UMBC Biodiesel Club

Back to school start

2009-09-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

If you aren't really sure about the basics of biodiesel, then please consider this- we are putting together a team to go over everything we can, from how it is made to it's environmental benefits, to create a series of posters answering the questions people who don't know a lot about biodiesel want to learn. We will put them up around our production site so people who want to see what biodiesel is all about can just look at all of them. If you are intereested, please reply or give me a call some time at 410-206-3972. We can arrange times to work on this an get a working knowledge of whatever you want to know. Bring your friends!
Have you ever been interested in making soap? We are organizing a soap making group based off of our main byproduct, glycerol. The soap making process will be tested by the first of October and we will be making it at the open house in the Clarksville Research facility. Again, if you are interested, please give me a call. I would love to see how this turns out!
If you are more interested in getting a little messy, we are going to start working on oil pickups from the dining hall and/or the commons, in addition to trips out to the farm. Again, if you are interested, please contact me! (Personally speaking, this is my favorite part.)
We will reiterate all of this at the meeting and go over it in a little more detail. (Sorry about the short notice.) I look forward to hearing from you!

P.S.- We finally got in touch with transit about fueling their vehicles. Look forward to some biodiesel powered buses!

Farm trip Friday

2009-04-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

We are planning on another Farm trip Friday! Also, we have a little lab work available to do, if any one is interested, please contact me.

Farm Address (finally)

2009-04-16T09:40:00.001-07:00

16114 Drayton Farm Dr
Spencerville, MD 20868

Election Results

2009-04-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

The voting results are in! We had a great turnout for the polls...

Public Relations- DT

Treasurer- Cassie

Operations Manager- Matt

Research Manager- Ray

President- Nick

Also- the farm address is coming. Apparently my emails are not as complete as I thought.

Farm Trip

2009-04-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

Today we cleaned up the farm and put a lot of the oil into one of the clean IBCs. (About 4-5 small boxes are left.) It was a little wet but it was a good trip- also managed to fix the water wash set up and washed out a container we can use for biodiesel later on. We moved the methanol into the room itself, so the methoxide production can start again. Most of the preparation is done, so next time we should *cross your fingers* be able to make some biodiesel. As for this Wednesday, we have officer elections. Please come and vote.

Updates

2009-03-18T08:07:00.001-07:00

Sorry I've been off for a while. I see that we got our Motorweek video got online (link below) and we are having an outreach session on the 17th, at 1:30pm. If you want to be involved, please contact Mike!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InCtZWPiF7w

Meeting Notes

2009-03-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

At today's meeting, we basically went over what things we needed done and broke everyone down into groups to get the work done. Below is a general breakdown of the groups and who is in them. If I have you down in the wrong one or you want to switch, just contact me.

Methane to Methanol Conversion Process (Jay and Matt)- Designing and producing a small scale product that will convert methane gas into methanol. The current general idea (as I understand it) is to use a rare metal catalyst with a small pump to convert it, but with the funding, these guys have a little leeway to come up with something that will work. (They are in the process of applying for an Undergraduate Research Award to supplement the Undergraduate Research Award.)

Algal Feasibility (Marsha and Steph???)- Looking into the feasibility of removing the oil from algae from the ponds at UMBC and the Farm, in addition to possibility from the Chesapeake Bay, using the Algal Bloom maps the Bay Foundation has available.

General Research (Atto, Mike)- The final group is more general and flexible, researching currently the physical standards required for ASTM certification of fuel. Hopefully this will lead to more efficient fuel production in the future and possibly use of the fuel in Quadmania.

Public Relations (DT, Nick)- Keeping the press and general public informed, working with the SEB and SGA to keep our group moving forward to improve the utility of the group. Will be organizing demonstrations of our biofuel being used in generators, in order to start the use in generators.

Anaerobic digestion (Nick, DT, Marsha, Angela)- Will be designing and building an anaerobic digestion chamber to get biogas out of manure.

Our entire group is going to start going out to the farm when it gets warmer (right now the biodiesel will gel) and we will need to start organizing rides to and from the farm. Alas, that is about it for now. Best of luck!

