Blog/Articles

Navy Biofuels - It's estimated that it costs $400/gallon to deliver fuel on the battlefield.  Not only is the military prone to supply shortages from foreign production, it's faced with extraordinary costs for a vital substance.  These facts should not only pull on strings of the Generals, but the government accountants as well.

There's few that have championed the need for energy independence like Navy secretary Ray Mabus.  He continues to be a further the use of biofuels, systematically testing them in the Navy's machinery while developing the infrastructure for affordable production.  Mabus says that the main source of independent or domestically sou

In case your entire family isn't yet on board with your WVO endeavors, here is a way to incorporate the whole gang(and especially the neat-freaks) into the fold.   You can transform WVO into soap!  It's a simple and sometimes profitable process being done in homes all across the country.

For at least the last 4800yrs human-kind h

WVO Design's representatives Leon and Jason attended the 2013 Collective Biodiesel Conference in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado last weekend.  After a slight adjustment to the 9600ft elevation, we inhaled insights and knowledge from the other leaders in the alternative fuel community.   The conference was very well run and organized, thanks to Dara Lor and his staff.   There were very interesting presenters, appropriate time for networking and great food.   The little details even received proper attention, ie. the t-shirts were organic cotton, plastic-ware was compostable, and beer was brewed right in town.

Many of the attendees were small to medium scale Biodesel Producers, who also have WVO Collection companies.  As I've said before, professional, value added WVO collection remains a viable small business opportunity for individuals across the country.

See video recordings of all the presentations here.

The most recent EIA report indicates strong growth in the renewable energy sector.    This, coupled with the projected 56% increase in demand over the next 25 years, makes the energy sector a fertile industry to find employment.

Non-hydropower renewables used for electricity and heat will grow by an average of 8.1% in 2013.  Power from wind is projected to increase 19% in 2013 and solar generation is expected to increase by 80% in 2013!

Biofuels are also seeing record production levels and continue to grow as increasing Renewable Fuel Standards are set by the government.  The RINs program allows producers of biofuels to trade away credits for dollars for each gallon of fuel produced and blended into the fossil fuels.

“U.S. ethanol production has been increasing since April, and is projected to average 870,000 barrel

OECD - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

According to the EIA, energy demand  is projected to rise by 56% by 2040....making it a highly exciting and profitable sector to be involved in...hint hint.  What's awesome is that you don't need to be an oil baron to help fuel the planet's energy needs.   All forms of energy will be increase in value and there is no one size fits all solution.  It takes our planet  1 million years to naturally produce 1 years worth of crude oil at current demand.   We need a variety of energy sources, both large and small scale.

Renewable energy and nuclear power are the world's fastest-growing energy sources, each increasing 2.5% per year. However, fossil fuels continue to supply nearly 80% of world energy use through 2040. Natural gas is the fastest-growing fossil fuel, as global supplies of tight gas, shale gas, and coalbed methane increase.

&nbs

As we've said before, gone are the days where you can just show up at a restaurant and expect them to give you their oil.  Many independent collectors have worked out a competitive advantage over the large renderers by offering value added services to their oil collection.   Personalized service, grease trap cleaning and now oil management has given local indy guys an edge.   Let's take a  look at Green Tech's new endeavor into fryer filtration and servicing, or oil management.

The complete fryer cleaning kit and training is provided by Refried Means, a company that helps independent oil collectors to establish an oil management business.  Their equipment is tried and true, and they back it up with excellent support and training.

Oil management reduces the vegetable oil cost of the restaurants by extending the

So you're taking a long road trip and want to buy as little diesel as possible.  Here's some methods to fuel your entire trip on WVO.

Take your oil with you:

This generally works on shorter trips(loading up cubies in your trunk).  Folks with trucks often tow/haul barrels and even totes of clean oil to make it there and back.    I know it can be a difficult decision weighing whether to bring people/gear and buying fuel, or consuming every last space by hauling your own free WVO from home.   The good thing is that there are ways to score WVO on the road!

Buy or t

Summer is here and many of us have ramped up fuel production with our centrifuges.  Here are a few pointers...

Raw Power Centrifuge Operation and Maintenance Tips

1.       Settle the oil prior to centrifuging.  The centrifuge is meant to be a polisher to raise the waste oil to a fuel quality spec.  Settle most of the debris and garbage prior to centrifuging.  Let gravity do the bulk of the work.

2.      Interrupt the centrifuge operation every 50 gallons and let the trapped water drain.  The bowl will only hold 220z of debris/water at best.   Once the bowl fills up with waste, the centrifuge becomes ineffective.  Solid contaminants really pack down in the bowl, so clean them less frequently.  I check my bowl for solid buildup every 300 gallons or so.  Once debris builds up over 1/4" on the walls of the bowl, clean it out.

3.      Vent the lid to evaporate off additional wate

There has been more and more interest in using Waste Motor Oil as fuel.   Due to the increasing scarcity of Waste Vegetable Oil,  WMO is becoming a viable alternative fuel for folks with  diesel vehicles and waste oil burners.  Sources of WMO are:

*Car repair shops

*Auto Dealerships

*Machinery shops

*Trucking service company

*Fleets

*Construction companies

*Neighbors and friends

(Checkout our new WMO Pump - Designed to move high viscosity oils)

Most people burn WMO straight in their vehicle, without the typical Waste Veggie Conversion tanks, pumps and heaters.   Straight WMO can work in vehicles, but it is typically refined before putting in the fuel tank.  There are hosts of ways to refine the WMO, thinning it to the viscosity of diesel.    Ke

Turning waste oil into fuel is feasible and will save money.   If you can secure a source of waste oil, you can sell it or burn it in place of buying fuel.   I had a oil pickup today and it cost me 30 bucks...which seemed like a lot for me to shell out for fuel.  Then I went through the calculations with my 6yr old, 60 x $4 is $240....That's a savings of $210 in fuel costs.  Is paying $240 or $30 better?  $30!   Ahhh, money well spent.  

I mainly calculate my WVO costs in time, the time it takes me to collect the oil and time it take for processing into fuel.  I spend about 3hrs of collecting per month, and 2 for processsing, so I'm at about $40+/hr labor rate for making my own fuel.  Another benefit is that my car smells like french fries, and sometimes steak or chicken.   And last but not least,  I see gas stations solely as bathrooms.