Photo by Skip Lawrence Evan Dorsey explains his biodiesel processor that refines waste cooking oil into ready-to-use biodiesel fuel.

Evan Dorsey, who owns KMT Trucking, shelled out $4,495 for a home processor to make biodiesel fuel to run his truck.

Dorsey's business is hauling sand, gravel and dirt with a dump truck whose fuel tank holds 110 gallons.

"At about $4.45 a gallon, the cost of diesel fuel is making it difficult to provide for my family," Dorsey said. "I have to find ways to cut costs to survive."

He bought the biodiesel processor from BioEquipment Inc. in Bentonville, Ark. The firm shipped the processor to Baltimore, where Dorsey picked it up.

The processor was already assembled, with galvanized tubing, brass valves and two tanks: a white, 55-gallon, inverted cone-shaped tank that holds vegetable oil and a 16-gallon inverted tank for a mixture of lye and methanol.

The vegetable oil, lye and methanol are mixed to form the biodiesel, and the finished product ends up in the oil tank.

Dorsey set up the processor in his shed, about 65 feet from his home.

BioEquipment gave him sample kits to familiarize him with making biodiesel, and Dorsey made his first batch using the processor Thursday evening.

Biodiesel can be used by itself or blended with petroleum diesel in any percentage with few or no engine modifications, according to the National Biodiesel Board, the trade association for the biodiesel industry.

Dorsey said he will pick up vegetable oil for free from Ceresville Mansion and the Cracked Claw Restaurant.

He estimates that he can gather 50 gallons a week. A gallon of vegetable oil will make a gallon of biodiesel, he said.

Dorsey said he uses about 60 to 70 gallons of fuel a week to make his hauls.

He estimates it costs 80 cents a gallon to make the biodiesel if the vegetable oil is free. The cost includes adding lye and methanol.

Dorsey bought 64 pounds of lye online from a Texas company for $199. He purchased 55 gallons of methanol for $3.75 from a Hagerstown fuel company.

The processor's capacity is 40 gallons, and at 80 cents a gallon the cost to make a batch of biodiesel is $32. It takes about 12 hours to make a batch with used oil, six hours for virgin oil.

Dorsey will start with a B10 blend: 10 percent biodiesel and 90 percent diesel. His 2005 truck is still under warranty, which doesn't run out until 2009, he said.

Representatives of Caterpillar, the engine's manufacturer, advised him not to exceed a B30 to B50 blend to ensure the engine warranty is still in effect, he said.

If Dorsey uses a B50 blend, it would take about 25 fill-ups to pay for the machine.

If Dorsey were to use only his biodiesel, it would cost him $88 to fill up his 110-gallon tank versus $489 buying petroleum diesel.

"This allows me to have more control over how I operate my business," he said. "A lot of guys can have a little hope that things can improve."