Mount Mercy to convert used cooking oil to fuel

Cooking oil used to fry potatoes and mozzarella sticks will be converted this spring into diesel fuel for maintenance vehicles at Mount Mercy College.

“It all started over a lunch conversation two years ago in the cafeteria,” said Will Kirkland, professor of biology at Mount Mercy. “I was sitting there with other faculty members and Barb Pooley, our vice president of finance, and we were talking about energy and somehow we got on the topic of biodiesel. One thing just led to another and we decided that maybe we should write something up and see if we could find some funding.”

Kirkland and a small group of natural science students put together a plan to create biodiesel that is consistent with Mount Mercy's sustainability goals and will save the college about $1,000 annually by replacing 61 percent of the petroleum-based fuel used by maintenance vehicles.

With the help of Mount Mercy Grant Development Specialist Marilyn Lefebure, they reached out to Cedar Rapids business leaders to get funding for the project.

“We dubbed the project ‘Reach Mount Mercy' with REACH as an acronym for ‘Renewable Energy Alternatives Can Help,'” Kirkland said.

Mount Mercy was awarded grants from Rockwell Collins Green Communities and the GP Fund for the Environment of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.

“The Mount Mercy Student Government Association enthusiastically donated $2,500 from the organization's extra funds to help us purchase the equipment necessary to convert the waste oil into biodiesel,” he said.

The “Freedom Fueler” uses a chemical process to split the vegetable oil apart and release glycerin and fatty acids. The fatty acids rebond with methanol to form a methanol ester or biodiesel.

“The glycerin will have some toxic elements that would require further purification to make soap,” Kirkland. “It will be picked up by the Bluestem Solid Waste Agency for disposal. There's also some interest from one of our chemistry professors who thinks the glycerin could be used to melt ice and snow on our parking lots.”

Kirkland and the college's maintenance staff visited Luther College in Decorah, which has been converting waste vegetable oil into biodiesel for several years. They learned that the biodiesel burns cleaner and actually cleans out fuel lines, initially requiring fuel filters to be changed.

Matt Hakeman, a Mount Mercy senior, said the biodiesel project will show students that small changes can lead to greater self-sufficiency and savings as well as being an educational opportunity.

Initial production of biodiesel must wait for warmer temperatures because the Freedom Fueler must be operated outdoors to comply with fire codes.