Top 10 Women of BioFuels
Published on January 17th, 2012 by CleanTechies Guest Author

As the founder of the Bay Area networking group, Women In Cleantech & Sustainability, I am keenly interested in learning about who the media thinks as being the most influential women in the field. However, it feels like every top ten list for women in Cleantech always lists the same lovely ladies. This is not to say that the women are not contributing massively to the effort of clean technology, they are. And there are so many more women in the field!

Clean technology is ever-changing, with new innovators, particularly among women, making their mark in a traditionally male-dominated field. In this occasional series, we shine the spotlight on the most savvy and accomplished women pioneers in cleantech and sustainability. Some are building their own start-ups, others are climbing the ranks of high-profile companies, and still others are investors. Whether they are on the front lines or behind the scenes, they inspire us to keep striving forward, to break the ever existent glass ceiling, and change how the world lives.

As always we are open to your suggestions of who you feel are the female game-changers. Who do you think should be on the list?

*Special thanks to Shawn Lesser of Watershed Capital for his support and mentorship for this series.

1. Virginia Klausmeier, CEO, Sylvatex

Quite possibly the youngest CEO in the biofuel/Green chemistry industry, Virginia Klausmeier has spent the past five years developing the Sylvatex fuel technology with her late father, Dr. William Klausmeier. Sylvatex is currently commercializing a proprietary renewable fuel for the US diesel and biodiesel markets. The company has won numerous awards at industry conferences and venture funding competitions, including Silicon Valley LAUNCH and PortTechLA, as well as funding and support through San Francisco’s Greenstart accelerator program. Virginia earned her B.S in Chemistry and Physiology and M.S. in Biomechanics at the University of Oregon and has is also active in San Francisco’s BioDiesel Task force and Biodiesel Coop.

2. Kef Kasdin, CEO, Proterro BioFuels

Kef Kasdin is CEO of Proterro, a venture-backed start-up located in Princeton, New Jersey. It develops non-plant-based, noncellulosic fermentation-ready sugar feedstock, which enables the economical and scalable production of biofuels and chemicals. The company, which is transitioning from discovery to the engineering phase, has functioning prototype sucrose-producing organisms and a working model bioreactor system. Proterro’s Protose sugar is a sustainable, inexpensive, geoflexible, feedstock that can be used to produce a variety of commercial scale fuels and chemicals through standard industrial fermentation methods. Before Proterro, Kef spent nine years at 3Com Corp, including managing $1B division. She also spent 10 years as venture capitalist, and is general partner/cofounder of Battelle Ventures and affiliate Innovation Valley Partners, with company-creation, lab-spinout, and energy-market expertise.

3. Lissa Morgenthaler-Jones, CEO and Co-Founder, LiveFuels

Lissa Morgenthalter-Jones leads strategic planning and corporate development for the LiveFuels, a company with the goal of developing the most efficient and scalable algae-based biofuel process. Since 1990, she has also specialized in biotechnology investing since 1990. After learning about turning algae and animal waste into fuel, she started her own clean energy venture capital fund in 2004. She raised $10 million from the Quercus Trust and individual investors in May 2007. To date, her company has established pilot operations across the U.S., generated extensive intellectual property, and is well on its way to producing an economically feasible and sustainable algal fuel.

4. K’ Lynne Johnson, CEO, Elevance Renewable Sciences

K’Lynne is leading Illinois based Elevance, with her 19 years of experience in the oil and petrochemicals industry (Amoco, BP and Innovene). The company is striving to be the first to successfully bridge the renewables and chemicals industries. With its Nobel-prize winning technology the company transforms natural plant-based oils, like soybean, rapeseed (canola), palm, corn, or algae, into specialty high-performance, cost-effective commercial products, such as advanced biofuels, deterents and cleaners, personal care products, and others.

5. Jennifer Case, co-founder and CEO, New Leaf Biofuel

In 2010, co-founder Jennifer Case took the helm at New Leaf Biofuel as CEO. She has helped grow the company to 24 employees and increase its customer base, including US Navy, the City of Chula Vista, Allied Waste, and dozens of other commercial and municipal fleets in Southern California. Jennifer Case obtained a BA in Political Science from UC San Diego, and a law degree from Pepperdine University. In her legal practice, Jennifer represented individuals, business and public entity clients in such areas as general business litigation, real estate, construction and technology. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Case was an administrator of a start-up fiber optics company in the Silicon Valley.

