This tank, with a screened top, is what Phil leaves at restaurants for waste vegetable oil. The scoop is used to remove bits of food left in the oil.

by Sally Colby

   A look at Phil Roth’s background as a fruit grower is proof that he favors practical, profitable and innovative production. Already a serious composter, Phil decided that producing biodiesel for his farm vehicles was the next logical step in keeping his operation up-to-date. First, he spent an entire winter researching the production process; visiting small-scale biodiesel producers to see various set-ups. He was convinced that biodiesel was feasible, but before he made a final decision about establishing his own operation, Phil wanted to find out how his tractors would run on biodiesel. “I purchased biofuel from Soy Energy in New Oxford, PA,” said Phil. “I ran one tractor, a 1965 4-cylinder Massey Ferguson with a direct injection Perkins engine on 100 percent biofuel, and ran all of the other tractors on 50 percent.” Phil noticed that although the tractors were somewhat harder to start in cold weather, the engines ran more smoothly on biofuel.

   After seeing several production set-ups, Phil knew he wanted clean, safe biofuel production that didn’t require pouring of fluids from tank to tank. He settled on the BioPro 380, an automated processor with 100-gallon production capacity. A compressor room that once held equipment for cold storage apples turned out to be the ideal location for fuel production, so it was a matter of deciding where to put the pieces. “I sat on an apple crate and just stared at the room to figure out where the piping would go,” said Phil, who did all of the plumbing himself but had an electrician take care of the wiring and control panel. The production area is well-ventilated with fans, and doors remain open while in production. 

   The next step was obtaining waste vegetable oil (WVO) that he’d use to make fuel. Phil found that restaurant chains such as Wendy’s and Burger King had contracts for waste oil pick-up, so he had to establish a rapport with private restaurants in the area. He found that most were paying to have waste oil picked up, so they were glad to have him take care of it, and even more pleased that he picked it up on a regular basis. “There was never any question from people who were paying to have it hauled away, because now I’d be doing it for free,” he said. “The question came from high-volume fast food restaurants that are paid for waste oil. My break-even point is $2/gallon, so unless the cost of off-road diesel fuel goes above $2, I can’t afford to pay for it.”

   Phil says that once a restaurant is relying on regular pick-up of waste oil, it’s critical for the biofuel producer to make regular rounds. “They’re glad to see my tank with a lid rather than a barrel, and someone they can rely on to empty it before it overflows. The complaint I’ve heard most from the restaurants I’m collecting with now is that they had to make phone calls to have the commercial renderers make a collection — it was overflowing. Most of us biodiesel guys are conscientious enough to go pick it up before it overflows.” Phil began to collect waste oil from five restaurants in August of 2008, and by March of 2009, he had accumulated 1500 gallons of oil. 

   After collection, the waste vegetable oil (WVO) is pumped into an elevated storage tank outside the building. The production process is relatively simple: oil, catalyst and methanol. “For every hundred gallons of fuel, it takes 25 gallons of methanol,” said Phil. “Methanol is a hazardous material but it’s not restricted. The catalyst is potassium hydroxide. The combination of potassium hydroxide and methanol is stirred for about six hours — that splits the fat from the biodiesel. After it settles for 16 hours, the glycerin shows up in the pipeline.”

   The fuel is washed three times; first with a mist spray, followed by two mist and agitation cycles. Water in the fuel means the potential for bacteria that can lead to clogging, so Phil tests and treats for bacteria. “When a restaurant uses oil for cooking, it collects water from French fries, fish or whatever is cooked. If you have high water content in waste oil, you have to use more methanol, so the trick is dry the oil as much as possible beforehand. That’s one thing the literature doesn’t talk about. If you want a quality product, you have to spend time getting the water out.”

   Phil says that when he was researching biodiesel, there was little mention of what to do with waste products that result from the production process. Research has yielded reasonable options for using glycerin, the largest volume waste product. However, for most applications, the methanol that remains in glycerin should be removed first. One option for waste glycerine is for dust control, much like crankcase oil was used in the past; but glycerine is longer lasting and isn’t hazardous. Glycerine is also a potential addition to compost; however, methanol, which is an alcohol, must be removed since composting involves biological organisms that will be destroyed by alcohol. Phil says that the methanol recovered from glycerin can be reused, and he plans to do just that because, as he says, “It doesn’t make economic sense not to reuse the methanol from glycerol.” 

   If he runs the bioprocessor constantly, Phil has the capacity to make about 14,000 gallons/year. The problem is finding enough waste vegetable oil for that level of production. To help fund the processor, Phil received grant funds through a SARE project designed to teach farmers to make biodiesel for waste vegetable oil. Phil predicts that fuel prices will continue to rise, and plans to sell biodiesel to other farmers for on-farm use. “You can’t use it on the highway in a licensed vehicle,” said Phil. “If I make it and use it over the highway, I have to register with the state and pay taxes.”