The UR Biodiesel facility back when it was just a garage. This is where we started...
Construction begins...
At this stage of the construction, some of the plumbing was being installed and the floor was being prepared for construction.
In this picture, you can clearly see the new wall that was constructed, as well as our new door.
Here, you can see the beginnings of the secondary containment for the facility. This is the construction of the "curb" which contains any possible spills inside the facility. Construction on the floor had also begun at this point.
At this point, construction on a concrete pad outside the "man-door" to the facility was being constructed.
This is the completed (but not yet dry!) concrete pad outside the door.
The pipes you see above are where Cogen enters the UR Biodiesel facility. These pipes also house the electrical and water that enters the facility.
The floor took the longest time to complete. This is the early stages of the floor's construction.
This photo shows one of the most interesting parts of the entire facility itself, which is radiant heating. We are able to use radiant heating through the floor to heat the facility. The heating uses hot water from the University's Cogeneration plant, which creates a truly sustainable structure. Eventually, we hope to use Cogen as part of the Biodiesel processor.
The flooring being leveled down on top of the radiant flooring.
The floor is complete! Or only kind of. It took a long time, and an extra two coats, before the floor finally dried.
These are photos of what will eventually become the UR Biodiesel Bus. It still could use a good paint job, but this is the bus that will run on the biodiesel that we create in our facility.
This is the view from the UR Biodiesel from a wider angle. The left-most garage is the UR Biodiesel facility (you can see the nicer man-door adjacent to our garage door). One benefit is that we will have the ability, potentially, to expand if need be. If UR Biodiesel is successful, and we continue to receive support from the University, we may be able to expand into the adjacent garages in one way or another.
This is a picture of our "Fat-Mobile." This is how we will transport the waste vegetable oil from the dining centers to the UR Biodiesel Facility. This photo was taken before the tanker was modified with a pump, filter, wand, etc., which you will see in future pictures.
Dave and Eris in front of the shelving units prior to their installation (they can be seen at the right).
Dan and Dave thinking about the layout of the room, right after we had installed the fire cabinet for the methanol (can be seen at left in front of Dan; it is the yellow cabinet).
Dan, Dave and Eric discussing the placement of the shelving. You can see the unfinished shelving behind Eric, the one of the storage tanks (black) in front of Dave.
These are the tanks that will later be used to store the Waste Vegetable Oil and biodiesel in various phases on the process. Each container was selected for a specific purpose and carefully considered.
This is the fire-safe cabinet which will contain 5-gallon carboys to store Methanol. Notice how perfectly they all fit! This was not just luck; every little detail needed to be considered before purchasing any equipment.
Eric, Dave and Dan pause for a quick photo-shoot in the UR Biodiesel Facility.
Dan, Dave and Eris right after they intalled the shelving units. (You can see them in the back of the photo). Notice the three tanks. The black one on the left is a 55 gallon tank, the middle one is a 90 gallon tank which will be used for washing the Biodiesel, and the right tank is a 55-gallon tank.
Dave and Dan right after placing a lab bench in the Facility (it is the big green table behind them).
A nice photo of Eris next to the shelving. The three different drums can be nicely seen on top of the shelving in this photo.
This is where the electricity, water, and Cogen enter the facility.
These gauges measure the temperature of the Cogen hot water both when it enters the Facility and when it leaves, allowing us to measure the gradient. This is helpful in determining the temperature in the facility.
Dan having a little fun after some successful installations.
Dave in front of our newest acquisition: A Lab Bench.
Eris and Dave in front of the still-under-construction stand for the Waste Vegetable Oil and the Processor (hot water heater).
Eris showing the UR Biodiesel team what needs to get done.
This is a good shot of the Waste Vegetable Oil stand. The two white 55-gallon drums in the photo will be the storage for the Waste Vegetable Oil. The processor, a recycled water heater, will be placed on the metal stand in the left of the photo. Waste Vegetable Oil will travel from the white drums through a filter and into the processor through tubes, using only gravity (no pump will be necessary in this step).
