Fries-to-Fuel Facility Hailed

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by Allan Appel | Feb 9, 2011 8:53 am

(14) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Business/Labor/ Economic Development, Environment

Kip Moncrief’s business is collecting the residue of all those French fries we eat and selling it to companies that transform it into biodiesel fuel. He stood up to support one of those companies in its bid to open a plant in New Haven as soon as the fall, pronouncing the prospect “huge.”

Moncrief, the operations manager of Durham-based Connecticut Biofuels, spoke at a sparsely attended Board of Zoning Appeals meeting Tuesday night.

There Greenleaf Biofuels, LLC of Guilford sought permission to build a state-of-the-art biofuel production building and storage tanks off Waterfront Street in the port. Tuesday night the process started with a hearing; next comes a review by New Haven’s City Plan Commission.

The company needs permission because taking the “yellow grease,” or used vegetable cooking oil, and transforming into fuel is not one of the permitted uses in the port.

Greenleaf’s proposed factory would sit just south of the New Haven Terminal building. There it would demolish a derelict metal warehouse and construct a small 8,500 square foot pre-fab structure to contain a processing facility, mini-laboratory, offices, and bathrooms.

Along with that the company would erect eight 35-foot tall and 12-foot-wide 30,000-gallon storage tanks.

Allan Appel Photo The tanks will contain methanol, glycerin, and other process substances. If business is good, in a second phase of the plan, additional tanks would be added to what is called the “tank farm.”

The plan calls for the factory to operate 24/7 in three shifts and to employ 16 people and up to 26 in the second phase.

The grease would come in on vehicles from companies like Moncrief’s.

His company currently collects used vegetable oil in New Haven from such places as Gourmet Heaven and businesses at various rental properties owned by Yale University.

Alcohol and methanol are added along with a catalyst. That concoction is stored and then sold as a blend to render more green any diesel-based fuel such as the kind that powers trucks or your home oil furnace.

“That reduces the need for petroleum,” said Triton Environmental’s project manager Bill Heiple, who is consulting with Greenleaf on the project and made the presentation to the BZA commissioners.

Moncrief’s company collects in New York City’s five boroughs as well as Westchester. He’s in charge of Connecticut.

“It’s huge for us because it allows us, a small company, to work with a large business in New Haven.”

He said New Haven Harbor is one of the largest home heating oil ports. “It’s a natural.”

Heiple said the project, whose parameters previously had been approved for a location on Wheeler Street but not built, had the approval of the port and partial state funding, as well as the blessing of the mayor and the city’s economic development department.

Because the project requires a coastal site plan review, the purview of the City Plan Commission (CPC), BZA commissioners referred it there.

Next month, with the CPC’s report, Greenleaf returns to the BZA for a vote of approval or disapproval.

If all goes well, the fries-to-fuel enterprise could be up and running as soon as the fall.

Comments

posted by: Cedarhillresident on February 9, 2011 9:47am

Hmmm…I like this.

posted by: robn on February 9, 2011 10:13am

yes yes…instead of building more fuel efficient vehicles, increasing public transportation, providing more robust support for bicycling and walking, and building more alt energy infrastructure…lets burn our food for fuel. Millions of starving people in both the the 1st and 3rd world will really appreciate that.

posted by: anon on February 9, 2011 11:01am

There will be a full plate of environmental issues to consider with this.

Their plan is not just to store fuel but to make it.

Their air and waste water emissions will have to be reviewed.

Then there are seepage or leak issues that have to be reviewed too, especially on the river/harbor.

What will the emissions be and how will they treat them? What DEP permits would they qualify for?

Right now there are no refineries on New Haven Harbor. This is a refinery and storage facility

posted by: Greg on February 9, 2011 11:11am

Are there any plans to allow citizens to purchase the fuel directly? I ask because there is a diesel market here, but no real place for non-commercial entities to fuel up their diesel cars.

posted by: Cedarhillresident on February 9, 2011 12:17pm

Robn we do not need to use food sources if the laws on hemp were changed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3BGBkKyfGg

posted by: robn on February 9, 2011 12:45pm

CHR,

Right on….

