toledoblade.com --

Students at Toledo Technology Academy are creating a machine to automatically turn used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel for a car.

The technology to create such fuel exists, but not in an easy-to-use, automatic machine like the one the students designed.

"The dream is you can walk up to the processor, hit a button, and 24 to 36 hours later you have biodiesel without any further effort," student Will Scharer, 17, said.

Three students are working on the project with two others serving as a project engineer and business manager.

The students bought a manual processor that they are converting to run at the push of a button.

That involves installing sensors to monitor the process, changing all the valves, and installing a programmable logic controller to serve as the brain.

Such systems currently require someone to switch the valves by hand and monitor the system as it runs.

The students did a lot of research ahead of time about how to convert the oil into fuel.

By mixing the used cooking oil with other chemicals, the oil will separate into glycerin and "unwashed" biodiesel, explained Kenneth Miller, 18.

The next step is to clean that biodiesel fuel through a filter so it can be used in a car.

The brown goop from a fryer turns into a more transparent liquid in the process, he said.

The students' machine creates 40 gallons at a time and would be marketed for a farmer with diesel machines or a family with diesel vehicles.

It's only six feet tall and a few feet wide, so it could easily fit in a garage or a barn.

Making a gallon of biodiesel fuel costs less than $1, so "it's definitely worth the effort," Mr. Scharer said.

And biodiesel is not only less expensive, but it also burns more cleanly and works more efficiently, Mr. Miller added.

"It keeps the oil out of the landfill and it burns better," he said. "People are going to start buying this stuff up."

Mentors with BP Refinery met with the students last week and counseled them in making sure the process is as safe as possible.

The research is one of the varied unique capstone projects seniors undertake during their last year at the school, said Gary Thompson, principal of the magnet high school.

"The technology is out there, but it's not all automated," he said. "And there's not a whole lot of it that you can have in your garage."

The research project was made possible with a $10,000 grant from the University of Toledo University Transportation Center.

The center receives about $500,000 a year to disperse for research projects both at the collegiate and high school level, said Rich Martinko, the center's director.

"We believe it's a good fit for our mission and their students and their mission," he said. "We don't want to miss out on the opportunity to work with K-12. We're trying to reach out to future transportation officials and interest them in this field."

The students are working to complete and perfect their system to compete in the National Robotics Challenge through the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in April.

Contact Meghan Gilbert-Cunningham
at: mcunningham@theblade.com
or 419-724-6134.

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