Alaska Suppliers of Biodiesel Chemicals.

• 50# Bags NaOH, KOH - Garness Industrial, Anchorage 907-562-2933
• 55 Gallon Drum Methanol - Inlet Petroleum, Anchorage 907-274-3835
• 2# NaOH (Roebic Crystal Drain Opener) - Lowe's
• 1# KOH - Arctic Vegwerks, Chugiak 907-688-5288
• 12 oz. Methanol (HEET - yellow bottle)
• Phenolphthalein Indicator - Arctic Vegwerks, Chugiak 907-688-5288

The homebrewer of biodiesel quickly discovers that you can't HazMat ship small quantities of chemicals to Alaska. It's lower 48 only.

The big chemical supplier in Anchorage is Univar. Unfortunately they DON'T want to deal with individuals, wholesale to businesses only. Furthermore, they told me on the phone that they don't want to sell to backyard brewers of biodiesel, even if they have a business license. What's more, they asked me if I had a fuel distributor license (which I do) and where my biodiesel facility was. I explained that I teach classes and seminars, including courses at UAA and APU, and they would "check" if they could sell to me. Ugh.

Next call was to Garness Industrial 907-562-2933, who resell chemicals to individuals and were great to deal with. Their single 50 pound bag price for NaOH and KOH was cheaper than the single bag price from Univar.

Garness prices June 16, 2008:

50# NaOH $57.50
50# KOH $107.00

Inlet Petroleum 907-274-3835, is a major petroleum distributor down at the Port of Anchorage. Their current price for a 55 gallon drum of methanol is $335.36, 10% more than Univar's single drum price, but they sell to individuals.

For SMALLER QUANTITIES of chemicals your options are limited.

Lowe's sells 2 pounds of pure NaOH branded as "Roebic (Heavy Duty) Crystal Drain Opener" for $8.68. The Tudor store was sold out, so I went to Wasilla to pick some up.

For those looking for Phenolphthalein Indicator solution, Arctic Vegwerks 907-688-5288 (yes, that's us) sells 30ml dropper bottles for $10. We also sell one pound bags of KOH for $10, 3 pounds for $20.

Small quantities of Methanol are sold as HEET in the YELLOW BOTTLE as most gas stations and grocery stores (I get mine at Fred Meyer).

Veg On!

How much does an Alaska Vegoil System cost?

Everyone wants to know HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? To run on used vegetable oil, that is. Well, it's really a case of penny wise, pound foolish - or, you get what you pay for. Our systems have bomb-proof components and lots and lots of heat to protect your injection pump in the Alaska winters.

Prices as of Feb 2008 for a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel:

$450 Basic PlantDrive TTVTS kit includes:
    $150 Vegtherm Standard
    $215 VegMax Filter
    $89 1st - 3-port Hydraforce valve (option)
    Assorted wires/connectors/fittings

additional PlantDrive parts:
$89 2nd - 3-port Hydraforce valve
$125 HP-16 Hotplate with 3/8" fittings
$450 Heated 12 Gallon Trekker Poly Tank

other tank options:
    $209 HotFox with $0 existing tank
    $209 HotFox with ~$400 aluminum tank

$1114 + 15% Alaska shipping $167.10

$1281.10 PlantDrive subtotal - this is what we can sell you if you want to do-it-yourself.

$600 (rough estimate) fittings/electrical/hardware/hose/sealant/insulation/etc.

$1821.10 parts subtotal estimate

$650 labor for Alaska Standard install (about 2 1/2 days)

$2471.10 Installed estimate for the bomb-proof 4-season Alaska Standard system.

We can install a no-frills 3-season system for a substantial savings, but we recommend the Alaska Standard for our climate. Deluxe options are available (gauges/controllers/pre-heaters), but our basic components are rock-solid in the standard system.

Shipping discounts may be available for folks picking up at our Chugiak (Anchorage) location, especially if your shipping times are flexible.

Pickup trucks require some higher-flow components and additional labor, and will cost a few hundred dollars more.

Veg On!

Book Review: Not A Gas Station

Not a Gas Station: A History of the Biofuel Oasis and How to Create Your Own Biodiesel Filling Station by Jennifer Radtke is exactly what it claims to be, and I like it.

To quote directly from their website:

The book is a personal account of co-founding the BioFuel Oasis, a biodiesel filling station in Berkeley, California. It combines the entertaining stories of starting the Oasis with the practical information to start your own station.

Yep, that's it. I just finished reading it, and it's well worth the $15.

The bright orange photocopied cover is testament to the pure DIY effort towards urban sustainability that this women-owned worker's collective has brought to Berkeley, California. It's an entertaining and empowering read. It's not a corporate how-to book, but rather a straightforward and enjoyable grassroots guide for positive change.

Wanna make a difference and bring biodiesel to the masses? Don't have a lot of cash, but rather a lot of passion? This book will inspire you. It inspired me.

Veg On!

Biodiesel available in 49 states!

Biodiesel available in all 50, no wait, 49 states!

The National Biodiesel Board on their Guide to Buying Biodiesel claims that "high quality biodiesel is available in all 50 states."

Hmmmm.. I think the key word is "available." I've been promoting biodiesel in Alaska for years, and although there a a number of homebrewers, pilot/demonstration projects and enthusiastic entrepreneurs, I have yet to find biodiesel for sale in Alaska.

I mean no producers, no distributors, and no retailers. It's make it yourself or ship it up from Seattle.

I wrote an email to the Biodiesel Board and left a voice message, they have yet to get back to me. Maybe I should have written it more nicely. Here's what I wrote:

I see on your website and numerous government and biodiesel brochures that biodiesel is "available is all 50 states."

Is there something I'm missing or is this like saying "biodiesel is available in Antarctica" because you can ship it there.

I've been working for years trying to bring biodiesel to Alaska, and unless I want to buy a tote or a container in Seattle and ship it up, which effectively doubles the price, biodiesel is NOT available in Alaska.

The Alaska Energy Authority's test of fish oil biodiesel is not available to the public (and is starting to degrade) and the Alaska Biodiesel Alliance's test of cold weather blends in Juneau is not available to the public either. There is a little co-op in Fairbanks, but they are brewing their own in a hot water heater and it has not undergone the ASTM testing yet. The Delta Canola oil pilot project is working with the Fairbanks co-op to make biodiesel, but as far as I know it hasn't happened yet.

Please, set me straight and let me know where I can send people who ask where they can get biodiesel up here.

Thanks.

More details on what IS going on with Alaska biodiesel in future blogs..

Veg on!