Biodiesel Production Facility to Be Introduced
MEDIA ADVISORYWhat:
Introducing A New Biodiesel Production Facility in East Tennessee When:
The ribbon-cutting event begins at 1 p.m., Wednesday, July 15, at the new facility located at the UT Johnson Agricultural Research and Teaching Unit (JARTU), 1750 Alcoa Highway, Knoxville, Tenn. A reception begins at 12:45, and the event will begin at 1 p.m. Details:
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) in partnership with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) will formally open a community-based biodiesel production facility.
Built with an Alternative Fuels Innovations Grant from TDEC, the biodiesel production unit aims to convert waste fryer oil from local restaurants into useable fuel. Full production, double-shift capacity for the medium-scale mobile unit is approximately 380,000 gallons of biodiesel per year. SACE will collect waste fryer oil from participating restaurants and the new facility will convert the waste oil into ASTM spec. biodiesel. The environmentally friendly fuel displaces corresponding volumes of petroleum-based diesel fuel. Participating in the ribbon cutting are:
Dr. Stephen A. Smith, Executive Director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Dr. Jan Simek, President of the University of Tennessee
Dr. Joseph DiPietro, UT Vice President for Agriculture
Commissioner Jim Fyke, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Commissioner Ken Givens, Tennessee Department of Agriculture
For additional information about this program, please consult the specification sheet found online at www.cleanenergy-biofuels.com or see www.cleanenergy.org. Driving Directions:
The Biodiesel Production Unit is located off Alcoa Highway behind the UT Johnson Agricultural Research and Teaching Unit (JARTU). From I-40: take Exit 386B (Alcoa Hwy-129S to Maryville and Airport). Travel 129 South for approximately one mile until you reach the Buck Karnes Bridge over the Tennessee River. Stay in the right lane. After crossing the bridge, slow down and watch for the sign for the Agricultural Experiment Station. Take the next right. Note: the road is narrow and inconspicuous, so watch carefully. Turn right again and follow the road as it winds under Alcoa Highway, under the Buck Karnes Bridge and up the hill. Continue a short distance until you see the JARTU building on the left. The biodiesel unit is behind the building at the far end.
(If you come to the hospital exit off 129S, you have gone too far. Take the exit, cross over the highway and get back on 129N. Take the first right.) From Maryville/Alcoa: Travel north on Hwy 129/Alcoa Highway towards UT Hospital. After passing the Cherokee Trail/UT Hospital Exit, take the first right. Follow signs to the parking/event area. # # # Contacts:
Christina Honkonen, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
865.228.1567 (Mobile); [email protected]
Patricia McDaniels, UT Institute of Agriculture Marketing and Communications Services
615.835.4570 (Office); 865.363.6009 (Mobile); [email protected]
Tisha Calabrese-Benton, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
865.594.5442 (Office); 865.599.3685 (Mobile); [email protected]