Upcoming Events - 2007

June 20th - Biodiesel Fundamentals
June 26th - Bioenergy Feed Stocks: Needs Assessment and Project Planning
June 30th-July 1st - Homebrewing Workshop and Equipment Build
July 5th - Biofuels: Sustainability through Technology - The Californian Model
July 13th-15th - Biodiesel Coops Conference
July TBD - Processor Demonstration Class
October 25th - Intro to Homebrewing Biodiesel Class
October 26th - Biodiesel Intensive Class - From the Processor to the Pump
December 9th - Build Your Own Biodiesel Processor Class

Biodiesel Fundamentals

Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 - 7:30 to 9pm
at TechStop
120 Independence Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025

To register and for more information, please see the Techshop website: http://www.techshop.ws/take_classes.html?a=1&i=957339

In this class you will learn how to make any diesel car run on Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) or Biodiesel. WVO is free from most restaurants if you offer to pick it up. The class covers Biodiesel fundamentals with a focus on using Waste Vegetable Oil as a fuel. Educate yourself on the simple modifications that can be made to any diesel engine which will allow you to be free of foreign oil and gas gouging at the pump! After this class students will be able to make the informed choice about whether or not making diesel fuel from vegetable oil at home makes sense. See a Mercedes- Benz 300 SDL running on free (Sushi) Waste Vegetable Oil!

Bioenergy Feed Stocks: Needs Assessment and Project Planning

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 - 9am to 4pm
Norton Hall (UCCE Yolo County Offices)
70 Cottonwood Street
Woodland, CA 95695

To register, contact Kathy Berrettoni @ 530-666-8143 or kberrettoni@ucdavis.edu

The use of crops and crop residues for biofuels is changing agriculture across the nation. Can farmers in California produce biofuel feedstocks profitably? If so, which ones? What are the opportunities to market those crops? What kinds of information, research and outreach are needed to help develop biofuel feedstock production in California? The new UC Bioenergy Work Group is holding a meeting to bring together farmers, biofuel businesses, researchers and policy makers to discuss these and related issues and to plan cooperative work.

Work groups within the UCANR Division focus on critical issues in agriculture and natural resource use. They integrate the efforts of University of California Cooperative Extension advisors, statewide UC specialists, and UC faculty with farmers, state agencies, and interested members of the public, including those with related business interests.

Purpose: This meeting is focused on bioenergy feed stock production in California using crops and crops residues. It will begin what we hope will be an on-going effort. Our objectives are to:

• Provide background on biofuel manufacturing processes and current economic and public policies affecting the newly developing biofuels industry in California.
• Listen to representatives from biofuel businesses in California about their plans, information, and feed stock needs.
• Listen to farmers about their information needs and interests in biofuel feedstock production.
• Plan work group activities and projects linking groups and individuals to the UCANR biofuels work group.
• Assist with the development of a biofuel industry in California based on crops and crop residues.

Desired Meeting Outcomes:

• Identification of the information and outreach needs for biofuel feed stock producers and participants from the biofuel industry,
• Creation of a community of interest focused on biofuel feed stock production,
• Establishment of work group and project timelines,
• Planning for future meetings and related activities,
• Creation of research and outreach projects focused on feedstock development.

Comprehensive Homebrewing Workshop and Equipment Build

Saturday & Sunday, June 30th & July 1st, 2007 - 10am to 4pm

With Maria 'Mark' Alovert of BiodieselCommunity.org
To register, please see the online registration at girlmark.com/tour
This class will build some www.B100supply.com equipment

Biodiesel is a clean-burning diesel alternative made from any natural oil or fat. It can be made easily in a backyard or garage environment. In this class, you will learn how to make your own clean burning diesel fuel alternative and how to build the processing equipment to make it at home safely...

This is a comprehensive, hands-on workshop on making homebrew biodiesel fuel out of waste restaurant fryer oil, which can usually be acquired for 'free'. Most of the class focuses on the chemistry behind biodiesel homebrewing and quality control, and we'll be doing a lot of 'lab' work making test batches, and variations on different formulas.

The feel of the class is a bit like the mad scientist version of "high school chem lab" (hopefully without the spitballs and giggling)- you'll be doing hands-on lab exercises in small groups, which will teach you how to make and troubleshoot your home batches- and we'll be learning the chemistry basics that underlie making good quality fuel for your vehicle.

This is a fast-paced class, and I strongly recommend that you read this website first: www.biodieselcommunity.org to get a background for this subject.

Processor build:
At the end of the class, we will build biodiesel processors for students who wish to buy parts ahead of time (deadline for kit orders: June 16). If you don't want to make your own processor you can still help build the others' systems. We will also discuss heat exchangers, solar thermal heating of the process, some minimal methanol recovery information, and other equipment topics. 

Parts kits info:
The optional parts kits are provided by www.b100supply.com. They are offering a $50 discount to those who are registered for the workshop (you'll get an e-coupon that you can use at the b100supply site). June 16 deadline is for b100supply only, the class will accept students till we're full. The past few Berkeley classes have sold out so you may want to register early.

