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News from the Atlanta Biodiesel Workshop - 1/28-29/2006 I attended the January 2006 Atlanta Biodiesel Workshop hosted at the Atlanta Community Food Bank sponsored by Vegenergy and B100Supply. This was a great class both for the beginner and the seasoned DIYer biodiesel brewer. There were folks from all over the country that flew or drove in to attend the class!
Girl Mark walks us through the titration process! The first day of the workshop was classroom work. We spent the morning learning the ins and outs of proper oil feedstock, successful titration, the process of trans-esterification and washing the processed fuel. We grouped up in teams of three to practice making small batches of biodiesel using Waste Vegetable Oil. (I brought oil from my two main sources to see how they titrate)
Girl Mark answers questions about proper chemical mixing for titration.
Two of my team members measure alcohol for proper titration Girl Mark showed us the results of the "Foolproof" method of producing biodiesel from the journeytoforever.org website. I now understand why folks should make sure they are getting their information from the Collaborative Biodiesel Tutorial at http://www.biodieselcommunity.org!
 Sludge in a jar from the "Foolproof" method at journeytoforever.org On Day 2, construction began on the appleseed processors! There were processors built from both new and used hot water heaters. Attendees learned how to remove the anode rod and upper heating element and thermostat. We learned that some of the new hot water heaters are leaving out the upper heating element to save money on production costs. Bad for the consumer but good for the biodiesel homebrewer... one less heating element and thermostat to disable!
Girl Mark lectures on the proper use of teflon tape for sealing pipe joints.
More information from Girl Mark on the proper
orientation of ball valves
More instruction on how to orient plumbing on a new hot water heater
Attendees begin plumbing on their new hot water heater.
Attendees bypass the upper heater element and thermostat.
Girl Mark inspects the bypass wiring while a
student reviews the
More great teamwork on building an appleseed processor.
Lots of progress plumbing a skinned, used hot water heater tank.
Team members discuss appleseed design as
Another appleseed processor ready for production!
Students admire the cool inline temperature sensor from B100Supply!
Veggie Ranger and a student who drove all the way from Virginia Beach for the class!
Veggie Ranger and Girl Mark as the Workshop wraps up two days of great information! If you get a chance to attend one of Girl Mark's workshops, you won't be disappointed! She does a great job at presenting all of the information you need to know for making biodiesel in a small-scale processor in an easy-to-understand language. I hope to see you at the next Biodiesel Workshop in Atlanta! -VR
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