History The Manufacture of biodiesel from recycled vegetable cooking oil by St. Johns County began with an idea in 2003. From that stage until October, 2005, the County's Fleet Maintenance Manager (FMM) researched and tested the process with the approval and support of the Public Works Director (PWD). This served as the product development stage of the project. Late in 2004 the project was presented to the Board of County Commissioners for the first time. That presentation was positively received, and a pilot project was subsequently included in the 2006 budget. Status When funding became available on October 1, 2005 the pilot project was initiated. It was projected that a full year would be required to complete that pilot project phase, and that full routine production would be possible by the fall of 2006. It is noted that pilot projects are expected to encounter and overcome obstacles, and this one is certainly no different. The timing of the production stage is less then certain, and glitches are probable into the early production stage as process, personnel, and equipment problems are encountered and overcome as they arise. The biodiesel program can be divided into two distinct parts: Waste oil collection and fuel production. Collection Because production during the pilot project was expected to be relatively low and sporadic, it has not been desirable to collect and store large quantities of used oil thus far. There are a total of seven (7) facilities currently donating oil on a regular basis. Donations of small quantities from individual citizens are accepted at the County's Solid Waste Transfer Station as a part of the recycling program. A truck with a tank and pump is used for pick up from sites that generate substantial quantities. Only clean vegetable oil can be readily processed. The St. Johns County School Board has agreed to donate the used oil from all County schools beginning with the 2006-2007 school year. Plastic containers have been purchased for this purpose and will be distributed to schools as soon as the necessary equipment is available. The County is not soliciting other large donors at this time. When production becomes routine and we are able to determine our production capacity additional donations will be welcomed. Production The production process is the art and science of the biodiesel project. The product development stage was accomplished using small capacity equipment operated by hand. The process was very labor intensive and produced small quantities of biodiesel product. Less than 100 gallons of biodiesel was produced during this stage. The pilot project stage is still under way. A much larger and more systematic processing apparatus consisting of two 115 gallon processing tanks and one 55 gallon chemical mixing tank with a series of pipes, valves, heaters, sensors, filters, pumps and controls has been constructed by hand. This prototype processing plant requires a very "hands on" approach and is still subject to occasional break down. Approximately 1,000 gallons of biodiesel have been produced to date by this prototype unit. Production using this unit continues on a daily basis, with periodic modifications to improve function and reliability. If everything goes well, this unit can produce up to 100 gallons of biodiesel per day, but that maximum has seldom been realized thus far. When production becomes routine and relatively problem-free, a larger capacity processor will be assembled using the lessons learned during the pilot project stage. It is anticipated that this production stage of the project will begin soon and that production volume will increase after the beginning of calendar 2007. St. Johns County is proud to be involved with this project for both environmental and economic reasons. Written by: Joe Stephenson, St. Johns County Public Works Director. |