In 2001, Chewonki received a grant from the Maine Technology Institute to demonstrate the viability of making significant quantities of biodiesel. The project instantly put biodiesel production on the map in Maine.
Today, the Biodiesel Project remains an important part of Chewonki’s ongoing challenge to take responsibility for our portion of greenhouse gases. Recognizing that global warming is the result of burning fossil fuels, we initiated the project in an effort to consume fewer resources that release CO2. The project demonstrates that fuel for transportation and heating can be produced from a renewable source—in this case used vegetable oil—rather than from fossil petroleum.
Any time we eliminate burning a gallon of fossil fuel, we're making progress. For every gallon of fossil fuel burned, 18 pounds of CO2 are added to the atmosphere. With biodiesel, that figure can be cut by about 78 percent. Chewonki’s Biodiesel Project aims to produce roughly 3,000 gallons of fuel per year. This is enough for us to fuel two 15-passenger diesel vans, a Volvo station wagon, three Volkswagen diesel cars, a tractor, and several staff vehicles, as well as provide supplemental heating fuel for our buildings.
Visit us at Chewonki for a Biofuels Lesson and tour our facility.
What Is Biodiesel?
Chewonki Biodiesel
Biodiesel for Maine
Making Your Own Biodiesel
Learn More
Where can I get biodiesel in Maine?
New Facility Upgrade
What Is Biodiesel? to top
Biodiesel is a biodegradable, nontoxic, and clean-burning fuel that can be made from any fat or vegetable oil, including recycled cooking oil. Because it contains no petroleum or other fossil fuels, biodiesel emits virtually no sulfur, aromatics, particulates, or carcinogenic compounds and is thus a safer and healthier alternative than petroleum diesel. Biodiesel can also be produced domestically from a renewable resource, reducing dependence on foreign oil, increasing agricultural revenue, and creating jobs. In the United States, biodiesel is made primarily from soybeans.
Biodiesel can be used in all conventional diesel engines. It delivers similar performance and engine durability as petroleum diesel and requires virtually no changes in fuel-handling and delivery systems. It can be used in its pure form or blended in any ratio with petroleum diesel. The blend is particularly advantageous since it means biodiesel can be stored and dispensed wherever petroleum diesel is. A blend of 20% biodiesel with 80% petroleum diesel (currently the most common commercial blend, known as B20) is a significantly cleaner fuel than petroleum diesel. It reduces emissions of unburned hydrocarbons by 14%, carbon monoxide by 9%, and particulate matter by 8%. Burning 100% biodiesel, known as B100 or "neat" biodiesel, reduces these emissions by 68, 44, and 40% respectively. Nitrogen oxide emissions may increase slightly with biodiesel, but sulfur emissions, which are major components of acid rain, are essentially eliminated. With this improved air quality, biodiesel is estimated to provide a 90% reduction in cancer risks compared with petroleum diesel. Biodiesel also contributes to fewer greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The respective “closed carbon cycle” (making fuel out of plants, which puts no more CO2 into the atmosphere than is taken back in the plants’ growth process) indicates that B100 releases 78% less CO2into the atmosphere than regular diesel fuel, and B20 16% less.
Biodiesel is safe to store, handle, and use. With a flash point of 300° F (vs. 125° F for petroleum diesel), it is considered nonflammable and is not required to carry a Hazardous Material label. Yet another advantage, at least when it is made from recycled oil, is the savings it offers landfills. In Hawaii, for example, where Pacific Biodiesel, Inc. is producing biodiesel entirely from recycled cooking oil, the restaurants that supply the company formerly sent more than 40 tons of used oil to the Maui landfill every month. And last but not least, of course, there's the aroma. As everyone at Chewonki knows, biodiesel definitely changes the smell of your vehicle's exhaust. French fries for lunch? Popcorn again? Nah, it's just the tractor driving by.
Chewonki Biodiesel to top
In 2001, Chewonki received a $10,000 grant from the Maine Technology Institute to demonstrate the viability of making significant quantities of biodiesel from local sources of used vegetable oil. The grant provided funds to assemble and test equipment, develop a business plan, and design a small production facility on Chewonki Neck. Today the facility operates seven months of the year, producing 150 to 200 gallons of biodiesel a week at peak production. We are currently seeking funding for a permanent production facility that would enable us to produce biodiesel year-round.
