biodiesel plant.doc.docx

8/10/2019 biodiesel plant.doc.docx

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Project Proposal: Biodiesel

Full description of problem/need

In rural India, much of the population depends on diesel to run

tractors, jeeps, buses and other vehicles. Petrol is only used inmotorbikes. There are also a lot of power cuts in the area and sodiesel is used in generators to produce electricity. So there is aneed for a sustainable source of diesel fuel to be developed sothat it can be used in diesel engines, cleanly and safely.

A biodiesel plant could be set up to provide biodiesel at a low costto the local area, running off locally produced crops, such as thecommon 'weed' Jatropha. This production plant should be able to

run on locally produced biomass and/or waste. The aim is todesign a plant that would continuously produce biodieselthroughout the year.

How will the local community use the proposed solution?

The community would use the proposed solution to construct andmaintain a biodiesel generator. This generator would be used bya farmer who would grow a biodiesel feed crop. The farmer thatfirst develops such a generator could then offer the generator

other farmers' crops. Then local biodiesel generators servicing alocal community would be created. During summer 2005 thegiven plantation owner contact is eager to set up such agenerator on his farm.

The biodiesel would then be effectively used for transportationand/or a back up for electricity. This would mean that it could beused in many engines and generators with near or completecombustion. As of summer 2005, biodiesel that has been created

is of a crude form and when combusted a lot of soot is produced,indicating inadequate combustion. A crucial part of this projectwould be to distil the crude biodiesel to a sufficient level, so thatit can be efficiently used in engines.

Estimate of the economic benefit anticipated and plans for


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training of the local community? What are the majorimpacts on such a project?

A biodiesel generator would give the community an alternatesource of fuel and constant power and it would provide jobs for a

portion of the community. Jobs would include constructing theplant, maintaining the plant and selling the biodiesel to the localcommunity. There would also be indirect jobs provided by abiodiesel generator. There could be a demand for more biomassand more crops would have to be grown, creating further profitsfor farmers or more jobs in the community. This would help tostabilise the local economy, making money stay in the area, asthe community would use local resources to create their power.An ideal solution would be to produce biodiesel at such a cheap

price that it could replace any reliance on the unreliable Indianpower grid.

A test case for a biodiesel plant could be developed either atVigyan Ashram or at B.R.Nagarkar's farm, which has a substantialbiodiesel crop plantation, as of summer 2005. Both parties wouldbe eager to pilot a suitable solution and with clear designs andsimple instructions could create and maintain a biodiesel plant.Then the idea could be used by other local entrepreneurs.

The biodiesel also should be available at a lower cost than it iscurrently (Rs. 36/litre). This would benefit everyone in thecommunity that uses transport, which would be the vast majorityof people. The proposal would especially benefit local businesses,which use transport as an integral part of their day-to-day work.

Full description of the local situation (e.g. social,economic, geographical, political)

Vigyan Ashram built a biodiesel generator. However, the biodieselit produced was pure crude and they had no method ofesterification. It was tested on a tractor engine, unrefined, andmuch of the oil passed through the engine unused. Heating the oilbefore combustion was tried but had no effect.

Vigyan Ashram found that a Moha seed was effective in producing


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biodiesel. Unfortunately this took several years to grow andwould be far too inefficient for the local community to use (seebelow for more detail on seeds).

A proposed solution should have a simple refining method andshould be able to use a more sustainable crop as a fuel sourcewhich takes only a season, as compared to years, to mature. Theplantation owner uses a seed called Jatropha (amongst others,see below) which is a common weed across India, so is thereforecheap. It can grow in one season but only lasts for 45 years.

Jatropha plants at the biodiesel plantation

Full description of relevant infrastructure available locallyand/or internationally

Plant names (in Marathi, unless stated)

Earndi

Jatropha (English name)


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This plant produces crops continuously once it begins producingseeds. Too much rain causes discoloring of leaves. It is a robustplant and can grow in summer and winter conditions. It is presentalmost everywhere in India (and so it is perceived as a weed).

Lifespan: 45 years.Selling Price of seeds: Rs. 50 /kg of seeds.The crops take 15 months to produce seeds. One plant (tree)costs Rs. 20 from local nursery.The plantation owner has 3 acres and 4000 plants.The crops produce 5 - 25 kg of seeds per year per plant.150 ml/week minimum of water is required per plant. Theoptimum amount is 500 ml/week per plant.The plantation owner users 5000 l/ day from self-constructed

dam.Water system provides all-year watering.

