How To Make Biodiesel

Aug. 11–On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge confirmed what many consumers likely expected: High gas prices are here to stay. At a small, private forum near Four Oaks, Etheridge and some of the state’s fuel-market executives discussed a bill the congressman has introduced in the U.S. House. The Biofuels Act of 2006, Etheridge said, champions an increase in the production of alternative fuels, such as ethanol and soy biodiesel. Among other goals, he said, the bill aims to “encourage more production [of biofuels] and set up research and development projects for our state’s colleges.” He added that increasing unrest in the Middle East and Venezuela, coupled with soaring oil demand worldwide, should prompt America to reduce its dependence on petroleum. “And if we have the solution to our energy problems in our fields, then we need to use it,” the congressman said outside a biodiesel-distribution facility owned by Aurora-based Potter Oil & Tire Co. Inc. Brian Potter, vice president of Potter Oil, said the company was born in 2003, three years after the Environmental Protection Agency approved biodiesel as a safe alternative to petroleum. The company opened a distribution center south of Four Oaks in 2004. Over the last few years, Potter said, the company has consistently doubled or tripled the volume of fuel it distributes to customers. Potter Oil currently stores 30,000 gallons of biodiesel in Johnston County for distribution elsewhere. “This all started because it’s something that our farmers said they wanted,” Potter said of the birth of Potter Oil and the arrival of biodiesel. “But now we’re trying to push biodiesel more into the mainstream consumer market.” According to a Potter Oil brochure, biodiesel is a simple-to- use, biodegradable, nontoxic fuel made from soybean oil or other vegetable oils or animal fats. It does not contain sulfur and aromatic compounds that pollute the air. But best of all, Etheridge said, “it’s renewable.” “And I think it’s helpful for the public to understand that it is available and they can get it,” he added. Michael Barnes, president of the N.C. Petroleum Marketers Association, said researchers are exploring the development of alternative fuels for use in most consumer vehicles. But like Etheridge, he said it was important for the public to know that the production of biofuels was not a “pie-in-the-sky pipe dream.” “It’s here now, and it’s as good as it is advertised to be,” he said. “It’s here for good.” Herald Staff Reporter Jordan Cooke can be reached at 934-2176, Ext. 137, or by e-mail at jcooke@nando.com. Credit: The Smithfield Herald, N.C.

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