Engineers Without Borders

General Meeting 5-21-2008

May 21, 2008 at 8:33 pm | In Meeting Minutes |

Engineers Without Borders Board Meeting

May 21st, 2008, 7:00pm

Kelly 1003

I. Announcements:

– Habitat for Humanity work day May 31^st

– Poker Night Results – No official update, but generally not as successful as hoped due to conflict with Relay for Life

IV. David Hackleman, “Taking Leadership: To Sustain Our Planet and Our Species”

Dr Hackleman is also the advisor for the Biodiesel Initiative. That group is considering changing their name in order to better reflect their intentions to install sustainable energy systems, of any appropriate types, rather than solely biodiesel.

The Big Picture

Energy balance of the planet includes energy input primarily from the sun and very small amounts from meteorites and other sources. Energy leaves the planet by radiation, and a very small amount by convection. This balance is altered by people. Energy leaving is a function of emissivity and temperature. If temperature is to stay constant, emissivity must remain constant, though this is influenced by smoke, pollutants etc. which decrease emissivity and therefore increase temperature. If in 2025 everyone lived like us, humankind would divert 0.7% of the energy of the earth. This includes transportation, industry, agriculture, and residential use. The removal of this amount of energy is enough to lower the temperature 2deg C or to slow rotation to make days 15 minutes longer.

What happens to energy after it’s used? This is rarely considered. As an example, a mint plant he’s worked on uses both an evaporator and condenser (theoretically zero energy balance), yet requires the use of coal and cold water – double the energy use. Also, some homes use ground water as a heat source.

The amount of land available is relatively constant over time, yet the population continues to grow to eventually this will become a problem for living and food space. Even the oceans are being depleted. Eating habits of the wealthy are higher on the food chain and therefore less sustainable. 20% of food produced in the United States rots before it is eaten, highlighting issues with distribution.

Is global warming true? Examine the jet stream, an energy sink. With added energy the jet stream must compensate by increasing length, which happens by becoming more curved or oscillatory. This results in an average global temperature increase and more varied and extreme weather patterns. Some people do not believe in global warming including those that have a vested interest in so, those that are apathetic, and those that don’t understand the situation.

The fundamental problem is that the earth has a specific carrying capacity. Animals such as people consume 4kJ/kg body weight per hour. Headlines worldwide declare ethanol a bad idea for increasing prices and prioritizing food sources. The change to NAFTA motivated Mexican farmers to cease growing white corn to export corn to the U.S. for food. Corn used for fuel does, though, reduce the supply of corn syrup. Is it so bad to reduce the amount of sugar in our food?

Alcohol and Biodiesel

There is no corn shortage as shown by trends in corn demand being less than its supply. This highlights the inefficiencies of distribution.

Senator Grassley of Iowa has a webpage which shows that the majority of information and campaigns against corn for ethanol and food come from grocers, not farmers or consumers. It was commented by an attendee that this webpage is probably the most biased source of information on this subject.

Biodiesel is made by adding an alcohol to an oil to yield a glycerol and biodiesel. There is no sulfur in biodiesel as there is in petroleum products. Soy, canola, semolina, sunflower, and corn all make good sources of oil. Canola is not grown in the valley to avoid crossing with other crops. Sequential Biofuels in Salem makes about 1000L of biodiesel a year form used oil from Kettle Chips. Vegetable oil can be burned in a diesel engine as long as it is hot enough. The amount of fuel used in farming is less that made from the crop. About 1 acre of land can support one commuter car. Petroleum could last forever only if we use less each year, as shown by the integral of exponential decay from zero to infinity.

Production of ethanol requires more energy than that of biodiesel, though it does not yield more. The production timeline of biodiesel is much shorter than that of petroleum and much more local. As shown in the list, the costs of biodiesel are lower and benefits greater than of petroleum. Different sources of oil have different yields. Algae has the highest yield. Fallow land could be used to produce enough fuel to satisfy the country’s demand. Algae could be grown at the Coffin Butte landfill in order to both filter water for drinking and produce a large quantity of fuel. This algae could not be used as animal feed (as other biofuel sources can), but could be put back into landfills to continue to rid toxins.

Global warming could be mitigated by the correct use of biodiesel and a change in lifestyle.  A sustainable system is feasible.

A biodegradable polymer can be made from biodiesel by products and tartaric acid, a byproduct of the wine industry.  There is research into making biodiesel using an enzyme bound in a bead as well as in a genetically modified seed.

A house bill passed last year which encourages the use of biodiesel by, among other things, providing an income tax credit for those who use it.  Current student projects include the Fiji project, a biodiesel test station (built by mechanical engineers in order to compare emissions between biodiesel and petroleum), and a biodiesel demonstration cart.

The goal is energy independence for the country and for Oregon.  Oregon plans to add only renewable energy resources to its supply from now on.

Minutes prepared by: Kendra Seniow, May 21st, 2008