Rural Fuel
Production
The vegetable oil produced from the Multi Functional Rural
Fuel Platform's (MFRFP) extrusion process is an excellent renewable fuel.
The vegetable oil is used to power the MFRFP's diesel engine and surplus
oil is converted into renewable diesel and sold as fuel.
Selling this oil as a
high value, locally
produced diesel fuel replacement generates hard cash for the local
population that they can then use to buy the essentials of life.
Diesel
The Multi Functional
Rural Fuel Platform's (MFRFP) can produce diesel from its reactor and
this fuel meets the specifications for existing diesel fuel. The MFRFP is able to produce approximately 8 gallons of fuel per hour,
equating to an annualized production rate in the 50,000 to 75,000
gallons per year range.
Fuel Sales
The MFRFP can produce
fuel for sale in the local area via a very practical, but low cost pumps
like the one shown in the photo below located in Cambodia:
Picture courtesy of
unknown photographer
Distribution of
rural fuel
In situations where the
equipment is located in areas where there is not sufficient local demand
for the fuel produced, we
envision setting up a small fuel distribution system. This would entail
buying the fuel from the MFRFP owner and taking it to a market for
resale, ensuring a revenue stream for the MFRFP owner.
Why is rural fuel so
important?
Limited access to
modern energy carriers and the services they provide has a
disproportionate effect on the poor in rural areas. The use of more
efficient energy carriers will typically correspond directly with higher levels of
income, correspondingly inadequate access to modern energy is both a
determinant and a manifestation of poverty.
Sebastian Junger in an
article in
Vanity Fair describes why oil is so
valuable: "one tank of gas from a typical S.U.V. has the energy
equivalent of more than 60,000 man-hours of work - roughly 100 men
working around the clock for nearly a month. That is the power that the
American consumer can access for about $60 at the gasoline pump. If
gasoline were a person, we would be paying 10 cents an hour for this
labor"
The global community
firmly recognizes the centrality of energy services for achieving all
Millennium Development Goals. At the ninth session of the Commission for
Sustainable Development, held in 2001, it was concluded: To
implement the goal accepted by the international community to halve the
proportion of people living on less than US$ 1 per day by 2015, access
to affordable energy services is a prerequisite.
Next ->
Why don't we use
Vegetable Oil as a diesel fuel replacement now?
Vegetable oil seems to be
the perfect replacement for petro based diesel fuel, except for the fact
that it has too high a viscosity for use in most existing diesel engines
as a straight replacement fuel oil.
Biodiesel vs
Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO)
To use vegetable oil as a
fuel to replace petroleum based diesel fuel, you can either modify the engine
to deal with high viscosity of vegetable oil with heat or process the oil to reduce it's
viscosity.
We discuss the two options below:
Straight Vegetable
Oil
One way to use
vegetable oil as a fuel is to modify the vehicle so that it heats up the
oil before it is used in the fuel system. Heating vegetable oil to 150F
will reduce the oil's viscosity sufficiently for use in a diesel engine.
It is possible to use
Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO), some times known as Pure Plant Oil (PPO), by mixing the oil in with petroleum diesel
so the vegetable oil acts as a fuel "extender", but this is not
recommended for long term use.
Biodiesel
The other way to fuel a
diesel engine with vegetable oil is to reduce the oil's viscosity before
it gets into the tank and in this way, neither the engine or vehicle
needs modification.
Biodiesel's viscosity is only
twice that of diesel fuel and its molecular weight is roughly 1/3 of
vegetable oil, hence it can be used as a straight petro-diesel
replacement. This reduced viscosity vegetable oil is now called
Biodiesel with a number of standards like the European EN 14214 standard
and American ASTM standard defining exactly
what the properties of that oil should be.
How can you reduce
vegetable oil viscosity?
There are a number of
ways to reduce vegetable oil's viscosity. These methods include;
-
Pyrolysis
-
Catalytically Activated
Vacuum Distillation (CAVD)
-
Micro Emulsion
-
Blending
- Thermal depolymerization
- Transestrification
What is Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is the name
of a variety of ester-based oxygenated fuels made from vegetable oils
which are chemically processed by reacting the vegetable oil with an
alcohol in a process called transestrification to reduce the oil's viscosity.
