CHEROKEE, Iowa -- Steve Fugate of Tiffin believes that people can create their own energy independence.
He has proven it by developing his own Bio-diesel Production System. Fugate also played a major part in starting the Yoderville Bio-diesel Cooperative. The cooperative is dedicated to producing a quality biodiesel using waste vegetable oil.
Fugate shared his experiences at a recent Iowa Farmers Union renewable energy conference in Cherokee.
For more than four years, Fugate has manufactured and used his own biodiesel.
"My truck runs smoother and quieter,'' he said. "The biodiesel fuel smells better than diesel. Biodiesel is a domestic renewable fuel for diesel engines, derived from natural oils. This should excite Americans as we look to ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oils."
Fugate and others have perfected The Ester Machine. The Ester Machine is capable of transesterifying 40 gallons of oil every 1.5 hours.
"Transesterfication is the chemical process of producing biodiesel," he said.
His unit provides for the necessary washing and drying of fuel to manufacture a 99.7 percent pure product. Washing pulls any contaminants out. Drying of the fuel allows the biodiesel be used immediately.
In a time when fuel supplies can be uncertain and the price volatile, a farmer needs to look beyond what is normal and focus on self-sufficiency, Fugate said.
"The beauty of The Ester Machine is that it can take a waste product, used vegetable oil from restaurants, food services at hospitals and colleges, and turn it into a quality product that will fuel the very tractors that produce the crops that provide the oil that feeds America."
"It is possible for a community to take the used vegetable oil, that might otherwise be wasted, and produce its own biodiesel to run equipment,'' he said. "Communities could purchase one of these systems cooperatively and allow the equipment to travel from town to town much as a corn sheller traveled from farm to farm in days gone by."
Fugate manufactures the machine and says it's available to anyone without a high mark-up price.
The Ester Machine can finish 80 gallons of fuel daily. With the addition of a "double dry" system, a 240 gallons can be produced in a day.
To learn more about this Bio-diesel Production System, call (319) 545-7022 or check out their website www.ffbiofuels.com.Agri-News