My thought is we can solve a lot of our energy problems with some old Direct TV dishes, some hot glue, mirrors and stirling engines.

http://eco-thinker.com/do-it-yourself-solar-death-ray-parabolic-mirror-dish/

http://thatstoday.com/a/3445638

posted by: Cedarhillresident on February 9, 2011 2:23pm

Ha death rays  I think in time this is do-able but a lot of space needed it does say on of the really large ones can take care 8 to 10 homes…that is still a lot of large death rays 
I know I am stretching this story from its original, but still in the same realm. Hemp biodiesel is clean burning and non toxic. Hemp rarely needs pesticides. It is a mop crop that clears impurities out of sewage effluents, wastewater and other unwanted substances and or chemicals. Ex: hemp is being used to clean contaminants at Chernobyl. So it can be grown in Brown field areas to help revitalized those lands over time. I can be farmed anywhere! Not to mention all the other uses (paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, and medical purpose) it has, a whole new industry (made in the USA and grown by our farmers, urban and rural!) Companies like the one in this story are an exciting start to a new industry and a reduction of dependency on fossil fuels. But one can only get so much waste to process but if they could have such an amazing source such as hemp oil imagine how much faster energy independents can grow . (ohh and death rays to of course  )
Here is how Oragons leg. Reads…they are only one of nine states that can grow it.
http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measures/sb0600.dir/sb0676.b.html
The only law we have that comes close to it is Looney’s (and 4 other similar bills by others) for medical which is a start. Last time the bill passed but Rell shot it down. Lets not make that happen because it is bigger than just medical.
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=SB00329&which_year=2011

posted by: Bill on February 9, 2011 2:43pm

Robn, I agree with your initial points, but for clarification, as I understand it, they will not use crops like corn to create fuel, but instead will recycle an otherwise waste product - used vegetable oil - into something that can be added to diesel fuel or heating fuel, thus reducing somewhat the need for the production of those petroleum fuels. Seems like a win-win to me

posted by: Kevin on February 9, 2011 5:36pm

robn I usually enjoy your posts but this one entirely misses the boat. The proposal is not to use food as an energy resource but rather to recycle used cooking oil as a vehicle fuel. While there are environmental issues to be addressed, as anon notes, the basic concept is environmentally friendly.

posted by: Anon on February 10, 2011 10:09am

Greg makes a good point. There is a notorious record among some refineries around the country.

In some places in the US where gas stations are supplied from refineries in those communities, residents have often complained that their gas prices are not low enough, considering the lack of transportation costs.

Transportation costs are substantial and usually built into the price of a gallon of gas.

In other words, if you are hosting a refinery, it is a good idea to lock that refinery into providing some local benefit from the get go, besides new jobs.

Maybe they can work in a deal where the company operates a couple local fueling stations at very good retail prices for area consumers.

Also, in the comments, I notice, perhaps because this is alternative fuel, there are no other comments about environmental issues besides mine.

This is not clean just because the process starts with cooking oil. Read the article again. This is a huge environmental project that will entail pollution permits from DEP and a certain amount of permanent environmental risk-taking by New Haveners. Please don’t fail to appreciate this.

posted by: Bruce on February 10, 2011 12:02pm

robn, Yes! Let them eat ... used fryer oil???
This facility plans to use waste cooking oil that might otherwise be recycled for cosmetics, antifreeze or cement. Or just burned. While it is true that some biofuel crops can have an impact on food prices and availability, there are plenty of oil crops that do not (like the one CHR pointed out). In this case, it’s not a crop, it’s basically garbage.

Anon: biodiesel is biodegradable and non-toxic. The manufacturing process is rather benign compared to many other activities in that area. Methanol (AKA wood alcohol) is a volatile compound, but no more than gasoline. It’s very common and you can buy some at any gas station as drygas. I’d be more concerned about a marina than I would about this plant.

posted by: Cedarhillresident on February 10, 2011 12:31pm

Anon
I in no way have any expertise is these matters. And you make some excellent point and things that should be looked into.
But New Haven is a city, a city with a harbor and an amazing train transport ability. . Both far under used. Bringing a new industry back to the harbor area is great news the way I see it. But again that is just my simple blue collar mind talking. Most of these lands around the harbor have limited use unless we have billions to fix them for others uses (or I could be wrong). I think something like this can make attract other start up environmental industry’s to the harbor and train areas of New Haven. And I for one see the possibility

posted by: robn on February 10, 2011 1:43pm

ALL,

If you can reprocess cooking oil for fuel, you can process vegetable oil for fuel. Unless I’m wrong, theres nothing preventing the company from shifting capacity to virgin oils.

posted by: Cedarhillresident on February 10, 2011 2:46pm

No you are not wrong Robn that is why I posted what I posted. It would help this industry, help us become energy independent and help the farming industry including making it possible to grow more food crops locally. Remember 30 country’s have all recently changed there hemp laws and are farming it again for these very reasons

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