BioDiesel update

[bofh]

woohoo! the bofh-wife was just asked yesterday how you were getting aloung in the biodeisel project, now I can tell her.

It's been almost a year since you ordered that stuff, isn't it?

Any idea when your first batch is due?

Are you going to be changing the seals in the tractors?

[cphilip]

Yea its been at least a year since I started out to do this. I spent the first Six months writing an grant proposal and waiting on that. I knew it was a dead end road but my Boss and his Boss wanted me to try first before I used internal funding for it. Just to see if we could get outside money for it. The Grant we applied for was a technology development grant and realy not suitable for basic "application of existing technology" like we were proposing to do. But they insisted so I did and of course then there was the waiting on them to turn me down. A certainty. So that took almost 6 months. And then that left me free to go ahead and have this built. And that took some time to negotiate and all. So I finaly just now recieved it. I still have some building to do on it to install it in my shop before I can run it. And some supplies to buy. I expect to be able to get a first batch running in say .... two weeks to a month. Depends on how everything goes.

No need to change any seals or anything. It should be usable just as it is. Although I most likely will blend it. We may run it straight in a few small Tractors that the grounds dept uses. Just to be able to say we did.

Eventually we hope to turn this over to our recycling center and start running a blend in our CAT buses and perhaps feeding it into our central energy facility as fuel for the boilers. Makes no difference to me as long as its used for something. Sometimes you have batches that are better quality than others. Only the best clearest batches will be run in engines. The poor quality ones will be feed into the Central Energy Facitily as heating fuels.

Now we just need to figure our a use for the waxy substrate. I wounder if it would be good for making candles or something?

[impostal22]

Originally posted by cphilip
Yea its been at least a year since I started out to do this. I spent the first Six months writing an grant proposal and waiting on that. I knew it was a dead end road but my Boss and his Boss wanted me to try first before I used internal funding for it. Just to see if we could get outside money for it. The Grant we applied for was a technology development grant and realy not suitable for basic "application of existing technology" like we were proposing to do. But they insisted so I did and of course then there was the waiting on them to turn me down. A certainty. So that took almost 6 months. And then that left me free to go ahead and have this built. And that took some time to negotiate and all. So I finaly just now recieved it. I still have some building to do on it to install it in my shop before I can run it. And some supplies to buy. I expect to be able to get a first batch running in say .... two weeks to a month. Depends on how everything goes.

No need to change any seals or anything. It should be usable just as it is. Although I most likely will blend it. We may run it straight in a few small Tractors that the grounds dept uses. Just to be able to say we did.

Eventually we hope to turn this over to our recycling center and start running a blend in our CAT buses and perhaps feeding it into our central energy facility as fuel for the boilers. Makes no difference to me as long as its used for something. Sometimes you have batches that are better quality than others. Only the best clearest batches will be run in engines. The poor quality ones will be feed into the Central Energy Facitily as heating fuels.

Now we just need to figure our a use for the waxy substrate. I wounder if it would be good for making candles or something?

soap! somehow...

anyway, it's reall admirable that you're doing something like this. i really hope it works out for you. it's my dream to make a difference somehow, and it seems you're achieving that. not many people can say they truly made a difference. remember that. GRATS!

[FreshmanBob]

Originally posted by cphilip


Now we just need to figure our a use for the waxy substrate. I wounder if it would be good for making candles or something?

Contact your local univercitys chemical professor/grad student and get some input from them. Maybe they can figure out a use for it. How much are we talking per gallon o bio diesel fuel produced?

[cphilip]

Yield is about 75 to 80% of initial volume. So since this processor is 85 gallons I should see around 50 to 55 gallons of fuel.

Remember I AM the local University... I am the University's recycling and waste manager. The Environmental Compliance Officer for the University. If I don't know then nobody does. However some may wish to develop their own uses for the by products outside of what I am going to do with this project. If they do then thats fine. However I have to push the thing off on to a department that will then run it at some point. I know of plenty of uses for the by products but the question is do I want to get involved in doing that part of it? I would rather not actually. At this point I am only interested in the feul part of it. It's not my issue or responsibility to be a "producer of products" in the end. Just to be a innovator of policies that encourage recycling. I am just a instigator of the ideas and processes that I then demonstrate and evaluate the cost benefits of and then pass them on to the people we have to actually do it if they are feasable and worthwile. My responsibility ends when I get the thing up and running and evaluate the pro's and con's. Once I can put numbers to it and properly demonstrate them in actual real life situation... If then the Powers that be want to do it for real at that point... I pass it on to someone responsible for managing it as a daily function. At some point I will most likely pass this on to our Recycling center if I feel confident that they can manage it well. And if the "Head Bean Counter" wants to fund it as an operation. I generaly have numerous variations of these ideas for recycling wastes here produced by the campus working all the time. This is just the latest one and the one I am now giving some priortity to. Who knows whats next!

[magking1971]

Oh my..I did a google search on the word "Biodiesel" and I think I have 6 years worth of reading to do now.
Is there a drawback to running non refined cooking oil in your engine? Like the waste wax, will it buildup in your fuel system or will it just not burn so great?

[cphilip]

Originally posted by magking1971
Oh my..I did a google search on the word "Biodiesel" and I think I have 6 years worth of reading to do now.
Is there a drawback to running non refined cooking oil in your engine? Like the waste wax, will it buildup in your fuel system or will it just not burn so great?

Yes if you do not get it all out. Thats what the prosessor is supposed to do.

If your talking about the people that use it straight they ussually run regular diesel at start up and warm up. And then switch over and run... and before they shut down they switch back and burn regular diesel long enough to fill the fuel lines with regular diesel to keep it cleaned out and filled with normal fuel.

[magking1971]

Dang you phil!!(shakes fist in the air) now you have me looking for a small 4 banger diesel at some car lot to play with this idea........