The future of American fuel may lie right at home.
The Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition played host to a workshop at Troy University-Dothan on Wednesday aimed at informing the public and government officials about the benefits of biodiesel as an alternative to diesel fuel.
Biodiesel takes advantage of natural oils to burn a cleaner, more environmentally friendly fuel.
“Biodiesel is a product primarily made from vegetable oils as well as animal fats and waste vegetable oil,” said Mark Bentley, executive director of the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition. “It was developed by Rudolf Diesel about 100 years ago and made from peanuts. Over the years, it has been used by farmers and more and more in the transportation sector because it is a much cleaner fuel. It also has more lubricity, which makes the engine work better, and it has a higher cetane number, which gives the engine more get-up-and-go.”
A key advantage of biodiesel comes from its location – it can essentially be made anywhere.
“We spend about $1 billion a day in the U.S. buying fuel from other countries, and we need to get away from that,” Bentley said. “There are some specific advantages -- it’s American grown and it’s cleaner for the environment. It is domestically made, has better air quality parameters, and, when it’s produced in this country or this state, it provides jobs and economic growth.”
The City of Enterprise has been using a biodiesel mixture for a year now.
“We’ve had no real problems with it,” said Jimmy Kilgore, Enterprise’s public works director. “It’s a bit of a fuel savings. We’re saving anywhere from $1 to $2 a gallon, plus it’s good for the environment.”
Enterprise’s fuel uses 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel.
The biodiesel mixture comes from excess cooking oil from around the city.
“We get it from residents and businesses around town, with certain drop-off points,” Kilgore said. “If any local businesses are interested in providing their excess grease, please give us a call and we’ll pick it up. It also helps us keep grease out of the sewage system.”
Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said the county is now looking at switching to biodiesel fuel.
“We don’t currently use any biodiesel, but based on information we are gathering, we are going to evaluate the use of it,” Culver said. “There seem to be some advantages, we just want be sure there are not any offsets.”
Bentley said Wednesdsay’s workshop featured two biodiesel producers, one based out of Creola and one from Bainbridge, Ga.
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