6. Pamela R. Contag, Ph.D, microbiologist, Founder of Xenogen Corp and Cobalt Biofuels

Cobalt Technologies, located in Mountain View, CA, is leading the transportation industry for cleaner, more efficient renewable fuels. It is a venture-backed company that produces biobutanol from renewable feedstock. Xenogen Corp, located in Alameda, CA, was founded in 1998, and is a leader in the field of biophotonic imaging. Pamela R. Contag, Ph.D., is a microbiologist who has been called a “serial entrepreneur,” having founded two biotech and two biofuel startups. She is the founder of Xenogen Corp. and Cobalt Biofuels, Inc. She is also the founder and CEO of Cygnet Biofuels and ConcentRX, Inc., a biotechnology company developing a unique cancer therapy. She founded Xenogen Corporation with two colleagues while at Stanford University, where they invented in vivo biophotonic imaging. Pamela has filed a patent on a process she developed that utilizes algae to produce polysaccharides that can be easily converted to alcohol fuels or to biolipids, and then to biodiesel. She was also named one of the “Top 25 Women in Small Business” by Fortune Magazine.

7. Cynthia (CJ) Warner, President, of Sapphire Energy

Cynthia (C.J.) Warner joined Sapphire Energy in February 2009 as President. She brings more than 27 years of experience in the energy, refining and transportation industries. At Sapphire Energy, Ms. Warner is tasked with driving the company’s initiative to transition technology trials and research into commercial-scale crude oil operations. Using only sunlight, CO2 and non-potable water, Sapphire Energy is one of the world’s largest leaders in algae-based crude oil. A chemical engineer by training and one of the very few senior women in the oil and gas industry, CJ served as an executive with energy industry giants British Petroleum, Amoco Oil Company and UOP. CJ is currently a member of the National Petroleum Council. She is a featured leader in the 2008 book ‘Becoming a Resonant Leader: Develop Your Emotional Intelligence′ (Harvard Business School Press). CJ has a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Illinois Institute of Technology.

8. Dr. Claire Kinlaw, Lead Product Development, TerViva BioEnergy

Claire is an MBA-trained scientist and currently Project Lead for TerViva BioEnergy, a startup commercializing the high oil seed tree pongamia in the US as a feedstock for biodiesel refining. Pongamia pinnata, a nitrogen fixing tree native to India that grows on marginal soils. TerVia is working to commercialize this tree as a renewable source of diesel fuel, planting across the southern USA on pasturelands and other lands not used for food production. Claire leads the R&D effort to improve the underlying asset, the tree for even greater, more predictable oil production and good growth characteristics in US locations. Prior to joining TerViva in 2010, Claire developed commercial strategies for biotechnology startups and small businesses, negotiated and managed research and business agreements, directed the USDA Institute of Forest Genetics, and led life science research projects with molecular genetics and genomic science focus. Claire holds an MBA from UC Berkeley, a PhD in biochemistry from Rice University, and a BA in chemistry from the University of Virginia.

9. Nicole Kennard, co-founder and former CEO, New Leaf Biofuel

Nicole Kennard founded New Leaf Biofuel in 2006 with four co-founders, with the aim to be the biggest provider of biodiesel in San Diego County, a dream that involves trucking tons of used fryer grease from 900 area restaurants to New Leaf’s San Diego processing facility and converting it into B99 (99 percent biodiesel fuel), which is then purchased by government and business fleets across the county, such as Sun Diego Charter Co and C & D Towing, and the Regional Transportation Center, San Diego’s only alternative fueling station. She built the company to 10 employees and a company capacity to produce 140,000 gallons of fuel a month. Nicole has BA in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from UC San Diego and an MS in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on Renewable Energy from San Diego State University. Formerly, Nicole was the Coordinator of the Department of Energy’s Industrial Assessment Center (IAC), located at San Diego State University. She is also a renewable energy adviser and biodiesel consultant for the San Diego City School District and a co-founder of the Biofuels Action and Awareness Network, a student action group at UCSD focused on community outreach and education.

10. Susan B. Leschine, Founder and Chief Scientist, SunEthanol

Susan Leschine founded and was the Chief Scientist of SunEthanol, now QTeros. Currently, Dr. Leschine is a senior faculty member in the Microbiology Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. Leschine is internationally-known as an authority on the biology and diversity of cellulose-digesting microbes. Her research formed the basis for SunEthanol’s Q Microbe biodigesting technology.