TheJatropha Plant

Moha


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Lifespan: 200 yearsTakes seven years to produce seeds - lost profit.Requires further 2 years to grow in a nursery.

KarnjLifespan: 70 yearsTakes seven years to produce seeds - lost profit.Requires further 2 years to grow in a nursery.

Unda

Jojoba

Items mentioned in the Inventory, particularly

-Metals-Cement-Petrol barrels

Biodiesel Project Proposal

(Redirected fromEN:Biodiesel Project/Proposal)

Biodiesel Project Proposal

(Research and Application)

Contents

[hide]

1 Introduction

o 1.1 Abstract

o 1.2 Sponsors

o 1.3 Applicants

2 Narrative

o 2.1 Statement of need

o 2.2 State of the art

o 2.3 Related experience
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o 2.4 Proposed work

o 2.5 Partnerships

o 2.6 Mission fit

3 Summaryo 3.1 Goals

o 3.2 Specifications

o 3.3 Deliverables

4 Activity time line

5 Resources

o 5.1 Personnel and facilities

5.1.1 Team Members 2007-2008

5.1.2 Trailer 5.1.3 Vehicles

5.1.4 Storage

5.1.5 Frey Hall

5.1.5.1 Testing

5.1.5.2 Design and Fabrication

5.1.6 Off-campus Facilities

o 5.2 Budget

5.2.1 Footnotes

Introduction

Abstract

The Biodiesel Project exists to provide a more environmentally sustainable fuel

option to the world and in doing so proclaim the biblical Truth that we all are

stewards of the entire Earth. Furthermore we seek to produce biodiesel at home

and abroad, in conjunction with our local community and partners around the

world (particularly ECC-DOM in the Congo), so that we may educate and promote

environmental and economic sustainability.

Sponsors

Group- Energy Group

Client- Messiah College and ECC-DOM

Applicants
http://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Proposed_workhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Proposed_workhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Partnershipshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Partnershipshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Mission_fithttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Mission_fithttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Summaryhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Summaryhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Goalshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Goalshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Specificationshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Specificationshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Deliverableshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Deliverableshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Activity_time_linehttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Activity_time_linehttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Resourceshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Resourceshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Personnel_and_facilitieshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Personnel_and_facilitieshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Team_Members_2007-2008http://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Team_Members_2007-2008http://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Trailerhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Trailerhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Vehicleshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Vehicleshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Storagehttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Storagehttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Frey_Hallhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Frey_Hallhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Testinghttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Testinghttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Design_and_Fabricationhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Design_and_Fabricationhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Off-campus_Facilitieshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Off-campus_Facilitieshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Budgethttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Budgethttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Footnoteshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Footnoteshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Footnoteshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Budgethttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Off-campus_Facilitieshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Design_and_Fabricationhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Testinghttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Frey_Hallhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Storagehttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Vehicleshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Trailerhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Team_Members_2007-2008http://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Personnel_and_facilitieshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Resourceshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Activity_time_linehttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Deliverableshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Specificationshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Goalshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Summaryhttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Mission_fithttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Partnershipshttp://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EN:Biodiesel_Project/Proposal#Proposed_work


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Team advisor-Jay Bennett

Team leader-David Hostetter

Additional advisors-Steve FrankandCarl Erikson

Additional students-Tim Jones,Luke Witmer,Jake Munson,Andy Derr,EricSchleusner,Julie Longenecker

Narrative

Statement of need

The Biodiesel Project exists to satisfy needs at Messiah, in our local community

and in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

At Messiah the project provides a great platform for the development of the

biodiesel manufacturing process and a practical application of manufacturingprocesses, industrial safety, and environmental and economic sustainability.

Currently the world is coming to grips with the development of two looming

potential disasters in global warming and peak oil. It has become apparent to

many that environmentally sustainable fuels, such as biodiesel, can alleviate

these two problems due to biodiesels' reduced emissions and non-petroleum

based nature. Despite all of its benefits biodiesel is not as widely used as

possible so the need for education in our local community exists.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is currently undergoing a severe

(economic) crisis. The cost of petroleum based diesel fuel is very high and the

demand for palm oil has decreased leaving a surplus of the oil and people with

out jobs. This combination makes local biodiesel production from palm oil in

the DRC an ideal solution to provide a cheap alternative to petroleum based

diesel fuel, an increased market for palm oil and jobs for the unemployed.

