NEXT time you fire-up a barbecue at a public park you may be helping fuel a council truck.
The fat that drips off your steaks and snags will be collected and sent to a biofuel plant where it will be turned into biofuel which will then be pumped into light trucks owned by Mackay Regional Council.
It may sound like a novel idea, but Year 11 and 12 engineering students at Mackay’s CQ TAFE campus are building a biofuel plant which will do exactly that.
The portable biofuel plant will be built to Australian standard to produce 3500 litres of biodiesel a week.
About 200 litres of biodiesel would be needed to run four light council trucks a week.
The biofuel plant will cost about $60,000 and take a year to build and already many businesses have pledged support.
Hahn Environmental Services are about to set up in Mackay and will distribute cooking oil bins at takeaway shops to provide students with cooking oil to process at the plant.
Fat from barbecues in parks will also be collected.
Co-ordinator of the program and CQ TAFE teacher Paul Kelly said the project provided the students with the skills they needed to land an apprenticeship.
“There’s a huge shortage in tradespeople so we went to industry and said ‘what do you want your first year apprentices to have learnt’?
They want them to have basic workshop skills and to have done project work. It helps with the skills shortage – everyone wins.”
Councillor Karen May said the project was also great for ratepayers.
“For council, there are two wins – we’re not paying for disposal of barbecue fat and there’s the cost saving on hundreds of litres of diesel per week.”
Mr. Kelly said no modifications needed to be made to trucks – in fact, they actually ran more efficiently on biodiesel than regular diesel.
Cr May said council had sponsored about $7000 worth of equipment for the plant and would continue to offer health, safety and environmental advice.
Mr. Kelly said businesses had already expressed interest in putting on the students as apprentices next year.
He said 85% of students who completed a Certificate II in Engineering at the TAFE over the last two years had got an apprenticeship.
COOKING COUNCIL FUEL
Cooking oil bins are distributed to Mackay businesses, including takeaway shops. The bins collect used oil. Barbecue fat is stored in a container
Hahn Environmental Services collects the bins and takes them to the biofuel plant
The fat/oil products are treated and refined at the biofuel plant and are turned into biodiesel
The biodiesel is pumped into the council truck
Source: http://www.dailymercury.com.au/story/2011/04/16/students-serve-up-bbq-fat-as-usable-biodiesel/