We refer to our biodiesel as C3—Chewonki Climate Conscious fuel—and the recipe, according to one reporter, "is about as simple as Aunt Em's recipe for pound cake." That may be an exaggeration, but not by much. The raw material for our biodiesel is used cooking oil, which we collect on a regular basis from several local restaurants. Arriving on Chewonki Neck, we pump it into 275-gallon storage tanks which gravity feed into a reaction vessel (a fancy name for a 55-gallon metal drum.) For every 40 gallons of oil in the reaction vessel, we add 10 gallons of methanol and the appropriate amount of powdered lye as a catalyst. We heat it to 120° F, stir for 1 hour, and let it settle for 8 hours.
As the reaction vessel cools down, Aunt Em's recipe separates into two products. The heavier glycerine settles to the bottom. The lighter and more abundant biodiesel, comprising about 80% of the yield, lies on top and can be used directly in diesel engines and oil furnaces. We drain off the glycerine and transfer the biodiesel to 275-gallon plastic vessels. From there we can truck the fuel wherever it is needed, whether to furnaces or to the diesel pump at the garage. The glycerine, an organic compound which breaks down quickly, is composted, but we may eventually refine and sell it for pharmaceutical or soap use, as many commercial biodiesel producers do.
We currently produce 150 to 200 gallons of C3 a week and have been using it in vehicles and furnaces for more than six years. The only glitch, which is one all biodiesel users face, is that in vehicles the fuel can gel in cold weather and not flow properly. We’ve gotten around this by blending C3 with petroleum diesel and by retrofitting our 1982 diesel Volvo with a heated fuel tank. Chewonki does not supply biodiesel to the public. We produce biodiesel under an “experimental clause,” which means the fuel cannot be sold on an open market. Our intention in producing biodiesel is to inspire and to educate people. Becoming a supplier would be straying from these fundamental values.
Biodiesel for Maine to top
In 2004, Chewonki received a grant from the Maine State Energy Program and the U.S. Department of Energy to build a market for biodiesel in Maine. The grant provides two years of funding for Chewonki and four additional partners (Maine Energy Investment Corporation, Frontier Energy, the Biodiesel Development Project, and the Environmental & Energy Technology Council) to educate potential large diesel users about the advantages of using biodiesel in Maine. The aim of building market demand is to integrate biodiesel into the market, making it more widely available in the state and encouraging construction of an in-state production facility capable of producing a million gallons a year. The current use of biodiesel in Maine is about 60,000 to 70,000 gallons a year, but feasibility studies indicate that figure has the potential to grow tremendously. Restaurants alone produce almost two million gallons of used cooking oil per year—and pay to have it shipped out of state for disposal.
“Biodiesel for Maine: a Public Education and Market Development Project” is codirected by Chewonki and by Maine Energy Investment Corporation, a nonprofit market development company. In the fall of 2005, we started showcasing technical demonstrations and educational materials around the state, targeting municipalities (including school districts), businesses, industry, and marine co-ops. How biodiesel is made and delivered, its emissions profile, its costs and benefits, and how it fits into the need for a homegrown, renewable, and secure source of energy are all part of our pitch. Already our team has worked with the Town of Boothbay and with Maine Clean Communities in Portland. Our hope is that interested entities will sign a nonbinding letter of interest, stating that if biodiesel were available within a given price range, they would use x gallons of it a year. We hope such letters will provide a strong incentive for companies to supply biodiesel and for investors to build a plant in Maine.
Making Your Own Biodiesel to top
If you have any questions about making biodiesel or are interested in making it, consult From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank: The Complete Guide to Using Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel by Joshua Tickell (published by Tickell Energy Consulting, Tallahassee, FL, 2000).
Learn More About Biodiesel to top
The Maine Energy Investment Corporation publishes an informative e-newsletter, available at www.renewmaine.org/BFM.htm. To subscribe, visit the website, e-mail info@renewmaine.org, or call 207-729-9665.
National Biodiesel Board
Telephone 800-841-5849, e-mail info@biodiesel.org
Where can I get biodiesel in Maine? to top
Frontier Energy
1166 Route 3
South China, ME 04358
Telephone 800-773-2409
Maritime Farms
Route 17
Union, ME 04862
Telephone 207-785-2226
Green Bean Biofuel
163 Penny Lane
Belgrade, ME 04917
Telephone 207-495-3199
