SMACS members tour Memphis plant

Ten members of the University of Tennessee at Martin Student Members of the American Chemical Society (SMACS) and two faculty members recently toured the Agrileum biodiesel plant in Memphis.
The plant is owned in part and operated by former UT Martin student Brandon Sheley.
The 17-acre project site is owned by Agrileum and has an operational 40-million gallon-per-year biodiesel plant and 10-million gallon-per-year feedstock pre-treatment facility. The plant also has two 250,000-gallon finished biodiesel storage tanks and three 80,000-gallon multi-feedstock storage tanks on site.
Biodiesel is a clean-burning alternative to hydrocarbon-based diesel fuel. It is manufactured from renewable, non-petroleum feedstock through the transesterification of high-grade feedstock (primarily soybean oil) or other lower-grade materials largely comprised of triglycerides, such as animal fats or used cooking oils. The process leaves behind two products — methyl esters (ME, the chemical name for biodiesel) and glycerin. In its pure 100 percent form (B100), biodiesel can be blended up to 20 percent with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend that can be used in diesel engines without modification.

Published in The Messenger 12.12.12

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