BREAKING BAD FUEL
Biodiesel as an Alternative Energy Source
A Project by
Kaitlyn Farrell, STS Accelerated Law Program, Camarillo, California
Andrew Volent, Mechanical Engineering, Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Vera Titze, Interdisciplinary Science, Erlangen, Germany
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Project Proposal
II. References
APPENDICES
I. Imagining Change
II. Imagining Solutions
III. Stakeholder Analysis
IV. Organizing Expertise
V. Technical Justification
VI. Pitch a Project
VII. Annotated Bibliography
Breaking Bad Fuel Proposal:
Biodiesel as an alternative energy source
Opening
The versatility of the diesel engine makes it an enticing source of power for several
of the largest industries on Earth including manufacturing, shipping, and
transportation. Diesel engines are found on farms, in large cities, industrial parks,
highways, and even in quiet suburban neighborhoods making the impact they
have on society and the environment huge. Diesel emissions contain dozens of
harmful carcinogens, and accounts for nearly a half of nitrogen oxide pollution in
the United States. These nitrogen oxides can create ozone, which is a leading
cause of haze and pollution in cities. The toxic particulates produced by the
incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons inside of the engine are known to cause
irritation to the skin, nose, and throat and are small enough to penetrate the soft
delicate lining of the lungs. Emissions can be especially dangerous to people who
belong to sensitive groups, like allergy sufferers, children, and the elderly. These
people can fall victim to lung problems, asthma, cancer, and pneumonia at an
earlier age, can end up in the hospital, or can even suffer a premature death.
Little is being done to address this problem, and the problem itself is relatively
unknown. In their day to day lives, people do not frequently think about the
harmful air they are breathing in, and the damage it is causing to them with every
inhalation.
We want to break this bad fuel by implementing a biodiesel project. Biodiesel
prevents the pollution of nitrogen oxides, and comes close to eliminating pollution
from small particulates. If diesel engines began to run on cleaner burning
biodiesel, air pollution in cities would reduce dramatically and public health
would increase. Introducing biodiesel would cut down on the rate of premature
death in children and the elderly, and could help in reducing annual national
medical costs significantly. The world needs an alternative to diesel, and biodiesel
could fill that void.
Aims
Our plan is to collect used cooking oil from local dining halls and restaurants to
convert into clean burning biodiesel fuel that would then be used to power the
CDTA buses. We plan to build the reactor that is used in the conversion process
and aim to power CDTA bus lines with the biodiesel we create in order to reduce
the harmful emissions that regular diesel emits. This will reduce the pollution due
to transportation in Troy, therefore making Troy a healthier place for all residents.
Rationale
The emissions spewed from the exhaust of public transportation buses have been
linked to climate change and a raise in cancer and other disease rates. We can
cut down a significant percentage of these harmful emissions by switching over
to biodiesel. Additionally, this project has great potential to be successful, as
similar projects in other universities (e.g. University of Kansas, New York University)
have proven. Many schools have been converting the leftover cooking oil, an
available resource that would otherwise be wasted, into fuel for several years.
Most of these project groups used the diesel to power machines used for campus
gardening. These are economically efficient projects, especially when students
get engaged in the project and work voluntarily. The students will also benefit
from the project by gaining work experience and strengthening their knowledge
in chemistry. Similar projects could be successful on many different campuses
because they all have dining halls using cooking oil, and there is a high consumer
demand for diesel. Additionally, the investment that needs to be made to start
the project is relatively low, as we will show in the next paragraph.
Technical Justification
In the center of the project is the biodiesel reactor to carry out the
transesterification process that converts cooking oil into biodiesel. We have
already calculated the cost analysis of the reactor and have determined that it
will take $1,139 to build. This is not a huge cost making it fairly easy to find investors
to support it. Additionally, the reactor itself is fairly small making it easy to find a
location for it without having to rent out a large space. Our plan was to either
store the reactor with the chemistry department on campus, or at the CDTA bus
terminal to allow easy refueling.
Logistics
Our project will essentially be a non-profit, environmental organization since we
are going to be selling the biodiesel to CDTA. We will need expertise in building
the reactor and also in the operation of the reactor. We will need volunteers to
perform the task of transporting the cooking oil by bike to the reactor.
