I was studying Spanish in Guatemala when I noticed an article in a local magazine about a biodiesel startup. Although I had 1 day left in the country, I sent an email to the email address on the article. 24 hours later I was getting the full tour from the head of the organization, while he prepared his last 80-gallon batch of the week.
Alejandro Del Valle's plant produces 500 gallons of biodiesel per week, to service 12 vehicles from the municipal government of Antigua, Guatemala. His starting ingredient (waste vegetable oil) comes from Antigua and Guatemala City, primarily from restaurants that had previously been pouring their used oil into the street gutters. Valle uses a processor that was manufactured in Holland, which can fully react 80 gallons of biodiesel in about 45 minutes.
The most empowering thing that I learned was the following: this organization existed for 6 months before they began collecting oil, and 12 more months until they started processing it.
For us at the Glass Center, this is important. Since our biodiesel production is still not off the ground, we are inspired by this profound first step:
start collecting oil.
It makes complete sense, since biodiesel comes after oil... but so far we have been so focused on the actual product (the biodiesel) that we've lost sight of the process that gets us there. Collect oil now, process it later.
I have digressed.
It was a tremendous privilege to meet Alejandro, and I hope to maintain a solid tie with his Guatemalan alternative energy organization.
