New Systems Reduce the Cost & Energy Needed to Produce Biodiesel

In 2009, Advanced Biodiesel Partners (ABP) will produce the first 15 million gal/year (gpy) of Biodiesel from standard oil feedstocks (virgin canola, soy or other vegetable oils), using a Next Generation of Biodiesel Technology that has substantial advantages over other older Biodiesel plants. These include:

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  • Capital Costs for equipment that is 85% to 90% below that of other plants.
  • A much smaller footprint - 2400 ft2 (40x60) - for processing than other plants, resulting in much lower property, utility, maintenance and other operating costs - including process heat and HVAC.
  • Eliminating a substantial portion of the necessary feedstock, and holding and product tanks by bringing feedstocks into the facility on rail-tank cars, linking directly into the production system, and connecting the biodiesel output back into waiting cars. This saves as much as 10,000 SF of tank space, as well as expense (purchase, installation, heat, maintenance and supervision).

The biodiesel is produced and “washed” through the use of 3 safe, clean centrifuges, off-the-shelf items manufactured by B&P Process Engineering in Saginaw, Michigan, for the past 40 years. These centrifuge “Pods” are used in different ways by different industries. One most common use is the making of penicillin. Over 90% of the penicillin produced in the US is made with these Pods. This can be correctly used to convey the image of the clean setting the B&P Pod Biodiesel Plant will maintain. Three Pods, each about the size of an office desk, are used in sequence with piping and temporary holding tanks between.

This new flow-through system to make biodiesel without holding or processing tanks was developed by B&P in 2007/8 using a variation on the same process that was once used to de-gum (refine) vegetable oils, and is used by some other biodiesel companies to wash their biodiesel. The Process occurs at low temperatures of about 70¼C (158¼ F) continuously, 24 hours/day, for an estimated 300 days/yr. At that rate, about 45,500 gallons of biodiesel is produced each day.

The in-house B&P plant made and tested 10,000 gallons of biodiesel in 2007. The 1st full scale plant is being built in Ferndale Michigan, opening at the end of 2008. 5 additional plants are being planned