University of British Columbia Biodiesel Project

UBC Biodiesel Project

This is a proposal to submit a poster to the AIChE 2013 Student Conference poster competition, within the category of sustainability.  It is our wish to present the UBC biodiesel project at the Sustainability Poster Competition as we feel that it is relevant to all three pillars of sustainability: Environmental, economic and social. In the poster we wish to present the technical details of this project as well as the sustainability goals outlined above, in the hopes of encouraging similar projects at other institutions. It would be an honour to present at the AIChe conference poster competition, as well as a fantastic experience to reward the work we have put in so far and become inspired by the other sustainability-oriented projects being presented.

Torsten Søchting Jaccard

t.jaccard@alumni.ubc.ca.

University of British Columbia

 

Abstract

Biodiesel is a sustainable transportation fuel produced from vegetable oils or animal fats and can be used in any conventional diesel engine. Replacing conventional petro-diesel with biodiesel reduces CO₂ and other regulated emissions. The main goal of the UBC biodiesel project is to turn waste vegetable oil generated on campus into biodiesel. Instead of disposing this waste oil, the on-campus pilot plant turns it into a valuable product. UBC currently pays for disposal of waste vegetable oil, as well as paying for diesel fuel consumed by campus service vehicles. By closing the loop of waste-to-fuel on the UBC campus, the project ultimately improves UBC’s financial and sustainability. In addition to biodiesel, soap is also produced from the glycerine by-product and is used in labs throughout the department. This completes the loop of turning all of the waste-vegetable oil into useful products.

The project, run exclusively by student volunteers from Chemical and Biological Engineering, utilizes a lab scale (70 L) biodiesel production facility. The plant is composed of two reaction vessels, one for esterification pre-treatment of waste oil and the other for the primary trans-esterification reaction, as well as an ion exchange column for dry washing of the biodiesel. In the fall of 2012, two 4^th year Engineering Physics students constructed a blend on demand pumping station as part of their senior project course. The system allows the user to fuel their vehicle with any desired blend of biodiesel, entering it on a control panel. With the support of the department, faculty and external funding, the project has sold over 800L of blended biodiesel fuel to UBC Housing and Hospitality Services for use in their delivery truck. This equates to CO₂ emissions reductions of 365 kg.

The UBC biodiesel project is also a great educational experience for the undergraduate volunteers. The engineering departments can be daunting places for undergraduate students and standardized curriculums offer little opportunity for application of the knowledge gained in class. The UBC biodiesel project gives students this rare opportunity, through plant operation and fuel testing, which includes performing gas chromatography and cloud point measurements.

The focus of many large universities is on research and interactions between undergraduate students and graduate students or professors are limited. The UBC biodiesel project pairs a graduate student with a group of undergrads in biodiesel production teams. This has yielded amazing results, with a number of undergrads working on the project for three years. It is a testament to the students involved as well as the mentorship of our graduate students that this project has not only continued, but expanded.