North Hempstead launching biofuel project

Those french fries and stir-fried veggies consumed at North Hempstead restaurants may soon serve a higher purpose than just settling appetites.

Their cooking grease could end up powering a truck, generator or other diesel engine.

The town is launching a pilot biofuel project this month to collect used cooking oil from local restaurants and convert it to fuel. The initiative will start by fueling vehicles and other equipment used by the North Hempstead Solid Waste Management Authority.

"There are so many benefits to this biofuel," said town Councilman Thomas K. Dwyer, a member of the town's Environmental Commission. "You're taking waste out of the waste stream. You're creating a diesel fuel that has much lower emissions than regular diesel. You're doing it at a reduced price and we're setting an example for other people."

While at least one commercial operation on Long Island converts waste cooking oil to fuel, no other town does.

The North Hempstead initiative is modeled after the 5-year-old Food to Fuel program run by the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District, which produces 2,500 to 4,000 gallons of biofuel a year. That's enough to power five fleet trucks, a generator and two boilers to heat buildings, said district Superintendent Christopher Murphy.

Production costs are $1.17 per gallon, well below the price of a gallon of diesel at the pump, which averaged $4.21 in Nassau and Suffolk counties last week, according to AAA.

Great Neck collects oil from three of the 90 restaurants in the district: T.G.I. Fridays, Pearl East and Cordon Blue Deli.

"We're making all we can use," Murphy said.

The T.G.I. Friday's on Northern Boulevard serves 6,000 to 7,000 customers per week, creating enough waste oil to fill a 40-gallon drum each week, restaurant general manager Steven Affronti said.

The town wants to take advantage of the volume of restaurant waste grease generated by restaurants not used by the water district -- enough to produce 40 gallons of fuel per day.

The process is fairly easy and cheaper than other alternative forms of energy like solar or wind power, Dwyer said.

Great Neck bought its 40-gallon fuel production kit online. Start-up costs totaled $5,000, said Murphy, who believes the district is the only one on Long Island with a biofuel program.

Biodiesel is the fastest growing alternative fuel in the nation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2001, 10 million gallons were used. In 2009, the latest year for which statistics are available, 339 million gallons were used, agency records show.

Across the U.S., snow plows, garbage trucks and school buses use either pure biodiesel or a biofuel-petroleum blend. When "American Idol" launched its Idol Across America tour in January, the stars rode in a biodiesel-fueled bus.

Engines need no modifications to use biodiesel, Dwyer said.

Restaurants benefit from the fuel conversion programs by not having to dispose of their used oil. Their involvement in the process isn't forgotten: the aroma of frying remains.

"When it runs, it smells like food," Murphy said. "It actually smells like someone is cooking something."

Converting food oil to fuel:

 -- Used food oil is collected from restaurants.

-- The dark brown, gooey used oil is poured through a filter, sieving out pieces of food and other debris.

-- The cleaned oil is heated to 120 degrees, then poured into a tank.

-- Methanol and potassium hydroxide are added and the mixture sits for eight hours.

-- Glycerin, a soapy by-product of the chemical reaction created from adding methanol and potassium hydroxide to the oil, is drained out.

-- What's left is biofuel, a yellow oil the consistency of light maple syrup.

Source: Joe Urda, sewer service supervisor, Great Neck Water Pollution Control District