In partial fulfillment of the
requirements for CHE140
Tracy Furutani, Fall 2006
• Jon Cimuchowski
• John Gartrell
• Steve Smith
• Aram Tetemke
• Yee Xiong
“Biodiesel is difficult to come
by, especially in western
Washington, where there are no
large growers of soy or other oilbearing plants.”
Seattle biodiesel options
• Seven retailers
• Seven distributors
www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/
Current commercial growth
• Nothing in Western Washington
• No soy grown in Washington
Remember
CH2OOR1
catalyst

|
CHOOR2
+ 3CH3OH
 3CH3OORx
CH2OH
|
+ CHOH
|
|
CH2OOR3
CH2OH
Vegetable oil + 3 Methanols  Biodiesel
+ Glycerin
Stuff we buy…not made here
From oil field to service pump.
• http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/brochure/gas04/gasoline.htm
Local use
• King County Metro
http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/news/2006/0817biodiesel.aspx
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003470213_biodiesel10.html
SSA Marine
• 800,000 gallons of
B20 annually
Terminal 18, Port of Seattle
http://www.ssamarine.com/news/010506.html
Port of Seattle
• 20,000 gallons of B20
annually
http://www.portseattle.org/news/press/2005/12_23_2005_36.shtml
Seattle Biodiesel
• "How would the world
be different if we
could make all our
own fuel in our own
country? For the last
two years I have
driven to work on
soybeans. This is
possible in our
lifetime."
-Martin Tobias
Imperium Renewables
• 100 million gallons/year
• Planned to buy WA canola
• Thanks, Congressmen!
http://murray.senate.gov/news.cfm?id=265195
Seattle Times, Dec 12th, 2006
http://imperiumrenewables.com/grays.html
Shipping hazards
•
•
•
•
•
•
Regulation by US Coast Guard & EPA
Nontoxic
Nonirritant
Aquatic toxicity insignificant
Biodegradability
Flashpoint high
http://www.nbb.org/pdf_files/Environment_Safety.pdf
http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/reportsdatabase/reports/mar/19980601_mar-004.pdf
The end
…unless you want to know a little
more….
Chicken feed?
• ~94% poultry feed is corn or soybeans
• ~70% of cost of raising poultry is feed
• “tallow, an historically cost competitive
agricultural by-product.”
July 21, 2006
http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/109/10912.pdf
Biofuel or biofood?
• “The rising demand for
biofuels is pushing up the
price of palm oil and the
other edible oils with
which it is
interchangeable, making
food and cooking oil
more expensive for the
poor.”
The Economist, 24 Aug 2006
This just in: Nature
• “Sugar cane and ethanol: Drink the best
and drive the rest”
• “US biofuels: A field in ferment”
• “Liquid fuel synthesis: Making it up as
you go along”
Nature, Dec 7th 2006
This just in: Science
• “Current biofuel production competes for
fertile land with food production, increases
pollution from fertilizers and pesticides, and
threatens biodiversity when natural lands
are converted to biofuel production.”
“Carbon-Negative Biofuels from Low-input High-Diversity Grassland
Biomass” Tilman, Hill, Lehman, Science, 8 Dec 06, pp 1598-1600
Another option
“Carbon-Negative Biofuels from Low-input High-Diversity Grassland Biomass”
Tilman, et al, Science, 8 Dec 06, pp 1599