FUEL OF THE FUTURE


Chip fat could fuel green revolution
Exclusive By Debbie Green

A TREDEGAR Biodiesel factory is hoping to launch a pioneering scheme in Blaenau Gwent to recycle the borough's cooking oil.

Around 315,000 litres of cooking oil is wasted in households across the borough every year and bosses at BioTech Oils in Tafarnaubach. Industrial Estate, want to use that waste and convert it to Biodiesel, which can be used to run any diesel vehicle.

Co-Director Dave Palmer said they would like to work with Blaenau Gwent council to support the scheme, where residents can drop bottles of used cooking oil at recycling centres or even leave bottles outside with their rubbish bins.He said they would pay the council for the service.

The company would also like to collect old cooking oil from local businesses, hospitals and nursing homes. Mr Palmer also wants to work with schools, raising awareness of recycling.He hopes the scheme would bring in a few thousand litres of the 50,000 litres they would like to process each week.He said the recycling scheme would help reduce the borough's carbon footprint and help safeguard jobs at the factory.

Mr Palmer said getting hold of used cooking oil can be expensive, and the company only makes around 2p for every litre converted at the moment.With the community's help, he hopes business and profit will increase and he will be able to double the six workers he currently employs.He added: "A recycling scheme like this would be very original to the area and something that Blaenau Gwent could be proud of."

Company bosses met Blaenau Gwent's executive member for regeneration, councillor Don Wilcox and AM Trish Law to discuss the proposal yesterday. Councillor Don Wilcox said: "I'm interested in supporting anybody whose offering employment in the borough and it seems this type of project is ideal to help us meet our target in reducing carbon."AM Trish Law added: "We all know how important recycling is and recycling cooking oil is an issue that needs to be looked at." Under Welsh Assembly targets, Blaenau Gwent Council have to recycle 20.5 per cent of waste by the end of the year. They are currently on 18 per cent.

Biodiesel facts
Diesel in the UK is currently made up of 2.5 per cent bio diesel Bio Tech currently sells diesel for 20p per litre They produce an average of 30-40,000 litres of bio diesel per month The average vehicle uses around 30 litres per week
How the green fuel is made

  • Pump the used oil through a filter to remove old lumps of food.
  • Heat the filtered oil in large reactors with a solution of caustic soda and methanol.
  • Wait for the oil to settle.
  • Remove by-product Glycerine, which is not used in the UK and is often shipped to the Netherlands and Germany for power generation.
  • The oil is re-heated with the solution.
  • Any acids are washed out.
  • The oil is filtered again and the leftover is bio diesel
    Article appeared: 12:50pm Tuesday 1st July 2008

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