Run Your Car on Mor Chikin
Southern fast-food favorite Chick-fil-A is known for its commercials featuring a cow holding a sign that says, “Eat mor chikin.” But two University of Central Florida students have turned to the chicken chain for a new purpose: “Run your car on mor chikin (grease).”
Mechanical engineering students Eric Williams, Chad Heinrich and Michael Schulist turned to the University of Central Florida’s local Chick-fil-A for used cooking grease, which they convert into biodiesel fuel to run their cars. They’re also passing along 20 percent of their home-brewed fuel to the university, which is using it to power trucks, lawnmowers and other diesel vehicles.
At a production cost of about 80 cents a gallon, the fry-based biodiesel is helping both the students and the university save cash … considering the current cost of petro-diesel at the pump is about $4.419 per gallon. And because the biodiesel burns more cleanly than fossil fuels, the fast-food fry grease is helping the students and school reduce their carbon footprint.
Image credit: J. Reed at Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons license.
