Freedom Fries(Biodiesel as a Viable alternative)

It started over a few beers: Biodiesel buddies (from left) Smith, Mortland and Tobler with their single-stage reactor

Bruce Mortland does a lot of the same things that any other motorist with a 2001 VW Jetta would do: He flips through radio stations, he hums along to familiar songs, and he gets annoyed with other drivers.

It's what he doesn't do that sets Mortland apart. He doesn't stop at gas stations, cringe at the prices and, defeated, fuel up anyway.

Mortland's Jetta runs on homemade biodiesel, brewed in a Grove City garage. He gets his fuel at the Olde Mohawk restaurant in German Village.

Chubby thighs and high cholesterol are not the only byproducts of fried food. Unwittingly, restaurants are creating a new breed of domestically produced commodity. The oil that is left over after those fries are prepared can be used to manufacture a clean, cheap fuel usable in any vehicle with a diesel engine.

Mortland, a computer teacher at the Northeast Career Center, is one member of an eclectic threesome of tinkerers who are manufacturing their own biodiesel. Ted Tobler, a financial analyst for Ohio State University, and Kirk Smith, an IT manager for Big Lots, round out the group.

At a time when even an old oil man like George W. Bush is pitching alternative fuels, the three friends have become smitten by a fuel that seems too good to be true.

They would often meet at a bar on Sunday nights, knock back a few beers and talk about making their own biodiesel someday.

Finally, after countless discussions, Smith said, "One night we laid down the gauntlet. The following Saturday, we were in my garage mixing the first batch."

"We started with a gallon of oil and a can of lye from Lowe's," Mortland said. "We tried it out in a 5-gallon bucket. It worked."

After that successful trial run last July, the search for high-quality used vegetable oil was on.

Tobler said it wasn't easy finding a restaurant willing to part with its old fryer oil. Apparently, corporate bureaucracy rears its ugly head even in the matter of leftover kitchen gunk.

But when Mortland, Smith and Tobler met Ben Williams, the kitchen manager at the Olde Mohawk, they knew they had found a kindred spirit.

"I had known biodiesel existed," Williams said. "I grew up on a farm. I was excited to see them take a waste product and make something useful out of it."

The trio's relationship with the Mohawk is mutually beneficial. The guys get the oil, and the Mohawk gets its waste hauled away for free—and sells a few beers when the tinkerers come by.

Once their deal with the Mohawk was in place, they began to build the single-stage reactor, a technologically romantic name for a pair of 55-gallon drums and a maze of pipes that convert the smelly, yellow, Crisco-like substance into biodiesel.

"Most of our nights were spent failing," Tobler said. "It is easy to go to Southern California or Seattle and find people who are doing this, but in Columbus, Ohio, we faced a lot of hurdles."

Eventually, they worked out the kinks, and a 6-by-6 corner of Smith's garage became their factory.

The process of turning used fryer grease into fuel begins when it is heated and transferred into the first barrel of the reactor, where lye and methanol are added.

When they return, "What we have is glycerin, biodiesel and a very small amount of soap," Smith said. "It looks like oil and water."

The glycerin is then drained out through a spout at the bottom of the barrel, and the soapy biodiesel moves through a maze of pipes to the second barrel. Then a garden hose is hooked to a sprayer gadget engineered by Smith, and a mist of water is used to remove the soap.

Mortland, Tobler and Smith have named their enterprise EasyGreen BioFuels, with the hope the operation will become a viable business as the demand for biodiesel increases.

The glycerin byproduct makes itself useful around the Smith household. "I've cleaned various things around the garage with it. I'm going to scrub my garage floors with it. It's a good degreaser for that," Smith said.

"The materials to put the reactor together cost $600," Mortland said. "And according to our calculations, the biodiesel is costing 62 cents a gallon."

"I wanted to run something that was not petroleum-based," he said. The diesel-engine model cost him a little more, but he's convinced it's worth it.

