Bio-diesel production hazards « Alternative Technology Assn Forums

Alternative Technology Assn Forums » Transport

Bio-diesel production hazards

(11 posts) (3 voices)

Started 1 year ago by wlb
Latest reply from wlb

Tags:

No tags yet.

wlb
Member

With the increasing interest in bio-diesel over the past few years, the number of DIY and small-scale commercial plants has grown, particular in the US. This has meant that people at home, or operators in commercial premises, are often working with chemical processes with which they haven't had a lot of experience. Often the chemistry itself is not understood, let alone the hazards involved.

Bio-diesel is a relatively safe fuel because, due to its low volatility, it isn't prone to explosive vapour release like petrol. However, what are often overlooked by the amateur "home brewer" are the hazards associated with the highly corrosive sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and the highly flammable methanol usually required for its production.

Fortunately we haven't experienced any serious accidents caused by bio-diesel production in Australia, but in the US there have been many over recent years.

My aim in starting this thread is not to warn of the specific hazards or to teach safe DIY bio-diesel production. This has been done by numerous people over the years. There are many excellent books on the subject.

However, knowing and doing are two entirely different things. We are all aware of things that we know we shouldn't do, or should do more carefully, yet most of us continue to take that risk or short-cut from time to time.

In order to illustrate the seriously bad things that can go wrong if due care isn't taken, I intend to post reports on incidents from around the world as they occur. I obtain them from a friend who moderates a global information exchange on hazardous materials issues, and if an incident occurs anywhere in the world and it is reported, he usually knows about it.

I do not intend to comment on each incident, or to add further information, as I generally only know what is contained in each report. If further information regarding the cause is later reported, I will post that as well.

Most of these reports are accompanied by photographs, however only the text can be posted here. More information is usually available via the accompanying web link, but after a period of time these will probably cease to work once the item is removed from the news organization's server.

Posted Friday 26 Feb 2010 @ 6:53:09 am from IP #
wlb
Member

USA, ME, SOUTH BERWICK, FEBRUARY 26 2010. BIODIESEL SETUP, GARAGE, SHED DESTROYED IN FIRE IN SOUTH BERWICK

South Berwick firefighters check for hot spots at the scene of a garage fire on Boyd's Corner Road early Wednesday morning.

A fire that ignited near a homemade setup used to convert used vegetable oil into biodiesel fuel burned down a garage, shed, and tent, while scorching the side of a house at 55 Boyds Corner Road early Wednesday morning. Though the cause of the fire was undetermined, Fire Chief George Gorman said it underscores why there needs to be a code governing home biodiesel conversion setups. Currently, no such code exists. The fire broke out shortly after 1 a.m. Gorman said the homeowner, a man, awoke to a bang and saw the garage fully involved in flames. Firefighters from South Berwick, North Berwick, and Ogunquit responded and had the fire under control within an hour. Crews from the state Department of Environmental Protection were called in to clean up the spilled fuel. About 400 gallons of vegetable oil burned, as well as a number of biodiesel containers. "It smelled like rotten french fries," Gorman said, adding there wasn't a proper containment area for the conversion setup. He said he could not put a dollar value on the amount of damage the fire caused. Typical garage items like a lawn mower and propane tanks were damaged, and the windows on side of the house closest to the garage were cracked, he said.

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100225/GJNEWS_01/702259726/-1/fosnews

Posted Friday 26 Feb 2010 @ 6:57:04 am from IP #
wlb
Member

Update on the previous incident.