The first phase that will take place is the investment and building phase. After we
have the reactor built we will need to contact the dining halls and restaurants to
discuss collecting the excess cooking oil and the process of it. We will then
contact the CDTA bus line to inform them of how much biodiesel we will be able
to supply them and make sure they are on board with the project. Before starting
up we will need to get the biodiesel tested to make sure it complies to standards.
Once we are approved we have planned our initial startup on the 289 route.
The 289 bus route makes a stop at RPI which is why we are considering leaving
the reactor on campus because refueling could potentially happen there.
However, because the project is implemented on a bus line we may have to
move the reactor to the main CDTA refueling site.
The key participants and stakeholders are the CDTA, the dining halls and
restaurants, the citizens of Troy, and the RPI chemistry department. We plan to
communicate with CDTA in order to find the best refueling location and allow
them to have a say in the design idea and advertisements on the bus.
Communication with the dining halls and restaurants is important as well since
they will be the suppliers of the oil. If we are to put the reactor in the RPI chemistry
department we are going to be allowing them access to the reactor as research
possibilities.
The RPI Engineers for a Sustainable World club is also interested in a biodiesel
project, so they will provide knowledge and assistance in the development of the
project.
Funding for our project could come from RPI or CDTA, from grants such as the NYS
health foundation’s special project grant, the environmental sustainability and
the energy for sustainability grant by the national science foundation or the EPA’s
National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People,
Prosperity and the Planet. Another idea would be to finance it by a loan because
we would be able to repay the loan by selling fuel.
As climate change becomes more of an issue in mainstream media, it is likely that
the project would get positive attention from local residents, the CDTA, and
politicians who are also pushing a more environmentally friendly agenda. Being
“green” in today's world would help out the CDTA Company and would help local
politician’s campaigns which would make them more likely to assist the
development of our project.
The most significant barrier to the effective development of our biodiesel project
will be the transportation of the used cooking oil. From RPI alone we have
calculated that there will be 55 gallons of cooking oil per week which makes it
feasible to be transported by bike at the beginning stages. However, when we
start acquiring cooking oil from Troy restaurants the transportation may become
more difficult and include longer distances. There is also the barrier of the weather
when using bike transportation.
Our project will be evaluated based on the profit we have accumulated, so as to
see how much we will be able to expand. Alternatively, it can be evaluated by
looking at how many more bus lines we are able to power through our expansion.
By seeing how many bus lines we are powering we will be able to determine the
total percent reduction in emissions our project has achieved.
Closing
Cleaner more breathable air, less wasted cooking oil dumped into landfills, a
better sense of community, and more sustainably minded citizens and students
are all goals of the Breaking Bad Fuel Project. At the end of the project we hope
that we could have reduced the amounts of harmful particulates and toxic gases
in the air making Troy a safer and healthier place to live. We hope that we could
have reduced the amount of cooking oil being thrown away in landfills or trucked
away to faraway processing plants. And we hope we could have not only
fostered a better sense of togetherness in the city of Troy, but also a better
understanding of the environment and sustainability among the residents of the
city both young and old. We intend to be able to expand the project to include
multiple bus lines throughout the city and to be an example for other communities
interested in similar projects. This would maximize the amount of pollution that
could be reduced in the city and truly inspire people to break the bad fuels that
are polluting the Earth.
References
Bus
advertisement:
The
Smell
of
Success,
NBC
news
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/smell-success-meet-poop-powered-busn299096
Troy Image: Troy NY DJ, http://www.thedjservice.com/blog/troy-ny-dj/
Polluted city: Metro UK, http://metro.co.uk/2014/04/03/smog-warning-record-levels-ofpollution-continue-to-plague-uk-4687183/
Duquense Energy Initiative, http://www.duqlawblogs.org/energy/2015/04/19/biodiesel/
What
every
biodiesel
user
needs
to
know,
John
Deere,
https://www.deere.com/en_US/industry/engines_and_drivetrain/learn_more/biodiesel/
what_every_biodeisel_user_needs_to_know/every_biodiesel_user.page
Sinclair
Community
College
https://www.sinclair.edu/academics/sme/energy/stuatv/
Student
Activities
Methanex.org:
regional
methanol
prices
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/uploads/publication/alternative_fuel_price_report_july_20
15.pdf
Power2switch: Albany Electricity Rates https://power2switch.com/NY/Albany/
Rick Da Tech: Catalyst for Biodiesel, make-biodiesel.org
biodiesel.org/Ingredients/catalysts-for-biodiesel.html
http://www.make-
J. Encinar: Transesterification of vegetables oil in subcritical methanol conditions,
Extremadura
University
http://comum.rcaap.pt/bitstream/10400.26/1296/1/Transesterification%20of%20vegeta
bles%20oil%20in%20subcritical%20methanol%20conditions%5b1%5d.pdf
U.S.
