First Batch Tomorrow!

After long last, we plan to begin our first batch of biodiesel tomorrow (Wednesday) at 1pm. Anybody is welcome to join us. I'm sure there will be hiccups, but hopefully it will work!...


Click Here to Read The Rest of This Post!

Want to Paint the Bus?

We need your help! We will be sanding, cleaning, priming and painting the bus on Saturday and Sunday (THIS weekend). We could use all the help we can get! Email me at eric.weissmann@rochester.edu if you think you can help us out!...


Click Here to Read The Rest of This Post!

Piping 96% Complete; First Batch Expected This Week

We are very, very close to finishing all of the piping and the processor. We need to complete one more small section of pipe, and then we are basically done. All of our electrical work is done, we have tightened a few sections with leaks and fixed a few problems, and we are almost ready to go. After a few labels and safety measures are completed, we expect to actually produce our first batch of biodiesel on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Stay tuned for an update on how that goes....


Click Here to Read The Rest of This Post!

Bus Painting

As it turns out, it is a little too expensive to have the Biodiesel Bus professionally painted. So instead, we are going to paint it ourselves! If you or your organization are interested in helping with this, please let me know. We plan to paint the bus next weekend (April 4-5). We already tested out the paint color and look on a corner of the bus, and it looks fantastic. ...


Click Here to Read The Rest of This Post!

UR Biodiesel Kickoff

Sorry it has been a little while since the last post. The UR Biodiesel Kickoff is officially scheduled for Wednesday, April 22nd at 1:30pm (Earth Day). The event will take place outside the Goergen BME/Optics building on the River Campus (across from the Hopeman Engineering Building).

From 1:30-2pm, a few individuals will speak for a few minutes about this history and significance of UR Biodiesel. Then, from about 2pm-3:30pm, anybody interested can take a ride on the UR Biodiesel bus and take a tour of the UR Biodiesel Lab. At the same time, others can join us in the Munnerlyn Atrium in the Goergen BME/Optics building for refreshments, photos, conversation and general sustainability information. ...


Click Here to Read The Rest of This Post!

Bus Advertising / How to Contribute to UR Biodiesel

Are you interested in advertising on the UR Biodiesel Bus, or making a contribution to support it? Do you know somebody who might be? We are actively seeking funding to help cover costs associated with the UR Biodiesel project. If you or somebody you know can help us out, please email me at eric.weissmann@rochester.edu and I will send you more information....


Click Here to Read The Rest of This Post!

Piping Complete Through Settling Tank

Last week Dan, Dave and Eris completed the piping into the settling tank. All that is left is to finish the piping from the settling tank and into the wash tank, and then from the wash tank and into the dry tank. We are trying to complete the electric work to the processor next week, but we already tested the processor to make sure that it works. So, overall, we are hopefully on track to finish up everything in the facility in the next couple weeks!...


Click Here to Read The Rest of This Post!

WVO Added to Storage Drum; Fat-Mobile Tested Successfully!

Remember all of that Waste Vegetable Oil that we had lying around the facility? On Friday, we went ahead and poured it into one of the 55-gallon storage drums. Let me promise you -- that's some gross stuff. It's just nasty. Since the weather was so nice, it was also a great day to test out the "Fat-Mobile." This is the tank that we outfitted to pump WVO into it from the dining centers an then pump it back out into our storage. After some initial complications, we finally got it to work.

I wore gloves and a lab coat while pouring the WVO into the storage container because it was splashing all over me.





Eris and Ken are trying to "prime" the pump in this photo. This was not an easy task, and involved them getting their hands a little dirty.





Here is a photo of the first successful test of the pump. The long pole on the right has a few holes near the bottom to suck the WVO into the tank. Since the holes are small, it also ensures that we do not suck in bones or other large objects, so it acts as a pre-filtering system. The small pipe on the left is where the WVO is pumped out into the tank....




Click Here to Read The Rest of This Post!

Bus Design Nearing Completion

Congratulations to the winners of the UR Bio-Bus design competition! They are Jose Uvalles and Roxana Cueva, and they designed a great looking bus that really captures the right image. We will be revealing the design soon, so look out for that. Congrats again! ... Click Here to Read The Rest of This Post!

WVO Building Up

We have now made quite a few pickups of Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) from Danforth and the Pit. Additionally, we are starting to collect WVO from Facilities employees looking for a good way to get rid of it, which is fantastic. We are a free and easy way to safely dispose of WVO...and best of all, we are coverting it into biodiesel! We just about have enough WVO to complete a batch, so we are just waiting to finish and test the processor before we do that.

Do you happen to have WVO from your personal fryer? We want it! Email me at eric.weissmann@rochester.edu and we can schedule a time to get it from you. Don't just throw it away...we will put it to good use! ...



Click Here to Read The Rest of This Post!

Processor Operational

Sorry it's been a while since the last update; we've been a little swamped. We have quite a bit of piping completed now. We have successfully pumped water from the WVO storage containers into the processor, heated the water and recirculated it. This is great news, as it means that the processor (water heater) works and much of the most essential piping is complete. This week we will be continuing to work on piping from the processor into the settling tank, over to the wash tank, and then to the dry tank. We also hope that electrical and water drops will be completed this or next week. ...



Click Here to Read The Rest of This Post!