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The new ASTM D6751 Cold Soak Filtration test left many biodiesel producers and consumers out in the cold. In response, Schroeder Biofuels brought Cold Clear to the market, a new proprietary multi-stage separation technology designed specifically to ensure that biodiesel products conform to the new ASTM standard for cold flow properties.

Well here is the latest update on product use. WVO Feedstock is now being cleaned with the Cold Clear system. That’s right! it is also used to filter waste vegetable oil before biodiesel processing begins.

-          Degumming

-          Free Fatty Acid Treatment

Instead of Acid Esterification the Cold Clear units are a suitable alternative to acid Esterification & FFA Treatment. This filtration system is saving time and money for biodiesel biofuel producers.

The Cold Clear TM system consists of a three-stage bank of housings using a combination of filtration and adsorption principles to capture compounds that could cause plugging or crystallization in biodiesel fluids and also yellow grease. Notably, Cold Clear TM is the premiere multi-stage treatment system for cold soak filtration & now waste vegetable oil feedstock for biodiesel production.

Maybe there are some benefits of eating fast food. The first Grease Trap Waste recycling plant in Florida is now in production. Affordable Bio Feedstock, Inc. has developed a brown grease waste recycling plant which turns grease into biofuels. The plant is located in Kissimmee, Florida, also the company’s headquarters, and the company plans on building at least 11 additional plants in Central Florida during the next 14 months. In addition to creating biofuels, the company also converts food solids into fertilizer or animal feedstock.

Remainder Waste after Processing

The company has developed a proprietary and environmentally responsible process for brown grease recycling called Thermal Depolymerization technology, which allows them to separate its contents (oil, organic solids and water) into three commercially marketable products: brown grease, nutrient rich organic solids and nutrient rich water. The plant will process 50,000 gallons of grease trap waste per day.

Grease trap waste is generated in food service establishments (not just fast foods) from fats, oils, and grease in food products and is collected in grease traps and interceptors. For the most part, the waste is being disposed of in landfills at an expense to the restaurant. In addition, the waste can cause sewage overflows costing cities time and money. That is why, says the company, that they have focused on this waste product to produce valuable products such as biofuels.

Ultimately the company will expand its production outside of Florida and into the Southwest. It looks like biodiesel enthusiasts may have some competition on their hands.
This is a great plant and run by great people with entrepreneurial spirit. I had a chance to tour the plant, and let me tell you what they went through to make it happen is nothing short of lots of hard work! I congratulate them on their continued success! Give them a call and today to find out about their process (407) 344-1194

It’s been called ‘too good to be true’ and a ‘miracle’ fuel. It’s a biodiesel that’s made from waste, not food stock. If it’s successful, the new plant could replace the need for foreign oil.

The crowd at Ever Cat Fuels grand opening in Isanti, Minnesota learned all about a new way of making energy. They’re also seeing a biodiesel plant like no other in the world.

“It’s going to spur our economy,” said Clayton McNeff, co-founder of Ever Cat Fuels. “It’s a green technology, and it’s going to provide jobs. ”

The plant creates fuel without water, chemicals or waste. The new process called “Mcgyan”– named after its inventors — converts fats into fuel within seconds.

“When we get to full capacity in another week,” said McNeff, “we’ll be producing more than 10,000 gallons a day. And so that’s more than a truckload a day, so it will be going out to consumers very soon.”

“Biodiesel,” said Ben Yan holding up a bottle of the fuel. “This is the first time in this plant.”

They’re using vegetable oil waste as the base, but they could use anything from stink weed to algae.

For safety reasons, the only way to tour the plant is to watch through remote cameras. Two six-foot tall reactors will start by making 3 million gallons of fuel this year. In 3 years, that will be up to 30 million gallons per year.

“This is really a first of its kind plant,” said Yan. “It’s unique in the world. So, it had to be demonstrated at large scale and now our intention is to license the technology and so hopefully you’ll be seeing these plants all over the country.”

The plant creates fuel without water, chemicals or waste. The new process called “Mcgyan”– named after its inventors — converts fats into fuel within seconds.

Related Links

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The Department of Energy said Friday it would give $564 million in stimulus funding to 19 projects aimed at turning biomass into fuels, chemicals and power.

The grants are hoped to help the federal government meet its aggressive deadline to get 36 billion gallons of biofuel production up and running by 2022 – a goal government and industry analysts have said will be hard to reach.

The 19 winning projects span 15 states, and include both giants like Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Honeywell’s (HON) UOP and startups such as ZeaChem, Amyris, Solazyme and Algenol.

The projects are aimed at using non-food feedstocks such as wood chips, grasses, algae and municipal waste to make biofuel. A federal mandate calls for 100 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol to be made by next year, but it appears increasingly likely that this target will not be met.

The grants aren’t all for biofuel production – some are aimed at the production of biochemicals or generating power from biomass, though most of those are linked to biofuel production.

While most of the projects haven’t received DOE funds yet, one has – BlueFire Ethanol (BFRE.OB), which will get an additional $81.1 million to help along its plans to build a 19 million gallon-per-year plant making ethanol from biomass and waste in Fulton, Miss. BlueFire had received $40 million to build a plant in California, but moved the project to Mississippi in October.

Also on Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would give San Diego, Calif.-based algae biofuel startup Sapphire Energy a $54.5 million loan guarantee from the 2008 Farm Bill’s Biorefinery Assistance Program to build a demonstration plant in New Mexico. Sapphire also received $50 million in DOE grants.

