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Biodiesel Industries will build and test a system to enhance the operation of existing biodiesel plants. Their new proprietary ARIES© technology uses the waste materials and co-products of conventional biodiesel production to create nutrients and carbon dioxide that are used to grow algae and to generate enough renewable heat and power to run the biodiesel unit. The entire integrated system will be automated, will constantly test the quality of the biodiesel produced, and will generate more energy than the process requires.

Raw glycerin and water from an operating biofuel plant will go into an anaerobic digester; the biomethane produced will run a combined heat and power microturbine to create electricity to run the biodiesel plant. Along with CO2 generated by the microturbine, the waste effluent from the digester will be fed to tanks of algae, which in turn will produce oil to become the feedstock for producing more biodiesel. Biodiesel Industries will use an enclosed greenhouse and sixteen 330-gallon tanks to grow algae for this pilot study. The algaculture oil will be processed into biodiesel; test volumes are estimated at one liter of biodiesel per day.

The project will be carried out at the Naval Base Ventura County at Port Hueneme. Biodiesel Industries delivered a portable biodiesel production unit to the site earlier in 2010. The present system uses yellow grease as its feedstock and is powered by natural gas and by electricity from the grid.

Biodiesel Industries will collect detailed performance and cost data, and analyze environmental impacts, permitting requirements, and economic viability for a full-scale facility.

Grant Amount

$886,815

Match Funding

$1,825,962 from the project participants.

Project Participants

Biodiesel Industries, a Santa Barbara-based company that builds, owns and operates biodiesel production facilities based upon patented and proprietary technology developed over the past 16 years.

Aerojet, a world-recognized aerospace and defense contractor and developer of new technology, with headquarters in Sacramento, California.

United States Navy which has a a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Biodiesel Industries and is providing the test site at Naval Base Ventura County at Port Hueneme.

Great Valley Center which is a non-profit organization in partnership with the University of California, Merced, working to support the Central Valley communities in solving the region's economic, social and environmental challenges.

Other collaborators under this grant include researchers from UC Davis, CalPoly, San Luis Obispo and JAL Engineering

Project Benefits

Biodiesel Industries estimates a full-scale production plant using this technology could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 23,000 tons of CO2 a year over a normal biofuel plant and could be a net producer of energy. It could produce 3 million gallons of biodiesel, 3,000 megawatts of renewable electricity, and 47 million megajoules of renewable heat. It would result in 58 permanent and 19 temporary jobs. Because this process ARIES© produces renewable energy from waste products and uses a feedstock that does not use potable or irrigation-quality water, it should displace an estimated 473 million gallons of water each year.

Grant Agreement Number: ARV-10-024