Biodiesel
Aylesbury Town Council, with support from the Greater Aylesbury Local Area Forum, are getting to work on an exciting new project; we’re going to produce biodiesel.
Biodiesel can be made from cooking oil using a relatively simple chemical process and the correct equipment. This will have a number of benefits both environmental and financial.
The project ties into our other energy procurement and management plans. We have recently started to use Red Diesel and Solar Power.
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Biofuel & Biodiesel
Constructed in 1897, the first prototype of the Diesel engine was run on peanut oil. This is an example of a biofuel – a fuel derived from living, or recently living, organisms. Rudolf Diesel designed his engine to produce kinetic energy from any oil based product using high pressure and compressed air.
Modern Diesel engines, evolving from this original design, have and engineered dependence on diesel produced from crude oil distillation. Biodiesel is a biofuel which modern diesel engines can run, usually without modification.
Using a relatively simple chemical process controlled by specialised equipment, used cooking oil can be transformed into biodiesel. This process is referred to as transesterification. Once this is completed it can be used, usually in ratio with standard diesel, in engines.
You can read more about transesterification and biodiesel production on Wikipedia.
Aylesbury Town Council’s Biodiesel Plans
With support from the Greater Aylesbury Local Area Forum, Aylesbury Town Council hopes to produce biodiesel from cooking oil.
Self produced biodiesel is clean, green and cheaper than diesel from the pump.
By making and using biodiesel, carbon emissions are lower, a product is recycled instead of being thrown away, and our fuel expenses will be significantly reduced.
Helping Aylesbury Town Council
This is where we need your help. Aylesbury Town Council would like a supply of vegetable oil to turn into biodiesel. This could be used cooking oil you’ve prepared meals with, or it could be unused wholesale oil you’d like to donate. Either way we can use it to make biodiesel.
This will help reduce our fuel expenses and carbon footprint. It will help you with your waste oil management and contribute to your corporate social responsibility programme. There are many other benefits for both parties.
If you would like to know more, a business briefing paper has been written which includes further details. It can be downloaded here. The next step would be to contact Aylesbury Town Council’s Project Officer.
Our Partners & Supporters
Aylesbury Town Council have been lucky enough to receive financial support from the Greater Aylesbury Local Area Forum. You can read more about them and their work by clicking here.
We thank them for their support.
The biodiesel special projects thumbnail and above banner image are (c) FreeFoto, and is used under Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.