Friday, February 1, 2008
Students looking to get involved in the environmental movement found an opportunity at the Biodiesel Initiative.
Susan Williams, associate professor of chemical engineering, recruited student volunteers to the Biodiesel Initiative since its foundation last year. The project, developed with Ilya Tabakh, a doctoral student in environmental engineering, converts used cooking oil from Mrs. E’s into a fuel that can power almost any diesel vehicle.
Oliver Meade, a second year Chicago graduate student, pumps excess oil from Mrs. E's into a heating-seperation barrel. "It cleans the oil and gets the food chunks out," said Meade. The three-day process turns 40 gallons of used oil into biodiesel that buses can run off of.
Students working on the project run 40 gallons of cooking oil per week through a reactor in Burt Hall to make the biodiesel.
Williams said student involvement was an important aspect of the project.
“We’re always looking for volunteers,” she said. “If you’ve got a block of time to come in, we can train you.”
Neil Steiner, Tulsa, Okla. junior, was one of the project’s first trained volunteers last semester. He said an interest in sustainable living based on minimizing negative environmental impacts drove his decision to volunteer.
Steiner’s responsibilities in the lab involved heating the used cooking oil to remove any particulates or impurities. He then converted the cooking oil into biodiesel in the lab’s reactor by mixing it with methanol and potassium hydroxide.
Steiner said the resulting biodiesel ran clearer and produced fewer harmful emissions than petroleum-based diesel fuels.
Kyle Owens, Wichita senior, is another Biodiesel Initiative’s student volunteers.
Owens said the project interested him partly because he wanted to understand the process of converting vegetable oil into biodiesel.
“I not only learn the chemistry behind making biodiesel, but I am also a part of something that will ultimately benefit the environment,” Owens said.
Biodiesel’s potential as an alternative source of energy attracted Oliver Meade, a graduate student in architectural engineering, to the project.
“The big advantage is that you can get the vegetable oil from home,” Meade said. “You aren’t involving yourself in foreign politics and foreign oil.”
Williams said the project produced over 400 gallons of biodiesel, much of which was used to fuel the snow removal and landscaping tractors on campus.
“We’ve shown there’s an outlet for it,” Williams said. “And we’d like to scale the operation up.”
Ultimately, Williams and Tabakh said they would like to see every diesel vehicle on campus, including buses, run at least partially on biodiesel.
To reach this goal, the project needs a steady stream of motivated student volunteers.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from,” Wiliams said. “If you have time to help, we’re happy to have you.”
Students can apply for a volunteer position by contacting Susan Williams or Ilya Tabakh at swilliams@ku.edu and ilya@ku.edu.
—Edited by Samuel Lamb
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Kansas students volunteer for the earth
Great article! MOM
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