After struggling for the last four years, Yale Wong, CEO of General Biodiesel, a Washington State-based producer, said he can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. That new found optimism, he told Biodiesel Magazine, is in part because of the state-of-the-art Shockwave Power Reactor built by Advanced Biofuel Solutions his facility has been running for the last six months. &ldquo;It was a big upfront dollar amount,&rdquo; he said regarding the purchase of the reactor that harnesses the power of cavitation bubbles to more completely drive a reaction. &ldquo;Roughly a quarter of a million dollars,&rdquo; he said of the cost for the unit, &ldquo;but we will get paid back within a year.&rdquo;
The current state of the industry &ldquo;is better than ever,&rdquo; Wong says, at least for his 5 MMgy facility in Seattle based on changes his company made to their production facility and the high price for diesel fuel. &nbsp;After installing the reactor over six months ago, the facility has produced nearly one million gallons of biodiesel without any problems from the equipment. Combine the more efficient reactor with a state awarded biodiesel contract and the fact that General Biodiesel is working to collect more of their yellow grease they use to produce biodiesel, and things are looking great Wong said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been running every day since we installed the unit and we are ready to start making some money now,&rdquo; he said.
After learning about the reactor, Wong took a visit to a biodiesel production facility that already had the reactor installed. &ldquo;I tapped the biodiesel from the reactor just like beer,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and then I put it in a beaker and watched it separate. I bought it right after that.&rdquo; Wong, who said he has been making biodiesel for a long time added that he didn&rsquo;t know anything that could create an instant separation as fast as the reactor. Installing the reactor into his facility was &ldquo;practically just plug and play,&rdquo; he said, and to this point, the facility has run on yellow grease. His team came up with the formula for the reactions before running the machine, but after providing electricity and some additional plumbing for the machine, the reactor was ready to go.
One of the reasons Wong said he looked into the reactor in the first place, nearly two and half years ago, is because of the size of the actual reactor. &ldquo;It works in a confined space,&rdquo; he pointed out, in contrast to the traditional reactors used at larger plants that take up more space. For a 10 MMgy facility, he said, the reactor only takes up 6-8 square feet.
For more on the Shockwave Power Reactor, visit <a href="http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/7598/ready-to-burst">http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/7598/ready-to-burst</a>
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Members of General Biodiesel stand in front of the Shockwave Power Reactor. 

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Yale Wong and General Biodiesel have seen the benefit of the Shockwave Power Reactor. 

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After struggling for the last four years, Yale Wong, CEO of General Biodiesel, a Washington State-based producer, said he can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

General Biodiesel CEO: Industry is better than ever

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