Biodiesel Production from Waste Vegetable Oil for Greenhouse Heat

1 On-Farm Energy Case Study Biodiesel Production from Waste Vegetable Oil for Greenhouse Heat Cate Farm - East Montpelier, Vermont Richard Wiswall and Sally Colman own Cate Farm in central Vermont. They produce vegetables, herbs and flowers on 22 acres,... More

1 On-Farm Energy Case Study Biodiesel Production from Waste Vegetable Oil for Greenhouse Heat Cate Farm - East Montpelier, Vermont Richard Wiswall and Sally Colman own Cate Farm in central Vermont. They produce vegetables, herbs and flowers on 22 acres, and bedding plants and greenhouse tomatoes in seven 21’ by 96’greenhouses. Biodiesel made from waste vegetable oil is used to heat the greenhouses as well as power two diesel tractors and one car. When he decided to switch to an alternative fuel, Richard had the choice of converting vegetable oil to biodiesel that could run in his existing equipment or modifying the existing equipment to use straight vegetable oil. The number of locations where he required the fuel made it simpler and more cost-effective to transform the waste oil so it could be burned in existing equipment rather than changing and maintaining multiple pieces of equipment. Making biodiesel is not as complex as rocket science, but some knowledge of chemistry is help Less