By Ron Scherer, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Tue Jul 18,
4:00 AM ET
MAGNA, UTAH - Americans store their cars, tools, even fertilizer in garages.
But a refinery?
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In his two-car garage, Kevin Newman is pouring used French fry oil from local
restaurants into a pair of General
Electric household water heaters – his version of the giant petroleum
cracking towers found at an oil company refinery.
He deftly moves hoses around, scrubs the impurities from the oil, performs
chemical tests, and, ~~I~~voilà~~/I~~, a week
later, he is filling-up his pickup truck with biodiesel. He figures his home
refinery saves him and his business, which
has six trucks, about $1.75 a gallon.
"If you can bake a cake, you can make biodiesel," says Mr. Newman.
[.......]
Last October, Newman bought water heaters, large plastic tanks, and other
equipment. Total cost? About $4,500.
He set up shop in his garage, in a space that used to be a pottery studio for his son.
Today, three "upscale"
restaurants supply him with used oil. "It used to cost $100 to fill up my pickup.
Today it cost $10," he says.
As area newspapers have chronicled what he calls "Detail Oil Company," locals
have asked how to build their own systems.
Now, he charges for the lessons.
[permaculture] [Fwd: Do-it-yourselfers turn diner grease into biodiesel fuel - Yahoo! News],
Lawrence F. London, Jr., 07/19/2006