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Biodiesel solves alternative fuel problems in Boone |
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Tuesday, 14 November 2006 |
by NICK IANNIELLO
News Reporter
Individuals looking for alternative fuel sources in Boone may have easy access to biodiesel in the near future.
 Active Image | Katie Ford | The Appalachian
Senior sustainable development major, Billy E. Schweig, tests the titration rate of a batch of oil to see if it is appropriate to make biodiesel.
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The
Boone Sustainable Transportation Club will sponsor a workshop on making
biodiesel fuel at Appalachian State University’s Collaborative
Biodiesel Project Nov. 18.
“It’s good for people that are interested in the chemistry of the
process,” workshop leader and industrial technology graduate student
Jeremy C. Ferrell said.
The how-to workshop will focus on the background of biodiesel fuels, safety and closed loop biodiesel processing.
“We emphasize safety,” Ferrell said.
The Collaborative Biodiesel Project is currently capable of producing
around 80 gallons of biodiesel fuel a week from vegetable oil,
potassium hydroxide (KOH) and methanol.
Also, a group called High Country Biofuels Incorporated is in the
process of making biodiesel fuels available to members of its
cooperative.
The organization currently has acquired a $21,000 grant from the United
States Department of Air Quality and a 1,400-gallon tanker wagon to
transport biodiesel from Foothills Bioenergy in Lenoir to Boone.
“We’re excited about the progress we’ve made in the last month,”
Russell Hopper, director of High Country Biofuels Incorporated, said.
Get in Touch
Boone Sustainable
Transportation Club
• www.biodiesel.appstate.edu
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High Country Biofuels Incorporated
• www.highcountrybiofuels.com
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High Country Biofuels Incorporated plans to have a biodiesel tank set
up for its members with 24-hour availability at Habitat for Humanity
Restore in the near future.
Also, AppalCART plans to switch to biodiesel fuels within the next
month. AppalCART diesel vehicles that are over two years old will use a
mixture of petroleum-based diesel and biodiesel called B20 that
consists of 20 percent biodiesel fuel.
Due to insurance stipulations, vehicles less than two years old will not be using biodiesel fuels.
“I think anytime we can replace a fossil fuel with a renewable one,
that’s a good start,” AppalCART Director Chris D. Turner said.
Currently, the AppalCART system uses about 10,000 gallons of gas and
diesel fuels a month. Turner said the use of B20 will mean at least
1,000 gallons less petroleum-based fuel being used per month.
Turner said the only problem with biodiesel fuel is the possibility of
gelling, a process where cold weather prevents the fuel from combusting.
“With the blend of fuel they are using, gelling is not very likely,” Hopper said.
Biodiesel fuel users can also add kerosene to their gas tanks to prevent gelling, he said.
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