Optional book:
I will also have for sale at the class, the Biodiesel Homebrew Guide book: www.localb100.com/book.html

Biofuels: Sustainability through Technology - The Californian Model

Thursday, July 5th, 2007 - 12 to 4pm
PG&E Pacific Energy Center
CR PEC Conference Center
851 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Contact: Heath Blount 505-577-1810, heath.blount@gmail.com
San Francisco Biofuels Cooperative 

Panel discussion & Q/A about issues contributing to pollution by transportation, as well as the latest technologies in both practical and conceptual biofuel systems/products.

Part of the Overseas Research Project(ORP). ORP is a research project carried out by approximately 40 Master's degree Manufacturing Engineering students in their final year at Cambridge University. The research topic 'Sustainability through Technology: the Californian Model', which observes the technological approach to environmental sustainability, rather than lifestyle or habitual changes.

PEC Host: Robert Marcial. Limit 120 people.

Biodiesel Coops Conference

Friday-Sunday, July 13-15th, 2007
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, Colorado

Main Conference Theme:
Strategies For Community-based Biodiesel Groups

In recent years, biodiesel has become an attractive option for individuals seeking a renewable alternative to petroleum. However, what many see as a fuel with great potential for imminent development continues to elude many American consumers. The greater biodiesel industry targets fleet customers rather than passenger car drivers, or focuses on selling low-level blends of biodiesel in petro-diesel fuel rather than pure biodiesel (B100).

Processor Demonstration Class

July, date TBD
Berkeley, CA

Possible weekday one-day hands-on processor demonstration class with Maria 'Mark' Alovert.

I am considering offering a one-day class during the week (all of my weekends are full) in which I will show you around a 'real' biodiesel processor site and will run the system through all the steps needed to make biodiesel. This will include washing, separating glycerine, drying, etc.

This class is designed for either beginner students who have done a lot of reading, or advanced beginner students who have made test batches or have made some biodiesel. The point of the class is to introduce you to the tricks and tips for avoiding spills, making high quality fuel, safe handling, avoiding emulsion, and other physical aspects of running your biodiesel processor.

However, I suggest that you attend a 'real' lab class such as my or Andrew Morris' classes in June first so as to become comfortable with the chemistry concepts behind homebrewing, or at least make some test batches on your own first using the www.biodieselcommunity.org instructions or those in my book at www.localb100.com/book.html

Please email me if you are interested in the class and let me know your availability during the week of July 9th or July 23 (no weekends).

Email: classregistration@girlmark.com

Intro to Homebrewing Biodiesel Class

Thursday, October 25th, 2007 - 9am to 5pm

With Jennifer Radtke of BackyardBiodiesel.org
Click here to register

See a homebrewing site in action - we'll make a full batch of fuel during the class. You'll learn the whole process from testing the veggie oil, brewing the biodiesel, washing it, filtering it, and putting it in your vehicle. Bring a delicious dish to share for a potluck lunch.

Priority is given to those who have a diesel vehicle and a site to homebrew. We'll schedule a processor & washtank building workshop after this, for people who want to build one.

Taught by Jennifer Radtke of the BioFuel Oasis and Berkeley Biodiesel Collective, with assistant Alan Pryor of the Berkeley Biodiesel Collective and the Alameda Co-op.

Biodiesel Intensive Class - From the Processor to the Pump

Friday-Sunday, October 26-28th, 2007 - 9am to 5pm

With Jennifer Radtke of BackyardBiodiesel.org
Click here to register

You must have taken one of our intro classes before you take this class. Both classes are usually offered together, so you can sign up for both if you like, and take the Intro class a day before the Intensive class.

Find out how you can make your own biodiesel to use in your community, support local biodiesel co-ops, or start a small business in biodiesel distribution or retailing. The first 5 participants who sign up for the processor-building portion of the class will build their own processors and take them home at the end of the class!

This workshop will offer:

• Hands-on building of biodiesel processors, including construction and maintenance
• Information about tax incentives for producers who are helping biodiesel to go mainstream
• Tips on securing a supply of vegetable oil
• And much, much more!

Build Your Own Biodiesel Processor Class

Sunday, December 9th, 2007 - 9am to 5pm

With Jennifer Radtke of BackyardBiodiesel.org
Click here to register

You must have taken one of our intro classes before you take this class. Both classes are usually offered together, so you can sign up for both if you like, and take the Intro class a day before the Processor Building class.

In this workshop, you'll learn how to build your own, small-scale (~40 gallon) biodiesel processor from start to finish using materials that cost less than $700! The first 5 participants who sign up will have the option to bring the materials for building their own processors to take them home at the end of the class.

By the end of this workshop, you'll be well on your way to making your own affordable, cleaner-burning alternative to petroleum diesel.

This workshop includes:

• Hands-on building of biodiesel processors, including construction, use and maintenance
• Testing of a new processor by making a fresh batch of biodiesel
• Other advanced biodiesel topics