The National Biodiesel Board estimates 25 million gallons of biodiesel were sold in 2004. That's 50 times as much as in 1999, but still less than 1 percent of the total diesel fuel used. There are optimistic estimates that biodiesel could eventually replace 10 percent of petroleum diesel.

Commercial biodiesel enterprises are more likely to begin with raw vegetable crops than vats of oil from the Olde Mohawk.

Sam Spofforth, executive director of Clean Fuels Ohio, defines biodiesel as "soybean or any number of other oils chemically processed to remove the glycerin."

"It is made from renewable resources, often agricultural resources," he said. "It's a homegrown fuel. It's produced in Ohio, so it can benefit our economy."

Spofforth said biodiesel also reduces engine wear and tear: "It's lubricating. It helps to clean out engine deposits and enhances performance."

In fact, some biodiesel experts warn that it can be too good at cleaning out an engine, at least initially. A car running biodiesel after a steady diet of petroleum diesel could end up with a clogged filter.

And if you're not making it in your garage, commercially available biodiesel blends cost "a few cents or five cents higher than regular diesel, depending on the blend and where you buy it," Spofforth said.

Biodiesel is still scarce in Central Ohio. The Fuel Depot in Delaware County sells a 20 percent biodiesel-petroleum blend called B20.

"It is something we believe in," said owner Keith McWherter. "It is domestically grown and reduces dependence on foreign oil."

Meanwhile, Midwestern Auto Group is selling out of diesel Volkswagens, said a MAG sales representative who asked to remain anonymous.

While VW will warranty only a 5 percent blend, the rep said he knows of a salesperson who used 100 percent biodiesel in a 2003 Jetta wagon: "It ran better with the full blend and got better fuel economy."

For Tobler and his two friends, it adds up to the most obvious answer to importing foreign oil.

"Biodiesel is ready to go," he said. "No new cars, no new infrastructure. It is a no-brainer solution."

http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/pressreleases/fle/20030616_military_users.pdf

U.S. Military Facilities Increasingly Fill Up With Biodiesel
Alternative Fuel Helps Strengthen U.S. Energy Security, Protect the Environment

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – From the U.S. Marine Corps Base in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina to Everett Naval
Station in the Puget Sound area of Washington, military installations across the country are choosing to use
biodiesel blends in their diesel-powered vehicles. Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning fuel made from renewable fats or
vegetable oils that can help increase U.S. energy security by reducing dependence on foreign sources of oil.
Biodiesel can be used as a pure fuel (B100) or can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel. It can be used in
diesel engines with few or no modifications. The U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines all use B20, a mixture
of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel, at different bases and stations throughout the country. Of the four
branches, the U.S. Marine Corps uses B20 at the most locations.

“We use biodiesel to help us meet our federal alternative fuel requirements, to reduce our petroleum fuel
consumption to meet the Executive Order directing the government to do so, and on a third level it is just the right
thing to do,” said Tim Campbell, Headquarters Marine Corps GME Program Manager. “We’ve had no reported
maintenance issues. I asked the bases to contact me with their experiences, negative or positive, with biodiesel. I
received only positive feedback.”

Most of the military installations using biodiesel obtain it through the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC),
which coordinates the federal government’s fuel purchases. “DESC is the largest single purchaser of biodiesel in
this country,” said Pam Serino of DESC. “We've been procuring B20 for our administrative vehicles for three years.
For the contract period 2003-2004 we have requirements totaling 5.2 million gallons at numerous military and
civilian locations throughout the country. B20 is the easiest way for the federal government to meet the
requirements of the Energy Policy Act, and we have found B20 to perform equal to petroleum-based diesel fuel
while reducing toxic chemical emissions that pollute our environment.”

Dozens of military installations use biodiesel nationwide, including:

• U.S. Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, NC: Has used biodiesel for about a year in approximately 300
to 400 pieces of equipment -- buses, caterpillar tractors, bulldozers, motor graters, etc. They currently use
about 147,800 gallons of B20 a year.

