Biodiesel to power vans

Biodiesel to power vans
Durham Herald Sun - Durham,NC,USA
... A class of about 15 pupils at the NC School of Science and Mathematics is making a nearly 20-gallon batch of biodiesel fuel for one of the school's mini-term ...

DURHAM -- If recycling and children are the future, then one school has the right idea.
A class of about 15 pupils at the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics is making a nearly 20-gallon batch of biodiesel fuel for one of the school's mini-term classes. The term is a weeklong course where students focus on one subject of choice.
This is the first year the biodiesel project has been offered for the program.
Chemistry instructor Marion Brisk, who proposed the short-term class, said she sometimes has students make small batches of the fuel in her regular courses. She said the process introduces students to the growing need and importance for renewable energy sources, in particular ones that people can create themselves.
"I think that worldwide the concept of biodiesel is you can use your own energy," she said. "If you go on the Internet, there are large groups of people who are doing this in their basement."
Emily Maxwell, a chemistry and biology instructor of chemistry and biology at Science and Math, and Keith Esch, a biochemistry professor at UNC, are also working with the class to make the fuel, which Brisk said ends up costing about 77 cents per gallon.
The class started making the concoction -- a mixture of methanol, potassium, hydroxide, glycerol and leftover food oil from the school's cafeteria -- on Tuesday. The batch will likely be finished on April 18 or 19, when students have come back from their weeklong spring break.
Rachel Puckett, a junior, said the fuel usually only takes a few days to make, but the school break and learning process for the students made the process longer. The fuel normally takes about four days to finish, as it must be washed and dried out three to four times after it's initially mixed.
Puckett said she chose the course because learning about how to reduce pollution and waste benefits everyone.
"Making a positive impact on the environment and knowing the information and the education behind it can't be a bad thing," Puckett said.
"If every person was a little more conscientious about the impact they were making, then our quality of life would be better."
The batch the students make will be used on the school's three diesel vans, and one student said the food oil-based fuel might have even more impact than an environmental one.
"I'm willing to bet that when we put this in our vans and people are behind them, they'll want fast food," said junior Dalton Lennon.
Durham Public Schools and Chatham County Schools are among some of the state systems that have started to use biodiesel in buses and other diesel-powered school vehicles.
Larry Shirley, director of the North Carolina State Energy Office, said teaching students about these sources is needed, as alternative types of energy are becoming some of the only options.
"I think it's a great idea, absolutely excellent, because it exposes the kids to everything from the science to how we can reuse waste grease," he said. "We need to switch the fuels that we're using here in North Carolina, and I can't think of any better way to do it than students learning at their schools."
People can create their own biodiesel machines by looking up the proper type of equipment online, or buying kits that provide the supplies and instructions, as the class did.
But Brisk said people who are not familiar with chemistry should use caution, and take care not to inhale some of the chemicals such as methanol.
Maxwell said the students showed great enthusiasm about the course, and she and Brisk hoped they could turn the one-week venture into something more long term.
"I think we can keep the kids involved every year and sort of keep it ongoing," Maxwell said. "I think there's a broad array of future projects that can come from this."