QUALITY ASSURANCE
Before he delivers to the customer,
Bourne takes steps to create a seamless
experience for all. A certificate of analysis is
presented from White Mountain Biodiesel
that ensures all parameters of the current
ASTM D6751 biodiesel specification
are met. He puts the B99 into a separate
12,000-gallon tank. It is then injection-
blended into the individual batches for
customers, which ensures complete mixing
of the B99 and the diesel fuel.
He points out cost is a factor with
any fuel, and the RFS has been effective
at making biodiesel more competitive.
“We’ll pay a premium for a renewable
product, but the everyday consumer has
a certain price point where they won’t pay
more,” he said. “The economics have kept
Bioheat competitive, and I like to think
our customers look at us in a more favor-
able light for doing it.”
Made from an increasingly diverse mix
of resources such as recycled cooking oil,
soybean oil and animal fats, biodiesel is the
first and only EPA-designated Advanced
Biofuel with commercial-scale production
nationwide. Last year the industry broke 1
billion gallons of annual volume.
“Biodiesel is living proof that Advanced
Biofuels are available today and that they
can reduce prices for consumers,” said Paul
Nazzaro, petroleum liaison for the National
Biodiesel Board. “The RFS is working as
intended to diversify our fuel supply and
stimulate new technologies and jobs.”
Biodiesel is produced in nearly every
state in the country and supports some
50,000 jobs.
For Kuhsel, the biodiesel road is not
one he regrets taking. He says the busi-
ness is thriving, although there is always
room for growth.
“I’d love to create more jobs and
decrease more greenhouse gases,” he said.
“I have no regrets. I’d do it all again.”
Continued from page 27 …
Biodiesel
28 • OIL
&
ENERGY
Peter Bourne, president of Bourne’s Energy
in Morrisville, Vermont, says the economics
of biodiesel have kept Bioheat competitive.
Device Improves Fuel Economy
by Changing Fuel’s Structure
UConn tests confirm savings of 9 percent
or more from Fitch Fuel Catalyst
A CONNECTICUT COMPANY IS MARKETING
a fuel modification device that can help
heating oil customers save 10 percent or
more on fuel bills by deriving more heat
from the fuel.
The Fitch Fuel Catalyst (FFC), created
and marketed by Advanced Power Systems
International, of Torrington, Conn., improves
fuel performance by changing the fuel’s
molecular structure to generate more heat.
Chris Wright, APSI’s Senior Vice
President, told
Oil & Energy
the Catalyst
uses a patented metal alloy to
reformulate the fuel as it travels
from the oil tank to the burner.
The Catalyst is a cylindrical
canister that resembles an oil
filter and is installed between
the oil filter and the burner.
As fuel passes through
the Catalyst, it comes in
contact with the specialized
metal alloys that temporarily
reformulate the fuel. This
reformulation causes the fuel
to burn hotter, which allows a
technician to reduce the nozzle
to a smaller size while main-
taining the same BTU output. The change
in nozzle demonstrated a reduction in fuel
consumption of 10 percent to 20 percent,
according to Wright.
Having encountered the expected
“snake oil” skepticism about the product,
APSI has collaborated with a research team
at the University of Connecticut to test and
validate the results. UConn’s Suib Research
Group and CT Next, a Connecticut gov-
ernmental agency, recently issued a report
stating in part, “In the field test of both
commercial and residential boilers the
research team found fuel consumption was
reduced by 9.1 percent to 20 percent.”
“Members of the research team spoke
with engineers who maintain large num-
bers of boilers for property management
companies, and reviewed their data over
multiple years tracking the performance of
the boilers when outfitted with Fitch Fuel
Catalyst units, the UConn report adds.
“They found an average reduction in fuel
consumption across all commercial instal-
lations of 14 percent.
New Products
“The research team noted that perhaps
the biggest indirect indicator of fuel com-
bustion savings from installation of the
Fitch Fuel Catalyst is that all of the cus-
tomers interviewed who are in a position to
order successive units for other installations
continue to purchase and use the Fitch Fuel
Catalyst units.”
Wright said the Catalyst, which is also
marketed under the brand name GOSaver,
can be installed on any oil-heated system by
a licensed technician with basic plumbing
skills. The metals in the device
do not leech into the fuel, and
there is no fuel additive com-
ponent. The Catalyst works on
biofuel blends as well as pure
petroleum products.
TheUConnreportdescribes
the process. “The inside of a
Fitch Fuel Catalyst consists of
a patented mixture of metallic
alloys that, when exposed
to fuels, causes a temporary
catalytic conversion that can
last for several days, depending
on a number of environmental
variables,” the report states.
“Specifically, the Fitch Fuel Catalyst can
extract hydrogen atoms from different
fuel components, thereby changing the
composition of the fuel. Oxygen is present
when the catalyst is exposed to the fuel and
oxygenated compounds that can burn more
efficiently are produced.”
In addition to reducing consumption,
the Catalyst also results in cleaner combus-
tion with less residue inside the combustion
chamber. “Verizon installed the Catalyst in
50 buildings in New York City, and they
have not cleaned a boiler in four years,”
Wright said.
Underwriters Laboratory (UL) cre-
ated a new category, Catalyst Reformer,
to accommodate the Fitch Fuel Catalyst
technology. All Fitch Fuel Catalyst heating
units reflect the UL listing on the label and
Wright states, “We are pleased to see our
catalyst technology is now widely accepted
in various different markets.”
For
more
information,
visit
or inquire at
.
Advanced Power Systems
International makes Fitch
Fuel Catalysts for a variety of
applications.
