Veggie fat is where it’s
at -– biodiesel slips into Maine’s economy
March 10, 2005
By David Munson
The wonders of vegetable oil never cease. Once a second-class
byproduct of vegetable processing operations, oil derived
from soy, rapeseed, sunflower seed and other plants
has become an important resource.
Vegetable oil was touted as a culinary wonder decades
ago and quickly replaced lard as the primary cooking
oil, much to the relief of Americans' sclerotic arteries.
Not only do the miraculous methyl esters in vegetable
oil make grandma's brownies healthier and tastier, but
they may one day be the fuel that fires the trip to
grandma's house in the first place.
Biodiesel, a fuel derived from plant oil, has become
the focus of more attention as the costs of foreign
petroleum continue to soar. It is renewable, nontoxic
and biodegradable and releases fewer greenhouse gases
when burned, helping to mitigate the effects of global
warming. Recognizing the possible benefits of biodiesel
for the state of Maine, Maine Businesses for Social
Responsibility sponsored an information session on Tuesday
about the fuel and its potential for use in the state.
Joel Glatz, a representative of Frontier Energy, a
distributor of biodiesel in Maine, reviewed some of
the potential benefits of the fuel for a large and enthusiastic
crowd at the Farnsworth Art Museum. He said the per
gallon costs of the alternative fuel are getting better.
"The R20 biodiesel blend was 20 to 30 cents more
than regular petroleum, but recent tax incentives have
reduced the difference to only 5 to 10 cents,"
said Glatz. "And as petroleum costs rise that margin
will continue to decrease."
Glatz said one well-known Maine business, L.L. Bean,
has been using biodiesel in its trucking fleet for more
than a year as a way to meet environmental stewardship
goals. The state has also jumped on the biodiesel bandwagon,
using more than 360,000 gallons of the plant-derived
power source last year to heat the governor's mansion
and various other government buildings.
Locally, the nearest sources of biodiesel for the consumer
are in Saco and South China, but Glatz hopes the product
will become more available in the Midcoast and other
areas as interest continues to increase.
Used vegetable oil, the same stuff that erupts into
a popping, churning cloud of bubbles with every clump
of frozen french fries, may also have a future in the
fuel tanks of Maine's automobiles and furnaces. Tapped-out
fry-o-lator liquid can be gathered up from restaurants,
processed and mixed with petroleum-based oil to create
biodiesel, and a group of environmentally minded Mainers
is working on a plan to make it happen.
"What we're looking to do is to build a private
facility in Southern Maine that is capable of an output
of approximately 1 million gallons a year," said
engineer and environmental consultant Norm Gridley.
"The facility would turn vegetable oil and trapped
grease into biodiesel, converting one unit of waste
into one unit of fuel."
The conversion from greasy goo to ecofriendly fuel
is not as complex as one might think. School groups,
environmental organizations and individuals are already
doing it in the Pine Tree State, utilizing their converted
concoctions for everything from heating their homes
to fueling buses, cars and trucks. Small-scale biodiesel
operations produced approximately 45,000 gallons of
the stuff in 2003. Nationally, the annual output for
biodiesel is about 30 million gallons, most of which
comes from unused soybean oil.
According to Gridley, restaurants in Maine produce
an estimated two million gallons of waste oil each year
and must pay to dispose of the slippery refuse to the
tune of 70 cents per gallon. Gridley and his supporters
hope to create benefits on both ends of the system in
Maine, removing waste oil from restaurants at a reduced
cost and turning it into a local-use fuel.
Whether originating as virgin vegetable oil or aged
deep-fryer grease, biodiesel is typically not used in
its pure form, but is combined with petroleum to create
a hybrid product that can be used in unmodified engines
and burners. The typical blend of 80 percent petroleum
diesel and 20 percent biodiesel (R20) gives off approximately
123,000 BTUs of heat energy, falling halfway between
the heat output of kerosene and straight diesel fuel.
According to Glatz, the product performs as well as
pure petroleum fuels, even adding additional lubrication
that can extend the life of the equipment being used.
As efficient as biodiesel has proven to be, it is the
product's environmental benefits that have attracted
many of its supporters. The Chewonki Foundation, an
environmental education organization that has been active
in utilizing and promoting biodiesel in the state, sees
the fuel as a means to achieve positive change for the
environment without the drastic social and economic
disruptions that conversion to other alternative fuel
sources could cause.
"It's a completely renewable fuel; it's made from
converted sunshine and it works," said Chewonki's
Peter Arnold. "What we need to do now is focus
on how to make the transition smooth. I think we are
closer than we think to significant change."
Source:http://knox.villagesoup.com
|