The purpose of our project is to aid Eglise du Christ au Congo-Direction des

Oeuvres Mdicales (ECC-DOM) in establishing palm oil based biodiesel

production in the Congo. This non-profit organization within the structure of the

Protestant Church of Congo is dedicated to improving the Democratic Republic of

Congo (DRC) health services. Its holistic approach includes promotion of

sustainable, income-generating, and environmentally sound activities in poor DRC

communities as an avenue of affordable healthcare.
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State of the art

The science of biodiesel has been around for many years. The process has been

tested and has its own ASTM standard D6751. Many articles and books have been

written about the production of biodiesel. People have been running diesel engines

on biodiesel for some time and even driven across the country using it. While most

people prefer to make their own biodiesel in their back yard, commercial biodiesel

is emerging. Individuals can now buy million gallon biodiesel processing plants for

commercial use. Some trucking industries are beginning to look into the usage of

biodiesel in all of their fuel.

Messiah College has had biodiesel groups in the past who have successfully

converted waste vegetable oil into biodiesel. However, some of the ingredients

they used are not readily available in countries such as the Congo. Our project

intends to try different feedstocks and produce ASTM biodiesel so that biodieselcan easily be created in Africa.

From what we have found in our literature review, there have been successful lab

tests to make biodiesel from crude palm oil. The problem with this is that it was

performed through a two part process, of esterification and transesterification, to

produce the fuel and this process may not be possible over in the Congo.

Keystone Biofuels, of Shiremanstown, is a local manufacturer of B100 fuel.

Professor Carl Eriksons son works there so this is a great resource that we will

have throughout the course of this project.

Related experience

The 2006-2007 biodiesel senior project team designed and built a small scale

biodiesel conversion system. This system converts waste vegetable oil (WVO) to

biodiesel and glycerin waste. This is a technology that has been done before and so

we were able to learn from previous work. The processing unit for conversion of

waste vegetable oil has many subsystems in the process, and there are variations

for each system.

For the waste vegetable oil collection there is a variation in the biodiesel

community from people collecting the WVO by using pumps, or pouring to collect

the oil. The collection tanks can range in size from 30 gallons to 250 gallons. We

have found that barrels sized 55 gallons and larger must be double lined if used for

oil collection. This requirement came from Tim Hansen, former head chef of Lottie


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Nelson Dining Hall.

To establish the state of the art for the heating and mixing units of the processor,

we will discuss designs that are currently used. The main variation is whether or

not the system is a two step process or a one step process. Some designs pre-heat

the oil and then move the oil into another tank for mixing. This is done sometimes

to remove water from the WVO, and it also allows for a mixing tank without

heating coils inside. The other possible method is for the heating and mixing

systems to be combined into one. This combination takes up less space due to

fewer tanks.

Other variation we found in our literature review was how to heat the WVO for the

reaction. Some people use a hot water heater for the heating tank. Thus, they use

electrical heating elements. Due to the work of previous projects; this is the course

of action that we are using also. Though we are not using a hot water heater we are

using electric heating elements. The other way to heat the WVO is to create a heat

exchanger with copper tubing and water flowing through the tubing. This will heat

the WVO to the temperature of the water. Thus if a system is created to heat the

water in a controlled way then the WVO could also be heated in a controlled way.

We have found this system to be used by Keystone Biofuels for their heating and

mixing tanks.

Another variation we found in our research for the heating and mixing of the

system is the mixing method. Two prominent mixing methods include mixingthrough a pump or mixing through the use of a stirrer. The use of a pump fits well

into a closed system, helping to prevent fluids and vapors from escaping the tanks.

The stir-mixing method can have variable mixing speeds and it can do a very good

ob at agitating the fluid. Our current design utilizes a pump to circulate and mix

hot oil and converting biodiesel.

The final variation in design that we researched was that of biodiesel washing

technique. The first alternative is to stir water into the fuel, and the other is to mist

water through the biodiesel and bubble air up from the bottom to add turbulence.Both systems have the similar effect of mixing the water with the biodiesel to pull

out contaminants. The advantage of misting is that it introduces little agitation.

Thus, the water is less likely to emulsify with the biodiesel. The lighter agitation of

the mister system is less likely to cause the water and the biodiesel to bond, but the

contaminants in the biodiesel are still likely to dissolve into the wash water.


