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Scott Cooney headshot

Springboard Biodiesel: Biodiesel On Site

By Scott Cooney

For many universities, military bases, breweries, hospitals, and cafeterias, the disposal of waste grease is a liability. There are regulations making it illegal to dump waste grease, as the result is often a heavy bill for the taxpayer to clean up clogged pipes, drains, and sewers. A growing number of biodiesel homebrewers will come pick up the oils, but another terrific option is for these facilities to brew ASTM-grade biodiesel on site. Springboard Biodiesel's BioPro series of on-site biodiesel processors allows institutions to create their own biodiesel on site for a fraction of the cost of diesel fuel.

According to the company's website, the stainless steel, industrial strength safety-certified processors can produce biodiesel at 90 cents per gallon, and they have installed 5 million gallons worth of capacity of what they call the 'best small-scale biodiesel processor available.'

This testimonial, from Daphne, Alabama, of all places, perhaps says it best, regarding all the benefits:

Daphne Utilities has won awards for their grease recycling program, using a Springboard Biodiesel BioPro 190, which can produce 50 gallons in 48 hours, and retails at just under $10,000 plus shipping. The utility is converting over 400 gallons of used cooking oil every month, allowing the municipality to reduce costs on sewer maintenance, and to fuel the municipality's trucks and heavy equipment. They even use the 'waste byproduct', glycerin, to make soap and decorative educational displays about area recycling.

With the U.S. military looking to sure up its fuel supplies by using biofuels as we approach peak oil (yes, even the Pentagon recognizes sustainability as a national security issue), these processors could really help reduce emissions from the U.S. military, and cut costs across the board. The company claims the devices can pay for themselves in 5-7 months. This presents a wonderful opportunity for our military tax burden, weaning the U.S. military off foreign oil, and reducing the $700 Billion the U.S. spends annually on its military.

 

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Scott Cooney is the author of Build a Green Small Business (McGraw-Hill), and covers green business strategy on GreenBusinessOwner.com.

Follow GreenBusinessOwner.com on Twitter: Twitter.com/GreenBizOwner

 

Scott Cooney headshot

Scott Cooney, Principal of GreenBusinessOwner.com and author of Build a Green Small Business: Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur (McGraw-Hill, November 2008), is also a serial ecopreneur who has started and grown several green businesses and consulted several other green startups. He co-founded the ReDirect Guide, a green business directory, in Salt Lake City, UT. He greened his home in Salt Lake City, including xeriscaping, an organic orchard, extra natural fiber insulation, a 1.8kW solar PV array, on-demand hot water, energy star appliances, and natural paints. He is a vegetarian, an avid cyclist, ultimate frisbee player, and surfer, and currently lives in the sunny Mission district of San Francisco. Scott is working on his second book, a look at microeconomics in the green sector. In June 2010, Scott launched GreenBusinessOwner.com, a sustainability consulting firm dedicated to providing solutions to common business problems by leveraging the power of the triple bottom line. Focused exclusively on small business, GBO's mission is to facilitate the creation and success of small, green businesses.

Read more stories by Scott Cooney