A methylester (if the
alcohol used in the reaction process is methanol) of vegetable oil or
what we now call Biodiesel is very similar to normal petrochemical based
diesel fuel and hence is a suitable replacement for petroleum based
diesel fuels that are derived from fossil oils.
Existing Biodiesel
production technology
One of the most
common methods used to reduce oil viscosity in the Biodiesel industry is
called transesterification. This is not a new process and by all accounts
it was conducted as early as 1853, by the two chemists, E. Duffy and J.
Patrick. One of the first uses of transesterified vegetable oil was
powering heavy duty vehicles in South Africa before World War II. South
Africa abandoned the technology and went on to pioneer making fuel from
coal instead.
The transesterification
refining process creates esters from vegetable oil by using an alcohol in
the presence of a catalyst. This reaction takes a triglyceride molecule,
or a complex fatty acid, neutralizes the free fatty acids and removes the
glycerin, thereby creating an alcohol ester. One method of
transesterfication mixes methanol with sodium hydroxide and then
aggressively mixes the resulting methoxide with vegetable oil, which
results in a "Methyl Ester".
Vegetable oils are
a triglyceride and the transesterfication reaction process produces,
Glycerin, Methyl Stearate, Methyl Oleate and usually Methyl Linoleate if
soy beans are the feed stock.
Once
the methoxide and vegetable oil are reacted, the resulting mix of
Biodiesel and glycerin needs to settle using a settling tank. A further
refinement used, is a washing process with water and this additional step
is usually required to meet all of the ASMT fuel quality standards
required for commercial sales of Biodiesel.
The challenges of
current Biodiesel production technology
The most commonly used
method of reducing a vegetable oil's natural viscosity is by a process
called transestrification. The challenge
associated with transestrification is the flammability of the methanol used in
this biodiesel
production technology. The flammability of methanol creates demanding security challenges
for biodiesel production in hazardous environments like Afghanistan or
war torn parts of Africa.
Even in secure
environments like the US, 3 well known fire problems occurred during
2006 out of only 40 biodiesel refineries operating in the US that year:
- 1 killed in Boise,
ID Welding a methanol tank caused a fire and explosion that shut
the adjacent freeway.
- 1 killed in New York
Grinding on glycerol storage tank facility destroyed.
- Facility destroyed
by fire in California - only finished product storage tanks survived.
*This is a 10% fire safety rate
from a 75 million gallon per year national production rate
In addition to the fire
hazard presented by the use of methanol in the current biodiesel
production process:
- It is hard to source
methanol in the US and Europe, let alone in remote, rural areas
like Afghanistan or Africa.
- Dedicated tankers
are required to transport methanol.
- Methanol made from
natural gas, so pricing is volatile.
- Methanol is a strong
alcohol, but sends victims blind if consumed by humans.
- Methanol is used in the production
of drugs like Methamphetamines.
- Methanol is highly
flammable.
- Methanol burns without flame so
you do not know you are on fire.
Compounding the hazards
of using an alcohol in biodiesel production, the transestrification
process is catalyzed by an alkali such as potassium or sodium hydroxide.
This
catalyst needs to be procured, handled and mixed with the methanol prior
to reacting it with the vegetable oil feedstock. This catalyst will be very
difficult to procure in remote, rural environments and the resulting
mixture, sodium methyloxide, is an extremely hazardous material, which
will prove to be an additional safety challenge for any attempted
manufacturing of biodiesel in a rural environment.
Acid needs to be
used to balance the PH level of the finished biodiesel fuel product to ensure it meets ASTM
quality standard, making it suitable for any any diesel engine. However, acid is used in feuds to disfigure people, so
securing it's supply and safe storage within a rural environment
presents a major safety challenge.
The
final fuel product, biodiesel, has detergent qualities that can clean
out existing fuel tanks and the resulting debris is prone to clog fuel
filters for a while. This means that older vehicles need to be careful
the first time they use biodiesel, otherwise the engines will stop
running due to blocked filters.
