Biofuels Project

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Biofuels Project
PO Box 1510
Pembroke, NC 28372

Phone: 910.521.6608
Fax: 910.521.6638
Email: biofuels@uncp.edu

Location: Oxendine Science Building
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project details

General Information

UNCP’s biodiesel reactor arrived on campus in the Spring of 2007, providing a new opportunity for faculty and students to engage in the research and production of biodiesel. The reactor was designed and built by Piedmont Biofuels using discarded material from a recently closed pharmaceutical company in North Carolina. The total cost of equipment, assembly and training for the reactor was approximately $10,000; the mobile unit where the reactor is mounted cost an additional $10,000. The biodiesel is produced from waste vegetable oil, yielding the most efficient production process to date. Each batch of waste vegetable oil will produce 45 gallons of biodiesel at roughly a cost of $3.50 per gallon. UNCP is also a consumer of the biodiesel created by this reactor. The University has successfully used biodiesel produced on campus in trucks, busses, tractors, and lawn mowers.

Biodiesel production is much safer than dealing with regular diesel since it has a much higher point of ignition (flash point). The collection of waste vegetable oil is also advantageous to businesses which choose to donate their oil. This is due to the fact that businesses generally have to pay for disposal of waste vegetable oil, but UNCP collects and uses the oil to create biodiesel. Another advantage is that standard diesel engines can use biodiesel without the need for conversion. However, biodiesel works better in diesel engines when it is blended with petroleum diesel in an 80% biodiesel and 20% petroleum mixture. A representation of the process can be seen in the animation below.

Learn more about Biodiesel Production

Updated: Thursday, December 20, 2007