Department
of
Energy:
Alternative
Fuel
Price
Report
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/uploads/publication/alternative_fuel_price_report_july_20
15.pdf
Thomas Clifford: Design of a containerised biodiesel production plant, The Sea Fish
Industry
Authority
http://www.seafish.org/media/publications/containerised_batch_production_plant.pdf
Electric Bike Report http://electricbikereport.com/truck-replaced-b-line-delivery-byelectric-trike-in-portland-oregon-video/
E-Bike: http://www.letskopen.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Alpine-Trails
Bike Trailer: http://www.rakuten.com/prod/aosom-wanderer-bicycle-cargo-luggagetrailerblack/231935075.html?listingId=356674486&sclid=pla_google_Wayfair&adid=29963&rma
tt=tsid:1012713%7ccid:247411609%7cagid:14868890329%7ctid:aud-63219930917:kwd118464107089%7ccrid:60879544129%7cnw:g%7crnd:3986636865932457360%7cdvc:c%7c
adp:1o1&gclid=Cj0KEQiA4eqyBRDUh7Omv9vCtsoBEiQAspfs8u3W1s91zRwYsMQ4Lzh3vBE
AHIcNulu_6N7z-Wg6zf0aAhmG8P8HAQ
Imagining Change
The problem we would like to address is high carbon emissions, especially in the
transportation sector. We imagine the following actions in different sectors to be
effective to reduce carbon emissions.
Changes in policy (local, national, or international):
-
emissions certificates for vehicles
stricter controls of HOV (high occupancy vehicle) restricted lines to
encourage carpooling
Changes in the legal system:
-
integrate paragraphs about emission into federal law
declaring excessive pollution as a criminal act
Changes in media coverage:
-
focus more on climate change and how carbon dioxide emissions directly
affect it
give coverage to sustainability projects and movements
Changes in the way political decisions are made:
-
take political power away from oil companies
change the way how rules in the sector of emissions are made e.g. by
establishing an independent institution funded by the government to
assure that environmental plans don’t change with election cycles
Changes in the ways organizations function:
-
become less focused on profit and become aware of externalities that
come with vehicles that are produced
consider the long-term benefits that are worth the investment
Changes in the educational system:
-
introduce mandatory climate change education starting in elementary
schools
institute driver education on carbon emissions
Changes in the way people behave:
-
walk, ride bikes or use public transportation
invest privately in e.g. electric vehicles or biofuels
Changes in the way people think:
-
increase public awareness of climate issues
be conscious about opportunities for individuals to make a difference
Changes in the way technology is designed and used:
-
design technology more sustainably, for example electric cars
use cars only when necessary
Changes in the way money is spent:
-
invest in better public transportation systems and bike paths
invest in alternatives like biofuels or electric vehicles (research, establishing
infrastructure)
Imagining Solutions
We are concerned about climate change due to human emissions of CO2 and
other greenhouse gases because these greenhouse gas emissions cause
significant damage to the ecosystem and environment. A large portion of human
CO2 emissions comes from vehicles that burn fossils fuels like gasoline and diesel.
The emissions from these dirty sources of energy are partly directly responsible for
the dramatic warming of the planet over the last century.
Over the years scientists and researchers also concerned with the problem of
vehicle emissions have developed cleaner alternatives like electric, hybrid,
hydrogen fuel cell, ethanol, and biodiesel. In addition, city governments in other
countries
have
started
to
restrict
heavily
polluting
vehicles.
These solutions have provoked some debate over the years. The main issue seen
with electric cars is they are not as powerful as gasoline fueled cars, and there
aren’t charging stations everywhere which makes them less convenient. Many
people believe that hydrogen fuel cell cars can be dangerous which provokes a
debate about safety, and in addition to this, some believe that hydrogen fuel
cells are too costly and do not provide enough power for a car to run on. There is
also the food vs. fuel debate when discussing whether ethanol and biodiesel are
viable fuel sources.
