Biodiesel Demonstration At A & M - WAAYTV.com - Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville, AL - As diesel fuel in Huntsville jumps to nearly $3.40 per gallon according to Alabama's AAA, the Alabama Legislature's Biofuels and Alternative Fuels Subcommittee of the Joint Energy Committee met today at Alabama A&M University. The public meeting was preceded by a demonstration of the "Biodiesel Classroom on Wheels."

Among those on hand for the demonstration and meeting were Alabama State Senator Dr. Parker Griffith (D-Huntsville), Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries Deputy Commissioner Glen Zorn, Dr. Ernst Cebert, Research Assistant Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Alabama A&M, and Phillip Wiedmeyer, Chairman and President of the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition.

The event began with a demonstration of the "Biodiesel Classroom on Wheels," a collaborative partnership between Alabama A&M University and the Alabama Department of Agriculture's Center for Alternative Fuels.

The "Classroom", built by Biodiesel Logic of Albertville, provides an in-depth look at how biodiesel fuel may be produced and informs public officials, business leaders, and citizens across the state about the ease of the process.

"As the interest in biofuels increases, it is essential that state policy makers ensure that producers are well educated in the process of producing these fuels," says Dr. Ernst Cebert.

According to Dr. Cebert, biodiesel fuel can be produced from soybean, canola oil, even waste vegetable oil (grease). Earlier this year the City of Hoover began producing biodiesel from donated waste grease from restaurants in the City.

Just two weeks ago Hoover announced consumer collection points in the City to collect grease donated by households.

Both the cities of Montgomery and Gadsden are rolling out similar programs using the Biodiesel Logic equipment. Keeping used cooking oil out of sewer systems helps prevent the expensive process of unclogging municipal drains and also augments their current fuel supply of biodiesel to power city vehicles.

Another significant benefit is that the grease to biodiesel process yields B100 (100% biodiesel) at a cost of just $0.70 to $0.80 per gallon saving the city and its citizens money. Excess biodiesel produced from donated grease may be added to the commercially purchased B20 (20%) biodiesel used in city fleets.

"It is very cost effective; the process is very simple," according to Dr. Cebert, "we have the tools and ingredients right here on campus to produce enough fuel for our schools tractors."

Biodiesel and other alternative fuels tend to provide multiple benefits. With petroleum prices up over 26 cents in the last several weeks, adding biofuels could potentially lessen the demand for foreign oil and lower fuel costs.

While reduced fuel costs interest many, increased biofuel consumption could also be a tremendous benefit for local economies.

"Biofuels represent an exciting new dimension to agriculture in Alabama," said Alabama Agriculture & Industries Commissioner Ron Sparks in a released statement.

"As citizens, one of the most patriotic actions we can take is to develop and use alternative sources of fuel to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Agriculture must be a big part of the solution. In fact, this could be the biggest revolution for agriculture in this country since farms were mechanized."

Soybean production in Alabama, once up over 2.5 million acres, has dropped to around 200,000 acres over the last several years. Using soybeans in producing biodiesel for fueling fleets such as school buses is anticipated to result in a significant increase in the crops acreage.

Increased alternative fuel consumption has already begun to spawn local production facilities. In the last two years four commercial biodiesel operations have started in Alabama bringing with them more jobs. As more consumers turn to biodiesel, more of the local money spent on fuel will stay in the local economy.

Another benefit of biofuels may be the most important.

"You read it everyday, Huntsville, Montgomery, Mobile, the whole South is growing at a terrific pace," said State Senator, Dr. Parker Griffith. "Air quality should hold some importance to us and studies show that increased use of alternative fuels such as biodiesel and E85 lowers harmful carbon emissions."

Senator Griffith is Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee of the Alabama State Senate and Chairs the Biofuels and Alternative Fuels Subcommittee of the Joint Energy Committee.

"We held this public meeting to educate the public about alternative fuels and provide an opportunity for the community to give us feedback," Senator Griffith continued.

"Increased use of alternative fuels is the right thing to do. Alternative fuels lower harmful emissions, spur domestic production, and lessen dependence on an increasingly unstable supply source. There's little doubt that this is a win-win situation for Alabamians."

Earlier this year there were several locations along I-65 that were indentified as service centers where biodiesel will be available in Alabama in the near future.

For more information on biodiesel you can go to the following websites:

National Biodiesel Board

Biodiesel Now

Collaborative Biodiesel Tutorial

How Stuff Works-Biodiesel

Web Producer- Brett Haas