Cape Business News- Cooking Oil To Reduce Carbon Emissions

12 Jan 2010: Cooking Oil To Reduce Carbon Emissions
Trucks delivering concrete to Cape Town’s 2010 football stadium are using diesel enhanced by used cooking oil and poultry fat.

This revealed by Roy de Gouveia, Director of BioGreen Diesel, a renewable energy company that is pioneering the conversion of waste oil to a less expensive, pollution-free biodiesel.

As waste cooking oil is reused, the Free Fatty Acid content (FFA) increases, making it harmful to consumers and decreasing the quality of biodiesel that can be made. Often this oil finds its way into animal feed, pet food, or sold to unsuspecting consumers.

A safe alternative is to have this oil converted into a high quality biodiesel by a reputable company. Monthly tests on BioGreen Diesel’s finished product have certified that the company consistently produces high quality biodiesel that meets international standards.

“No other company in South Africa has set this as a norm,” said Jeff Theodor, a Director in BioGreen Diesel.

Although BioGreen Diesel only became operational earlier last year, the company also supplies biodiesel for Pick n Pay and Spar delivery trucks.

The company uses the first patented Jet Reactor, invented by Org Nieuwoudt, to convert waste oil from restaurants and retailers, to an environmentally friendly fuel that can be used as a mixture with, or a substitute for, diesel.

Biodiesel has a minimal impact on the environment. It is non toxic, has a higher flash point than mineral diesel so it is safer to handle, and has reduced exhaust emissions in comparison - 400L biodiesel exchanged for the same volume of diesel will reduce the Carbon Dioxide emissions by 1 tonne.

“Sixty percent of the brown smog that often sits over Cape Town is created by diesel emissions,” said Dave Morison, Production Manager of BioGreen Diesel, who has a background in atmospheric sciences. Switching to biofuels will help to reduce this pollution.

By using a biodiesel/diesel mix, Pick n Pay and Spar combined will reduce their carbon emissions by approximately 1000 tonnes in the Western Cape over the next year.

BioGreen Diesel, based in Cape Town, opened in Johannesburg in November and plans to expand operations to Port Elizabeth and Durban by mid-2010.

Cape Town firm pioneers production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil, chicken fat

A Cape Town-based renewable-energy company, BioGreen Diesel, is currently pioneering the conversion of waste cooking oil into a less expensive, pollution-free biodiesel product.

In an interview with Engineering News, BioGreen Diesel CEO Roy de Gouveia elaborates that the company became operational earlier this year in an effort to advocate sustainability by producing biofuels.

While the debate rages among industry members as to what feedstock should be used to create biofuels, De Gouveia believes that the only viable feedstock option is waste cooking oil.

Thus, the aim of BioGreen Diesel is to create high-quality biodiesel feedstock from waste cooking oil and chicken fat.

The plant, which is based in Goodwood, Cape Town, has a capacity of 2 000 ∙/d.

The company uses the first patented jet reactor, invented by Org Nieuwoudt, to convert waste oil and chicken fat from restau- rants and retailers into an environment- friendly fuel that can be used as a mixture with, or a substitute for, diesel.

“Our biodiesel product is of a very good quality and meets both European Union and US specifications,” De Gouveia tells Engineering News.

Petrochemicals giant Sasol conducts tests on BioGreen Diesel’s finished product, ensuring the company produces high-quality biodiesel that meets international standards.

“No other company in South Africa has set this as a norm,” enthuses De Gouveia.

According to him, biodiesel has a minimal impact on the environment. It is nontoxic, has a higher flash point than mineral diesel, so it is safer to handle, and has reduced exhaust emissions in comparison. (four hundred litres of biodiesel exchanged for the same volume of diesel will reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by one ton.)

De Gouveia states that the company currently sources its waste cooking oil from 150 restaurants in Cape Town and sources the chicken fat from rotisseries located at Pick n Pay outlets in the Cape Peninsula.

“We are currently targeting the top restau- rants in Cape Town as it is important to source the best-quality waste cooking oil,” states De Gouveia.

The company sources the best-quality waste cooking oil owing to the fact that, as waste cooking oil is reused, the free fatty acid content increases, making it harmful to consumers and decreasing the quality of the biodiesel that can be made. (Often this oil finds its way into animal feed, pet food, or sold back to unsuspecting consumers.)

Although BioGreen Diesel only became operational earlier this year, it has nego- tiated supply contracts with major retailers Pick n Pay and Spar, as well as with Cape Concrete.

De Gouveia elaborates that Cape Concrete was the company’s first client and, as a result, the trucks delivering concrete to the Green Point stadium this year used a blend of diesel and biodiesel.

Major retailer Pick n Pay uses a 20% biodie sel blend in its delivery trucks in the Cape Peninsula.

Pick n Pay is following in the footsteps of international retailers such as Walmart, which has also adopted the practice of using a biodesel blend to fuel transport trucks.

By using a biodiesel/diesel mix, Pick n Pay and Spar, combined, will reduce their carbon emissions by about 1 500 t in the Western Cape over the next year.

BioGreen Diesel is experiencing significant growth, currently evidenced by the fact that the company opened a second plant in Johannesburg last month.

De Gouveia elaborates that the Midrand-based plant has a much larger capacity of 6 0000.

“We are currently negotiating supply contracts with major retailers in the Gauteng region,” continues De Gouveia.

The company also intends to expand operations to Port Elizabeth and Durban by mid-2010.

Sunday Times Artice- Fuelled by poultry power

Fuelled by poultry power

Nov 22, 2009 12:00 AM | By Anton Ferreiar

Cape Town's Green Point stadium is not only a spectacular venue for the 2010 World Cup - it's a monument to thousands of dead chickens that did their bit to reduce global warming.

The firm that provided many of the pre-cast concrete seats and beams for the stadium, Cape Concrete, runs its trucks on environment-friendly biodiesel made in part from chicken fat.

"It really works well, no problems," said Cape Concrete managing director Darty Louw. "You're burning much cleaner fuel, which is also locally made. It's not nearly as toxic as regular diesel and is a great way of getting rid of waste."

The biodiesel is supplied by Cape Town-based BioGreen, which uses a locally developed "jet reactor" to turn waste cooking oil and chicken fat into a fuel which, the company boasts, meets US and European quality specifications.

BioGreen director Jeff Theodor said the company obtained used oil and fat to use as the main ingredient in its diesel. "That's why we're in the business," he said. "It's the reduction of carbon emissions. Is it the future? Of course it's the future."

BioGreen operates out of a small warehouse filled with tanks, pipes, pumps and the smell of sunflower seed oil. At the heart of the process is the jet reactor, or what Theodor calls the "magic box": a steel chamber the size of a shoe box in which the raw materials are pumped through nozzles.

The patent is held by Org Nieuwoudt, who adapted a device originally designed to extract gold from slurry, which is ground-up ore mixed with water.

"For our trucks we only allow a 5% blend with normal petroleum diesel," said Christo Kleynhans, product manager for Mercedes-Benz trucks. "If you increase that above 5% you need to increase your service intervals."

Biogreen Diesel goes Live with Pick n Pay and Spar

Biogreen diesel has gone live with both Pick n Pay and Spar in the Western Cape. We will be expanding to Johannesburg in November to roll out Pick n Pay as well as our Cradle to grave scenario through the hospitality industry.

Pick n Pay have been using a (B10) 10% blend with Biodiesel and mineral diesel in all their trucks. Spar are still currently in their Pilot phase with a (B5)5% blend currently.

Pick n Pay have reduced over 50 Tonnes of Carbon Emissions with a prediction of over 1000 Tonnes betweeen both large retailers in 2010.