Community-Based Biodiesel Production from Restaurant

Yellow Grease in Atlanta, Georgia

Principle Investigator: Erik Fyfe

Advisors: Dr. Brian Smith, Dr. Arri Eisen, & Dr. Rusty Pritchard

Problems with Petroleum

• Non-renewable; Peak 2008-2016 (Aleklett & Campbell 2003; Bentley 2002; Duncan 2003; Duncan and Youngquist 1999)

• Centralized supply• International conflict• High transport costs • Increased vulnerability from oil

dependence• Environmental pollution (I.e.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions, high urban-pollutant concentrations)

• Public health effects

Proposed Petroleum Alternatives• Coal• Hydrogen• Biofuels

“America is

addicted to oil” (Bush 2006)

•Renewable

•Lifecycle production cost < Energy output

•Flexibility of production

•Lower (or zero) pollutant emissions (especially GHGs)

•Easy application to existing infrastructure

Keys to New Energy’s Success

An Opportunity for Biofuels

Ethanol: - producible by fermenting plant biomass

- corn, sugarcane, switchgrass

- incorporated in blends with gasoline

- net energy sink or source, depending on production (Pimentel &

Patzek 2005; Farrell et al. 2006)

- production more efficient with emerging technology

Biodiesel: - producible through chemical conversion of lipids

- vegetable oils, animal fats, yellow grease

- useable in any diesel engine (B100, B20, B5, B2)

- favorable Fossil Energy Ratio of 3.2 (Sheehan et al. 1998)

- simple production process

Biodiesel as a Petrodiesel Supplement• Lower lifecycle emissions (Decreases by: 78% CO2, 35%

CO, 32% PM, 8% SO2) (Sheehan et al. 1998)

• Safer to work with (non-volatile, non-toxic)

• Lower environmental hazards from spills (biodegradable)

• Lower deaths and health effects than petrodiesel exposure

• Strengthens local & national economies

Biodiesel & Urban Energy Production• Opportunity to recycle urban yellow grease into

biodiesel for urban fleets and diesel-users• Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE)

proposes community-based biodiesel production program in Atlanta (Del Bueno 2005)

• Small-scale production (500,000 gal/yr) has demonstrated positive returns (Lewandowski and Faaij 2004; Van Dyne et al. 1996)

• GA diesel demand: 1.6 billion gal/yr (Energy Information

Association 2005), yellow grease availability (unknown)

How do we determine the potential for the development of a community-based biodiesel program in Atlanta?

Project Components• Identify trends in yellow grease production based on

restaurant type

• Assess restaurant managers’ interest to participate in a community-based yellow grease biodiesel program

• Determine managers’ concerns to address in order to facilitate development of such a program

• Estimate total volume of yellow grease in Atlanta area

• Recommend potential locations for biodiesel plants based on spatial distribution of yellow grease, etc.

• Assess renewability of proposed production model

Research Methods• Collected contact and location info for all restaurants within

20 miles of Atlanta from Verizon Superpages

• Eliminated faulty listings (4,719 left)

• 27 restaurant categories based on cuisine and service type

• Telephone surveys of restaurant managers from each category

• Quality of restaurants’ yellow grease quantified with Index of Oil Quality (IOQ) based on oil type and saturated fat content

• Applied avg. data from each restaurant type to all restaurants within same category to estimate total volume and total potential 500,000 gal/yr biodiesel production facilities

• Determined Fossil Energy Ratio of yellow grease biodiesel using data presented by Sheehan et al. (1998).

Data Mapping• Restaurant data mapped using ArcMAP GIS

software• Locations of local used motor-oil processing

facilities mapped as potential biodiesel production sites

• Minimum Inclusion Radii (MIRs) of yellow grease collection for existing and proposed 500,000 gal/yr facilities

• Future plant location recommendations based on yellow grease distribution and use of used motor oil processing facilities

Results

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Dou

gh K

Sea

f Q

Lat

/Sw

Q

Fon

due

Sea

f F

Caj

un

Am

er F

Chi

ck

BB

Q

E A

si Q

Bfa

st

Am

er Q

Frn

/Eur

o

Med

/Mid

E

Lat

/Sw

F Ital

Pub

Afr

ican

Indi

a

Sou

th

Pzz

a F

E A

si F

Snd

/Bak

FC

Car

ibb

Dou

gh n

o K

Pzz

a Q

Snd

/Bak

Q

Restaurant Classification

Tot

al V

olum

e of

Yel

low

Gre

ase

(gal

/wk/

clas

sifi

catio

n)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Avg V

olume of Y

ellow G

rease (gal/wk)

Weekly yellow grease yields and total relative yellow grease contributions between different

restaurant classifications

Managers’ Interest & Concerns

• Most restaurants pay for their grease collection (≤ $300/collection)

• Most managers reported high levels of interest in participating in the proposed biodiesel program

• Less-interested managers operated quick-service restaurants

• Primary concerns about the program were related to insuring reliability of the grease hauler and learning more about production and use of biodiesel

• Waste management decisions are made by corporate offices

Total Yellow Grease Volume

• Estimated: 4,973,664 gal/yr• Biodiesel Potential: 3,978,931 gal/yr*

*(Assumes 20% of feedstock is glycerine)

• 8 potential 500,000 gal/yr plants in Atlanta area

Atlanta Yellow Grease Distribution

Metro Atlanta Diesel Utilization (2000)

(Shumaker et al. 2003)

Fulton (1,637,923) Dekalb (999,139) Cobb (572,208) Gwinnett (338,667)

Highest biodiesel potential counties (gal/yr):

