2008 Woodie Awards
Team develops alternative fuel
By: Jenny Mccallister
Issue date: 9/8/06 Section: News
South Carolina already sells bio-diesel in the form of B20 which consists of 20 percent bio-diesel blended with 80 percent petroleum diesel. "In fact, Greenville has one of the highest concentration of fueling stations in the country for both bio-diesel and E85 (85 percent ethanol 15 percent gasoline blend)," said Walker. The closest station to Clemson that sells both B20 and E85 is the Spinx station at the Liberty exit off of Highway 123.
With oil costs on the rise, the cost of bio-diesel fuel compared to that of petroleum based diesel has recently become competitive. Walker said that the ethyl ester form of bio-diesel breakeven cost is estimated at $2.39/U.S. gallon with raw material cost of canola oil at $0.20/lb. Although the price is comparable at this point in time, bio-diesel fuel has many benefits over petroleum based diesel. "By burning petroleum oil in the inefficient engines of today, this converts valuable, non-renewable carbon to carbon dioxide very inefficiently instead of using it more efficiently in the form of high-end plastics," he said.
According to Walker, switching to renewable fuels for energy will allow us to become "carbon-neutral" by recycling carbon from plants and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which could potentially reduce global warming in future generations and create new industries with "exciting new technologies."
When asked how this accomplishment will impact Clemson and everywhere else in the state, he commented, "Ultimately this may be used to run buses to Greenville ICAR, run off-road vehicles and bio-diesel generators, as well as the current new bio-diesel vehicle that collects the waste oil on campus." One major event that has taken place with the vegetable oil-based bio-diesel fuel already is that it was used to run and demonstrate the new vehicle last Saturday at the Clemson vs. Florida Atlantic football game.
With oil costs on the rise, the cost of bio-diesel fuel compared to that of petroleum based diesel has recently become competitive. Walker said that the ethyl ester form of bio-diesel breakeven cost is estimated at $2.39/U.S. gallon with raw material cost of canola oil at $0.20/lb. Although the price is comparable at this point in time, bio-diesel fuel has many benefits over petroleum based diesel. "By burning petroleum oil in the inefficient engines of today, this converts valuable, non-renewable carbon to carbon dioxide very inefficiently instead of using it more efficiently in the form of high-end plastics," he said.
According to Walker, switching to renewable fuels for energy will allow us to become "carbon-neutral" by recycling carbon from plants and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which could potentially reduce global warming in future generations and create new industries with "exciting new technologies."
When asked how this accomplishment will impact Clemson and everywhere else in the state, he commented, "Ultimately this may be used to run buses to Greenville ICAR, run off-road vehicles and bio-diesel generators, as well as the current new bio-diesel vehicle that collects the waste oil on campus." One major event that has taken place with the vegetable oil-based bio-diesel fuel already is that it was used to run and demonstrate the new vehicle last Saturday at the Clemson vs. Florida Atlantic football game.
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