Contaminated WVO...Lessons Learned!

I have been picking up waste vegetable oil (WVO) from two FiveStar locations, Larry's Midway Market, and Hardscratch Country Store for between 1 and 2 years now; and never have I seen oil that looks, smells, or feels like this! We had just made our first pick up from a new restaurant in town, and they had a very large volume of oil. We assumed that it was because they were just starting out, testing the frequency of oil changes, etc. Well, we had to throw out over half of the oil due to chicken parts and mushrooms and other food scraps in the oil. The rest of the oil looked different but we went ahead and put it in our 300-gallon WVO storage containers anyway. Last week, I taught my sophomore class about the chemistry and processing of biodiesel using waste vegetable oil. (See the slideshow below to see the students at work!) We followed the steps perfectly; came in the next morning....no glycerin fallout! WHAT!! Not wanting to just blow off the project, I talked to the students about some concerns I had based on my experience, but we went ahead and did a 3/27 test and a miscibility test so that they could learn these testing processes. The 3/27 test looked like a "PASS" but the miscibility test showed 3 distinct layers...almost equal in size. So the students started to ask questions that I couldn't answer on the fly, as I had never seen results like this before! We began the think that maybe the lye water (catalyst solution) was expired and therefore gave us a false titration value. Maybe we didn't use enough lye therefore not achieving a full reaction, even though four titrations were completed and yielded very close results...? I took this as an opportunity to talk about the fact that sometimes things don't work out as planned and we must learn from these times. Meanwhile back in the lab, Doug and I began to perform titrations with a fresh batch of lye water (titration solution). The titration values were, in fact, higher than those in the classroom. Please keep in mind that the same WVO was used by both classes and by Doug and I. The next morning (a snow day for school...woo hoo) I texted Doug about the gylcerin fallout. He said, "NO FALL OUT" and it was worse than the classroom batches! We noticed the same "skin" that formed on the top of the fuel in the classroom also formed in the lab. There were free fatty acids and soaps floating around in the fuel. After a quick phone call to our "Biodiesel Help Line"...Mr. Graydon Blair, with Utah Biodiesel Supply, he assured us that we definitely received some contaminated oil. Since we do not actually know where all the oil comes from and what the supplier puts in it, this is not an uncommon problem. The only way to deal with it is to wash, reprocess, wash, wash, and wash! See some pictures below of the "skin" that was formed when the oil was exposed to air. Also notice the jelly like (soap) that was floating on top of the WVO in the barrel.

So, today I found myself on my farm draining over 200 gallons of contaminated oil!

This was oil that has been collected by students for almost a year! I hated to drain it, but it just wasn't worth the time it was taking to wash it, dry it, reprocess it, and filter it. Not to mention the cost of the methanol and lye used to reprocess it. I am betting that there will be some very happy critters next to the tree line where I dumped the oil! Lesson Learned: We need to educate oil donors prior to taking their oil. We cannot take ANYTHING BUT OIL! Not your cleaning solution, not your scraps, not scrapings from the grease trap, not leftover food! The cleaning solution is probably what really made the biggest negative impact in the make up of the oil. The bigger companies who are picking up oil at most fast food restaurants here must sign a contract stating that they will only put WVO in the provided containers. We should do the same (or have a similar program). I guarantee that Doug and I both will be more careful about what we pour into our processors and tanks from now on!! Wet fuel and contaminated fuel.....we've now experienced both! TTYL!! Heather

A "New" Partnership for the Academy - Newcomb Oil Company

I am so glad to share this awesome news with you all! Newcomb Oil (Five Star) has agreed to donate all of their waste vegetable oil to the ETCA for our production of biodiesel! We will start getting the oil from the two stores located in Columbia, and then as the demand grows, we have been given permission to get the oil from the stores in Taylor and Green counties! THANK YOU NEWCOMB OIL!! They have become great "Partners in Sustainability". We are working on window stickers to promote awareness of their efforts toward sustainability and also to promote the Academy and our endeavors to increase membership and support. So, when you see these stickers on the Five Star windows/doors, please tell the store personnel "Thank You" for helping reduce the carbon footprint in our community by donating their Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) to make biodiesel!

A new "Partner in Sustainability" is Larry's Midway Market (the old Yarberry's Grocery) on Highway E 80. Larry heard about the Academy collecting WVO on my radio show, and he called right away! Larry moved here from California where he served the LAPD! Talk about a culture shock! He has just opened and is a really nice guy...and energy conscious!!! Thank you, Larry!

Right now, the Academy is picking up oil on Wednesdays. The ETCA has supplied 5-gallon buckets to the participating stores as it makes it easier for the employees to drain the grease and it is not as messy to transport in my vehicle! We still collect the empty used oil containers so that we can REUSE them when we get our biodiesel made. What about the cardboard on the outside of the carboys? We RECYCLE it, of course! I get lots of questions regarding the production of the biodiesel, and as of now we are stockpiling the oil. The processor is in the Ag Barn (outside) and it would just take too much electricity to keep the oil warm all the time.



So....we are making solar panels!
Last week, a great friend of mine who is a toolmaker came over to make an idea come to life! The students and I decided that no matter how well our solar panels worked, they had to look as nice as possible. And to make them look professional, we would need to have equal spacing between the cells as we soldered them together. So, Gary Burgess, from Burgess Tool & Die, paid us a visit. We explained to him what we wanted and I went to pick up the fixture on Friday! Now that's service!!!



We have learned one hard lesson...you can't even LOOK AT these solar cells too hard or they will crack! Every time we have to pick one up, we are risking a break. Since I am trying to teach "FTQ"...First Time Quality, we have several in-process checks to make sure that our soldering has produced a good quality joint. We are using the instructions as a guide, but pretty much making our own (with pictures!) as we go. We are using lessons learned from panel #1!

We are working on a couple of other projects, too! One is the Vending Miser Project. Be looking for a post soon about this exciting energy sustainability project that the Academy is doing with the Elementary and Intermediate schools. We are also piloting he project with the Science Club tomorrow....it's Club Day!! Woo Hoo!! Stay tuned....

That's all for now...
Heather