Farm Trip

2009-02-28T13:20:00.000-08:00

Today we went down to the farm and begun our planning for the following semester. We discussed dividing into different groups and making our work a little more applicable. The hope is to start getting two groups to come each week- each starting one batch and washing the second. We have more than enough oil to last us a few months- let's see how quickly we can convert it...

Also- we hope to divide each section into one person's work. Trying to improve the entire process is more than a little overwhelming, but if we could make each part one person's expertise, we could make this into something special.

We discussed the feasibility of the anaerobic digestion, as well. We will soon attempt to find someone to do PR because I would like to spend more time working on the project rather than wasting it on "getting the word out." If anyone wants research, we can pretty easily get more money and I already have a project for you.

It's great to see so much potential for progress. The bureaucratic work is coming to a close for the semester- let's see how far we can go when it's done...

Meeting Notes

2009-02-11T12:48:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all who showed up to the meeting this week! We plan to meet from now on every Wednesday during free hour in the Student Orgs Space. A point by point summary of what occurred is below.

-We are running low on methanol. We need to get a bunch more and contact Matt regarding how to move it. We are considering not purchasing it through the school to save time (and possibly money).

-We need to buy a resin column to remove the water from the biodiesel. The recent extreme changes in temperature have broken several pipes.

-We are planning a continuous reactor so we need to figure out a set of calculations for that.

-I will be meeting with individuals to see how we can best run the club to further their individual goals.

That's about it. If you have any questions, please contact me. I have created a google group to store shared data on the subject. I hope you are all doing well! Best of luck in your classes!

Meeting Wednesday

2009-02-07T15:27:00.001-08:00

We will be meeting this Wednesday during free hour to discuss the coming semester and what is happening with the biodiesel club. A partial list of the issues include: other sources of oils, the next trips out, figuring out how to economically test for ASTM standards, various methods of production and kinetics laboratories. I hope to see you all there!

Anaerobic Digestion and No Catalyst Biodiesel

2009-02-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

MTV has let our anaerobic digestion project has gotten through the next level of screening- so we may get another $1000 for the manure to methanol project. (However, apparently that conversion is rather difficult, so we will see how that progresses.)
For the biodiesel, however, it seems that Dr. Arnold is looking into using pressure and temperature as catalysts. We would do the experiment at the same time as Ryan's lewis acid research, allowing us to find the kinetics of the reaction.
We hope to meet soon- I will give more information about that when I have it. I look forward to seeing everyone!

Lab work over winter break

2009-01-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

Ryan plans to be in the lab Monday, Wednesday and Friday this break. Should you want to come, please e-mail him and respond to the questions on the first post of the blog.

Happy New Years!

2009-01-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

And with it, our next step in the project. Now that the feastivities of the winter holidays wrap up, it becomes apparent that we may soon have a more organized schuduel for activities before spring semester starts again (not including an interview down at the farm with Motor Week, probably on January 12th). (If anyone has a problem with that date, please contact Mike.)

In the area of supplies, the Chicken Basket is in the process of negotiating our use of their oil, in return for a split of the resultant biodiesel. Mr. Hunt is looking into blending the rest with heating oil and running it through the furnace for the winter.

Our luck in terms of real estate is a little more interesting- it looks like business for the farm is going well enough that the room we are currently using may be turned into stalls for several more horses, so we may have a new facility coming soon. Whether the new set up will include a(n) (Lewis) acid catalyzed reactor is, as of yet, unclear.

Happy New Years!

IBC Totes

2008-12-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

Today we got a bunch of IBC totes (which are approximately 250 gallon containers) from the biodiesel university and WSSC which we hope to sell and use. The proceeds will go to the farm and hopefully some will be included in the costs of insulating our workspace.

Motor Week is going to be coming down to interview us about the project, so we cleaned up the lab. (Or tried, at least.) It is freezing at the Farm so the insulation and extra wall will be extremely welcome.

Good luck on finals!

