The used fryer oil problem

Most restaurants and commercial kitchens change their fryer oil at least once a week, or even daily. Over time, this can add up to a lot of used oil that has to be disposed of, since pouring it down the drain is a sure way to clog your pipes, and TWSA (the local wastewater treatment operator) frowns heavily against grease in the sewage. So any business that creates large quantities of used cooking oil generally collects it in a smelly bin out back, and pays for an oil-collection company to come haul it away. Even Mom in the kitchen has a difficult job getting rid of used oil — can't pour it down the drain, can't dump it in the trash, and pouring it in the compost pile risks a night-time visit from the local raccoons or the neighbor’s dogs.

The Biodiesel Solution

Waste vegetable oil (as well as virgin vegetable oils, or even animal fat) can be converted into biodiesel — a clean-burning, non-toxic, renewable fuel that can be used in any diesel engine. Biodiesel burns much cleaner than normal petroleum diesel, with tailpipe pollutants reduced by 40 to 100 percent. And in pre-2007 vehicles, biodiesel can even reduce engine wear by increasing the lubricity (slipperiness) of the fuel.

With the drastic rise in fuel costs, Jackson County is looking for different ways to reduce overall fuel expenditures. If the county can collect enough waste vegetable oil, a large portion of the diesel fuel that is currently purchased each year (roughly 80,000 gallons/year) could be offset with biodiesel that we make ourselves. This fuel would be used in county buses, vehicles, and heavy equipment only, and would not be available for retail sales.

Benefits to oil donors

By donating their used vegetable oil to the county, businesses can eliminate oil-disposal costs, and at the same time receive a tax deduction for a charitable contribution. For those producing large quantities of fryer oil each week, the county plans to remove the oil for free. The county will even provide new grease bins to store the oil in until it can be collected. Individuals or businesses with smaller amounts of used oil will be able to bring their oil to the Green Energy Park or to any of the county staffed recycling centers, and still receive a tax credit.

Even more important, the use of biodiesel dramatically improves the air quality inside the school buses. Several recent studies have shown pollution levels inside an operating school bus to be four to eight times higher than pollutant levels outside the rear of the bus. The fine particles found in diesel exhaust have been proven to increase the likelihood of childhood asthma, while buses using biodiesel fuel emit 70 percent less of these same fine particulates. To many parents, that’s reason enough to find a way to get biodiesel into school buses. And, fewer cases of childhood asthma and other pollution-related illnesses means lower public health care costs.

Where and when will this happen?

The Jackson County Commissioners have approved funds to construct a small biodiesel production operation at the Jackson County Green Energy Park. This includes monies for production equipment, storage tanks, process chemicals, a collection truck and a full-time process operator. However, none of these funds will be spent until enough waste vegetable oil is guaranteed available to make it worth the effort. When enough waste oil is secured, production of biodiesel would begin by the end of 2008.

Green Energy Park staff are consulting with Piedmont Biofuels, the National Biodiesel Board and other biodiesel producers to ensure that both equipment and personnel training will be state-of-the-art. The program will be modeled on the highly successful efforts in Gaston County, where they are producing 2,000 to 5,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel per week, at a cost of $.95 per gallon. Plans are to take the program a step further by using methane gas from the old Dillsboro landfill to provide the necessary process heat, further reducing operating costs.

How can I participate?

Area restaurants, schools, colleges and commercial kitchens will be contacted by the Green Energy Park in the coming month, to see if they wish to participate in our waste oil collection program. Interested parties may also contact the GEP directly (828/631-0271) to sign up. Once the program is underway, collection drums will be placed at all of the county SRCs so that citizens can conveniently dispose of their used cooking oil. Closed and labeled containers of used fryer oil can also be brought directly to the Green Energy Park.

For more information on biodiesel or on the Green Energy Park in general, visit www.JCGEP.org.

Contributed by Timm Muth, director of the Jackson County Green Energy Park.