Is it economically feasible for farms to make biodiesel from cooking grease?

Question

So, here's what I know:

There are cases online of "homebrewers" who make biodiesel to fuel their diesel-engine cars.

Farms in general a lot of diesel engines.

People commercially sell biodiesel, but many farms don't make biodiesel themselves.

Gas prices are going up, and depending on the system, the costs of making biodiesel (initial setup, methanol, lye/potash) can be lower than the price at the pump.

If farms have some restaurants or food chains nearby, would it make sense for them to use the cooking grease and make biodiesel to fuel their equipment?

Answer 1

I think it would be feasible. A bunch of Middlebury College students drove a bus cross-country that was powered just by leftover grease from fast food restaurants.

My understanding is that it's pretty efficient. I think the problem is that you need a pretty regular supply, and there isn't enough leftover french fry grease to power all of our farm equipment. Still, your question--would it make sense for farms with restaurants nearby--I think it would and I think it's already happening in places.

Possible problem--I would think that the smell of burnt french fry grease coming from your tractor all day would make you really queasy.

Answer 2

In general, it would take a lot of restaurants to provide enough waste vegetable oil to run a farm. The amount of time and fuel to collect the WVO would be more than the amount of biodiesel you could make. You don't want to use trap grease for making biodiesel.

As a farmer, your best approach is to grow an oil-seed crop. These include rapeseed (makes canola oil), sunflowers, soy beans, and peanuts. I know there are a lot of legal issues around selling peanuts, but it is perfectly legal for you to grow peanuts as long as no by-product leaves the farm. Did you know that peanuts actually provide nutrients to the soil?

Corn is not a good option because of the low oil content (relative to the others).

You should contact or create a growers co-op near you. The best use for a co-op is to collectively purchase a cold press and the biodiesel refinery.

The advantages of a cold press for oil extraction is:

* the resulting oil has longer hydro-carbon strings, which is better for biodiesel.

* you can sell the resulting "seed cake" (what's left over after pressing) as animal feed (especially if it is soy beans).

Don't be misled into thinking you have to you have to build a 30 million gal/year refinery. You should match the size of the refinery to the expected yield of the co-op members (with some room for growth). Choose a continuous process (not a batch process) from the beginning, and adding capacity will be straight-forward.

If you don't have a growers' co-op near by, don't be afraid to start small with an acre of soil, your own oil press and small-scale biodiesel refinery. You can always scale up when you decide how much land to allot to your fuel needs.

Answer 3

It may be, but the trouble is is that there isn't that much cooking grease available.  I doubt if all the cooking grease that is now thrown away would cover 2% of the farming industry's needs.

Answer 4

The main thing is to filter it to a very fine filter as if u don't it will fall your injectors.

Answer 5

Restaurants also have problems getting rid of their cooking grease because they just can't dump them.

You could talk with your local restaurants and food chains and make some ararngements for you to get their used cooking oil.

If you use lots of diesel engines, it is feasible to use biodiesel. Just make sure those engines have metal fuel lines as biodiesel is known to thin fuel lines and may rupture them. Change your engine's fuel lines to metal ones.

Answer 6

Absolutely is the answer to your question. We have a Chevy 3500 Cargo Van that we run off of b99.9. Runs like a champ and every time I take it in the mechanic is amazed how clean the engine is and how well it runs. It has saved us hundreds of dollars and I get a better MPG!

Biodiesel is clean, safe, and way cheaper then regular diesel. You will save money on fuel and on parts for your vehicle's.

A great book to help you achieve your goal is "Fryer to the Flue Tank" by Josh Tickell. This book will help you step by step in turning your used cooking oil into fuel. A rather inexpensive and safe process. Not sure where you are located, but there are many companies all around the world that can help you as well. Just look up BioDiesel on the web. Almost everyone I have met in the industry wants to help others make it themselves. If you can't find anyone, look up Josh Tickell and I bet you will find help from him.

The thing you have to be careful with on BioDiesel is natural rubber. Any engine made after 1990 will have synthetic rubber and not natural rubber in it. You have to have synthetic rubber or you will be replacing the lines quickly after switching to Bio. Also, if you have been running on Diesle for a long time, you will need to change your fuel filter every 4 to 6 months for the first year. BioDiesel is a premium fuel and will clean out all the c**p that a Diesel has left behind.

A sad fact in the this country is that most of our waste vegetable fry oils go right back into our food production and is feed to live stock. A method that is illegal in Europe. Mmmmm tasty!

Many restaurants have to pay for the oil to be taken away, so talk to your local restaurants, I am betting the if you take it away for free, they will love you for it. Good Luck!