Sunday, April 26, 2009

Success!


UR Biodiesel officially kicked off last Wednesday at a well-attended kickoff celebration. Thanks to all of you who were able to attend! We are now hard at work getting set up for the bus to be in a regular rotation. ...


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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Kickoff Ceremony

Check out the link to the Biodiesel Kickoff Press Release: http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=3353 The kickoff is next Wednesday, April 22nd, at 1:30pm. Please join us! Here is some more information:

What: The UR Biodiesel Kickoff Ceremony
Where: On Hutchison Road (the road between the Hopeman Engineering Building and the Goergen BME/Optics Building) on the U of R River Campus and in the Goergen BME/Optics Building Atrium.
When: Wednesday, April 22nd (Earth Day). The ceremony will begin at 1:30pm, and a reception including tours of the facility will follow until 3pm.
Why: Three years in the making, UR Biodiesel is ready to officially kick off and begin running a campus bus on biodiesel, fueled by the grease from River Campus dining centers. Join us at the ceremony to learn a little bit about the history of the project from those involved and to hear President Joel Seligman discuss the University's commitment to sustainability. From 2-3pm, you can be among the first to ride the biodiesel bus as it drives across campus where you can get a close look at where we make biodiesel and get a tour of the UR Biodiesel lab. Also, feel free to stop by the Goergen BME/Optics atrium for some refreshments, an opportunity to learn about the biodiesel process, chat with the students, faculty and staff involved, and get a coupon for some free french fries to keep our "fuel" supply strong! For more information, visit www.urbiodiesel.com.
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Sunday, April 12, 2009

Bus Being Painted

Thanks to the help of American Fleet, the Biodiesel Bus is currently being professionally painted, sanded and repaired. Also, we are using environmentally friendly water-based paint! By the end of this week, the bus will also have the decals installed as well...


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Sunday, April 5, 2009

Bus Prep and Painting Begins

The Biodiesel Bus has been moved to the American Fleet garage, as they will be prepping, repairing and painting it for us to prepare for the kickoff. (Also, big thanks to American Fleet for their generosity and support!) Meanwhile, we are still working on our first batch in the lab. The biodiesel spent the weekend in the settling tank, and tomorrow we plan to drain the glycerin and pump the biodiesel into the wash tank. Things are certainly moving quickly with UR Biodiesel! ...


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Thursday, April 2, 2009

We Are Making Biodiesel!

Yesterday, we transferred the WVO from the storage drum into the processor. Today, we added lye and methanol and started running the processor to allow the chemicals to mix with the WVO. We will let it sit in the processor overnight, and then continue the process tomorrow. Stay tuned for another update soon...


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