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News Articles -- le Monde Translation

COOKING OIL, FUEL OF THE FUTURE?
February 11, 2006
Corine Lesnes, Correspondent, Le Monde (France)
Originally published in French, translated here by Gerard Etienne

It's yellow, rather viscous, and few agree on what it smells like. "Some people think that it smells like French fries. For others, its popcorn," says Peter Bell, an Austin, Texas-based producer. "Salad dressing," corrects Dan Goodman who has jar of the stuff on his desk at the University of Maryland. The liquid in question is biodiesel, a vegetable-based fuel that the United States is counting on to one day reduce its energy dependence from the Middle-East. Virtually unknown 10 years ago, biodiesel has now made its way in the Energy Department's statistics. Designation: "yellow grease". Cooking oil. You put it in your engine.

The phenomenon has grown in a few short years. All over America, individuals started collecting used cooking oil from restaurants and fast-food establishments to convert it to biodiesel. The Minneapolis Star Tribune considers these enterprising individuals to be part of a "growing subculture". They're able to drive 1000 kilometers (about 620 miles) with an engine that creates almost no pollution. And a full tank of oil that costs almost nothing.

The abundance of raw material is substantial: 300 million gallons of used cooking oil are generated in American kitchens. "It's becoming a trend," says Josh Tickell, a biodiesel pioneers. "People want to make biodiesel. And using cooking oil is a method that is accessible to everyone."

To make biodiesel, the oil is mixed with alcohol (methanol). A conversion kit, sold on the Internet, is used to ensure that the oil does not thicken in cold weather. But there is a drawback: the fuel is only for diesel vehicles, and currently, diesel automobiles make up only 5% of the American market.

Josh Tickell is author of the book From the Fryer to The Fuel Tank. He traveled the country for two years in his "veggie van", a sunflower-painted van that runs exclusively on the oil he collects from the restaurants he encounters during his travels. On February 6, he released his second book, Biodiesel America, on the same day that the National Biodiesel Conference opened in San Diego, with 2,000 people in attendance – more than twice the number of attendees from the previous year. "People are waking up to and facing reality. We will not be able to import from Saudi Arabia for much longer," he says. "Like the French have observed, the United States has sometimes taken dangerous decisions because of the country's need for oil."

The Bush administration's 2004 energy plan has given a significant boost to biodiesel by way of tax credits: between 50 cents and $1 for each gallon of biodiesel mixed with ‘regular' diesel or petrodiesel. This tax benefit has allowed production to triple: 14 million gallons in 2003, 30 million gallons in 2004, and almost 75 million in 2005. Despite these significant increases production levels are still far from sufficient. Even if all of the available used cooking oil were collected, says Josh Tickell, "it would only meet 5% of our diesel needs."

That said, biodiesel has become competitive because of the rise in gasoline prices. The U.S. Postal Service, the Army, the Navy – which has decided that all non-combatant vehicles will run on biodiesel – and school buses from hundreds of school districts have all switched to biodiesel. There are already six hundred biodiesel pumps throughout the country. There are currently fewer than 20 biodiesel producers (for 84 ethanol producers), and 12 new installations are under construction.

In 2004, country music legend Willie Nelson entered the biodiesel market and launched his own brand, "Bio-Willie". The guitarist, who spends his time between Austin and Hawaii, bought a diesel Mercedes, and the smell of French fries, "or donuts", says his manager, follows him when he is on tour. "Bio-Willie" is a mixture of 80% petrodiesel and 20% biodiesel produced from soybean oil. In August 2005, the product was launched at Carl's Corner, a gas station south of Dallas that has become an icon for Texas truckers, and where Willie Nelson used to perform. Today, the gas station serves 30 to 40 trucks per day.

Distribution manager Peter Bell emphasizes that the price of petrodiesel is about the same as the price for oil, or around $70 per barrel. "We are growing at 35% per month", he says. According to him, biodiesel [consumers, customers] buy it for various reasons: "some people want to support the American farmer; others don't want to have anything to do with Saudi Arabia."

But dreamers and environmentalists are not the only ones interested in biodiesel. Dan Goodman, a serial entrepreneur based at the University of Maryland, is in the process of building his own biodiesel "refinery".

At first, he was primarily concerned with the development of asthma in school children and role school buses play in generating significant pollution. So, he started collecting used oil and is now supplying his neighborhood school's five buses.

Once a week, he sends Matt Geiger, a passionate mechanic, to collect used oil from restaurants around College Park in Maryland. Equipped with a pump mounted on a small trailer, Matt parks his vehicle behind the kitchens, and without any hesitation, attacks the containers. The oil is yellowish, and thick. From time to time, pieces of food still lay suspended in the liquid. Matt can fill a 55-gallon drum in thirty seconds.

During his rounds, Matt is sure to go by the University's cafeteria – three fast food restaurants in one place! – he then goes by California Tortilla, and Sakura, a Japanese restaurant. He usually collects around 300 gallons per week. The restaurants are happy to get rid of their used oil for free since they used to have to pay for its removal.

Matt Geiger describes himself as a "different kind of oilman". He has always been interested in Rudolf Diesel, the German inventor who was the first to use peanut oil to power his engine. Matt believes that there will be a new energy revolution: "In 1859, the whale oil industry was left standing in its tracks when petroleum was found in Pennsylvania. That's exactly what's going to happen again. Petroleum is going to be left behind".