TriMet’s biodiesel ambitions hit wall [Portland]

Portland Tribune ^ | 5/15 | Nick Budnick

[Clint Williams]

Having finally worked out the kinks in using more biodiesel in its 600-bus fleet, TriMet is not sure it can afford it because of skyrocketing biodiesel costs.

[sionnsar]

Guess that was money well spent.

[DManA]

Give those bureaucrats a raise and a promotion.

[crazyhorse691]

Guess that was money well spent.

---

There is always more money from where that came from...and ain’t that just the darn sorry truth.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Good luck burning siftings from the grease pit, boys...

[pabianice]

Meanwhile, companies like SafeRenewables and Aegis Biofuels are turning some of America’s 580,000,000 barrels a year of rendered chicken fat into high grade biodiesel. Please explain how using waste chicken fat is uneconomical.

[thackney]

580 MM Barrels?

That is 6 months of US road diesel usage.

U.S. Distillate 0-15 ppm Sulfur Product Supplied
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/md0up_nus_1m.htm

Any more information available about that?

[rellimpank]

—snicker, giggle, giggle,-—

[kittycatonline.com]

Please explain how using waste chicken fat is uneconomical.

Well, if it was you and I cooking up a batch at home, it probably would be uneconomical until we got the process dialed in and made a years worth of brew. Scale that up, and then you got environmental regulations, inspections, healthcare benefits, costs in collections and proper handling of materials, workers comp (somebody is gonna slip on that grease, ya know).

Also, raw materials, even "free" ones, aren't cheap. If you got a refinery that takes delivery of oil from a Saudi tanker, that's it for your raw materials. If you need to go out and hit up a thousand KFCs for their drums of used oil, and then filter the stuff, that's a lot of additional expense.

[Jeff Chandler]

Please explain how using waste chicken fat is uneconomical.

Chickens are getting skinnier?

[pabianice]

One small clam restaurant near me has to pay to have 6,000 gallons of used fry oil sucked out of its storage tank every four weeks. One clam shack. If a processor simply took it for free it would be win-win.