Image adapted from: Sheehan et al. 1998

Yellow grease biodiesel 6.3-6.5Soybean biodiesel 3.2*Petrodiesel 0.83*

*(Sheehan et al. 1998)

Biodiesel’s Life Cycle & Fossil Energy Ratio

Significance of Results• Strong potential for development of community-based

biodiesel from yellow grease program in Atlanta, based on:-Interest within restaurant industry -High potential feedstock volumes-Diesel demand

• Competition with current grease renderers will likely limit full utilization of Atlanta’s yellow grease (Most currently used in poultry feed (Shumaker et al. 2003))

• Biodiesel producers should ensure high quality of service to restaurants and high quality fuel product

• Similar analyses and program designs are applicable to other urban areas (Over 2.75 billion gal yellow grease recycled/year in U.S. (Kiepper 2001))

Small-Scale Community-Based Biodiesel Production: “Waste-to-Fuel” Programs

ReFuel Emory biodiesel program by fall 2006

SACE-Emory University partnership

• Emory food service, yellow grease production: 5,500 gal/month (Wetli 2005) (66,000 gal/yr)

• Estimated biodiesel potential: 52,000 gal/yr (Assumes 20% of feedstock is glycerine)

• Alt. Trans. diesel demand: 41,765 gal/yr (2005) (Teichert 2005)

• Partnership with SACE for full-cycle utilization of cooking grease at Emory

“Waste-to-Fuel in Public School” Programs

• GA Public School Bus B2 Mandate 2008 (Georgia General Assembly 2006)

• School cafeteria yellow grease → School bus biodiesel fuel

In the 18 metro Atlanta counties: • 849 public schools (Lots of grease?) (Georgia Department of Education 2006)

• Schools’ diesel demand: 9,702,798 gal/yr (2000) (Shumaker et al. 2003)

• 2% = 194,056 gal/yr biodiesel = 242,570 gal/yr yellow grease

• ENERGY ENGAGEMENT: Student opportunities for first-hand engagement with energy production and subsequent lessons on renewable energy

AcknowledgementsThanks to Dr. Brian Smith and committee members Dr. Arri

Eisen and Dr. Rusty Pritchard for their advice and support throughout this process.

Also to Rob Del Bueno, who shared resources and advice during the course of this project.

I also thank: Craig Raymond Durkin, Lance Escher, Cate Hilenski, Julia Pendergrast, Chuck, Jessica Lewis, Robert O’Reilley, Laura Ray, Wanda Teichert, Michel Wetli, all of the restaurant employees with whom I spoke, and Emory College’s Student Government Association for writing and passing a resolution to encourage biodiesel use in Emory’s shuttle fleet.

ReferencesAleklett, K. and C. J. Campbell. (2003). "The peak and decline of world oil and gas production." Minerals & Energy 18(1): 5-20.

Bentley, R.W. (2002). "Global oil & gas depletion: an overview." Energy Policy 30(3): 189-205.

Bush, G.W. "State of the union address by the president." United States Capitol. Washington, D.C. 31 Jan. 2006.

Del Bueno, R. Personal interview. 14 Nov. 2005.

Duncan, R.C. (2003). "Three world oil forecasts predict peak oil production." Oil and Gas Journal 101(21): 18-21.

Duncan, R.C., and W. Youngquist. (1999). "Encircling the peak of world oil production." Natural Resources Research 8(3): 219–232.

Energy Information Association. “State energy consumption, price, and expenditure estimates (SEDS).” Energy Information Association. 12 Dec. 2005 <http://www.eia.doe.gov>.

Farrell, A.E., R.J. Plevin, B.T. Turner, A.D. Jones, M.O’Hare, and D.M. Kammen. (2006). “Ethanol can contribute to energy and environmental goals.” Science 311: 506-508.

Georgia Department of Education. “School finder: by county.” Office of Policy and External Affairs. 7 May 2006 <http://public.doe.k12.ga.us>.

Georgia General Assembly. (2006). Senate Bill 453 - Biodiesel Fuels; Require Use by Certain Vehicles Operated by Local School Districts; Local Governments. Senate Committee on Transportation. Atlanta, GA.

Kiepper, B. (2001). “Characterization of the generation, handling and treatment of spent fat, oil, and grease (FOG) from Georgia’s food service industry.” Report prepared for The Pollution Prevention Assistance Division of the Department of Natural Resources. University of Georgia; Athens, GA.

Lewandowski, I., and A. Faaij. (2004). "Steps Toward the Development of a Certification System for Sustainable Bio-Energy Trade." Report prepared for the FAIR Biotrade project. Copernicus Institute; Utrecht, Netherlands.

Pimentel, D., and T.W. Patzek. (2005). “Ethanol production using corn, switchgrass, and wood; biodiesel production using soybean and sunflower.” Natural Resources Research 14(1): 65-76.

Sheehan, J., V. Camobreco, J. Duffield, M. Graboski, and H. Shapouri. (1998). "Life cycle inventory of biodiesel and petroleum diesel for use in an urban bus." Report prepared for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. United States Department of Energy and United States Department of Agriculture; Washington, D.C.

Shumaker, G.A., J. McKissick, C. Ferland, and B. Doherty. (2003) “A study on the feasibility of biodiesel production in Georgia.” Report prepared for the Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development. University of Georgia; Athens, GA.

Teichert, W. Personal email. 21 Dec. 2005.

Van Dyne, D.L., J.A. Weber, and C.H. Braschler. (1996). "Macroeconomic effects of a community-based biodiesel production system." Bioresource Technology 56: 1-6.

Wetli, M. Personal email. 4 Sep. 2005.

Questions