Article by Lisa Ann Pinkerton, founder of Women In Cleantech & Sustainability, a networking and career development group dedicated to the advancement of women in various environmental technology sectors. She is also Founder and President of Technica Communications, where she handles public relations and marketing strategies for cleantech and biotech companies. Lisa Ann is a former award-winning broadcast journalist who reported for National Public Radio, PBS Television, WPXI-NBC, American Public Media, and Free Speech TV.

It may not be the sexiest alternative fuel source, if fuel can be sexy, but it’s making the biggest impact the soonest. Aol’s Translogic came down to sunny San Diego to check us out, and get hip to the greener fuel source we’re pumping out down here to make sure we have that sun, sand, and fun for many years to come. Check it out:

How Chula Vista, California Is Turning Cooking Oil Into Savings
Submitted by John Young on January 19, 2011 – 2:21pm

Anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant probably shudders at the mention of having to dispose of used cooking oil. While not much can be done to eliminate this unpleasant kitchen task, what’s changing is how that oil can be recycled to help reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Used cooking oil is a key (and very low cost) ingredient in the production of biodiesel fuel. And now, thanks to an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, the City of Chula Vista, CA has installed a new 10,000 gallon biodiesel fuel tank to facilitate the conversion of over 125 heavy-duty fleet vehicles to biodiesel which will lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve local air quality.

The conversion will save the city from having to purchase an estimated 147,000 gallons of diesel fuel every year, (the equivalent of over 19 tractor-trailer tankers.)

The new biodiesel infrastructure is also creating an opportunity for the city to collaborate with local haulers and processors of restaurant grease and waste vegetable oil. When fully operational, the city’s biodiesel operation will be accessible to other public agencies and school districts.

John Young is a Project Officer at the Oak Ridge Field Office.

By Peggy Peattie,

Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 3:16 p.m.

(link to original article at the bottom of page)

Efren Montoya of New Leaf Biofuel collects used cooking oil to be converted into biodiesel at the company’s Barrio Logan facility. It will fuel large diesel trucks.

The tinge of guilt some feel when placing an order for a large fries just got a little easier to handle — now you may be helping the environment.

New Leaf Biofuel, based in Barrio Logan, collects used cooking oil from nearly 1,000 local restaurants and converts it to biodiesel. It sells that to distributors who market the fuel to customers running fleets of diesel trucks, including the Allied Waste fleet of trash and recycling trucks in Chula Vista and C&D Towing in Barrio Logan. Allied Waste has been using biodiesel since 1993.

“It’s very cool that we take a waste product, refine it, put it in our trucks and, in many cases, the same restaurants that generate the waste oil, we pick up their waste or recycling,” said Allied’s division manager Steve Miesen. “We’re supporting a local business, so we’re making jobs. Every gallon is fuel that’s not being imported, which helps our trade deficit.”

Simply put, Friday’s fried chicken oil could be fueling the trucks that pick up Chula Vista’s trash sometime the next week.

New Leaf Biofuel CEO Jennifer Case said New Leaf started with an old GMC truck and initially didn’t have the capability to process oil into biodiesel. Government grants have helped along the way. A $590,000 state grant and a related $590,000 loan from the City of San Diego’s Technology Department helped New Leaf build its processing plant on Newton Avenue in 2008.

New Leaf Biofuel collects and processes about 30,000-40,000 gallons of waste oil per month from local restaurants.

Now the company has 20 employees and is collecting and processing between 30,000-40,000 gallons of waste oil per month from local restaurants. No money changes hands in that recycling. But New Leaf must purchase an additional 60,000-70,000 gallons monthly from distributors to meet demand for biodiesel.

New Leaf is planning an expansion that would allow it to more than double output to 2.5 million gallons a year in 2011. This month, the City of Chula Vista signed on to use New Leaf Biofuel for fleet vehicles.

While New Leaf is busy, the biofuel industry has suffered some setbacks. Biodiesel companies lost a federal tax incentive at the end of 2009, so the first quarter of 2010 saw many firms shut down.

New Leaf was aided by a new federal mandate requiring importers or producers of fossil fuels to purchase renewable fuel credits granted to alternative fuel companies. The monetary value of those credits partially offset the lost tax credits and that has made enough difference to allow New Leaf to continue operating.

