Biodiesel Program at CU Boulder Goes Mobile

The biodiesel program at the University of Colorado in Boulder dates back to 2002 when five students from an engineering class designed and created a biodiesel processor. Around that same time several students involved with the Environmental Center built their own biodiesel cars using old VW Rabbits as a foundation. CU now has a wealth of campus resources dedicated to the study and expansion of biodiesel. In fact, the University has its own fleet of busses that use grease from cafeterias around campus to transport students to and from classes! The biodiesel Buff Buss program began in 2003 and has since grown to include 13 buses that all run on 100% or 20% biodiesel solutions. This is quite an accomplishment, especially by comparison to similar programs at other world class universities around the country. What's really interesting about the program today is the way it has expanded beyond the campus and out into the community.

It's an interesting sight... and smell to be on campus when a biodiesel Buff Buss charges by. For me it conjurs up memories of serving up fast food at McDonalds and Wendy's when I was 16; the busses smell just like french fries! As students ride to and from classes, or to the off campus residence halls at Williams Village and Bear Creek, you get the feeling that progress is really being made here, not just talked about.

Mike West, the director of education for CU Biodiesel, has taught everyone from postgraduate students to second-graders how to brew their own biodiesel, showing how simple it is to create this clean sustainable fuel. By using the veggie oil waste donated from Boulder restaurants and the CU cafeterias, West and his team of faculty including Josh Jaffe who leads outreach and Josh Maynard who heads up R&D, have developed a new way to reach people in the community.

Recently, the CU Biodiesel team has gone so far as to create a completely self-contained biodiesel trailer that they nicknamed ESTER for "Environmentally Sustainable Transportation Education and Research Laboratory". ESTER travels around the state visiting different schools, events and workshops, and creating biodiesel for the CU fleet. It's much more than a portable lab though, ESTER is capable of producing 500 gallons of biodiesel a month and the biproduct, glycerine, is donated to the CU Recycling Center to be used as a fertilizing agent for composting. Now that's recycling! Below you can see a picture from the insideo of ESTER as students check equipment and prepare a fresh batch of biofuel.

Boulder has been known as an entrepreneurial hot spot for years with outdoor companies like GoLite, tech companies like Sketchup (purchased in 2006 by Google for use with their Maps), and ugly duckling companies like Crocs being wildly successful in the shoe industry. In recent years Boulder has become a cleantech hub with support from the University and NOAA. Programs like CU Biodiesel help to inform the community and lead positive change, even spinning off new companies that will eventually power the nation. Visit the CU Biodiesel homepage or the University Website to learn more about the innovative programs and curriculum offered at CU.