RALEIGH — The state Department of Transportation has a project that demonstrates the potential for multiple sources of biofuel.
The DOT recently harvested a small field of bright yellow flowers planted along Interstate 40 for conversion to biodiesel.
The flowers look attractive, but they're canola plants, the source of canola oil.
Instead of using the oil for cooking, the state wants to refine it to use in vehicles.
The project with N.C. State University is researching the feasibility of growing biofuel crops along highway rights of way.
Utah has such a program, called Freeways to Fuel.
Right now, divided highways with grassy medians are good for weeds and North Carolina's beautification effort to landscape medians and roadsides with shrubs, trees and flowers.
The question is, are highway rights of way a cost-effective way to grow biofuel sources such as canola.
Thus, the Department of Transportation plants and maintains the test crops while N.C. State, through its biofuels program, does the research on the plantings.
"The biodiesel program is one example of our department's overall commitment to creating a more livable, sustainable future in North Carolina," said Transportation Secretary Gene Conti.
"We are constantly exploring innovative ways to realize this vision, whether we are using alternative fuels like biodiesel and solar power, conserving energy at the state's first green rest area or recycling construction materials."
North Carolina's program is in its second year, and this year's crop, totaling just under 10 acres, consisted of four plots of canola grown along roadways in Raleigh, Faison, Mount Airy and Rutherford County.
"This program is an excellent example of what can be done through a successful partnership, and gives us the opportunity to work with the university to explore the feasibility of growing biofuel," said state roadside environmental field operations engineer Ted Sherrod, who chairs the biofuels research project.
"Biodiesel plants like canola and sunflower produce beautiful blooms that make our roadsides more attractive, and beyond that, provide a source of cleaner-burning fuel."
Testing sunflower plantings produced a yield of 550 pounds of per acre. That resulted in about 40 gallons of biodiesel from each acre of sunflowers.
N.C. State researchers calculate that the cost of biodiesel production would equal the cost of purchasing gasoline or diesel fuel, and have less environmental impact.
Biodiesel crops require minimal maintenance. And, they maintain the spirit of roadway beautification.
The transportation department's diesel-powered fleet uses B20 biodiesel, a mixture made up of 20 percent biofuel and 80 percent ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel.
Since 2006, the DOT estimates it has saved approximately 4 million gallons of fossil fuel by using biodiesel, and for every gallon of biodiesel used, the amount of air pollution is reduced by 20 percent.
The state's canola and sunflower project fits in with the push to develop affordable alternatives to fossil fuel.
The ongoing development of Catawba County's Eco-Complex envisions using many biomass resources to produce fuel and electricity, including yard waste and even fungus, the kind that occurs naturally in wooded areas.
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