“People are afraid of change. They resist change,” said Case. “The best thing a potential consumer of biodiesel can do is to find a manufacturer who is strict about control. We are trying to make a product that is going to be accepted in the marketplace. Therefore we have to be really strict about our quality standards. If everybody else who makes biodiesel did the same thing, we would be able to go into the next level and become a fuel that people used commonly and that states, cities and commercial fleets were confident that it wasn’t going to harm their engine.”

New Leaf Biofuel, founded in 2006, produces about 1 million gallons of biodiesel annually. The company is planning an expansion to allow more than doubling of fuel output.

California currently classifies biodiesel as a development fuel and restricts sales to centrally fueled fleets or to individuals through co-ops or biodiesel users’ groups. There are usually no membership costs or dues, but the group is required to warn users in writing of potential risks associated with a developmental fuel.

Case is hoping car manufacturers will start producing more passenger vehicles that run on diesel. Biodiesel is a “drop-in technology,” meaning engines that traditionally run on diesel need no alteration to use the fuel. Case says cars run cleaner and quieter on biodiesel and the emissions are better. She said the mileage is the same as with using regular diesel or gasoline.

More from New Leaf Biofuel CEO Jennifer Case:

Q: Is there another biofuel company in or near San Diego that NewLeaf competes with?

A: NewLeaf’s real competition is for the feedstock (the used cooking oil), and those competitors are mostly companies that collect the oil to sell it on the open market. The closest biodiesel company — one that collects and produces fuel — is in Riverside County.

Q: Who is the consumer?

A: The consumers of biodiesel are companies or government departments that operate fleets of diesel vehicles, including trash/recycling trucks (Allied Waste), tow trucks (C & D Towing), vehicles that deliver products (Specialty Produce & Stone Brewing), city vehicles and some individuals who own vehicles with a diesel engine (for example, the Volkswagen TDIs or the 1970s/1980s Mercedes)

Q: Is there growth potential? What is the financial outlook?

A: There is definite growth potential in light of the general consumer awareness of global warming and the danger of reliance on foreign oil imports. There is also a federal mandate called the Renewable Fuel Standard that came in to effect in July requiring importers and producers of fossil fuels to blend biodiesel into their fuel supply. In 2010, the RFS required 650 million gallons of biodiesel and in 2011 the mandate increases to 800 million gallons. In addition, new 2011 California law requires the carbon intensity of transportation fuels be reduced by 10 percent by 2020. This can be accomplished by using a blend of biodiesel.

Q: When will it become commercially available for the individual consumer?

A: The fuel is available for the individual consumer currently. However, there is not a huge demand yet due to the limited number of diesel passenger vehicles.

(Pearson Fuels has a station at 4067 El Cajon Blvd. in San Diego. Individuals can join a biodiesel users’ group at the station or through pearsonfuels.com)

View Original Article here

New Leaf Biofuel offers bulk biodiesel (all blends) and glycerin. Please call today for additional information: 619.236.8500

New Leaf biodiesel (b20) for individual purchase is available through Pearson Fuels fuel stations.

What is biodiesel?

Biodiesel is an alternative renewable fuel made from plant and animal oils that is used in diesel engines. It has been shown to reduce emissions by 75% on average compared to petroleum diesel.

In 1900, Rudolf Diesel demonstrated his compression ignition engine at the World’s Exhibition in Paris. In that prototype engine he used peanut oil, the first biodiesel. Vegetable oils were used until the 1920′s when an alteration was made to the engine enabling it to use a residue of petroleum diesel. Although the diesel engine gained worldwide acceptance, biodiesel did not. With superior price, availability, and government subsidies, petroleum diesel quickly became the fuel of choice for the diesel engine. Now increasing concerns about the potential of global climate change, declining air and water quality, and serious human health concerns are inspiring the development of biodiesel, as a renewable, cleaner burning diesel alternative.

Chemistry

Biodiesel comes from chemically altered vegetable oils and animal fats. This chemical process known as transesterification reduces the viscosity of the oils so that it can be used in engines with no modifications. Biodiesel can be made from Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO), which comes from fryers at your local restaurant. WVO is a waste product that may find its way into landfill or city drains.  New Leaf’s focus is to turn this waste product into a valuable local resource that will improve San Diego’s environment and keep it out of the landfills and sewers.

Who can use biodiesel?

Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with little or no modification. Vehicles manufactured before 1994 may have natural rubber fuel lines and seals, which should be replaced prior to use. Since biodiesel has excellent solvent properties it will clean your fuel system by removing deposits left by petroleum diesel. This cleaning action can cause the fuel filter to become plugged, so it is advised to have a spare fuel filter handy for the first few weeks after switching to biodiesel, and replacing the fuel filter after the first month. With today’s diesel fuel injection systems designed to run on the thinner viscosity petroleum diesel, modifications to the fuel system would be necessary to run on Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO).

Advantages of Using Biodiesel

Sulfur in petroleum diesel provides lubrication to the fuel system components. Sulfur emissions are related to acid rain and recently sulfur has been removed from petroleum diesel because of the pollution problem. Adding 1% biodiesel completely restores the lubrication lost by removing sulfur from diesel and increases the life of the engine.

Biodiesel is nontoxic and poses little or no health risk to humans.  Vehicles that run on biodiesel emit less sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (soot), carbon dioxide (CO2), with fewer heavy Hydrocarbons (HC) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH).  Biodiesel does not contain sulfur so it will not contribute to sulfur dioxide emissions that result in acid rain.  Tests have shown that the cancer-causing potential of particulate matter from pure biodiesel is about 94% less than that of regular diesel.

Biodiesel Benefits

• Maintenance Savings
• Cleaner engine burn due to solvency attribute of biodiesel
• Lubricity properties extend engine life
• Seamless Integration
• Similar fuel consumption, horsepower, and torque as diesel fuel
• Little or no modification necessary
• Safer Handling
• Higher flash point (the point at which fuel ignites)
• Non-toxic
• Biodegradable

Emissions Reduction

• Reduces greenhouse gases
• Meets EPAct credits
• No sulfur (causes acid rain)
• No aromatics (suspected cancer causing)
• Reduces smog and ozone
• Reduces health risks

Energy Security

• Renewable resource
• Reduces reliance on foreign oil
• Fuel cost stability
• Improves local economy

NEW LEAF BIOFUEL provides Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) collection as well as grease trap cleaning services to Southern California restaurants.

NEW LEAF WASTE OIL COLLECTION:

Free of charge

Professional and dependable

Utilizing spill-resistant technology and equipment

Offering periodic oil tank replacement

Encouraging green program participation

NEW LEAF GREASE TRAP CLEANING:

Competitively priced

Complete removal of food, grease and water from the trap

Scraping of trap walls

Cleaning of the sample box

Inspection of trap and inlet/outlet pipes for functionality

Maintenance of cleaning record for city inspections

THE NEW LEAF DIFFERENCE:

Working with local restaurants

Providing fuel for local fleets

Cleaner air quality for San Diego

Partnering with local schools, universities, and other organizations to educate the public

Click HERE to sign up today.

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Biodiesel production is the act of producing the biofuel, biodiesel, through either transesterification or alcoholysis. The process involves reacting vegetable oils or animal fats catalytically with a short-chain aliphatic alcohols (typically methanol or ethanol).

The major steps required to synthesize biodiesel are as follows:

Feedstock pretreatment

If waste vegetable oil (WVO) is used, it is filtered to remove dirt, charred food, and other non-oil material often found. Water is removed because its presence causes the triglycerides to hydrolyze, giving salts of the fatty acids (soaps) instead of undergoing transesterification to give biodiesel.

Determination and treatment of free fatty acids

A sample of the cleaned feedstock oil is titrated with a standardized base solution in order to determine the concentration of free fatty acids (carboxylic acids) present in the waste vegetable oil sample. These acids are then either esterified into biodiesel, esterified into bound glycerides, or removed, typically through neutralization.

Reactions

While adding the base, a slight excess is factored in to provide the catalyst for the transesterification. The calculated quantity of base (usually sodium hydroxide) is added slowly to the alcohol and it is stirred until it dissolves. Sufficient alcohol is added to make up three full equivalents of the triglyceride, and an excess of usually six parts alcohol to one part triglyceride is added to drive the reaction to completion.

Product purification

Products of the reaction include not only biodiesel, but also byproducts, soap, glycerin, excess alcohol, and trace amounts of water. All of these byproducts must be removed, though the order of removal is process-dependent.

The density of glycerin is greater than that of biodiesel, and this property difference is exploited to separate the bulk of the glycerin byproduct. Residual methanol is typically removed through distillation and reused, though it can be washed out (with water) as a waste. Soaps can be removed or converted into acids. Any residual water must be removed from the fuel.

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