Automated, Portable Production Unit Makes Renewable Fuel
A collaborative effort by the U.S. Navy, Biodiesel Industries,
Inc. and Aerojet has successfully demonstrated methods to produce
cleaner and more reliable sources of renewable fuels for military
use. The system, named ARIES (Automated Real-time, Remote,
Integrated Energy System), is a highly automated, portable
biodiesel production unit that can be controlled from a remote
location. These features ensure reliable process control and
optimal production yields in a system that can be readily and
widely deployed.
ARIES is the culmination of more than six years of research,
development, demonstration and validation by the Naval Facilities
Engineering Service Center (NFESC) and Biodiesel Industries. The
addition of Aerojet's expertise in integrated system design,
fluidic management and control systems development, coupled with
decades of experience in chemical formulation processes has allowed
the partnership to make extraordinary strides in the last 12
months.
"Aerojet and the Navy are the perfect partners for this
endeavor," explained Russell Teall, president and founder of
Biodiesel Industries. "For the past 15 years we have been
developing proprietary technology for modular multi-feedstock
biodiesel production. Combining NFESC's specialization in energy
and environmental systems with Aerojet's history of advanced
systems controls, enabled the implementation and first public
demonstration of Biodiesel Industries' ARIES platform. We are
excited to see this technology emerge as the result of the Navy's
long-term commitment to utilize renewable fuels. As the world's
largest consumer of diesel fuel, the implications for the Navy and
the DoD are clear: energy self-sufficiency is not only a matter of
national security, but also provides tremendous environmental and
economic benefits."
A key issue with biofuel production has been the ability to
access inexpensive feedstocks that do not compete with agricultural
land use or the production of food. The ability to use locally
available non-food feedstocks for biodiesel requires a flexible
production process and technical expertise and control not easily
associated with small- scale facilities. However, with ARIES, one
data and process control center has the potential to remotely
operate hundreds of scalable facilities integrated with
next-generation feedstock cultivation, producing millions of
gallons of biofuel per year.
"Biodiesel Industries' years of advanced work with jatropha,
algae and other biofuel feedstocks are critically important to the
ARIES platform. In the coming months, we expect to announce several
new developments with our proprietary methods of feedstock
cultivation that make the ARIES system an ideal solution for the
Navy with significant implications in the commercial sector as
well," according to JJ Rothgery, Chairman of the Board of Biodiesel
Industries.
"Aerojet is excited to be a part of this visionary team and
looks forward to contributing to our nation's goal of energy
independence," said Scott Neish, president of Aerojet. "As Aerojet
expands the energy management capabilities we developed from
decades of work in aerospace and defense into new markets,
collaborating with Biodiesel Industries is a perfect fit. This
collaboration has allowed us to leverage our experience with the
pioneers of this field, significantly enhancing the production of
biofuels as we know it today."
ARIES incorporates Aerojet's systems control technologies to
provide real-time sensing and management of key chemistry and
processing parameters. These technologies, coupled with Biodiesel
Industries' 10-year production database, allow automation of the
entire process, resulting in enhanced yields, reliable quality
control and personnel safety assurance. Remote sensing also enables
monitoring and operation from a single data and process control
center for biodiesel production facilities in numerous locations
around the world.
Following the recent successful demonstration of ARIES for the
U.S. Navy, additional capabilities are now being installed and the
unit will be moved to the National Environmental Test Site at Naval
Base Ventura County, in Port Hueneme, CA. There, the ARIES system
will undergo further demonstration and validation leading to
integration with more complex systems.