Many school buses to gulp biodiesel soon

Many school buses to gulp biodiesel soon
Charlotte Observer - Charlotte,NC,USA
The county school system is getting $69,000 in state money and also is seeking federal grants for cleaner school buses and biodiesel fuel. ...

Vegetable oil fuel mix is part of a systemwide plan to cut emissions
GAIL SMITH-ARRANTS
gsmith-arrants@charlotteobserver.com
The french fries you munch today -- actually, the oil they're fried in -- may help to fuel Cabarrus County school buses tomorrow.
The county school system is getting $69,000 in state money and also is seeking federal grants for cleaner school buses and biodiesel fuel.
Biodiesel is a mixture that includes diesel and refined vegetable oil, mostly recycled from restaurants, said schools Transportation Director George Douglas.
A $23,000 state grant will go toward developing the capability to use biodiesel in buses that carry children in the Cabarrus and Kannapolis school systems.
"But you can't take leftover oil from cooking and pour it into the bus," Douglas said Tuesday. "You have to filter out the french-fry particles and things like that."
The new technology also will help the system weather fuel shortages, such as the diesel fuel crisis that occurred after hurricanes disrupted petroleum supply systems last year, he said.
All of the system's 238 buses now run on diesel fuel; the system uses about 700,000 gallons of diesel each year. But many school systems, including Cabarrus, got precariously close to running out of fuel last fall.
At their Monday night meeting, Douglas briefed school board members on the state grants.
"It's a great initiative for you to take ... so we can be better stewards of our environment," school board Chairperson Liz Poole told Douglas. "We were in a bind with diesel, so this gives us more options."
Douglas decided to seek grants from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources after the school system adopted a no-idling policy last year. The policy prohibits buses from idling while waiting for students and asks parents not to idle their cars in pickup lines.
"I started looking at the studies on the effects on children's health and decided we needed to go a little further," Douglas said Tuesday of reducing emissions. "The air should be as clean as possible for these kids."
Studies have linked vehicle exhaust to higher rates of cancer, heart and lung disease, asthma and allergies. Children, who are outdoors more than adults, breathe 50 percent more air per pound of body weight than adults, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Here's how the state grant money will be used:
• $46,000 for retrofitting 46 old buses with diesel oxidation catalysts, which will reduce hydrocarbons in exhaust by 50 percent, carbon monoxide by 40 percent and particulate matter by 20 percent.
• $23,000 for a measuring system, nozzles and piping for pumping biodiesel. Most biodiesel is a mixture of 80 percent diesel fuel and 20 percent vegetable oil.
"It's the old guys that have more than 100,000 miles that smoke the most. Those are the buses we're going to run the biodiesel in," Douglas said. He estimated that nearly half of his fleet are older vehicles with out-of-warranty engines.
Running biodiesel reduces carbon monoxide in exhaust by 12 percent, hydrocarbons by 12 percent and particulate matter by 18 percent, he said.
The board on Monday also approved two policies on final reading:
• A drug-free workplace policy requires drug and alcohol testing for job finalists and also any employee involved in an accident while on duty or on school property -- if the accident requires more than on-site first aid. The drug testing will cost about $40,000 per year. The policy covers not only employees, but anyone who serves as an intern or volunteers on school property during school hours.
• A student wellness policy that ensures that all available foods and beverages -- including those in snack and drink vending machines -- are nutritious. Although the policy says food will not be used in the schools as a reward or punishment, it also says: "This provision does not apply to the occasional party or celebration."
All Bused Up
Here's how the state grant money will be used:
• $46,000 for retrofitting 46 old buses with diesel oxidation catalysts, which will reduce hydrocarbons in exhaust by 50 percent, carbon monoxide by 40 percent and particulate matter by 20 percent.
• $23,000 for a measuring system, nozzles and piping for pumping biodiesel. Most biodiesel is a mixture of 80 percent diesel fuel and 20 percent vegetable oil.