Biodiesel reacts with
older, natural rubber fuel lines and the higher the blend, the faster
the lines fail.
All these factors
combine to make the production and distribution of biodiesel in poor,
rural communities a very difficult undertaking.
How can you use
Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) in a diesel engine?
The way to use straight
vegetable oil in a diesel engine is modify the vehicle so that it heats up
the oil before it us used in the fuel system. Heating vegetable oil to
150F will reduce the oil's viscosity sufficiently for use in a diesel
engine.
There are vegetable oil
heating kits available
that convert a diesel powered vehicle and make it suitable for using SVO. Some
kits fit a vehicle
with two fuel tanks, the first tank contains petro based diesel and the second
vegetable oil. The engine is started on the petro oil and run for a short
time while the vegetable oil in the second tank is warmed up by hot fluid
from the engine's cooling system. When the oil gets to the appropriate
temperature, the engine is switched from the petro oil to the vegetable
oil and the engine will run perfectly on just the vegetable oil alone.
Prior to switching off, the engine is switched back to the petro diesel
tank and the vegetable oil purged from the fuel system.
Another way to use SVO as
a fuel is
to utilize a "One Tank" system that does away with the need for two tanks
by sensing the temperature of the oil before it gets to the engines high
pressure pump. The SVO system will still heat the vegetable oil in the
fuel tank using the engine's coolant system with one key difference. If
the oil coming out of the fuel tank is cold such as when first starting
the vehicle, the "One Tank" system will heat the oil with an electric coil
to bring it up to the correct temperature just before the oil enters the
high pressure pump. Using the "One Tank" system, the user sees no
difference in operation and does not need to put petro-diesel into a
separate tank. The user can even put either petro-diesel or straight
vegetable oil in the fuel tank and the vehicle will take care of the rest
automatically.
It is possible to use
Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) by mixing the oil in with petroleum diesel so
the vegetable oil acts as a fuel "extender", but this is not recommended
for long term use.
Two Tank System
Some vehicles are fitted
with two fuel tanks, the first contains petro based diesel and the second
vegetable oil.
The engine is started on the petro
diesel and run for a short
time while the vegetable oil in the second tank is warmed up by hot fluid
from the engine's cooling system.
When the oil gets to the
appropriate temperature, the engine is automatically switched from the
petro oil to the vegetable oil and the engine will run perfectly on just
the vegetable oil alone. Prior to switching off, the engine is switched
back to the petro diesel tank and the vegetable oil is automatically
purged from the fuel system with petro-diesel.
One Tank System
The very latest way to
use SVO is utilizing a "One Tank" system that does away with the need for
two tanks by sensing the temperature of the oil before it gets to the
engines high pressure pump. The SVO one tank system will still heat the
vegetable oil in the fuel tank using the engine's coolant system with one
key difference.
If the oil coming out of
the fuel tank is cold such as when first starting the vehicle, the "One
Tank" system will heat the oil with an electric coil to bring it up to the
correct temperature just before the oil enters the high pressure pump.
Modifications are made to
the original injectors spring ratings and special glowplugs are fitted.
These glow plugs are electrically interfaced with the original engine
electronics and enables a seamless upgrade. The engine operates in exactly
the same manner as before its upgrade.
Using the "One Tank"
system, the user sees no difference in operation and does not need to put
petro-diesel into a separate tank. The user can even put either petro-diesel
or straight vegetable oil in the fuel tank and the vehicle will take care
of the rest automatically.
Can
all vehicles be converted?
Not every diesel engine
can be converted to use these kits. A vehicle that uses one of the Lucas
family of fuel pumps cannot be upgraded to run on Straight Vegetable Oil.
LUCAS CAV
You can upgrade vehicles
fitted with the following makes of fuel pumps:
BOSCH
NIPPONDENSO
DIESEL-KIKI
XYZEL
The reason for the Lucas
CAV style of pump causing difficulties it due to the lubrication system
used in the the Lucas family of pumps. These are are designed to use the
fuel as the lubricant and even hot Vegetable Oil has a sufficiently
different viscosity when compared to diesel to wreck a precision piece of
equipment such as these fuel pumps. The Bosch and related licensed systems
use a sealed lubrication system which is independent of the fuel being
pumped, so do not suffer this problem.
