MIT group strikes oil, wins "eco-grant"
A plan to turn used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel has won a group led by MIT students a $25,000 "eco-grant" and a concert to be headlined by Angels & Airwaves, a band led by former blink-182 guitarist Tom DeLonge.
The group, known as Biodiesel@MIT, won the top prize in a competition sponsored by General Electric Co. and mtvU, MTV's college network.
The first-ever mtvU GE "ecomagination challenge" asked college students to propose ways to "green their campuses."
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology group proposed developing a solar-powered refueling station and processor to convert waste vegetable oil into biodiesel fuel.
According to the MIT News Office, the school pays $1.10 a gallon to cart away vegetable oil after it's been used to deep-fry chicken fingers and other food in campus dining halls. Biodiesel@MIT proposes to use the oil to power the school's fleet of diesel vehicles, which are soon expected to consume 30,000 gallons of fuel annually.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
