310 likes | 507 Views
SPEAR. Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility. Biodiesel at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt Biodiesel Initiative: A Visual Tour. How did it get started?. Finished construction… Began production! . Wilderness Skills instructors wanted to travel more green.
E N D
SPEAR Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility
Biodiesel at Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Biodiesel Initiative: A Visual Tour
How did it get started? Finished construction… Began production! Wilderness Skills instructors wanted to travel more green Construct and test a pilot system Fall 2006 Summer 2007 Fall 2007 Top ten finalist for Eco-Magination Spring 2007 Began the construction of the biodiesel shed
Biodiesel Shed Located at the intersection of Vanderbilt Place and 24th Avenue South inside the gate of the Power Plant
Starting Materials Vegetable Oil Methanol Base Catalyst
Vegetable Oil • Collected from • Rand • Commons • Jackson’s Bar and Bistro • And others • VBI registered as a 501.c3 non-profit organization so any oil donations are also tax deductible.
Filter Wand Used Window Screen to filter chunks
Methanol Powder + Biodiesel Biodiesel Glycerin Synthetic talc powder
KOH: Potassium Hydroxide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Potassium_hydroxide.jpg
To date VBI has produced over 1,300 gallons of biodiesel and 100 gallons of soap for Vanderbilt.
Production Capacity • Running a batch (~120 gallons) about every other week. • Operating at full capacity, in theory 360 gallons per week. • Currently limited by the amount of waste oil collected and personnel to run the system.
Cost ~$1 per gallon
Who can buy the fuel? Not the general public, due to regulatory issues