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Students at Appalachian State University research closing the loop on biodiesel production.
By Melissa Turner
Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that can be found in some blend or another at gas pumps across the nation, and it doesn't require a modified vehicle to run it.
But even though biodiesel is one of the few alternative fuels readily available to consumers, do-it-yourselfers and Internet websites are cropping up with recipes for biodiesel concoctions that can be made right at home. In an EPA award-winning project, students at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina are exploring creative ways for making this do-it-yourself process more sustainable and environmentally friendly, and in the process they are educating their own university and community members on how to get involved.
It all started back in 2004 when ASU students Chris Jude, Paul Feather and others from the Sustainable Transportation Club began building a biodiesel processor at the ASU Sustainable Development farm. Looking for funding to further expand their project, Chris Jude and Paul Feather co-authored a grant proposal for the Environmental Protection Agency's P3 (People, Prosperity and the Planet) Award for student-designed projects. P3 recognizes sustainable solutions for advancing economic growth and reducing environmental impact. In spring of 2005, ASU won a $10,000 EPA P3 Grant for their project. Moving beyond simply producing biodiesel, Jude, Feather and 30 other students from technology, sustainable development, chemistry, physics, anthropology and other academic backgrounds began researching ways to convert vegetable or cooking oil to biodiesel in a "closed-loop" environmentally–friendly process. In developing this closed-loop process, the Appstate Collaborative Biodiesel Project team considers all aspects of the production process from the energy source that powers the biodiesel processor to the excess glycerin that is produced during the oil conversion. By connecting the processor to a renewable energy source and recycling waste by-products, the team endeavors to close the loop on biodiesel production and make it a completely environmentally friendly process.
"The closed-loop system uses renewable energy and eliminates waste products," says Jeremy Ferrell, student biodiesel coordinator. "From the excess glycerin we make soap products and fire starter briquettes. And we're working on developing a gray water filtration system for treating wastewater left over from the conversion process."
Ferrell says the team is supplying local farms and co-oping with High Country Biofuels. The team is also working actively to get their own university and members of the surrounding community to learn about and use biodiesel fuels. "We're offering workshops on making fuel, sustainability and safety," Ferrell says.
Dr. Jeff Ramsdell, associate professor of technology, is the ASU faculty member overseeing the biodiesel project and has been researching the impact of biodiesel production and use for the North Carolina State Energy Office for the past several years. He sees ASU's Collaborative Biodiesel Project as an opportunity for building community partnerships. "The waste vegetable oil is gathered from area restaurants, local farmers can grow oil crops and use the biodiesel in tractors and farm equipment and area non-profit organizations can use the fuel to supplement home heating oil for local low-income families," Ramsdell says.
In spring of 2006, the ASU biodiesel team won a second EPA P3 Grant for up to $75,000 for continuing to expand their project. The team will soon be installing a photovoltaic solar system, Ferrell says. Their goal is to be off the grid, running on a completely self-sustaining renewable energy system, as well as getting a small check in the mail from the local power supplier for selling back excess energy to the power grid. And they will be continuing work on their gray water filtration system. Other future goals include canola oil and algae research, offering chemical analysis services so biodiesel consumers don't have to send off to Nevada or other locations for testing, as well as strengthening their community outreach program.
"This grant, along with the other federal funding received in recent years, shows Appalachian's proficiency in renewable and sustainable energy technologies," Ramsdell says.
To find out more about the Appstate Collaborative Biodiesel Project or to find out more about designing and building biodiesel processors using the closed-loop process visit their website at www.biodiesel.appstate.edu. To learn more about the EPA's P3 Grant program, visit http://es.epa.gov/ncer/p3/.
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