Biodiesel fans start a different kind of co-op

By Larry Dreiling

The typical High Plains producer's image of a cooperative is that of a prairie skyscraper, whether a grain elevator, feed mill, fuel refinery or bioenergy plant. These structures denote strength through working together for the common goal of savings through good marketing and perhaps profit.

A Denver-based cooperative, focusing on saving members' money on the purchase of biodiesel, has no such grand trappings. Operating in a garage facing an alleyway of a neighborhood close to the offices of the city's largest asphalt paving company, a printing plant of one of the city's daily newspapers and the famed "Mousetrap" intersection of Interstate 25 and Interstate 70, is the Denver Biodiesel Cooperative.

The co-op distributes 100 percent biodiesel (B100) only. It is sold in both highway and farm formulas. You can't miss the alley. Leading you in is a brightly colored wall of graffiti tagging the entrance.

Currently with 67 members, co-op members pay from $5 for a one-week trial membership to $150 per year for an agricultural membership. One of these memberships requires members to volunteer their time to work for the co-op while others require a minimum annual product purchase.

"The average per member pays is $70 per month," said Chris Henggeler, the co-op's general manager. "We have a lot of commercial members. Our big specialty is landscaping companies and arborists because they have a big concern for the environment."

B100 by the tanker load

As it is now, the co-op has fewer than 10 agricultural members. They pay $150 per year for low-cost red dyed 100 percent diesel. The co-op requires a minimum purchase of 3,000 gallons per year. The co-op also charges $2 per mile in delivery fees.

Handling the marketing of the product is Steve Patterson, who loads 250-gallon tanks called intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), full of product in the bed of his pickup truck and hauls the fuel to the farmer members. One member is located in Sterling, Colo., more than 125 miles away.

"We have farmer members who typically want two 250-gallon IBCs at a time," Patterson said. "I usually just stick them onto the back of my pickup truck and take them to the farm. We'll do a gravity drop or pump-in into their tanks."

You can also slip into that alleyway to buy B100 at $3.25 per gallon for highway diesel and $2.80 for farm diesel, but that's for city folk. Farmers buy in bulk and Patterson is there to please.

"A farmer that uses 10,000 gallons in a season will want to buy by the tanker truckload," Patterson said. "That's 4,500 gallons. For that we have a deal with a local delivery company and hire them to deliver. That's where that delivery charge comes in."

B100 from many sources

Denver Biodiesel Cooperative acquires its product from several sources, most notably BioEnergy of Colorado, which makes biodiesel from several different kinds of oilseeds.

"They sell primarily soy diesel, although what we currently have in stock is made from canola," Henggeler said.

Adds Patterson: "You can make biodiesel out of pretty much any kind of oilseed, just about any kind but palm oil. The problem is palm oil is perfect if you were only going to use it in the southern tier of states.

"Palm oil has a cloud point of about 63 degrees. The pour point is less, but you don't want to put palm biodiesel in your tank at the pour point, because it will be full of undissolved solids and there's no point in doing that. The best thing to do is use canola, which has a freeze point of 20 degrees. Soy has a freeze point of 29 degrees."

Adds Henggeler: "The great thing is our suppliers, like Monte Malone of BioEnergy of Colorado, are making this off railcars from very high quality oils. This is not some home-brewed situation here."

Warranty specs argued

The capacity of BioEnergy of Colorado's production facility is 10 million gallons annually. According to BioEnergy of Colorado's website the company purchases raw materials from companies such as Cargill, Ashland, Bunge, Conoco, and Exxon Mobil. These raw materials are subject to vigorous testing and must meet the product specification sheets from the manufacturers.

"The fuel we deliver is an ASTM (D-6751) compliant fuel. We can't say we meet any standard, but if you pass the test, you are compliant with the test but not a standard. It meets their testing requirements," said Henggeler in discussing the Byzantine methods of how to describe biodiesel quality.

Like a lot of cooperatives, Denver Biodiesel has had its share of growing pains. Patterson and Henggeler are among seven members of the cooperative who kept it together last March when its previous general manager decided to exit the business, effectively dismantling the co-op after three years in business.

Keeping the co-op afloat reflects their lifestyles. Henggeler said he teaches computer software development at Westwood College in north Denver. Patterson said he is an inventor, with work in improving plastic injection molding machinery.

"In the winter, as you can imagine, I'm busy," Patterson said, stroking his long, white beard. "In December, I become your northern friend."

Adds Henggeler: "I'm a polyglot of all the computer sciences. My degree is in electronics engineering. Anything electronic interests me. I had just become a member of the co-op when it folded, and I wanted my membership fees back so I bought into the new co-op."

Henggeler manages the co-op's website and is setting up a point-of-sale system in that alleyway garage.

"I do all the things that go beep. I also work on our waste oil reclamation system," Henggeler said.

The cooperative, even though it sells high quality product, also is interested in the home and farm-based biodiesel producer, hence the waste oil system.

"We work to promote home brewers, so that's why we have the vegetable oil recycling plant. A lot of home brewers are saying their waste is valuable as fertilizer," Patterson said.

"If they obtain the catalyst they can go ahead and make fertilizer and biodiesel. We'll go around to restaurants and pick up their waste cooking fats and oils in five-gallon jugs or 55-gallon drums. We run it through a series of settling tanks and filters so all the home brewers get some nice feedstock from us. We sell that feedstock at $1.50 a gallon or $6 for a five-gallon tote."

Winter gelling woes

One problem with B100 is winter gelling. Henggeler acknowledges the problem and plans to offer several winter varieties soon, including B20 and B50 blends.

"Members know they need to be blending," Henggeler said. "They'll get the right amount of petroleum they want, then they'll top off here with the diesel they need so we can get to a B20 blend without having to go to a pump."

While the two men admit the "green" element to their membership, they see something much deeper than that for wanting to drive diesel vehicles powered by B100 fuel.

"I'm here because of pure economics," Henggeler said. "If there were American cars that had diesel engines, I'd be driving one of them, because America should take care of America's needs. There's the part of me that says America needs to sustain itself and get off the OPEC nipple. We, here, are running exactly what Rudolph Diesel produced for his engines and more people should, too."

The co-op's fueling center is open Tuesday and Thursdays 11 to 6. Friday, Saturday and Sunday 9 to 6. It is located in the alley behind 4209 Delaware St. in Denver. Look for the graffiti.

"We had a tagger from Albuquerque I know named Mike 3-60 do the work," Patterson said. "He lives in the (South) Valley. It's a very cool sign. We love it."

To become a member of the cooperative or for more information, call Patterson at (303) 256-8494 or (303) 241-2036 or e-mail Henggeler at chrishenggeler@speakeasy.net.

Larry Dreiling can be reached by phone at 785-628-1117 or by e-mail at ldreiling@aol.com.

9/10/07

	Web hpj.com

Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2008.  High Plains Publishers, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com