Some selected DOE grant winners include:

• Algenol Biofuels will get $25 million to make ethanol from algae at a 100,000 gallon-per-year demonstration plant in Freeport, Texas.
• American Process Inc., of Alpena, Mich., will get $17.9 million to build a plant to make 890,000 gallons of ethanol and 690,000 gallons of potassium acetate from processed wood.
• Amyris Biotechnologies, of Emeryville, Calif. will get $25 million to help build a pilot plant to use its genetically altered yeast to turn sugar from fermented sweet sorghum into hydrocarbons closely resembling diesel fuel, as well as lubricants, polymers and other petrochemicals.
• Archer Daniels Midland, of Decatur, Ill. will get $24.8 million for a facility to use acid to break down biomass to convert to ethanol or ethyl acrylate.
• Clearfuels Technology, of Commerce City, Colo. will get $23 million for a plant to make woody biomass into diesel and jet fuel using processes from the company and partner Rentech (RTK).
• Enerkem will get $50 million to build a plant in Pontotoc, Miss. to convert municipal wastes into syngas for conversion to biofuels.
• Logos Technologies will get $20.4 million for a Visalia, Calif. plant to convert switchgrass and woody biomass into ethanol.
• Solazyme will get $21.8 million for a Riverside, Penn. plant to produce algae oil to convert to oil-based fuel.
• UOP, a Honeywell company, will get $25 million to develop a Kapolei, Hawaii plant in partnership with Ensyn to turn a variety of crops and feedstocks into fuels.
• Zeachem will get $25 million to build a wood-to-ethanol plant in Boardman, Oregon.

 Accurate Biodiesel Blending is Important to building worldwide consumer confidence. The biofuels industry must work to ensure that poorly blended biofuels are caught before they get to the end user. In colder climates, the thicker layers of the fuel can congeal and plug fuel lines, injectors or filters, stopping an engine. What is this material that congeals? It has to do with the feedstock that the biodiesel it was produced from. Feed stocks, especially those produced with used cooking oils (UCO), waste vegetable oils (WVO), yellow grease or animal fats (Tallow) will produce high levels of fall out materials. These layers of material can also be caused by incomplete removal of glycerin, soaps, waxes, or resins during the Transesterification process.

Government incentives are the backbone of the biofuel industry right now. Federal and state tax incentives are based on the amount of biofuel placed in the market. Companies that over report the amount of biofuel present in an advertised blend defeat the purpose of the tax credit and reduce government revenues. Biofuel advocates are concerned that inaccurate blending and poor press reports will lessen consumer confidence in their fledgling industry.

Companies such as 70CentsaGallon.com are offering cost effective solutions through a standalone biodiesel blending unit that will scientifically blend any blend of biodiesel. It has the ability to produce biodiesel at 350 Gallons per minute and if running non-stop it could put out 180 million gallons annually. It uses an injection blending technology that surpasses any blending technology out there. This set up is a 30,000 gallon gross set up which could be configured to the needs of the customers. These larger consumers range from governmental & city fleets to large transportation companies that rely on diesel biofuel to keep cost down and help the environment.

Just like any fuel station pump, a customer can pull up, insert their credit card, and purchase any one of three blends to fuel their diesel vehicle. The fuel is blended by two electronically controlled pumps and metering valves before being sent through the filling hose to the customer’s fuel tank.

These units are self contained just run power to it and your ready to dispense fuel. No holes to dig, plumbing to run or assembly. It’s the hassle free way to introduce alternative fuels at your station, or use them for your fleet.

The blend can also be programmed to suit individual needs as well. The units handle Bio-Diesel and regular Diesel onsite blending them into B20, B50, and B99 products. Fleet operators will benefit by consistently using the correct blend for each piece of equipment.

With new technologies like onsite biodiesel blending units to ensure proper blending of the fuels, the fledgling biofuels industry can grow and ensure global consumer confidence.

Biofuel will play a very important part in meeting the worlds growing energy need, Biofuel has a place in not only our past, but in our future as well.

Guidance for Biodiesel Producers and Biodiesel Blenders & Users
Purpose The purpose of this document is to explain and clarify EPA’s regulatory requirements for biodiesel producers and biodiesel blenders.

Size and feedstock are probably the two largest issues with biodiesel producers currently. Large plants aren’t doing well and small plants don’t make very much fuel. No matter what feedstock you choose it seems like the price is always going up. Versatility has become the name of the game and many Large traditional biodiesel facilities just do not make sense anymore. There are plenty of 100 MMgy biodiesel plants in the U.S. Mid-West; the majority are inactive right now because they’re not producing. There are not many places in the world left for a 100 MMgy plant, the majority of Large plants in the United States are just sitting dormant rusting, there’s not enough feedstock to support them currently.

Manufacturers of modular biodiesel production units believe they might have the answer. Their products are smaller and can be scaled up to various sizes when needed, plus they usually can be co-located with the feedstock source. They’re less of an investment than a larger facility, obviously, and many are capable of running multiple feedstocks right out of the box.

The fundamentals of modular production units are universal. Each unit is built at a manufacturing facility before being skid-mounted and delivered to its destination. Most, containerized units range in capacity from 1 MMgy to 5 Mmgy and can be linked together from the start to increase overall capacity although the general idea is to start small and expand as needed. Typically the feedstock supply will determine the facility size, making modular biodiesel plants an ideal choice.

You can purchase a small commercial biodiesel plant that produces 2.3 gallons per year for $50,000 from companies like Biodiesel-Equipment.com and monitor their production. The thought process is if you need to Increase or reduce production you can easily when market condition dictate action because of the small size of the plants. Smaller costs to maintain modular biodiesel production plants while keeping up with production needs & market conditions is the future of the Biodiesel Industry.