Biodiesel Production from Cooking Oil

Objectives:

• Employ and train individuals to produce ASTM standard biofuels on a small scale from used cooking oil collected from restaurants and fried-food manufacturers.
• Reduce the cost of operating transportation and blight removal equipment.
• Create additional income streams from the sale of excess fuel. Produce up to 60,000 gallons ($300,000) per year of ASTM fuel and heating oil and 20,000 gallons of glycerin ($30,000).

Advantages:

By producing our own fuel we will be able to:

• Reduce the costs of operating the Urban Farm
• Fuel transportation and heavy equipment
• Generate emergency power for Veterans Village & Motor City Blight Busters operations

The excess fuel production will also generate income for the organization by selling it to partnering organizations.

Products:

• Filtered used cooking oil for WVO powered equipment
• ASTM biodiesel for off-road equipment transportation and home heating oil
• Glycerin for soup and boiler’s fuel
• Conversion of vehicles to run on both biodiesel and used cooking oil

Market analysis:

• Diesel Fuel is $4.20 per gallon
• Cost of producing biodiesel is 80 cents a gallon
• Savings:  $3.40 per gallon

Local production of biodiesel in the city of Detroit does not exist at this time.

Employees: (3)

• Production Manager (1): $35,000
• Collection and Production staff (2): $30,000 ea.

Needs: $100,000

• Light Industrial Commercial building:  $25,000
• Springboard Biodiesel Plant: $25,000
• 1000 gallon storage tanks (x4) and containment systems: $10,000
• Collection and filtration pumps and centrifuges:  $2000
• Grease collection tanks: $5000
• Collection truck: $40,000