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)

 What’s the equipment you
need?
Requirement
(piecing Description
it together)
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 Cleaning up the water used to wash
storage 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
You will need:
distribution
Tanks

Pump fed or gravity

fed nozzles

Metering devices
 Economics of
Inputs biodiesel
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 • High capital investment • Significant job creation • More training
managed
• Rapid accountability • Expensive training • Community • Red tape due to
cohesiveness regulatory bodies
• A consolidated • Expensive overheads • Low capital investment • Lack of control over
operation costs production supplies
(strike potential)
• A singular vision and • High maintenance costs • Better funding potential • Potential conflict in goal
goal from non traditional, and visions
community supportive
entities (undp)

• Quality control • More efficient access to • Challenges in

used cooking oil monitoring
• High fire, natural • Increased likelihood
disaster risk due to of Dominican users
consolidated nature receiving required
volumes

• High risk due to • A central controlling

storage of chemicals interest in lessened

• Inflexibility when faced • Broad education

with upheavals potential
• Higher marketing / • Less likelihood of
public education costs complete shutdown
of supply if one plant
is down

• Significantly reduced
overheads
• Significantly lower
maintenance costs
• Greater business-to-
 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
50% of carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by 10-

Reduction of hydrocarbon (HC) emissions by 10-50%

Reduction
(PAHs) andof all polycyclic
specifically the aromatic hydrocarbons
reduction of the following
carcinogenic PAHs:
Reduction of phenanthren by 97%
Reduction of benzofloroanthen by 56%
Reduction of benzapyren by 71%
Reduction
13% of aldehydes and aromatic compounds by

Reduction or increaseon
by 5-10% depending inthe
nitrous oxide
age and (NOx)
type emissions
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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