Just days after Snohomish County finished constructing its new $1.25 million Cathcart Dryer Facility near Snohomish on Sept. 18, Peter Bartelheimer began trucking in the first of 400 acres of seed to be dried and crushed on its way to being refined into an alternative fuel source.
Bartelheimer has delivered over 81 tons of mustard seed so far, which will be sold to McKay Seed Company in eastern Washington for the commodity market, as well as over 56 tons of canola .
“We’ve been involved from get go,” said Bartelheimer. “Last year we planted about 50 acres of canola, and this year we came closer to 200 acres. We’re looking forward to being able to develop a new crop for the area.”
The past 20 years have been a struggle for farmers in the Snohomish River Valley, he said, because of dairy and food processors relocating and contracting elsewhere.
“A lot of land was unused, because there wasn’t much opportunity to raise crops there,” said Bartelheimer. “Anytime you can introduce a new crop to the area, and there’s a possibility that it will do well and that you’ll make a profit, it’s good for the ag community. We’re very fortunate that we have the new dryer.”
The Cathcart Dryer Facility is a result of almost four years of collaboration between county government and the farming community to develop new markets for locally-grown products, while at the same time reducing the county’s dependence on foreign oil and decreasing petroleum-based diesel emissions. It is part of Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon’s 2004 Agriculture Initiative, which initially provided funds worth an estimated $80,000 to develop the project and plant test crops over two years for biofuel production. These trials were successful in producing high yields of rapeseed (commonly referred to as canola).
“This is not how government traditionally runs things,” said Reardon. “Convincing decision makers that this was the right way to go, that it could be done, was where the lion’s share of the work went.”
County goals for self efficiency
By 2014, the county hopes to grow enough seeds to produce 240,000 gallons of biodiesel to power the diesel portion of its fleet of approximately 1,300 trucks, automobiles and heavy equipment using a B-40 (40 percent biofuel, 60 percent biodiesel) blend of locally-grown fuel pumped from three bio-diesel stations made available for county fleet use.
“Already we’ve seen great interest from local farmers who need these new crops,” said Reardon. “I have no doubt we’ll reach our goal in terms of locally produced biofuel for our fleet. A lot of jurisdictions talk about being diverse and meeting environmental standards. We’re actually doing it, with great success and cost efficiency.”
As of May, Fleet Manager Allen M. Mitchell said the county uses an annual equivalent of 72,000 gallons of B-20 (a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petrol diesel) in its vehicles and equipment, provided by two pumping stations. The interim goal is to achieve 120,000 gallons of B-20 by 2010, requiring the installation of a third station.
No special equipment is required to use biodiesel, said Mitchell, except for cold weather additives and improved fuel pump filtration. According to Deanna Carveth, project specialist for the Snohomish County Biofuel Initiative, vehicles that use biodiesel can extend the oil change interval to 11,000 miles, and it can extend the life of a vehicle a full year.
“It also creates a safer environment for the workers,” said Carveth. “The savings amount to something like $1 million over five years for the county in terms of its fleet costs.”
New facility represents a large investment
The dryer facility was designed to operate with minimal supervision. Project costs budgeted with solid waste funds totaling $409,800 include $67,566 for the facility’s dryer; $232,219 for silos, elevators, augers, motors, screens and related assembly pieces; $72,871 for engineer design consultants; $20,000 for air quality testing; and $17,144 in electrical work.
Federal Department of Energy earmarks totaling $344,400 include $20,000 for engineering design consultants; $116,000 for electrical, assembly and mechanical work; $179,400 for scales and an access road leading to the facility; and $20,000 for a biodiesel fuel demonstration unit. A total of $9,000 of that money will be added to a $15,000 USDA grant recently awarded to Northwest Coop Development Center in Olympia to create a bio fuel buyer’s cooperative. Snohomish County Agriculture Coordinator Ryan Hembree said farmers will own and operate the coop without any involvement by the county.
Landfill gas will provide a decade of energy
One of the most unique aspects of the Cathcart Drying Facility is its power source. Methane gas is piped in from a sealed county landfill across an internal road. While most of the gas is burned off, a portion of it is now being used to power a 15-ton continuous flow batch dryer consisting of four burners and two steel panels. The seed is caught between the panels, and gives off a roasted scent as moisture levels are reduced. The facility is equipped to handle a wide range of seed varieties, including mustard, wheat, corn and sunflower.
“The gas was already being produced,” said Hembree. “It’s available, it’s clean, and now it’s being put to a better use.”
The dryer uses about a quarter of the total energy available for the operation, said Carveth, and it can process up to 15 tons of seed per hour.
“You have to dry the seed within 12-24 hours, because it’s a very strong germinator and it wants to turn into new plants.” She said. “If it sprouts, it isn’t good for anything. It starts mildewing and smells like cabbage. It can decay amazingly fast.”
