| Is there Kentucky Fried Fuel in your Future? | | | | |
| | | | Some people are doing more than looking, |
| By Diane Nassy | | | | however. One school district in Georgia is |
| | | | running their school busses on chicken fat, |
| Thanks to a weird marriage between the | | | | and some trucking companies are converting |
| National Renderers Association, the people | | | | their diesel engine to burn vegetable oil. It |
| who turn animal fat into useful products, and | | | | all seems to be working out quite well. Of |
| the Environmental Protection Agency's Office | | | | course, there will probably be a vegetable |
| of Air Quality Planning and Standards , there | | | | shortage next, and we'll see Crisco hitting |
| is a possibility that your car could be | | | | $5.00 per tub! |
| burning chicken or other animal fat in the | | | | |
| next few years. | | | | Although it's not likely that your next |
| | | | off-the-lot car will have "finger licking |
| That's because these two agencies have been | | | | good" exhaust fumes, there is a great need to |
| working together to advance the development | | | | develop fossil fuel alternatives. Researchers |
| of petroleum-based fuel alternatives known as | | | | aren't just working with animal renderings |
| "biofuels". According to a jointly issued | | | | and vegetable oil either. Experimental |
| report, yellow grease, lard, recycled cooking | | | | research is being conducted with hay and |
| fat, and other animal-derived products have | | | | agricultural wastes as well. Even chicken |
| been shown in tests to perform as an | | | | "droppings" are getting burned. |
| acceptable alternative to fossil fuels. | | | | |
| | | | Some companies are developing conversion kits |
| So far the fatty fuels have been tested in | | | | that will let ordinary gasoline engines run |
| boilers, trucks, busses, and some | | | | on animal fat or vegetable oil. The average |
| automobiles. The results have been pretty | | | | cost for a conversion kit runs around $1,000, |
| impressive. In fact, the EPA has issued | | | | but the savings can add up pretty quickly |
| guidelines for companies who want to convert | | | | when you consider that many restaurants are |
| to biofuel to run their factories, power | | | | giving away their used fry grease for free. |
| generating plants, and diesel engines. The | | | | |
| guidelines spell out what fuels can be | | | | The main problem is finding ways to produce |
| replaced by biofuels and what incentives the | | | | good mileage results and developing engines |
| government is offering to those who take the | | | | that are able to handle the effects of |
| leap. You can read the guidelines here at the | | | | non-petroleum fuels. These aren't |
| EPA site ( | | | | overwhelming problems, but they still must be |
| | | | addressed before biofuels become mainstream. |
| None of this alternative fuel talk has | | | | And for the conspiracy theory fans among us, |
| escaped the attention of the automobile | | | | there is always the possibility that "big |
| manufacturers, big oil companies, or | | | | oil" will do everything it can to stop |
| environmental groups. Everyone is looking at | | | | biofuels from replacing their coveted black |
| the possibilities in order to find a way to | | | | gold. |
| make some money when all is said and done. | | | | |