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Production Steps
Collect the Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) from the UC kitchens.
Oil is transported and stored in 55 gallon drums.
The WVO sits and settles into layers:
There are two ways of extracting the solids and water from the Quality WVO:
1) The Quality WVO is pumped through this series of filters (photo below) to extract solids. If the filtering doesn’t work perfect, then the oil must be put in the processor, which is heated from pads at the bottom that warm the oil. The oil is then stirred and the water evaporates.
2) The Quality WVO is run through a centrifuge.
The Quality WVO is then pumped right into Springboard Biodiesel's BioProT 190 biodiesel processor
(see photo at right) and is ready for production.
Methanol and Lye are added and mixed with the WVO (see photo at right) in order for the reaction to take place.
After the mixing of these chemicals, the mixture sits to allow one byproduct, glycerin, to settle to the bottom where it is later drained off.
After draining the glycerin, all that is left is the unwashed biodiesel.
Fresh water is then misted over the biodiesel and mixed in a turbulent manner in order to pull out any impurities or contaminants.
The water, along with impurities, settles to the bottom of the processor and is then pumped to a waste barrel.
The wash cycle is repeated three times.
After the washing process, we then have a finished fuel that can be tested for American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) qualities.
Springboard Biodiesel's
BioProTM Biodiesel Processor
Methanol and lye being added to WVO
Finished biodiesel fuel for testing