USA, ME, SOUTH BERWICK, MARCH 1 2010. SOUTH BERWICK HOME OIL-TO BIO-DIESEL SYSTEM BLAZE TRICKY FOR FIREFIGHTERS

jason claffey

Had the operator of a homemade frying oil-to-biodiesel fuel conversion system gone to the fire department beforehand for safety tips, Wednesday morning's fire that destroyed three structures at his property on Boyd's Corner Road could have been prevented or mitigated, according to the town's fire chief. There are no codes that govern such homemade systems, which have gained popularity among environmentalists in recent years. Biodiesel fuel, which can be used to power cars, burns cleaner than gas. The only drawback is a french fry smell. Wednesday morning's fire smelled more like rotten french fries, said Fire Chief George Gorman. The fire ignited in a detached garage that homeowner Richard Nowak used to make biodiesel for himself and friends. It burned down the garage, a shed, and a tent-like structure. Such fires have become more common across the country in recent years, according to Bob Benedetti, a flammable liquids engineer for the Massachusetts-based National Fire Protection Association. "The main issue appears to be that you are handling a flammable liquid that is easily ignited, in a quantity that really isn't appropriate for a residence," he said. "There definitely needs to be some control and limits." Establishing those controls and limits on homemade operations could be difficult, according to John Raymond, assistant director of the New Hampshire Fire Marshal's office. "It's very hard to regulate something in somebody's home," he said. Larger conversion operations, however, like the University of New Hampshire's EcoLine, are regulated, Raymond said. The New Hampshire Fire Marshal's office is notified of only a handful of home biodiesel operation fires a year, and has never received a report of a deadly one, Raymond said. A call to the Maine Fire Marshal's office was not returned Thursday. Wednesday's fire on Nowak's property caused no injuries. Gorman said Nowak didn't have a proper containment unit, like a concrete barricade, protecting the biodiesel setup. He also never went to the fire department for guidance, Gorman said. Nowak didn't return a phone message Thursday. Gorman said that if the fire department had at least known there was a biodiesel conversion system there, firefighters could have attacked the fire more effectively. "We went in there blind," Gorman said, adding the frying oil fed the flames. Firefighters thought they were responding to a traditional garage fire and attacked it with water hoses. Water can actually make oil fires worse, Gorman said. When the firefighters saw drums containing hundreds of gallons of frying oil, they used a special foam to combat the flames. Crews from the state Department of Environmental Protection also cleaned up the scene, as the property was located next to a swamp and there was a danger of contamination. Gorman said the cause of the fire likely won't be determined because the garage was so badly burned. He said there was no evidence of methanol — a highly flammable liquid commonly used to convert frying oil into biodiesel. Gorman said there should be codes in place for such home setups. Short of that, he advised anyone who has or is interested into home biodiesel conversion to consult their local fire departments. An inspection or safety tips can prevent fires like the one that erupted Wednesday, Gorman said.

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100226/GJNEWS_01/702269874/-1/FosNEWS

Posted Monday 1 Mar 2010 @ 4:52:30 am from IP #
wlb
Member

UK, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, JULY 29 2008. CHINESE TAKEAWAY BIODIESEL MAN IN GARAGE EXPLOSION HORROR - OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIREBALL

lewis page

A Northamptonshire man destroyed his garage and badly injured himself at the weekend while attempting to make biodiesel from used cooking oil. A devastating explosion levelled the makeshift reprocessing plant on Saturday afternoon, when sparks from an electric drill being used to mix ingredients ignited explosive vapours. Firemen hastened to deal with the smoking wreckage, in Middleton Cheney, and the unnamed thrifty motorist was airlifted to hospital with 20 per cent burns. "Firefighters would like to urge members of the public to take extreme caution if undertaking such chemical mixtures in their own homes," said a statement from the Oxfordshire fire brigade, quoted by the BBC. The injured biodiesel fancier reportedly made motor fuel from used cooking oil obtained from his local Chinese takeaway. Such oil can often be used in diesel vehicles without preparation, but this will typically knacker the engine in short order. It is normal to treat the oil with alcohol and other ingredients before use, and this process was apparently underway when the mishap occurred. The explosion would most probably have been caused initially by alcohol fumes building up in the garage, a process likely enhanced by the hot weather this weekend. Open-air - or at least better-ventilated - biodiesel manufacture might have been wiser. Home biofuel making is legal and tax-free to the amount of 2,500 litres per annum. With so much of the pump price of fuel being duty, such an effort is becoming more and more worthwhile to motorists as fuel costs soar. Quite apart from the risk of a devastating garage or garden-shed explosion, however - and the chance of then being mistaken for a terrorist - care is needed to avoid engine damage.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/28/takeaway_biodiesel_fireball_horror/

Posted Monday 1 Mar 2010 @ 10:45:54 pm from IP #
wlb
Member

USA, AZ, PHOENIX, NOVEMBER 24 2008. HOMEMADE FUEL RAISES CONCERNS

Fifty-five-gallon barrels of toxic chemicals and oil led some residents here to wonder if their neighbor was making methamphetamine in the garage. Instead, the authorities found an unregulated biodiesel fuel factory. The chemicals sat next to electric sockets and other possible ignition points under a child’s bedroom window. Phoenix fire officials say they have seen a trend of area residents using chemicals like methanol and lye to make cheap fuel. The city requires permits to handle the flammable and combustible materials used in biodiesel, but many home brewers ignore regulations, said Joe McElvaney, a Phoenix fire protection engineer. Mayor Phil Gordon announced Friday that the fire department would work with other municipal offices on a biodiesel task force to educate residents on the hazards of skirting permits, codes and regulations. The fire chief, Bob Khan, said the goal was to teach residents to produce biodiesel without accidentally setting off an explosion. Some biodiesel home brewers improperly store chemicals or heat their fuel in used water heaters, methods that could lead to explosions, flash fires or chemical burns. But some do it safely, like the Dynamite Biofuels Co-op, founded by Gene Leach, who said his family’s vehicles run on homemade biodiesel for about $1.50 per gallon. Mr. Leach said he talked to fire inspectors and health officials to comply with regulations, and he said that local governments should build stronger partnerships with groups like his to avoid people trying to do it themselves.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/us/23arizona.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Posted Monday 1 Mar 2010 @ 10:47:11 pm from IP #
wlb
Member

This article is about bio-fuels in general and so includes the large scale production of ethanol. I've included it as some may find it interesting.

