<font size="6"><center>Road trips begin with a deep fryer</font size></center>
<font size><center>Local drivers get up to 50 miles per gallon
using cooking oil to power their diesel engines </font size></center>
By PATRICK CAIN, Special to the Times Union
First published: Sunday, July 17, 2005
Mark Merrett's 1997 Volkswagen Passat is on a high-fat, high-mileage diet.
His car runs on used vegetable oil, and he gets up to 50 miles per gallon of the stuff. Merrett fuels up for free about twice a week at Manory's, the oldest restaurant in Troy, reducing the number of times he needs to pay the $2.60-per-gallon cost of diesel.
As crude oil prices hover around the $60-a-barrel mark, an increasing number of like-minded drivers are looking for alternative fuels sources that are cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
"We were familiar with veggie cars. I was excited when he came to me. I thought it'd be fun," said Louis Marchese Jr., owner of Manory's. "Every aspect of it seems positive to me, especially the environmental part."
Merrett uses only a small portion of the oil from Manory's Fish Fry Fridays. The rest is stored and Marchese said he'd be happy to help others run their cars on used vegetable oil.
This new use for an old cooking product is attracting attention from municipal transportation departments, the fuel industry and individual drivers -- including some in New York state. Private and public interests are investing in the concept.
All a car needs to get started on grease is a diesel engine.
Merrett, who works for Cogent Technologies and lives in the Rensselaer County village of East Nassau, says he gets 40 to 50 miles from a gallon of filtered vegetable oil. His son, Sam, has made 500-mile trips that, except for a little diesel needed to start and shut down his 1998 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, were fueled by vegetable oil.
The car has made trips of 1,500 miles on one tank of diesel fuel and multiple refillings of vegetable oil, said Sam Merrett, who installed both his and his father's own vegetable oil modifications.
Merrett said his Passat's vegetable-oil-powered diesel engine releases fewer toxins into the environment, and conversions are not complicated. After all, when Rudolf Diesel demonstrated the first working diesel engine in 1893, it ran on peanut oil.
"It's really quite mundane in a way," Merrett said. "Just kind of low-tech."
Merrett collects the used frying oil at Manory's. At home, he heats the vegetable oil to liquefy it, then lets it cool so he can filter out any impurities. After that, he funnels it straight into the vegetable oil tank, located in the Passat's trunk.
A similar alternative fuel, biodiesel, does not require a secondary fuel tank. It, too, is growing in popularity and is made from natural fats and oils.
Biodiesel is created by mixing natural oils -- including vegetable, soybean or animal fats -- with alcohols like methanol or ethanol to create fatty acids. Engines can run solely on biodiesel or with a mixture of biodiesel and diesel fuel.
No alterations are required to operate a vehicle on biodiesel, unlike the waste vegetable oil automobiles that need two fuel tanks: one for diesel fuel, one for vegetable oil.
"It burns a lot cleaner, and it's not as carcinogenic" as diesel, said Chris Reville, a mechanical engineer who has his 1993 Chevy 6.5 turbo liter diesel truck, 1983 Mercedes Benz 240d and 1987 Mercedes Benz 300d running on vegetable oil and biodiesel.
"This way, you just get hungry," said Reville of Greenfield Center in Saratoga County, referring to the smell of egg rolls and fried noodles that seems to linger in his biodiesel vehicles.
Devin Van Zandt, an electrical engineer, says he gets about 85 miles per gallon when he runs his 1980 Mercedes 240d on vegetable oil and biodiesel. That's about twice the mileage he would get from regular diesel fuel. Newer, smaller vehicles like the Volkswagen TDI, with the vegetable-oil-biodiesel combination, would have strong fuel efficiency figures, he added.
Conversion kits, which can be found online from companies such as Frybrid and Greasecar, usually cost from $600 to $1,500 and include the extra tank, heating filter, fuel gauge and other hardware. Van Zandt figures he can operate the vehicle on vegetable oil for about 10 cents per gallon, all costs included. He and Reville are making their own conversion kits that they hope to sell at http://www.roadfry.com.
"With the rising cost of crude oil, some people are saying it'll reach $70 or $75 a barrel," said Christian Fleisher, founder of Saratoga Springs-based Biodiesel Technology Inc., which develops the fuel and sells it wholesale. "Biodiesel is an attractive option."
However, less than 1 percent of the diesel fuel used in the United States is biodiesel.
And even though the United States consumes an unprecedented amount of grease and oil, there is not enough fat in America to fuel every diesel vehicle. If every one of the more than 13 million diesel vehicles nationwide made the switch to running on vegetable oil, only 4 percent of them would have the fatty resources needed.
Producing biodiesel is so simple, you could make it your back yard. But don't try it at home, cautions Fleisher, because it involves the handling of some potentially hazardous chemicals. Lye, the corrosive chemical often used in the production of soap, breaks down the oil into two parts -- glycerin and biodiesel -- once methanol is added.
