News and Events
Biofuel Test
January 14, 2010
Read The Chestertown Spy Article
Washington College teamed up with Tri Gas & Oil Company out of Federalsburg, MD, and New Generation Biofuels from Columbia, MD, to test NGB's biofuel in one of the College's boilers. The College uses approximately 100,000 gallons of #2 heating oil (diesel fuel) in one of its boilers per year, so it could reduce its carbon footprint by using the biofuel instead. The test indicated a reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions by 51% compared to the #2 heating oil. There are no carbon monoxide or sulphur emissions from the biofuel. The biofuel is plant-oil based and can be washed up with soap and water.
Click to enlarge photos by Shane Brill '03.
Briggs Cunningham, Climate Action Coordinator at the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College, and Seth Powell '90, Alternative Fuels Representative for Tri Gas & Oil, watch preparations for the fuel test.
A beaker filled with some biofuel.
The biofuel stands next to a cup filled with regular #2 heating oil (diesel fuel).
Workers prepare the fuel lines for pumping the test fuel into one of the boilers.
An emissions recording device hangs from the boiler and reads emissions data from the exhaust stack.
Dave Wright of New Generation Biofuels and Ed Guseman, WC mechanic, discuss the test process.
The boiler burns the test fuel.