Yep, after a year’s reprieve from our lowest-in-the-nation $0.08 per gallon state motor fuel tax, we’re back to our monthly payments.

Alaskans who burn homebrew fuel in an internal combustion powered vehicle are supposed to submit form 04-530.  I sent my $1.60 in today.

Check with the Alaska Department of Revenue for details.

Hooray! BioLyle has come out with a 4+ hour 2-DVD set of his popular Seattle biodiesel classes.  This is a fabulous resource for those out there who can’t attend a class in person, or for folks who want a review of the start-to-finish biodiesel process.  For the new or intermediate brewer, Biolyle’s Biodiesel Workshop DVDs make an excellent complement to the biodiesel community website and B100 Supply’s Home Brew Biodiesel book.

As a biodiesel educator, I was impressed with Lyle’s techniques and methods. Though not identical, they are very similar to the ones I teach.  He starts out with half an hour of lecture about the benefits of biodiesel and the basic chemistry.  Next comes a titration lesson and lab session, with his students trying their hands at chemistry.  Lyle works in a demonstration of the appleseed processor, and then runs through a whole slew of tips, tricks and advanced methods: oil collection, quality testing, drywashing, byproduct disposal and even methanol recovery!  Yep, methanol recovery – the way to make your biodiesel cheaper and your glycerin cleaner.

The second DVD is divided into two parts: operating a home-built appleseed processor and running the BioPro reactor.  I am a big fan of the water-heater based appleseed processor, and after seeing Lyle’s setup I’m excited to add a few improvements to my own system.  He doesn’t tell you how to build it, but points you to B100Supply’s Home Brew Biodiesel book and the detailed plans at Utah Biodiesel Supply.  It’s definitely a demonstration: I got a little confused as to where all his hoses went, but I’m pretty clear on how he moves oil around his shop.

The last hour is dedicated to the BioPro reactor and Lyle’s biodiesel coop.  The BioPro is not cheap system, but it’s the only store-bought biodiesel processor that I can recommend.  Lyle’s is the first detailed video demonstration of the BioPro I’ve seen.  It’s excellent and should definitely be included with every BioPro sold!  Lyle shows us not only how easy it is to run the system, but shares a number of tips to keep things running smoothly an efficiently.  To top things off, Lyle covers the inner workings of his Dirty Hands biodiesel cooperative – a great way to bring a BioPro to your neighborhood!

Although Lyle’s DVD has fancy menus and packaging, I was a little surprised by the low-budget recording.  But, the content is great and the chapter layout is stellar – you can easily jump around to parts that you may have missed or want to review.

As a bonus, Lyle includes a pint-sized 14 page guide to brewing biodiesel, and although you may need reading glasses for it, the information is excellent.

Overall a highly recommended DIY biodiesel set.  Get it for an introductory price of $39.95 at BioLyle.com or UtahBiodieselSupply.com.

Veg On!

The Alaska Journal of Commerce did a piece on Bernie Karl (of Chena Hot Springs fame), where he talks about developing algae biodiesel in Fairbanks.

Bernie may be crazy, but he’s crazy brillant. His Chena Hot Springs resort developed low-temperature geothermal when some said it couldn’t be done.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

One summer day, as visitors relaxed in a pool of hot water, a moose strolled up to take a drink from a nearby lake filled with algae. That lake is also a part of Karl’s grand plan.

“This pool is growing a special type of algae that only grows in Alaska,” said Karl. “It grows because of the amount of daylight and carbon dioxide emitted by other plants and animals, so it multiplies many times faster than other algaes.”

Karl explained one could start by taking 30 acres pools with this type of algae. Cover them with greenhouses. Then pump in the carbon dioxide created from landfill trash (filtering out the bad gasses) into special furnaces that would heat the water and the greenhouses.

The algae would be energized to grow, while absorbing high concentrations of carbon dioxide.

Then, once the pools fill up, the algae can be harvested for its lipid oil. That oil, in turn, could be distilled into a bio-fuel.

