gettINg stArteD IN sombrA The company began work in Sombra, making minor improvements to the site such as getting electricity running, and fixing and replacing some of the piping. Once the ecoENERGY grant money was actually received, Methes ramped up its conversion efforts. The main project that took place during the ramping-up phase was the installation of the Denami 3000. The 3000 was built to be a larger version of the 600, increasing the flow, production and footprint of the 600 without changing the core technology. Con-tinuous flow was increased from 158 GPH to 790 GPH, for an increase from 1.3 MM to 6.5 MM gallons per year of production. With the installation of the Denami 3000, as well as upgrades to the piping and tank infrastructure, it took Methes eight to 12 months to retrofit the site so that it was suitable for biodiesel production. There was also work to be done in train-ing the staff at the Sombra site. Many had worked in biodiesel production or in simi-lar industries, but they weren’t familiar with how the new Denami 3000 would perform as part of the system. With a limited supply of feedstocks, some unfamiliar equipment and the challenge of getting the crew set-tled, Methes took advantage of the opportu-nity to begin production at a lower capacity. “We’ve been training our crew and fixing all of the different bugs in the system that we find along the way during our small-scale production at Sombra,” says Ng. As of September, Methes was running the Sombra facility at 25-30 per cent of maximum production. By the end of Octo-ber, production was expected to hit 50 per cent, with maximum levels to be reached in the second quarter of 2014. Full capacity is expected to be 50 million litres per year. At least, that will be the case if Methes can find the right feedstock mix to use with the Denami 3000 based on what is available. “One of the challenges is finding suitable feedstocks (for the Sombra site),” says Ng. “We looked at a number of different feed-stocks: some worked well, some didn’t quite work well enough. Finding the right price point also made it difficult.” Finding a consistent and cost-effective supply of high-grade feedstock has been a constant issue for Methes as the company continues to increase production. Even in the early stages, using the demonstration plant in Mississauga, finding good feed-stocks has been an issue, especially from Ca-nadian sources. The result has been a contin-ued battle to find suitable feedstocks, in large quantities, from American suppliers. “We prefer to use used cooking oil, and this comes from bigger cities like New York and Chicago, where we’ll often have to buy it from brokers,” explains Ng. “The oils are be-ing collected by the different independents and are put together at a processing facility. There we either buy it direct from the pro-duction facility or from brokers.” While cooking oils are the preferred feedstock, there is another option available in large quantities from some Canadian suppliers: corn oil. The ethanol production byproduct is being used by some other biodiesel producers in Canada and remains a secondary option for Methes Energies’ Sombra facility. “We have also been using corn oil from ethanol plants,” says Ng. “There are some Canadian plants that we do business with, and we have also bought corn oil from dif-ferent plants in the U.S. Midwest.” the CurreNt mArket Canada still has a relatively young market for biodiesel, but the introduction of a federal mandate for its use has helped the industry get started. There is a two per cent requirement for overall usage of biodiesel in Canada. How-ever, the overall percentage means that the fuel use does not have to be nationwide. As a result, most of the demand remains in West-ern Canada, where local biodiesel producers compete on price with manufacturers in the western U.S. The logistics of exporting biodiesel to Western Canada mean that Methes does not play in that market but instead has moved most of its product across the U.S. The cost of biodiesel from other North American markets isn’t the only factor in looking for customers. There is also an emerging renewable diesel market that is competing for the same business opportunities. “Other than the biodiesel that is being made in the U.S., we are also competing with renewable diesel that is being produced in Finland and Singapore,” says Ng. “A good part of our Canadian mandate for diesel is not only being met by purchasing and blend-ing biodiesel but also by purchasing and blending renewable diesel.” That isn’t likely to change unless the 2009EL FEaturEs • No emissions, less noise and maintenance, and unparalleled grinding power • 400 hp soft start main drive motor and 75 hp motor to power the hydraulic system • PT Tech Torque limiter protects the motor and hammermill from overloads, jams and costly repairs Call today or visit us online to learn more. in action View products ech on the DuraT channel! • Available as a stationary unit or as a towable pintle hitch • Heavy duty hammermill, tilting tub for easy access and maintenance • Governor controlled tub speed and hydraulic folding stacking conveyor 888-402-4638 www.duratech.info Canadian BIOMASS 13
Canadian Biomass September/October 2013: Page 13
