WHAT would you say if somebody told you they knew a way to reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels without emitting any more carbon into the atmosphere or having to convert the engine of a single vehicle? Gunning engineer Ned Stojadinovic doesn’t just believe it’s possible – he can prove it!
Mr Stojadinovic has been studying bio-fuels for the last six years. He has developed a method of creating “biodiesel”, made from recycled deep fryer oil from a café, and it is being used to power the local school bus.
The biodiesel works the same way ordinary diesel does, providing the exact same mileage and working perfectly in any diesel engines, without having any adverse affect on the vehicle.
“The bus wasn’t converted to run on biodiesel. It is just a case of pouring it into the tank,” Mr Stojadinovic said.
“If I didn’t tell you (what it was running on) you’d never know. It’s biodegradable and completely non-toxic.”
The fuel costs just 30 cents to produce (plus labour costs, bringing the actual cost to about 40 cents at the pump) and it saves about 18 tonnes carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
“It is carbon neutral,” Mr Stojadinovic explained.
“The burning of all common fuels produces carbon dioxide but being as that the carbon dioxide is coming from the plants that captured the carbon in the first place it makes it neutral.”
Mr Stojadinovic owns his own company, Millenium Energy (sic), and was quick to point out that he didn’t invent biodiesel, saying people had been producing it for the last 40 odd years.
However, his process of creating the substance is clean, simple and environmentally friendly. His business relies purely on recycling waste oil and he was critical of overseas companies who are clearing rainforests or causing environmental harm to create it.
Mr Stojadinovic doesn’t believe biodiesel is a “miracle cure” for the world’s energy crisis but believed it was a big step in the right direction.
The Gunning school bus is being supported by the Green Upper Lachlan Project (GULP) with funding from the Sustaining Our Towns, an initiative of the state government which is promoting environmental projects in 13 different Local Government Areas across South East NSW.
GULP project manager Sarah Bucknell told the Post she was very excited about fuel.
“Ned’s idea has great potential as a transplant solution for small communities,” she said.
“If small communities can get hold of sufficient quantities of recyclable waste oil there are great opportunities…I hope today can inspire other communities, other school groups and other councils to look in their own backyards to make small communities more sustainable.”
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