Full Collection Cabinet at Bearden Earth Fare

When we set out to start collection waste vegetable oil from the citizens of Knox County, we weren’t sure what to expect because there were few examples across the country to pull ideas from. Thanks to our strong partnerships with KUB, Goodwill, Knoxville and Knox County, we’ve been able to collect over 500 gallons of prime waste vegetable oil feedstock since we started collecting on November 29, 2010!!! As we move beyond the holiday season, we are excited to continue the program and are looking into expanding our collection sites. This Saturday, March 12, we are excited to join Keep Blount Beautiful for a Great American Cleanup Recycling Day in the Maryville Bicentennial Park Pavilion. This is an exciting chance for Blount County residents to contribute to the program and get those closed, non-glass containers of oil from Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations out of the garage as well as take care of several other specialty recyclables including electronics, batteries, and sensitive document shredding! Visit the Keep Blount Beautiful website to learn more!

At next week’s Tuesday Board Meeting, the City Schools of Decatur Board of Education will vote to approve a plan (see Action Item B) to sell its kitchen cooking oil to Clean Energy Biofuel for 25 cents a gallon. A quick look at the company’s website shows that Leon’s Full Service and many other well known Atlanta businesses and restaurants are already Clean Energy clients.  Decatur High looks to be the first school on the list of clients.

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Going for the grease with biofuels initiative

CleanEnergy looks to turn residue into energy

• By Ed Marcum

Once a week, J.P. Plumlee makes the rounds of Knoxville restaurants on a quest for grease.

They are usually happy to oblige, he said. They have to do something with the residue that amasses from frying food.

A waste issue common to nearly every restaurant promises to help ease the University of Tennessee’s vehicle fuel concerns if a new hybrid energy program is successful.

“The restaurants are usually eager to participate in this program,” Plumlee said. “A lot of times, this actually saves the restaurant money. They are having to pay for people to pick up this waste.”

The program is CleanEnergy Biofuels, an initiative run by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy to convert restaurant grease into biofuel. Restaurants store used grease in special bins that the Southern Alliance provides and Plumlee collects the grease into a 1,500-gallon tank truck. Knoxville restaurants participating include Cafe 4, Crown N Goose, La Costa, Moe’s and others.

Read Article and View Pictures of Ribbon Cutting

Click here to view the embedded video.

Details:
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) in partnership with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) will formally open a community-based biodiesel production facility.

Built with an Alternative Fuels Innovations Grant from TDEC, the biodiesel production unit aims to convert waste fryer oil from local restaurants into useable fuel. Full production, double-shift capacity for the medium-scale mobile unit is approximately 380,000 gallons of biodiesel per year.

SACE will collect waste fryer oil from participating restaurants and the new facility will convert the waste oil into ASTM spec. biodiesel. The environmentally friendly fuel displaces corresponding volumes of petroleum-based diesel fuel. Participating in the ribbon cutting are:
Dr. Stephen A. Smith, Executive Director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Dr. Jan Simek, President of the University of Tennessee
Dr. Joseph DiPietro, UT Vice President for Agriculture
Commissioner Jim Fyke, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Commissioner Ken Givens, Tennessee Department of Agriculture

For additional information about this program, please consult the specification sheet.

Driving Directions:
The Biodiesel Production Unit is located off Alcoa Highway behind the UT Johnson Agricultural Research and Teaching Unit (JARTU).

From I-40: take Exit 386B (Alcoa Hwy-129S to Maryville and Airport). Travel 129 South for approximately one mile until you reach the Buck Karnes Bridge over the Tennessee River. Stay in the right lane. After crossing the bridge, slow down and watch for the sign for the Agricultural Experiment Station. Take the next right. Note: the road is narrow and inconspicuous, so watch
carefully. Turn right again and follow the road as it winds under Alcoa Highway, under the Buck Karnes Bridge and up the hill. Continue a short distance until you see the JARTU building on the left. The biodiesel unit is behind the building at the far end.
(If you come to the hospital exit off 129S, you have gone too far. Take the exit, cross over the highway and get back on 129N. Take the first right.)

From Maryville/Alcoa: Travel north on Hwy 129/Alcoa Highway towards UT Hospital. After passing the Cherokee Trail/UT Hospital Exit, take the first right. Follow signs to the parking/event area.
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Contacts:
Christina Honkonen, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
865.228.1567 (Mobile); christina@cleanenergy.org

Patricia McDaniels, UT Institute of Agriculture Marketing and Communications Services
615.835.4570 (Office); 865.363.6009 (Mobile); pmcdaniels@tennessee.edu

Tisha Calabrese-Benton, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
865.594.5442 (Office); 865.599.3685 (Mobile); Tisha.Calabrese@tn.gov

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