Out of all the proposed solutions electric and hybrid have shown the most promise
since that is the only widely used solution. However, our project idea provides the
possibility of using promising, modern technology in conjunction with a local RPI
group in order to get biodiesel on the map as an alternative to fossil fuels to
reduce Troy’s emissions. This is especially good because it can cut down on local
carbon emissions from buses and take care of recycling of cooking oil from all of
the local restaurants and college dining halls without the need for disposal of it by
an outside company.
Some of the solutions to an alternative fuel source for automobiles are limited by
pressure from the auto industry not to change from the standard gasoline
powered car, and from limits to the technology. Hydrogen fuel cells, a promising
technology, is limited due to the high cost and lack of infrastructure. Electric
vehicles face a similar problem since electric vehicle plug in stations are
uncommon in public areas. Biofuels also face problems because they require
large amounts of energy to be converted from organic matter to fuel. The cost
and carbon footprint of the process can sometimes be more than the gasoline
itself making the biofuel unnecessary.
We are prepared to undertake a solution of using biodiesel as an alternative fuel
source to fossil fuels. Our project aims to begin the implementation of biodiesel
into the CDTA bus system in Troy to reduce the emissions from public
transportation.
The biggest challenge in creating a bus system that runs solely on biofuel is the
infrastructure needed to do so, since large amounts of biofuel would be needed
to be manufactured from a large reactor, which is costly. Raw materials would
be needed to be found in bulk from local sources. Mixing stations for combining
diesel with biodiesel would be required for the buses to get their fuel.
For our idea of using cooking oil as fuel for vehicles we need to cooperate with
local kitchens and restaurants, starting with campus dining halls, for a supply of
kitchen oil. Additionally, we would need help of the RPI biodiesel group, whose
reactor we could use for transforming cooking oil into fuel. Their expertise from the
scientific point of view will also be very helpful. As we would like to power local
bus lines with our biofuel, we also would like to work together with the
transportation company CDTA.
Stakeholder Analysis
CATALYSTS
STAKEHOLDERS
CONSTRAINTS
Environmental aspects
(CDTA’s sustainability
mission)
being involved in a
sustainable project (e.g.
PR reasons)
Advertising
None
Research opportunities,
desire to create change
personal contribution to
emission reduction
“greener” image of Troy
Transportation company
(CDTA)
cost for start-up
RPI, Russel Sage, and
Hudson Valley Community
College dining halls
restaurants
CDTA fuel supplier
RPI biodiesel group and
other involved students
CDTA customers (and
potential customers)
Troy city government
effort of collection
effort of collection
Loss of customer
Time investment
fear of an eventual
increase in cost
unwillingness to
participate and cost
Organizing Expertise
The Project
Our project includes collecting used cooking oil from dining halls, converting it
into biodiesel, transporting it to the CDTA refueling site and mixing it with the diesel
for the right fuel ratio. In the following, we will describe the kind of expertise that is
needed for our project to succeed.
Project Requirements
Skills required for this project are chemical expertise in the process of converting
cooking oil to fuel and building and operating the reactor (as planned by the RPI
biodiesel group. We are planning to reduce the need for technical knowledge
that would be required to make diesel motors run on biodiesel by using a biodiesel
ratio that is compatible with regular diesel engines.
The staff roles we would need to fill those skills and experiences would be a
chemical engineer for operation of the biodiesel reactor, and someone who is
responsible for the transportation of oil and biodiesel.
Staff Role 1: Chemical engineer for operation of the biodiesel reactor
Job Description: In our project it would be your responsibility to operate the RPI
biodiesel’s chemical reactor for converting cooking oils into biofuel. This includes
accepting cooking oil deliveries, conducting the reaction process, and preparing
the fuel and byproducts such as glycerine soap for delivery. As similar projects
have shown, this job can be done by undergraduate students.
Staff Role 2: delivery manager
Job Description: You would be responsible for organizing and executing the
transportation of cooking oil and biodiesel in an emission-free way, preferably by
bike.
