Popularity of biodiesel continues to grow

Rudolf Diesel had one goal in mind when formulating his engine in the late 1800s. He wanted to stick it to the energy industry of his era by creating an engine that could run on something more widely available to everyone - vegetable oil.

Diesel never saw his vision realized - his engine is, even now, primarily fueled by the very products he once snubbed. His original notion, however, that vegetable oils could one day become as viable an energy source as the petroleum products of his day, has lately seen resurgence.

Biodiesel, typically produced from rapeseed or soybean oil, has gained traction in recent years as a relatively clean-burning fuel. Proponents of biodiesel advocate it as an eco-friendly alternative to reliance on foreign fossil fuels.

Others, however, say it has drawbacks, including a high price tag and the possibility that land committed to producing crops for biodiesel means less food is grown to feed people in less-developed countries.

John Fair, assistant director of EWU's outdoor recreation association, EPIC, says he's given a lot of thought to the pros and cons of biodiesel over the last few months. New regulations by the Washington Department of Transportation have required EPIC to phase out its 15-passenger vans. Fair said this opened up a perfect opportunity to reduce the group's environmental impact by purchasing biodiesel-capable mini-buses.

EPIC plans to lease two 15-passenger coaches, manufactured by Emmet Koelsch in Mukilteo, Wash. The coaches won't be ready for a few more months, but Fair is already looking at ways they might be improved. Although he feels confident that biodiesel is a step in the right direction, Fair thinks they may be able to take things a step further.

"For me, I do have some issues with the way [biodiesel] is impacting the larger economy and ecosystem," said Fair, "but for us one of the first things is cost because biodiesel still costs money, in fact a lot of times it costs more. There are some benefits environmentally, but there is also some detraction."

EPIC then hit on the idea of using "greasel," which is used, filtered vegetable oil (usually reclaimed from fast-food restaurants) that can be used to power a diesel engine.

Fair said EPIC is considering converting the two new mini-buses so that they can run on second-hand grease. "Greasel a lot of times can be incredibly cheap or free," said Fair. "In fact, less than five years ago in this area you could get paid to take the grease, so you could actually make money on your gas transaction."

Fair cited Shelly Murney, a lecturer in art at EWU, as a wellspring of information about greasel. Murney said her family decided to convert two of their cars to run on grease after careful consideration.

"We first got into it because we were commuting about 45 miles a day to work here in Cheney, and needed an alternative," said Murney. "We chose the grease car over hybrid because we didn't want to get into car payments."

Murney said the conversion process is fairly simple, a fact which likely would have pleased Diesel himself.

"Dr. Rudolf Diesel was a true DIY'er [Do-it-yourselfer]," said Murney. "His diesel engine was designed to run on vegetable oil, without any modification. Any diesel engine, new or old, tractor, car, truck, generator can run on biodiesel or be converted to run on grease." Fair said that while EPIC is still examining the greasel option and hasn't committed to anything, they're leaning that way.

"For us, the economy of it and then using only waste products - we're having little impact, environmentally speaking. We're not diverting any food supply into fuel, we're just using waste," he said. Another advantage of conversion is that the vehicle doesn't have to run solely on grease. "What you're doing when you convert to greasel is adding a tank for just the grease. Because of the high gelling point of oil, you have to warm the engine up and cool it down using diesel, so it's going to continue to be a diesel - you never have to de-convert," said Fair.

This is especially appealing to a group that doesn't shy away from backwoods travel. As Fair noted, "If we get to someplace in the middle of nowhere, which we often do, and we have to fill up we just pump diesel into it."

While, as Fair said, grease once was widely available, sources are now closely guarded due to the growing popularity of the fuel.

"For a while we were getting it from Baldy's at EWU, and had a surplus of oil," Murney said, "However, a local Spokane biofuels business, who sells the grease for making biodiesel (and other uses), has been swooping in on our grease connections."

This has led Murney and about five other area greasel enthusiasts to consider joining forces in order to assure a steady supply. One of her friends has joined a national grease car network while another grew a crop of canola to make biodiesel for her truck. More than any other form of fuel, greasel seems to be a lifestyle choice. As Murney said, "My husband and I love working on cars, and having a grease car is the ultimate DIY experience. It gives us our own way to cut the cord on the petroleum industry and alleviates some guilt for driving so much."