Downtown biodiesel plant under construction

Downtown biodiesel plant under construction
Memphis Business Journal - Memphis,TN,USA
A biodiesel plant with a 3 million gallon initial capacity is slated to begin production by August just north of Downtown Memphis. ...

A biodiesel plant with a 3 million gallon initial capacity is slated to begin production by August just north of Downtown Memphis.

Milagro Biofuels of Memphis has begun construction of the plant in the Aquaserv building at 61 Keel, at the corner of Front Street. The plant will convert virgin soybean oil into biodiesel, which can be burned at 100 percent in normal diesel engines. The primary market will be as a blend with petroleum diesel, to reduce emissions.

Milagro belongs to Diane Miller Mulloy of Nashville, in partnership with Gary Meloni, owner of Aquaserv, a chemical distributor. Aquaserv supplies specialty chemicals in North America and Europe to the paper, mining, water treatment and food industries.

Since the biodiesel plant will process a benign agricultural commodity, no special use permits were required, Mulloy says. Plans are to double the Memphis plant's capacity by January, and then use it as a prototype.

"The plan is to build some more plants in Tennessee," she says. "We want to build small plants in different communities over the next few years."

The Memphis plant will employ 10 people initially. Maloney and technical director James Mulloy are recruiting people with engineering and manufacturing experience.

It takes 3 million gallons of bean oil to produce 3 million gallons of biodiesel. The virgin oil is altered using an alcohol catalyst. The catalyst activates the triglyercide fats in the oil, making them easier to burn. The primary byproduct is glycerin, which can be refined into other products.

The location for the plant was chosen, in part, because it's near the river and on a rail line. Several soybean processors are nearby, but Mulloy intends to deal with multiple suppliers, giving first preference to those who crush beans grown in Tennessee.

Biodiesel returns 3.45 BTUs in energy for every 1 BTU it takes to produce it, compared to ethanol, which barely breaks even. In concentrations as low as 2 percent biodiesel, engines will generate dramatically lower emissions, a big deal in a city like Memphis where EPA attainment is always a challenge. Failure to meet EPA guidelines affects the ability of a city to recruit new industry.

Memphis restaurants alone could generate 10 percent of the plant's raw feedstock, but Mulloy says waste grease is contaminated with chemicals from food, plus it can be a variety of oils, from peanut to canola to cottonseed oil, each with a different chemical profile. That runs smack in the face of producing something designed for consistency and clean air.

Diesel engines can be tuned to burn waste oil, but at the cost of environmental damage.

"Waste grease is very inconsistent," he says. "Quality is paramount for Milagro Biofuels. It's one of the most sensitive questions in the industry today."

Milagro plans to file for a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes abatement.