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 oil-

bearing plants.”

Seattle biodiesel options

• Seven retailers • Seven distributors

www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/

Current commercial growth

• Nothing in Western Washington

• No soy grown in Washington

RememberCH2OOR1 catalyst CH2OH

| |

CHOOR2 + 3CH3OH 3CH3OORx + 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.aspxhttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003470213_biodiesel10.html

SSA Marine

• 800,000 gallons of B20 annually

http://www.ssamarine.com/news/010506.html

Terminal 18, Port of Seattle

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