With Maria 'Mark' Alovert, author, Biodiesel Homebrew Guide and co-founder of BiodieselCommunity.org. Class is held at Washington State Community College Auto/Diesel Truck Systems department, room 121.  Cost is $120, no one turned away for lack of funds.

 Biodiesel fuel, which runs in any diesel engine and some heating equipment, can be made in your backyard or garage for under $1 a gallon with common ingredients, using very inexpensive equipment. Relatively little chemistry knowledge is needed to produce quality fuel that will run
in any diesel engine, and thousands of people around the country have discovered homebrewing fuel to be an addictive hobby. Come learn what it takes to produce your own clean-burning biodiesel fuel, and to build the equipment to do so.
These classes are hands-on and fast-paced - you'll be making test batches of fuel, titrating and testing oil, and assessing quality of the finished product throughout the two day class. There will be a full-scale home biodiesel reactor and system at the class site, and we will make a batch
of fuel in it to demonstrate the process, and will discuss equipment design for larger systems. This class is a good preparation for the Chicago-area advanced 'farm-scale biodiesel production' class happening at the end of May (see www.girlmark.com/tour for details on the 'Outgrowing The Appleseed' class on May 31-June 1).

To register for the class, please go to www.girlmark.com/tour and register online, or simply show up on the morning of the first day. The class is held at Washington State Community College in Marietta, OH: here's a map of campus, you'll be looking for Auto/Diesel Truck Systems
department, room 121: http://www.wscc.edu/Main/maps.asp

Biodiesel Essentials is a two-day class for either beginners or those who want a refresher on quality control. I also teach a series that includes more advanced topics, for more of those workshops please see www.girlmark.com/tour.

Some topics covered in the Biodiesel Essentials class: biodiesel/SVO/solvent thinning options and history, biodiesel chemistry, testing oil (titration and water testing), (hands-on), making test batches (hands-on), an overview of equipment, a tour of the full Appleseed-type processor and some more sophisticated wash systems than usually seen in homebrewing, long discussion of quality control factors, quality testing (hands-on), mistwashing and other water washing options, breaking emulsion (hands-on), two-stage base biodiesel (hands-on), waste water and glycerine disposal, glycerine burners for process heat, water reuse and uses for glycerine, common pitfalls, hands-on experience recovering from failed batches, safety.

Contact: classinformation@girlmark.com

For more information about biodiesel production, please see www.biodieselcommunity.org