Call to action canceled. Looks like AZ Biodiesel will be moving to a new city. Update forthcoming.

Check out the popular posts to the right. –>

The City of Chandler Arizona has ordered AZ Biodiesel to cease operations because of zoning compliance issues and refuses to let them operate while these issues are worked out. AZ Biodiesel is a small company making WVO Biodiesel and can’t afford to be shut down while waiting for Chandler to complete this 3 to 6 month process. AZ Biodiesel has the full support of the city’s fire marshal and has been safely producing biodiesel for their own vehicles for three years at their current location. They are located in a light industrial zone which has been approved for biodiesel production in the City of Phoenix. AZ Biodiesel is the only source of biodiesel made from waste oil in the Phoenix area and it would be a huge shame for the city to loose this valuable resource. Please encourage the City of Chandler to let AZ Biodiesel operate while this process is completed by emailing, calling, or faxing them at the address and phone numbers below.

**Update please read before contacting the City of Chandler. Please check the comments below for the response you’ll get back from Chandler and also AZ Biodiesel’s response to that. There are definitely two sides to every story and maybe both parties have some blame to accept for this mess. As far as I can tell AZ Biodiesel wasn’t trying to get around any planning and zoning laws, they were under the impression they had followed all the rules and had done everything the City had asked. That was until they were shut down without warning. It seems there was some sort of communication disconnect between the City and AZ Biodiesel and instead of working with AZ Biodiesel to fix any issues they shut them down and told them they’d have to wait. Hopefully our letters can help move this process along and get these issues resolved without having to make AZ Biodiesel move or go out of business.

I recently sent some questions via email to Casey Brooks (Marketing/Media Relations) over at Arizona Green Dining to learn more about what they do. Arizona Green Dining collects waste vegetable oil from restaurants here in Arizona and their partners Az Biodiesel recycle it into biodiesel. Here’s what he had to say:

Q) What criteria do you use to classify a restaurant as “green”?

The most significant and quickest impact a restaurant can make to the local environment is to have their used fryer oil be recycled into clean burning biodiesel. This is a abundant local renewable resource that can make a significant impact on the air we breath in Arizona. And for the restaurant it is the easiest transition to make the biggest impact on the environment.

Q) How do you use the waste oil you receive?

Our partners Az Biodiesel recycle the waste oil into clean burning low emissions biodiesel fuel to only be sold here in Arizona. For every gallon of biodiesel that Az Biodiesel makes it will take away 16 pounds of co2 emissions out of the skies in Arizona.

Q) What would happen to the waste oil otherwise?

Some of the waste oil that is too polluted to be recycled into biodiesel fuel will be used for feed stock here in Az. But unfortunately most of the used oil is being shipped out of state or even out of the country. Used waste oil is a commodity and some oil collection companies are selling it to other biodiesel manufacturers in other states. Our partners at AZ Biodiesel have committed to use the oil for biodiesel fuel to be only sold here in Arizona. Its a resource that should be utilized here in Arizona and not shipped elsewhere.

Q) What is the benefit to the restaurants, consumers, local economy, environment, and what is the benefit to az green dining?

The benefit to the restaurant is that they can take advantage of the advertising campaign that Az Green Restaurant org. has launched to increase business into these participating locations. People these days tend to favor businesses’ that are doing their part in helping the environment, so the restaurants can also benefit by promoting themselves as a environmentally friendly establishment (that should also increase their business.) The consumers benefit knowing they are actually helping out the local environment by dining at these establishments. And the consumers also benefit from the cleaner air. To the local economy: Creating jobs in biodiesel processing, fuel distribution, equipment maintenance, and many other collateral business’ associated with any industry and this is just the beginning of a new local industry. Glycerin by product is reducing costs at local water treatment plants.
AZ Biodiesel maintains the cleanliness of the restaurants oil collection area and environmentally clean accidental spills and try to use as many “recycled” collection systems (used, high quality, easy pour, fluid visible, barrels) as possible.

Q) Is the biodiesel that is produced from this oil going to be available to the general public?

Absolutely.
From the commercial supply our target market is the school bus system first and foremost. But, we definitely want to make available to all the individuals that want to be environmentally friendly. Its the community effort that will determine the size of the success and our potential to use as much local resources as possible. Its all about the public and I think people would agree on the commercial side that school bus’ first makes sense.

Q) Will any of the biodiesel be shipped out of state?

NO

Q) What is done with the byproducts of biodiesel production?

Currently, the city of mesa uses it (for free) in their water treatment plant to increase the “energy” produced. Glycerin is like a food for the microbes they grow to consume the solid waste. This will save mesa a lot of money, we expect, and we feel is the true “community benefit” that should come from it. We aren’t interested in making every nickel by selling glycerin when the community should benefit as this is really a community effort.

Q) Anything you would like to add?

Please help clean the skies in Arizona but supporting local restaurants that donate their used fryer oil to be recycled into clean burning biodiesel by visiting www.azgreendining.com

WVO Storage Tanks at Az Biodiesel - Biodiesel Mixing tanks at Az Biodiesel

Az Biodiesel should be opening soon, they have already passed ASTM specifications on their biodiesel and are currently waiting for an EPA certificate.

