York Tech Begins Producing Its Own Biodiesel for Use in Maintenance Equipment

November 24, 2008

ROCK HILL—York Technical College, as part of its efforts to support clean air initiatives, is now producing its own biodiesel fuel to be used in its maintenance and groundskeeping equipment, including lawnmowers, tractors and more.

Rod Trump, the director of the college’s Energy Resource Center as well as its associate dean for Industrial Technologies, is leading the project that uses a machine called a biodiesel processor to convert vegetable oil, typically waste cooking oil, into clean-burning biodiesel fuel for off-road vehicle use. Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have fully completed the health effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act. The use of biodiesel results in substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter compared to emissions from petroleum-based diesel fuel. Biodiesel exhaust often smells like french fries.

Trump said the first 100-gallon batch of the fuel was tested to ensure quality by students of the York Tech Environmental Science program and is being used on campus now.

The project was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Clean Diesel Campaign, the same initiative that allowed the college and its partners, including the City of Rock Hill, to retrofit dozens of publicly-owned non-road vehicles with technology that has significantly reduced their emissions.

Largely because of its proximity to Charlotte, much of York County has been designated by the EPA as an ozone non-attainment area.

The college has been collecting waste cooking oil from the Rock Hill Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department, Winthrop University as well as its own food service and the Baxter Hood Center on the York Tech campus. Trump has even asked the college faculty and staff to collect used cooking oil from the upcoming holidays to be converted to biodiesel.

Trump said the college used an estimated 4,300 gallons of diesel fuel last year to operate its mowers, tractors, backhoe and a skid loader. Producing biodiesel on campus has the potential to save a lot of money and significantly reduce the emissions from operating this equipment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a plan to significantly reduce pollution from new diesel engines through its National Clean Diesel Campaign. This plan combines regulatory measures with voluntary initiatives to reduce the pollution emitted from diesel engines across the country.

The Energy Resource Center at York Technical College is a leader in the field of renewable energy resources, energy conservation and efficiency, as well as alternative fuel vehicle technology. The Center provides educational opportunities for individuals, industry, and government agencies and serves as an information resource to promote awareness of new and emerging energy technologies.