Technical Justification
Site characterization
The reactor is going to be placed in a building on the RPI campus, or in the CDTA
refueling site. The average water and energy requirements for our projects are
comparable for what a standard business building would need, they are relatively
small for the amount of biodiesel that we plan to produce.
Description of technology choice
The core mechanism of our project is the reactor to be used in the process of
converting cooking oil into biodiesel.
Estimates of energy to be saved
By using cooking oil, our project takes the energy that would otherwise be wasted
by disposing of the excess oil and instead converts it to use as fuel. Therefore we
can reduce the diesel consumption of at least one bus line by almost 20%. Our
project also aims to reduce emissions, and with B20 fuel, carbon emissions would
be reduced by 15%.
Estimates of the energy efficiency of the proposed technology
Biodiesel is still energy efficient. There is only a 2% difference in energy per gallon
than diesel with B20 fuel. Also we would be efficiently using the kitchen oil that
would otherwise have been wasted.
Estimates of costs to various stakeholders.
We plan on eliminating any additional cost for stakeholders to make them willing
to participate in our project. Therefore we would pick up the kitchen oil at the
dining halls, which doesn’t create costs to them. They just couldn’t sell the diesel
to other companies, but they haven’t shown interest in doing so how far. As we
would be able to sell CDTA the biodiesel at the current diesel market price, and
biodiesel has a very similar efficiency as regular diesel, CDTA wouldn’t have
significant additional costs. Therefore CDTA’s customers also wouldn’t have to
pay higher prices.
Local codes and regulations that will impact your project:
Fuel needs to be accredited by the EPA (BQ9000) before it can be used in public
vehicles. Engines used in CDTA buses are Cummins ISB and ISL diesel and dieselelectric hybrid engines, and to use the biodiesel produced in the CDTA buses, fuel
must meet Cummins standards as outlined by the company’s Biodiesel Material
Compatibility standards.
Pitch a Project
We are proposing to convert the used kitchen oils from local restaurants and
dining halls from Troy and surrounding areas into clean burning biodiesel. We
would use the biodiesel collected from RPI’s dining halls to power the CDTA buses
that travel the 289 Route through Griswold Heights and we consider extending
the project with cooking oil from other schools to power additional local bus lines.
Others should consider this project a priority because the project would reduce
the amounts of waste cooking oil from local restaurants and dining halls, and it
would provide the bus lines with a cleaner burning fuel source that could help
with reducing pollution in Troy. The transportation sector is responsible for a large
share of the carbon dioxide emissions which are a main reason for global
warming, according to 97% of scientists. We can’t change that people need
transportation, but we can change the way people think about transportation.
Our project could not only effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions but also
raise awareness for the issue of pollution and the greenhouse gas effect.
There are various examples of cooking oil on college campuses being recycled
and used to power engines. One example is the University of Kansas that uses the
biofuel to fuel lawn mowers, backhoes, front-end loaders and other construction
equipment. The school has been producing biodiesel since 2007, showing that this
process is cutting greenhouse gas emissions, reducing waste and saving money
for gas.
The stakeholders for this project are the transportation company, CDTA, the dining
halls of RPI, Russell Sage College, and Hudson Valley Community College, local
restaurants in Troy, the CDTA fuel supplier, the Engineers for a Sustainable World
club, the CDTA customers, and the Troy city government. The CDTA will likely be
in support of this project because they have a sustainability mission stated on their
website and this will increase their sustainability. CDTA buses would not have to
modify their diesel engines making it cost effective for them as well. The colleges
providing the kitchen oil will be able to advertise that they are involved in a
sustainability project in Troy to attract potential students that want to focus on
sustainability projects. Likewise the restaurants could advertise their participation
as well and even get advertised on the buses they are helping to power. The
CDTA fuel supplier will likely be opposed to the project since it means a loss of the
CDTA as a customer. The Engineers for a Sustainable World club have a biodiesel
project already started. They are in support of this project and are willing to help
in any way possible. The CDTA customers may be worried about an increase in
cost, but if they are personally invested in emission reductions they will be
supportive of the project. The Troy city government will likely back the project in
order to promote a greener image of Troy, however, they may be wary of cost as
well.
