Example Questions

Attachment F·
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,Example Questions: Soybean O/I-Based Lubricant
Process Overview
,Please draw a simple process diagram that outlines the inputs (raw.materials"energy) and
outputs (waste, product, emissions) from your production process.'
Do yo~ produce more than one product at this plant? Will you be able to provide inputs
and"outputs specific to this product? Ifnot, could you provide a iist ofpioducts produc~d
in a year so that we c~n allocate the inputs to the desired product?
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Materials

What raw materials do you use other than soybean oil?
Do you produce your own soybean oil, or is it purchased?
If you produce your own oil, please provide a ,mass balance for the production process
"including - process yield (oiVmeal), energy use, water emissions fronl process, waste
generation, ati.d air emissions. Please provide these all in terms of 100 gallons of soybean
oil.
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~or your other raw materials~ what percentage of raw materials do you use? For the

additives that you have provided, can.you provide us with MSDS's? Ifnot, can you give
us g~p.eric names for the materials or provide us with supplier contacts so that we identify
the .compounds?

Energy Inputs
If you blend your oils using an electric motor, what is the HP of the motor and how long
do you blend the product to produce a 100 gallon batch of oil?
Does the plant get its electricity from the grid or from onsite generators? If onsite
generators, what is the fuel source?
. Is.there any pre-heating of the oil prior to blending? What is the source of the heat - ,

steam or electrical? If steam, how do you generate the steam?

Air Emissions
Ate there any VOC emissions from the blending process that ate monitored? If so, are
the emissions vented to the atmosphere or they captured and" destroyed?

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Does the plant have an environmental permit for air emissions? What emissions are
covered under the permit? Has the plant ever exceeded the emission permit limits?

Water Emissions
Does the production process generate any specific wastewater emissions? Is the
wastewater discharged to a plLblic wastewater treatment plant or does the plant have its
own wastewater treatment plant?

Waste Generation
What waste is generated from the production process?
How is the waste managed? Is it shipped off-site to a specific vendor or managed by the
local municipality/county? Do you know how it is managed off-site - incinerated,
landfilled, or recovered? If not, can you provide a vendor that we can contact to
determine the waste's ultimate fate?
Tran~portation

How is the biobased lubricant shipped to the final customer?
What kind of packaging is used - reusuable drums, tanker trucks, gallon containers ...?

Use Phase
What is the density of the final product?
Is the product fully biodegradeable?
What is the functional lifetime of the product?

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