Dr. John Struss, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and member of the Faculty Sustainability Committee, has been granted money to begin a new biodiesel project at the University of Tampa.
Biodiesel is a type of renewable, low-emission fuel made from vegetable oil (triglycerides), methanol or ethanol and lye. Professor Struss says his plan is to take vegetable oil from the on-campus dining services, and convert it to fuel that could be used in many locations on campus.
“Basically, you take used vegetable oil out of the deep fryers, and treat it with methanol and potassium hydroxide. It is a very clean fuel and has passed all EPA Clean Air requirements. It’s become very popular in Europe,” he says.
Biodiesel has a cetane number (CN) comparable to petroleum oil, meaning it is a high-quality substitute. Struss says the fuel would be used to power many different devices on campus, from the industrial lawnmowers, to the facilities trucks, to the research boat at the Marine Science Center off-campus. As of Sept. 2011, the national average price for petroleum diesel was around $3.75 per gallon. One batch of biodiesel can produce $70-80 worth of fuel, provided essentially for free.
Needless to say, the process isn’t exactly simple. First, food particles need to be removed from the oil, followed by removal of trace metals, which can cause low engine performance. After this, the oil is then heated, and methanol and lye are added to produce a reaction, which causes the mixture to stabilize and separate, producing the desired biodiesel. Struss says the total process for a 50-100 gallon bucket would typically take two to four hours.
During his sabbatical last semester, Dr. Struss researched and visited several universities who already have running biodiesel projects on their campus, including Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN and Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.
Incidentally, over 20 schools in the southeastern region of the U.S. currently have biodiesel programs on their campuses, including University of Central Florida, Florida State University and the University of Florida. During his visit to Appalachian State University, Professor Struss observed the processor location, which is built near a landfill and uses methane from the landfill to run the facilities. They use oil from sunflowers and canola grown in the region specifically for biodiesel purposes. Soap is made from the process’ glycerin byproduct, which is used in bathrooms across campus.
Dr. Struss was recently awarded a $4,800 Dana Grant from the University of Tampa Faculty Development Committee to use for this project. He says he was first inspired to take on this project after watching an episode of the hit show Dirty Jobs entitled “Biodiesel Man.” He says “Currently, we have students prepare biodiesel on a small scale in our Organic Chemistry Labs (CHE 235L)… but I’ve put a lot of eggs into this basket, and really want to see it happen. I want students to benefit from this. Once established, it would be run 98 percent by students.”
The funds from the Dana Grant must be spent by early May, or they will be reabsorbed back into the general fund. He adds that “facilities for this project do not smell like French fries or food. If anything, they smell like soap.” Given the economic advantages, the possibility for expansion of student research, UT public relations tools and a recruiting aspect for incoming freshmen, he believes “the pros far outweigh the cons.”
At a Faculty Senate meeting on February 17th, members enthusiastically endorsed Dr. Struss’s proposal, and he said “We’re still hashing out the particulars, so the location is still in question, but, it looks like we should have enough support to make this a reality.”
Dory Estrada can be reached at doryestrada@msn.com.