Edmonds fire points to problem in regulating backyard biodiesel operations

Published 10:59 pm Wednesday, April 8, 2009

EDMONDS — More people throughout the region are making biodiesel fuel in their back yards, but a recent fire here showed home brewers may be violating the law and exposing themselves and their neighbors to danger.

In December, a two-alarm blaze burned down a home in the 9500 block of Forest Dell Drive. The homeowners were brewing up biodiesel in a shed attached to the garage.

The practice of making your own biodiesel is thriving throughout the state, said Annette Ademasu, an underground storage tank inspector with the state Department of Ecology. However, rules and regulations governing biodiesel production are still a bit unclear, she said.

“There are a lot of chemicals in this brew,” Ademasu said, “People are trying to be (do-it-yourselfers) and don’t realize the type of chemicals they are dealing with.”

Methanol, a wood alcohol used in antifreeze and as race fuel, and sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide are used in biodiesel production.

People who want to make biodiesel need a city permit if they want to do so in Edmonds, said Edmonds Fire Chief Tom Tomberg.

Most home brewers don’t bother asking for permission, said Lyle Rudensey, a Seattle-based biodiesel expert who teaches home brewers’ classes in the region.

Rudensey has taught about 800 people how to make biodiesel at home, but not everyone follows through. Many traveled from across the country for the lessons. People are usually interested because they want to be environmentally friendly and save money.

Soaring gas prices made David Henan, a cosmetic chemist from Monroe, decide to start making biodiesel. “We were all trapped by paying $4 to $5 a gallon. There was such an uproar at the pump,” he said.

The fire on Forest Dell Drive in Edmonds started in the shed that housed the biodiesel equipment. It burned into the garage, which stood only 18 inches away, Tomberg said.

The fire did so much damage that it was impossible to determine exactly what sparked the blaze. Fire investigators believe a heater used to prevent the brew from turning into gel in the cold may have malfunctioned, Tomberg said.

Edmonds fire officials were not aware of the biodiesel operation. They don’t know if others exist, in part because nobody has sought a permit.

Through the application process people learn what chemicals they legally can store, where they can keep them, and how much fuel they can produce, Tomberg said.

The homeowners on Forest Dell Drive didn’t have permits for manufacturing biodiesel or for the storage shed. However, the amounts of chemicals on the property did not exceed permissible limits, Tomberg said.

The family whose home burned declined to comment for this story. They said they didn’t know permits were required.

They would have been denied a permit if they had applied, Tomberg said, in part because the operation was in a residential area. He was quick to say, however, that wouldn’t automatically eliminate other proposals.

In Everett, it’s against the law to make biodiesel in residential neighborhoods, said city planning director Allen Giffen. Manufacturing biodiesel “really constitutes an industrial process,” he said.

To make biodiesel, you first filter and heat vegetable oil to about 140 degrees, explained Rudensey, the biodiesel expert. Pure oil or used cooking oil can be used. You add a mixture of methanol and either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide and mix it around for at least an hour. A chemical reaction causes the heavy part of the oil, glycerin, to break off and settle to the bottom, Rudensey explained.

Impurities are then removed from the mix.

The remaining glycerin can be composted. Some home brewers flush it down the drain. That’s where it becomes a problem, said Deanna Carveth, with the Snohomish County Public Works Solid Waste Division.*

Leftover chemicals such as sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, ought to be taken to the county’s hazardous waste facility, said Jim Gustafson, who supervises the site. The site now gets about 50 gallons of biodiesel waste from home-based production. The amount was much higher when gas prices topped $4, he said.

One of the biggest biodiesel safety concerns is storing and handling methanol. Processing 40 gallons of oil requires eight gallons of the flammable alcohol.

People can buy that much methanol with no questions asked, but a permit is needed for storing more than five gallons, Carveth said.

Some home brewers of biodiesel learned the process through Web sites and may not understand all safety concerns. “If managed well, it can be done safely,” Carveth said. “People who want to make biodiesel should step up and manage their process properly and not be a danger to themselves or others.”

Snohomish County supports the use of biodiesel, Carveth said. She acknowledged that enforcement remains an issue but said officials haven’t imposed many regulations.

Freedom to do what you want in your own home only applies when your actions don’t threaten others, said Tomberg, the Edmonds fire chief.

He said he hopes people learn from the fire on Forest Dell Drive.

*Correction, April 8, 2009: This article originally reported the incorrect employer of Deanna Carveth.