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Last year, Augsburg College and SarTec Corporation announced the discovery of a chemical process that could help develop a new type of biofuel. Researchers said this method, known as the Mcgyan Process, recycles the catalyst and alcohol necessary to make biodiesel, reduces the reaction time from hours to seconds, and it doesn't use water or chemicals.
The startup has gone from making about a gallon of biodiesel a day in what had been a conference room to making 100 gallons of biodiesel per day. A new production facility in Minnesota is expected to be up and running within a couple of months. When the 9,000-square-foot facility is running at capacity, it will produce about 3 million gallons of biodiesel per year. The biodiesel portion of the business is operating with the name Ever Cat Fuels.
Researchers at the company say that the key to the technology is a highly efficient, heterogeneous metal oxide-based catalyst reactor that efficiently and economically coverts feedstock plant oils and animal fats to biodiesel. Algae that capture carbon dioxide can also be a source of Mcgyan feedstock oil. SarTec has conducted research into using algae oils to supply the Mcgyan Process. The corporation is working on the use of algae to reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants while creating a biodiesel feedstock.
A patent is now pending on the Mcgyan Process which is named for the three Augsburg scientists officially credited with the discovery (McNeff, Gyberg, and Yan). Ever Cat Fuels Corporation is currently producing 50,000 gallons of biodiesel per year and is using it as a power source. Its production capacity will increase to 3 million gallons per year when its new plant begins operation in Isanti later this year.
To hear more about the Mcgyan process, play the video below.
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