Biofuels Resources: Stories
Subversive Chemistry: Catching up with Vermont's Biodiesel Entrepreneurs (Spring 2005)
While many people wonder what can be done about our reliance on fossil fuels, John Hurley and Scott Gordon are doing something about it. These Vermont entrepreneurs are both in the process of building biodiesel production capacity in Vermont.
Fossil fuels pervade everything that we do, with increasingly harmful results. A recent Burlington Free Press article reported that Vermont ranks second in the nation in vehicle miles traveled per capita and that transportation is Vermont's largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. Vermonters consume about 300 million gals of diesel fuel per year. The daunting challenges of preparing for both global climate change and 'the end of oil' will require extensive, coordinated efforts.
For the past two years, VSJF and its partners have begun been exploring the possibilities of using biodiesel to help wean Vermont from a portion of its fossil fuel demand. Biodiesel is a clean burning fuel produced from domestic, renewable resources such as soy, sunflower, canola, and hemp seeds, as well as algae and waste grease.
Interest in biodiesel is picking up. Fleming Oil's recent decision to offer pure biodiesel (B100) at the pump in Brattleboro met with solid approval. Greg Pahl, president of the board at the Vermont Biofuels Association and author of Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy, noted that his book is selling very well and receiving rave reviews by people in and out of the industry. He is receiving queries from around the world regarding biodiesel.
Despite the increasing demand, however, most biodiesel used in Vermont is imported from other states or Canada. Currently, national production is small compared to Europe, and Vermont's biodiesel production is marginal.
John Hurley, owner of Dog River Alternative Fuels Company, LLC and Scott Gordon, from Green Technologies, LLC, are among Vermont's entrepreneurs who think they can change this situation. Hurley and Gordon currently use waste oil from restaurants to produce biodiesel for off-road uses and have plans to increase the scale of their production operations.
Hurley got into biodiesel as a natural extension of his forestry practices. He explained, "If you're going to log your property in an environmentally friendly way, don't you think that the oils and fuels that we use should be biodegradable as well? That's why I got into biodiesel." Diesel exhaust bothers his lungs but now with biodiesel, he notes, "What you'll smell is a sweet, waxy smell a little bit like French fries."
Hurley learned how to create biodiesel from watching others make it in a 5 gallon pail and has since gone through a series of trainings on safety and regulations through the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association to make sure, he says, "That I do it right."
Beyond training, getting biodiesel to meet the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for on-road use is a challenge. His process is extremely close to meeting that standard and basically requires one added step but, Hurley explains, "In order to do that I would need to put my facility in an industrial zone and have municipal sewer and water to really make it work."
The biggest challenge Hurley faces now is fine-tuning his business plan and finding an industrially zoned piece of property near a railroad track. "I've done my experimentation," he says, "I've proved that you can do biodiesel in Vermont, in the wintertime. Now, to do it right, and to do it so that the numbers work out, you have to get bigger."
As a researcher, Scott Gordon brings his expertise in chemistry to bear at Green Technologies. Along with John Orr from Long Trail Biofuels, Gordon has produced about 400 gallons of biodiesel a week in his University of Vermont demonstration plant. On a recent visit to Gordon's new Winooski facility, he showed off a plant that will produce about 100,000 gallons of B100 annually. Gordon believes that biodiesel is ready for the market, but he is interested in the bigger picture of green chemical processes as well. His vision is that waste oil will come into his plant but only useful products such as biodiesel, bioplastics and biowaxes will come out.
Gordon is working hard to grow his business. He describes two ladders of knowledge that he has had to climb: technological and business acumen. He originally thought that technical know-how automatically led to success. He does not believe that anymore. The business side of creating biodiesel is just as important, and Gordon has learned a lot over the past two years.
"It's an exciting time for us but we're hovering on the hump," observes Gordon. He sees a large potential in moving from exhaustible feedstocks to renewables. Like Dog River Alternative Fuels, the biggest challenge Green Technologies faces is producing enough high quality biodiesel to achieve economy of scale.
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