Engineers Without Borders» 2008

General Meeting, January 30th, 2008

January 31, 2008 at 3:42 pm | In Events, Meeting Minutes | Comments Off

January 30th, 2008, 7:00pm

Kelley 1001

I. Project Applications for March Due

Due Friday Feb 1. Several applications received, all are welcome to apply!

II.International conference

Great opportunity to learn about EWB’s efforts, as well as some excellent opportunities. 3 days, end of spring break, Seattle. We are seeking to completely offset the cost of the trip with COE funding.

- Sign-up sheet with David Mandrell. Stay after to talk and plan. Anyone can go!

III. Looking for new Membership Coordinator

Nick Taylor has a time conflict with meetings this term, is asking for someone to fill his shoes.

Involves taking attendance, collect annual dues, report to the board 1x/month, and filling out forms nationally.

Birdie will perform Membership Coordinator duties for all Wednesday meetings.

Membership dues are $15, allow you to vote, plus you get a free EWB bracelet! (Stop by Doug’s office if you want one.)

IV. BioDiesel Initiative

Seeking to sustainably solve the problem of limited petroleum fuels worldwide.
Method: meet the needs of current generation without compromising the needs of future generations.
Test case for system: Narukunibua, Fiji
- Current PCV in the village is a former member of the Biodiesel Initiative at OSU.
- Currently have diesel generator for cooking, lights internet; generator is only local course of electricity.
Idea is to use local crops, already-available land, local labor, and adapt biodiesel technology.
By-products of biodiesel production include soap, fuel for heat, biodiesel, animal feed, compost.
Technical issues:
- obtain oil feedstock (high quality)
- determine catalyst
- obtain high purity alcohol
High-quality produced fuel meeting ASTM standards
- Sustainable methods
- Village accepts solution to problem
- System produces reliably and in sufficient quantity
Letters of support from Peace Corps, village already received
Mentor is Dr. David Hackleman
Groups:
- Assessment group
  - engineering conditions
  - cultural impacts
  - environmental impacts
  - available resources
- Research group
- Oversight
- Travel team
Schedule
- Current goal (Winter) is to complete environmental impact assessment
  - Is biodiesel the BEST solution for the community? What other technologies could be applicable?
  - If biodiesel is, then exact process and raw materials must be determined, technology decided.
- Spring Term:
  - design, build, test prototype
  - acquire funding
- Summer: go to Fiji and build
OSU Biodiesel Initiative: http://biodiesel.oregonstate.edu
P3 Program web site: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/p3/
Questions:
- How big of a generator?
  - Depends on fuel demands, exact technological process. Likely a small room.
- How robust is the process/equipment? Will the village be able to maintain/not destroy the equipment?
  - Technically simple process that villagers should be able to perform with little difficulty. Simple maintenance, yes. Mixing, washing, and some cleaning are the typical user operations that are required.
- Have biodiesel generators been installed in similar situations in the past?
  - Several systems particularly in India have been installed and continue to function. There is even another project on a similar island near Fiji.
- Has there been discussion of go/no-go points in the process?
  - Determining that the technology is not the best solution, or that there are significant negative cultural or environmental impacts would be the type of problem that would stop us. That should all be determined by spring break with the env assessment.
- How much crop is needed?
  - Fuel usage is currently low, and it depends on the fuel type. Cutting down forests or using existing food sources is not an acceptable source. Growth-times are being taken into account for the various crops as well.
- Sometimes coconuts have difficulty with lites(?) that go through and kill the entire grove. Diversifying could be very important.
  - We certainly need to determine a backup source or alternative in case of low annual yield anomalies. Village located close to national capital and therefor used vegetable oil sources.
- What if something breaks down significantly?
  - The system is able to be deconstructed back to the current diesel generator status.
- How much crop oil for the biodiesel?
  - Abt 1 gallon for 1 gallon.
Partnership Agreement
- Membership vote will proceed online to decide on whether to join the diesel initiative formally with a partnership.