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September 1, 2009

New pump serves up recycled vegetable oil

A Portland company that turns restaurant grease into fuel has opened its first gas pump for vehicles.

Maine Biofuel is able to produce about 3,000 gallons of biodiesel a day, according to founder and CEO Jarmin Kaltsas, and can make 1 million gallons of fuel a year. The pump's located at 51 Ingersoll Drive, off Riverside Street in Portland, and is open between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Payment must be in cash for now, but credit cards will be accepted soon.

"We've been building the plant for the past two and a half years," Kaltsas says. "It feels really good to have a product ready for people to pull up their cars and fuel up." Customers with diesel engines can fuel up at the plant, and the company anticipates serving individuals and trucking fleets, he says. The price of fuel at his pump will be about 2% higher than the average retail market price for diesel, he says.

Kaltsas calls his company a "recycling plant," because the biofuel is made from recycled vegetable oil, rather than food crops that have been converted into fuel. The waste grease is collected from local restaurants. The company also uses the vegetable biodiesel to power its production and heat its building. Plus, the Maine Biofuel is looking into reusing glycerin, another byproduct, to sell to soap manufacturers, he says.

Most of the company's investors are local, and management hopes to sell most of the product within greater Portland, according to a company press release. Maine Biofuel has enlisted students from the University of Southern Maine to paint murals on their tanks, and hopes to encourage schools groups and others to tour the Warren Avenue plant.

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