Weary of gas prices, drivers turning to illegal veggie oil

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Aug 17, 2008 | by Laura Hancock Deseret News

HEBER CITY -- A faint odor of restaurant grease lingers in the back of a steel welding shop off U.S. 40, but no burgers or fries are served here.

Over the vrooms of diesel-powered trucks driving through the Heber Valley, Bill Hartlieb explains how two 55-gallon drums are filtering waste vegetable oil, converting it into fuels that can power cars and trucks, as well as farm and construction equipment.

"This is water and funk and Lord knows what," Hartlieb says, referring to vegetable oil in one of the drums that he got from a pub in Park City. "Chicken bits and all that crap. And so it's not glamorous. I wouldn't recommend every garage have a biodiesel- making plant."

Hartlieb's setup is a refinery of sorts, small scale and relatively low tech -- and also illegal, according to federal law.

But he disputes that his hobby violates the Clean Air Act, since fuels derived from vegetable oil have fewer emissions than petroleum.

"I think it's really kind of a gray issue," he says.

Even so, he says he can't make most of the fuel he needs, and he ends up buying 80 percent of his fuel at a Park City station that sells biodiesel.

High fuel prices and global warming have made fuels derived from vegetable oil more attractive. Hartlieb is among a growing number of Utahns who are using and making biodiesel and straight vegetable oil fuel, or SVO.

For Hartlieb, the process of making fuel from soybean and canola oils is about finding a renewable alternative to petroleum.

"The big difference is this comes from a farmer's field," he says. "This doesn't require an Iraq war."

It's also about experimentation and the scientific process. "I just love to be able to tinker with this stuff," says Hartlieb, who has a degree in aerospace engineering from St. Louis University and works in product development at Backcountry.com.

But the growing popularity of tinkering with fuels derived from vegetable oil may be fraught with legal consequences. The Environmental Protection Agency has a list of companies that are certified to convert vehicles to alternative fuel. No companies for SVO kits are listed.

"Basically, all diesel fuels and gasoline fuels and fuel additives are required to be registered with the EPA," says Jeff Kimes, a Denver-based EPA environmental engineer. "Let's say you want to start making biodiesel and introduce it into commerce. You have to register it with the EPA."

At least one SVO conversion-kit company is in the process of testing with the EPA. But the fuel has not been approved by the EPA.

"Our primary concern is people introducing these fuels and modifying these vehicles changes, the emissions from these very clean cars that have already been demonstrated to meet the emissions standards," so that the vehicles release emissions that haven't been tested by the EPA, Kimes says.

People who are involved in the "introduction of vegetable oil for use as a motor vehicle fuel would violate the Clean Air Act," says Catherine Milbourn, an EPA spokeswoman, based in Washington, D.C.

The maximum penalty could be $32,500 per day per violation for mechanics and companies that convert vehicles to run on vegetable oil. Individuals who make the fuel can be fined as much as $2,750 a day, according to the EPA. Milbourn says the EPA has investigated some alleged violations but can't comment because the cases are ongoing.

Locally, the Utah Division of Air Quality does not regulate fuel or individual vehicles, because the division's responsibility is to implement the state's clean-air plan. "There's no mechanism to test fuel," says Joe Thomas, a division manager.

Processing vegetable oil

The main difference between biodiesel and SVO fuel is that biodiesel is sold at many gas stations in Utah and throughout the United States, although biodiesel also can be produced in private garages.

Biodiesel sold by retailers is legal, but biodiesel from private garages is not legal unless it is certified by ASTM International, an organization of technical, consumer and government experts who work on standardizing products and services, in part to ensure safety, say makers and consumers of vegetable-oil fuels. SVO fuel is not sold by retailers in the United States.

Another difference between biodiesel and SVO fuel is that biodiesel can be filled into diesel tanks without much modification of the vehicle. Some experts recommend fuel lines or fuel-injection systems be changed when using biodiesel.

Drivers interested in using SVO fuel, however, must purchase conversion kits that typically cost $1,200 to $3,000 before installation. The cost depends on the vehicle.

In the back of the Heber City welding shop, Hartlieb demonstrates the different processes for making biodiesel and SVO. A chemical process is required for biodiesel, to strip glycerine from the oil. A mechanical process is required for SVO.

Heat is integral for the SVO mechanical process. Hartlieb aims to heat the drums of waste vegetable oil 150-160 degrees. The drum is lined with a filter that collects food particles. During the heating process, the oil rises over the water, and Hartlieb can drain the water from the bottom of the drum. Remaining in the tank is a thick, coffee-colored substance that's the SVO fuel.