Utilizing the landfill’s methane will dramatically reduce operation costs, said county officials.
“Last year, we delivered seed to be dried and crushed in Sunnyside, and it cost us about $900 a load for 25 tons,” said Carveth. “That really extracts your profit.”
According to county estimates, there is enough gas trapped in the landfill to last approximately 10 years. The project’s master plan calls for the creation of a grower’s cooperative using department and energy earmark funds, said Carveth. After 10 years have passed, the facility can be sold and moved offsite piece by piece. If an agreement can be reached between the cooperative and the county, she said the facility could stay where it is now, with natural gas or propane pumped used to power the dryer.
Project took shape as harvest drew near
A prominent feature of the facility is its elevator, which is used to lift seed from the grain cleaner to one of two galvanized mild steel silos designated for storing wet seed waiting to be delivered by a conveyor belt to the dryer. The facility’s six silos are capable of storing a combined total of 356 tons of seed.
The county had ordered two new elevators delivered from a manufacturer in Oregon, but as the seed harvest grew closer, the manufacturer said it could not build the elevators in time. Scrambling to find a solution, Carveth found old unused elevator in Stanwood.
“It was found lying horizontal in the back field of the Wolfkill feed mill, completely rusted out,” she said. “We purchased it from them and had it refurbished by Superior Systems in Mount Vernon over Labor Day weekend. We started installation of the elevator on the 8th (of September). We had crop here on the 11th.”
“Our road crews fitted it in between other projects, and our award-winning bridge crew did all the concrete work,” Carveth added. “They really made the difference, and it’s why this project finished on time. Everyone pitched in to get it all done”
The county is awaiting delivery of a second shorter elevator that will allow facility operators to run the dryer continuously, and to load or unload trucks concurrently, she said.
This little seed went to market…
With most of the facility’s components installed and operating, project officials are now deciding on a location for a seed crusher purchased using a $500,000 state Energy Freedom Funds grant, as well as $5,000 in project dollars, to extract the oil used that will be used to produce biodiesel. The crusher is capable of processing 24 tons of seed per day. A centrifuge system will bind any gums in the oil with a mild acid solution, making the oil easier to be refined.
“We are using a press that breaks down the cellular structure of the seed to get the most oil out, creating ‘gums’ or broken down cell walls,” said Carveth. “These gums would go through the fuel manufacture process as gums in the fuel and ‘gum up’ the engine. The mild acid binds to the cellular material or gums and moves the material cleanly through the oil to fall out as lecithin – a protein that is added to various food products.”
Officials hope to find a location for the crusher before the end of the year, so it can be used to process dried seed that is collecting in the facility’s silos. Stanwood has been considered as a possible location for the crusher, however, officials said a no-grow zone for canola in that area makes Monroe a more likely choice.
They’re concerned canola seed could mix with local cabbage crops, essentially ruining them for use in domestic and foreign markets that have strict regulations. Fines resulting from such damage are also a large concern, said Carveth. Quarantine measures required to transport canola through this zone would place additional strain on the project’s operation costs.
“If the canola cross-pollinates with the cabbage, the whole cabbage crop is rejected, because a lot of the crop goes overseas to countries where GMOs [genetically modified organisms] are banned,” said Merritt Wolfkill, owner of Monroe-based Wolfkill Feed &Fertilizer, Inc.
Merritt’s company joined together with Whole Energy, Inc. in Bellingham to create a new company to operate the new drying facility. As a limited liability company, they will buy seed crops from area farms and pay a fee to the county for use of the facility. After batches of seed are dried and crushed, Whole Energy will send the extracted oil to its Anacortes refinery to make biodiesel for the county and others. The fuel will be sold to and distributed by Petro Card Commercial Fueling, also known as Pacific Pride. Wolfkill will purchase the remaining seed meal to produce alternative feeds that will be sold to livestock owners.
“This is all first generation,” said Whole Energy Director of Finance Jeffrey Westcott. “We don’t know what the next generation is going to be. Whole energy is looking into all kinds of feedstock made from canola and soy that’s much more efficient than what is out there now.”
Merritt said their cooperative is planning to apply for a USDA grant to fund a study on field refuse in search of new ideas for alternatives energy.
“After you harvest your crop, there’s a lot of junk left in the field,” said Westcott. “We’re talking about taking that refuse and palletizing it for wood fire stoves. That way, you’re getting two fuels off of one crop. I think wood pellets are the most efficient use of fuel. I see tremendous potential there.”
The companies are trying to utilize every piece of material involved in the facility’s process, they said, down to the refuse collected from the seed cleaner on its way to the drier.
“It’s been an amazing process, collaborative all the way,” said Ryan Hembree, agriculture coordinator for Snohomish County. “It’s part of a new future. It’s not huge; it’s on a manageable scale and it’s something farmers and the community can benefit from as well.”
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