Making of biodiesel shown

UT’s Make Orange Green week is a week of events to encourage environmental awareness. To get this week going, there will be a press conference today with UT Chancellor Loren Crabtree and UT Biodiesel coordinator Scott Curran, a senior in mechanical engineering. It will start at 1:30 p.m. in the parking lot behind Clarence Brown Theatre. The press conference will demonstrate the conversion of waste to biodiesel fuel to be used in UT service vehicles.

UT Biodiesel began with experiments from Curran. He found success through a very concise procedure. “The waste and cooking oil must be filtered and cleaned, it has to be heated up and combined with alcohol and lye. This will cause oil to separate into biodiesel. The glycerin will sink to the bottom and then be drained off. The biodiesel must be washed with water to remove any of the residual lye, “ Curran said. His motivation for this project was finding and developing alternative sources for fuel.

“It is gratifying to see our students take leadership in a program such as this,” UT Chancellor Loren Crabtree said. “UT is working hard to be part of the solution to the enviromental issues facing our state, nation and world.” According to university officials, this could set a trend amongst universities in methodology of efficiently fueling university vehicles.

“Hopefully, it won’t be raining during that time,” said Sarah Surak, recycling coordinator and active leader in Make Orange Green week. “This will help promote enviromental awareness, which should bring more attention to the other events this week.” Surak’s enthusiasm comes from seeing enviromental awareness becoming a more mainstream issue at UT and in the country.

Biodiesel and other plant fuels are being researched heavily at UT. The university serves as a regional hub for the developement of plant-based fuels. UT is also home to the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition. This organization was recognized by the Department of Energy as the best local clean fuels organization in America. These enviromental efforts are being funded by a student fee of $5 a semester. The fees pay for the greenpower from TVA, which is the largest in the state and the fourth largest in the southeast of its kind.