After 2 1/2 years of success making fuel from used cooking oil, Steve Fugate decided to market the system he had perfected. His biodiesel production system comes with everything you need to start making 80 gals. of fuel in a day, right down to goggles and safety contaminant equipment. Besides durable equipment, customers receive education and assistance in setting up accounts with restaurants to stay supplied with oil.
"We've purposely kept it non-automated so it's easy to figure out," says Fugate of Tiffin, Iowa. "People can immediately begin making their own fuel."
Formerly in the restaurant business, Fugate started researching how to make biodiesel for his 1998 Jetta TDI. He discovered there were lots of plans available, but that cheap systems failed to deliver.
"Plastics and heat don't mix. Some systems don't heat the oil and aren't safe," Fugate says. "Our equipment is made of metal and built on a spill container basin."
Fugate uses an efficient, high heating, 50-gal. water heater with black pipe plumbing and brass valves. It heats the oil and injects a catalyst - a mix of methane and potassium hydroxide. When pumped into the two barrels (recycled petroleum barrels) the glycerol sinks to the bottom and is drained from the oil. Because the system uses potassium hydroxide instead of other harmful chemicals, the glycerol can be used on livestock feed, to manage gravel road dust, in a waste oil burner, or on compost piles. The system is also capable of recovering part of the methanol, which helps reduce the cost.
Every 100 gal. of fuel produces about 50 gal. of wastewater, which has fertilizer value because of the potassium hydroxide. The oil is then dried (via heat and evaporation) and is ready to use within a day, Fugate says.
He and his friends created a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) type cooperative, gathering one night a week to make fuel. They average about 500 gal./month, but could double that, Fugate says. Working members pay a certain amount per gal., and non-working members pay a little more. Individuals are also required to pay state road use taxes.
Finding good oil is an important part of the process. Some fast food restaurant oil does not make good fuel. Though 3 billion gallons of waste oil are annually produced in the U.S., large companies pick up about 90 percent for animal feed. Fugate helps customers find local, reliable sources.
"To us it's also a rural economic interest issue," he says. "We're in it for the community. We think that gives us an advantage over big companies, because we eat at these restaurants. We offer a service."
By adding a double wash and dry system, groups can make 240 gal. of fuel per day.
Fugate sells the systems through his website and at energy conferences and fairs. He's planning to set up a network of trained dealers in the future.