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Dan Browne takes a break from hauling 55 gallon barrels into the truck and breaks the skin of a plum that was hidden in his hoodie. "Do these look legit enough?" He asks as he gobbles the stone fruit in one gnash. It's hot out; steam rises from the paved driveway. I'm surprised he didn't swallow the pit. 

 

He was referring to the forest green barrels, which from what we can tell, were formally used to house much harsher chemicals than anything we were going to use them for. These barrels were going to be our oil collection terminals. Precious waste-oil from the University of Portland's food service kitchens (managed by the impeccable Kirk Mustain of Bon Appetit) would be transferred into these once-orphaned barrels to complete the first stage of our on-campus biodiesel production project. 

 

This project, borne by the backs of alumni before us, was finally coming into its own and through the complicated dance of administration approval finally had a toehold of a chance to flourish because of the university's recently enacted Climate Action Plan. The biodiesel project falls under the actions stated on Pages 10 and 11 of the Plan and according to all the hard work our team had put into the last year, our Solutions-in-Action were absolutely 'legit'. But he had a point, were we 'legit' enough?

 

Since first completing our Action Plan in April 2011, to institutionalize biodiesel production at the University of Portland for the use of groundskeeper and service vehicles, Dan and I had set to practice our biodiesel production skills during the summer so we could put together a feasible work plan for the upcoming academic year. He, the Innovator, was much more advanced than I, the Politico (not having touched a chemistry set since grade five), and already familiar with the biodiesel reactant process. The summer flew by and our team had garnered a working knowledge on the chemicals used to formulate fresh B100 (100% biodiesel). We were ready to roll out batches; all we needed was a couple of Jane and John Hancock's. 

 

Dancing; it's been a passion of mine since I learned to stand and from what I've decided, I'm pretty good at it. Dancing in and out of meetings looking for project approval was a little harder. A green light for our green project meant we needed to set up a club, find a Campus Advisor (CA), look into a paid student work position (preferably funded as Federal Work Study), and scare up funding for material costs and club member incentives. There was lots of groundwork to put in, but finally in September we secured a CA (noted biodiesel enthusiast and original champion of the project, Kevin "Dr. C" Cantrell, PhD, from the Chemistry department), and Dan put in an application for an official student organization, making the project eligible for funding. 

 

Much progress has been made throughout the semester, Dan and his executive board had successful club member recruitment meetings, showing students from multiple disciplines the path waste-oil takes to become biodiesel. The barrels were set up behind the main dining hall; 40 gallons of waste-oil a week are transferred from the kitchen to the reactor by crews of students. Updates of the project were communicated twice monthly to Dr. C, the university's service-learning center and the Presidential Advisory Committee on Sustainability to create transparent and inclusive partnerships between students and administration. Since graduating in May, I now work behind the scenes at FTN as a Leadership Development Fellow in hopes to support Dan and Co.’s biodiesel efforts in a new role in this Phase 3 project. The only hitch in the works was hold-up from the committee that approves new student clubs due to an unforeseen, prolonged committee recess. 

 

Currently, the project is in need of an executive document stating project goals and the means to achieve them; basically it would be an expanded version of our original Action Plan. The document would be used to prove cause for a student paid work position to handle the day-to-day maintenance of the reactor and development of the community outreach phase of the project (doesn’t that sound more fun than sweeping leaves as a student job on campus?). Dan and I have some lofty goals for the biodiesel project. In our vision, the university will one day use the project as a landmark example of successful and sustainable cross-pollination between university departments and administration-student relations. 

 

In the video you’ll see a sped-up version of part of the biodiesel process, specifically titration. Titration is part of a volumetric analysis where a substance is discovered in a solution (triglycerides) and then reacted with another solution (in this case Potassium Hydroxide--KOH). Used in biodiesel, titration separates the glycerin from the oil and replaces it with methanol to activate it’s potential as a fuel.  

 

 

Here is what I learned from working hands-on with such an advantageous alternative fuel: while the biodiesel reactant process is mostly closed-loop, glycerol is a by-product from batch washing (a necessary step to producing the fuel) and can be used for other purposes; such uses include, but are not limited to, sweetener additive, thickening agent, personal care items (soap) and pharmaceutical agents. While producing biodiesel is our primary objective to the project, we could also determine a use for the glycerol we happen upon for free; this is where the business part of my brain switches on. 

 

Our long-term goal for the project is to include the surrounding neighborhoods surrounding the campus; our first step in community outreach would be to quantify the need for either waste-oil capture or biodiesel use. In exchange for waste-oil and to incentivize broader alternative fuel use we would like to offer the community possible course credit on campus in an effort to engage continuing education, and foster a more intimate relationship between the campus and local neighbors. Alumni, like me, could find ways to either capture waste-oil or use UP-produced (think of all the awesome logo ideas!) biodiesel and continue what we learned during our tenure at the university by expanding the closed-loop, local energy-sourced lifestyle; what I believe would fall under the UP mission tenet of “Service and Leadership.” Legitimacy is in the wings or too legit to quit? Let us know below in the comments.