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                                   Food  to  Fuel
                              Pacific  Biodiesel, I
            Want fries with that fill up? With PacBio Biodiesel
            you can. Hawaii-based Pacific Biodiesel, Inc. (PacBio)
            converts recycled cooking oil into fuel that powers
generators, commercial equipment, vehicles, and marine vessels.
Biodiesel production diverts cooking oil from landfills, while its use
reduces emissions of major greenhouse gases and substances such as
carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, haz-
ardous diesel particulates, and the acid-rain-causing sulfur dioxide.

How It Works
Concerned about the possible negative environmental and human
health impacts of restaurant grease disposal, Robert King, owner of
King Diesel on Maui, Hawaii, went looking for alternatives. His search
led him to Daryl Reece of the University of Idaho, who helped devel-
op a method for converting used cooking oil to clean-burning fuel for
diesel engines. In  1996, King and Reece started a small biodiesel opera-
tion at the Central Maui Landfill—PacBio. Today, PacBio is recognized
by biodiesel authorities nationwide as one of the first commercially
viable biodiesel plants in the United States.
The method of collecting used cooking oil varies slightly depending on
location. On Maui, restaurants pay haulers to transport their used cook-
ing oil to the landfill facility. At the landfill, haulers
pay the county tipping fees of $47 per ton of cooking
oil and $89 per ton of grease trap waste. The county
then pays  PacBio $75 per ton to recycle the waste.
As part of its agreement with the county, PacBio has
a rent-free lease at the landfill. Since the commercial
tipping fees cover most of the county's payment to
PacBio, the total cost to the county is minimal. On
Oahu, restaurants avoid a $1 per gallon disposal fee
by sending their waste cooking oil directly to PacBio.

What Makes PacBio Successful
Cost savings are one of the keys to PacBio's suc-
cess. Converting waste cooking oil into fuel is
much more cost-effective than shipping the waste
off-island for disposal. Diverting these wastes also
extends the ife of landfills and provides a secure,
local energy source.
PacBio's Maui operation recycles 80 tons of cooking
oil and 375 tons of grease trap waste per month—
equal to 200,000 gallons of oil  and grease per year.
PacBio also works closely with Maui  EKO Compost-
ing (also located at the landfill) to compost leftover

www.epa.gov/organicmaterials/fd-study.htm
                                                       solids and water, which results in a 100 percent waste diversion rate. The
                                                       Oahu plant diverts 188 tons of waste cooking oil and 655 tons of grease
                                                       trap waste per month. In 2000, PacBio further expanded operations
                                                       by building a new plant in Honolulu that processes 25,000 gallons of
                                                       grease trap waste and produces 1,500 gallons of biodiesel per day. Today,
                                                       PacBio facilities are operating in Oregon, Nevada, Texas, Pennsylvania,
                                                       Virginia, and Maryland.

                                                       Everyone Benefits
                                                       In addition to the county saving on disposal costs, island consumers
                                                       save on fuel costs. For example, in May 2006 Biodiesel sold for $2.84
                                                       per gallon on Maui and $2.91 per gallon on Oahu. At this time, petro-
                                                       leum diesel sold for $3.95 and $3.65 respectively at these locations, so
                                                       customers saw considerable cost savings using biodiesel.
                                                       The benefits of turning waste cooking oil into fuel extend well beyond
                                                       cost savings. Diverting waste cooking oil from landfills extends its life
                                                       and prevents harmful iquid waste from contaminating groundwater
                                                       supplies. Biodiesel processing plants also enrich the local economy
                                                       and provide a secure energy source.
                                                             Type of Recovery:
                                                             Industrial Use
                                                          Company: Pacific Biodiesel, Inc.
                                                        Commercial, community-scale biodiesel
                                                                      producer
                                                           Web site: www.biodiesel.com

                                                                    Cool Facts:
                                                               | PacBio's Maui and Oahu
                                                                operations divert and
                                                                 convert 268 tons of
                                                                  waste cooking oil
                                                                   and 1,030 tons
                                                                    of grease trap
                                                                     waste each
                                                                       month.
                                                                                                      October 2006
                                                                                                   EPA530-F-06-037

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