• U.S. Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, AZ.: Has used B20 since January 2002 and are currently using
7,600 gallons a month. They use biodiesel in all diesel-powered, government owned, non-tactical
commercial vehicles such as trucks and forklifts.

• Scott Air Force Base, Illinois: Located about 30 miles east of St. Louis, serves as headquarters for 12 Air
Mobility Command (AMC) bases throughout the nation. Two AMC bases currently use B20: Scott AFB
has used B20 since April 2001 and uses about 75,000 gallons annually. McChord AFB (Tacoma,
Washington) has used approximately 33,000 gallons since October 2002.

• Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, CO: Five Air Force Space
Command bases use B20: Peterson (Colorado Springs, CO); Vandenberg (Lompoc, CA); FE Warren
(Cheyenne, WY); Malmstrom (Great Falls, MT); Patrick (Cocoa Beach, FL). They have been using
biodiesel since December 2001. “We have taken a leadership position in the Air Force in the alternative
fuel arena, issuing some type of alternative product at all of our major units,” said Mr. Chuck McGarvey,
Air Force Space Command’s fuels manager. “We must be responsible stewards of our natural resources,
leaving behind a clean environment for our children and a nation not dependent on foreign oil.”

• Everett Naval Station, Everett, Washington: Located in the Puget Sound area, this station has used
about 50 thousand gallons of B20 a year since 2001. The switch to biodiesel was virtually seamless,
according to transportation director Gary Passmore. “Older equipment took a filter change, but newer
equipment needed nothing,” he said. “It went so smooth that no one really noticed.”

• Fort Leonard Wood Army Base, Missouri: Began using biodiesel in March 2003. The base plans on
using about 115,000 gallons of B20 annually.

• U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, GA: Has used biodiesel throughout the base for three years
in about 375 non-tactical diesel vehicles including tractor trailers, forklifts, three-ton trucks, graders, farm
tractors and in emergency generators. The base used 50,000-60,000 gallons of biodiesel last year. “We
love biodiesel and have experienced no problems whatsoever since switching to the fuel three years ago,”
said Mike Elliott, GME Fleet Manager. “We see biodiesel as a way to buy American and strengthen our
national energy security by reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil.”

“The U.S. currently imports approximately 60 percent of its oil -- of that, 800,000 barrels of oil a day come from
Iraq,” added National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Executive Director Joe Jobe. “We're jeopardizing our own national
security by being dependent on foreign sources of oil. That's why biodiesel and the military are such a natural
fit. The military is proactively addressing energy security by using biodiesel and is setting a positive example for
the rest of the nation.”

Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have completed the rigorous Health Effects testing required by the Clean Air
Act. Results show biodiesel poses less of a risk to human health than petroleum diesel. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a comprehensive technical report of biodiesel emissions data that shows
the exhaust emissions of particulate matter from pure biodiesel are about 47 percent lower than overall particulate
matter emissions from diesel. Breathing particulate has been shown to be a human health hazard. Biodiesel
emissions also reduce by 80 to 90 percent potential cancer causing compounds called Polycyclic Aromatic
Hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrated PAH. Biodiesel also reduces emissions of total unburned hydrocarbons, a
contributing factor to smog and ozone, by about 68 percent. Carbon monoxide is reduced by about 48 percent.
Biodiesel can be made from any fat or vegetable oil, such as soybean oil. Soybean checkoff dollars, through the
United Soybean Board and state soybean board checkoff programs, have played a significant role in developing the
U.S. biodiesel industry. Biodiesel has similar horsepower, torque and BTU content compared to petroleum diesel.
It offers excellent lubricity and higher cetane than diesel fuel. Biodiesel is registered with the EPA as a fuel and fuel
additive. About 300 major fleets currently use biodiesel nationwide.

Readers can learn more about biodiesel by visiting http://www.biodiesel.org.

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