By Tina Caparella
If all goes as planned, the U.S. military could someday be producing biodiesel on the front lines.
The Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center (NFESC), Port Hueneme, CA, is partnering with Santa Barbara, CA-based Biodiesel Industries, Inc., a biodiesel manufacturer and technology provider, to produce biodiesel using a modular biodiesel processing unit. The naval base in Ventura County will collect its used cooking oil and transform it into the alternative fuel through a chemical process known as transesterification.
“This is a win-win,” said Kurt Buehler, chemical engineer at NFESC. “By producing our own biodiesel from used cooking oil, we can eliminate a solid waste disposal problem on bases. In return, our diesel vehicles will burn cleaner, and we’ll be using less foreign oil.”
The U.S. military is one of the largest users of B20, which is a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel. This is the military’s first attempt at creating a self-sustaining plant. If the project is successful, the Navy hopes to ultimately send portable biodiesel processing units overseas to produce its own fuel while on missions abroad.
A demonstration validation plant at the Naval Base Ventura County has a potential annual capacity of one million gallons, which will be produced in either a 200-gallon reactor that fits into the back of a pick-up truck or a larger pair of 2,000 gallon reactors that fit together into a standard 40-foot shipping container. Both sizes are deployable. The base plans on using 20,000 gallons a year. Nearby Channel Islands National Park, which has been using biodiesel for several years to help meet its goal of making the islands petroleum-free, will use 20,000 gallons a year, and Ventura County will also use 20,000 gallons annually.
“If you look at what it costs to send a gallon of diesel overseas, there is a potential to reduce the logistics tail when deploying since we’re already sending vegetable oil overseas anyway to cook for the troops,” Buehler said. “It also gives us energy security for Navy bases. If petroleum gets cut off, we can keep the base running on biodiesel. So in addition to reducing dependence on foreign oil, producing our own biodiesel could provide a tactical advantage in case of crisis.”
“This is the culmination of four years of working with the U.S. Navy,” said Russell Teall, president, Biodiesel Industries. “Our research and development of the modular production unit has been completed and implemented in our civilian plants in Las Vegas [Nevada] and Australia. Now, with the cooperation of NFESC, we hope to continue making improvements so that it can soon be deployed at military installations around the world.”
According to the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines all use B20 at different bases and stations throughout the country, including: Camp Lejeune U.S. Marine Corps Base, NC; Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, CO; and Fort Leonard Wood Army Base, MO. Everett Naval Station, located in the Puget Sound area of Washington, has used about 50,000 gallons of B20 a year since 2001. The switch to biodiesel was virtually seamless, according to Transportation Directory Gary Passmore.
“Older equipment took a filter change, but newer equipment needed nothing,” he said. “It went so smooth that no one really noticed.”
USDA Awards Education Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) selected two organizations from a field of 18 proposals to receive $960,000 in yearly grants to work together as partners to conduct a biodiesel fuel education program.
The NBB was awarded $770,000 a year through 2007 to create educational programming and the University of Idaho was awarded $190,000 a year through 2007 to provide technical support for the effort. According to the USDA, the purpose of the grants, which were awarded on a competitive basis, is to develop an educational program to target governmental and private entities that operate vehicle fleets.
The program will address issues previously identified by fleet operators and other potential users of biodiesel, including the need to balance the positive environmental, social, and human health effects of biodiesel consumption with the increased cost per gallon. In addition, the grants will be used to inform other interested groups and the general public about biodiesel fuel use.
“These grants are an important step in expanding the economic prospects and environmental promise of renewal energy,” said USDA Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman. “The Bush administration is committed to finding alternative energy sources.”
Section 2004 of the 2002 Farm Bill authorizes a total of $4.8 million for fiscal years 2003 through 2007.
“This award comes at a pivotal time in the nation, as domestic energy security and pollution are on the minds of many,” said Joe Jobe, NBB executive director. “Biodiesel is one of the best tested alternative fuels in the country, and has been used commercially in Europe for more than 15 years. However, the majority of Americans have not yet heard of biodiesel. This grant will help change that.”
NBB’s plan of work includes strategies that are complimentary to existing regional and national projects funded for fiscal year 2004, calling for the development of materials, collection of data, and education of stakeholders in various market areas. An expert speakers bureau will perform education outreach to government and private fleet managers as well as the trucking, mining, marine, railroad, and agricultural industries. Targeted outreach to the petroleum industry, environmental groups, original equipment manufacturers, and school bus fleets will supplement existing programs. Innovative collaborative efforts will include the Washington, DC, chapter of the American Lung Association and the National Energy Education Development program. The plan also includes consumer assessments of heating oil applications, programs to address fuel quality/consumer confidence, and public opinion surveys to direct and evaluate progress.
According to NBB, more than 350 major fleets nationwide currently use biodiesel commercially, more than 100 retail filling stations make the alternative fuel available to the public, and hundreds of fuel distributors carry it nationwide to make it available to farmers and others.
Biodiesel Bulletin - December 2003 Render