| Registration and class fees | Advanced class | Biodiesel Homebrew Guide book | Past classes | Blog | Contact |
Wilmington, NC
Lee, NH
Marietta, OH and/or Columbus, OH, mid-fall (various classes)
Biodiesel fuel can be made in your backyard or garage for under $1/a gallon with common ingredients, using very inexpensive equipment. Relatively little chemistry knowledge is needed to produce quality fuel that will run in any diesel engine, and thousands of people around the country have discovered homebrewing fuel to be an addictive hobby. Come learn what it takes to produce your own clean-burning biodiesel fuel, and to build the equipment to do so.
These classes are hands-on and fast-paced - you'll be making test batches of fuel, titrating and testing oil, and assessing quality of the finished product throughout the two day class.
There are three or four different classes offered at various times, from beginner to advanced:
This class covers the basics of producing biodiesel, quality control and testing, and eqiupment design. Depending on interest, we can also spend some time on the 'variations' on the basic process- waterless washing, ethyl esters, and high-FFA oil are covered briefly (Advanced Topics covers this in more detail). This class is discussion-based, as well as hands-on- so bring your questions. Although the class assumes no prior experience, experienced producers have also found this class useful. The class is a combination of lecture and have hands-on 'lab' sessions where you will practice titrating oil, making test batches, making mistakes intentionally and learning from them, testing the biodiesel, washing the biodiesel in test batches, and testing oil. The September-October classes include my processor trailer system and we will run a batch in the system as well.
At the end of the Essentials class, you can also build a reactor to take home, provided you purchase a kit from me ahead of time, that is similar to this one that b100supply.com sells. There is a deadline of two weeks prior to class date for ordering kits. You may not bring your own hardware store parts to assemble in class, as there is not enough time alotted in the class to do so. If you have a b100supply.com kit (they're out of stock this fall), feel free to bring it and your water heater to assemble in class. Contact b100supply directly for more information.
please note:
The two-day Essentials class covers biodiesel homebrewing for 1 1/2 days, and equipment is built at the very end (ie it is NOT one day of homebrewing and one day of equipment, so you will miss more topics besides equipment building if you attend a one-day instead of a two-day class).
To buy reactor parts for the Essentials class only:
-contact me at classregistration@girlmark.com
-paypal link for parts kit orders ($340) is below. Deadline is 2 weeks before class date. I will pick up parts for you and bring them to the class. If you manage to get a b100supply.com kit there may be a discount for registered students- email them for info.
-To purchase parts for a reactor kit from me, send me a check to Maria Alovert, 945 Bill Thomas Rd, Moncure, NC 27559 or use this paypal button here:
-you also need to bring an electric water heater, new or used, to the class. If you have the space and money I recommend an 80 gallon. If it is used, please remove all plumbing fittings and plastic drain pipe and clean out the lime scale with water first. Here is a b100supply.com article about testing used water heaters.
-we will not build wash tanks to take home but we will discuss how it's done.
Building a reactor is only the beginning of setting up an efficient system, and how you set it up within the rest of the system can make all the difference in whether biodiesel homebrewing is a timeconsuming hassle or a fun hobby. This is probably my most useful class for anyone ready to get started homebrewing.
This is a class in a 'live' homebrew system setting, in which we will make full size batches of biodiesel in an Appleseed reactor, discuss what the experienced students in the class already do and what challenges come up for us, and show different efficiency or safety 'tricks' in live action. We will discuss other homebrew alternatives to the Appleseed (Graham Laming's Eco-System Processor, and larger processors) and illustrate several variations on the 'standard' process from the perspective of alternative equipment that may make these variations easier or to ensure higher quality biodiesel. This class also covers methanol recovery and alternatives to water-washing.
Biodiesel System Tricks class is geared to people who already know how to make biodiesel, either in a lab-scale, or for those who already homebrew but would like to compare notes with me on how I manage my system. You may take this class after attending a regular homebrewing class taught by someone else as well as if you have learned how to make biodiesel on your own. We dont go into a lot of detail on titration and chemistry here so that’s the info you should have ‘down’ already on your own prior to taking this “system tricks” class. This class will overlap SLIGHTLY with the Advanced Topics class but you may be interested in attending both regardless- the overlap isn't much.
See this blog post for details: Diary of a Mad Scientist system tricks post
For this class, you should have already made biodiesel either in a 'test' scale or in full-size equipment. You can take this class if you've attended a prior class of mine or of one of the teachers listed below under Advanced Topics.
