To watch Dr. Bill Carney discuss the workshop, click here.
People came from all across the state and country to the AgCenter’s Callegari Center this week, eager to learn about biodiesel.The LSU AgCenter hosted a biodiesel workshop Tuesday and Wednesday at the W.A. Callegari Environmental Center, giving participants a hands-on demonstration to teach them how to make the alternative fuel.Callegari Center coordinator Bill Carney said biodiesel provides many advantages compared to petroleum diesel fuel.”It’s a cleaner burning fuel, and it’s totally biodegradable,” he said. “It’s not creating any more carbon footprint than it already had.”Callegari Center staff taught participants about biodiesel and gave them an opportunity to make a small amount of the fuel.Carney said individuals can start making biodiesel for a small initial investment in supplies of about $1,000 and minimal costs afterward.”You can make [biodiesel] for less than $1 a gallon,” he said. “You’re recycling a waste product. It’s a win-win for your pocketbook and a win-win for the economy.”Callegari Center lab manager Javed Iqbal said the world has an energy problem. “This is the future oil, because fossil fuel is going to expire,” Iqbal said.Iqbal said the Callegari Center makes about 50 gallons of B-50 biodiesel, which is 50 percent biodiesel and 50 percent petroleum diesel, every two days. They distribute the fuel to LSU Facility Services and the Landscape Department to run their diesel machines. He said the Callegari Center recycles the waste product from the University’s 459 Commons cafeteria and the Faculty Club.Ian Alvey traveled from Dallas, Texas, to attend the workshop.”I want to become 100 percent self-sufficient,” he said, adding that he wants to be able to teach others how to make biodiesel.University alumna and Bogalusa resident Valencia Donaldson also traveled to Baton Rouge to attend the event.”I want to create a green farm environment,” she said. “One of the things we’re trying to do is live off the land.”Bastrop resident Dale Chaney, who attended the event with his daughter, cited “the high price of diesel” as his reason for attending.Iqbal said many diesel engines cannot handle 100 percent biodiesel, which is why the Callegari Center makes B-50 biodiesel. He said temperature fluctuations can affect pure biodiesel, so it is necessary to make a mixture. He said biodiesel that meets American Society of Testing and Materials standards will work in any diesel engine.Biodiesel is not the only alternative fuel on the market today. Ethanol is also becoming increasing popular. Carney said people should not confuse the two products.”Ethanol is an entirely different product,” he said, adding that it was more similar to gasoline, while biodiesel was a diesel substitute.Carney said biodiesel puts off fewer pollutants than petroleum diesel and provides the same amount of power.—-Contact Matthew Barnidge at [email protected]