The resources that are needed for this project are kitchen oils, other reactants like
Potassium Hydroxide and Methanol, a reactor for converting the oil to biodiesel,
a space for the reactor, and a mode of transportation for picking up the kitchen
oils and getting the biodiesel to the buses for refueling. We are planning on
getting excess kitchen oils from college dining halls and local Troy restaurants. In
cooperation with the Chemistry department, we plan on building the reactor as
an opportunity for students to participate in the project and to do research.
Alternatively we also researched the cost analysis of building our own reactor and
vacant spaces in Troy, if we were to need our own reactor. For the mode of
transportation we were planning on using bicycles to get the oil and biodiesel
from one place to the other.
A potential barrier is to find funding to build a reactor. A large investment has to
be made before we can begin transforming oil into biodiesel. There is an
additional cost barrier in purchasing delivery bikes. We will have to convince
stakeholders that our project will be a win-win situation for participants in the
project and the community of Troy to gain support and attention from potential
investors.
As a result of this project we hope for an increasing amount of buses being able
to run on biodiesel as a result from widespread participation from restaurants in
Troy. We hope to show the environmental and financial benefits of recycling
cooking oil to influence other cities in communities to adapt our biodiesel project.
We seek to inspire other communities to invest in biofuel and to substitute parts of
the common diesel fuel of public transportation with biodiesel. Not only would we
like the emissions from the buses to be greener, we also picture the buses to be
redesigned to look greener to help promote biodiesel further.
Annotated Bibliography
The usage of biofuel and recycled cooking oil in aviation
For our project “Breaking Bad Fuel”, we want to power some local bus lines with
bio diesel made of recycled cooking oil. During my investigations I quickly found
out that the idea to use biofuels in order to power means of transportation is not
a new one, and it also isn’t limited to cars and buses: More than 3 years ago, a
Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operated by All Nippon airways, was the first airplane to
cross the Pacific Ocean powered by biofuel1. According to estimations, carbon
dioxide emissions could be reduced by 30% because of the “greener” biofuel and
higher efficiency of the aircraft. And in 2009, the European airline Air France-KLM
completed a demonstration flight using a blend containing 50% biofuels2.
Its innovation in the field of biofuels and other sustainable areas have earned the
French airline the position on top of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in the
transportation industry for eleven consecutive years3. For its series of transatlantic
flights powered by recycled kitchen oil in 2013, Air France-KLM gained
international respect and was called “a frontrunner in making air transportation
more sustainable4” by Henk Kamp, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs. The
airline now operates weekly flights from New York City to Schipol, NL, with biofuel
made of cooking oil. It cooperates with more than fifteen partners, including WWF
Netherlands and delta airlines, in order to reduce carbon emissions and to
increase fuel efficiency in aviation. Responsible for the biofuel is a company
called SkyNRG, established by Air France-KLM, which is “the world’s market leader
for sustainable kerosene” and a certified supplier of renewable jet fuel, as stated
by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. It can be said that Air France-KLM is a
global leader aiming for sustainable air transportations due to its innovations.
Similar progress had recently been made by the Chinese Hainan airlines, who
have been on the move to “promote greater environmental sustainability5” by
operating a commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing.
However, all of these flights were powered by a blend of biofuel and original jet
fuel. But there is an example for a flight powered by 100% biofuel, operated in
Canada during the National Research Council in 2012. Although it wasn’t
generated from recycled kitchen oils but from oilseed crop, the Applied Research
Associates’ “game-changing technology” (Chuck Red, Alternative Fuels Lead6)
Aerospace-technology.com: Boeing, ANA conduct 787 Dreamliner's first biofuel flight, industry
news, April 2012: http://www.aerospace-technology.com/news/newsboeing-ana-conduct-787dreamliners-first-biofuel-flight
2 Phys.org: KLM flies world's first 'passenger flight on biofuel, November 2009
http://phys.org/news/2009-11-klm-flies-world-passenger-flight.html
3 KLM takes care: Air France-KLM tops DJSI for 11th consecutive year, September 2015
https://www.klmtakescare.com/en/content/air-france-klm-tops-djsi-for-11th-consecutive-year
4 KLM news: KLM Takes Steps in Sustainable Flights, March 2013 http://news.klm.com/klm-zetstappen-richting-duurzame-vluchten-en
5 Phys.org: Chinese airline completes cooking oil fuel flight, March 2015
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-chinese-airline-cooking-oil-fuel.html
6 National Research Council Canada: NRC to Fly World’s First Civil Aircraft Powered by 100% Bio
Jet Fuel, September 2012, Ottawa (ON) http://www.nrccnrc.gc.ca/eng/news/releases/2012/energy_biofuel.html
1
is successful proof of biofuels being a reasonable alternative for kerosene in
aviation.
