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A new biodiesel production system has been delivered to a US Navy base in Southern California, so it can produce its own renewable fuel.

Modular Biodiesel Plant

Locally-based Biodiesel Industries, Inc., has been working with the Navy and aerospace technology firm Aerojet to set up a highly-automated production facility at the Naval Base Ventura County.

The project at the base located north-west of Los Angeles centers around an ARIES biodiesel plant – an Automated Real-time, Remote, Integrated Energy System.

The system can produce around 3-10 million gallons of biofuels per year to act as a replacement for the Naval Base’s petroleum-sourced diesel fuel. It could also produce heat for use on the base.

Russell Teall, President and Founder of Biodiesel Industries said: “The Integrated Energy System incorporated into ARIES will eventually allow us to generate our own heat and power, and to feed the surplus into a local micro-grid.”

It can be operated remotely, while its automated technology can control key chemistry and processing parameters to ensure optimized production capacity, according to Biodiesel Industries.

The company hopes the Naval project could act as a springboard to spread the use of the ARIES automated biodiesel system around the world.

Michael Cassady, Biodiesel Industries’ Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer said: “ARIES is ready now to be deployed on a global basis. The ARIES platform fundamentally transforms biodiesel production and makes this possible.”

Naval Goals

The US Navy is currently working to cut petroleum use in its non-tactical vehicle fleet in half by 2015 while also developing biofuels for use in its ships (see this BrighterEnergy.org story).

Our methods of feedstock development make ARIES an ideal solution for a globally distributed network of biodiesel production facilities” - JJ Rothgery, Biodiesel Industries

The move is being taken to improve its energy security, reducing its reliance on foreign oil, as well as environmental and economic considerations.

Global Independence

It has been reported the US government currently spends 5 dollars in transportation cost for every 1 dollars it spends on fuel in remote areas of the world such as Afganistan. A modular biodiesel processor that can produce fuel from variable feedstocks is a move towards fuel independence for the U.S. Military in its worldwide operations. Modular biofuel processing units co-location is not a new idea, but this is the first time the Navy has made a large move of this kind towards securing it’s global fuel supply using alternatives. GO NAVY!