Maine Standard Biofuels has a unique technique to bring cleaner fuel and heat to Maine
By Trevor McNally
Who would have thought that fried food could be good for you? It can be, but not necessarily in the way that you’re thinking. Maine Standard Biofuels, based in Portland, created a method for turning used cooking oil into clean burning fuel for both vehicles and homes.
“We take used cooking oil from restaurants and homes to produce our fuel right here in Portland, Maine. We do collect oil out of state, but it all comes back here to stimulate the Maine economy,” says Kayla Tilton, head of Outreach and Data for MSB.
MSB offers replacements for both petroleum diesel and traditional #2 heating oil. And the greatest thing about these cleaner burning replacements is that there’s absolutely no conversion required for them to work. These replacements are called Bio20 and Bio99.
“Bio20 Home Heating Fuel is safe in home heating systems with no conversions or modifications, as long as it runs traditional #2 home heating oil,” Tilton says. “Some vehicles can run on a Bio99 blend with no problems, but most OEM’s indicate that Bio20 is safe. We run our entire fleet on Bio99 when the weather is right – usually April through November.”
In addition to MSB’s own fleet, they also fuel Casco Bay Lines with Bio20. “We love working with local businesses that support the Maine economy,” Tilton says. So next time you take the ferry out to any of the Casco Bay islands, you’ll be riding on a ship powered by this cleaner burning fuel source.
But how much cleaner is it, really? Very. According to Tilton, “biodiesel runs about 11% more efficient than traditional diesel fuel, and will burn with a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions.”
“MSB’s home heating oil customers last season alone reduced CO2 emissions by more than 3.9 million pounds,” she says. With the environment such as it is today, MSB’s focus on clean, renewable energy is of paramount importance.
And on top of bioheat and biodiesel, MSB also offers an array of biobased products from cleaning supplies to tiki-torch fuel. The recycling process at their biorefinery generates near-zero waste, according to their website.
To learn more about Maine Standard Biofuels, visit their company listing on the Maine Mechanical Contractors Directory at:
Or their website at: