2008 Woodie Awards
Piedmont Biofuels recycles caf oils
Lauren Newmyer
Issue date: 3/21/08 Section: News
"It's no secret anymore that for every nine barrels of oil we consume, we are only discovering one," stated the BP statistical Review of World Energy.
With gas prices skyrocketing and talk of the frightening and fast-approaching phenomenon known as "peak oil," demand for alternative energy sources has emerged.
On Feb. 27, Greg Austic from Piedmont Biofuels gave a presentation on biodiesel, a fuel derived from vegetable or animal fat that can be combined with or used independently from regular petroleum diesel fuel.
Piedmont Biofuels is a co-op located in Pittsboro, NC that manufactures, markets and sells biodiesel. From their other location in Moncure, NC, they conduct workshops on making fuel to run a vehicle out of vegetable oil. Piedmont Biofuels also actively lobbies for renewable energy.
Waste Management takes care of most recycling and trash collection, but there is no state or federal designated service to recycle cooking oil despite the fact that businesses and institutions receive fines if they do not have their old oil picked up to be recycled. In recent months, Austic has come to Guilford every three weeks to pick up all the used cooking oil from the cafeteria to recycle it into biodiesel.
"The alternative to Piedmont Biofuels picking (used cooking oil) up and turning it into biodiesel is that nothing be done with it except let it pollute," said junior Gabriela Spang. "As long as we are frying foods and using cooking fats, it makes sense to recycle them into fuel for automobiles."
Spang, who has an internship with Sodexho coordinating events for sustainability, invited Austic to give a presentation on the advantages of switching to more sustainable fuel sources.
"Alternative energy is a way to take an active role in changing the way we interact with the world for the better," Austic said. "A lot of people, especially of college-age, do a lot of talking about sustainability and change but it is often unclear what form that takes. Biofuels and alternative energy generally is an exciting and growing field where one can really be part of the solution."
With gas prices skyrocketing and talk of the frightening and fast-approaching phenomenon known as "peak oil," demand for alternative energy sources has emerged.
On Feb. 27, Greg Austic from Piedmont Biofuels gave a presentation on biodiesel, a fuel derived from vegetable or animal fat that can be combined with or used independently from regular petroleum diesel fuel.
Piedmont Biofuels is a co-op located in Pittsboro, NC that manufactures, markets and sells biodiesel. From their other location in Moncure, NC, they conduct workshops on making fuel to run a vehicle out of vegetable oil. Piedmont Biofuels also actively lobbies for renewable energy.
Waste Management takes care of most recycling and trash collection, but there is no state or federal designated service to recycle cooking oil despite the fact that businesses and institutions receive fines if they do not have their old oil picked up to be recycled. In recent months, Austic has come to Guilford every three weeks to pick up all the used cooking oil from the cafeteria to recycle it into biodiesel.
"The alternative to Piedmont Biofuels picking (used cooking oil) up and turning it into biodiesel is that nothing be done with it except let it pollute," said junior Gabriela Spang. "As long as we are frying foods and using cooking fats, it makes sense to recycle them into fuel for automobiles."
Spang, who has an internship with Sodexho coordinating events for sustainability, invited Austic to give a presentation on the advantages of switching to more sustainable fuel sources.
"Alternative energy is a way to take an active role in changing the way we interact with the world for the better," Austic said. "A lot of people, especially of college-age, do a lot of talking about sustainability and change but it is often unclear what form that takes. Biofuels and alternative energy generally is an exciting and growing field where one can really be part of the solution."
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