Moving Ahead with Biodiesel

Local people have perhaps noticed GreenTown’s newly-purchased utility vehicle parked alongside the Silo Eco-Home. This little truck will be running on biodiesel, thanks to Healy Biodiesel, located in Sedgwick, Kansas (just north of Wichita).

There are a lot of misconceptions about biodiesel. Many people get it confused with the straight vegetable oil that is recovered from restaurants. It is designed to be used in standard diesel engines (with few if any modifications), and is distinct from the waste oils that are used in converted diesel engines. It can be used alone, or blended with petrodiesel.

There is an interesting history behind the development of the diesel engine, in which peanut oil figures prominently. Inventor Rudolf Diesel firmly believed in a plant-based fuel as the real future of his engine. He wanted to provide farmers the opportunity to produce their own fuel, and for independent artisans to be able to compete with industry. In 1911, he said, "The diesel engine can be fed with vegetable oils and would help considerably in the development of agriculture of the countries which use it.” And in 1912 Diesel made an observation that is just as relevant today as it was almost a century ago: "The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in the course of time as important as the petroleum and coal tar products of the present time.”

Biodiesel is a very clean-burning fuel, produced from domestic renewable resources such as plant oils, animal fats, used cooking oil and even new sources such as algae. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. It significantly reduces harmful emissions in conventional diesel engines. Biodiesel is a very interesting possibility to replace or at least supplement fossil fuels.

The fuel we are purchasing from Healy Biodiesel is manufactured exclusively from oil reclaimed from restaurant fryers. The blend they use is 99.9% biodiesel (B99.9), which can be used alone in diesel engines down to 35 degrees. Below that temperature, additions of kerosene or a higher blend of diesel and petroleum will take care of winter driving needs.

Ben Healy and his family recently paid a visit to Greensburg and met with GreenTown’s Daniel Wallach to explore partnership possibilities. Healy has been in business the past 3 years, recovering oil from restaurants and processing it into a high quality biodiesel fuel. We are excited about partnering with this successful Kansas small business, and introducing local people to the advantages of this clean-burning fuel.

There are various possibilities brewing in our relationship with Healy. The first, and most likely, project is to work with them to increase the amount of restaurant oil they can recycle by helping them make connections in the area. At this point the Healy product is available in Sedgwick on a first-come, first-served basis until supplies run out.

Also, GreenTown is considering having some of the B99.9 fuel available locally for both diesel users locally and for those traveling through our part of Kansas. People will go out of their way to get biodiesel!

This is a venture that has great potential. We think it could be a simple way to expand Greensburg’s identity as a Model Green Community. Stay tuned for more details soon, as we'll keep readers updated on developments in this partnership.

Image credit: Nugrohoadi's weblog