Making Biodiesel in the South: A Personal Commitment to Changing the World

Photo courtesy Pat Heidingsfelder

Growing up in the South, it’s been a rough road to live a more conscientious and sustainable lifestyle; calling me the odd-one-out with my “Biodiesel: No War Required” sticker on the back of my Volkswagon would be an understatement. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My biofuels addiction began one summer while on vacation. There was a television playing in the background, on CNN. I remember the reporter seeming excited and confused. The story at the time, about seven or eight years ago, was on a little known business in the Northeast called GreaseCar. My ears perked up. I’ve had a love of cars and driving from a young age and this seemed amazing. The reporter announced that diesel vehicles could be transformed to run on pure used vegetable oil. As an eighteen-year old kid that liked defying the norms, my curiosity immediately went into overdrive.

The next six to eight months of my life were spent researching everything related to grease. As I dug deep into the mechanics of diesel engines, questioning quickly followed.

“How can this be,” I thought, “if anyone can run their diesel vehicle on used cooking oil, a renewable energy source, why are we still going to war in the Middle East? Why aren’t car manufacturers using more earth friendly fuels?”

I had the mechanical workings mapped out. I knew exactly what to do to convert the diesel engine to efficiently burn this ‘new’ free fuel I had learned of and I was energized! Only problem, no diesel vehicle. Ugh.

Another few months was spent searching the country for a viable diesel vehicle to replace my early 90s compact car. I looked at anything and everything with a diesel motor. School bus? Maybe a little large to commute to campus. Bread van? not enough seats for all my buds. Volkswagen? Way out of my price range. So I settled on a mid 90s Chevrolet Suburban. Why would I choose a gas-guzzling SUV? It had the carrying capacity and space to mount a separate tank for the veggie oil, and I thought I’d prove that if you have the will, even an SUV could be “green.”

Photo courtesy Pat Heidingsfelder

Time eventually came to sell the mammoth SUV and I downsized to that Volkswagen TDI I had been eyeing since the beginning of this journey. I didn’t want to cut into the original fuel system of my newest ride, so I did more research on the production of biodiesel. At the time I was on my way to a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry so it was only natural to have a chemical processor of some sort in the backyard. I was able to piece together, largely for free, a biodiesel processor capable of producing thirty-five gallons of pure bliss at a time.

You’ve got to remember I was doing all of this in a rural-ish area in the South. I have heard all the comments. “Eh boay, whach you makein, meth er sommin?” being my favorite, and most commonly used as I scrounged for barrels, pipes, pumps and valves.

Photo courtesy Pat Heidingsfelder

In the past five years I’ve drug my homebrew biodiesel processor to three different homes, collected countless gallons of used grease, used over 200 gallons of methanol in production, only one small explosion, driven across the country a handful of times, and completed biodiesel research towards my Bachelor’s Degree. Just kidding on the explosion.

This obsession with biofuels began as curiosity and novelty of running a modern car as Rudolf Diesel had intended his engine to run, on peanut oil., but it has become full blown activism against our use of petroleum.

Making biodiesel at home is not a difficult process, you just need to have the dedication and desire to do so. Driving, and wrenching on cars for that matter, has always been an enjoyable activity for me, a hobby I guess.

It’s not just to get from point A to B. I can just get in the car, and ride. Turn the radio off and truly enjoy being there, shifting, and revving. Ride through the country, down the beach, along nice twisty roads or head to California. Making my own biodiesel, knowing the fuel began as a plant, was used in a restaurant, and now propels my car relieves some of the burden of my driving hobby.

Should everyone set out to process grease into biodiesel in his or her garage? Nah, it’s not for everyone. Should everyone be conscious of where their fuel comes from, and demand higher fuel efficiency? YES!

The recent oil catastrophe in the Gulf happened to be in my front yard. The incident has reignited my passion for biofuels, and I hope to get the word out that there are alternatives to gasoline, and expensive gas hybrids.

People ask often ask “Why? Why do you spend so much time making biodiesel??  Well, we can’t buy it in the area so I have to. “Just go to the pump like the rest of us.”

No thanks; I’m saving the world, one trip at a time.

By Pat Heidingsfelder

Editor’s note: Pat and his girlfriend Liz were instrumental in helping the PDX 2 Gulf Coast team on the ground during our August trip. He is one of many personal connections that we made while traveling in the Gulf and we hope to continue to support him and his personal efforts in making positive change in his local community.