The process leaves an oxygen molecule ready to be burned off. This molecule, though minuscule compared with the whole biodiesel compound, allows the fuel to burn cleaner than regular or diesel fuel.
"When making the stuff, you don't see smoke stacks; it's a straightforward chemical process," Fleisher said "For all intents and purposes, it's a zero-pollutant process."
The sale of new diesel vehicles is prohibited in New York because of the pollution they produce. However, about 200,000 diesel-powered vehicles are registered in the state.
In addition to greenhouse gases, diesel emissions are often filled with sulfur, a cause of acid rain. Biodiesel contains trace amounts of sulfur, but compared with normal diesel -- or even low-sulfur diesel fuels -- it's negligible, said Leon Schumacher, a biodiesel researcher at University of Missouri.
Across the country, biodiesel is already being used by some city governments. St. Louis; Kansas City, Kan.; and Bloomington, Ind.; for example, operate biodiesel city buses. In Berkeley, Calif., dump trucks are fueled on some of the waste materials they would have otherwise trashed. And U.S. Postal Service trucks in New York City, Miami and San Francisco have also been converted.
"We wanted to reduce pollutants, and it helps lessen our dependence on foreign oil," said Lewis May, general manager of Bloomington's transit system. Biodiesel has been problem-free, he said, and a federal tax credit has made it more cost effective to use.
Here in New York, Gov. George Pataki pushed for renewable energy sources in his 2004 State of the State address. A 2001 executive order mandates that half of the new light-duty state vehicles purchased by this year use alternative-fuel sources. By 2010, all such vehicles must be alternatively fueled.
In June, Pataki earmarked $4 million toward the $157 million cost to convert a former Miller Brewing plant in Oswego County into a biofuel production facility. The plant, scheduled to open next year, will be one of the largest of more than 30 nationwide, and the first in the Northeast to make ethanol. When it opens, 70 to 100 new jobs will be created, and the local farming economy may benefit because corn is used in the production of ethanol.
For many, converting a diesel vehicle into a "veggie car" may be quicker than waiting for a Toyota Prius, a popular gasoline/electric vehicle. "The normal wait is about three months," said Thomas "Red" Skelton, salesman at Lia Toyota in Albany.
Patrick Cain can be reached at 454-5420 or by e-mail at pcain@timesunion.com.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/st...ry=REGIONOTHER&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=7/17/2005
<font size><center>Local drivers get up to 50 miles per gallon
using cooking oil to power their diesel engines </font size></center>
By PATRICK CAIN, Special to the Times Union
First published: Sunday, July 17, 2005
Mark Merrett's 1997 Volkswagen Passat is on a high-fat, high-mileage diet.
His car runs on used vegetable oil, and he gets up to 50 miles per gallon of the stuff. Merrett fuels up for free about twice a week at Manory's, the oldest restaurant in Troy, reducing the number of times he needs to pay the $2.60-per-gallon cost of diesel.
As crude oil prices hover around the $60-a-barrel mark, an increasing number of like-minded drivers are looking for alternative fuels sources that are cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
"We were familiar with veggie cars. I was excited when he came to me. I thought it'd be fun," said Louis Marchese Jr., owner of Manory's. "Every aspect of it seems positive to me, especially the environmental part."
Merrett uses only a small portion of the oil from Manory's Fish Fry Fridays. The rest is stored and Marchese said he'd be happy to help others run their cars on used vegetable oil.
This new use for an old cooking product is attracting attention from municipal transportation departments, the fuel industry and individual drivers -- including some in New York state. Private and public interests are investing in the concept.
All a car needs to get started on grease is a diesel engine.
Merrett, who works for Cogent Technologies and lives in the Rensselaer County village of East Nassau, says he gets 40 to 50 miles from a gallon of filtered vegetable oil. His son, Sam, has made 500-mile trips that, except for a little diesel needed to start and shut down his 1998 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, were fueled by vegetable oil.
The car has made trips of 1,500 miles on one tank of diesel fuel and multiple refillings of vegetable oil, said Sam Merrett, who installed both his and his father's own vegetable oil modifications.
Merrett said his Passat's vegetable-oil-powered diesel engine releases fewer toxins into the environment, and conversions are not complicated. After all, when Rudolf Diesel demonstrated the first working diesel engine in 1893, it ran on peanut oil.
"It's really quite mundane in a way," Merrett said. "Just kind of low-tech."
Merrett collects the used frying oil at Manory's. At home, he heats the vegetable oil to liquefy it, then lets it cool so he can filter out any impurities. After that, he funnels it straight into the vegetable oil tank, located in the Passat's trunk.
A similar alternative fuel, biodiesel, does not require a secondary fuel tank. It, too, is growing in popularity and is made from natural fats and oils.
