We visited a biodiesel plant in Plymouth, ID. The plant is a Blue Sky production facility with the potential to produce up to 20 gallons of biodiesel a minute or 10 million gallons per year.
Paul Mann is the current general manager of the first Idaho biodiesel plant which is now running at part-time capacity. He welcomed us and gave us a short introduction about the chemistry of biodiesel. The standard formula is for every 100 grams of oil, there is 20 grams methanol plus a catalyst that makes up a hydroxide that equals about 25% of the oil. Once the transesterification occurs, 90% of the volume is biodiesel and the remaining 10% is glycerine. Anyone can make biodiesel, but the plant uses a process without water. Instead of water, b-10 resin beads capture the soaps and glycerine.
Paul Mann is trying to buy the plant with an associate continue operations since the plant has been rebuilt after an incident disrupted development several years ago. The plant provides jobs for the community and tax revenue for the local economy.
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