Turkey fryer oil recycled (Brian Wheeler)
Thanksgiving has passed and turkeys have been eaten. Now Tulsans need to dispose of used turkey fryer oil. The Metopolitan Environmental Trust, Tulsa BioFuels and the City of Tulsa came together Sunday to help. The organizations held an oil recycling event to help dispose of the used oil properly. "If you put it down the drain the oil backs up slowly and builds up like it can in your arteries. It will cause a blockage and that causes raw sewage to backup in homes, businesses and the environment," said Kristi Shreve with the City of Tulsa.
Also see: Residents take advantage of cooking oil recycling
Kristi Shreve, an environmental compliance specialist with the city of Tula, pours a gallon of used frying oil into a large container for Tulsa Biofuels to collect and recycle on Sunday. SHERRY BROWN/Tulsa World
Locomotives north of the border will be testing biodiesel to see how well the green fuel works in cold weather conditions. Canadian Pacific will test four locomotives running on biodiesel on some lines between Calgary and Edmonton:
The pilot project will evaluate the cold weather application of biodiesel in real world conditions. It is the first cold weather use of biodiesel by a railroad. The pilot is a partnership with Natural Resources Canada under the National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative.
This is an historical test of cold-weather biodiesel use by a railroad, and even though they are only going to test B5, it is still a huge market for biodiesel. Do you think it will work out for the railroad? Remember, it gets very cold in Canada—will the biodiesel thicken?
Tramel Jones draws methanol that will be mixed with potassium hydroxide and combined with used vegetable oil from a drum. (Tribune photo by David Pierini / March 24, 2009) Photo from: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-biodiesel-club-sw-zone-01apr01,0,3035635.story
Some time ago, Brian Sievers picked up a crazy notion that one simple idea might just change the world. So for the last two school years, the popular science teacher at Thornridge High School in Dolton has been putting that theory to the test. First he helped students build a biodiesel lab to convert used cooking oil from local restaurants into fuel for diesel-powered cars and trucks. That idea won Sievers and his students a $10,000 cash prize in the national Lexus Eco Challenge and helped spark communitywide interest in environmental issues. Now, Sievers and his students are thinking globally. They're raising money for an ambitious project to build a solar-powered biodiesel processor that could provide electricity for a small rural school in Haiti, one of the world's most impoverished countries.
Photo from: http://biodieselhomeconversion.com/BioDiesel_Home_Conversion_Kits/1-B60_Home_BioDiesel_Conversion_Kit.html
SGI said it has no experience with insuring the operations and therefore can't underwrite the risk.
For farmer Neil Webster, that means his wallet takes a big hit.
Webster said he spent $13,000 fuelling his combine and tractor this year, and realized he could save as much as 50 per cent if he made his own fuel. Biodiesel is made by combining any natural oil or fat with an alcohol such as methanol or ethanol. It burns much cleaner than gasoline and traditional diesel.