Safeway

2008-12-02T19:27:00.000-08:00

Apparently Safeway, the food retailer, is using biodiesel in their fleet of cars in an effort to become more green. Read the full story here:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/19/BU6UHSMM.DTL

Mike's Corrections

2008-11-22T14:25:00.000-08:00

Ultrasound creates areas of 1000 atm and 5000 K. My bad. Still, the glycerol started falling out right away with the process.

The cold weather should begin effecting our process soon. In our people's experiences, biodiesel forms wax crystals at low tempuratures, hence a lot of biodiesel blends with standard petro-diesel.

Ultra sound

2008-11-21T16:28:00.000-08:00

Our first tests with ultra sound have been highly successful! The practicalities of ultra sound are less so, but here is a general idea of what is happening.

The sonic vibrations create small pockets within the substrate and heat individual sections to around 1000 F while vigorously agitating them. This acts as a fantastic catalyst... in the lab. The possibility of putting it into action at the farm is a completely different situation. But we will keep on looking into the possibility.

Random updates

2008-11-19T17:49:00.000-08:00

On December 4th, the SGA will be hosting a party for the leaders of different organizations. If you are interested, please contact Mike German.

If you are interested in working in the lab over winter break, please contact Ryan. He will be here, along with myself and Marsha (albeit us two less than him).

Meeting Results

2008-11-07T20:52:00.000-08:00

At the meeting, we discussed the acquisition of our new pump, the oil shortage, IR spectra, new possible catalysts and a networking contact that Mike found

We finally purchased the new pump. Trying it out will have to wait until the oil shortage is over. It seems that the Middle East has opened it's doors (with crude at $60/barrel) but Chartwells has closed them. Mike believes that the dining hall staff is having internal communication problems, but until further notice, we have no actual oil to process. Ah well. Just another day at the normal gas pump, I suppose.

The IR spectra has been completed for the moment. Ryan and I completed an IR spectra analysis of different purities of bio-diesel (methyl esters vs. waster vegetable oil) from 10-0 to 0-10. Ryan also wrote a MatLAB program to find the relative peaks within the IR analysis so that we could plot and find the purity of bio-diesel by comparing it's spectra.

IR analysis works by hitting a sample with light and measuring the different infra-red light that it gives off. The photons within the light agitate the bonds within the different materials. These bonds act as springs. Depending on the strength of the bonds they will vibrate differently, releasing different frequencies of light. These frequencies can be plotted rather easily, but gaining useful information from straight data is slightly more complex. The first thing that one needs to be understood is that all of the peaks are relative. This is because the amount of light shown upon the test sample will cause different amounts of light to be given off. Imagine the springs once more- if you stretch them more, they will vibrate more. Therefore, all of the sizes much be relative. The other problem is that the data is commonly slanted, forcing users to straighten the curve before applying a quantitative analysis to it.

Ryan's program does both. In addition, he managed to make a comparative analysis of key peak sizes with Excel, identifying the peaks relative sizes in a much more chronologically economical manner.

New catalysts are being identified for testing in the lab as well. Metal catalysts (including rust) have the benefit of not causing soap formation within the process and skipping the use of potentially dangerous methoxide. Bismith Perchlorate is another possibility, in addition to Zeolites. Organic catalysts have been researched, but most of them require the use of high temperature and pressure and have been deemed impractical and uneconomical. BiClO4, rust and Zeolites have been acquired by the group and we hope to begin testing in the lab soon.

The networking contact is one of the leaders of the transport department. From the information gathered, UMBC has five dying buses, of which we may put two on B20. The eight oldest buses cost UMBC approximately $240,000 per annum, whereas new buses cost anywhere from $7-10,000 per year in maintenance. We also learned that UMCP attempted a similar project and found themselves having gelling issues (when bio-diesel partially forms wax crystals within the fuel), but we don't know enough information to deem whether this is an imminent problem. (Methyl esters gel at a low temperature, but petro-diesel blends increase the temperature at which this occurs. Depending on the purity, temperature and blend of the bio-diesel, we may not have to deal with this.)

Hopefully Chartwells will open up it's gates to us once more and the oil will flow. Best of luck!

Distillation

2008-11-04T13:38:00.000-08:00

Today the lab work on the distillation was begun. We didn't get as much as we needed, but the distillation will continue. For future reference, the lab is in the Chemistry building in room 142, accessible through the door at 140.

