Fatty Acid Profiles of Biodiesel Feedstock Fats and Oils

Click to Enlarge.

The Renewable Energy Group has released a free Feedstock and Biodiesel Characteristics Report, a fairly comprehensive analysis of – yep, you guessed it! – a whole bunch of animal fats and vegetable oils.

One area they analyzed was the fatty acid profiles of common fats and oils used as biodiesel feedstocks.

If you don’t know already, fatty acid chains are the long skinny carbon chains dangling from the alcohol on a fat or plant oil molecule.  In naturally occurring oils the alcohol is glycerol, and holds onto three fatty acid chains.  In biodiesel the glycerol has usually been replaced with a methanol, and connects to a single fatty acid chain.

(Note: most biodiesel brewers will have heard of free fatty acids, or FFAs.  These are fatty acids that are no longer attached to their alcohol.)

As a reference point, the cetane molecule in diesel is 16 cabons long, and is fully saturated (coated, for lack of a better word) with hydrogen.  (Of course the fossilized diesel fuel lacks the alcohol on the end.)

Okay, how to read this chart:

The first number shows how many carbons long the fatty acid is, and the second number tells how many hydrogens it’s missing (in these places the carbon double bonds to itself and the oil is considered unsaturated).  If you look, most of these natural fats and oils are 16-18 carbons long, very similar to diesel!

You can guess cold weather flow properties by how unsaturated an oil is.  Straight fully-hydrogenated chains pack together tightly, like uncooked spaghetti, and usually make a butter-like solid.  Unsaturated chains (missing some hydrogens) have kinks and bends where the carbon double bonds to itself, making a tangly mess like cooked spaghetti.  These unsaturated oils tend to flow better at cold temperatures (note: “hydrogenated” oils are unsaturated ones that have been treated to become saturated.)

Although unsaturated oils flow better, they also have slightly less power (less dense), and are less stable.  Those double bonds are more susceptible to degradation by oxidation, breaking apart and/or reconnecting into a varnish.

Veg On!

Dillingham Biodiesel and Fish Oil Fuel Systems – Oct 17-19, 2008

We’re pleased to announce a second Bristol Bay course this October! 

UAF Bristol Bay Dillingham Campus is hosting a one-credit three-day Biodiesel and Fish Oil Fuel Systems – SCIA F193 course Friday October 17th to Sunday October 19th.

This is a repeat of the King Salmon course offered October 10-12th.

Once again the Bristol Bay Economic Development Council is subsidizing the course.

Please register by October 3rd. Call UAF-BBC Dillingham at 842-5109 or 800-478-5109 for more information.

You can also see the King Salmon biodiesel and fish oil fuel systems course description for details.

We’ll see you there!

If you can’t make it out to Dillingham check out our other upcoming events:

October 10-12, 2008 Friday-Sunday
Biodiesel and Fish Oil Fuel Systems
UAF-Bristol Bay Campus Naknek-King Salmon
$75 Call 246-4292 to register.

October 17-19, 2008 Friday-Sunday
The Food vs. Fuel Distraction: Sustainable Local Biodiesel.
Bioneers Conference at UAA-Anchorage
Register at www.sustainak.org.

Sunday November 2, 2008 2:00pm
Backyard Biodiesel Basics
Free at the Eagle River Nature Center
$5 parking for non-members – no registration required.

Saturday November 8th, 2008 12:30-4:30pm
Hands-On Biodiesel Brewing
Unitarian Fellowship, Turnagain, Anchorage
$49 ($39 before Oct 8th.) Call 688-5288 to register.

NOTE: We STRONGLY encourage you to attend the Nov. 2nd class first as the hands-on course is a intermediate-level brewing course and involves a fair amount of chemistry.

Veg On!

Naknek – King Salmon Fish Oil Biodiesel Course – Oct 10-12, 2008

Our biodiesel and svo seminars are now available for college credit!  UAF Bristol Bay is hosting a one-credit three-day Biodiesel and Fish Oil Fuel Systems course Friday October 10th to Sunday October 12th.

The course is subsidized by the Bristol Bay Economic Development Council, so we are able to offer a 15-hour course for only $75!  Registration ends Next FRIDAY September 26th, so hop to it and call 246-4292.  Here’s the SCIA F193 registration form, and the SCIA F193 Class Flyer.

This course will provide students with the knowledge to design straight vegetable/fish oil (SVO) fuel systems and biodiesel processing techniques. Students will learn safe chemistry techniques and will make their own small batches of biodiesel.

In addition, we will study the state of biodiesel in Alaska, look at which diesels work on vegetable/fish oil the best, explore the science behind biodiesel and SVO systems, compare emissions, learn how to collect oil responsibly, and discuss storage requirements.