The advanced class is designed for those who already make biodiesel (full-scale or test batches) or have attended hands-on workshops by teachers such as Jennifer Radtke, John Bush, Steve Fugate, BioLyle Rudensey, Piedmont Biofuels, Matt Steiman, Frankie Lind, Kalib Kersch, or others who teach from the http://biodieselcommunity.org techniques (check with me if a class is your only hands-on experience). This class is heavily discussion-based, and I encourage experienced biodiesel producers to bring a presentation or photos of their system and discuss their experiences.
This class mostly focuses on quality control, equipment design, glycerine/wash water processing, waterless washing alternatives, methanol recovery, working with high-FFA oils, and ethanol biodiesel. It is geared to both homebrewers and fleet/farm/small commercial producers.
Some of the topics covered in the advanced class include:
Quality control, analysis of real-world problems with offspec biodiesel, "ASTM
testing" for those considering commercial production, gas chromatography
versus other options for testing for conversion, acid-base biodiesel process,
advanced topics in dewatering of oil, using glycerine in your process for various
benefits, testing for soap, methanol recovery and equipment design, testing
recovered methanol for purity, zeolite and other methods for improving methanol
purity, issues to avoid when "waterless washing" with ion exchange
resin, acid-base chemistry and safety, testing for residual soap, acidulation
of soap in glycerine, special equipment considerations for handling strong acids,,
recapturing oils or biodiesel trapped in glycerine or wash water, dealing with
high-water-content oils, Graham Laming-type vapor control system, spill-proofing
your system, regulatory issues, taxes, larger-scale equipment design (for co-ops
or small farms), treating wash water and glycerine for disposal or other uses,
introduction to wastewater regulations, wastewater plant biology and chemistry,
and commercial tests for wash water- BOD, COD, FOG, etc, real-world test results
related to biodegradability/safety of sidestream disposal, burning glycerine
safely for energy, hydronic/solar applications for biodiesel and wash water
heating, disaster prevention scenarios exercises for larger-scale processor
systems, discussion of regulatory topics for non-commercial producers larger
than homebrew, solar heating options, very through discussion/demonstration
of several different options in washing, including drawbacks and advantages,
greywater systems for wash water recycling
Depending on time and interest, the Advanced Topics class may include hands-on lab exercises related to acid-catalysed esterification, soap testing, glycerine acidulation, and ethanol-based biodiesel
A one-day class where we build methanol recovery equipment, motorized methanol/lye mixers, modified Appleseed reactors with additonal mixing assists such as venturis or static mixers, modified (welded) wash tanks, drying tanks, Turk Burners for process heat, etc. If you wish to build any of this equipment for your own use, please email me. You may attend even if you don't want to build your own equipment of course.
Maria 'girl Mark' Alovert is a biodiesel production technology consultant
based in North Carolina. She is the author of the Biodiesel Homebrew Guide,
a manual on biodiesel production, the founder of the community-written biodiesel
homebrewing tutorial site www.biodieselcommunity.org and the inventor of the
Appleseed Processor, an 'open source' design now used by thousands of people
around the world to produce biodiesel on a 'homebrew' scale. She has been involved
in home-scale biodiesel technology development since 2000. She is currently
the internship coordinator at Piedmont
Biofuels and a research partner with Blue Ridge Biofuels in North Carolina,
where she studies practical techniques for working with high-FFA 'difficult'
oils for "open-source" publication.
Here's what some students have said about recent classes:
Pittsboro, NC , Atlanta, GA in January, Houston, TX , Pigeon, MI and also here,
Graydon Blair's review of Salt Lake City workshop and also here
photos from Lee NH class here
review of one of my California classes here
reviews from past classes (summer-fall 2004) are linked here
| September 18-19 | Riverhead, NY (Long Island) |
Biodiesel Essentials, no experience necessary 10-5 each day |
$120
|
Hosted by Kevin Shea |
| September 21-21 | Riverhead, NY (Long Island) |
Advanced Topics class must attend Essentials class or have previous experience making biodiesel 10-5 each day |
$120 Returning student rate available for those who have previously attended Advanced Topics in PA, CA, or NC and wish to attend again- email me |
Hosted by Kevin Shea |
| October 9-10 | Brooksville, FL (Tampa area) |
Biodiesel Essentials, no experience necessary 10-4 each day |
$108 early bird discount |
Hosted by Michael P. of the Florida Biodiesel yahoogroup |
| October 11-12 | Brooksville, FL (Tampa area) |
Advanced Topics class must attend Essentials class first, or have previous experience making biodiesel 10-5 each day |
$108 early bird discount |
Hosted by Michael P. of the Florida Biodiesel yahoogroup |
| Nov 1-2 | Piedmont, OK (Oklahoma City area) |
Biodiesel Essentials 9:30-4:30 each day |
$108 early bird discount |