[Biodiesel In Utah] Biodiesel Workshop, Cool new testing equipment & automated processors

Tue Mar 13 00:48:57 EDT 2007

Well, I guess it's time for me to get off my lazy butt & share some of the exciting news that's been occurring on the National Biodiesel scene over the winter (and there's been A LOT!)

#1 - Biodiesel Workshop in Utah - April 6th & 7th.
Girl Mark's a comin' to town! 

Girl Mark a.k.a. Maria Alovert, one of the leading homebrewing biodiesel experts in the nation will be doing a Biodiesel workshop in Utah next month.

Dates: April 6th & 7th
Times: 
Friday - 5pm - 9pm (equipment building class) 
Saturday - 10am - 5pm (homebrewing class)

Friday's class is $45/person
Saturdays class is $60/person

More details here:
http://girlmark.com/#utah

It's going to be held at the Utah Symphony & Opera Warehouse (same place we did it last year).  I'll be publishing more info on the workshop along w/ a map later this week.

#2 - Two new tests available for testing Biodiesel
Over the past year there's been a lot of developments on the testing scene for helping home-brewers identify how "good" their biodiesel is.

The first one is called the 3/27 methanol test.
Essentially, you take 27 mL of methanol, stick it in a vial, add 3 mL of oil stick it in w/ the methanol and shake it up.

If it goes clear and stays in a single phase there's a good chance your biodiesel will meet the ASTM spec for total glycerin (the one anyone really seems to care about)

Lot's more information about the test is available here:
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/bioproqualitytestkit.php

Including a really cool photo gallery and a link to the test itself.

#2 - Water Testing Kit
If you've been making Biodiesel long you know the #1 enemy to the Biodiesel reaction is water. Water in the oil will rob your reaction of the catalyst, as water + oil + lye makes soap.

There are various methods employed to get the water out, but the question always comes up, "Well, ok, how do I KNOW that the water is gone?"

Well, a few months ago I had the chance to visit a commercial Biodiesel factory and saw the coolest tester for this exact problem. It's called a Water Test Kit and by using some included chemicals (Calcium Hydride), you can know with extreme accuracy (clear down to 50 parts per million - .005%) how much water is in your feedstock as well as how much is in your resulting Biodiesel.

The test is extremely simple to use (albeit somewhat expensive), but it's extremely accurate and has been tested against a Karl Fischer water titrator for accuracy and came out with flying colors

Info on that tester is here:
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/biodieselwatertestkit.php

#3 - Free Fatty Acid, Total & Free Glycerin Tester
Now, if you're REALLY into making Commercial Grade Biodiesel, and you don't want to front the money for a Gas Chromatograph, then have I got a cool toy for you!

Last October I had the chance to go to the premier Biodiesel Educational Workshop put on by none other than Jon Van Gerpen and his associates (they pretty much wrote the book on Biodiesel in the US--many of the ASTM standards came from the research he and his colleagues conducted).

So, while I was there they had this extremely cool machine that could read free fatty acid content, free & total Glycerin really accurately and REALLY fast! (as in 10 minutes from start to finish).

It's a tester that comes originally from the food industry where they have to test for free-fatty acid content and total triglycerides all the time.

Here's the link to that bad boy:
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/saftest.php

#4 - Automated Biodiesel Processors
So, are ya tired of turning valves yet? Do titrations have you confused? Sick of calculating things and making a mess with producing Biodiesel? Got a slick $7995 burning a hole in your pocket?

Well then have I got the toy for you! Over the past year I've been really involved with all sorts of Biodiesel things and last July I ran across the coolest product in the world. It's called the BioPro 190 automated Biodiesel Processor and the thing turns the Biodiesel Production Process into something as easy as loading a dish washer.

Basically, ya throw in 50 gallons of oil, about 10 gallons of methanol, a couple pounds of catalyst, some sulfuric acid, push a button & walk away.

24 hours later you come back & you've got Biodiesel! Drain off the glycerin, press the wash button & another 24 hours later you've got processed, Washed, AND DRIED Biodiesel ready to pump right into your diesel!

I own one and love the thing.

