofloroanthen by 56%
Reduction of benzapyren by 71%
Reduction of aldehydes and aromatic compounds by 13%
Reduction or increase in nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions by 5-10%
depending on the age and type of engine.
Benefits of biodiesel.
Biodiesel runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine. In other
words, you just pour it into the fuel tank.
Biodiesel can be stored anywhere that petroleum diesel fuel is
stored.
Biodiesel can be used alone or mixed in any amount with petroleum
diesel fuel.
Biodiesel is more lubricating than diesel fuel. Its higher lubricity
enhances the lifetime of the engine.



Benefits of biodiesel
Biodiesel is safe to handle because it is biodegradable and
non-toxic. According to the National Biodiesel Board,
neat biodiesel is as biodegradable as sugar and less toxic
than salt.
Biodiesel is safe to transport. Biodiesel has a high flash
point, or ignition temperature, of about 300 deg. F
compared to petroleum diesel fuel, which has a flash point
of 125 deg. F.
Engines running on biodiesel run normally and have
similar fuel mileage to engines running on diesel fuel.
Auto ignition, fuel consumption, power output, and
engine torque are relatively unaffected by biodiesel.
When burned in an engine, the exhaust fumes have the
pleasant aroma of popcorn or French fries.
Starting up in Dominica
Consider starting as a
group. Discuss funding
options, business
structure etc.
Seek affordable group
training
Consider collecting raw
material. It might be wiser
to begin collecting early.
Get the materials you
have to purchase, in bulk
Discuss how much you
want to produce and start
for yourselves first.
Obstacles
Efficient collection
Finding a source of methanol
Finding the right people to work with

References
http://www.journeytoforever.org
http://www.biofuels.coop/
Thank you for your time
and attention!

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