Green as the New Norm
Feb 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Mike Kennedy (mkennedy@asumag.com)
More schools and universities are embracing environmentally sensitive practices as they build and renovate facilities.
From the frying pan into the … gas tank?
Students and staff at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., might not have to feel so guilty about eating fried foods.
Deep frying still is considered less healthful than other ways of preparing food, but at least the oil used to prepare such fat-soaked menu items at campus kitchens is not contributing to the waste stream.
Instead of discarding the cooking oil, the school's food-service operation turns the liquid over to The Dickinson College Biodiesel Project, begun by students in 2006. The project's website says that students collect oil — between 50 and 150 gallons a week — that is used in fryers on campus, as well as at area restaurants. They bring the oil to a biodiesel plant that has been set up in the college's facilities management building and, under the supervision of staff members, converts it to biodiesel.
Campus personnel use the biodiesel fuel to power lawn mowers, garbage trucks, farm equipment and other diesel engines. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that most diesel engines can run on biodiesel without needing any special equipment. Reusing the oil instead of disposing of it reduces Dickinson's carbon footprint, and operating equipment with cleaner-burning biodiesel means the college is releasing fewer pollutants into the atmosphere. Dickinson says production and use of biodiesel results in an 80 percent lifecycle reduction of carbon dioxide emissions when compared with fossil fuels.
Students involved in the Biodiesel Project also are researching sustainable ways of using the glycerol that is created as a byproduct of the biodiesel conversion. The glycerol can be used to create soap — either solid or liquid, depending on what chemicals are used in the biodiesel conversion. The liquid version has been marketed on the Dickinson campus as "Green Devil Bio-Suds."
"Several personnel from the college facilities management department use the soap for personal body care and report it is most effective as a hand cleaner following greasy, dirty work," the college says.
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