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Dealing with glycerin and wash water side streams was the next problem that

required research. There is not a clear cut answer on the solution for getting rid of

the glycerin. Some people have proposed putting it into composting piles, putting it

in the woods, throwing it out, and others have avoided the issue by just storing it

up waiting for the demand for unrefined glycerin to increase. We found thatKeystone Biofuels has a tractor trailer haul their waste glycerin away. This isnt a

viable solution for us. We considered making soap out of waste glycerin, but soap-

making requires that methanol is removed from the waste, which was not part of

the scope of this years senior project. However, the Collaboratory students have

been working on a waste methanol recovery system, so soap-making is a possible

option for a future project group. Creating a market for biodiesel byproduct soap

may be a difficult undertaking, however. For now, waste glycerin is hauled away

by Wes Bower, who charges the senior project to have it hauled away by wastemanagement.

The next side stream we had to deal with was wash water. This waste is chiefly tap

water, but also contains traces of glycerin and methanol. When interviewed by our

team at the Life After Cheap Oil Conference, many people told us that they simply

pour wash water down the drain. Our research of township requirements yielded

two important conditions for wash water. There must be no more than 10 parts per

1000 of fatty substances, and the pH must be between 6.5 and 9. Typically the pH

of our first wash batch is around 8.5-9. Although this lies within the township

requirements, we typically neutralize the pH to just over 7, using vinegar. It is

important to note that these requirements vary by location, according to local

standards. The other issue we found in our research is that wash water BOD

(biological oxidation demand) can be up to 12,000, while sewage water is closer to

5,000. This means that the water lacks oxygen and is likely to form anaerobic

reactions, or slime.

Other research that our team gathered in our binder includes Material Safety Data

Sheets (MSDS), Biodiesel Handling and Use Guidelines, articles from Penn Future

on Biofuels, Messiah Colleges Hazardous Waste Disposal techniques, and

handouts from the Life After Cheap Oil conference. At the conference we were

given a quick overview of how biodiesel is made, from web sources

includingbiodiesel.infopop.cc,biodieselcommunity.org,kitchen-

biodiesel.com,biodiesel.coop,utahbiodieselsupply.com,b100supply.com,

andbiodiesel.org.We also collected notes that were written during Life After
http://www.biodiesel.infopop.cc/http://www.biodiesel.infopop.cc/http://www.biodiesel.infopop.cc/http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/http://www.kitchen-biodiesel.com/http://www.kitchen-biodiesel.com/http://www.kitchen-biodiesel.com/http://www.kitchen-biodiesel.com/http://www.biodiesel.coop/http://www.biodiesel.coop/http://www.biodiesel.coop/http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/http://www.b100supply.com/http://www.b100supply.com/http://www.b100supply.com/http://www.biodiesel.org/http://www.biodiesel.org/http://www.biodiesel.org/http://www.b100supply.com/http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/http://www.biodiesel.coop/http://www.kitchen-biodiesel.com/http://www.kitchen-biodiesel.com/http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/http://www.biodiesel.infopop.cc/


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Cheap Oil lectures, a subcontractors report of Biodiesel Production Technology

taken from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), information

fromMurray Nickelabout the Congo, and finally a hard copy of the final report of

last years biodiesel senior project team.

From our research, we found that biodiesel kits are readily available on the internet

at various websites. These kits vary significantly in size. The main components

include a few tanks or drums and piping. Some kits have hand pumps and some

have electrical pumps. Internet surfers can also readily find plans for a build-your-

own system atjourneytoforever.comand other web locations. Thus, there is not

currently a great need for a 20-50 gallon system design in the greater biodiesel

community. Our processor design was based more on inherited components and

space constraints inside a trailer. We also found that there isnt a clearly agreed-

upon method for production at this size. It is this open playing field that has givenus liberty to design a system we feel to be a usable system in terms of operation

and practicality.

Proposed work

At Messiah the Biodiesel Project will provide students with great learning

experiences in manufacturing processes, the importance of safety, and what it

means to be environmentally and economically sustainable. These experiences

will occur by students working on the project and just by being exposed to the

work that other students are doing on the project.

In our local community we will provide an example of environmental

sustainability and education as to its importance by using the Biodiesel Trailer

as a mobile education tool.

In the DRC we will provide an increased livelihood of the locality through the

production and distribution of biodiesel from locally harvested palm oil.

Partnerships

This project will partner with groups here and in the DRC.