“This algae has 44 percent oil by volume, we refine the oil and make jet fuel,” said Karl.

Veg On!

Yesterday’s  fifth annual Alaska Renewable Energy Fair had beautiful skies, free local coffee, good food, solid music, nice organic beers and booths from pretty much everyone who’s involved in renewable energy in the state.

We were lucky to be the featured interview on KTUU channel 2 last night!

Veg On!

The 5th annual Alaska Renewable Energy Fair will be held Saturday August 1st from 11am-9pm at the Memorial Block on the Delaney Park Strip, downtown Anchorage.

This FREE Fair features food and craft vendors, business and non-profit exhibitors, live music, and workshops on renewable energy.  Keynote speaker at 5pm, Melissa Mitchell sings in the afternoon and the Whipsaws will rock the evening.

We’ll have a number of veg-converted vehicles to show off and will be offering a backyard biodiesel basics demonstration, time TBA.

Check out http://alaskarenewableenergy.org/events/renewable-energy-fair/ for more details.

Veg On!

Unfortunately we have to cancel our 4-days of biodiesel courses in Palmer this weekend.  Participants should contact Girl Mark directly for refunds.

We WILL be offering a 1-day biodiesel basics class this Thursday June 11th in Peters Creek, including titration, test batches and full batch processing.

$50 donation, no one turned away for lack of funds.

Call 688-5288 to register or for more information.

Veg On!

Girl Mark is scheduled to teach a two-day biodiesel crash course, followed by a two-day biodiesel advance-topics course June 11-14th at Alaska Pacific University’s Spring Creek Farm in Palmer.

Although the classes are hosted by Arctic Vegwerks, we are promoting these opportunities as a community service.  All registrations and fees are collected directly by Maria “girl Mark” Alovert.

For more information or to register, please see http://www.girlmark.com/#alaska.

Thu-Fri Jun 11-12, 2009 Biodiesel Production Crash Course in Palmer.
Looking to make free fuel? Everything from collecting oil to building your own full-sized reactor will be covered in this comprehensive 2-day biodiesel crash course. More info at www.alaskabiodiesel.org or call Arctic Vegwerks at 688-5288.

Sat-Sun Jun 13-14, 2009 Advanced Topics Biodiesel Hands-On Workshop in Palmer.
Learn the latest homebrew techniques to lower costs, improve safety and increase yields in your biodiesel process. We will cover Alaska-specific production issues including ethanol-based biodiesel, high-FFA oils, methanol recovery, glycerine processing, and acid-catalyzed esterification procedures. This workshop requires prior experience or attendance at the Biodiesel Production Crash Course (or similar 2-day class). More info at www.alaskabiodiesel.org or call Arctic Vegwerks at 688-5288.

Biodiesel fuel can be made in your backyard or garage for under $2/a gallon with common ingredients, using very inexpensive equipment. Relatively little chemistry knowledge is needed to produce quality fuel that will run in any diesel engine, and thousands of people around the country have discovered homebrewing fuel to be an addictive hobby. Come learn what it takes to produce your own clean-burning biodiesel fuel, and to build the equipment to do so. These classes are hands-on and fast-paced – you’ll be making test batches of fuel, titrating and testing oil, and assessing quality of the finished product throughout the two day class.

Maria “girl Mark” Alovert will be teaching these courses. She is the inventor of the water-heater based appleseed processor, the author of the Biodiesel Homebrew Guide, and the nation’s premier biodiesel educator.

Thanks to KTNA for a nice little snippet on the Talkeetna Earth Day Fair.

Yep, biodiesel from Kodiak Salmon Oil (courtesy of Alaska Mill and Feed.)

However I’m from Peters Creek, not Petersville.

Veg On!

In celebration of Earth Day the kind folks at Greasy Rider have put their film up on Hulu!

We showed this SVO Road-Trip documentary at the Anchorage Museum of Art last year.  Read our review here.

Veg On!