It's not cheap, but if you value your time and want to make Biodiesel "The sure & fast easy way", then one of these puppies should be on your shopping list.

Man they're cool!

More info on that here:
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/biopro190.php

Here's how easy they are to use:
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/biopro/biopro190/usingtheprocessor/

And....if 50 gallons isn't enough, they now make a 100 gallon every 48 hours unit.

That one's here:
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/biopro380.php

I just got back from visiting their factory a couple weeks ago & I gotta tell ya the thing just rocks!

#5 - Tax credits galore!
When you care enough to send the very least to Uncle Sam come tax time, you may want to spend some time on this webpage:
http://www.ezbiodiesel.com/biodiesel_tax_credits.htm

I've met this guy. He's great! Know's his stuff too. His equipment isn't all to die for, but he really does know Biodiesel (I'm somewhat biased to BioPro's now.)

#6- New mist washing devices.
If you're still messing around with Arizona Mist Kits, then you may want to consider upgrading to some new tools some of the biodieselers around the nation (and world) have discovered.

One of them is called a MistPro. Just one fitting can replace 5 nozzles.

Here's that one:
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/washingsupplies.php#mistpro

Another one is called the Wash Pro. It's kind of like a Wash Pro on steroids.
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/washingsupplies.php#washpro

#7 - Biodiesel Glycerin Soap
If you've ever played with making Biodiesel Glycerin Soap and you've struggled with it, you may want to consider checking out some of our cool new Biodiesel Glycerin Soap bars.

Here's the link:
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/biodieselglycerinsoap.php

The glycerin used in it is made from glycerin from Piedmont Biofuels; one of the most successful Biodiesel Cooperatives in the United States (http://www.biofuels.coop/)

If you also like to keep up on the Biodiesel Scene, be sure to visit the Biodiesel Blog Aggregator. It keeps several Biodiesel Blogs all tied together in one handy place (including mine).

Here's the link to that:
http://www.biofuels.coop/aggregator/

So, as you can see, although it's been a somewhat quiet winter on the list, the Biodiesel scene has continued to roll on.

Also, if you're into Biodiesel and producing it be sure to plan for the Biodiesel Coop Conference that will be going on in July in Denver Colorado area.

Here's the link to it:
Biodiesel Coop Conference:
http://www.b100.org

I'm helping plan this one. Last year was our first year and it was a HUGE success. If you ever wanted to see a "who's who in Biodiesel homebrewing" or learn a bunch of new things, this is the conference to go to!

Also, if you want to see what's going on in homebrewing at any give time, one of the best forums online for Biodiesel is the Infopop Biodiesel Forum.

Here's the link:
http://biodiesel.infopop.cc

It's by far the best Biodiesel Forum on the web (and I should know, I belong to half of them and moderate the other half).

Some of the greatest minds in Biodiesel Homebrewing hang out here. If you troll around some of the other popular Biodiesel boards you'll find that most are populated by folks that "come back to Infopop to roost".

It's kind of where all of us Biodiesel geeks let our hair down & talk about the nitty gritty details of Biodiesel production, debate issues, talk about the conversion process, methanol recovery, acid/base, 80/20, and a host of other really cool topics to help keep you at the top of your Biodiesel Homebrewing Game.

Stop on by....I'm usually there & you'll see a bunch of my other global Biodiesel "cronies" that I work with in Biodieselville.

As for Biodiesel in Utah, here's hoping we have a great year!

It's warming up so if you've been waiting to get brewing, now's the time to pull that equipment out & get it up & running again (or to get started if you're just getting into it).

If you're new to all of this be sure to stop by the Biodiesel Collaborative Tutorial.

It's here:
http://www.biodieselcommunity.org

Happy Brewing Everyone! Let the season begin!

Graydon
The Rabid Biodiesel Nut
from Syracuse, Utah

Utah Biodiesel Supply
Biodiesel Production Supplies, Equipment, Literature
Bumper Stickers, Decals, Information & More!
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com 
http://www.cafepress.com/utahbdsupply 
graydon at utahbiodieselsupply.com 

The Rabid Biodiesel Nut
Our Blog About All Things Biodiesel
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/blog 
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