We will investigate the different types of processors and SVO systems available and will develop plans for local implementation of biodiesel/SVO systems.

If you can’t make it out to King Salmon check out our other upcoming events:

October 17-19, 2008 Friday-Sunday
Biodiesel and Fish Oil Fuel Systems
UAF-Bristol Bay Campus Dillingham.
$75 Call 842-5109 or 800-478-5109 to register.

October 17-19, 2008 Friday-Sunday
The Food vs. Fuel Distraction: Sustainable Local Biodiesel.
Bioneers Conference at UAA-Anchorage
Register at www.sustainak.org.

Sunday November 2, 2008 2:00pm
Backyard Biodiesel Basics
Free at the Eagle River Nature Center
$5 parking for non-members – no registration required.

Saturday November 8th, 2008 12:30-4:30pm
Hands-On Biodiesel Brewing
Unitarian Fellowship, Turnagain, Anchorage
$49 ($39 before Oct 8th.) Call 688-5288 to register.

NOTE: We STRONGLY encourage you to attend the Nov. 2nd class first as the hands-on course is a intermediate-level brewing course and involves a fair amount of chemistry.

We are also working on a Dillingham course for October – Stay tuned.

Veg On!

Alaska Fish Oil Biodiesel Grant Reopened

The Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) $180,000 grant I wrote about in 13 million gallons of Alaska Fish Oil has finally been reopened.

More info at the State of Alaska’s Public Notice.

Here’s some excerpts from the grant’s introduction:

The Alaska seafood industry processes approximately 4.4 billion pounds of fish annually, producing approximately 2.2 billion pounds of “waste,” those portions of the fish not processed for human or industrial consumption. Of that waste, approximately 62 percent is discharged into state waters. The discharged fish waste contains an estimated 13 million gallons of unrecovered fish oil.

Besides its use in pharmaceuticals and agriculture/aquaculture feeds, Alaska fish oil has been demonstrated as a suitable supplementary or displacement fuel in applications burning diesel as a thermal fuel (in boilers or heaters) and, in some circumstances, as an engine fuel. Alaska fishoil has also been demonstrated as excellent feedstock oil for the production of biodiesel (methyl esters).

A major hurdle hindering further oil recovery from Alaska-generated fish processing wastes is that the waste is generated at numerous geographically dispersed sites over relatively short periods of time in following harvesting practices of wild stocks. This tends to discourage investment in and the economic viability of fixed location oil recovery facilities, the most common model. Further, fish waste is generally not amenable to aggregation and transport as it is bulky, difficult to handle, and degrades rapidly unless frozen or otherwise preserved.

The intent of this project is to provide grant funding and technical/business support toward the development, construction, and demonstrated operation of a mobile fish oil recovery module. This module will be employed at and relocated between multiple existing processing sites thereby increasing its annual utilization and economic return. It is expected that at some processing sites, the fish oil product will be retained and utilized by the host facility and/or community to displace the use of conventional diesel engine or boiler fuels.

Need more info about the application? Contact the grant manager, James Jensen at (907) 771-3000.

Veg On!

Salmon Biodiesel at Oceans Festival June 7th Anchorage

Come down to the Anchorage Parkstrip Saturday Afternoon for the Alaska Oceans Festival and visit the Alaska Biodiesel and SVO Network booth. We’ll be sharing space with our non-profit sponsor, the Alaska Chapter Sierra Club.

Salmon oil biodiesel demonstrations will be offered every hour or so throughout the afternoon, but be sure to stick around for the evening beers and music.

Son Volt is playing a free show 7:30pm, with Fairbanks jam-Americana band Sweating Honey opening at 6pm. The 4pm keynote speaker is Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of legendary explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

As a side note, we’re in need of clear 2-liter soda bottles (with caps) for upcoming biodiesel events.  If you have a few please drop them off at the booth!

Veg On!

Alaska Biodiesel Night a Success!

Wow, we had over 100 people turn out to yesterday’s Alaska Biodiesel Night. Folks flew in from all over the state, and many of key biofuel folks were in the audience to help answer the tricky questions:

Hans Geier, the Delta Canola famer has solved the problems that growing Canola in Alaska has been faced with in the past, and spoke about his farm-scale oil press.

James Jensen from the Alaska Energy Authority updated us on fish-oil projects, specifically mentioning their use of antioxidants for fuel preservation, the portable rendering plant grant, and studies to determine the benefits to the environment by capturing the oil from carcasses instead of dumping them.

A fisherman (Brian Pauling, I think?) from Dillingham asked about shelf-life and stability of fish guts/oil/biodiesel, as they are trying to get a fish oil energy project off the ground.