On campus there exists groups that are very interested in environmental

sustainability such as the Earth Keepers. The Biodiesel Project seeks to partner

with these groups to provide the Biodiesel Trailer as an educational tool as well

to train people from these groups to continue and expand the biodiesel

manufacturing process.
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Our contact within the DRC is Dr.Murray Nickel.The biodiesel project seeks

to partner with him to implement three prototype plants within the DRC.

Mission fit

The Collaboratory exists so that it may proclaim the name of Jesus Christ and

create disciples of Him, demonstrate the Love of God through the integration of

our gifts and abilities into practical solutions for the underprivileged and in doing

so cultivate sustainable relationships and results. The Biodiesel Project not only

mirrors this mission, through the application of the biodiesel process in the DRC,

but expands upon it through the integration of the education of people local and

abroad as to the cruciality of environmental sustainability and how the Gospel of

Jesus Christ proclaims this.

Summary

Goals

1.Maintain knowledge of the state of the art of small-scale biodiesel

production.

2.Develop a process that converts any location-appropriate feedstock to

ASTM-standardized biodiesel fuel in appropriate quantities.

3.Consistently produce ASTM-quality biodiesel fuel on Messiah College

campus for local consumption.

4.Create and maintain a manual that addresses all safety and maintenanceconcerns, clearly describes systematic procedures, and provides a user-

friendly list of input variables with instructions for dealing with them.

5.Create a business plan for implementation of community biodiesel reaction

facilities.

6.Minimize waste by managing Glycerin and other biodiesel side streams.

Specifications

ASTM D 6751-02Standard Specification for Biodiesel Fuel (B100)

Property Method Limits Units

Flash point, closed cup D 93 130 min C

Water and sediment D 2709 0.050 max % volume

Kinematic viscosity, 40 C D 445 1.9 - 6.0 mm2/s

Sulfated ash D 874 0.020 max wt. %
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Total Sulfur D 5453 0.05 max wt. %

Copper strip corrosion D 130 No. 3 max

Cetane number D 613 47 min

Cloud point D 2500 Report to customer C

Carbon residue D 4530 0.050 max wt. %

Acid number D 664 0.80 maxmg

KOH/g

Free glycerin D 6584 0.020 wt. %

Total glycerin D 6584 0.240 wt. %

Phosphorus D 4951 0.0010 wt. %

Vacuum distillation endpoint

D 1160360 C max, at 90%

distilledC

Storage stability TBD TBD TBDDeliverables

1.A safe production facility capable of producing a 40-gallon batch of

biodiesel in under two hours

2.Documentation that describes each step required to produce biodiesel

(including all safety steps) so that anyone who joins the team will be able to

fully continue the work within one semester of becoming a team member

3.Documentation of the current processing system so that future students will

be able to produce an appropriate design for future implementation of

several processing units in the DRC

4.Data showing the similarities and differences of palm oil compared with

waste vegetable oil aftertransesterification

5.Documentation explaining the additional steps required to convert crude

palm oil into biodiesel (these additional steps should be developed from the

perspective of implementation in the DRC and must not increase the cost of

biodiesel beyond economic sustainability)

6.Management of all waste and side-streams which derive from both anyrefining process required as well as the transesterification process

7.Design of a processing unit using appropriate technology for Kinshasa, DRC

8.Two to three beta sites, under the supervision ofMurray Nickel

Activity time line
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room. One cabinet is a flammables cabinet while the other is for storage of non-

hazardous materials. Materials in these storage facilities include all chemicals for

biodiesel production (except methanol which is purchased on an as needed basis,

and oil which is collected outside of Lottie Nelson dining hall until needed),

various vehicle components and vehicle maintenance products for the Rabbit, someglass and some HDPE jars for bench scale biodiesel batches and testing (with

secondary spill containment), a 5L container of crude palm oil from the DR Congo,

and assorted other team materials. The flammables cabinet is shared with the

Transportation Group for their various projects. These cabinets may be locked, but

are not required to be locked since the room containing the cabinets is locked every

night by campus public safety. Keys to the cabinets are kept in the Trailer. These

storage facilities will be used continuously throughout the year.

Frey HallTesting

For all bench scale tests (including both small (~500mL) batches of biodiesel

production as well as specificASTM testsselected by the 2005-2006 senior project

team) the biodiesel team uses the fume hood in the Thermal-Fluids lab in Frey 045.

This facility meets all safety standards required. TheEngineering Laboratoriesand

Student Machine Shop are available for use throughout the year if scheduled with

the shop supervisor,John Meyer.

