PROCESS TECHNOLOGY

Designed for Versatility

Put our versatile, robust biodiesel technology at the heart of your enterprise to produce consistently high quality fuel at a competitive price. Since 1996 we have provided our customers with efficient and appropriately scaled technology to convert a multitude of virgin and waste fats, oils and greases into 100% high quality ASTM specification biodiesel. Our combination of real world production experience and robust process technology have made us a premier provider of biodiesel process systems and equipment to companies seeking to weather the ups and downs of volatile feedstock and fuel markets, while delivering the quality and consistency their customers demand. Get acquainted with the complete set of technology features and benefits only Pacific Bidodiesel offers to ensure success for your biodiesel enterprise.

Proven Experience for a Competitive Edge

The greening of America and rising petroleum costs are spurring rapid growth for the biodiesel industry. As your proven partner, Pacific Biodiesel not only assures successful establishment of your operation, but gives you a competitive edge. Our decade of experience building and operating biodiesel plants insures that we will design and build for you the right size plant, with the right equipment, installed and brought on line on time and within budget. Since 1996, Pacific Biodiesel has owned and operated biodiesel plants utilizing multiple feedstocks including used cooking oil, yellow grease, brown grease, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, and tallow. From the beginning, we have shared our technology and experience with customers in the United States and abroad. We provide turn-key biodiesel production facilities complete with management oversight and ongoing operational support. No other technology provider in the industry delivers this range of services, equipment, or support. The competence behind our commitment to plant owners and operators is firmly rooted in our own operational experience. That’s unique and valuable. Check our references.

Multi-Feedstock Flexibility for Changing Markets

To maximize profitability, biodiesel plants must be able to respond to market fluctuations in the price and availability of various feedstocks, with the flexibility to quickly transition from one feedstock to another. We provide a robust and adaptable process technology to meet these goals. Other plant manufacturers claim “multi-feedstock capability,” but glaze over the critical details such as specifying which feedstocks are supported, in what proportions, and what are the resulting yields. Some companies will claim that used oils and greases can be used in their process, but they employ inappropriate process chemistry that can result in losses in efficiency that can exceed 30%. Pacific Biodiesel’s unique reaction technologies allow the use of up to 50% FFA feedstock without loss of yield. Our process is also designed to handle contaminants commonly found in used and unrefined oils and fats, but which competitors fail to mention as diminishing production factors.These include moisture, insoluble and inorganic impurities, excess unsaponifiable matter, and phospholipids. We have been processing used and unrefined oils and fats for more than a decade. No one provides more robust solutions for using multiple feedstocks to adapt to challenging market changes.

Superior Fuel Quality for End-user Satisfaction

We guarantee that our process plants will meet ASTM standards using a multitude of feedstocks. Pacific Biodiesel’s robust process chemistry and three-stage product refining produce a fuel with quality that is second to none. Our multi-stage reaction efficiently converts fatty acids and glycerides to methyl esters, while our vacuum distillation and dry refining steps remove trace amounts of water, methanol and minor impurities to yield a fuel with exceptional quality and a long shelf life.

Quality Equipment for the Long Haul

As producers, we understand the importance of avoiding downtime to make repairs. In biodiesel production, Inferior equipment is the primary cause. Our process equipment is constructed of stainless steel and with specially design elastomers for superior longevity and lower maintenance costs. The quality of our equipment in materials and manufacturing is backed by a blanket one-year warranty, with a five-year warranty on all process vessels. Extended warrantees are also available. One of the biggest mistakes a producer can make is choosing equipment that was not designed or built for a long service life under rigorous conditions. The use of low grade materials, including plastic vessel and pipe, not only falls short of profitable performance, but is unsafe. The use of lower quality components and wear parts in competitors’ systems ignore the long-term maintenance and replacement costs.

Designed for Safety

Careful attention to safe operating practices is pervasive in the design of Pacific Biodiesel Technologies equipment. We apply the principles of intrinsically safe design whenever possible, and closely follow NFPA, ASME, and UL codes for all vessels, piping systems and electrical equipment. Pacific Biodiesel Technologies is committed to designing, engineering, and fabricating systems that enhance the safety and ergonomics of its biodiesel plants.

High Yield Efficiency for the Bottom Line

By employing precise reaction chemistry and proprietary ester and byproduct refining technologies, our process delivers the highest possible yield from any feedstock used. Many technology providers skirt the issue of yield losses inherent to traditional process chemistry, particularly the lack of proper equipment to treat and recover crude ester and byproduct streams. Our process is designed to recycle every drop of feedstock diverted in the production process and sized to ensure consistent output even through feedstock transitions.

Complete Methanol Recovery for Reduced Costs

A comprehensive approach to methanol recovery is essential to ensuring a competitive edge. Some technology providers claim to offer methanol recovery technology, but limit the process to recycling methanol from the biodiesel refining step, while the crude byproducts (glycerin) remain untreated. Their process actually results in a loss of methanol and produces a hazardous waste stream. Other biodiesel producers have turned to “off the shelf” distillation units, or to suppliers of methanol recovery equipment to other industries, often with poor results. Pacific Biodiesel Technologies’ process equipment recovers all excess methanol, and is specifically designed for the biodiesel production process. Careful attention is paid to specifying equipment and creating conditions that maintain high product quality during evaporation and distillation. The use of our three-step recovery system keeps methanol consumption to the theoretical minimum while producing high quality co-products.

85% Glycerin Purity for Increased Revenue

Pacific Biodiesel Technologies’ proprietary byproduct refining technology allows the recovery of 85%+ pure glycerin from the crude byproduct stream. The resulting glycerin is suitable for use as animal feed, is upgradeable to USP quality, or can be used in a multitude of other areas. Also, recycling excess methanol and feedstock residues into the process improves yield and lowers operating costs.

Reduced Environmental Footprint for Sustainability

A small environmental footprint is an essential aspect of a sustainable biodiesel facility. Our processes come standard with vapor recovery to eliminate fugitive emissions. The use of our proprietary dry refining process eliminates the use of water and creates a non-hazardous solid from product impurities. Methanol recovery from all process streams keeps methanol consumption to a minimum.