Community-Based Biodiesel Production

Pacific Biodiesel, Inc.
American

Pacific Biodiesel, Inc. promotes a clean, sustainable energy future through the community-based production of renewable fuel. Pacific Biodiesel achieves this by being a process technology provider as well as a local biodiesel producer, retailer and wholesaler in our home state of Hawaii. As of 1996 we have designed and constructed six biodiesel production facilities (plants) in the U.S. and Japan. These individual refineries process from 750,000- 6.8 million liters of waste and/or virgin oil feedstock per year. Our process facilities are modular and can be increased in capacity with the availability of feedstock. In Hawaii, Pacific Biodiesel currently produces around 2.2 million liters of biodiesel annually, which represents about 1.6% of Hawaii's total on-road transportation diesel fuel usage. The importance of energy independence is more apparent in Hawaii than it has been in other U.S. states, due to our remote location in the Pacific and our dependence on imported petroleum for both transportation and electricity generation. These factors motivated Pacific Biodiesel to become a pioneer in the U.S. biodiesel industry almost a decade ago. The increasing world demand for petroleum, along with the reality of limited human capability to respond to natural disasters (such as the recent Hurricane Katrina) have made the need for community-based energy more dire than ever.
Biodiesel produced using Pacific Biodiesel's process can be used interchangeably with petroleum diesel fuel, and can be blended with petroleum diesel in any percentage from 1% to 100%. Blends of 20% biodiesel and higher are known to provide the most significant reduction in particulate and sulfur emissions. Diesel generators, farm equipment, vessels and vehicles can all run on biodiesel. The production method developed and proven by Pacific Biodiesel in Hawaii demonstrates that producing fuel locally from locally sourced vegetable oil, either waste cooking oil or virgin oil, is not only possible, but profitable and beneficial to the local economy. In Hawaii, biodiesel is currently sold at lower retail price than any other transportation fuel in the state, with pricing dictated by production costs and cost of living increases rather than by foreign oil barrel indices. This production model, supported by our 10 years of experience and high level of technical knowledge about biodiesel production and usage, would be highly applicable in developing countries and other island communities.

Biodiesel produced using Pacific Biodiesel's process can be used interchangeably with petroleum diesel fuel, and can be blended with petroleum diesel in any percentage from 1% to 100%. Blends of 20% biodiesel and higher are known to provide the most significant reduction in particulate and sulfur emissions. Diesel generators, farm equipment, vessels and vehicles can all run on biodiesel. The production method developed and proven by Pacific Biodiesel in Hawaii demonstrates that producing fuel locally from locally sourced vegetable oil, either waste cooking oil or virgin oil, is not only possible, but profitable and beneficial to the local economy. In Hawaii, biodiesel is currently sold at lower retail price than any other transportation fuel in the state, with pricing dictated by production costs and cost of living increases rather than by foreign oil barrel indices. This production model, supported by our 10 years of experience and high level of technical knowledge about biodiesel production and usage, would be highly applicable in developing countries and other island communities.

The benefits of community-based biodiesel production are many. The community would experience the utilization of its own waste oil and/or agricultural products as a feedstock for locally-produced energy, thereby diverting potential landfill material and also creating opportunities in farming. Profits from energy production would largely remain in the community. In developing countries where the rate of labor is low, it is likely that virgin oil would be the desired feedstock; in communities where arable land is widely available, it is possible that a significant amount of diesel fuel could be displaced by cleaner-burning, safer-handling biodiesel, making those communities more energy self-sustaining. By basing the refinery in the community it serves, costs of transporting both feedstock and product are greatly reduced, thus making the end product even more affordable to the community. At a time when the limitations of traditional energy sources are becoming obvious, and global warming has emphasized the need for renewable fuels, this application of biodiesel production technology would be a valuable step toward local energy independence in developing countries.

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