Biofuel Safety: Is it time for Bio-PSM?
February 1st, 2009 | by Dr. Saraf |

Biofuel production and manufacturing facilities in the United States are increasing rapidly. On August 8, 2005, President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (H.R. 6) into law. The comprehensive energy legislation includes a nationwide renewable fuels standard (RFS) that will double the use of ethanol and biodiesel by 2012.

Biodiesel Incidents
Biodiesel popularity stems from the fact that it is simple to manufacture and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. Biodiesel can be easily mixed with regular diesel and used for running automobiles. Although biodiesel is non-flammable and non-reactive, manufacturing of biodiesel poses processing hazards and careful attention should be paid to manufacture biodiesel safely as indicated by the following accidents.

Feb. 2006: A fire at American Biofuel’s Biodiesel plant in Bakersfield, California resulted destroyed the entire plant. The fire was caused by a methanol spill possibly ignited by static electricity.
2005: A man repairing glycerin storage tank in a biodiesel facility in Staten Island died due to an explosion.
June 2006: Fire destroys a biodiesel plant in Canby
Please note the above list is not comprehensive collection of biodiesel incidents.

Bioethanol Incidents
Over 90 percent of U.S. ethanol is made from corn. Active research is being conducted to manufacture ethanol from cellulose feedstock – agricultural waste, plant residue, municipal solid waste. Below are a few incidents involving bioethanol:

June 15th, 2006, Shively, KY: Two Workers Treated For Burns After Fire At Shively Ethanol Plant
September 22nd, 2005, West Burlington, IA: A grain dryer was the cause of a fire in an ethanol plant.
September 5th, 2005, Brentwood, CA: Two thousand gallons of ethanol spilled onto a roadway and into a storm drain when a tanker truck overturned.
Please note the above list is not comprehensive collection of bio-ethanol incidents.

Safety Considerations
Both biodiesel and bioethanol facilities have flammable hydrocarbons especially highly flammable alcohol.

Methanol, ethanol, isopropanol are classified as Class IB flammable liquids according to OSHA 1910.106. Class IB substances have flash points below 73 F/22.8 C, boiling point higher than 100 F/37.8 C and can readily catch fire at room temperature. Therefore, special care should be taken while handling flammables in a biofuel production unit. In addition, methanol also poses toxic hazards.

The prevailing consensus amongst independent biofuel manufacturers is that process safety can be achieved by common sense and enforcement of prescriptive codes and standards; however, considerable expertise is needed to comprehensively mitigate biofuel manufacturing risks.

It is recommended that the biofuel manufacturers voluntarily adapt PSM in order to increase the safety of biodiesel production. Process Safety Management (PSM) has been successfully adopted by the chemical industries and refineries in the United States.

Note: Biofuel production facilities that use over 10,000 pounds (~1500 gallons) of alcohol or flammable mixtures are covered by the OSHA PSM rule (29 CFR 1910.119).

PSM can not only assist biofuel industry in the prevention of catastrophic events, it can also enhance employee knowledge of operations, improve technical procedures, maintain accurate process safety information, and increase overall facility productivity. In addition, manufacturing industries follow Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices (RAGAGEP) to improve safety and reduce incidents. Since most of the current biofuel manufacturers are small operations, set of guidelines encompassing PSM elements but less rigorous can be developed for such facilities. At first glance the documentation requirements of OSHA PSM seem daunting; however, a guideline document to ensure compliance with OSHA PSM without consuming too many resources can be developed.

Final Thought
To maintain a positive image, biofuels manufactures should give a serious thought to plant safety either by implementing “PSM-like” approach or by developing independent safety evaluation protocol.

I would like to share couple of Google Maps (Source: John Astad of Combustible Dust Policy Institute) that graphically display incidents in biodiesel and ethanol plants. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=101786521158328646175.000446eb5034dac0b1a57&ll=39.027719,-99.228516&spn=26.94738,55.371094&z=4

According to the map, there were 8 fires and 6 explosions in biodiesel facilities in the U.S in 3-year period (2006-2009). This translates to approx. 5 incidents per year. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=101786521158328646175.0004474522da62ae273d8&ll=43.357138,-89.34082&spn=13.508607,27.685547&t=p&z=5

Based on the map, there were 22 fires and 11 explosions in biodiesel facilities in the U.S. in 10-year period (1998-2009). This translates to approx. 3 incidents per year.

