MVNU reduces environmental and financial impact with biodiesel
Released on: March 19, 2008, 6:13 am
Press Release Author: Paul Fleming
Industry: Biotech
Press Release Summary: At Mount Vernon Nazarene University, vegetable oil bathes French fries and other foods in a golden crust. That's its day job. At night, it powers various kinds of MVNU maintenance equipment and an occasional bus.
It's a green thing, a money-saving thing and a chance to challenge the next generation to accomplish more with less.
Press Release Body: Last fall, MVNU's Director of Facilities Management and Campus Safety, Denny Taylor, was asked for a list of initiatives to help reduce MVNU's environmental impact. Since then, his quest has produced a recycling program, beginning with the dorms; a demonstration site for passive solar lighting; and an inexpensive way to kill weeds using vinegar and orange oil-all good ideas, with others on the way.
But it was the waste vegetable oil (WVO) that MVNU's Pioneer College Caterers paid a fee to get rid of each month that got him excited. Could the University somehow transform that to power maintenance equipment or even buses? That's when he found two resources that made the idea a reality-a company and a champion.
THE MAN AND THE MACHINE Taylor located homebiodieselkits.com, maker of an apparatus that converts WVO into biodiesel. MVNU purchased one of their machines for $4,100. A projected $2 per gallon savings would earn that back within two years, but someone was needed who would operate the machine.
Enter Garry Detty, an MVNU maintenance assistant with the passion and talent to build just about anything, particularly if it's made of metal or has a motor. Carefully studying the manuals, he procured various chemicals and assembled the machine when it arrived. He even created a rough straining system to keep the larger chunks of food and other remaining particles out of the raw material as it was transported from Pioneer to a makeshift processing facility in a University storage building.
Taylor remarked, "The kit we ordered was easy to assemble and Garry quickly learned the operations. It's really a win-win situation for everyone involved-MVNU, the environment, our food service and our maintenance department. It's one way we can make a difference."
SMALL STEPS, BIG POTENTIAL After procuring methanol and lye, a test batch was "brewed." On Dr. Daniel Martin's snowy presidential inauguration day in November, a 50/50 mix of bio and regular diesel fueled one of the university's sidewalk snow plows. Since then, mixtures have reached 100 percent biodiesel, with every test successful. Taylor is now a believer and thinks that a number of local restaurants would appreciate free disposal of WVO as well. With daily production of 90 gallons possible, the potential is significant. Glycerin is the only waste product produced during the process and it is currently being mixed with mulch and leaves and used as a fertilizer, though it could be sold at some point to certain manufacturers.
According to Jeff Spear, vice president of Finance, "Fuel costs have grown by 20 percent or more for each of the past five years, making affordability a real issue as it relates to daily maintenance of our campus and transportation of students. This project saves real money, reduces our collective impact on the environment and provides a timely demonstration lab for the leaders of tomorrow who study at MVNU today. We look forward to growing our capacity by securing other sources of WVO within the community."
ABOUT BIODIESEL \"Americans' fondness for potato chips, donuts and French fries contributes to over 10 million tons of used fry oil that must be disposed of annually. Look behind any fast food restaurant and you may see two dumpsters-a large one for trash and a smaller one for collecting waste vegetable oil," said Dr. Joseph Lechner, professor of chemistry at MVNU. "While WVO can serve as a raw material for soap manufacture, or can even be refined for re-use in animal feed, either option might require transporting it hundreds of miles to a suitable facility, often at the 'donor's' expense. Biodiesel provides an opportunity for small generators like MVNU to recycle WVO locally."
A biodegradable and non-toxic fuel, biodiesel typically produces about 60 percent less net-lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions, primarily because it is itself a product of transformed atmospheric carbon dioxide via plant photosynthesis. Its emissions of smog forming hydrocarbons are 65 percent less, although nitrogen oxide emissions are about 10 percent greater than those from petroleum-based diesel. Emissions, however, differ widely between fuels depending upon production methods of the source vegetable oils and processing methods employed in their creation.
Some vehicle manufacturers support the use of biodiesel, citing lower engine wear as but one benefit. A more effective solvent than standard diesel, it "cleans" the entire fuel system, removing typical carbon deposits along the way. Actually, it works so well as a cleansing agent that fuel injectors can sometimes become blocked if a diesel has a lot of miles (and build-up) in its systems. Other vehicle manufacturers remain cautious about biodiesel use, concerned about the possible dissolving of various rubber seals due to its status as a solvent. Biodiesel can also be used as a heating fuel for domestic and commercial boilers, along with various forced air systems. It is slowly becoming available to consumers and a growing number of fleets use it as an additive.
ABOUT MVNU Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students and working adults. U.S. News & World Report ranks MVNU in the top 50 Best in the Midwest (Bachelor's-Comprehensive) institutions for the fourth year in a row. With a 400-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and eight additional satellite Adult and Graduate Studies campuses throughout the state, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education to more than 2,670 students from 27 states and six countries/U.S. territories.
For more information about MVNU's biodesiel, please call (740) 397-9000, ext. 4341.
MVNU'S BIODIESEL FACTS - Diesel currently costs $3.56/gallon. MVNU can produce biodiesel at $1.00/gallon. - The machine can produce 90 gallons at a time. - MVNU's biodiesel is currently powering a bus, a dump truck, all lawn/snow removal equipment, and diesel generators. - MVNU is also saving the fee it spends to dispose of the used oil from Pioneer Foods. - Facilities Services is currently exploring contracts with other local sources for used vegetable oil as well.
2025
