Biodiesel Operations at Drayton Farms, LLC

UMBC Biodiesel Project Founder, Mike German 443-255-5103, migerman1@gmail.com

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ASK DURING PRESENTATION

Outline
How we started How things work now Things weve learned Future goals

How we started
Student group of 5 chemical engineers No place on campus A professors, wifes , brothers,

Move to Drayton Farms

End of Summer 2008 Matt McShane contructs an appleseed reactor Chemical engineers come to operate equipment

Our Setup

 without people in front

Settling Tank
Secondary containment! Raise storage off ground

Clean Oil Transfer Pump

Not-self priming Kept below oil line Pumps well

Winter Time Oil Transfer

Very hard to pump cold oil If possible, keep and collect oil warm Avoid saturated and monounsaturated oils

Clean Oil Transfer Pump

Reactor
60 gal water heater 1500W heating element on temperature regulator Max fill is 50 gal

Titration
We titrated at first Now we dont

~1400 g KOH/ 8 gal MeOH works okay for us in a base-base rxn

75% MeO-, react, drain glycerol, add rest, react

MeO- Mixer and Storage

Shake mixed HDPE NPT valve for loading

Spigot for emptying into reactor and releasing pressure

Draining Glycerol
Let settle:
During rxn for 20-30 min End of rxn for 1 day

Valve at bottom
Taken to IBC storage
BD and Glycerol separate Later will distill glycerol

27/3 Test
27 mL MeOH3mL BD mix No oil residue! Good testing= happy engine!

Wash Tank
Water mister at low volumes <0.25 gpm Drains water off bottoms to compost

No soap curds

Water Misters

Fogg-It Misting Heads $16 for 0.25 and 0.5 gpm heads at Utah Biodiesel Supply

Wash Test
2 parts biodiesel: 1 part water No soap curds in the water

Water clear-ish

Drying Tank
Air bubbler 1 kW Heater- no insulation Clear to bottom

Note poor plumbing

Final Product Storage

55- gal barrels Long-term consider biocides Winter time requires anti-gelling additives
Or urea process

Construction Notes
Have secondary containment Include methanol recovery and glycerol purification in original design Check system for leaks with oil or methanol first Insulate everything your heating and include temperature control Having a compost pile is nice If you want to operate year-round make sure the place is insulated and can be heated safely

Not on Your Own Property?

Keep good communications with owners and workers Outline financial and biodiesel agreements before getting started

Calculate cost savings from using homemade biodiesel vs diesel

Future Goals
Larger, more automated system
Less time per gallon Smaller learning curve

Incorporation of fuel into University needs Clean electricity generation

People Involved
Big thanks to:
Drayton Farms, LLC Matt McShane Dr. Arnold Students of UMBC Biodiesel Project

Photo credits to Jay Richards and Mike German