Even though there yet has to be a flight powered by 100% biofuel made of
recycled cooking oil, various examples around the globe have shown that
biofuels give us the opportunity to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, especially
when combined with an improvement in fuel efficiency. The consequence for our
project, Breaking Bad Fuel, is that, if even flights across the worlds’ oceans can be
powered by biofuels, buses across Troy certainly can.
Colleges convert cooking oil into biodiesel fuel
Colleges feed thousands of students per day. Imagine how many gallons of oil
college kitchens use per day for cooking. At the end of the day, these often go
to waste. But, especially with the raising awareness of manmade global warming,
people started to think of efficient and environment-friendly ways to use these
leftover oils: In a process called transesterification, cooking oils can be converted
to bio diesel, which can be used to power engines.
A few examples are shown in the article “Colleges convert cooking oil into
biodiesel fuel7” by James Hannah for fox news from January 2009. It talks about
Sinclair Community College in Ohio, whose gardening machines are fueled by
biodiesel. "It ends up as a product that is more friendly to the environment. And
we're teaching with it," is how Woody Woodruff sums up the benefits of this
project. Additionally, the project already saved the school $150 as of December
2008.
Another University mentioned in the article is the State University of New York,
where biodiesel accounts for 8% of the fuel use on campus. And the University of
Kansas, similar to Sinclair, powers lawn mowers, backhoes, front-end loaders and
other construction equipment with biofuel. Since 2007, when the project started,
the amount of people involved changed from 2 to 25. Dickinson College in
Carlisle, PA, produces up to 150 gallons of biodiesel each week.
Many of those successful projects involve self-driven students who sacrifice their
time between classes for the biodiesel project. “We make it, we test it and we
distribute it to different places on campus”, says Neil Steiner, an architectural
engineering student of the University of Kansas.
James Hannah: Colleges convert cooking oil into biodiesel fuel, fox news, January 2009
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2009Jan22/0,4675,CollegesBiodiesel,00.html
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The movement of colleges starting to invest in biofuels just reflects the generally
increasing trend in the usage of biofuels: While in 2005 the U.S. sales of biodiesel
were around 75 million gallons, it was almost ten times as much in 2008.
Besides the fact that we will sell our biodiesel to a third party, CDTA, these projects
are very similar to what we are proposing for Troy. Therefore these different
projects can serve as role models and sources of information for us to help us
establishing the necessary infrastructure at RPI. As we see at the University of
Kansas, it isn’t necessary to hire a chemical engineer to operate the reactor. It
can be done by college students who are willing to invest their time. In addition,
these projects work as a justification of the benefits of a project that involves the
transformation of cooking oil into biodiesel. The article shows how participating
schools end up saving money and benefiting in multiple ways.
The Smell of Success: Meet the Poop-Powered Bus
During my research for similar projects I had to find out that, compared to other
ideas, ours is relatively uncreative: I am talking about the Poop-Powered bus,
described in the article “The Smell of Success: Meet the Poop-Powered Bus8” from
February 2015. The general idea of this bus is to use the methane gas, produced
of human and food waste, as fuel. This fuel is generated by the company GENeco
and the bio-bus is the second vehicle of that type that the company is
introducing, having its first trip from Bristol airport to Bath, UK while transporting 40
people. One of the benefits of this principle is pretty obvious: "People think it's a
really wonderful idea: this thought that you can do something positive with human
waste," says James Freeman, Managing Director of First West of England.
The process to produce this fuel isn’t trivial. The waste, 75 million cubic meters of
sewage and 35,000 of food waste, is anaerobically digested over 12 to 18 days.
Loaded with this fuel, a bus can “travel a maximum distance of up to 300
kilometers on a full tank”. 55km can be travelled using all the waste produced by
a human in a year.
The greatest benefit of this idea is its environmental friendliness. Emissions can be
reduced by 97% compared to diesel. Additionally, human waste is a resource that
is naturally abundant.
