July
11
California tribe to make biodiesel from waste oil
The Pauma Band of Mission Indians in Pauma Valley, Calif., will soon utilize waste cooking oil to produce biodiesel for use within the tribal community.
Pacific Natural Energy is providing the federally recognized tribe with a modular Bio-box biodiesel unit, to process approximately 1 MMgy of biodiesel. PNE President Eric McCloud said the company has been working with the tribe, who live just outside of San Diego, Calif., for more than a year, to develop a four-phase project plan. Were currently in the first stage, which is setting up the oil collection systems, McCloud said. Were placing collection bins and setting up their vacuum truck, waste oil processing and filtration [systems].
McCloud said the next stages involve setting up the reactor, system optimization and beta testing.
At its maximum, the PNE 50 SS Bio-box system can generate more than 2 MMgy of biodiesel. The company also provides smaller and larger units for users intending to produce from 100,000 gallons per year up to 5 MMgy. System footprints range from 2,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet, which includes space for truck access, with tank capacities of 650 to 2,600 gallons.
Tribal members will be able to purchase the biodiesel at a discount, McCloud said. The tribe also plans to power its casino tour bus fleet with the fuel, absorbing what they need, after which they will market to local customers.
July
25
State regulations force vendors to switch to petroleum-based fuels for now, driving green motorists to distraction.
By Judith Lewis
July 26, 2009
It was a fine June day in 2007 when a senator from Illinois, then a long-shot for the presidency, stood beside the pumps at Conserv Fuel in West Los Angeles and congratulated the heroes of the biofuel revolution. Conserv Fuel was one of the first fueling stations in the country to offer biofuel at the pump, and Barack Obama was looking to establish himself as an alternative-fuel-friendly candidate. He railed against the Bush administration’s oil-centric energy policy. He commended Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for establishing a low-carbon fuel standard. He described the man who brought biofuels to Conserv Fuel, Kris Moller, as a fearless warrior for the planet who went to work while Washington fiddled.
“Folks like Kris are part of a grass-roots movement that’s making American greener right now,” Obama concluded. “He’s way ahead of Washington.”
Oh, how long ago that day seemed last month when I drove my diesel-powered 2002 Volkswagen into the Conserv Fuel station for a fill-up. I bought the little green Bug four years ago to run exclusively on biodiesel. The fuel, made from vegetable oil or animal fat, works in diesel engines just as well as diesel made from petroleum, and it requires no modifications to the machine.
I’d been a regular at Conserv Fuel ever since I bought the car, but on that June day, the station attendant tried to head me off: “No more! No more!” he shouted, waving his hands. When I got closer, I saw what the fuss was about: The biodiesel pump had a shiny new sign on it: “Diesel #2.”
The man pointed at a letter taped to the inside of the window. It said that Conserv Fuel would no longer sell the sweet-smelling, cleaner-burning fuel on which I’d come to depend. My local fueling station’s flirtation with biodiesel was over. I put enough stinky fossil-fuel diesel in my tank to get home and drove off, shamefully chugging soot all the way…...
July
29
British Petroleum, Alternative Energy and Lessons from China
Oil major British Petroleum (BP), following a leadership succession reportedly cancelled its renewable energy program and withdrew from its joint venture with the company D1 on biodiesel production.
Oil major British Petroleum (BP), following a leadership succession reportedly cancelled its renewable energy program and withdrew from its joint venture with the company D1 on biodiesel production. The joint venture was set to utilize the oil crop jatropha (Jatropha curcas) as feedstock.
Coincidentally, a research report concluded that jatropha utilized a rather large 20,000 liters of water to produce a liter of biodiesel compared with 14,000 for the other biodiesel crops soybean and rapeseed. The report questioned jatropha’s much-celebrated capacity to thrive on marginal soils, one of two planks (the other being its high oil yield) on which its allure for biodiesel production rests. Investment interest in jatropha, not surprisingly then, dipped slightly in the immediate aftermath of BP’s actions.
BP’s policy reversal however, may reflect more of a difference in focus between two corporate helmsmen than a death sentence by global investors on biodiesel and renewable energy. On the contrary, investment in biodiesel and renewables (which recently quadrupled in four years) will most likely show very steep growth for the next few years and for three main reasons. First, the current global climate change and other environmental protocols demand it. Secondly, growing concerns about constraints to future global crude oil production necessitate it; and finally, significant proportions of the current, massive stumulus packages around the world are being channeled into it to buoy up economies.
August
06
New UST law may kill California’s biodiesel business
In a 3-1 vote, Californias State Water Resources Control Board approved legislation that will require motor fuels containing more than 20 percent biodiesel to be stored in above ground tanks.
It seems strange that regular petroleum diesel can be stored in underground tanks while green fuel must be stored above ground for fear of leakage and possible environmental contamination. But California has a law mandating that underground storage tanks be independently certified as leak proof before they can be used to store new types of fuel, such as high-grade biodiesels. That testing and certification process can take as long as three years.
The rule came about after California experienced a series of massive environmental disasters stretching back 30 years disasters that involved underground storage tanks releasing tons of hazardous liquids into the land and water. Now, to play it safe, the state wants no doubt that even the newest, double-walled tanks can handle new types of fuel without sprouting leaks.
The decision has caused an outcry among gas stations that sell biodiesel, consumers who buy it, companies that make it, and environmentalists who advocate it all of whom claim the move represents a step backward for Californias green movement.
One biodiesel dealer in San Jose told the Mercury News that the legislation requiring above-ground tanks kills his biodiesel business. Im not going to do that. I have no place to put them. And you are talking about $50,000 or more to buy the tank and put the monitoring system on it, Bob Brown told the Mercury News. He added that he would continue to sell B5 to B20 biodiesel blends, as they can be stored in the USTs, but that he would discontinue selling B99, B50, and other high-grade bio blends.
Bill Rukeyser, a spokesman for the state water board, defended the states decision. Rukeyser told the Mercury News that California had to err on the side of caution. We learned a real lesson. Weve not forgotten that lesson. We dont want to repeat that, Rukeyser said.
Biodiesel consists of plant oils and recycled animal fats. The fuels B number indicates its percentage of environmentally friendly oils. The higher the number, the purer the fuel is and the cleaner it is to burn.
Although biodiesel has been available in California for 10 years, federal tax incentives led to a surge in the fuels popularity between 2005 and 2008, when demand for it grew ten times.