Merrimack Biodiesel

38 McElwain St.

Merrimack, NH 03054

• to educate the community abut energy conservation and recycling
• to raise awareness and use of carbon neutral alternative fuels
• to produce biodiesel and incorporate the use of other alternative energy sources

A Few Benefits of Biodiesel

• Biodiesel is less toxic than table salt and as biodegradable as sugar.
• Biodiesel eliminates sulfur emissions.
• Biodiesel reduces carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter emissions.
• Biodiesel improves engine lubricity to extend engine life.
• Biodiesel lowers dependence on foreign oil.

Background
We became interested in biodiesel and alternative fuels when our class did a lab involving biodiesel. Our first attempts were not very successful as we yielded more soap than actual biodiesel. The 2006 AP Chem class built a ten gallon processor.

Influences/Contacts
William McDonough and Michael Braungart's Cradle-to-Cradle promotes the idea of waste as food. Our project has been an example of this idea because used fryer oil (considered hazardous waste in sufficient quanity) has now become the starting product for the creation of biodiesel fuel.

Valuable information and advice were provided by the UNH Biodiesel Group during a visit we made to their lab in 2006. Ihab Farab, Michael Briggs and their graduate students provided us with tips on how to build an effective processor and other useful facts about biodiesel. Their help has been critical.

Other helpful information has been received from:

• John C. Warner of U Mass's Green Chemistry department
• David Smith from the Manchester Transit Authority

Newly added Contraptions
Recently we created a system so that the processor can be run of bicycle power.  One bike charges a store of batteries that then runs the processor.  Another bike is then used to pump out the biodiesel once it has run through the processor.
-Now we also use our biodiesel in a red VW Bug, before we only used it in our bus. We plan to bring the bug with us to the National Biodiesel Confrence in Floridia.          

• Future Plans
  We currently have a 10 gallon processor, a 15 gallon mist-wash tank and a 20 gallon drying tank.
• We use our biodiesel in a 1984 International bus and a 1998 New Beetle TDI. We have used both  for field trips and outreach.
• We are working on a bench top mini- processor
• We are interested in developing a biodiesel fuel for RC motors.
• We have plans and materials to convert our 10 gallon processor to solar power in the fall.

National Biodiesel Conference 2008
in developing Conference was held at the fabulous Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee Floriday.  It was a success!  Everyone in the group had a great time there as well as everyone that came by the booth.  We all learned a lot from eachother.  We even met some celebrities including Daryl Hannah and Micheal Peterson and saw a four million dollar car!