As fuel prices continue to mount, many area farmers, loggers and others in agribusiness have started hunting ways to make transportation and agricultural uses for fuel more economical — that includes the production of biofuels.

The University of Georgia Extension program in Lowndes County hosted their first meeting Thursday evening on the topic, and a crowd of approximately 80 farmers, agriculture officials and others interested in the latest information attended.

Dan Gellar, a member of the UGA engineering department faculty who has researched biofuels for more than 12 years, made the presentation.

Local farmers may be able to add a different meaning to the term “home brew” if Gellar’s hypothesis is correct; they’ll be able to make biofuels at home.

Gellar was so certain of his findings that he said he and his research team will be training UGA extension agents around the state in the coming months to teach local producers how to safely begin home-based processes for biofuel production.

“Biodiesel has true scale-ability,” Gellar said. “It can be made in a multi-million-gallon tank or in a two-liter bottle in a kitchen if done carefully. It’s really easy to make biodiesel. To make it right is really hard.”

Gellar shared the benefits and pitfalls associated with production of biofuels at the local level, and explained the chemical processes for making biodiesel.

He raked over relative details such as the importance of using specific oils and fats such as poultry fat, how to breakdown the fat into simple fats using lye as a catalyst, and methanol (a highly toxic additive) for processing the fats and more.

But, Gellar didn’t side-swipe the safety issue. He stressed safety in production.

“When produced safely and correctly, biodiesel is more efficient, burns cleaner and burns more of the total product than petroleum,” he said.

Producers interested in manufacturing their own biodiesel for agricultural or personal use in farm, logging equipment, or other uses must have a unit that heats the fat to 150 degrees (F), then add lye and methanol to develop the fuel.

The processing unit must have appropriate ventilation to move the methanol gas out into the air rather than into the barn or building away from possible inhalation by humans, Gellar explained.

Methanol gases breathed in cause immediate and permanent brain damage, he warned.

If biodiesel is being produced in small quantities and used strictly on the farm, no licensing was really needed. If it is being produced for resale, a license is a must, Gellar said.

He noted that there are many Web sites on the Internet selling biofuel manufacturing kits. Prices can range from $5,000 to $25,000.

Get a good kit that will not require a huge investment, Gellar said.

Gellar warned growers who hope to use biofuels in their own equipment to be certain of the type of fuel lines in tractors and other equipment.

“If the saturated fats are not processed correctly, they will clog engines and produce heavy smoke,” he said. “In older engines it is imperative to replace rubber fuel lines with metal to prevent damage.”

Gellar urged those interested to read and understand the manufacturer’s warranty on new diesel engines as well.

“Even newer engines built in 2007 or later must have correct federal standards in place in order to use biodiesel without damage,” he said.

Gellar’s presentation included a plethora of information on the sources of oils best grown in this area for biofuel usage, including vegetable, soy, cotton, peanut, canola, rapeseed and the camelina trees, which all have good to high oil content.

Use of virgin oils in the processing of biofuel is best, Gellar said, and noted that use of oils from restaurants requires filtering of the water before processing.

All of these products have drawbacks, Gellar said, “There is no perfect product able to be grown yet to process the biofuels as efficiently and cost effectively as needed,” he said.

Greg Hall, a local farmer, is currently growing a high oil content peanut variety suited for biodiesel production in cooperation with the National Peanut Lab in Dawson. Hall is producing a crop that may one day produce oil he can use in his own farming equipment.

Wayne Warren of Langdale Farms is also working on this initiative along with Langdale Fuels.

Gellar somewhat covered the subject of ethanol, which has been around for more than 200 years and is associated with the birth of NASCAR. Within the next year there will be 17 ethanol pumps available up and down I-75 in Georgia, Gellar said.

Two already are in use in middle Georgia. Current manufacturers, including the corn-based ethanol plant in Camilla, should be on-line by September; a wood based plant in Soperton and other facilities will be on-line in the near future, Gellar said.

Farm Bureau President George Biles requested attendees to write their congressmen and women about the high fuel prices.

Growers stayed late into the evening talking to Gellar and expressing their desire for future meetings on the subject.

The Lowndes County Extension Office, Farm Bureau and Young Farmers all supported Thursday’s program.

The gathering was the result of a request by Biles to the Lowndes extension office for the latest news about innovative alternative fuels available from UGA’s College of Agricultural and Biological Engineering department.

Sponsored by the Farm Bureau, the gathering was coordinated by UGA Extension agents Jake Price and Fort Valley Extension Agent Calvin Willis. Lanier County agent Elvin Andrews assisted.

--Melinda Miller is interim Lowndes County Extension 4-H agent who is serving in the position formerly held by long-time agent Mickey Fourakers, who recently retired.