Tim Hudson was there to testify about the National Park Service’s successes with B100, and specifically mentioned using heated fuel systems to keep B100 driving down to -38F.

And many other folks brought up great points, from “secret diesel” recipes and unheated blending proposals, to biodiesel efforts on prop airplanes.

Anthony Destafano from SEAKsolutions, flew up from Juneau and gave a great presentation on Southeast Alaska’s renewable energy potential. He focused on the fact that biodiesel can help now, and doesn’t require the years of studies and infrastructure requirements that plague many renewable energy projects.

I tried to focus on the the title of the evening. “Biodiesel: What is it? Why is it so great? How can I get it?” We covered chemistry, ASTM specs, emissions, carbon and energy balances, lubrication and oxygenation benefits to the engine, and of course, how to obtain biodiesel. Basically, with the new Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), you need some kind of additive to protect your engine – biodiesel is an excellent one, and B20 blends will run in unmodified diesel engines.

We at Arctic Vegwerks are working with the biofuels community and are expecting to sell ASTM biodiesel this summer, while hoping that local producers are up and running within a year. More on this later.

Furthermore, Arctic Vegwerks is offering a series of classes and seminars on backyard biodiesel this summer. More on this soon.

The evening ended with a great networking session in the foyer, Zane Ulin and crew from Premium Biofuels Alaska were handing out flyers on the BioPro, building off of Anthony Destefano’s fleet-scale biodiesel project in Taku that he mention in his talk. Folks from UAA were handing out questionnaires for yet another biodiesel feasibility study, and Mark Goodman from Mill and Feed told me about the skyrocketing market for yellow grease. More on grease prices soon.

Thanks to the folks from “French Fries to Go” and “Greasy Rider” for the films, to all the great people who made this happen, especially Judy Stoll who helped staff the table at the last minute, and a big cheer to the Sierra Club for sponsoring the evening. We’ll do it again.

Alaska Biodiesel in the News.

I just caught wind of the January 2008 Biodiesel Magazine article on developing projects across the US. They highlighted the Alaska fish oil projects, and mentioned the grant for a portable fish-oil rendering facility, which I wrote about a few month’s back. Looks like I’ll have to give up some personal information and get a free subscription.

Also, the Anchorage Daily News published my response (original response here) to the Science magazine studies, which once again pointed out that destroying the rainforest is a bad way to grow oil crops for biofuels.

Veg On!

Gasoline and Vegetable Oil Blends

I’ve had a few phone calls from Alaska folks really really wanting a cheap and easy solution to running vegetable oil. Most recently was a plan to run 90% raw Canola oil, straight from the farmer’s press, which would be “treated” with 10% gasoline.

Here’s the response I wrote:

Hmmm. It’s my belief that if it were cheap and easy everyone would be doing it. My first thoughts are “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” and “You get what you pay for.”

Blending straight vegetable oil with gasoline (or diesel) and burning it directly in your diesel vehicle should be considered *very* experimental. Of course biodiesel folks often get nervous about running heated SVO, and the 2-tank heated veg folks can get skittish about running those unheated vegoil blends.

The closest I’ve gotten to blending is the time that I left my vegoil in the injection pump overnight (I forgot to purge). I did get the 81 VW pickup started at about 40 degrees – and it didn’t cause any noticeable harm to the system – but it kicked and bucked quite a bit while thick black smoke poured out until it warmed up. I try to avoid running cold oil in a cold engine.

I do know of one guy who runs unheated 100% SVO in a early 80s VW pickup down in Moose Pass (or was it Cooper Landing?). He told me he just ran it in the summer months, and it worked well for him.

For the internet fanatics, “Diesel Secret Energy” is the most famous of the blending “miracles.” They add their secret formula (mostly petroleum aromatics similar to paint thinner), some gas and some diesel, whip it up and call it good. The only person I know of in Alaska that bought the stuff, decided after he mixed it up that he wasn’t about to put it into his tank.

Blending, however, does happen successfully. Probably the most economically significant Alaskan example is the big WWII era generators out in Dutch Harbor at the Unisea fish plant. There they blend in fish oil, in a 50-50 ratio. Of course those are old, tolerant engines.

As far as passenger vehicles go, all the studies I’ve read say that unheated vegoil in an unheated engine will cause bad things: ring/cylinder varnishing, injector coking. The older 1980s studies say this happens more with blends above 20% vegetable oil.

If you’re planning on running unheated SVO or an unheated blend in an older, more tolerant engine, you just might get away with it. Be sure to test your crankcase oil, or at least change it often, as vegetable oil will polymerize and thicken your motor oil.

Needless to say, I do not recommend running unheated blends. But if you insist, tell us how it goes!

Veg On!