U.S. Navy to Produce its Own Biodiesel
Alternative Fuel Helps Strengthen U.S. Energy Security, Protect the Environment
By Jenna Higgins
The largest diesel fuel user in the world is making a significant move in the drive for domestic energy security. At Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) in Port Hueneme, Calif., U.S. Navy leaders announced plans to recycle the Navy’s used cooking oil by processing it into cleaner burning biodiesel for use in its diesel vehicles. Biodiesel is an established, commercially available fuel that works in any diesel engine, and the Department of Energy calls it the fastest growing alternative fuel in America.
The Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center (NFESC) is partnering with Santa Barbara-based Biodiesel Industries, Inc., a biodiesel manufacturer and technology provider. Using a modular biodiesel processing unit, the base will collect its used cooking oil and transform it into biodiesel through a chemical process known as transesterification. Biodiesel can be made from any fat or vegetable oil, such as soybean oil. It’s nontoxic, biodegradable and works in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. Although biodiesel contains no petroleum, it can be blended with petroleum diesel at any level, the most common blend level being 20 percent biodiesel mixed with 80 percent diesel (B20).
The U.S. Military is one of the largest users of B20, but this is the first attempt to create a self-sustaining plant. If the project is successful, ultimately the Navy could send portable biodiesel processing units overseas to produce its own fuel while on missions abroad.
“This is a win-win,” said Kurt Buehler, Chemical Engineer at NFESC. “By producing our own biodiesel from used cooking oil, we can eliminate a solid waste disposal problem on bases. In return, our diesel vehicles will burn cleaner, and we’ll be using less foreign oil.”
“I think it is significant to note that the Navy is charged with protecting shipping routes to import petroleum to the United States,” said Joe Jobe, executive director of the nonprofit National Biodiesel Board. “I admire the military leaders who have the foresight to use their existing resources to create cleaner burning biodiesel. The Navy is the largest diesel fuel user in the world, and they’re working proactively and creatively to use more renewable fuel. It’s truly groundbreaking.”
The demonstration validation plant’s annual capacity is one million gallons. The base plans on using 20,000 gallons a year. Nearby Channel Islands National Park, which has used biodiesel for several years to help meet its goal of making the islands petroleum-free, will use 20,000 gallons a year. Ventura County will also use 20,000 gallons annually.
The U.S. currently imports approximately 60 percent of its oil -- of that, 800,000 barrels of oil a day come from Iraq.
“If you look at what it costs to send a gallon of diesel overseas, there is a potential to reduce the logistics tail when deploying since we’re already sending vegetable oil overseas anyway to cook for the troops,” Buehler said. “It also gives us energy security for Navy bases. If petroleum gets cut off, we can keep the base running on biodiesel. So in addition to reducing dependence on foreign oil, producing our own biodiesel could provide a tactical advantage in case of crisis.”
“This is the culmination of fours years of working with the US Navy,” said Russell Teall, president of Biodiesel Industries. “Our research and development of the Modular Production Unit has been completed and implemented in our civilian plants in Las Vegas and Australia. Now, with the cooperation of NFESC we hope to continue making improvements so that it can soon be deployed at military installations around the world.”
The U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines all use B20 at different bases and stations throughout the country and have used about 50 thousand gallons of B20 a year since 2001. The switch to biodiesel was virtually seamless, according to Transportation Director Gary Passmore. “Older equipment took a filter change, but newer equipment needed nothing,” he said. “It went so smooth that no one really noticed.”
Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have completed the rigorous Health Effects testing required by the Clean Air Act. Results show biodiesel poses less of a risk to human health than petroleum diesel. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a comprehensive technical report of biodiesel emissions data that shows the exhaust emissions of particulate matter from pure biodiesel are about 47 percent lower than overall particulate matter emissions from diesel. Breathing particulate has been shown to be a human health hazard. Biodiesel emissions also reduce by 80 to 90 percent potential cancer causing compounds called Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrated PAH. Biodiesel also reduces emissions of total unburned hydrocarbons, a contributing factor to smog and ozone, by about 68 percent. Carbon monoxide is reduced by about 48 percent.
Biodiesel has similar horsepower, torque and BTU content compared to petroleum diesel. It offers excellent lubricity and higher cetane than diesel fuel. Biodiesel is registered with the EPA as a fuel and fuel additive. About 350 major fleets currently use biodiesel nationwide.
Readers can learn more about biodiesel by visiting biodiesel.org. Readers can learn more about Biodiesel Industries at pipeline.to
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