New kit

2008-11-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

We have purchased a gas mask for the person scooping the KOH(s) and are looking into purchasing new pumps for the tanks. (Anyone who has scooped pot ash can tell you, breathing the fumes burns.) We are also looking into things to wear so that spilling KOH on clothing won't destroy it when it goes through the wash (like lab coats or the like). If anyone has any ideas on any of these purchases, contact Mike!

Researchers Wanted

2008-10-31T11:39:00.001-07:00

If you are interesting in doing dedicated campus based biodiesel research, Ryan is looking for you! About 8 hours a work per week, Tuesday and Thursday! Email him the following:

1. Any in class lab experience?

2. Outside class lab experience?

3. Do you feel comfortable in a lab?

4. Are you a klutz? (Be honest.)

5. Major?

6. Year?

Farm this Saturday!

2008-10-31T11:18:00.000-07:00

There is a trip to the farm this Saturday! All interest in manual labor, please contact Mike soon!

Updates

2008-10-26T06:45:00.000-07:00

At the farm, Dr. Arnold and Matt have tested out the methanol recovery system (with a low temperature vacuum system). They are now attempting to find out how pure the methanol is to see how viable reusing it could be. Reuse is an environmentally friendly option but purity would be a factor in considering how economical the product is.

In the lab, Ryan is trying to figure out methods to quantitatively describe the purity of the bio-diesel. IR spectra is being used, but there is no reference solution as of yet (other than those found in an ancient tome of spectra). Plans exist to distill a portion of the bio-diesel already made into pure methyl esters to use them for the reference solution.

Ryan is also attempting to find out which type of reaction is most efficient for transesterification- single stage base, dual stage base and dual stage acid base. The samples are being created now with plans to compare them (in terms of soap production, ease of implementation and cost).

Meeting Results

2008-10-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

My apologies about the incorrect meeting time. I got there late and so I only have part of the updates. On the table were discussions about a certification process, a redesign of the heating process to increase safety, the possibility of heating the room with the bio-diesel and tonight's farm trip.

As for the certification, Dr. Arnold brought up the possibility of certification to use the bio-diesel facility. At least one certified member would need to be present per batch process. Once a certain proficiency with the apparatus was demonstrated, one could obtain this status. This would reduce the amount of time senior members would need to be present individually and increase the amount of participation by younger members. Exact standards for this have yet to be set. At present, we can make 80 gallons of bio-diesel per week, with only two trips down per week. With the certification process, each senior member would need to come down only once a month for a time span of five hours to achieve this amount.

The heating process failed last Thursday. The methanol inside of the water heater combusted (after hitting it's flash point). A solution proposed for this would be to heat up the water within the water heater and circulate this through the bio-diesel (in tubes, as a heat exchanger). This would not only reduce the need to heat up the liquids but it would also minimize the possibility of starting any other combustions with the methanol. (Bio-diesel's flash point is too high to combust under normal circumstances.)

The concept of heating the farm's room is not a new one. In the future, it is entirely possible that the whole farm could be powered by an electric generator running off of a diesel engine, but at the moment the diesel heater would be too expensive and possibly dangerous. At the moment, a heat exchanger from the water heater seems more realistic.

Tonight's trip will be an attempt to use a vacuum process to recover the methanol. Good luck to them!

Meeting

2008-10-17T11:04:00.001-07:00

We will be meeting at 2:45 in the Student Organizations Room in the Commons.

Introduction

2008-10-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

UMBC's biodiesel club is a small group of UMBC students, faculty and outsiders who are dedicated to biodiesel. We have created a small apple-seed reactor and have this at the farm. Of the officers, we currently have Mike German (President), Fellipe Baliero (Vice President), Ashrith Mathias (Treasurer), Ryan Park (Treasurer) and Tim Courtney (Partner in Crime). If anyone has a strong interest in biodiesel and would like to be involved in the production or consumption of biodiesel, trying PR or would just like to help us in any way, please contact Mike at (mgerman1@umbc.edu).