mainemaritime.edu 25People
A
fter graduating from MMA with a Marine
Engineering degree and shipping out
for seven years, Alan Joseph ’78 came
ashore and started Coastal Energy, a heating,
plumbing and fuel oil company. The enterprise
began as a one-person operation in Ellsworth,
Maine and has grown into three facilities, nearly
20 employees and recently evolved by adding the
first domestic production of enzymatic biodiesel
to its portfolio.
“I wanted to produce biodiesel from waste
products from our area (mid-coast and Downeast
Maine),” he says, “as it is cost-prohibitive to truck
and/or use rail. I looked at various processes,
and through research came across an enzymatic
biodiesel system.”
Biodiesel is derived from biological processes
rather than a fuel produced by geological pro-
cesses such as those that form fossil fuels. It re-
duces carbon emissions by more than three-quar-
ters of that produced by petroleum diesel. The
process Joseph and his partners developed uses
vegetable oil and a combination of enzymes to
convert the oil to ASTM (international standards)
spec fuel in a unique and cost-effective manner.
Joseph is collaborating with Dr. Scott Eaton,
MMA’s Assistant Research Professor of Engineer-
ing and Assistant to the Director of the Marine
Engine Testing Laboratory, and an enzyme
supplier and plant design team to scale-up and
fine-tune the process to become the first large-
scale biodiesel manufacturer in the region. Eaton
is involved in outreach programs and partnering
with companies undertaking a range of energy
projects.
“This will allow us to offer increased choices
for our existing large customer base,” says Joseph,
“and it will enable us to blend biodiesel within
our facilities for residential heating markets and
off-road customers.”With the recent award of a seed grant from the
Maine Technology Institute, Joseph will work
with Eaton and MMA students on fuel develop-
ment and testing.
“Enzymatic biodiesel production is a prom-
ising manufacturing route due to its superior
product quality compared to traditional methods,
but its emergence has been restricted by cost and
durability of the enzymes,” says Eaton. “Coastal
Energy and partners have taken the next step and
demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of enzymatic
biodiesel at industry-relevant scales. It was natu-
ral that MMA and Coastal Energy work together
to transition the technology to industrial scale
given our experience in technology development
and working with Maine small businesses.”
The enzymatic process employed by Coastal
Energy breaks out glycerin in the oil and converts
other glycerides into methyl ester, which is com-
bustible as a fuel element. The potential glycerin
byproduct opened the door for collaboration
with SeaChange Group, LLC, Brunswick, Maine,
which is a technology company commercializing
glycerol emulsion boat fuel, stemming from prior
research at MMA.
“The superior glycerol quality from Coast-
al Energy’s enzymatic process is an exciting
feedstock for SeaChange Group’s fuel technology.
Together these companies are forging a biofuel
hub here in Maine,” says Eaton.
Coastal Energy has already installed the first
enzymatic biodiesel processor in North America
in Ellsworth with an ability to produce 250,000
gallons of biodiesel annually. As the process is
refined for creating fuel, Joseph hopes to position
his company as a leading domestic biodiesel
manufacturer.
“By cross-sharing ideas and knowledge with
MMA and others, we will be able to move faster
on the process,” says Joseph.FUELING THE FUTURE
Alan Joseph ’78 uses enzyme process to create promising new biofuel470 South Main Str eet, Brewer, Me 04412http://www.jthicksandcompany.com
207-990-3127
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Joseph’s biodiesel facility in Ellsworth, Maine. (Right) He holds a sample of future success. (Photo: Ellsworth-American )