Design and Fabrication

Design and modeling of system components will probably be performed using

CAD. For any computer work, Frey 254 is available and contains computers that

are loaded with several different CAD and engineering programs including

AutoCAD, SolidWorks, TK-Solver, and I-DEAS. For fabrication of system

components, the Student Machine Shop is available for use throughout the year if

individuals are checked out annually for safety and competence in machine use.

This can be scheduled with the shop supervisor,John Meyer.

Off-campus Facilities

ProfessorCarl Erikson,Engineering Department Chair and Biodiesel Senior

Project Advisor, is renting to the biodiesel team (free of charge) significant space

in his barn. His farm is located approximately 1.5 miles south of Messiah

College:google directions.This facility is used currently for storage of some

previous senior project materials. Over the course of the next year, this facility will
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be used to meet two additional team needs: housing the team's methanol recovery

system and housing the trailer during the winter for potential full-scale winter

production. This facility is available for biodiesel team use at any time provided

that Professor Erikson is notified and permission to do so is granted.

Budget

Expenses

2007-2008 Senior Project Budget

Item Category Cost

Plumbing fixtures Materials $60.00

720 GPH Pump Materials $45.00

Steel brackets and angle iron (newadditions)

Materials $40.00

Methanol Recovery Components Materials $150.00

In-Line Heater Materials $200.00

60gal HDPE Mixing Tank Materials $260.00

Common supplies from Lowes Materials $46.00

Methanol (50gal) @ $2.30/gal Chemicals $115.00

Commercial biodiesel (1gal) @ $2.60/gal Chemicals $2.60

Commercial diesel (9gal) @ $2.60/gal Chemicals $23.40

Kerosene (10 gal) @ $2.30/gal Chemicals $23.00

---- ---- ----

Subtotal: $965.00

Large Assets

Item Date Received Cost

2005 Haulmark Trailer[1] Spring 2005 $2,245.00

1983 VW Jetta Rabbit[2] Spring 2006 $3,000.00

New 5.5kW Diesel Generator Summer 2007 $690.00

---- ---- ----Subtotal: $5,935.00

Trips

Item Category Cost

Beta site processor components in DRC[3] Materials $1,000.00
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Training and team building $1,000.00

---- ---- ----

Subtotal: $2,000.00

TOTAL: $8,900.00

Funding

Source Status Amount

Kenneth Brown Received $3,000.00

Department of Engineering[4] Received $3,435.00CIDA Grant[3] Anticipated $2,000.00

Energy Group[6] Anticipated $2,465.00

TOTAL: $10,900.00

Footnotes

1.The trailer was purchased by Dr. Pratt, perhaps in the name of the

Engineering Department. Further investigation of the matter is under way

concerning the origin of the funding for the trailer.

2.The Rabbit was donated by Mr. Kenneth Brown.

3.This is enough funding for two processing units, estimated at $500 each.

Further cost analysis of appropriate technology processing units will be

performed at a later time. Funding will scale if this value increases or

decreases. The source of this funding is still in the making via a grant

proposal submitted byMurray Nickelto the Canadian InternationalDevelopment Agency (CIDA).

4.The Messiah College Department of Engineering has donated significantly

towards this project. The $3,435 donated breaks down as follows: (1) $500 -

07-08 Senior Project (2) $690 - 5.5 kW Diesel Generator (3) $2,245 -

Trailer.
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5.Trip support is estimated based on each team member contributing 50

individual names and one church name. Each additional team member will

add $2,500 additional cost and $2,250 additional support using these

parameters, resulting in an increase of needed general donor contributions of

$250 per additional team member.6.The Energy Group is planning to use the advertising space on the sides of

the biodiesel trailer as well as potentially the Rabbit to attract funding from

external sources (local corporations). As this plan develops, and costs for

the project continue to accumulate, the Energy Group is requesting funding

from the Collaboratory (via the Keck grant, or whatever other source is

deemed appropriate) to tide the group over until this goal has been met

Project Proposal: Biogas Generator

Full description of problem/need

In Pabal, there are multiple power cuts during a day. Businessesthat rely on electricity become less efficient and lose profits as aresult of power losses. The government has no short-term plansto address the electricity problem in rural India so an alternativepower solution is needed to alleviate the problems caused by

power cuts.

