Farmers may have new options with alternative fuels

Jeff Breeden and his portable classroom have seen a lot of county fairs. He's shown the classroom off to students and most recently to peanut farmers at the Alabama-Florida Peanut Trade Show in Dothan.

Breeden, the president of Biodiesel Logic in Albertville, Ala., shows people how feedstock can be converted to fuel in as little as seven hours.

"This is the process," Breeden said. "Everything you need to make biodiesel."

And after the start-up cost to buy the equipment, making the biodiesel fuel costs about 75 cents per gallon, Breeden said. The machinery, he said, pays for itself within 140 to 150 days.

It seems to make sense. If you have a way to create fuel from a renewable resource, shouldn't you do it? Especially if it's cheaper and can help wean Americans off foreign oil?

Across the country, most people equate biofuels with corn, soy and even sugarcane to make ethanol. Breeden and others have been using vegetable oils, recycled cooking oil from restaurants and even peanut oil to create biodiesel fuels.

Just last year, the Alabama Legislature paved the way for the creation of the state's Center of Alternative Fuels, and Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Ron Sparks has been pushing the effort to promote biofuels through partnerships with cities, universities and companies like Biodiesel Logic.

Cities such as Montgomery and Hoover have gotten on the biodiesel bandwagon. Montgomery is collecting used vegetable oil from restaurants. The state agriculture and industries department processes the waste oil at the state farmer's market and uses it to make biodiesel. The city of Montgomery then uses the biodiesel in city vehicles.

Nick Zorn, manager of the state farmer's market in Montgomery, said the cooking oil would otherwise end up in the city's sewer system or in its landfill.