MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon Nazarene University is hoping to expand its biodiesel program in the near future through increased knowledge of the university’s green initiatives. According to Carrie Crouch, director of communications at MVNU, one of the paths the university is pursuing is leading to possibly acquiring the butter sculptures from the Ohio State Fair in Columbus and turning the fat into fuel.
Crouch said the university was approached by a member of the American Dairy Association after a press release describing the biodiesel program was circulated. However, MVNU’s machine is designed for use with waste vegetable oil, not butter, which contains a much higher percentage of water than oil. Crouch explained that the excess moisture would have to be removed before the butter was processed into fuel. She said there is a possibility the university could perform this process with solar power supplying the energy required.
According to Crouch, butter sculptures from the Pennsylvania State Fair are given to Pennsylvania State University to be processed into biodiesel, and this was the inspiration for the current talks that are under way.
“All of these are dreams that we hope will come true,” said Crouch.
Jeff Spear, vice president of finance at MVNU, said he hopes the university will be able to display the biodiesel-producing equipment at the Ohio State Fair, and possibly process the waste vegetable oil from the fair.
“Some of it is used to make soap,” said Spear, “but in a lot of cases it’s just destroyed.”
Spear also said he hopes MVNU will be able to collect waste vegetable oil from local restaurants in the future.
“We’d love to be a resource for the community,” he said, adding that instead of local restaurants paying to have the waste oil disposed of, MVNU could pick up the oil instead. “It’s kind of a win-win for everybody.”
Spear said the university has made contact with several local restaurants, but nothing had been “nailed down specifically yet.”
The equipment to produce the biodiesel cost MVNU around $5,000, according to Spear, and produces biodiesel for less than $1 per gallon. However, he said the university is starting out slow in producing the biodiesel, and that it will take some time to earn back the initial investment. Since the beginning of 2008, only around 400 gallons of biodiesel have been produced at MVNU, according to Spear.
Trucks and other equipment at MVNU are running on a mixture of biodiesel and regular diesel. Spear explained that when the biodiesel is produced, it converts the waste vegetable oil into a type of alcohol, which can be corrosive when used in some equipment.
One remaining concern for the biodiesel initiative at MVNU, said Spear, is that “we don’t generate enough fry oil.” He also said the university hopes to acquire a trailer that can be used to pick up waste vegetable oil from local restaurants.
“We like to take it right out of the fryer,” said Spear. “That’s the best way to go, because we know it’s clean.”