Biodiesel is created by mixing natural oils -- including vegetable, soybean or animal fats -- with alcohols like methanol or ethanol to create fatty acids. Engines can run solely on biodiesel or with a mixture of biodiesel and diesel fuel.
No alterations are required to operate a vehicle on biodiesel, unlike the waste vegetable oil automobiles that need two fuel tanks: one for diesel fuel, one for vegetable oil.
"It burns a lot cleaner, and it's not as carcinogenic" as diesel, said Chris Reville, a mechanical engineer who has his 1993 Chevy 6.5 turbo liter diesel truck, 1983 Mercedes Benz 240d and 1987 Mercedes Benz 300d running on vegetable oil and biodiesel.
"This way, you just get hungry," said Reville of Greenfield Center in Saratoga County, referring to the smell of egg rolls and fried noodles that seems to linger in his biodiesel vehicles.
Devin Van Zandt, an electrical engineer, says he gets about 85 miles per gallon when he runs his 1980 Mercedes 240d on vegetable oil and biodiesel. That's about twice the mileage he would get from regular diesel fuel. Newer, smaller vehicles like the Volkswagen TDI, with the vegetable-oil-biodiesel combination, would have strong fuel efficiency figures, he added.
Conversion kits, which can be found online from companies such as Frybrid and Greasecar, usually cost from $600 to $1,500 and include the extra tank, heating filter, fuel gauge and other hardware. Van Zandt figures he can operate the vehicle on vegetable oil for about 10 cents per gallon, all costs included. He and Reville are making their own conversion kits that they hope to sell at http://www.roadfry.com.
"With the rising cost of crude oil, some people are saying it'll reach $70 or $75 a barrel," said Christian Fleisher, founder of Saratoga Springs-based Biodiesel Technology Inc., which develops the fuel and sells it wholesale. "Biodiesel is an attractive option."
However, less than 1 percent of the diesel fuel used in the United States is biodiesel.
And even though the United States consumes an unprecedented amount of grease and oil, there is not enough fat in America to fuel every diesel vehicle. If every one of the more than 13 million diesel vehicles nationwide made the switch to running on vegetable oil, only 4 percent of them would have the fatty resources needed.
Producing biodiesel is so simple, you could make it your back yard. But don't try it at home, cautions Fleisher, because it involves the handling of some potentially hazardous chemicals. Lye, the corrosive chemical often used in the production of soap, breaks down the oil into two parts -- glycerin and biodiesel -- once methanol is added.
The process leaves an oxygen molecule ready to be burned off. This molecule, though minuscule compared with the whole biodiesel compound, allows the fuel to burn cleaner than regular or diesel fuel.
"When making the stuff, you don't see smoke stacks; it's a straightforward chemical process," Fleisher said "For all intents and purposes, it's a zero-pollutant process."
The sale of new diesel vehicles is prohibited in New York because of the pollution they produce. However, about 200,000 diesel-powered vehicles are registered in the state.
In addition to greenhouse gases, diesel emissions are often filled with sulfur, a cause of acid rain. Biodiesel contains trace amounts of sulfur, but compared with normal diesel -- or even low-sulfur diesel fuels -- it's negligible, said Leon Schumacher, a biodiesel researcher at University of Missouri.
Across the country, biodiesel is already being used by some city governments. St. Louis; Kansas City, Kan.; and Bloomington, Ind.; for example, operate biodiesel city buses. In Berkeley, Calif., dump trucks are fueled on some of the waste materials they would have otherwise trashed. And U.S. Postal Service trucks in New York City, Miami and San Francisco have also been converted.
"We wanted to reduce pollutants, and it helps lessen our dependence on foreign oil," said Lewis May, general manager of Bloomington's transit system. Biodiesel has been problem-free, he said, and a federal tax credit has made it more cost effective to use.
Here in New York, Gov. George Pataki pushed for renewable energy sources in his 2004 State of the State address. A 2001 executive order mandates that half of the new light-duty state vehicles purchased by this year use alternative-fuel sources. By 2010, all such vehicles must be alternatively fueled.
In June, Pataki earmarked $4 million toward the $157 million cost to convert a former Miller Brewing plant in Oswego County into a biofuel production facility. The plant, scheduled to open next year, will be one of the largest of more than 30 nationwide, and the first in the Northeast to make ethanol. When it opens, 70 to 100 new jobs will be created, and the local farming economy may benefit because corn is used in the production of ethanol.
For many, converting a diesel vehicle into a "veggie car" may be quicker than waiting for a Toyota Prius, a popular gasoline/electric vehicle. "The normal wait is about three months," said Thomas "Red" Skelton, salesman at Lia Toyota in Albany.
Patrick Cain can be reached at 454-5420 or by e-mail at pcain@timesunion.com.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/st...ry=REGIONOTHER&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=7/17/2005
