Evergreen Biodiesel Project

Mission Statement

The Evergreen Biodiesel Project's mission is to build and establish a permanent, safe, and user-friendly bio-diesel processing facility infrastructure. The infrastructure of the Biodiesel Project includes: a processing unit (located on Evergreen's Organic Farm), a collection barrel (located in the basement of the CAB), and a transit barrel. By converting spent vegetable oil into useable biodiesel, the Biodiesel Project will supply Evergreen's Organic Farm tractors with a renewable fuel. In addition, the Biodiesel Project aims to be a model for other schools and state institutions that aspire to produce biodiesel on-site.

Why Biodiesel at Evergreen's Organic Farm?

The Evergreen State College consumes roughly 3,500 gallons of petroleum diesel fuel annually. Of the various diesel vehicles at Evergreen, the Organic Farm possesses two four-cylinder Kubota tractors. The two tractors consume roughly 10 gallons of diesel fuel per week. On a weekly basis the cafeteria at Evergreen disposes of roughly 20 gallons of spent vegetable oil, at a cost of $50 per month. By using the spent vegetable oil, the Biodiesel Project will be able to produce roughly 500 gallons of biodiesel annually and fully suffice the Organic Farm's diesel requirements. The 500 gallons of renewable fuel will displace 17 percent of the campus's annual petroleum diesel consumption. In addition, the user-friendly biodiesel infrastructure will be an excellent learning tool for faculty, students and staff in various applications.

CELL's Role in the Biodiesel Project

The monthly CELL meetings provided an unofficial oversite and advisory board where updates, questions and concerns can be discussed among the public and the project coordinators.

The Biodiesel Project's History

In the winter of 2004, David Rack, Sam Stout, and Kolby Bray-Hoagland researched and designed a processing unit. In the spring of 2004, David and Kolby fabricated the various components, utilizing the campus metal shop. In the summer of 2004, Kolby and Sam installed the processing unit and built a fume hood, a filtered collection barrel, and a transit barrel. In the fall of 2004, Kolby and Sam wrote a Safety Manual, Procedure Manual, Maintenance Manual, and other related written aids for the operation and upkeep of the Biodiesel Project. Over the fall, Sam performed test batches in order to determine the quality of the spent oil. In the spring of 2005, the Biodiesel Project became fully operational.

The program has been handed down multiple times, providing educational opportunities for many.  The current stewards of the Biodiesel program is the Student Green Energy Association(SGEA) which is currently researching and proposing a new 1500ft² Biofuels production and research facility.

To contact an SGEA Coordinator email us at biodiesel@evergreen.edu.