Released March 27, 2009
BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter is hosting a two-day comprehensive workshop on how to make your own biodiesel fuel from used vegetable oil on April 28-29 at the Callegari Environmental Center.
“This is an advanced workshop and different from the workshops we offered last summer,” said Bill Carney, LSU AgCenter environmental educator and director of the Callegari Center. The AgCenter offered several workshops in 2008 on how to make biodiesel.
The workshop will begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 4:30 p.m., with a break for lunch, Carney said.
“It will be very hands-on. We’ll actually make biodiesel during the workshop,” Carney said.
Each participant will take home a titration kit including laboratory equipment such as beakers, pipettes and syringes along with safety goggles, a mask and an apron.
“The participants will be trained on how to do the testing that turns the waste product into quality biodiesel,” Carney said.
In addition to learning the chemistry of making biodiesel, the class will see the different kinds of equipment required to go into the biodiesel-manufacturing business. The equipment will be on display.
“People can make biodiesel in their backyards for as little as a $500 investment,” Carney said. “Or, they can spend up to $10,000.The average is about $2,000-$3,000. But they shouldn’t invest in any equipment, if they don’t have a reliable source of the raw material.”
Participants will also learn how to troubleshoot if they run into problems making their own biodiesel, Carney said.
Cost for the workshop is $150, and participation is limited to 25 people. To register, call Sondra Rodriguez at 225-578-6998. More information about the workshop is online at http://www.lsuagcenter.com/callegari, including directions to the Callegari Center, which is off Nicholson Drive, south of the LSU campus.
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Contact: Linda Foster Benedict, (225) 578-2937