Some Japanese engines may
have tank pumps which are not powerful enough to pump the more viscous
vegetable oil. You would only normally notice the limitation of the
standard pump when the engine is fully loaded and the system starves the
engine of fuel. In this case, a substitute pump is fitted fitted at the
tank and provides the appropriate volume of fuel flow.
Oil quality
Incoming vegetable needs
to be clean and of high quality. It should be filtered to 1 micron and
should not contain water contaminates like, salt or phosphorus.
Cold Weather
operations
The Europeans mainly use
Rapeseed (Canola in the Americas) for their SVO fuel which has a pour point of -19 C, so can be
used in cold temperatures without any difficulty and this should be the preferred oil for cold
weather operations. For very cold weather operation, a blend vegetable oil
mixed 50/50 with petroleum diesel or a Jet Fuel like Kerosene.
Technical details to
the Elsbett system
We have listed a few
technical notes about the Elsbett System:
- The system uses a
coolant powered heat exchanger positioned as close to fuel filter as
possible and is used as a secondary heat source for the vegetable fuel,
utilized for warm engine operation and not cold engine start-up.
- Longer, hotter glow
plugs are fitted that are energized longer than the original
manufacturers time settings.
- An oil temperature
sensor is fitted either on the cylinder head or oil pump.
- Electric heating band
on filter.
- The system uses wider
diameter fuel lines on the supply side to injection pump, which allows
for more fuel being available for starting.
- Injectors are cleaned
and pressure tested. Some injectors are modified with new nozzles and
washers that vary the fuel pressure altering the injection pattern,
which intern alters the combustion profile and keeps the oil of the
cylinder walls.
Note: There is no heat
exchanger in tank which prevents the possibility of leakage in tank or
melting of a plastic tank.
For more on
this technical information where the above information was derived from,
please see the Piedmont Blog at:
http://www.biofuels.coop/elsbett.shtml
How to buy the Elsbett
kit in the USA
We are only working on
SVO kits in our project areas and have no capability for supporting kit
sales, distribution or installation in the US. We highly recommend
contacting Rachel Burton at Piedmont Biofuels for kit sales and
installation in the US, her contact details are as follows:
Rachel Burton
Piedmont Biofuels
www.biofuels.coop
919-321-8260
rachel@biofuels.coop.
Which method is best,
Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) or Biodiesel?
In our opinion, Straight
Vegetable Oil might be the best way to use vegetable oil in diesel engines
in the long term as there is no processing required, which makes it the
most efficient way to get the oil from the fields to the fuel tank.
However, using SVO
requires vehicles to be fitted with a kit that enables them to run on
Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) which will limit the fuels adoption rate.
In the short term and
until the diesel engine industry fits all engines with fuel heaters,
using Biodiesel might be the quickest way to drive the use of renewable
diesel in the developed nations and start
displacing some of the petro diesel we use today.
Depending on where you
stand on the issue, each camp has its own proponents. History will tell us
which method pans out, the only thing we know for sure is that vegetable
oil will play a part in meeting some of the rural poor's energy needs.
The Challenge of using
Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO)
The problem with
Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) as a fuel is that the vehicles have to be
modified before they can use SVO as a fuel.
The Challenges of
Biodiesel production
The problem with the transestrification
refining method is that it is
relatively expensive, requires careful attention to quality, produces a quantity of glycerin byproduct that
has to be processed again before it has any value and is logistically
challenging in a rural environment. This makes it difficult for the MFRFP to
use the transestrification
refining method to produce a rural fuel in the remote environment that
the MFRFP is designed to be used in.
Non-Transestrification based
Biodiesel production
The
challenges involved with both biodiesel and SVO used as a rural fuel and a means
for rural comminutes to create a revenue stream led us to have
a very keen interest in using a vegetable oil, viscosity reduction
technologies that might be suitable for rural fuel production.
Alternative Fuel Links
Straight Vegetable (SVO)
links
Gasoline Alternative
Links
Depolymerization Links
Pyrolsis Links
