Building a biofuel plant, building community
In a corner of the Keck Environmental Field Laboratory sit an old water
heater, a plastic holding tank and a few pumps, set up in a
purple-painted particle board frame with the air of an eighth grade
science project. In a terrarium a few feet away, tiny turtles sun
themselves and swim, either unaware or unconcerned that they are
neighbors to William and Mary's first biodiesel fuel plant.
A Sharpe Community Scholars project of the class of 2011, the fuel
plant will process waste cooking oil into usable biodiesel with an
estimated octane content similar to that of regular diesel.
Inspired by the projects of the Backporch Energy Initiative, a
non-profit environmental organization recently started by William and
Mary graduates, a seminar group of Sharpe Community Scholars first
envisioned the biofuel plant as a community-building project.
The Sharpe Community Scholars program engages first year students in
civic engagement and community outreach with year-long service
projects, designed and implemented by the students as part of a
4-credit service learning seminar. By using waste cooking oil from a
local restaurant in their biodiesel plant, this year's environmental
seminar aimed their project at actively involving community businesses
and local organizations in an environmental exchange.
"It's not just the environmental aspect that's important," said Dennis
Taylor, faculty sponsor of the project and professor at William and
Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science. "The question is, how do
you establish relationships in a community?"
Two Williamsburg community members donated the biofuel processing
equipment. One is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church, which
is in the process of “greening the house,” and a large share of the
processed biodiesel is earmarked for the church's furnace, newly
converted to work on biodiesel. The waste cooking oil is being donated
and delivered by the Aberdeen Barn, a local restaurant. Like other
restaurants, the Aberdeen Barn produces of large amounts of waste oil
every week, normally paying to dispose of the oil each week.
By partnering with Williamsburg community members, the Unitarian
Universalist Church, and the local restaurant, the Sharpe Scholars hope
to create ties between the community and the college, connecting people
in an atypical way. The biofuel plant is a unique project, venturing
into both environmentalism and beneficial business practices for all
parties involved.
Although the project took shape during the fall semester, the Sharpe
Scholars built the actual fuel plant equipment in January, and just
begin testing around the last week of March. The students allowed the
oil to run through the water heater, slowing heating the oil before
allowing it to settle and separate in the holding tank, a process that
took around six hours to complete.
After bubbling water through the holding tank to clean out impurities,
the biodiesel is siphoned out, and the process is ready to begin again.
Taylor estimates that a single run processes around 35 gallons of waste
cooking oil, producing 85% biodiesel, and around 15% of waste product
and glycerin byproduct.
The majority of the biodiesel will be given to the Unitarian
Universalist Church of Williamsburg, but some will also be used in
campus facilities management vehicles, already being run on purchased
biodiesel. The Sharpe Scholars are still working on finding a use or a
safe disposal for the glycerin and waste product.
“We still have to work out whether the benefits of this project
outweigh the costs,” said Taylor, raising the issue of the process’s
byproducts as well as the use of electricity to produce the biodiesel.
“It’s still in its experimental stages, so we just don’t know,” he
added. “We have to look at the big picture.”