Biogas is a reliable, cheap and sustainable alternative to, orcreator of electricity. About fifteen years ago, there was agovernment-level biogas drive, but the government only madegenerators available at a cheap rate and did not provide properadvice and maintenance, without which the generators weremisused. The generators relied on cow dung, which presented anextra problem in Pabal, Maharastra. Due to the severity of the dry

season (January - May), the local farmers must transport thecows to a nearby village, which has a wetter climate. This meantthat there was no cow dung available for the generators for fourmonths of the year. As the generators require 21 days start uptime (where the bacteria in the dung can build up to a sufficientlevel), the generators became hard work to use. The generators


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training of the local community? What are the major impacts onsuch a project?

An implemented project would bring constant electrical power tothe community. With the power cuts that are present throughout

the vast majority of rural India, a design for a cheap biogasgenerator (providing power for a family/business) would providea reliable power source for much of the population. The powercuts lead to a loss of trade for many businesses and slow downthe technological growth of the community, causing much of therural population to want to migrate into cities. A back-up powersupply would be really useful in bringing direct economic benefitto many businesses in Pabal.

If a cheap design is proposed it could be implemented in manyplaces. This would require a large amount of biomass, involvingthe use of 'oil cake' (see below) or crops directly from the fields.There would be encouraged demand in the manufacture of oilcake and/or farming, either way potentially increasing jobs withinthe area and/or profit for those community sectors. If a trulyeffective design were to be reached, it could benefit thecommunity to completely replace its connection to the electricalgrid with power generation from the community's own biogas

generator. If such a solution can be reached then the pay backtime on the initial investment should be deduced, as an offer forthe local community.

Other economic benefits are also present. Large-scale biogasgenerators have the capacity to produce ethanol. If a small-scalebiogas generator is designed and can collect a supply of ethanol,it may have the following benefits:- It could be used as a fuel for gas powered cookers or in addition

to the biogas in the generator.- It could possibly be mixed with used cooking oil and a form ofbiodiesel can be created and then used.- It could be then made into a fertiliser (with the appropriatetechnology) and would be very useful to the rural population ofPabal, where the soil has very little organic content with in it.


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The building of trial and then commercial biogas generator can bedone at Vigyan Ashram using local materials and skills. Theconstruction of such generators can be incorporated into thecurriculum, taught to the students. The NGO could then teach the

local community how to maintain the generators and how tooptimise them. As they are a non-profit organisation, this wouldall be done at low or no cost.

The major impacts of implementing a biogas generator solution toPabal would concern safety primarily. The generators would needto be safe, easy to use and easy to teach about, as any majoraccidents attributed to the generator failure would beunacceptable. The generators would have to have a long working

life, as such a generator would be a large investment for mostfamily in Pabal. Another impact of using biomass could be thatthe price of crops and 'oil cake' would increase. This couldpossibly make it harder for the community to buy food. The 'oilcake' is currently used as cattle feed and an impact of using it inbiogas would be that farmers would have to find another cheapsource of cattle feed.

Full description of the local situation (e.g. social, economic,geographical, political)

Vigyan Ashram has experimented with the use of other organic,cheap material in the biogas generator. Paper (Rs. 1 /kg) wastried, but was found to be too slow to work when shredded andwhen treated with enzymes to break down the paper. 'Oil cake', awaste product from the peanut oil milling industry (seeOptimisation of Pabal Peanut Oil Mill Project Proposal), (Rs. 11 -13) was found to work well in their generator. There are manyseeds and starch-based plants grown in the area. For a biogasgenerator to be sustainable and practical, the organic substance

used needs to be grown within a season, otherwise thefarmer/owner of the generator would have to wait a long time(maybe even years) before he can use the generator.

The floating head generator has also caused problems, as therethe gas is produced at atmospheric pressure. This means that the


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supply of the gas often fluctuates (often a person has to stand onthe floating head to get gas out). Therefore, for a generator to bereally useful this design flaw would have to be optimised byoperating the generator at a higher pressure or by another

method, which would give a constant production and collection ofgas that may be used when required, i.e. when the power cutsoccur.

The NGO's generator is 1 m3 in size and has a 'floating dome' topto it (as opposed to a 'fixed dome'). This means the gas canexpand and occupy extra space in the roof. Vigyan Ashram hasalso commissioned the building of a biogas generator in a nearbyvillage. This is a larger scale generator (15 m3). A similar

generator has been built on a local farm and serves a number offarms which are clustered together. This solution works, but anoptimised solution could be created on a smaller scale to providefor single-family households, which are more common.


