Division of Compliance Assistance
Franklin County School Launches Alternative Fuels Lab

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 29, 2011) – The Franklin County Career and Technical Center (FCCTC) launched its alternative fuels lab with the production of its first batch of biodiesel Nov. 10, 2011. The biodiesel production at FCCTC was made possible by the Kentucky Biofuels for Schools Program, which encourages Kentucky high schools to teach, produce and use biofuels within their schools and community. Kentucky Biofuels for Schools is made possible by TogetherGreen and the Kentucky Division of Compliance Assistance (DCA).

With the visionary leadership of automotive technology instructor, Francis Wheatley, as well as the helping hands of students, FCCTC collected waste oil donated by local restaurants to convert to biodiesel. With assistance from Loyola University’s Biodiesel Program, a partner of the Kentucky Biofuels for Schools Program, a mobile biodiesel processor was created uniquely for FCCTC. Now, FCCTC faculty and students finally have the opportunity to reuse waste oil and produce alternative fuels, which will become increasingly important in the future.

“Alternative fuels are an integral part of the future of automotive technology,” said Wheatley. “The Alternative Fuels Program at FCCTC is better preparing students for careers in this sector and opening their eyes to new opportunities.”

Eventually, FCCTC will convert waste oil from the district school cafeterias to biodiesel. At present, biodiesel produced by the school is used for nonroad applications. Automotive technology students at FCCTC are able to run comparative exhaust emission analysis on conventional diesel versus waste oil derived biodiesel made in the laboratory.

“The FCCTC project offers vocational students the perfect environment to see the benefits of biodiesel in real world applications, not to mention learning about energy conservation and science at the same time,” said Kenya Stump, in a recent podcast, “When students learn core concepts using biodiesel, everyone benefits, including the environment. We hope that FCCTC will be a model program for other schools in Kentucky.” Stump is a DCA employee and creator of the Kentucky Biofuels for Schools program.

More information about the Kentucky Biofuels for Schools Program can be found at www.bio-schools.org or by emailing kenya@bio-schools.org. To access photos of the event, please visit our Photobucket site. Audio podcasts can be found at http://depdca.podbean.com/. Additionally, a complete list of the 2010 TogetherGreen Fellows can be found at www.TogetherGreen.org/fellows. 

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About TogetherGreen

Audubon and Toyota launched the five-year TogetherGreen initiative in 2008 to build the promise of a greener, healthier future through innovation, leadership and volunteerism. To date, 120 environmental leaders, half from within Audubon and half from outside organizations, have received TogetherGreen Fellowships to protect land, water and energy resources nationwide. For more information, visit www.togethergreen.org.