SBIR Phase II: Heterogeneous Catalytic System for Biodiesel Production from Alaska Fish Oil

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This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project concerns an innovative high throughput, high efficiency, and low cost heterogeneous catalytic fixed-bed technology for biodiesel production from Alaska fish oil. Around 200 remote Alaskan villages have energy costs of three to five times the national average. Alaskan fisheries are suffering from high diesel fuel cost. Converting the low-value fish oil to biodiesel is an attractive solution. However, the commercially available homogeneous alkali-catalyzed biodiesel production process does not work well for fish oil. The objectives of this Phase II project are to scale-up the fixed-bed reactor, produce prototype reactors, conduct field testing in Alaska, and prepare for commercial production. The broader impacts of this research are as follows: the success of this project will create a value-added and profitable market for fish oil, reduce damage to the marine environment, and provide Alaska with a renewable fuel that will in turn reduce diesel emissions and fuel costs for remote communities and fisheries. The fixed-bed reactor can be a mobile unit for small fish oil production entities or can be easily scaled up for potential customers that produce a large quantity of fish oil. In addition to fish oil, this reactor can be used to process vegetable oil and yellow grease and can be applied to other biodiesel production plants in the U.S. The success of this new technology will bring a revolutionary change to the traditional biodiesel production process.