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Biogas Generator Used at Vigyan Ashram

In a nearby village to Pabal, a biogas generator has used humanexcrement as a power source. This option could be researched as

the design feature of such a generator would have to be modified.This could be linked to the human waste disposal projectproposal.

BiogasGenerator used in a local farm

Full description of relevant infrastructure available locally and/orinternationally

Materials:ConcreteSheet SteelUsed Petrol Oil BarrelsPeanut Oil Cake: Rs. 11 - 13 /kgPipesGenerator engines


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Seeds in Oil mill, their Marathi names and English (given whenknown).OdidToor

BajriGawuKaddhanyaMethiCarlaMakaRajma (kidney beans)Black Rajma (black kidney beans)Jawari

Chauli (black eyed peas)Soya beansMohriPuriHowriHerberraWatana (peas)NatniRice

Urda dalPeanutsSugarChintsa-tam-arind


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Project Proposal: Human Waste Disposal

Full description of problem/needSince 1965 Indian farmers have increasingly used high-yielding, imported seed varieties.They have also increasingly relied upon chemical fertilizers and intensive irrigation; thisphenomenon is known as the 'Green Revolution'. The Green Revolution has allowed the

Indian economy to develop and for India to break free from the previous cycle of regularfamines. However in recent years people have increasingly recognised that this'development' has come at a tremendous cost to the environment and that this system isultimately unsustainable.

Since the Green Revolution farmers have reduced the number of cows that they keep.

Cows have always been valued for their milk and in the past were also valued for theirdung. Once fertilizers were adopted less dung was necessary , so fewer cows wereneeded. Since the Green Revolution farmers have noticed that dung 'strengthens' the soiland plants (even making them more resistant to pests), while chemical fertilizers do not(soil quality diminishes and pesticides must be used). Unfortunately farmers no longerhave enough cows to produce enough dung to fertilize their fields.


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have one harvest per year). He says that vegetables and grains only need one treatment,but if he were to grow beans he would need to use twice as much fertilizer.

He starts his annual farming cycle at the first sight of clouds or at the first rain (June orJuly). First he levels his field and then he goes into Pabal (his farm is on the outskirts ofthe village) to buy some high-yielding seeds. He plants seed in rows that are just over one

ft apart and each plant is just under a foot away from those in its row. As soon as hisplants are around half a foot tall he digs irrigation ditches and pumps water into his field.Once the water has soaked in he adds fertilizer and dung. (He tries to avoid addingfertilizer if it is likely to rain since he recognises that it will wash the fertilizer away into hiswell, wasting fertilizer and contaminating the water.) He brings in his harvest in Augustand claims that each chilli plant will produce 5kg of chillis and that each tomato plant willproduce 100kg of tomatoes.

The Indian government launched the "Gobergas" project in the 1980'S. This projectprovided every rural farmer with a biogas generator like the one below if they ownedseveral cowes and less than five acres of land.

A local teacher's biogas generator - this generator has been used for the last 18 to 20years. It requires 25kg of dung per day and produces enough biogas to cook for 3 hours.

At a village near Pabal human faeces is used for biogas generation. The village has acommunal toilet and the biogas is distributed to villagers for cooking. A household biogastank is available in Pune for Rs. 3000.

Although some people are aware that compost can be made from human faeces (it iscalled "sownkhat") the team did not see any evidence of human faeces being composted.A local doctor, who told the team about "sownkhat" thought that the concept of a composttoilet would be a very good idea. Presumably composting human faeces is a practice that


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has been lost to the past.

Full description of relevant infrastructure available locally

and/or internationallyPoorer families often share a plumbed-in toilet with three or four other families.

Some people have latrines that encourage the faeces to rot away and be absorbed into thesoil, while others (including Vigyan Ashram) use soak-away latrines. A soak-away latrine(similar in principle to slow-sand filtration) passes faeces through a chamber filled withstones and gravel which collect bacteria allowing the organic material and water to passharmlessly into the soil

PROPOSALS SUBMITTED TO AICTE

Emission Reduction analysis in CI Enginewith modifiedExhaust

manifold using Biodiesel

PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO DST

Characterisation and ageing studies on Coconut fibre reinforced polymer

matrix composites

Proposals submitted to DRDO

Development and analysis of metal foam filled impact energy

absorbers

Development & Field Testing of Diesel Vegetable oil Fuel blends in

commercial transport vehicle

biodiesel plant.doc.docx

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