Posted Monday 1 Mar 2010 @ 10:58:44 pm from IP #
wlb
Member

Use the link to view photos of this DIY operation. Does yours look like this? I hope not. Note the extremely cluttered workshop with containers of raw materials and finished fuel scattered randomly around. Power cables, electric motors and extension leads lying around. No thought given to spill containment.
A serious accident waiting to happen.

February 22, 2010

Home Biodiesel Brewing

With a rising national consciousness of energy consumption, change is starting small. Sandy Lofton is a member of a growing movement of small-city Americans who hedge their fuel use by electing to produce their own fuel via home biodiesel distilleries.

After purchasing the initial equipment, Lofton estimates that he pays between $0.50-$0.85 per gallon of bio-fuel that he produces, in accordance to the local prices of oil and kerosene. Small parts of these petroleum products mix with the gallons of filtered soybean oil that’s donated from a local outboard marine mechanic.

Photos of Lofton’s setup can be found here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36537684@N08/sets/72157623236116874/

Posted Monday 1 Mar 2010 @ 11:09:42 pm from IP #
Michael L.
Member

Looks like the old home made brewing craze, all cheapness and no responsibility or sense.

Posted Tuesday 9 Mar 2010 @ 5:47:45 am from IP #
franks
Member

With Waste Veg Oil Recycle collection done on a contract, the homebrewer cant find cheap (Free) Feedstock anymore for DIY Biodiesel.
Its really not a fringe feral greenie tree hugger activity the making of Biodiesel.

Posted Tuesday 9 Mar 2010 @ 6:22:29 am from IP #
wlb
Member

USA, WA, TACOMA, JUNE 17 2010. BIODIESEL EXPLOSION > FLAMES FLOW THROUGH TACOMA NEIGHBORHOOD.

An explosion in a small biodiesel operation caused a big scare in a Tacoma Tuesday night as fire flowed through the neighborhood. The garage that housed the biodiesel operation burned furiously as a stream of fuel on fire ran down the alley toward South Puget Sound Avenue. The News Tribune reported that a motor home and a garage nearby also caught fire, but the flames were quickly extinguished. Eyewitness Lee Bales described hearing an explosion a little after 8 p.m. Tuesday. "I live back there in that brick building, and my window shook, when it exploded, and all I saw was black smoke," Bales said. The owner of the property told us he rented the garage to "a couple of guys" who used it to manufacture biodiesel on a small scale. He said they had a few hundred gallons of vegetable oil in the garage. We asked Patty Peterman, who works in the neighborhood, if she was concerned for her safety. "I was, I grabbed my stuff and put it in my car in case I needed to leave real quick." The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. No one was hurt.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/23917427/detail.html

Watch the Video: http://www.kirotv.com/news/23917427/detail.html

Watch the Video: http://www.king5.com/home/Tacoma-garages-go-up-in-flames-96442994.html

Photo Gallery: http://www.king5.com/home/Tacoma-garages-go-up-in-flames-96442994.html

Slideshow: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/photo/2010/06/15/fire-at-s-13th-st-and-s-puget-sound-ave/

Slideshow: http://www.kirotv.com/slideshow/news/23918507/detail.html

Posted Thursday 17 Jun 2010 @ 1:22:34 am from IP #
wlb
Member

Here's one a bit closer to home. Not sure about the accuracy of the report as glycerol wouldn't be a problem unless it is very hot. More likely to be methanol vapour.

AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA, MELBOURNE, OCTOBER 6 2010. MAN CRITICAL AFTER TANK EXPLOSION AT BIODIESEL FACILITY

· workers were carrying out welding works on tank

· Contained mixture of glycerol and methanol.

· Tank blown 130 metres away from the biodiesel refinery

· Injured man has been put into an induced coma

Photo Gallery:

http://whittlesea-leader.whereilive.com.au/photos/gallery/explosion-at-thomastown-factory/

Exploded tank was blasted up the road.

Local firefighters heard the massive blast that left a man critically injured seconds before they were called. The injured man has been put into an induced coma following the explosion in Melbourne's north this afternoon. He suffered serious burns after a tank exploded at a factory in Aylward Ave, Thomastown, about 12.30pm. An MFB spokesperson said crews arrived at the scene to find "the lid of a 30,000 tank 40m up the road." "The crews heard the explosion from the station, 500m down the road," he said. The MFB spokesperson said it was believed the explosion was caused by the hazardous material glycerol - a bio-diesel refiner. Ambulance Victoria spokesman Paul Bentley said paramedics put the man into an induced coma. "Paramedics were concerned about the potential for the man's airways to swell, restricting breathing," he said. Paramedics will insert a breathing tube into the man to assist his airways. It is believed about four other people suffered minor injuries. MFB scientists and WorkCover will investigate the incident.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/man-critical-after-factory-explosion/story-e6frf7kx-1225934873475

Posted Wednesday 6 Oct 2010 @ 11:55:45 pm from IP #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.