What else can restaurants do to be more stustainable?

• Serve dine-in customers with reusable, washable plates, cutlery, utensils, and glasses.
• Serve take-out customers with biodegradable packaging, cutlery, and utensils. Eco-Products
• Watch their energy usage. I can think of many places where it’s so cold you need a jacket to dine-in.
• Watch their water usage. Don’t unnecessarily waste water.

This has been changed from April 17th to April 22nd.

This is a great opportunity to meet Mark Edwards, Milton Summerfeld, and Hu Qiang ASU Polytechnic’s leading researchers of Algae for use in biofuels. They will be talking about their research and giving a tour of their lab. Head over there and learn about what is looking to be one of the next generation feedstock of biofuels.

Arizona State University
Polytechnic
Tuesday 22 April 08
Cooley A at MU, 3 pm

Map

Read the rest of this entry »

Some irresponsible biodiesel producers are dumping their waste products mostly consisting of glycerin into rivers and streams. This can kill plants, animals, and especially fish. Even though these are mostly classified as non-toxic chemicals the glycerin needs to be cleaned of any methanol residue in it. Also large amounts of this in the environment quickly reduces the amount of oxygen in the water which kills fish and plants.

A producer needs to know what they are going to do with their waste products before going into this business.  You can’t just dump your waste into a stream and expect to get away with it. Check out the story at nytimes.com.

The crew from BioTour made a stop on ASU’s Tempe campus today to promote sustainable living, biofuels, and solar energy. They welcomed everyone to take a tour of their bus and eagerly answered everyone’s questions. As I walked up to the bus I was immediately welcomed by BioTour co-director Ethan Burke and asked if I’d like a tour.

Their bus is powered by waste veggie oil (wvo) which they collect from restaurants in whatever town they happen to be in that day. Ethan said they usually stick to Chinese restaurants because they have the highest quality oil (i.e. it is changed frequently as opposed to used and reused and used again at a fast food chain).

The first thing Ethan showed me is the side of the bus where they suck the oil from grease traps and filter it into storage tanks. He said they are working on better ways to filter the oil because the filters clog a little too frequently. One solution they are looking into is using a centrifuge to achieve better filtration.

Next he showed me the actual tanks they have mounted under the bus. These tanks are heated to thin out the oil making it closer to the viscosity of diesel fuel which is more more fluid than veggie oil when at room temperature. Before they can even run off of wvo it has to reach at least 160 degrees before it can be injected in the engine. They have to start the bus on biodiesel and then switch over to the wvo once it’s hot enough. The switch over is very seamless and can be done while moving.

I asked if they ever have trouble finding enough restaurants to get oil from and he said every once in a while they do but that it’s usually not a problem. They’ll use biodiesel or even regular diesel to get them to their next wvo pickup.

So after seeing where they suck up the oil and store it Ethan took me up to the front of the bus where the engine cover is open, exposing the modifications they’ve made. Unlike biodiesel, which doesn’t require any engine modifications, to run off of wvo a few things have to be done. Since they have to warm up the engine on biodiesel before switching over to wvo a system must be installed to do the actual switching. Also heated tanks need to be installed and heated fuel filters. In the picture on the right you can see they use the heat from the engine’s coolant system to heat the fuel filters. These filter out anything in the oil larger then 20 microns. I asked how long they can go before these clog up and Ethan said they can usually go just over 2,000 miles before they have to change them. That’s one reason they are looking at better pre-filtering so that they can get more life out of these filters. So basically that’s it, after leaving these filters the clean wvo is injected into the engine and off they go.

Quite a few people were asking if the wvo has caused any engine trouble, and being that this is an old bus (1989) Ethan explained they’ve had a few breakdowns, but these weren’t related to the wvo system. I believe he said the steering went out once, and a few other things, but the engine is still running strong.

That was about it for the nuts and bolts of how things worked, Ethan was surrounded by curious onlookers asking about how it all worked, so I headed inside the bus to take a look around. In the bus I ran into Alan Palm who is the other co-director. He was telling stories of their adventures to a few people that were already inside. I caught part of a story about when they broke down and someone that worked for an oil company towed their bus to his house and let them stay for a week while they fixed it.

So this is where they live all year long, touring the country, visiting schools, colleges, and community gatherings. They are continually giving presentations and tours on sustainability on these visits. They drive around 40,000 miles a year and have so far visited 42 states. The two other crew members who I didn’t get to talk to are Fernando Austin and Jenny Sherman. Check out their website where you can get tons more information about their mission, what they do, and even a blog.

BioTour is a journey that aims to enliven the Sustainability Movement while exploring the depths of America—the people, land, and cultures. BioTour addresses the vital issues of climate change, environmental degradation, and peak oil while presenting pathways toward sustainability in renewable energy, active democracy, and understanding the interconnectedness of all living things. www.biotour.com