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A California company that makes biofuels out of several sources has received a state grant to work on turning the waste from grapes and almonds into biodiesel.

This story in the San Diego Business Journal says local contractor Menon & Associates picked up the $800,000 from the California Energy Commission to convert grape pulp and almond husks into the green fuel:

The Sorrento Valley company, which is putting up $500,000 of its own money towards the three-year program, plans to convert the pulp, known as “cellulosic waste,” into an oil-based triglyceride similar to palm or coconut oil.

While they’ll be working with grape and almond waste materials in this program, almost any cellulosic material can eventually be converted, such as paper, cardboard, tree cuttings, switch grass or sugar cane waste, he says.

Officials point out that 80 percent of the world’s almonds are grown in California’s San Joaquin Valley, and of course, the state is a major producer of grapes, providing plenty of feedstock that would be otherwise filling landfills or being burned. The hope is that they’ll get 30 gallons of fuel for every ton of waste.

Menon & Associates is a subprime contractor on a $19.6 million Department of Defense contract to make jet fuel from cellulose.

A man who recycles restaurant grease into biodiesel while busting the myths the green fuel’s opponents have been spreading is being recognized by a network dedicated to sustainability issues.

Biodiesel Magazine reports that Brent Baker, the CEO of Tri-State Biodiesel LLC will receive the Social Venture Network’s 2009 Innovation Award at the group’s fall conference, starting October 22 in La Jolla, California:

As a representative of the biodiesel industry, Baker said he has been involved in dispelling the “myths” created by certain lobbying groups meant to confuse the public about the benefits and characteristics of biodiesel. “It’s been particularly bad the past two years,” Baker said. “One is that biodiesel production and use is worse for the environment, and takes more energy, than petroleum—and that simply is not true,” he said. “The first 15 years I was involved in this business, I never heard that.” Baker feels his role in education and the promotion of biodiesel led to Tri-State’s selection as an SVN Innovator. “There’s been a lot of negative publicity and I’ve been educating legislators and others about the positives.”

One of the controversies surrounding biodiesel lately has been its perceived role in the destruction of South American and Southeast Asian tropical forests. Biodiesel Magazine asked him if palm methyl esters were tarnishing the reputation of the industry. “The palm oil industry was an industry well before biodiesel,” Baker said. “And there is sustainable palm oil production, so we can’t let pictures of fires and abandoned villages color our whole perception of palm production.”

The article goes on to point out that by using the grease from 2,700 restaurants in the New York City area and turning it into biodiesel, Baker is practicing on of the cornerstones of the SVN: sustainability. But he also tips his hat to the first generation biofuels of corn-based ethanol and soybean-based biodiesel as paving the way.