However, the principle of this bus that is highly relevant to our project, is not just
the idea to reduce emissions by using an alternative fuel that would otherwise
The Smell of Success: Meet the Poop-Powered Bus, NBC news, February 3, 2015
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/smell-success-meet-poop-powered-bus-n299096
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have been wasted. It is its smart marketing strategy of printing advertisement on
the bus that is funny and engaging while informing people about the
environmental aspects of this fuel and promoting sustainability. We are trying to
achieve something similar with our buses in Troy, therefore we are searching for
inspiring advertisements on buses that are informative but not boring. Also, we
want them to be green and well distinguishable from the classic CDTA buses.
Additionally, the company spent a lot of thought on the placement of the line to
attract as much attention as possible. Bristol is the European Green Capital for
2015, and it is planned to run the bus on a paid city center route. When we will
plan the bus route or routes that we will use, we should consider which lines could
be most successful to advertise our concept.
Scientific background of “Breaking Bad Fuel”: The process of Transesterification
For our project “Breaking Bad Fuel” we want to recycle used cooking oil and
convert it into biofuel. I wanted to understand the chemistry behind the process
better, so I followed up on the transesterification process: the chemical reaction
that takes place in a biodiesel reactor.
The article “Transesterification of Vegetable Oils: a Review9” gives a great
overview of the chemical background of the reaction. It explains the general
process of Transesterification, which can be summarized as a reaction where one
ester forms in present of a catalyst a different ester “through interchange of the
alkoxy moiety” (p.199). This means that an ester and an alcohol yield a different
ester and a different alcohol.
The catalyst, which usually is a strong acid or base, accelerates this reaction. In
the specific case of vegetable oils, the original ester is called triglyceride.
Combined with an alcohol (ethanol or methanol are amongst the possible
alcohols) and the catalyst it yields fatty acid alkyl esters and glycerol. The former
J. Braz: Transesterification of Vegetable Oils: a Review, Chem. Soc., Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 199-210,
Brazil, 1998 http://jbcs.sbq.org.br/imageBank/PDF/v9n3a02.pdf
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is the actual biodiesel, whereas the glycerol is a byproduct that can be used in
other ways, some of whom I will discuss later. The reaction requires 3 mole of
alcohol per mole of the triglyceride, but the alcohol usually excesses this amount
to increase the actual yield. The article then further discusses the use different
types of catalysts, including acids, bases, lipase or non-ionic bases. The highest
yield, about 98% (table 2, p. 203) can be reached using the basic NaOH as
catalyst. A good alternative is KaOH. Additionally, the article explains possible
uses of the fatty acid alkyl esters. Biodiesel is only one of the options, but the most
relevant for our project. It is shown that the most important difference between
the initial ester (triglyceride) and the resulting ester (fatty acid alkyl ester) is the
significantly lower viscosity of the product. The high viscosity means that
vegetable oils, when burned, don’t burn completely but form deposits in the fuel
injector, which could clog an engine. Therefore a reduction of the viscosity is
necessary, and transesterification has found to be the most successful method.
However, this article doesn’t address possibilities to use the main byproduct of the
reaction: glycerol (or glycerin). Therefore I complemented my research with the
article “New Uses for Crude Glycerin from Biodiesel Production10” by Zhiyou When.
He explained that the byproduct of the generation of biodiesel, impure glycerol
waste, mainly contains alcohol (here methanol) and free fatty acids (soaps). After
applying a method of purification, the glycerol can be used in various industries,
including food, cosmetics and pharmacy. But When doesn’t recommend
processing the glycerol, which is an expensive process. The glycerol can be sold
to larger companies or used for example as animal food, while the methanol
could be reused in the reactor and the soap delivered to participating kitchens
who provide the vegetable oil.
In conclusion, these articles explain the chemical transesterification process
specific enough to give us an idea of what reactants we will need to successfully
produce biodiesel and which byproducts to expect.
Zhiyou When: New Uses for Crude Glycerin from Biodiesel Production, New Uses for Crude
Glycerin from Biodiesel Production, extension.org, Iowa State University, June 2012
http://www.extension.org/pages/29264/new-uses-for-crude-glycerin-from-biodieselproduction#.VihVr3nJBeU
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