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Biodiesel - “Fat to Fuel” An Opportunity for Environmental Partnerships. Olof Hansen, EPA R9 National Environmental Partnership Summit Atlanta, GA May 2006. Benefits of Biodiesel. Protect your environment (air, water, waste) Save costs Protect your workers Promote renewable energy
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Biodiesel - “Fat to Fuel” An Opportunity for Environmental Partnerships Olof Hansen, EPA R9 National Environmental Partnership Summit Atlanta, GA May 2006
Benefits of Biodiesel • Protect your environment (air, water, waste) • Save costs • Protect your workers • Promote renewable energy • Create sustainable market
U.S. EPA Pacific Southwest (Region 9) • Main Office in San Francisco w/ 800 employees • Field Offices in L.A., San Diego, & Honolulu • Offices: Regional Administrator, Public Affairs, Regional Counsel, Air, Superfund, Waste Management, Water, Communities and Ecosystems, Policy and Management
“Biodiesel is one of our nation's most promising alternative fuel sources. And by developing biodiesel, you're making this country less dependent on foreign sources of oil.” President George W. Bush Remarks at Virginia Biodiesel Refinery May, 2005 Why Biodiesel?
“Advanced Energy Initiative: national goal of replacing more than 75 % of our oil imports by 2025… Biodiesel will help end dependency on foreign oil … Foreign oil will go the way of typewriter and walkman… Restaurant grease which would normally be thrown away, will be turned into fuel… Biodiesel is making the black puff of diesel smoke a thing of the past. “ Administrator Steve Johnson Remarks at National Biodiesel Conference San Diego, February 2006 Why EPA and Biodiesel?
Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) Prevent pollution and promote recycling and reuse; Reduce priority chemicals at all product life cycle stages; and Conserve energy and materials.
How do you Make Biodiesel? • Transesterification Waste oil + Alcohol + Catalyst 87% 12%1% Biodiesel + Glycerol 90%10% • Biodiesel can be splash-blended with petroleum diesel • B2 vs. B20 vs. B100 (2% to 100%)
Little Known Fact Rudolph Diesel designed the diesel engine in 1894 to run on peanut oil “The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in the course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time.”
Environmental Benefits of Biodiesel • Resource conservation: waste to fuel conversion • Only alternative fuel passed Clean Air Act Tier I and II health effects testing • Reduction of virtually all regulated air emissions • Over 75% reduction of green house gases • Non-toxic, contains no sulfur: the cause of acid rain • Bio-degradable, no oil spill contamination
Economic Benefits of Waste Cooking Oil as Feedstock for Biodiesel Cost Breakdown for Biodiesel Production
Why Focus on Waste Cooking Oil? • Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) • Reduce waste, and reuse and recycle more products • Recover energy lost in waste going to landfills • U.S. alone: Restaurants and hotels generate over a billion gallons of waste cooking oil annually • Traditionally grease goes to rendering industry 1 billion gallons waste grease = 400,000 tanker trucks
How much Biodiesel from Waste Oil? • Could produce enough biodiesel to displace alldiesel consumption in Nevada and Arizona combined. • Assume over 1 billion gallons of biodiesel from nation-wide waste oil • AZ consumes 912 million gallons of distillate fuels • NV consumes 511 million gallons of distillate fuels
How can Biodiesel Solve Waste and Water Pollution Problems? By converting waste grease to a higher value commodity. • Diverts large waste stream from: • Landfills or illegal dumping • Publicly-owned treatment works (POTWs) • Prevents spills and sewer blockages: • Raw sewage and grease onto land and water • In 2001, EPA sued Los Angeles for 2,000 sewer spills, 40% due to FOG (fat-oil-grease)
Obstacles to Biodiesel Acceptance • Limited supply • Due to both demand and supply reasons • Potential increase of NOx emissions • Depends on engine type and test settings • Lack of familiarity • Quality of fuel
Biodiesel Activities of Region 9 Waste Management Division • Innovations Workgroup grant to Univ. of Nevada, Reno • Lower NOx emissions in pre-production (w/o additives) • Decrease costs by continuous process • IWG grant to Ecology Action in Santa Cruz • Demonstrate cradle-to-cradle community-based model • Internet Biodiesel Guide (Government leading by example) • Gila River Indian Community Grant • “From Frybread to the Fuel Tank”
More R9 WMD Biodiesel Partnerships • Working with West Coast Collaborative to promote biodiesel • Emphasize waste cooking oil-generated biodiesel • WCC sectors: Trucking, Marine, Construction, Locomotive, Agriculture, and Cleaner Fuels • Waste cooking oil based biodiesel pilot with U.S. Navy at Port Hueneme, CA • Partnership with Casinos, Universities, and POTWs • Biodiesel as local fuel source on Pacific Islands
Web-based Biodiesel Guide-- for Federal Agencies -- • Federal Network for Sustainability (FNS) • EPA, DOD, NPS, U.S. Postal Service, GSA • Enormous purchasing power • $300 billion spent through contracts for goods and services • 1.7 million employees • Regulatory mandates • EPACT: 450 gallons of B100 = one AFV credit = $2.5-20K • FY02 DoD use of Biodiesel: 1.8 Million gallons
Some Tribal Biodiesel Projects • Gila River Indian Community, Arizona “From Frybread to the Fuel Tank” • Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho Biodiesel production plant • Minnesota Tribal Coalition - White Earth Biodiesel project from casino waste vegetable oil
Casinos and Biodiesel • MGM Grand in Las Vegas • Uses grease from casino kitchen to fuel fleet of Las Vegas Valley Water District, Clark County School District • Eldorado Hotel Casino in Reno • Uses vegetable oil to heat buildings and generate domestic hot water • Other casinos involved: Circus Circus, Club CalNeva, Silver Legacy Resort, Sands Regency, Fitzgerald’s in Reno; Silver Club in Sparks; Tamarack Junction south of Reno
Federal Environmental and Energy Conservation Requirements/Incentives • IRS, Fuel tax credits and refunds of 50 cents/gallon of Biodiesel • http://www.irs.gov/publications/p378/ar01.html • EPAct (Energy Policy Act of 2005), fleet alternative fuel vehicle requirement • RCRA 6002, Agencies that generate heat, mechanical, or electrical energy from fossil fuel in systems that have the technical capability of using energy or fuels derived from solid waste • E.O. 13101, Greening the government through waste prevention, recycling, and federal acquisition • E.O. 13134, Developing and promoting bio-based products and bio-energy • E.O. 13149, Greening the government through federal fleet and transportation efficiency
Benefits of Biodiesel • Environmental (Air, Water, Waste) • Energy Independence (Domestic, Renewable) • Economic/Cost (Waste to Fuel) • Quality/Standards • Energy Policy Compliance • Safety/Emergency Response EPA Region 9 Earth Day 2006 Awardee Willie Nelson “BioWillie”
Thank you Olof Hansen hansen.olof@epa.gov (415) 972-3328